aloharedhots

Eileen,
To answer your question about African American women...
I asked my friend in med school what they would tell them to do in that situation and CURRENTLY this is what they suggest:

[i]Objective: The objective was to determine the response of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] to oral vitamin D3 supplementation in an African American population.

Design: Healthy black postmenopausal women (n = 208) participated in a vitamin D3 supplementation trial for a period of 3 y. Analyses were done in the vitamin D supplementation arm (n = 104) to quantify the response in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations at a steady state vitamin D input. The participants received 20 µg/d (800 IU) oral vitamin D3 for the initial 2 y and 50 µg/d (2000 IU) for the third year.

Results: Supplementation with 20 µg/d (800 IU/d) vitamin D3 raised the mean serum 25(OH)D concentration from a baseline of 46.9 ± 20.6 nmol/L to 71.4 ± 21.5 nmol/L at 3 mo. The mean (±SD) concentration of serum 25(OH)D was 87.3 ± 27.0 nmol/L 3 mo after supplementation increased to 50 µg/d (2000 IU/d). All participants achieved a serum 25(OH)D concentration >35 nmol/L, 95% achieved a concentration >50 nmol/L, but only 60% achieved a concentration >75 nmol/L. All patients had concentrations <153 nmol/L. On the basis of our findings, an algorithm for prescribing vitamin D so that patients reach optimal serum concentrations was developed. The algorithm suggests a dose of 70 µg (2800 IU/d) for those with a concentration >45 nmol/L and a dose of 100 µg (4000 IU/d) for those with a concentration <45 nmol/L.

Conclusions: Supplementation with 50 µg/d (2000 IU/d) oral vitamin D3 is sufficient to raise serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations to >50 nmol/L in almost all postmenopausal African American women. However, higher doses were needed to achieve concentrations >75 nmol/L in many women in this population.

That is what they recommend. My friend says that they only very rarely recommend tanning lamps for any kind of treatment bc there are so many more harmful effects (according to her and what they teach in med school). She said so far everyone she has done rotations for has felt that way and they preach moderation, not burning, staying in the shade, staying out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day, never going to tanning beds, and of course eating a balanced diet.

Please keep in mind I just wanted to answer Eileen's question, I haven't personally conducted mass studies and this is just what someone currently in med school had to say about what they teach at this point in time. If you have conducted your own clinical research to prove otherwise then by all means march your butt to Washington to get the curriculum changed!