Research Says Vitamin D Could Prevent Prostate Cancer in Black Men

by Frederick H. Lowe
Daily prescribed doses of vitamin "D" could prevent of all forms of cancer, including prostate cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths among black men, Rick Kittles Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), said during a panel discussion on prostate cancer and black men.

Vitamin D, called ”the sunshine vitamin,” is a hormone that encourages the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous when exposure to natural sunlight is inadequate. The hormone, vitamin D, controls high blood pressure, obesity, metabolism and is effective in fighting diseases, including colon, breast and prostate cancer and Type 2 diabetes, Kittles said.

"All of these diseases have high disparities in the African-American community," he said during a 1 ½-hour panel discussion titled, "The Prostate and Cancer: Everything You Need to Know" at Malcolm X College in Chicago.

Black men have the nation's highest-prostate cancer rates. One reason is a deficiency of vitamin D in their bodies. A two-year UIC study involving 600 black men found that 80 percent were deficient in vitamin D, compared with 50 percent of white men, he explained.

The deficiency can result from lack of exposure to the sun, especially for men who live in the Midwest, the Northeast or the Pacific Northwest, which get little sunlight during the fall and winter. African-American men's dark skin exacerbates the problem because it does not absorb sunlight well.

Prostate cancer also is a heterogeneous disease determined by family history, the person's age and race, Kittles said. Among black men, prostate cancer rates are 250 per 100,000, compared with white men, whose rates are 125 per 100,000. The prostate cancer rate among Asian men is 100 per 100,000, he explained.  Prostate cancer among black men also is a more aggressive form of the disease, compared with other groups.

African-American men and others also are deficient in vitamin D because of lifestyle changes. They wear more clothes, and they work inside buildings, instead of outdoors, Kittles said.

In order to make up for the lack of sunshine, he recommends that black men take daily doses of vitamin D.  Kittles said he takes daily 5,000 international units of vitamin D.  The website medicalnewstoday.com recommends that individuals take Vitamin D3, which can be purchased in health food stores.

Years ago, the medical profession dismissed the importance of vitamin D, and some experts still do, but physicians are re-evaluating their earlier positions, Kittles said.

The panel discussion attracted a standing-room crowd of black men, who peppered panel members with questions.

Terry Mason, M.D., chief medical officer of Cook County Health and Hospitals who was the panel's moderator, said the discussion enabled the medical and scientific community to share information with African-American men, which they want and need.

“Black men want to know about health issues, and they will come out to learn about the issues,” Dr. Mason said.