The Vitamin Diet: Recipes for Health

Nutrition is becoming an increasingly popular topic. I wind up in conversation about nutrition all the time - and I'm increasingly silent. I'm increasingly isolated by my point of view.

I'm turning 50 in March, and so many of my friends and family members take prescription drugs and/or supplements. This is what I want to talk about. They all want to talk about herbs and fruits and vegetables - about whether food is acidic or basic - sugary or salty - high or low in fiber - good or bad for intestinal bacteria - toxic or non-toxic. I want to talk about the pills.

I spend alot of time every day deciding what, how many, and when to take pills. I'm spending all this time worrying mostly about niacin, vitamin C, and ibuprofen. If I was taking other pills, I'd be worrying about them too. All the data says that the pills have a much bigger impact on my health than my choice of diet. I get plenty of side effects - especially from vitamin C and niacin - and I'd like to talk about them. But there is no one to listen. I'm expecting that as I grow older, I'll be taking more of more kinds of pills - pills that friends and family are already taking. I'm really interested in knowing what to expect - but no one is talking.

I'll do a little talking here. I'm in pretty good health now and most days I don't take any niacin pills. Instead I drink alot of dark roast coffee. I have never had a niacin side effect from drinking too much coffee. However, at least once a week I feel weak, or feel afraid of getting a cold, or just feel like I should be taking niacin because it will make me feel better. I take out a 500 mg time release niacin and chew off the end - probably around 40 mgs. With luck I get distracted and before I know it the work day is over and I never gave the niacin another thought. Other days I'll chew on the end three or four times until I've taken half the pill - 250 mgs.

More times than not, I suddenly become aware that I've taken the niacin. I find myself walking and talking faster, and with less inhibition - a little bit "wired". Sometimes, on top of feeling wired, I feel anxious. It's definitely a bad feeling - unlike the "wired" feeling which is sort of a good feeling. When I feel the anxious feeling, I regret having taken the niacin. That said, when I get up the next day feeling find and without a cold, I think to myself that if the niacin helped with that, it was worth the anxiousness.

I wonder how many other people deal with the anxiety. I wonder if it makes a difference whether or not I'm taking time-release or straight-release niacin. Just writing this makes me realize that I've sort of decided that chewing a time release tablet to get a "slightly" time-release effect is better for me than the other options. Well maybe... I generally take the niacin on a completely empty stomach. Maybe I should be taking it after a meal? There really are alot of options...

Factors A, B, and C formed the basis of modern nutrition. For the first time in human history, these super-important food concentrates are available to almost everyone, anytime, anywhere in America. You are empowered to find the optimal micronutrient recipe for your own health without worrying about calories. The best information you can get will be from friends and family with similar genetic backgrounds, so talking about your experiences and strategies - like you talk about food - is a worthwhile exercise.

If you want to increase the odds of living in the best possible health, there's much to gain and little to lose by using antibiotics and vitamins supplements and talking about it with friends and family.