#10. Benefits of Vitamin D
Researchers have long known that the "sunshine vitamin" boosts bone
strength by encouraging the body to absorb calcium. But a slew of new
studies published in 2007 suggests that the vitamin has a lot of other
benefits: Diets high in D may ward off diabetes, gum disease and multiple
sclerosis — and maybe even cancer. Though some findings linking vitamin D
and cancer showed questionable benefit, the news on colon cancer was
promising. In one large trial, men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up
Study and women in the Nurses' Health Study with the highest blood levels of
vitamin D were half as likely to develop colon cancer as their peers with
less circulating vitamin D. To squeeze the most value out of vitamin D, aim
for taking a supplement with 1,000 IU daily.