Swine Flu Vaccine: Going To Be A Hit In Vegas

Next week brings the first mass distribution of the eagerly awaited H1N1 swine flu vaccine.  There will be people lining up at clinics, hospitals, and local CVS pharmacies to get the shot or nasal spray that is supposed to protect against this latest, sometimes deadly, variation of the age-old pig flu.

Not sure I’m going to be one of them.  I’m really struggling with justifying the benefits of the vaccination when balanced with the possible side effects.  Although betting on the odds of experiencing adverse reactions is a sucker bet even when compared to Vegas odds,  I don’t have to worry about dropping dead if I go bust on a chancy Blackjack hand.

I’m struggling even more with the decision of whether to get my toddler son vaccinated.

First, everyday we are hearing about more deaths related to the swine flu.  So, it is clearly a growing threat that seems to popping up all over the country.  The latest reports include a startling statistic.  Apparently out of 100 pregnant women who have been diagnosed with H1N1, 28 have died!  That’s over 1 out of every 4.  Scary.

Swine flu vaccination circa 2009

Let’s talk about this new vaccination that would have supposedly protected those women from ever contracting the disease.  But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we can talk about the 2009 vaccine, we really need to talk about the vaccine that was produced to protect against the last U.S.-based swine flu outbreak.

This was 1976, and a soldier based at Fort Dix in New Jersey had been diagnosed with swine flu. He died within 2-3 days. Within a day or so, another 2-3 soldiers in the same base had been diagnosed as having contracted the pig flu. Mass panic led to the development of a quick vaccine to protect against this particular strain that had infected the soldiers.

Why the mass panic after only one death? Because the health officials that had examined this one case publicly stated that the flu strain contracted by the soldiers in New Jersey was similar to the strain responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic.

You remember the 1918 swine flu pandemic?  It was the outbreak that spread across the globe infecting an estimated 500 million people and killing anywhere between 50 and 100 million individuals worldwide. Can you imagine? A flu outbreak that killed at least 50 million people!

So, in 1976, just mentioning the 1918 outbreak led to a major panic and rush to the nearest clinic to get vaccinated for this latest flu threat.

That photo to the left is a widely publicized picture of then President Gerald Ford receiving the 1976 swine flu vaccination. Off topic: Did nurses really wear hats like that in 1976?

Well, in 1976, the anticipated outbreak never happened.  The soldier in New Jersey was the only death associated with that strain of swine flu.  The other soldiers lived, and no other cases were ever recorded. But let’s talk about the vaccine that was developed.

During the 1976 mass vaccination campaign, 1 in every 100,000 recipients of the vaccine developed Guillain Barré syndrome (GBS), a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, often leading to paralysis and death. GBS is a known potential side effect of any influenza (flu) vaccine.

There is no known cure for GBS.

In 1976 roughly 40 million Americans received the vaccine and some 4,000 developed GBS.  Of these 4,000, there were 25 deaths confirmed to have been caused by vaccine-related GBS.

So, in the 1976 Swine Flu Fiasco, as it is commonly referred to, the disease racks up one kill, the cure twenty five.

1976 Body Count:      Swine Flu 1            Swine Flu Vaccine 25

Switch back to 2009.  The CDC is already distributing information that states that when receiving the new flu vaccine “the estimated risk for more serious reactions (e.g. Guillain Barré syndrome) is between 1-10 per million persons vaccinated”.

This is a circumspect way of acknowledging that the risks associated with the new vaccine is about the same as the vaccine produced in 1976.  According to these estimates, as many as 1 in every 100,000 recipients of the vaccine will develop GBS or some other severe adverse reaction.

Once again, there is no known cure cure for GBS.

So, I have to ask myself, how bad will this outbreak really be?  1918 bad (which would be really really bad)? Or 1976 bad (which means pretty much not bad at all)?

And I have to ask myself, just in case, do I spin the roulette wheel, get the vaccination, and hope that neither I nor my son land on black?

