Health Update

by Ching M. Alano

These days, people are popping vitamin/supplement pills as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do. You’re probably taking one or two yourself. Veteran actor Eddie Garcia, hale and hearty at 80something, confesses to taking more than a dozen dietary supplements that cater to the different parts of his body. Yes, especially where they’re needed most.

The Journal of the American Medical Association, in its June 2002 issue, cites the vital role of vitamins in the prevention of chronic diseases in adults such as cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Like it or not, we all have a genetic predisposition to disease, but experts say we can rewrite the story of our lives by taking charge of our health — yes, by taking dietary supplements.

Health and beauty in a bottle of pills? Dreams are a dime a dozen. Some people take supplements to be taller, look younger, to have thicker hair, thinner waistline, better vision, better appetite, smoother skin, stronger nails. There’s a supplement for every human need. There’s even a supplement for the memory, but I just can’t remember the name. (more…)