Slashdot Mirror
Vitamin D, the Sunshine Supplement, Has Shadowy Money Behind It (nytimes.com)
The New York Times tells the story of Dr. Michael Holick, a Boston University endocrinologist "who perhaps more than anyone else is responsible for creating a billion-dollar vitamin D sales and testing juggernaut." From the report: Dr. Holick's role in drafting national vitamin D guidelines, and the embrace of his message by mainstream doctors and wellness gurus alike, have helped push supplement sales to $936 million in 2017. That's a ninefold increase over the previous decade. Lab tests for vitamin D deficiency have spiked, too: Doctors ordered more than 10 million for Medicare patients in 2016, up 547 percent since 2007, at a cost of $365 million. But few of the Americans swept up in the vitamin D craze are likely aware that the industry has sent a lot of money Dr. Holick's way. A Kaiser Health News investigation for The New York Times found that he has used his prominent position in the medical community to promote practices that financially benefit corporations that have given him hundreds of thousands of dollars -- including drug makers, the indoor tanning industry and one of the country's largest commercial labs.
In an interview, Dr. Holick acknowledged he has worked as a consultant to Quest Diagnostics, which performs vitamin D tests, since 1979. Dr. Holick, 72, said that industry funding "doesn't influence me in terms of talking about the health benefits of vitamin D." There is no question that the hormone is important. Without enough of it, bones can become thin, brittle and misshapen, causing a condition called rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. The issue is how much vitamin D is healthy, and what level constitutes deficiency.
In an interview, Dr. Holick acknowledged he has worked as a consultant to Quest Diagnostics, which performs vitamin D tests, since 1979. Dr. Holick, 72, said that industry funding "doesn't influence me in terms of talking about the health benefits of vitamin D." There is no question that the hormone is important. Without enough of it, bones can become thin, brittle and misshapen, causing a condition called rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. The issue is how much vitamin D is healthy, and what level constitutes deficiency.
Can a billion dollar industry form around a vitamin the human body produces itself in ample supply. As the NYT article states, "Drug companies can sell fear, but they can't sell sunlight, so there's no promotion of the sun's health benefits."
Too little of any nutrient and something terrible happens. So we are inclined to play it safe and get more than we need....of everything.
But it isn't always easy to say precisely how much we need, of any of it. And it varies based on a number of factors, including personal factors that aren't really known. And of course we fear the possibility that we might not realize we are getting too little...until it's too late.
Vitamin toxicity is a real thing, it only happens in developed countries and always as a result of supplementation. Though it is clear we need good nutrition, as a culture we seem to be going overboard.
how about some NEWS for NERDS or STUFF that MATTERS? You want to talk about vitamin D? Meanwhile, Elon Musk and Grimes have broken up! And Grimes tells it like it is -- everything from his "big dick" to his fake accent. Guys: Grimes is back on the market. Gay Guys (and ladies): Elon Musk is back on the market (and has a big dick). Also, Elon Musk was put on leave by the Board of Directors. Rei was unavailable for comment.
It's the same general principal as money in politics. You don't actually have to influence the individual for your contribution to further your point of view.
A corporation finds politicians with views naturally aligned to their objectives and helps those politicians get into office.
Similarly, a corporation finds researchers with view naturally aligned to their objectives and helps those researchers get papers into top journals and conferences.
The key is more public funding of science so private donors can't have such a big influence.
I stole this Sig
Why sell sunlight? Vitamin D is in lots of food, green leaf vegetables like kale and spinach etc. oily fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon. And if you eat green veg, and fish you also get a lot of the obscure stuff, and complex proteins and fats you need.
Lack of vitamin D is really just an indicator of a bad diet, getting into the sun more won't fix the bad diet.
"Dr. Holick, 72, said that industry funding "doesn't influence me in terms of talking about the health benefits of vitamin D."
It is arguable that this doctor wasn't directly influenced by lobbying money. However, there is a definite appearance of impropriety. The doctor's statement above is not believable. What he should have said is, "I accepted money that influences me to promote ideas that I already believed in."
The summary makes it sound as if they specialize in Vitamin D level analysis. They’re a general-purpose medical lab and do all sorts of analysis on most body fluids.
Without vitamin D testing they’d still be an industry behemoth. It’s probably not even a rounding error in their bottom line.
#DeleteChrome
USDA daily recommended levels are so high I couldn't possibly hit them even if I ate a perfect diet. Yet I've had blood work done and never once been low on any vitamins. And the only doctor who's ever suggested I take one is my heart doc said I should take a magnesium supplement (but I get the idea that was just to give me something to do rather than an actual doctor's order).
So it would make sense that the high levels of recommended daily allotments were coming from regulatory capture.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
I bought some Zircam from CVS for my cold - later found out that it was zinc and the company in my opinion tries to hide how much zinc is in the medicine - milligrams of zinc is not listed on the bottle or box which is dangerous in my opinion since the upper safe limit of zinc per day is 40mg - in my experience, ignorantly taking too much zinc can cause inflamatory diseases - they need to be required to list zinc content on this medicine in my opinion
One last time:
KALE is what you put AROUND the salad - it is the garnish, it is NOT the salad!
