The wonders of vitamin D keep being revealed, and here's a new one - Higher levels of it cut colorectal cancer risk by a third, particularly in women. The research this conclusion is based on is pretty robust¹, a large ?international study led by Harvard University.

维生素D的神奇作用正不断向世人展示，目前又发现了其新的功效--多吃维生素D可使人们患结肠直肠癌的风险降低三分之一，尤其是对于女性而言。哈佛大学开展的一项大型国际研究为这一研究结论提供了强有力的依据。

About a fifth of Britons are vitamin D deficient² and bowel³, or colorectal cancer rates are rising globally. Are these two findings related? Vitamin D is hard to find in high concentrations in natural foods, but it can be found in fatty fish such as salmon⁴, cheese, fortified⁵ milk and eggs. The vitamin has been found to strengthen resistance to stomach tumours⁶, and it was most protective in women.

大约五分之一的英国人缺乏维生素D，肠癌或结肠直肠癌的全球发病率正不断飙升。这两个发现是否存在相关性？天然食物的维生素D含量不高，但富含脂肪的鱼（如三文鱼）、奶酪、营养强化奶和鸡蛋中却含有高浓度的维生素D。维生素D已被发现能增强人们对胃肿瘤的抵抗力，尤其能保护女性。

Another new finding from the research is that the scientists believe the ideal amount of vitamin D we should be aiming for is higher than current guidelines stipulate⁷. Though often touted⁸ as cancer-protective, the authors of the study claim they have the clearest evidence yet that there's a concrete link between vitamin D levels and its protective effect against ?developing bowel cancer.

研究还有另一个新发现：科学家认为维生素D的理想摄入量应高于目前指南所规定的摄入量。尽管维生素D经常被鼓吹能预防癌症，但该研究的作者称，他们有最明晰的证据表明维生素D水平与其保护人们不患肠癌的作用之间存在实际联系。

To find it, researchers conducted an analysis of more than 5,700 colorectal cancer cases and 7,100 controls from the United States, Europe and Asia. Compared to participants with circulating vitamin D levels considered sufficient for bone health, those with a vitamin D deficiency had a 31% higher risk of colorectal cancer during follow-up five years later.

为了找出这种关系，研究员对来自美国、欧洲和亚洲的5700个结肠直肠癌案例和7100个对比案例进行了分析。与摄入的维生素D含量被认为足以保持骨骼健康的患者相比，缺乏维生素D的患者在之后5年的随访期间患结肠直肠癌的风险要高出31%。

Strong bone health, which is promoted by vitamin D levels, was also associated with a 22% lower risk. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women in the UK, with about 41,804 cases a year. It's projected that 53,646 cases of bowel cancer (29,356 in males, 24,290 in females) will be diagnosed in the UK by 2035. Each year around 16,000 people die of bowel cancer.

维生素D会促进骨骼健康，而骨骼健康与患结肠直肠癌的风险降低22%相关。结肠直肠癌是英国第三大常见癌症，也是英国人因癌症去世的第三大原因，每年大约有41804起案例。据预测，到2035年，将有53646人被诊断为肠癌（男性29356人，女性24290人）。每年有16000人会死于肠癌。