What about you? Will you be rushing to get in line for the long awaited swine flu shot?

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Saving A Marriage: A Mid-Life Success Story

First, this story is not about me. I am a happily married man who has tried to develop healthy ways of dealing with the problems that crop up in any marriage. The wife and I have our moments, but after ten years, we’ve learned enough about each other to play to each other’s  strengths, respect boundaries, and avoid pushing the wrong buttons. Usually anyway. Saving a marriage is just not a task we’ve had to face. Knock wood.

But we do have some friends that have been experiencing some real turmoil in their marriage. You’d never know it if you saw them in public.  As a couple, they seem to be perfect for each other. On the surface anyway.

He is a real Type A personality who is focused on his climb up the corporate ladder. Well, he doesn’t really climb - he sprints. It’s always about the next promotion and the next bump in salary. His rationale seems to be that the higher up the food chain he is, the more protected he is against layoffs and the other ugly by-products of these uncertain economic times.

She, on the other hand, is a stay-at-home Mom who is heavily involved in her kid’s activities and the school PTA. She manages the household, makes sure the kids get where they need to be, and can be found working the concession stand at many of her kid’s sporting events. Personality wise she is extremely laid back and seems to roll smoothly with the ebb and flow of active adolescents, a demanding husband, and a hectic schedule.

Perfect match, right? The ambitious breadwinner and the supportive wife?  Maybe not so much.

A few months ago, he came up to me while I was in the front yard playing with Junior. After a few pleasantries, he turned and asked me “Does marriage counseling work?”

Turns out things weren’t so rosy in the marriage. He was bored and frustrated at work. She was irritated at his lack of attention to his family.

They tried counseling, but after trying 2-3 different counselors, they couldn’t agree on one to move forward with. They each favored the one that seemed to favor them.

Long story short, they decided to take a self help approach. We went to dinner with them last week, and the change in their relationship was pretty apparent. He was much more attentive to her. She seemed to be more tolerant of his dinner table soliloquies on the state of the U.S. economy. They were even holding hands at the table.

According to them, they are still pushing through their issues, but they seem to be much happier just knowing they are working towards a common goal. I asked them what had changed. Had they finally found a counselor they could work with?

They said no. It was all about this program they heard about on the radio called The Us Factor. It’s some program put together by a doctor that helps you work on your marriage and improve your relationships.

I don’t know much of anything about the program except that it seems to be helping our friends. I also don’t know what the odds are of saving a marriage that’s gone sour, but they seem to be one of the lucky couples who have come back from the brink. At least so far. They encouraged me to get the word out about this program, so you can click here or on the graphic to learn more. Again, don’t know a thing about it myself, but it’s helped two people I know come back together.

Any tips you want to share on keeping a marriage intact and exciting? Just leave us a comment below.

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Say Goodbye To The Summer of 2009

School starts this week.  My stepdaughter is off to her first day as a highschool sophmore, and my three year old has his ‘meet the teacher’ day at his new preschool later this week.

It’s been an interesting Summer.  Junior is growing up and has turned into a fearless little daredevil when it comes to jumping in swimming pools, trying to boogie board on the beach with his cousins, or leaping from precarious heights never doubting my ability to catch him.

Can be nerve-wracking at times.  It’s great that he doesn’tseem to share many of the fears that many toddlers his age go through (well, he’s not crazy about thunderstorms), but a little healthy caution would help lower my blood pressure when he’s dashing out into 3 foot waves at the beach.  We’ve been working on his swimming skills, so next year should be easier.

Junior also starts tee ball this month.  Can’t wait to see that.  We’ve been practicing his hitting and catching, and he does have an arm.  Accuracy?  There’s some work needed there.  I’m trying to free up some time so I can help coach the team.  These are wonderful times to be a Dad, and I want to stay as close to the action as I can.

