What do vitamins do for your body? Well, the importance of these minerals in the realm of health and wellness cannot be undermined. Vitamins are critical for not just maintaining your body’s optimal function and growth support but also helping prevent a variety of serious health ailments. However, a lesser-known aspect of this complex relationship between vitamins and health is the possible link between vitamin deficiency and cancer.

Many studies have found important links between the risk of developing certain kinds of cancer with lower levels of vitamins – as these nutrients play an important role in building your immunity levels.

Vitamins are organic compounds required for a variety of physiological processes in the human body. While every vitamin has a different purpose - from boosting the immune system to facilitating energy production, their deficiency can lead to a variety of health problems.

This deficiency can be caused by insufficient dietary intake, impaired absorption, or increased demand due to illness.

According to studies, there is a strong link between the rise in cancer risk and vitamin D as inadequate vitamin D levels increase the risk of getting colorectal or bladder cancer. Also, insufficient vitamin D is generally associated with a high risk of dying from the dreaded disease.

Experts say those who had vitamin D levels below the current guidelines had a 31 per cent increased risk of colorectal cancer during the follow-up - an average of 5.5 years. Those with vitamin D above the recommended levels had a 22 per cent reduction in risk. The link was stronger in women than in men.

Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin super high in antioxidants. It helps in stronger immunological response, wound healing, and collagen formation.

However, if you are deficient in this vitamin, you can have a high risk of malignancies - especially those of the esophagus, stomach, and lungs.

Studies say a lack of vitamin B12 in your body can lead to pernicious anemia - a condition where your immune system attacks healthy cells in your stomach, increasing your risk of developing stomach cancer. According to doctors, a lack of B12 destroys the cells that secrete intrinsic factors important for the absorption of many other nutrients.

Also, hypovitaminosis of B12 is often reported in those with hematologic malignancies like leukemia or lymphoma - blood cancers that affect bone marrow production of red blood cells.

Vitamin A – a fat-soluble vitamin, is extremely important for cellular development, immunological response, and vision. Doctors say the active forms of vitamin A, also known as retinoids, are important for the development of cells and gene expression.

According to research, a lack of vitamin A may raise the chance of developing some types of cancer, which include stomach, esophagus, and lungs.

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