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
My Dr. suggested that I take a Vitamin D supplement. I purchased a bottle of 600 capsules at Costco for something like $12. So it costs me less than $10 per year for a little piece of mind. Do I need it? Maybe, maybe not. There is some cost to manufacturing the vitamins and getting them to the store, so it doesn't seem like there is tremendous profit in Vitamin D. Sure, if there are a couple dollars profit per bottle and everyone purchased the supplement, we are talking about decent money, but everyone doesn't purchase the stuff. It seems like a focus on things that almost everyone buys and that has a higher margin (like cable TV, Internet service, cellular service, etc.) would be a better thing to focus on for profit.
No, Kale should be stir fried, it's a green leaf vegetable similar to pak choi. Don't use it in salad, its not a garnish and its not nice raw.
Are you thinking of cilantro? aka Coriander leafs? Because they can be used as leaf salads, but quite a strong flavor, best to mix with milder leaves.
With or without him, yes, you need vitamin D. Talk to someone who's body doesn't absorb it well if you need more evidence. Institutional information has always been agenda-oriented, this is the first time in my life it has ever reminded me of The Godfather.
The issue is how much vitamin D is healthy, and what level constitutes deficiency.
No, the issue is how much vitamin D you actually absorb from supplements, and how efficacious taking supplements is overall. The most popular supplements have not been shown to provide significant health benefits, including vitamin D. The simple fact is that most supplements are a waste of money.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Big Calcium would be very happy if you did.
In the US if you drink milk (from cows or plants) it's most likely got Vit D added, plus it's also added in many cereals.
Cheech: So, what do you do?
Guy: I own a tanning salon for people to get tan in.
Cheech: How do you get the sun to shine just on the people who pay you, man?
At least one large, voluntary, preventative health group does this survey - Life Extension Foundation. Despite higher than average levels of intake, most people tested had inadequate levels.
http://www.lifeextension.com/M...
Also read vitaminDwiki.com for more medical papers and research.
The Hypothosis is that we spend far more time inside not exposed to the Sun.
Vitamin D supplements replace in a fashion that lost Sun exposre that makes Vitamin D.
https://www.vitamindcouncil.or...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
He has been demonstrating a need for vitamin D since around 2000 (before Holick).
Bottom line:
* Humans are adapted overall for an outdoor lifestyle partially clothed in the sunshine without regular bathing.
* Humans in industrialized countries now spend most of their time indoors -- or travelling in enclosed vehicles where glass is designed to prevent UV transmission to prevent faded carpets but not faded people.
* When humans in industrialized countries go outdoors they tend to wear a lot of clothes.
* Bathing (especially with soap) disrupts the formation of vitamin D by removing natural oils from the skin which are needed to make vitamin D.
Three other factors have made vitamin D deficiency worse:
* Dermatologists claiming time in the sun gives you cancer -- which is a half-truth because while sunlight can increase melanoma risk (a relatively easily treatable cancer), vitamin D reduces cancer risk for many cancers including melanoma -- which is why more office workers get melanomas than outdoor workers and why many office workers get melanomas in places they wear clothes.
* The USA RDA for vitamin D was set to prevent the worst cases of rickets not to ensure optimal health and so for decades has been ten times or more too low. Only recently has it been raised to perhaps adequate for infants but the RDA is still too low for adults
* Historically, a patent was granted for Vitamin D2, a synthetic and less effective form of vitamin D, and that was what doctors pushed instead of the better vitamin D3.
* In order to use vitamin D optimally, you also need a health diet like with vitamin K2 and other cofactors like magnesium, zinc, and boron -- and the standard American diet tends to be lacking in these.
Another complication: if a pregnant or nursing mother has low vitamin D her child will also have low vitamin D -- which may be a contributor to autism and other health problems for young children.
And yet another (politically charged) complication: people with darker skin moving far north or south from the equator are going to be even more impacted by vitamin D deficiency (e.g. especially Somalis moving to Minnesota who also wear burkas and have a high autism rate). Just like people with lighter skin who move to the equator are at elevated risk from melanoma. Skin color is adaptive for latitude (some exceptions being people who get vitamin D in their diet from fish or other animal products). However, this is made more complicated by uncertainty about whether vitamin D needs may differ in connection with other metabolic genes varying along with skin color genes.
Also, while vitamin D is the biggest immediate problem form lack of adequate sunlight, it is not the only substance our skin makes when exposed to sunlight -- so taking the right amount of vitamin D3 is beneficial but maybe not the entire answer.
Yes, there are now conflicts of interest by multiple advocates of adequate Vitamin D3 like with Holick or even now Cannell. But there still is a health crisis going on!
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
"Choose wisely."
choose wisely
Darwin knows, and has an award....
He chose poorly
You should read the medical and research papers collected at vitaminDwiki.com
The life you save might your own....
"Choose wisely."
choose wisely
Darwin knows, and has an award....
He chose poorly
Slashdotters have been decrying it for the last few years! Or was that systemD???