Trying to find somewhere to take the family for an end of Summer long weekend vacation.  This is really when I miss living on the east coast.  Living in Atlanta, we were five hours from the beach or three hours from the mountains.  Perfect for quick pick up and go trips.

Here in Dallas we’re hours from nowhere.  Best we can find are lakeside cabins down in Austin or up in Oklahoma.  But as beach people from way back, it’s just not the same.

Football season is kicking off.  Bulldawgs open up against Okie State in two weeks.  Can’t wait.  Doing a guys weekend and driving to Arkansas to watch them play the Razorbacks in September.  Really can’t wait for that.

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Body Weight Workout Program - Week 5

I’m into week 5 of my “get out of the gym and enjoy the great outdoors” body weight workout program.

For those catching up, several weeks ago I decided that I was bored with my gym rat routine and decided to try a new approach to keeping in shape.  No more fancy machines, no more racks of dumbbells, and no more treadmills or stationary bikes.

So I’ve been focusing on body weight exercises and outdoor endurance activities to keep fit.

I will say that leaving the weights and machines behind took a leap of faith.  After all, we’re taught that to build and maintain muscle, you need to tailor a program to use weights and machines to focus on the individual muscles of the body.  Typical workout plans include performing a series of sets using a specific machine or free weight exercise to force the growth of a particular muscle.  Bicep curls for biceps, bench presses for chest, etc.

And it works.  You can develop a muscular body utilizing this muscle isolation approach.  You can get big biceps, ripped abs, and broad shoulders.  You can marvel at how much your bench press increases as you progress.  And you can look good in those jeans and t-shirts.

But what you aren’t doing is building real world strength.

As I get older, I’m less concerned about building big biceps, washboard abs, or pumped up pecs.  I’m more focused on building strength and endurance that will help with some of the more mundane activities I engage in on a day to day basis.  I want strength and endurance that will help me carry a three year old boy for a mile back to the house after he’s fallen asleep on a beach walk.  I want strength that will help me move that couch up and down the stairs while my wife makes up her mind on where it should go.  And I want the strength and endurance to keep up with my buddies on a basketball court.

The typical gym weight and machine routine isn’t going to help much in those areas because it focuses on working muscles in isolation.  Real world strength is developed by working core muscle groups together.

You develop strength, endurance, and coordination in performing exercises that work multiple muscle groups together.  Core strength.  Real world strength.

That’s where the body weight exercises come in.  I’m currently doing a “boot camp” program that really pushes me.  It mixes exercises such as push-ups (some variations I’d never seen before), dips, squats, and other body weight movements to work multiple muscle groups at once.  Really unique.  And some of the exercises push me harder than any weight routine ever did.

So, I’m in week 5 and can honestly report that I’m in far better shape than I’ve been in in awhile.  I’m working muscles I haven’t worked since the old calisthenic days back in college.  And I am definitely faster on the basketball court, less prone to collapse after 4 quarters, and even have developed a better shot.

Real world strength.

I’m ready to tackle that couch now.

If you’re interested in learning more about real world strength and how you can escape gym rut, here’s where I got all my information and routines.

Body Weight Workouts and Real World Strength

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RIP Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett And It’s Vacation Time!

Wow!

As much as I hate appearing to jump on the celebrity death bandwagon, it’s hard for me not to comment on the loss of two of the icons of my generation.  Icon.  Means alot of things.  The third definition according to Websters is:

“0ne who is the object of great attention and devotion; an idol”

Based on that definition, it’s clear that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett were both pretty big icons in their time.  And the circumstances that led up to their deaths couldn’t have been more different.

Farrah was diagnosed with anal cancer some 2-3 years ago at roughly age 59.

‘Anal cancer’

Just typing it makes me shudder.  I mean could there be any other two words where you just don’t want to see them in the same sentence?

Farrah, by all accounts, was still active and living a full life until the disease really took hold.  Playing tennis, jogging, and taking care of herself.  Her early demise is a tragedy.

