Two of the most popular and promising dietary supplements – vitamin D and fish oil – will be tested in a large, government-sponsored study to see whether either nutrient can lower a healthy person’s risk of getting cancer, heart disease or having a stroke.
It will be one of the first big nutrition studies ever to target a specific racial group – blacks, who will comprise one quarter of the participants.
People with dark skin are unable to make much vitamin D from sunlight, and researchers think this deficiency may help explain why blacks have higher rates of cancer, stroke and heart disease.