True Life: I’m A Supplement Addict

I first started “megadosing” on vitamins my sophmore year of college, spending over $100 a time at the drugstore picking up different colored shiny bottles, each promising to keep me healthy from now until my 90′s. Now, I just take fish oil, calcium + Vitamin D, iron (my levels are low) and a women’s multi, and hope that I’m getting the rest of what I need from what I eat.

The following post is from Emily, a friend from college. We first got to know each other in a class called Asian American Poetics, but as our world is a small one, I’d actually seen her perform years before in a production of Fiddler on the Roof (I went because I had a crush on one of the musicians). Emily is an extremely talented writer and improv comedian, and I’m honored to be able to share her with you today. We’d love to hear your feedback about your vitamin habit, too!

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Sunday. 8:00 A.M. I wake up with a tickle in my throat and a minor headache. Crap. I can not get sick this week! I stumble out of bed, pop a multivitamin, some extra chewable Vitamin C, swallow a Vitamin D pill, and drink a bunch of lemon and honey tea so I’m peeing twelve times in one day. Cleanse. I made it through the week unscathed and my cold did not develop (phew!), but then I read this article that says I’m closer to death due to my consumption of each and all of these remedies (except tea). Oh no…

If I remember to do it, I start each day with a multivitamin (Centrum A to Zinc, expired in 2000 but who cares? There’s gotta be some goodness in there!), Vitamin C (which tastes like the candy my grandma keeps in her purse, so it’s a comfort food), Vitamin D (for the gloomies… and the bones), fish oil (Glowing skin! Healthy beating heart!), and a probiotic (let’s get rid of that yeast- right ladies?!). I’m still terrible at swallowing, so this routine can take up to five minutes. But it’s worth it, right? I feel good about myself for hours after, and then I’ll live longer! Right? I didn’t do extensive research, but Judy at Mastel’s Health Foods told me all of these supplements were “a must.” Judy wouldn’t lie. Right?

According to University of Minnesota researchers examining the Iowa Women’s Health Study, women who took supplements throughout the course of a 19-year study had a 2.4 percent increased risk of dying. And it’s not just one study. So this stuff might not be good for me? My hypochondria and “balance” approach to life (If I eat too much ice cream, a leafy salad will balance it out, or if I didn’t get any vegetables for the day, I’ll have some extra vitamins to take care of it) might not be the best for me. My mother, a physician, questioned my use of vitamins, saying: “If you eat healthy, you don’t need them!” Was my mom right? How could too much of a good thing be a bad thing? Were there any precedents for this? Is too much chocolate a bad thing? Couldn’t my body store up any extra nutrients for when I need it later?

I’m not a doctor, and I don’t know if I’ll stop taking vitamin supplements any time soon. I’ll try to eat more nutrient-based meals with all of the colors of the rainbow. Vitamins make me feel better emotionally, even if they don’t affect my health. And maybe I’ll live 2.4 percent longer just by relieving myself of anxiety that comes with sickness. Taking a supplement can assuage the psyo-somatic symptoms, so maybe that’s enough. For now.

Emily Schorr Lesnick is a writer, reader, performer, and after-school teacher living in Yonkers, NY. Her writing has been featured on The Mary Sue, Funny Not Slutty, Splitsider, and Guffaw MN. She hates mushrooms. Follow her on Twitter @EschorrLesnick.

Do you take vitamins and minerals? How do you know which you need? Do you trust your diet delivers sufficient nutrients?