NOTHING BEATS A HEALTHY DIET

Look, I’m not one to overindulge. I enjoy eating. It’s when I married a half Italian, half French Canadian woman that eating took on a whole new meaning. Mind, I have always liked, okay loved garlic. Picked that up on my first trip to France.

What I have trouble with is why so many people – friends included – take vitamins by the handful (slight exaggeration) to keep themselves supposedly healthy. Once you start, I can only imagine it’s difficult to stop. Not that they wanted to. Anyway…

I read an article the other day by Nicole Blackwood of the Chicago Tribune with the headline: ‘Healthy diet beats vitamins every time, experts say.’

Look, I’m not one to overindulge. I enjoy eating. It’s when I married a half Italian, half French Canadian woman that eating took on a whole new meaning. Mind, I have always liked, okay loved, garlic. Picked that up on my first trip to France.

What I have trouble with is why so many – friends included – take vitamins by the handful (slight exaggeration) to keep themselves supposedly healthy. Once you start, I can only imagine it’s difficult to stop. Not that they wanted to…

I read an article the other day by Nicole Blackwood of the Chicago Tribune with the headline: ‘Healthy diet beats vitamins every time, experts say.’

It goes on, ‘New study finds supplements have little influence on heart conditions and lifespan as a whole.’

Besides, vitamin supplements is a billion-dollar industry.

Tired? Take an iron supplement. Sad? Classic vitamin D deficiency. Related to cardio-vascular health, according to the Annals of Internal Medicine, vitamin supplements had little impact on heart condition and lifespan in general.

Dr. Erin D. Michos, of Johns Hopkins of School of Medicine, estimates one in two Americans take some kind of supplement or vitamin. Another confirms there are very few, if any, supplements or vitamins that people should take, along with a healthy diet.

Author’s comment: I stay away from vitamins because I feel no need for them. Mind you, I’m married to a nurse with both Italian and French (Canadian) parents, as I mentioned.

She’s a stickler, insisting to have a protein, a carb for dinner, along with two veggies. That’s a mouthful.