Is the lack of Vitamin D beneficial or harmful to us?
As a child , I was extremely conscious of the sun.
I didn’t care about the so called risks of getting too much sun, I just didn’t want to get darker.
Why?
If you’re African American like me, you know the saying, “black is beautiful” but is too black just as beautiful?
I don’t like putting the black community’s business on “front street” but there is a stigma attached to really dark skin.
As a result of this, I grew up dodging the sun.
This fear of the sun stayed with me as I moved to South Florida.
Although I ‘m surrounded by beaches and nice weather, you’ll often find me sitting under my beach umbrella.
More on this later…but lets learn about Vitamin D first.
The Vitamin Dormone
Did you know Vitamin D is hormone?
Well, it is.
In lay terms, a hormone is made by an organ and goes into the blood where in has an effect on another organ or system.
Vitamin D is actually made by the skin (largest organ in body) where it travels into the bloodstream.
Upon entering the blood, it makes its way to the liver and the kidneys where its activated.
It then ventures to the intestines and bones where it exerts more of its effects.
If you didn’t know, hormones control all the body’s metabolic processes.
Hormones are funny, as they don’t want to much or too little, just enough.
So, what would be the implications of a lack of vitamin d since it is a hormone?
You’ll soon find out.
The D is Free
How do you get Vitamin D?
As mentioned earlier, your skin makes Vitamin D from exposure to the sun.
Whoa! Isn’t the sun bad?
Actually, it isn’t.
We’ve been told it is because people choose to practice extreme sun exposure instead of moderation.
The sun isn’t bad with moderate exposure minus the chemical sunscreens.
Yup, I said it!
Have you ever checked the label of the sunscreen you’re using?
It probably has chemicals in it, you can’t pronounce.
And you’re spraying or rubbing that sh** on your skin?
There are some pretty cool organic sunscreens out there but they should only be used after you satisfied your sun requirements.
You probably want to know why, huh?
Dr. Michael Holick has studied Vitamin D extensively.
In an interview Natural News conducted called “The Healing Power Of Sunlight” he states ,
“And to give you an example of how powerful putting sunscreen on is, if you put sunscreen on with an SPF of 8, it reduces your ability to make vitamin D in your skin by more than 95.”
This is significant as nearly everyone is vitamin d deficient.
If you’re African American or have darker skin, you are twice as likely to be deficient.
Dark Skin Dilemma
I expressed my concern earlier as a child on becoming too dark.
I did everything I could as a child and adult to limit my exposure to the sun.
I’ve changed as I realized the sun is essential to health and well being.
If you have melanin in your skin, as most people of darker origin do, you need sun exposure.
Matter of fact, you need twice as much as your fairer skin counterparts.
This is because melanin, which affords us a darker pigmentation, blocks the skin’s production of vitamin D.
It may explain why many African Americans are severely deficient in vitamin D.
This deficiency correlates with high rates of cancer (breast, prostate) and diabetes in the black community.
From a statistical standpoint, African Americans rank high in all these.
Reasearch shows:
[42% of African American Women age 15-49 suffered from a lack of vitamin D]
Profound information considering these are the prime childbearing years for black women.
It has been hypothesized women suffering from a lack of vitamin D can put their baby at risk for developing type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis as the child matures.
Quite the coincidence, huh?
Yet, this is only on one segment of the population, imagine the whole.
The Lack of Vitamin D
Are vitamins and minerals important to your body?
You bet your a** they are!
Lack of vitamin D has been implicated in the following cancers:
- Colon
- Breast
- Prostate
And these conditions:
- Psoriasis
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Diabetes
If you look at trends, these diseases are continuing to rise.
Do you think its because we’ve moved into what I call, modern hibernation?
Few people like being outside anymore and much of how we live is geared to living inside.
If we’ve gone into modern hibernation, how do we get more “D” naturally?
Total D
Everyone is suffering from a lack of vitamin D not just African Americans.
For example:
- 76% of new mothers are deficient
- 60% of elders
- 48% of caucasian girls age 9-11
Statistically speaking men aren’t far behind.
And…low levels of ” D” in men correlate to low testosterone levels.
How can we get more D without overdoing it?
Here are some tips:
- Get Outside – We spend the majority of time inside.
- Tan Smart- If you tan, try to get at least 10-15 mins without sunscreen then apply sunscreen. (fairer skin)
- Sun for darker skin – darker skin people need to double their sun exposure to get adequate vitamin D 20- 30 mins max.
- Use better sunscreens – there are several organic sunscreens without harmful chemicals click HERE to find them.
- Err of the side of min to max – don’t become obsessive with the sun…just enough is always good.
- Don’t be afraid- with spring and summer around the corner you may elect to go the beach later in the afternoon when the sun is less intense.
The sun is a healing source of energy for us.
It is thought we all originated from a warm climate where darker skin was the norm.
When people migrated to different parts of the world, the variations in skin color transpired.
Even though we may think we’re different, we still require exposure to the sun to have a healthy body.
Those of darker skin require more but we all need the sun for our well being.
As spring and summer approach, make a conscience effort to get more sun no one should suffer from a lack of vitamin D ever!
Now its your turn….do you think you may be vitamin D deficient? How are you planning to get more sun?
Share this article with someone you love and leave me a comment below!