By Dane Swanson
You get up in the morning. The sun is shining. You are feeling good. You Stretch. Suddenly your stomach growls. The last time you ate was at dinner about ten hours ago. You need to have something to eat.
You walk out to the kitchen and open the refrigerator to see what is available for breakfast. You pour yourself some juice. You put the coffee cup on the table. You cut up some fruit. You toast two slices of wheat bread. In a bowl you pour some oatmeal. And you take out your multivitamins.
Yes, I said multivitamins. Because you know you can't get all your daily nutrient needs from what you eat. If the truth be told you would rather skip breakfast and get something at the nearest Fast food restaurant. But you promised your girl that you were going to start to eat better.
You take out the bottle of multivitamins and extract one. You look at the back to see just what it is you are taking. You have always wondered.
You see on the back a long list of letters. Why, you wonder do the vitamins come in letters? Why can't you have the ingredients in plain language?
You see A there. You notice two terms there Beta-Carotene and Retinal. From science class you recall this vitamin helps in the treatment of some eye disorders. It handles night blindness. A will promote bone growth, teeth development and reproduction.
You can also use it in the treatment of acne and boils. Imagine that.
You keep looking and what is the next letter? C You heard somewhere that this is also called Ascorbic Acid. It promotes healthy capillaries and gums and teeth. C will also help heal wounds burns and broken bones. Somewhere you have heard it helps develop collagen. Collagen is a connective tissue that aids in your adrenal gland function. C is also capable of reducing free-radical production.
Next you notice vitamin D. This vitamin you know something about. It helps regulate growth as well as repairing bones. You have heard it is an aid in reducing a risk of cancer of the colon and the breast.
The next letter you see listed is E. It helps protect against cancer. You recall this protects against prostate cancer. That reminds you about that checkup you have been putting off.
Wow. There is still more to come. Look at all those B listings.
You notice B-1 also known as Thiamine. A friend of yours who had a case of herpes takes lots of B-1. Aunt Alice who for a while was depressed took B-1 and she is doing fine.
B-2 is next. You read the word riboflavin. A two bit word if you have ever seen one.
Niacin. What have you heard about Niacin? Gives you hot flashes if you take too much too fast. Slow and easy does it.
B-5 and B-6. You heard that B-6 helps in the production of Serotonin which may help you sleep. You want to be able to sleep.
Folic Acid is next. You recall hearing some doctor say you don't need much of this vitamin after child bearing years. Whether that is true or not is up for debate.
B-12 which Uncle Jim took when he was starting to get senile and seems to have a gentle case of Alzheimer's is listed. Yes, have to take that one. Don't want to be like dear old uncle.
Biotin, you recall, helps form your skin, hair and nail cells.
Calcium is listed there after all those other letter. You have heard that it slows down osteoporosis. Also you have heard it has something to do with bring down your blood pressure. That is something you have to watch.
So you take your vitamin. You remind yourself to ask your doctor to see what he recommends. Not all vitamins are equal and every person has different needs.
You get up in the morning. The sun is shining. You are feeling good. You Stretch. Suddenly your stomach growls. The last time you ate was at dinner about ten hours ago. You need to have something to eat.
You walk out to the kitchen and open the refrigerator to see what is available for breakfast. You pour yourself some juice. You put the coffee cup on the table. You cut up some fruit. You toast two slices of wheat bread. In a bowl you pour some oatmeal. And you take out your multivitamins.
Yes, I said multivitamins. Because you know you can't get all your daily nutrient needs from what you eat. If the truth be told you would rather skip breakfast and get something at the nearest Fast food restaurant. But you promised your girl that you were going to start to eat better.
You take out the bottle of multivitamins and extract one. You look at the back to see just what it is you are taking. You have always wondered.
You see on the back a long list of letters. Why, you wonder do the vitamins come in letters? Why can't you have the ingredients in plain language?
You see A there. You notice two terms there Beta-Carotene and Retinal. From science class you recall this vitamin helps in the treatment of some eye disorders. It handles night blindness. A will promote bone growth, teeth development and reproduction.
You can also use it in the treatment of acne and boils. Imagine that.
You keep looking and what is the next letter? C You heard somewhere that this is also called Ascorbic Acid. It promotes healthy capillaries and gums and teeth. C will also help heal wounds burns and broken bones. Somewhere you have heard it helps develop collagen. Collagen is a connective tissue that aids in your adrenal gland function. C is also capable of reducing free-radical production.
Next you notice vitamin D. This vitamin you know something about. It helps regulate growth as well as repairing bones. You have heard it is an aid in reducing a risk of cancer of the colon and the breast.
The next letter you see listed is E. It helps protect against cancer. You recall this protects against prostate cancer. That reminds you about that checkup you have been putting off.
Wow. There is still more to come. Look at all those B listings.
You notice B-1 also known as Thiamine. A friend of yours who had a case of herpes takes lots of B-1. Aunt Alice who for a while was depressed took B-1 and she is doing fine.
B-2 is next. You read the word riboflavin. A two bit word if you have ever seen one.
Niacin. What have you heard about Niacin? Gives you hot flashes if you take too much too fast. Slow and easy does it.
B-5 and B-6. You heard that B-6 helps in the production of Serotonin which may help you sleep. You want to be able to sleep.
Folic Acid is next. You recall hearing some doctor say you don't need much of this vitamin after child bearing years. Whether that is true or not is up for debate.
B-12 which Uncle Jim took when he was starting to get senile and seems to have a gentle case of Alzheimer's is listed. Yes, have to take that one. Don't want to be like dear old uncle.
Biotin, you recall, helps form your skin, hair and nail cells.
Calcium is listed there after all those other letter. You have heard that it slows down osteoporosis. Also you have heard it has something to do with bring down your blood pressure. That is something you have to watch.
So you take your vitamin. You remind yourself to ask your doctor to see what he recommends. Not all vitamins are equal and every person has different needs.