A team of researchers have discovered that people who take higher levels of Vitamin A are 17% less at risk of getting skin cancer when compared to those who had a lesser amount of vitamin A in their food of supplements.
"Our study provides another reason to eat lots of fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet. Skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma, is hard to prevent, but this study suggests that eating a healthy diet rich in Vitamin A, in addition to wearing sunscreen and reducing sun exposure, maybe a way to reduce the risk," said Eunyoung Cho, Associate Professor at the Brown University.
Vitamin A, in the skincare world, is known as retinol and is an effective treatment for mature and acne-prone skin. It promotes healthy skin cell regeneration. However, prior studies had shown mixed results on its effectiveness for reducing skin cancer.
For the study, the research team looked at the diet and skin cancer results of 121,700 women and 51,529 US men from 1986 to 2012. Between the two studies, around 123,000 participants were white (and thus had a significant risk of developing skin cancer), had no prior history of cancer and completed the dietary reports multiple times.
A total of 3,978 cases of squamous cell carcinoma were reported and verified within the 24 to 26 year follow-up periods.
Participants' hair colour, the number of severe sunburns they had received in their lifetime and any family history of skin cancer were also taken into account.
After grouping the participants into five categories by their Vitamin A intake levels, the researchers found that people in the category with the highest average daily total Vitamin A intake were 17 per cent less likely to get skin cancer than those in the category with the lowest total Vitamin A intake.
The team also found that the majority of Vitamin A came from the participants' diets, particularly from fruits and vegetables, rather than from animal-based foods or vitamin supplements.
