When I was about 26 years of age I began taking vitamin supplements for about two years; no big deal, I had the money to blow.  And that just it, taking supplements is blowing money because you pee all the vitamins out of your body which is all I ever heard from friends and doctors. Your body never retains them.  We’ll maybe two percent of the overall amount.  Which is good reason to not buy a supplement; again this is only my opinion.

Meanwhile here are the things I really go for in my diet.  It’s been this way for years and now I’m going to share my secret life with you. :)

B12

I lead an active life.  It used to be very active.  I played softball 5 days a week.  I came to believe I had a B12 deficiency because of short term fatigue. I found B12 may be my answer.  B12’s primary purpose is to create red blood cells.  But it does more; it helps with metabolism and more.  All good things. While I was always a big fan of B12 I gave up on taking that supplement years ago.  I recall playing softball using a dropper to put the liquid under my tongue.  I did nothing. Eventually I learned that although B-12 supplements such as spirulina may in fact increase risks of B12 deficiency.   In the end the solution was to consume B12 naturally.  You find it dairy products and eggs and in meat.  The good news is you can’t really overdose on B12 either. 

Lycopene

Next up is Lycopene. One of my favorite nutrients.   Lycopene is found in tomatoes of course. What does it do?  Lycopene is heavily advertised as an antioxidant.  What does an antioxidant do for you?  Mainly it reduces risk of cancers.   Processed tomatoes do it best.  In fact folks that put down lycopene are say it best, that unless you cook the tomatoes in order to raise your lycopene levels in your body.  So keep that in mind. Studies shown in Italians make that case.  You can also get lycopene in pink grapefruit or watermelon.  For me, I know one thing for certain.  I eat grape and cherry tomatoes like crazy.  My family never knows that when I stop at the bank, I stop at the grocery store.  I buy a box of grape tomatoes and off the whole box in the car.  We all have our quirks.  I may not really increase my levels of lycopene, but they taste good, fill my belly and can’t hurt.

http://www.lycopene.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycopene

Resveratrol

Next is resveratrol.  No it is not an exotic town in the south Crimea.  I’ll admit I learned of this item recently during my lifetime.  Once again this is a big time antioxidant.   Like in the tomato ketchup industry you have to balance what you read with what this nutrient may in deed do for you.  Here is the word on resveratrol. It can lower your chance of heart disease.  It can double your exercise endurance (right, for me you just do more push-ups and you get better at push-ups etc...) Resveratrol can help fight obesity by oxidizing radical fat proteins keeping those blood vessels clear. ...And studies on mice bring on the clam resveratrol can pro-long your life.  Come on... pro-long life?  That is where I start getting cynical when anyone makes that claim about anything other than, “don’t smoke, that will pro-long your life”.  But that is what is being said of this nutrient. 

One of the latest things I found out was tat resvertrol may help with alzheimer’s disease.

But when someone does a study on a nutrient fighting desire for food consumption, I’m that bandwagon.  Studies have established resveratrol may help with diabetes too.  I like that.  Diabetes steals your energy and robs you of life.  I love energy and love to live every moment.  Resveratrol is another nutrient with antioxidant activity, and combating metabolic diseases are answers I always search for.   I’ve begun drinking a lot of Welche’s grape juice which offers antioxidants with benefits for your skin.  But alas the place to get resveratrol naturally is in red wine.  You can also get it by eating peanuts and grapes.   One problem with all this is beyond the fact that I don’t do supplements, if grapes are sprayed with insecticides I read that you lose the resveratrol in the grape.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resveratrol

Vinegar

Next is vinegar and its important nutrient is acetozym. I’ll take a teaspoon of vinegar each day to keep my blood stream clean.  Of all my consumable nutrients vinegar may well be my favorite.  When I was in my teen years I ate more salads than I can remember.  I recall people I worked with in my twenties telling me all they could about how I should avoid ice-burg lettuce because it was the worst roughage I could eat.   But they couldn’t slight my tomatoes or red win vinaigrette dressings or my Italian dressings.  For years I got away from my garden salads in preference to the fashionable Caesar salad.  I’m back on my garden salads and firmly believe I’m better off for it. 

So why am I hooked on vinegar?  It can lower high blood pressure and as I get older I want to avoid that like the plague.   It keeps your arteries super clear and it will get right into your blood stream.  Try that with a supplement.

Bottom line these are simple foods easily ingested, and taste better than swallowing a pill. 

DISCLAIMER

You can’t believe everything you read on the Internet, so remember even though part of this article is only opinion, some of my facts were gathered over my years may not be entirely accurate, check with your doctor before considering implementing any of my thoughts in your own personal life.