THIRTEEN VITAMINS I TAKE EACH DAY
Many people I met in June at the Lori Foster Event saw the baggies of vitamins I had. My husband takes his duties very seriously and one of them is making sure I take vitamins. He joked a while back that he should look up and do a TT for them and I told him to go for it. Keeping in mind of course that this morning alone, my baggie contains THIRTY vitamins (I do not kid) and he makes three such baggies for me to take each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The lunch and dinner vitamin baggies contain about half the vitamins the morning bag does. So here it is… Thirteen Vitamins my dude gives me each day and he’s given links that talk about what they do, etc. Just click the name of the vitamin if you’re interested.
1. POMEGRANATE EXTRACT Researchers found that pomegranate juice not only appears to prevent hardening of the arteries by reducing blood vessel damage, but the antioxidant-rich juice may also reverse the progression of this disease.
2. GINKGO Although not definitive, there is promising early evidence favoring use of ginkgo for memory enhancement in healthy subjects.
3. OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS There is evidence from multiple large-scale population (epidemiologic) studies and randomized controlled trials that intake of recommended amounts of DHA and EPA in the form of dietary fish or fish oil supplements lowers triglycerides, reduces the risk of death, heart attack, dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, and strokes in people with known cardiovascular disease, slows the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques (”hardening of the arteries”), and lowers blood pressure.
4. VITAMIN D A large daily dose of vitamin D can dramatically lower the risk of developing common cancers, including breast, ovarian and colon cancers, by up to 50 percent, according to American researchers.
5. TURMERIC A report appearing in the October, 2006 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease described the discovery of researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System that curcumin, a compound occurring in the spice turmeric, assists the immune system in the clearance of amyloid beta in the brain. Amyloid beta is a substance that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients to form the plaques that are characteristic of the disease.
6. COENZYME Q10 (CoQ10) CoQ10 is a potent antioxidant which appears to have a particularly strong effect upon cardiac tissue.
7. ALPHA-LIPOIC ACID Lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant which appears to amplify the effects of other antioxidants. There is strong evidence for it being effective in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy and good evidence it prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and may be protective, generally, against oxidative stress and, specifically, against atherosclerosis, ischemia-reperfusion injury and various radiologic and chemical toxins. There is less evidence that it might be helpful in some neurodegenerative conditions. There is preliminary evidence that it might have some immune-modulating effects. It has been suggested that lipoic acid may slow aging of the brain and that it may be an anti-aging substance, in general.
8. GREEN TEA: The September 13, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association published a report by researchers in Japan that a high intake of green tea was associated with a reduction in mortality from all causes as well as from cardiovascular disease during an 11 year follow-up period.
9. ACETYL-L-CARNITINE ALCAR has well documented neuroprotective effects, some evidence of enhanced cognitive function due to its efficiency at transporting fatty acids to the brain where they are burned for energy and in one study was shown to actually promote the growth of new neurites in the brain.
10. L-THEANINE Theanine is an amino acid which crosses the blood-brain barrier and exerts psychoactive effects. There is excellent documentation that it stimulates the production of alpha brain waves which are associated with a relaxed but alert mental state.
11. RESVERATROL: Resveratrol has been shown in animal models to dramatically extend lifespans. A 2006 study showed that mice that were fed a high-calorie, high-fat diet to lived normal, active lives despite becoming obese when supplemented with resveratrol — the first time any compound has been shown to do that. Tests found that the agent activated a host of genes that protect against aging, essentially neutralizing the adverse effects of the bad diet on the animals’ health and longevity.
12. SPIRULINA: Spirulina is a micro-algae that is a good source of protein and vitamins. Concentrated into tablets, it is a convenient way to supplement the diet.
13. LUTEIN Lutein is an antioxidant with strong support for the ability to prevent age-related macular degeneration.
Name:Lauren Dane
Wow, now if only someone would combine all the into one uber-mega-healthy pill, then I might remember to take it. I’m the world’s worst pill taker.
by Ann Aguirre August 9th, 2007 at 11:45 amI’m awful at it. It takes me an hour to swallow my 30 morning vitamins and he takes even more than I do.
by laurendane August 9th, 2007 at 11:59 amOnce you’ve got all those in your stomach, do you have room for coffee and oatmeal?
I’m really, really bad about not taking vitamins. I’ve got a whole cabinet full of them, and I’ll take them for a few days then just absolutely forget. I’m not sure how I can forget when I can’t open the cabinet to get out anything else without a half dozen bottles falling on my head, but yet I do.
