Good levels of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D, can lower down the chances of developing colon cancer. The findings also suggest that the vitamin helps survival chances of those who already have the disease. 

For concluding these facts, researchers studied those who were at a risk of developing colorectal cancer and looked at the link between blood levels of vitamin D as well as dietary vitamin D and calcium. 

Information from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer Study (EPIC) was taken into consideration. More than 520,000 people from 10 Western European countries were studied. Blood samples were taken from the participants a detailed questionnaires based on diet and lifestyle between 1992 and 1998 was given to them.

About 1,248 patients while following up were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Researchers to healthy patients compared their lifestyle and diet backgrounds. It was found that about 40 per cent decrease in colorectal cancer was there in people with the highest blood levels of vitamin D.  

Today's online version of BMJ reports, "Before any public health recommendations can be made for vitamin D supplementation, new randomized trials are needed to test the hypothesis that increases in blood levels of vitamin D are effective in reducing colorectal cancer risk without inducing serious adverse events."