Then there’s Michael.  His tragedy started long before he collapsed from an apparent drug induced cardiac arrest.  And he died long before his heart gave out last week.  His decline over the last 15 or so years has been painted all over the tabloids, so I have no interest in rehashing his battles with injuries, self-mutilation, identity issues, and drugs.  He was an amazing talent.  Once upon a time.

Rest in peace Michael and Farrah.

_____________________

Vacation time is coming up.  Looking forward to the annual family vacation in Ponte Vidra.  Always fun to see Mom, my brothers, and the nephews and nieces.  Butkus Junior is getting old enough now to start having some real beach fun, so I expect he’ll be out there annoying his cousins while they’re trying to boogie board.

There is a really nice health club in Ponte Vidra that I usually try to get to while we’re down there.   This year though, I think I’m going to resist my addiction to the gym and try and focus on doing my workouts on the beach.  I’ve really gotten into body weight exercise.  The routine I’ve put together pushes me like no weight or machine based workout ever could.  I’m focusing on the whole real world strength aspect and doing exercises that work multiple muscle groups at a time.

Really really effective.

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Going Deaf With Diet Drinks

I don’t drink much in the way of sodas except for the occasional Diet Coke. But I do like Diet Snapple Tea. And I usually have a pitcher of Crystal Lite in the fridge. I probably suck down 8-12 glasses of some kind of powdered or bottled tea concoction during the course of a day. Especially in the Summer.

And in my goal to stay away from sugar, it’s always the “diet” version. What do all these drinks have in common?

Yep, artificial sweeteners. Most of them contain aspartame to be specific. Never really thought too much about it until yesterday when I woke up with a slight buzzing in my ears. Sort of an annoying little tone that you might expect to have for a couple of days after a really loud rock concert. Really really annoying.

So did some research. Turns out that, depending on who you believe, this buzzing could be a mild case of tinnitus. Tinnitus is the medical term for sounds in the ear that are not caused by any type of external noise. The sounds?  It can be a buzzing, a ringing, or snippets of Celine Dion tunes. No, sorry, that last one comes from Titanicitus, not tinnitus.  Equally annoying.

Anyway. Tinnitus, again depending on what sources you believe, can be linked to aspartame “poisoning”. But before we get into the whole “are sweeteners dangerous?” debate, let’s throw out some fun facts.

There are five artificial sweeteners that the FDA has approved for use in the United States.

Saccharin

First produced in 1878, this was the first of the artificial sweeteners and became popular during the sugar shortages of WW1.

Commonly seen in little pink packs labeled Sweet ‘N Low and is the diet ingredient in Tab, the Coca Cola soft drink that was big back in the 60’s and 70’s.

In 1977, Saccharin was shown to produce cancer tumors.  In rats.  The FDA mandated that the use of saccharin be restricted and warning labels be attached to any consumer food or beverage product that included it.

Well, turns out that the cancer producing qualities of saccharin are limited to rats and their unique metabolism.  Or at least that’s what the FDA claims.  They removed all warning labels on saccharin products.

Aspartame

You know aspartame.  It’s in the the little blue packets that are labeled Equal, NutraSweet, and Canderel.   And in addition to my Snapple Tea and Crystal Lite, it’s an ingredient in over 6,000 other consumer food and beverages.

Aspartame, tentatively approved by the FDA in 1974, is 180 times as sweet as sucrose, or common table sugar.  After experiments demonstrated that aspartame caused cancerous tumors in lab animals, the FDA backed off.

However, in 1981, aspartame was officially approved under “interesting” circumstances.  The FDA Commissioner at the time refused to approve aspartame.

He was fired.

His replacement, Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., pushed through the approval for aspartame to be used in consumer foods and beverages.  And then he left the FDA to take an executive position with G.D. Searles.

G.D. Searles?

Oh yeah, they make aspartame.

