Roughly three times as many black Americans as white Americans will develop kidney failure in their lifetime.
7.8% of African-American women and 7.3% of African-American men, or 1 in 13 blacks, will be diagnosed with the disorder that is fatal without kidney dialysis or transplant. Less than 2% of white women and 2.5% of white men will develop the disorder.
End-stage renal disease was found to cut the life expectancy of women by nearly as much as breast cancer. The disorder took more years off the lives of black men than did colon, rectal and prostate cancer, according to the analysis based on national data on rates of kidney failure for a hypothetical group of 20-year-olds.
The Medicare costs of caring for patients with kidney failure will increase to more than $28 billion in 2010 from $12 billion in 1998.
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology June 2002;13:1635
Interestingly, that the study also finds an association between end-stage renal disease with prostate and breast cancer. All three have similar causes.
The major key and solution here is to recognize that the skin of most African Americans is deeply pigmented and prevents them from absorbing sufficient quantities of UV-B to generate vitamin D in their skin. This, of course, is also true for many others who migrate to the US from tropical climates.
I believe the vast majority of African Americans suffer major health problems as result of the climate in the US. The sunshine is just not intense enough to penetrate the pigment in their skin and support their optimal health. It is very important that people are spending time outdoors, especially during the summer months, in order to absorb enough UV-B.
Fortunately, we have the technology to easily compensate for this. The simple solution is cod liver oil, which contains the same vitamin D that we make in our skin, vitamin D3. African Americans should take this supplement most of their lives to compensate for the cooler climate and lack of strong sun (particularily in the northern states).
Carlson cod liver oil would clearly be the best and highest quality brand that I know of. We do not sell this online, but most health food stores carry it.
This is a very important message for the African American community and I would encourage you to spread it widely as it could save many lives.
Oh, by the way does it seem unusual that the US spends nearly 30 billion dollars in a few years for kidney disease?
On a side note:
Did you know the amount the US spends on kidney disease will jump to almost 30 billion dollars in just a few years?
Most of you are probably unaware of this problem and its enormous expense. Nearly everyone in the US with chronic renal failure qualifies for Medicare, which then pays all the bills for dialysis and transplantation. The treatment costs are "hidden" from the public as the tax dollars.
I realize that many countries have socialized medicine and that there are clearly some benefits to that type of system. However, the underlying principles of Medicare are in direct conflict with the intention of those who founded the US more than 200 years ago.
I am not a big fan of Medicare and have never accepted payments from the federal government, nor do I ever plan on doing so.
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