Okay people, if you never were a fan of sitting out in the sun here’s some news that may make you reconsider. It seems that many of us have a lack of Vitamin D. While that in itself may not seem like a big deal that deficiency may lead to variety of things from preterm births to breast cancer, colon cancer (and prostate cancer in men). Do I have your attention now?

The Chicago Sun Times reports today that ‘darker-skinned people who lives far from the Equator gets little sun exposure and consumes little Vitamin D’ are at risk for a variety of health issues. Apparently African Americans (both adults and children) have lower levels of the vitamin than white Americans do. But the truth is we don’t consume a lot of fortified dairy products because our bodies simply cannot handle them (lactose intolerance) and eating large amounts of fatty fish (another good source) simply may not be in the budget. Let’s be real here.

If you’re pregnant or thinking about having a baby you’ve got more reason to be aware of your Vitamin D levels.  Your lack of Vitamin D can make you predisposed to contracting bacterial vaginosis (BV), an infection that often leads to preterm births according to a University of Pittsburgh study published in The Journal of Nutrition. (In fact, sisters are three times as likely as white women to get BV.) This may be one the reasons we have such high infant mortality rates too.

When it comes to studies, our community can be quite suspicious (with good reason). But knowing this is a good thing—and may eventually explain why we are so hard hit by the aforementioned cancers. So what’s the answer? Do we need to take more Vitamin D supplements? Sit out in the sun?

Well here’s the not so great news, scientists don’t actually agree on what the answer is.(Yes, I am annoyed about that too.)  Supplements could definitely help but the recommendations vary widely (from 200 IU to 1000 IU per day). And while a person with paler skin would increase their Vitamin D levels by sitting in the sun for a mere 15 minutes a day, we’d need to sit out for 2 hours. Sisters don’t have time for themselves as it is so sitting out in the sun for two hours sounds like the stuff of fairy tales.

Scientists are supposedly putting their heads together so they can issue new guidelines next year. But until then it wouldn’t hurt sisters to take a Vitamin D supplement (talk to your doctor/nutritionist about the dosage) and spend a bit more time out in the sun whenever you can. But please don’t forget the sunscreen, black folks get skin cancer too!

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