Pill Pusher

My mom became a big believer in over the counter health supplements about the time she started to get old and have age related problems. She then became, IMO, a bit too much of a True Believer in alternative medicine--not that some of it ain't helpful and true, but not all of it. Like anything else in the world other than chocolate of any kind, supplements and vitamins have their uses (or we would all be suffering from scurvy and rickets) but they are not always the Holy Grail of health.

After my mom died a couple of years ago, as executor of her will I become heir apparent to every magazine and advertising flier that she was getting, and man, you would not believe some of the stuff I got (PS: if you just woke up from a seven year nap, when you buy or order stuff, the people you buy it from keep a record and sell your address and name to people who want to sell you similar stuff). Powders to make you younger. Pills to make you stronger. Drinks to clean out your system from excess, um, you know, and therefore get rid of your pot belly because they assure you (in capital letters) that your pot belly is nothing more than old stored, um, you know.

No wonder we buy a lot of this stuff in the hopes it will make us faster, stronger, healthier, smarter, and wiser. Some of it does. A lot of it simply makes the seller a lot richer.

I am not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV. I recommend you get solid supplement advice from your local MD (not from those advertising fliers!). Your age, your health, and your gender may play an important role in what's necessary for your body to stay as strong and healthy as possible.

In addition, we all know (but would like to ignore) that the best way to ingest necessary vitamins and minerals and other Good Things is to eat them in our foods. Eat lots of varied plant foods and less sugar and fat. We don't do this, of course, because we'd rather eat that chocolate cream pie and take a multivitamin and hope they cancel each other out. As if.

Here's what I ingest in pill form and why. Again, this isn't a recommendation. It's just information.

Fish oil capsule: one a day. Giant size. There is scientific proof that omega 3 helps slow down heart disease. There is also some evidence that it increases muscular strength in athletes.

Vitamin D capsule: 1000 mg a day. Yes, I get out in the sun a lot. But Vitamin D is essential for strong bone systems and other good health things and with sunscreen, you aren't always getting the amount you should get. You can also have your MD check your Vitamin D levels now with a simple blood test.

Vitamin C capsule: 1000 mg a day. Yeah, I know, Linus Paul was wrong. No studies indicate that additional Vitamin C (assuming you get enough in your diet) helps stave off colds or cancer or even bad karma. However, this is one of those where I am playing the odds against scientific research. Trust in Allah, but tie your camel. Excess C is excreted naturally, so if I don't need it, it's going away anyway.

Calcium capsule 1000 mg a day: very important for females, but I understand it's now being deemed important for males as well. Bone loss is a major issue with women especially as they age. Calcium is critical at a younger age, but even at an older age it can help slow bone loss.

Magnesium pill 500 mg 3 times a week: this is to offset some of the fun effects of taking calcium, which, without going into detail, may otherwise tempt you to buy one of those advertised drinks to clean out your system (and allegedly lose that belly fat instantly!)

Juice Plus vegetable and fruit pill supplements: another off center thing for me. JP is a pyramid sales item so it's hard for me to trust anything that makes its salespeople dough mostly when they convert--er, sign up other sales people to sell more of it (think Amway). Still, the idea behind it is intruiging: take fruits and veggies, dehydrate them, and crush them into powder and put that powder into pill form (or drink form). No evidence exists that this stuff really does get fruit and veggie goodness into your system. But there's no evidence it doesn't either. Just my momma in me coming out on this one, I guess. I noticed an increase in energy when I started taking these supplements. But that could be all in my head. Then again, my head or my bod, any increase in energy is welcome at 53!

That's all I take. If I were younger, I might also be taking a folic acid supplement. I eat a lot of leafy greens though, for the average American, and a great deal of fruit, so I hope I offset what I am not taking with what I am eating and drinking.

I'm always interested in hearing what supplements others take and why/how they swear by them. But don't try to sell me on that cleanser drink. I'll lose my belly fat the old fashioned way--by closing my eyes and wishing it away.