Optimizing vitamin D through diet and supplements can help reduce the risk and prevent the development of age-related diseases so prevalent within the African American population. These individuals, for various reasons, have a hard time maintaining adequate blood levels.
All of the cells in your body have a Vitamin D receptor, so when your cells are Vitamin D3 deficient, your cells are not working the way they should. This can lead to diabetes, hypertension, and adrenal disease.
The majority of the U.S. population is deficient in vitamin D; but within the African-American population, 98 percent are affected by vitamin D deficiency.
Why is this sunshine vitamin so important to everyone's health, and especially within the African-American population?
The pigmentation of your skin can prevent the conversion of vitamin D to vitamin D3. In order for this process to occur, your skin needs to let ultraviolet rays in.
Dr. Richard Walker joins Dr. Mike to discuss the benefits of vitamin D3 and its impact on this at-risk population.
Thursday, 27 February 2014 14:22
Race & Vitamin D3 Deficiency: Are You At Risk?
Low vitamin D plays a role in all age-related diseases, specifically those afflicting African Americans.
Additional Info
- Segment Number: 3
- Audio File: healthy_talk/1409ht4c.mp3
- Featured Speaker: Richard Walker, MD
- Organization: Square One Publishers
- Book Title: AFRICAN-AMERICAN HEALTHY: What You Need to Protect Your Health
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Guest Bio:
Richard W. Walker, Jr., MD, received his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and completed his residency at the University of Michigan.
He has served on the faculty of the University of Texas Medical Center, and is the founder and medical director of HealthE & Well, PC, a Houston-based health center.
In addition to having his work published in peer-reviewed publications such as the American Journal of Adolescent Health and the Journal of Texas Medicine along with Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, the author is also a highly sought-after speaker.
In African-American Healthy, Dr. Walker begins by looking at the black community's lifestyle, which has radically changed over the centuries; shifting people from hours spent under the sun to a life of minimal sunlight exposure that decreases the body's production of vitamin D.
Most important, the doctor explains how vitamin D3 can be integrated with important lifestyle components such as diet and exercise. He focuses on each major illness affecting the black community and explores what it is, what its symptoms are, and how the reader can avoid or treat the problem. - Length (mins): 10
- Waiver Received: No
- Internal Notes: eWaiver
- Host: Dr. Michael Smith, MD
Published in
Healthy Talk w/ Dr. Michael Smith
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