When Dr. Nakiisa Rogers, a mammographer, started seeing an influx of patients in their 30s being diagnosed with breast cancer with no family history, she began digging.
Screening tests are covered by insurance when patients have a family history or are over 40 years of age. According to Rogers, these patients, which fell in the 30-39 age range and did not have a family history, weren’t covered by their insurance to get a screening.
The lack of coverage for these patients prompted Rogers to investigate what could be causing these younger diagnoses. What she found was that vitamin D, a key nutrient many are deficient in, may lead to a higher risk for breast cancer, and that the deficiency adversely affects Black and brown people, like herself and her family.
Rogers’ mission is to bring to light these findings and lobby for legislation for insurance to cover early baseline exams at age 30 and 35, but to do so, more people need to understand vitamin D. What is it? What does it do? What can I do to increase my levels if they are low?
Here are the answers:
What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is the nutrient your body uses to build and maintain healthy bones. Calcium makes your bones stronger, but your body can only absorb calcium when vitamin D is present. The key nutrient also supports immune health and muscle and brain function.
There are two types of vitamin D, Rogers said. Vitamin D3 is produced when skin is exposed to UV-B sunlight and accounts for 90% of the vitamin D in the body. Vitamin D2 comes from food.
While it is such an important nutrient with complex tasks, it is estimated that 1 billion people worldwide have a deficiency in the nutrient.
“Vitamin D is the most common nutrient deficiency in the U.S.,” said Katie Shepard, a registered dietician nutritionist.
How do I know if I am deficient?
There is only one way to know if you are truly vitamin D deficient: get your blood tested.
“I feel like the most important thing is for people to get their levels checked by a health care provider so you can understand where you’re at,” Shepard said.
Some patients with low vitamin D have reported feeling fatigued, Shepard said, but the only way to know that you are deficient is to have your blood drawn. According to Rogers, if you have more melanin, you may even be at a greater risk of deficiency.
“Our melanin absorbs UVB sunlight. It’s not allowing it to get to the lower level of the skin where the reaction takes place to make the vitamin D,” Rogers said.
There are about twice as many breast cancer cases in Black women compared to white women, and Black women have higher mortality and aggressive cancer rates.
Rogers is concerned because many of these women don’t even know they are deficient in vitamin D, and on top of that, they cannot afford to get a screening without insurance. As someone whose whole family was found to be deficient upon testing, Rogers wants Black and brown women to understand the dangers of low vitamin D and act, even if you aren’t sure you’re deficient.
The testing itself can be as low as $79, but, as Rogers explains, that is still a barrier.
“We need more widespread testing available to be covered by insurance or we need more affordable tests,” Rogers said. “$79, that is kind of expensive, so we need change.”
What are the negative effects of deficiency?
Aside from Rogers’ breast cancer research, other experts have warned about the dangers of low vitamin D.
Shepard said bone health is a big concern.
“Young children can develop issues,” Shepard said. “In older adults (vitamin D deficiency) can cause osteomalacia, a softening of the bones.”
In her letter to the legislators regarding changing insurance policies, Rogers cites links between deficiency and abnormal bone growth, osteoporosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, other cancers, autoimmune diseases, higher susceptibility to infection, dementia, depression and obesity.
What is the solution?
While the nutrient is not found naturally in many foods, there are some ways to incorporate it into your diet, according to registered dietician Steven Lalevich.
First is fatty fish. Salmon is a great fatty fish to incorporate into your diet a couple times per week, according to Shepard and Lalevich.
Milk is required in the U.S. to be fortified with vitamin D, so a few glasses per week would get your levels up. Shepard also explains that some brands of yogurt are fortified as well, but she advises people to always check the nutrition labels.
The final food that made the list is mushrooms, but, for them to provide the nutrients, they have to do a bit of sunbathing themselves.
“Mushrooms are kind of like humans in that they create vitamin D from sun exposure,” Lalevich said.
When you buy a pack of mushrooms, cut them up, place them on a baking sheet and set them outside for a while before eating. This gives them time to make vitamin D before you enjoy.
Aside from the foods containing the essential nutrient, being in the sun is the best way to absorb it, but it does come with a few caveats.
“The other way to get vitamin D is to get 10 minutes of sun exposure per day,” Shepard said. “In order to get that, however, you can’t be wearing sunscreen.”
For Black and brown people, this may not do the trick. Rogers suggests getting tested so that a doctor may prescribe a supplement that can increase your levels.
“I want people to understand it’s not a situation where if you’re walking around at a super low level and you get up to the normal range with a prescription of vitamin D, you can stop taking it,” Rogers said.
Like other vitamins, vitamin D supplements have to be taken every day to be effective, but levels should be checked first so you don’t overdo it.
Overall
As Rogers continues to lobby for change when it comes to testing and early breast exams, the number of early onset breast cancer patients continues to rise. While the cause is unknown, vitamin D may be the key, and deficiency may be the cause of the issue some are facing now.
“There are a lot of people walking around who are chronically deficient,” Rogers said. “I have seen it in my children … I have seen it in my patients. I just want to get the message out.”
For more information about vitamin D deficiency testing, visit anylabtestnow.com. For more information about breast exams and screenings, call your health care provider.
Vitamin D lack, blacks’ heart risk linked – Indianapolis Recorder
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
To the indianapolisrecorder.com administrator, Thanks for the valuable information!