Do a search on aspartame.  Look at the ingredients.  A real smorgasbord of methanol and other seemingly toxic substances.

Sucralose

Okay, these are the yellow packets.  We see them as Splenda, SucraPlus, and other sugar substitute brands.

Approved in 1998, sucralose can be found in over 4,500 consumer food and drinks.  It’s twice as sweet as saccharin, four times as sweet as aspartame, and 600 times as sweet as table sugar.

And an ingredient list that appears to be far more “natural” than aspartame.

Going forward, I’m sticking with drinks that contain sucralose based sweeteners.  At least til we find out what happens with the latest round of rat experiments.

There are two additional sweeteners that have been approved by the FDA.  They are far less common and are typically, due to taste, mixed in with one of the previous three we have discussed.  They are:

Neotame

Made by NutraSweet, this artificial sweetener is over 10,000 times as sweet as table sugar.  It’s chemically similar to aspartame, which means it has some really potentially toxic  components.  But the sweetener content of one “packet” of Neotame equals over ten “packets” of aspartame.

However, due to the bitter aftertaste, it is usually blended with aspartame or one of the other substitutes.

Acesulfame Potassium

Marketed under the names Sunett or Sweet One, Acesulfame Potassium is 200 times as sweet as ordinary table sugar.  It has roughly the same sweetness factor as aspartame, but also delivers a slightly bitter aftertaste.

It is also usually blended with aspartame or sucralose.

Artificial Sweeteners

You do some studying on this sweetener stuff and you begin to realize that when they say “artificial”, they really mean chemically not found in nature.  In other words, probably not stuff we want to be eating or drinking.  Or at least not in massive quantities.

I’ve sworn off aspartame for awhile.  Found some tea mix that uses sucralose, which, although still “artificial”, appears to be far more compatible with the human body.

I’ll let you know what happens with the buzzing.

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Doctor Doctor - Give Me The News…

I have a friend.  This friend’s father died of a heart attack several years ago.  His mother died of cancer last year.  Both at a fairly young age.

That has to be rough and I can’t say for certain how I would deal with it, but I know how my friend has been dealing with it.  He has decided that his time on this earth is short and that if that cold he had last week doesn’t turn into swine flu, it’s bound to lead to pneumonia.  And that nagging pain in his shoulder, that might be a tumor.  I told him he just needs to change his golf swing, but he’s insistent that there’s something going on.  And that that something may be terminal.

Yes, my friend has turned into a stressed out hypochondriac.  And that means our local GNC manager just smiles and rubs his hands together when he sees my friend coming.

Of course there’s the daily multivitamin.  And not just any multivitamin.  It has to be the premium blend that contains roughly 3000% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins A-Z, 35 minerals including iron, zinc, and something called rebar-ite, and 47 herbs including ginseng, dandelion, and I think crabgrass.  Amazing how they get all that stuff into one little pill.  But, oh wait, he has to take 3 of those pills a day.

But grab your shopping basket, cause my friend’s monthly trip to the Ye Olde Miracle Tonics and Elixirs store doesn’t stop there.

There’s SAM-e for mood and to prevent the onset of osteoarthritis (hey, he is 43…it could happen!)

There’s Folic Acid.  Now this one is a real bargain cause it protects against heart attacks AND cancer.

There’s Milk Thistle for his liver.  Fish Oil and Flaxseed Oil for his heart.  And Resveratrol for overall antioxidant protection.

There’s more, but I can’t keep up with the various miracle pill of the month supplement scams he opens his wallet for.

And yes, I’ve tried to talk to him about his habit.  We even tried an intervention where we slipped him a glass of V-8 Juice to replace his usual $3.95 shot of wheat grass juice.  But to no avail.  He is convinced that the only way to hold off his genetically accelerated date with death, is to fortify his body with every healing and curative pill, powder, and potion he can find.

Yesterday he told me he’d been having headaches.  I’m off to buy some more GNC stock.

