Couple of weeks ago, I noticed that my house plants looked sad and needed a little boost. I decided to feed them and feed I did! And a bit more, “what’s the harm?” I thought. The extra will be drained out. Two days later, leaves turned yellow and they looked as if they are on life support!! I od(ed) my plants. It then made me wonder about me taking vitamins and supplements.
Couple of years ago, I decided to get serious about my health. Well, they say you need one multi-vitamin and two calcium pills a day and you are done! While I was working on taking them regularly and on time which I had difficulties with, I found out that Calcium should be taken with Magnesium. Darn! Ran to Costco and bought the right thing. Wait no! You actually need to have vitamin D with Calcium or all bets are off. One more trip to Costco. And of course, there is Q10, fish oil, B2, 6, 12 (who decides on these numbers?), and more.
By now, I am up to 9 pills –3 of them calcium! I was trying very hard not to gag while swallowing them down one after each other and thinking this is not bad although I am officially, my grandma (yap, bought the Sunday, Monday, … pink pill boxes,) I almost have a system: in the morning, I hurry down the 9 pills, followed by water. I finish my breakfast and run out the door to distract myself from nausea. I was feeling pretty proud of myself at this point (although secretly I knew I miss 2 or 3 days here and there – the Monday, Sunday boxes full of pills left on the counter, wont let you forget that you forgot) when I heard some doctor on TV saying that Calcium pills should not be taken altogether and specially in the morning! Shocks! They need to be taken 3 hours apart, or else it wouldn’t work – not fair! The whole thing seemed like a conspiracy! Up to plan B.
I am sincerely confused: we need Omega 3, 6, 12, fiber, this and that. Have to be plant based and from a good source (yet, another issue to solve), but how much? Seems like recently, 2 spoons is the magic number? I bought some nice looking Flax seeds and started sprinkling them on my salad along with the turmeric (good for you), Cinnamon (good for you), some nuts (need to have that), something Shoji berry (definitely for longevity), all organic, of course. Then they say Flax seed is only effective if it is grounded. Let’s don’t forget to add exercise; 30 minutes walk is all you need. Wait! although, it is good for your heart, it only burns calories while you are walking (don’t forget to buy new shoes every 4 month which begs the question of why shoe manufacturers don’t put odometer on the shoes?). Add 30 min. of work out to build muscles to burn calories while you sleep. Boy, are we efficient! Don’t forget stretching 30 min. a day, it is a must. Yoga seems to be the answer to all. It is good for you.
In addition, they say you should calm your brain with only 30 min. of meditation and to prevent your brain from malfunctioning when you are 104 years old, solve crossword puzzles or do Sudoku. Need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. You should rather sip it at the same rate that your body perspires, and not drink it at once. Pick up a hobby, its good for you. And these are of course on the top of your ordinary care: brush your teeth, floss, whiten, brush your tongue, wash your face, moisturize, peel, mask, massage, on and on. As my friend puts it, taking care of your self is a FULL TIME JOB!