I need a daily vitamin reminder! Or a husband who puts them in my hand (preferably with a cup of coffee) and tells me to take them!
by Ember August 9th, 2007 at 12:20 pmDear lord! I thought my one multi-vitamin and one folic acid ones were bad. Just those two upset my stomach. I can’t imagine having to take more.
It’s cute that your hubby cares about your health that much. :-)
by Kate Scott August 9th, 2007 at 12:23 pmOoops. I just realized: I really ought to take better care of myself.
These are great tips, Lauren! Now if only I could find that pill that turns me into Wonder Woman, dang…where is it…ooh! It’s my sleeping pill. LOL.
by Red August 9th, 2007 at 12:24 pmEmber, he stands over me and scowls until I take them, LOL. And I eat and drink my coffee first or I’d get nauseated.
Kate, when i was pregnant I didn’t take nearly as many because you don’t know what the affects would be so I had a reprieve for a while.
LOL, Red!
by Lauren August 9th, 2007 at 12:28 pmAck! I’d go crazy trying to swallow all those pills, but what great care dh takes of you. You’re a lucky lady.
Happy TT!
by Nicole Austin August 9th, 2007 at 1:01 pmHoly Cow! (That’s what I said aloud when I read that you take THIRTY pills a day.)
It’s very sweet that he prepares them for you every day. I can barely remember to take 2. I’m sure I’d get in trouble for never remembering…hmm, a spanking…I may have to look into this…
by Collette August 9th, 2007 at 1:14 pmLOL! Collette, that’s just in the morning! I take about 15 more at lunch and 15 more at dinner. And there are lots of ways to get in trouble, heee!
by Lauren August 9th, 2007 at 1:16 pmThanks, Nic! I’m used to it now but I’m not a very good pill taker.
by Lauren August 9th, 2007 at 1:16 pm60 pills a day averages out to a pill every 24 minutes. (Yeah, I did the math–I’m weird like that.)
Can you tell the difference? Did you start taking all of them at once or was there a gradual ramping up to see if you could track the effects? (Because I’m weird like that too.)
by Collette August 9th, 2007 at 1:19 pmThere are things I really feel when I don’t take them - glucosamine for instance. I have a crap knee and when I don’t take it for two days or so I can feel it.
The other stuff is all accumulative. I’m more awake and alert when I take them on a regular basis and aside from the fall and winter from hell last year when the middle kiddo started school and brought home every disease known to man, I get sick less often and when I do get sick, it clears up quicker.
The mental stuff I think is something I’m most aware of over time.
by Lauren August 9th, 2007 at 1:23 pmJust the thought of taking that many pills makes me back away nervously. You can’t reach through the computer screen, right?
I’m the world’s biggest sissie when it comes to taking pills, but good on you!
by Shelley Munro August 9th, 2007 at 1:37 pmI don’t think I could take all of those pills (for one thing I usually don’t have an hour in the morning- I’m up and out the door in 45 minutes
), but I am definitely thinking of adding one or two to my mornings- the fish oil, the vitamin d, and definitely the lutein (I have enough trouble seeing as it is, not MD for me).
by Ann August 9th, 2007 at 2:39 pmLOL, I don’t sit around for an hour doing nothing but taking vitamins. I have my baggie and my bottle of water with me when I’m doing all sorts of other things. Multi tasking is the key.
LOL Shell - I am too. really it’s because he goes to all the trouble and it becomes routine over time.
by Lauren August 9th, 2007 at 2:42 pmYou know, you could combine plant sterols (could for reducing cholestrol) with your Omega-3. There’s at least one company that uses non-animal based Omega-3 with plant sterols.
by Lesli August 9th, 2007 at 5:07 pmLOL that’s sweet. I have enough trouble taking my one pill a day.
by Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen August 9th, 2007 at 6:11 pmMy god I remember that baggie. good thing you weren’t stopped and searched you’d had some heavy explaining to do to the cops. lol. I saw her take them once and man I don’t think i could do that every day.
by Pamk August 9th, 2007 at 6:50 pmDo any of these vitamins upset your stomach. b/c I don’t eat fish and want to take the omega 3 but I find it repeats on me somewhat amy advice?
by Christine August 10th, 2007 at 6:40 amHoly smoke! That’s dedication on both your parts!!!
by Susan Helene Gottfried August 10th, 2007 at 8:42 amChristine - my dude says “take them with food” and/or switch out with Flax seed oil but it’s a “short chain” versus a “long chain” that omega 3 is so it’s not as good.
by Lauren August 10th, 2007 at 5:18 pmThanks for the info. I tried the omega 3 I had w/ my lunch and it worked better. Now for another question. How much ginko do you take I really have to work on my memory.
by Christine August 13th, 2007 at 8:00 am