We have the honor of announcing that one of our panel scientists, Cedric Garland, Dr. PH, FACE, was recently bestowed a Knighthood in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Ordine al merito della Repubblica Italiana) is awarded for meritorious service or achievement in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers.  

About Dr. Garland

Dr. Garland joined the Epidemiology Division in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego in 1980 and is currently Professor Emeritus. Garland's research program of 35 years has focused on discovering the causes of cancer and helping advance understanding of the causes and prevention of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Garland and his colleagues were among the first scientists to discover that passive smoking causes ischemic heart disease (heart attacks), a finding that led to banning smoking in restaurants in California. He has taught in the core epidemiology track for medical students as well as public health and preventive medicine electives. He also trains and serves as a mentor for doctoral students. His recent work with colleague Dr. Edward D. Gorham and others shows that a high concentration of a vitamin D metabolite, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, in the serum is associated with substantially lower incidence of colorectal and postmenopausal breast cancers, as well as type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Garland is confident that improvements in vitamin D status, resulting from higher dosages than are common at present, will lead to the eradication of colorectal cancer and type 1 diabetes, and greatly reduce or eradicate  the incidence and mortality of 11 cancers including postmenopausal breast cancer, brain tumors, and adult forms of leukemia.

About the Knighthood - Q & A with Dr. Garland

Q: How did you catch the eye of the Italians?

A: I caught their attention at a conference in Venice, Italy, 1988. The meeting was to inform the Italians of our research on vitamin D to prevent cancer and our data systems supporting cancer research. It took place due to the efforts of Mario and Matilda Cuomo, then governor and first lady of New York, and Dr. Joseph Raffa, director of the San Diego Cancer Registry. After the meeting, my colleagues and I stayed in touch by email with Italian cancer researchers.

Q: You gave a talk to Italian scientists at the consulate in Los Angeles this year. What was the talk about? How was it received?  

I explained that the cancer mortality maps allowed us (our team) to determine that the cause of breast and colon cancer was vitamin D deficiency, plain and simple. I described how our research was done by analyzing maps of cancer mortality throughout the world, and showed them a new method for analyzing cancer incidence rates in the world. The audience applauded loudly and for some time, so I guess they liked it.

Study of Cancer Mortality Rates by Region

Q: Who do you consider part of your team? 

Our team includes Drs. Edward D Gorham and William B. Grant, who are also on the GrassrootsHealth panel of scientists. In more recent years Dr. Sharif Mohr and Mr. Raphael Cuomo have become valued members of our team.  We also cooperate closely with Carole and Leo Baggerly, Drs. Robert Heaney and Joan Lappe of Creighton University, and Dr. Edward Giovannucci of Harvard University.

Q: Are Italians typically vitamin D deficient or have high rates of cancer and diabetes?

Italians who live in Northern provinces have high rates of cancer and diabetes. It is due to higher latitude and clouds and fog resulting from burning high sulfur coal for industries in Northern Italy.  The massive ammonium sulfate particulate air pollution that results from burning this type of coal in the North is substantially raising the rate of many vitamin D deficiency diseases, since it diminishes transmission of UVB needed to make vitamin D in the skin. This type of air pollution started at the time of the Industrial Revolution.

Italy could reduce its rates of breast cancers by at least 80% if women raised their serum 25(OH)D to 80 ng/ml, probably requiring more than 4,000 IU/day of vitamin D3.  Both sexes might be able to reduce their incidence rate of colon cancer to near-zero levels  if they took their serum 25(OH)D to 60 ng/ml, probably requiring 3000 IU/day of vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is still in use in Europe, and should be eliminated as it does nothing to reduce cancer risk.  

The population of Italy is also low in calcium, so we would recommend they raise their calcium intake to 1,200 mg/day in women and 1,000 mg/day in men, preferably from food. 

NASA Image of Northern Italian Pollution

Q: What do you think is significant about your research that merits this award?

Our research has provided a tool to eradicate postmenopausal breast cancer and colon cancer.  It also just plain eliminates 80% of all cancers combined, according to a clinical trial. It is the only practical way humanity has available to conquer most cancer almost  immediately. (within about 3 years).  It is amazing but it happens to be true.

Our research has also provided the only strategies that exist for prevention of premenopausal breast cancer (apart from prophylactic mastectomy), adult forms of leukemia, brain tumors, multiple myeloma, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and lung cancer of nonsmokers.

Q: Do you think this knighthood will elevate awareness of vitamin D for prevention in Italy?  

This award of knighthood probably will not change that, but it may play some role in greater acceptance of our vitamin D cancer theories by elites in Italy, including its medical leadership.  I hope to make more Italians beyond the Knighthood group take notice.

Q:  Do you anticipate the Italian government making any changes with respect to vitamin D? Maybe raise their RDA or add vitamin D testing as a standard of care?

Yes I do.  They have been in the loop on our vitamin D cancer theory and research since 1988.  Their leading epidemiological scientists are very intelligent and well-informed of our research so it is not an idea out of the blue for them. It may take a few years but I think it will happen. I would guess that acceptance in critical care medicine may lead the way. Critically ill patients are more likely to die in the hospital if they are vitamin D-deficient. Vitamin D supplementation will help many crirtically-ill patients survive who would otherwise die. The payoff of vitamin D will be immediate for them. This will probably lead to more general acceptance and use of vitamin D for prevention of cancer, diabetes, MS, and quite a few other diseases.

Q: Are there any follow up activities with the Italian government because of this great honor? 

We hope to do a study of mortality rates from cancer by province of Italy, further exploring the association of residence in Northern provinces with high cancer mortality rates. Italy is a good model for the influence of latitude and sulfur-derived air pollution on risk of cancer.  We may enlist their help in development of the D-DINOMIT model of carcinogenesis. This model predicts the incidence of specific cancers according to serum 25(OH)D concentration. It also provides an 8-phase model of the mechanism. Cancer can be stopped at any of the 8 stages, opening up new avenues for cancer prevention that will be useful in estimating the needed dose of vitamin D3 to eradicate specific cancers and provide a frame of reference for other discoveries that will stop cancer before and during its micro-evolution.