Vitamin D Deficiency and African-American Women

Almost three out of four women over 50 are not getting enough Vitamin D and African-American women are at an even greater risk. Nearly two-thirds of African-American women mistakenly believe they are getting enough Vitamin D, a key nutrient that plays a critical role in reducing the risks of osteoporosis and hip fractures.

A variety of factors can cause Vitamin D deficiency in African-American women, such as inadequate intake of the nutrient through regular diet. Studies confirm that African-Americans consume the lowest amounts of Vitamin D from food alone among different ethnicities. Also, the high melanin content in darker skin reduces the skin’s ability to produce Vitamin D from sunlight. Experts note that people with darker skin may need 20 to 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned individuals to generate the same levels of Vitamin D.

Calcium is an essential complement to Vitamin D for ideal protection of the bones and the body. But more than 75 percent of Americans are not meeting the current calcium intake recommendation – and as many as 75 percent of African-Americans are lactose intolerant, according to the National Institutes of Health, possibly further limiting the consumption of calcium and Vitamin D-fortified dairy products.

African-Americans typically have denser bones, so there is a false assumption that calcium and Vitamin D deficiencies bypass this group. The reality is that when African-American women reach midlife, their risk of developing osteoporosis more closely resembles that of Caucasians, and if over the age of 64, between 80 percent and 95 percent of bone fractures among African-American women are due to osteoporosis.

As African-American women age, their risk for hip fractures doubles approximately every seven years, and Vitamin D also requires calcium intake to lend optimal protection against fractures. Research also shows that African-American women are more likely than white women to die from hip fractures. Os-Cal® is the only calcium supplement proven to help reduce the risk of hip fractures by 29 percent when used as directed.

For more information about Vitamin D deficiency and how you can help raise awareness in the African American community about this critical health issue please call 1-888-OSCAL4ME.