Health

Should you be taking vitamins?

I grew up having my older sister Carmen squeeze my cheeks together every morning in order to get my mouth to open as she shoved a spoonful of cod liver oil down my throat. A slight cough or a runny nose meant I would get smeared in a healthy layer of Vicks VapoRub. Fever? That meant rubdowns with alcoholado. 

I graduated from home remedios to taking vitamins and supplements because my dad being the amazing father that he is, started sending them to me on when I left the nest for college. Back then he was filled with images of me staying up late, eating pizza and guzzling energy drinks to stay awake during my classes. Maybe he was right (I confess), but I swear I’ve learned to take much better care of my health since then, and taking vitamins is a habit that has stuck with me.

I like taking a woman’a multi-vitamin in addition to (not replacing) eating a well-balanced diet. I also like taking biotin occasionally, and I’m not sure if it’s me wanting it to be so, but I do see a difference in my hair and nails when I take it. I learned first by trial and error, and then by reading the labels and getting yelled at by my dad to not take more than the recommended dosage of vitamins. I’m guilty of over-watering my plants and jaywalking all because I need things to happen faster, but, you can’t do that with vitamins. You’ll just urinate the excess out anyway, and have day-glo urine, or if you really overdo it, you’ll break out in a rash and probably have some really nasty stomach symptoms that will hinder your social life so just don’t do it!

What type of vitamins do you take? If you have any questions, email my friend Dr. Jose Luis Mosquera at [email protected] and he’ll answer them in his column “Ask Dr. Mosquera.”

Here’s a quick video of me talking about my vitamin use:

For more information you can also visit Consumer Reports (English or Spanish)!

SPANISH: Suplementos (Vida Sana) (CRE)

http://espanol.consumerreports.org/content/cre/es/salud/vida-sana/suplementos.html

ENGLISH: Supplements (CRO)

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/health/vitamins-and-supplements/index.htm

 

DISCLAIMER: This post is part of a Consumer Reports en Español consumer learning campaign. This post is not an endorsement of any product or service, and I’m being compensated for my time ONLY, not for my opinion. 

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