FYI folks!
Low vitamin D can be an indicator of parathyroid cancer. Related to this is high calcium serum level. High calcium serum level can be an indicator of taking too much Vitamin D or of parathyroid cancer.
parathyroid cancer is a very slow cancer for most folks. high calcium serum is a mortality indicator (i.e. if it's high, on average you'll die sooner than most folks).
Just FYI!
While I'm on the horn, if you are between 27 and 33 and get an ache in your groin, and find any kind of hard growth on your testes, that's testicular cancer. It's highly fatal!!! It's also 99.9% curable these days but it's better if you get it cut out before it metastasizes.
You should check your testes regularly when you shower so you know there is not a new hard ball on them!
Final FYI!
Trouble sleeping, night sweats, foggy thinking, reduced sex drive for no reason, and/or constant dread (like you think your boss is going to fire you at the end of the day) could mean low testosterone! It's a simple test. If it's below 300, you need to consider HRT. If it's below 250, you need it. But don't get name brand testosterone ($500 per month) unless you have good insurance. They are extremely expensive. you can get compounded testosterone for $45 per month!!! You may have to mail order it to get that price so $80/month isn't unreasonable locally.
It happens to about 25% of men. Note that female doctors often consider even 200 acceptable and sometimes won't prescribe it so you may need a male doctor.
As a 57 year old testicular cancer survivor on HRT for 14 years now, I recommend it highly!!!
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
In the words of Dr. Dean Edell, this is the "Vitamin D decade", where doctors want you to take it as prophylactic to heart disease. See previous "Vitamin E decade" and "Vitamin C decade".
His radio show reviewed little medical releases and the supporting science behind them. Quacks found it tough going.
It's too bad he went off the air while quack infomercials continue to reign and even a few quack doctor shows, or at least quack-friendly (to say nothing of regular talk shows, studied as medical "disinformation vectors".
Long story short, D will probably peter out as useless like all other vitamin supplements, sans actual demonstrated defficiency illnesses in a patient.
He was very good disassembling add verbiage, pointing out legally meaningless phrases like "promotes good xxx", the reliance of useless testimonials (also cleansed of real claims) and the law firms in DC that literally specialize in helping you craft lying distortions that pass legal muster.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
what he doesn't mention is that all hormones are important
...and I'm not saying they are, the mental health benefits have startled me.
My sister-in-law had persistent blues for a couple of years. Having had five kids I was convinced she was low on Omega 3, which is linked to post-partum depression.
Eventually she turned to me, after months of trying other things like prayer, and said "Ok, George, give me your pills". She didn't try the Omega 3 capsules first, but the vit D instead (25ug). She was cured from one day to the next. Now I call that a result.
However, my flatmate said that it had no effect on her S.A.D. (winter depression) and still uses a light box. But two studies from 15 years ago had high strength vit D as far more effective than lightboxes, so obviously it's not a simple picture.
Ironically, in my case I cured my wake-up depression with Omega 3. I have suffered from depression on waking in the morning and naps. It goes away pretty soon, but it's been unpleasant and consistent. I was avoiding Omega 3 capsules because of reports of oxidised products, so now I have two cans of mackerel a week with about 3g of EPA/DHA (the useful Omega 3, which you don't get from flax seed, or other plants), and that was Christmas time. Since then I've only had wakeup depression a couple of times after eating a lot of nuts (ie, strong sources of Omega 6 which is, as it happens, associated with depression and bipolar if you get too much, and has a relationship with Omega 3; Omega 6 is still 'essential' but you only need a small amount which the industrialisation of farming has upended with veg oil/cooking-fat/margarine having gallons of omega 6 well beyond our needs).
I don't have so much omega 3 because too much also has issues, apparently, such as immuno suppression. In pregnancy studies they said that 3g a day was the safe limit.
I know why they are confused. Everyone is still beating around the bush. Our food supply which is thought to be one of the shining crown jewels of our civilization is literally killing us. The China study revealed sever issues with elevated protien intake. Most of the food readily available is made of refined grain, sugar, and oils. Refined, as in all the nutrients removed. Gobs of whole foods and very light amounts of animal protein will provide all the nutrients you need and allow your body to purge cancer and all other chronic diseases.
Genetic cancer is extremely rare...just 2%. We have significant portions of the population getting cancer...far above 2%.
Look at a graph of chronic disease and you will clearly see the rise, and it is not getting any better.
People focus on diabetes, type 2, but it is really just the symptoms of you killing yourself with shit food...and a harbinger of other diseases soon to follow. Caused by refined flour and sugar. Just stop eating the shit.
Heart disease is caused by excessive protien intake. You can eat whole grains and vegetables and get plenty of protien. There are prize fighters and other accomplished athletes who are vegans for fucks sake.
All of this has been known since the eighties.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
In the end, it is your doctor that advises you.
Any good doctor worth a visit would know to "read between (Dr Holick's) lines" and bring realistic, applicable info to patients.
Consider, also, that most (western patients) are too stupid to realize that Vit D supplements are NOT a replacement for sunshine!
Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.
Advertising shills.