The Hill News

Over last few weeks I have questioned the intent of Maine's Senator Susan Collins in her drive to overturn school-nutrition recommendations made by our nation’s most recognized medical authority, the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (IOM).  Specifically, the Senator takes issue with the recommendation to moderate potato and overall starchy vegetable servings from being unlimited to 2 servings a week in school lunches.  A broader concern, however, is the impact of politicians trying to trump scientific evidence that the medical community relies upon to improve the health of our nation and its children.

The IOM’s purpose is to provide biomedical science, medicine and health advice to the public based on the most thorough reviews of evidence-based medicine.  The Institute does this in an unbiased and authoritative fashion, and its recommendations for policy are considered the most respected views on health in our nation.  Congress often funds IOM ! studies and implements its recommendations.

The conclusions of the IOM can sometimes be surprising, even to the medical experts who serve on its panels.  One example of such a surprise was a recent IOM report on Vitamin D.  One of Maine’s most admired physicians, Dr. Clifford Rosen, served on this panel, which concluded that the doses of Vitamin D recommended by health professionals are in many cases too high.  Though a surprise, these results have changed the way physicians now recommend Vitamin D to their patients. 

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