New findings on Vitamin D3 - Page 9

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

On 3/13/2015 mskringle said:
On 3/13/2015 sfnative said:
I came back to read a few replies and actually clicked on the link and read about the organizatioin, "ION." This organization makes great claims, seemingly with its origins occuring during or around the time of Lincoln's presidency. Sounds pretty buff. Read on. I quote from the site:

"The ION asks and answers the nation's most pressing questions about health and health care." This makes them sound like caretakers of secret clinical information. If they are as important as they think they are, why isn't ION a household name, like FDA?

Additionally, they go on to state that they are volunteers with time and expertise to advance knowledge. And that they conduct many clinical studies. (paraphrased)

Volunteers (?) with THAT much time able to conceive of a study, write the abstract and study, procure funding, submit to an IRB for approval, procure professional staff for the staff, etc., etc.

I ask all of this because I worked for a number of years in a regulatory position relative to clinical research and I've never heard of ION. Never. Organizations familiar to me are NIH, FDA, OHRP and the like. ION - nope.

You all just keep listening to your physicians. I plan to. You're doing the right thing regarding D3.

You are questioning the significance of the organization "ION" and you are not familiar with them. Actually, it is IOM - the Institute of Medicine. I agree that you seem to be unfamiliar with them.

The IOM works on issues and publish reports about a number of significant health topics. The members are comprised of experts from across the country - individuals that everyone in the field would acknowledge are the actual experts on a topic. Being involved in an IOM study and being a member of the National Academy of Sciences is about as prestigious as you can get - but there are a few things that are more prestigious such as getting a Nobel Prize. When they study an issue, they bring together the top people on that specific issue. The main people who read the reports are interested faculty and researchers in medical schools, government officials, and leaders in private industry. Their work helps inform policy and helps create guidelines for the future of healthcare. Unless you're working on issues at that level, you probably wouldn't have heard of them. Their work is conducted on a broad scale and addresses broad issues, in contrast to a lot of research that gets published about a narrow aspect of a problem. I've worked peripherally with people who were involved with IOM reports and these have been very impressive individuals. It is an honor to participate in an IOM project, and yes, people do volunteer their time - a lot of it.

Before anyone starts thinking this is some secret organization, it is not. The IOM doesn't have any actual power to change things. But because the individuals who participate in doing these studies are at the top of their fields, there is a chance that the significant health problems or issues they are focusing on will actually get the attention of those who have the power to do something about them.

Pardon me - a keystroke error.

However, after having read their marketing piece, I could not help but be unimpressed, due to their impressiveness with themselves.

After the read, one is left with the impression that they are indeed imbued with the power to change things. They've paid some pretty good bucks to the folks who wrote the various pieces for their website.

Lila4Now · ‎08-13-2011

Why do people take advice from who knows who on the internet, and won't even discuss their personal needs with their family physician? Just doesn't make any sense to me.

MizKringle · ‎03-09-2010

On 3/13/2015 sfnative said:

Pardon me - a keystroke error.

However, after having read their marketing piece, I could not help but be unimpressed, due to their impressiveness with themselves.

After the read, one is left with the impression that they are indeed imbued with the power to change things. They've paid some pretty good bucks to the folks who wrote the various pieces for their website.

I don't think they are marketing themselves nor do they need to. And I certainly don't get the impression that they are impressed with themselves. I doubt they care what any of us thinks about them. Why would they? They have already been designated at national/international experts. Why would they care what you or I think about them?

As you and I have both noted, the people who work on these reports volunteer their time. These projects can take years to do and the experts give lots of their time. They look at the evidence from tons of studies, examine it critically, and they do original supplemental research as necessary. Their recommendations are as evidence based as you can get. That doesn't mean the science won't change in 20 years - but it's the best information available at the time.

Examples of other reports include: Sharing clinical trial data, Facilitating patient understanding of discharge instructions, Ensuring patient access to affordable cancer drugs, Improving quality and honoring individual preferences near the end of life, Assessing genomic sequencing information for health care decision making, and many, many more. Here's one that looks like it would be a real page turner: Refining Processes for the Co-Development of Genome-Based Therapeutics and Companion Diagnostic Tests.

You may not be impressed that experts have volunteered their time to do research on such topics and create these reports, but I am certainly glad that they have done so.

eta: For most of the people who work on this stuff, it is their life's work. It is stuff they care passionately about. That is why they do it.

Reever · ‎03-14-2010

My vitamin D came back at 29 so the doctor recommended 4000 IU of vitamin D which I get fro two small capsules I buy at Target, My recent blood work came back at 49 so they are definitely working.

MizKringle · ‎03-09-2010

Reever - glad to see it helped you.

In my part of the country, I know I didn't get enough Vitamin D from the sun this winter. I had finally started taking 1,000 units of Vit D on some days this winter. I've never been very good at taking supplements, and some days I'd just skip it. But becoming aware of the guidelines as a result of this thread has made me decide to go up to 2,000. I guess I already knew that at at 1,000, it was probably on the low side for me. If I end up spending a lot of time outdoors this summer, maybe I'll go back down to 1,000.

Buttercup - aka BC · ‎01-13-2014

OP the simple answer is, ask your doctor to include a D3 test in your next chem panel. He/she will advise you what dose to take. Mine were low and my rheumatologist told me to take 4000 units, I did and next time the levels were in the normal range. It's that simple.

PS I get mine at Trader Joe's, they're reasonably priced 1000 unit caps so the amount is tailored to the need.