Your Guide to Vitamins, Minerals and Other Health Supplements

Years ago, doctors and nutritionists typically believed that most people got enough nutrients in their diet and therefore did not need supplements. Now, even the most retro doctor will recommend a multivitamin to all his or her patients. Why the change?

I believe there are two main factors:

1--The average diet in industrialized nations has deteriorated to one in which the main foods consumed are meat, dairy, and white starches like white bread, potatoes and white rice. Most of these foods contain little to no vitamins or minerals unless they are "enriched", which means supplements are added to the food (often to replace what was lost in processing.)

2-- Most of our produce is grown in depleted soil which means they lack the nutritional components they did in the past. Plus, they are further contaminated with pesticides and various other "bad for humans" stuff. So, even if you do include conventionally grown produce, it's not as good for you as it was thirty or forty years ago.

So, those are the major reasons I take a multivitamin/mineral every day.

Depending on your lifestyle --things like where you live, what you eat on a daily basis, your personal health history and genetic background, as well as how much exercise you get will all affect what particular supplements you need. But, for probably 99.9% of the population, a daily multi is essential and a start.

Vitamin D is important for bones, of course. It is found in many foods (most milk is fortified with it) and included in many supplements, but one great way to get Vitamin D is to have your body make it.

Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin when you are exposed to good old sunshine. This is not an excuse to slather on the baby oil and sunbathe, however!

You need only 15 minutes a day of sun exposure to make enough Vitamin D. So, while sunscreen is important, try having your morning coffee outside before you put on your sunscreen. Your bones will thank you for it (and support you longer!)

Despite being healthy and washing my hands often and trying to avoid sick people, I caught a bug. Woke up with a sore throat, fever & congestion on Friday.

So, ginger tea is my own favorite homemade remedy. I'm just not making chicken soup when I feel this awful, but it works, too! I should freeze some, I guess.

Anyway, here's how to make ginger tea. It tastes good, feels great to a raw, painful throat and eases congestion, too.

Peel & chop a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger. (You can find it in the produce section of almost any grocery store, even the big box ones.)

Put the chopped ginger in a cup. Pour boiling water over it & let steep for about 10 minutes. Strain the tea into a new cup, add lemon and about a teaspoon of honey. Sip and enjoy.

I actually make this in bigger batches. Use a 2-inch piece of ginger and 4 to 6 cups of water. Put into a 2-quart saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Then, strain into a pitcher and store in the fridge. You can easily reheat by the cup in the microwave.

You know green tea is great for you, right? Full of antioxidants, metabolism-boosting and other benefits galore. While I enjoy an occasional cup of hot tea, I really prefer it icy. I keep a pitcher in the fridge and have a few glasses every day. Here's how I make it:

8 green or decaf green tea bags
2 mint tea bags
Sweetener to taste (I use 1 cup splenda)

Heat a small pan of water until it's almost, but not quite boiling. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep for 10 minutes.

Fill a one-gallon pitcher 2/3 full of cold water and add sweetener. When tea is steeped, add to pitcher, stir and add more water as needed to fill pitcher. Store in fridge and drink up!