A Canadian parliament member wants all of Canada officially to recognize one day a year as “Vitamin D Day” and he’s introduced a bill in the Canadian House of Commons to formally adopt the plan.

Dr. James Lunney, who represents central Vancouver Island in British Columbia in the Canadian parliament, wants all of Canada to know that vitamin D deficiency is a crisis in Canada that is costing lives as well as running up health care costs. “A National vitamin D day will further public knowledge, discussion and use of a cost effective personal health measure,” Lunney told Canada.com.

According to Canada.com, Lunney cited a 2009 study published by The Annals of Epidemiology which states “raising the amount of vitamin D in North Americans would prevent approximately 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer each year, saving over $14 billion per year in Canada alone.”

Sunbed users in Canada have the highest vitamin D levels of any group, according to peer-reviewed research published in the journal Public Health in 2010. According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, sunbed users have 90 percent higher vitamin D levels than the general public.

To read the Canada.com story click here.