Vitamins--Power to the People

As the cold/flu season is quickly approaching, I feel compelled to write about a ritual that takes place in our little tiny corner of the world called "home." Now, those of you who already know my soapbox song-and-dance, can fast forward, but for those who are truly interested in something as simple as vitamins...read on.

Why do I write about vitamins? For starters, anyone who would like a definition of vitamins can go to Wikipedia, the source for all subjective information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin . I can't say that I understood the whole thing, so best wishes in that area, but I want to write about them, because I believe, they fall under the good stewardship category as far as physical health.



Vitamins have been misunderstood, mislabeled and missed all together. To be fair, there are a thousand fanatical views on vitamins that I will not address and just as with any medical advise, please consult your local naturopathic doctor for any specific advise. Please note I didn't say traditional medical doctors as typically, the medical field does not think highly (or fairly) of the whole naturopathic world. But anyone who has used alternative medicine knows its benefits. Give me organic over processed any day. If anyone would like to talk more indepth about traditional medicine verses alternative medicine, please E-mail me as my intent here is not to bash the medical world--to which I am eternally grateful to God that there is traditional medicine.



My intention is to encourage vitamin use to those who prefer alternative solutions to the typical popping of pills. I am very thankful that there are quite a few organic-minded christians at our church, to whom I've had the privilege to speak to about their alternative medicine lifestyle. It's been a true joy to be a part of such a group and I learn so much from them.



I grew up with a fairly hefty regiment of vitamins and alternative foods as the main source of nourishment. It was a way of life for me and I was surprised on my first day of kindergarten to find out that there were other children growing up right in my neighborhood that didn't take a regular dose of vitamins that filled a small cup. I naturally thought everyone took them.



My Mom is a vitamin, herb and healthy foods savant. The woman knows more about the human body, the way it functions in various circumstances (e.g. stress, pregnancy, athletic), and the way to boost the immune system more than any Prevention Magazine guru I've ever read. After a career in nursing, my dear Mom dedicated her life toward finding alternative, organic foods when they were scarce and finding alternative ways for the physical body to heal via herbs and vitamins verses the traditional popping of antibiotics or Tylenol--to which she is gravely against. We're talking the 70's and 80's when Tylenol abounded (apart from the cyanide scare) and of which free-range chicken was unheard.



Admittedly, I don't hold to many of the trusts and beliefs that she has, but I am thrilled that I have the opportunity to learn so much from her about the technical aspects of vitamins and herbs.



I won't go into the many benefits of vitamins or the reasons why you should or should not take them. There's enough information out there that anyone can decide for themselves, which way they would like to take their family. If anyone has any questions or rebuttals, please post in the comments section or E-mail me and we can discuss.



I will only speak to those who have decided that vitamins are the way they would like to go, but may not understand how to find them, buy them, take them, store them, etc. If you're interested, this post is for you.



First, good vitamins are expensive. You may have to go without eating at Ruby Tuesday's every week and decide that you can only go once-a-month, depending on your financial situation. But I would encourage anyone buying vitamins, minerals and herbs to buy the good stuff. Don't buy the store brands from Walgreens or Sam's Club. There are a number of reasons not to, but mostly, the way the vitamins are processed and stored basically means that you're throwing money out the window every time you buy them. How do you find good vitamins? Online is probably the best. Avoid GNC (for the most part), but the Vitamin Shoppe is usually pretty good and their brand is usually cheaper. Their brand is processed and stored the same way as the national brands, but just bought and sold in bulk under their name...which results in a cheaper price for you. Check around too. Webvitamins.com and Vitacost.com have some of the cheapest prices around and they ship directly from their warehouse. That means middlemen 18-wheelers, driving element-sensitive goodies through a plethora of regional elements, can be avoided.



Secondly, once you get your yummies, store them out of light and heat. Light and heat compromise the integrity and potency of the vitamins. Store them away from the microwave, oven or refrigerator. Do not store (most of them anyway) in the refrigerator, as every time you open the fridge, a certain amount of heat is let in, which produces condensation, which in turn, compromises vitamins.



Thirdly, when you take them, take them with as little liquid as possible. Most vitamins and herbs are water soluble, meaning when you take them with lots of liquid, they never get absorbed in your system...they just wash out. Give about 45 minutes on each side before you gulp down the 64 oz. of Gatorade.



Absorption is key and that's why buying good quality vitamins is key. Most people read labels on food and think, "Oh! This has 30% vitamin C or 15% iron. Great!" What they don't realize is that only 5% vitamin C and 2% of that iron is getting absorbed into your system. The other is being washed out. The way the food moguls process and store their items will ultimately determine how much your body will absorb. It would be impossible to regulate all of that. So now, while you think you're getting your full value of RDA or RDI (which I would argue is too low to begin with), now you're getting even less. Notice the label says what it contains; not what is absorbed. Why is that? Because each body is unique and "hand"made and so it would be impossible for the Department of Agri to come up with such a labeling system--so they standardize everything. So how can ensure a good absorption rate? Eat a small amount of protein with them. Adding about 15-20g of protein to your diet can increase your metabolism about 23% (give or take). It's a great way to "diet" (although I'm against that sort of thing anyway--another time, another post) but more importantly, for the vitamin lover--it's a great to increase the possibility of absorption rate.



Finally, and most important, don't depend on vitamins and herbs for your health...depend on the wonderful grace of God. There is no guarantee of anything, except that if you have confessed and believed Christ as Savior and Lord, you have taken what you value in this life and submitted to the final authority in heaven and earth anyway. So why do it? Good stewardship is recognizing accountability before God. It is saying, Lord, I know I am fully dependent on you for any and everything and am humble enough to admit that. I do believe that eating healthy, exercising and doing what we can to encourage good stewardship of the physical body is important. Certainly not the most important, but important nonetheless.



Now be ready to be ridiculed, laughed at and made fun of, but I am quietly very thankful that so far, my children have not had to be dragged to the doctor's office beyond their yearly wellness check ups save one bout of scarlet fever when JD was 3. That's a good point to make. It's not that your family will never be sick. It is that when they do, they might avoid some of the other taxing processes that the body has to go through to combat many of the toxins and side effects in traditional medicine. When JD was 3, he got scarlet fever and an ear infection. That was it for him and Elle and Cal have never had an ear infection or been to the doctor at any other time, thus far. Again, stressing the point that God has wonderfully protected my children--I trust fully in that and categorize their vitamin and herb remedies as a gracious gift to our family. If you have a healthy immune system, your body, under the sovereign reign of God, may be able to fight many of the standard and rare diseases that we're coming against in the American culture today. The immune system was made to fight, fight, fight. It fights daily toxins and threats found in just about everything, including what you eat, drink and breathe. It also fights germs, bacterias and other flu/cold/disease and cancer-causing varmints--all under the marvelous and watchful hand of our sovereign Lord.



It's not that I think the vitamins will save my family from various cancers and diseases--it is that now that I know about them, I can humbly pray that God will show great mercy on our vitamin/herb-taking family as I try to be a good steward of our families' health. It has humbled me greatly, to be on the side of vitamins and herbs as generally, the world is against it. Another opportunity for the sanctifying wash of His leading to show me just how prideful I can be in all things and just how much the world would like to take the care and cures out of the hand of God and place them at the mercy of traditional medicine.



May God richly bless you with His perfect will for your health. Please write or comment if you have any questions.