A study conducted at the University of Toronto tested blood levels of students there and found many of them to be surprisingly low in Vitamin D.

The CTV report states:

• Among those of European origin, with lighter skin, 34 per cent had insufficient levels of vitamin D.
• Among those from East Asian or Chinese descent, 85 per cent had insufficient levels.
• Among those from South Asia — countries such as India — 93 per cent had insufficient levels.
• And among those of African ancestry, 100 per cent — everyone tested — had insufficient levels. And among this group, about 43 per cent were considered deficient, with levels below 25 nmol/L.

Some have responded by inquiring into governmental recommendations for vitamin D. The Globe and Mail said,

Currently, Health Canada doesn’t have a racially based recommendation for vitamin D, and tells everyone to take the same amount.

But racially-based recommendations would be misleading.

Race is a social construct that has no objective basis in science. Any recommendations attempting to provide suggestions based on racial lines would be misleading.

The New England Journal of Medicine stated in May 3, 2001,

Race is a social construct, not a scientific classification.

In medicine, there is only one race — the human race.

The real factor involved here is skin pigmentation, the darker colours filtering out UV light that is needed to produce vitamin D in the bloodstream.

Racial groups present a wide spectrum of skin pigmentations, and broad recommendations would overlook this internal diversity.

Focusing on skin colour instead would help vulnerable populations identify when they are at risk.

Although Vitamin D is not a magic bullet, it does help fight cancer, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and susceptibility to tuberculosis and influenza.