Supplements Revisited

Yesterday morning I said to my husband, Mr. Balancing Act, "I should feel good!" He nodded, patiently, as he awaited the rest of the diatribe he knew was coming.

"I mean," I explained, already getting all wound up, my voice rising, "I've been measuring my water and drinking at least 2 liters a day.  I've been eating NO sugar and barely any grains at all! I've been having a big  salad for either lunch or dinner every day! I've been remembering my fish oil every morning!"

My husband continued to nod, his eyebrows raised. "So..."

"I'm not done yet! I've been taking ALL my supplements! Every day! Look at this huge pile!" I pointed out my handful of pills, decoratively colored in green, rust-red, pink and yellow hues.

He was still nodding at me. "So...how DO you feel?"

I paused for a moment to consider. "I feel pretty good!" I decided.

And I do. Yesterday I didn't even take a nap! This demonstrates a very high level of energy in my book. And I have been living a pristine lifestyle for the past month. Not a single meal eaten out in a restaurant for one full month! Plus, both my daughters have been away so we have taken the opportunity to rid the house of all junk food. When they get home, they are going to have to contend with baby carrots, roasted almonds, or fruit for snacks. Things could get ugly around here.

But back to the supplements!

After reading The Permanent Pain Cure by Ming Chew, I decided to return to my previous habit of taking Move Free, made by Schiff. This supplement combines glucosamine hydrochloride with chondroitin sulfate. In addition, the "advanced" version of Move Free has MSM (methylsulfonylmethane), Chinese Scullcap, and hyaluronic acid. All of these compounds help to rebuild, strengthen, and protect joints from breakdown and damage as we age.  Even our vet recommends these supplements for our aging dogs. Apparently these compounds work better if you begin taking them BEFORE you have significant breakdown of joint tissue. As a dance and fitness instructor, my job and my joy both depend on my joints! So I want them to continue to function in a strong and healthy way for many decades to come. Although I am not having serious problems at this time, I am going to use this product as an insurance policy against future damage!

Of course, continuous, varied, and balanced movement is the other key to protecting your joints. By continuous, I mean that you simply cannot stop moving any of your joints, through their full range of motion, as often as possible. Daily is best. Even if you are not going to jump around like a crazed banshee in a ZUMBA class, you can get a lot of the benefits for your joints from practicing yoga, Pilates, tai chi or qui gong. These are slow and gentle practices, but they emphasize a full range of motion for the joints.

But...back to those supplements!

I have also returned to my women's multivitamin. I figure it is unlikely to cause any harm and just might do a little bit of good. After all, as I mentioned before, it is difficult to be the type of person who takes vitamins without actually taking any! (Studies show that the type of people who take vitamins tend to be healthier...)

Now, after writing this entire blog about how I have become so consistent in all these wonderful habits, I found half of that handful of supplements still sitting on my kitchen table. Apparently I forgot to take them yesterday! So please understand, you have to take all my bragging with a large grain of salt. Just nod, patiently, like my long-suffering husband. And speaking of husbands, today Mr. Balancing Act and I plan to eat a meal out in a restaurant. I am going to throw caution to the wind and even eat a SANDWICH! Maybe I'll blog about that tomorrow!