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Winning the Internet: Vitamin D Edition

Someone just told me they were Vitamin D deficient. I immediately Googled “How to get vitamin D”. (This is what I do, don’t ask.) What is shocking to me was the first link.  It’s the Vitamin D Council. There is a whole non-profit, a council dedicated to Vitamin D. You get Vitamin D from sunlight or supplements.  Here is their history blurb:

The Vitamin D Council was formed in 2003 by current Executive Director John J Cannell, MD. He believed that there were likely bad consequences in getting so little sun exposure (cough, vitamin D deficiency) and wanted to do something about it. So, he founded the Vitamin D Council to educate the public on the importance of sun exposure and vitamin D.

So already, I was like, “Wow, they have everything on the web!”. But then I dug a step deeper.  They have a Twitter account.

vit-D

Now I have, in this one picture I have several major questions…

  1. Four thousand tweets about Vitamin D?? How the hell do you sustain that?!
  2. Fourteen thousand followers?! Who the hell follows them?!
  3. There is a Vitamin D Day?!? Who is celebrating this holiday? Are there really people who celebrate Vitamin D day? How do you meet these people?

Then I saw this article from Quora asking of the Vitamin Council is legit. It seems like they aren’t trying to sell anything more than membership, so I think it’s legit. On the other hand, I have no idea why you would pay $1000 to be a lifetime member of the Vitamin D council. Right now, my head is spinning.

This is freaking me out. So I asked, “Are there other councils for other vitamins? Is there a Vitamin C site? DUH! Yes there is a Vitamin C site!

Holy crap, that is such an ugly site. Vitamin D is kicking Vitamin C’s ass! They are claiming that Vitamin C deficiency is the #1 cause of death! WHAT?!?  Now this site looks like a scam. You can purchase supplements there. Vitamin D is much more educational. Vitamin C sucks!

Do a Google search for any vitamin and you get Vitamin D. They are winning the internet right now. For all the work they do on the internet, it’s a miracle they get enough sunlight.

The internet has everything. I need to go outside.

 

Comments

3 responses to “Winning the Internet: Vitamin D Edition”

  1. Dipti Avatar
    Dipti

    Awesome writeup! Vitamin D deficiency seems like no big deal, but for those who have experienced the consequences it’s anything but. Good to see a legitimate organization and passionate people behind this cause. And, here’s another timely article on this topic in today’s HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-david-samadi/vitamin-d-may-be-the-most-important-nutrient-you-need_b_8235466.html

    Reply
  2. Dan Lipka Avatar
    Dan Lipka

    There is not only the Vitamin D Council, there is also the Vitamin D Foundation, and the Vitamin D Alliance. The Council is the only one with money, with revenue of $180K (in 2013). It seems pretty legit, with a full time Development Director and a part time Executive Director (although they spend 25% of revenue on fundraising, which isn’t great).They also spent $27K on their website.

    Of course, there is a the Vitamin D Workshop University of California Riverside. http://www.vitamindworkshop.org/. They spend about $200K each year setting up Vitamin D workshops (people pay to register). Interesting.

    Reply
  3. Glen Lipka Avatar
    Glen Lipka

    It’s nutty. Vitamin D is the king of the vitamins. Suck it Vitamin C!

    Reply

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