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Ten Things I Want To Do

Was watching that Jack Nicholson - Morgan Freeman movie “Bucket List” the other night.  In the flick, our heroes are both terminally ill and are on a world spanning quest to do the things they’ve always wanted to do before they die.

Not a very good movie, but it did get me thinking about some things I haven’t done in my life.  Yet.

I’ve been very fortunate in my life as I have had the opportunity to engage in some activities that many of my friends openly wonder about.  These include diving with Great White sharks, hiking the Australian Outback, and tramp sailing the British Virgin Islands.  I certainly can’t complain about a lack of adventure in my life, but there are still some things I haven’t done that I can’t wait to experience.

So, here are ten things I definitely want to do.  And no, I’m not going to say ‘before I die’ because that’s just drawing a morbid line in the sand.

1. Attend a Carnival parade and party in Brazil. I’ve had friends who traveled to attend Carnival and they rave about the legendary celebration.
2. Have a book published. Yes, I’m a closet fiction writer.  Have a mystery/suspense manuscript I’ve been working on.  just need to focus on getting it finished.
3. Climb an active volcano. Just to be able to look down into the belly of the earth.
4. Take a ride in the space shuttle. No explanation needed.
5. Travel on the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia. An amazing trip through the Orient.
6. Learn a martial art. As the years go by, I’m thinking of something more along the lines of tai chai as opposed to kung fu.
7. Base jump off a skyscraper. Yea, not sure my wife would go along with this one.
8. Participate in a professional jet ski race. I love tearing around a choppy ocean in a souped up Seadoo.
9. Run in a 10k with my son. If my knees can hold out, he should be ready in about 10 years.
10. Teach my grandchildren how to throw a ball. This one is a little further off, but it’s the dream that really keeps me going.

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An Aussie Mate Has Found The Secret To Getting Fit

Okay, maybe not THE SECRET, but he definitely has put together a really good program for losing weight and getting fit.

(I don’t normally do plugs, but the following is a shout out for an Aussie done good)

Adam Waters is a friend of a friend from down under and he has developed a fitness/diet program called the RTP Transformation System.  And unlike the trendy fad fitness programs that are out there, it takes a realistic, comprehensive approach to getting fit.

Adam was once a couch potato til one day he decided to make some changes in his life.  Over a number of months he thoroughly documented his transformation into an active, fit stud.  He compiled all these lessons learned and designed the RTP System.

I encountered Adam in social settings a couple of times when I was in Oz and I never would have guessed he had ever been anything but a hyper, charismatic, in-shape guy.  So, to see the pictures of the before, during, and after were really shocking.

Anyway, I’ve looked at the program and over the last couple of weeks have incorporated many of the training guidelines (anaerobic vs aerobic isolation, etc) into my own workouts.

If nothing else, browsing his site makes for some fascinating reading.

Adam Waters RTP Transformation System

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Three Questions I Ask Before Considering The Use Of A Supplement (Part One)

When I’m browsing through my local GNC or online health shop, there are generally three questions I ask myself about any supplement pill, powder, or potion that I might be interested in.

Today I’ll address the first question, which is:

Do I need it?

And by need, I mean is this supplement supposedly providing something I can’t get from my daily diet or a generic multi vitamin?  Not the FDA’s recommended daily diet that includes eight servings of fruits and vegetables, fish, chicken, etc. But my daily diet - the one that I’m realistically able to maintain.  Because who consistently gets eight servings of fruits and veggies in every day?  Easy to do when I was living in Australia, but not so easy here in Processed Food, USA.

But I do get enough protein, so no need for whey supplements or generally any other protein or amino acid-based add-ons.  And I’m generally a pretty happy guy who sleeps well, so no need for the mood enhancing or sleep improvement lines of herbs and minerals.

What about all the energy boosting, fat “burning” fire in a bottle supplements that are so popular? Do I need those?

I used to be a poster child for popping ephedra supplements back in the day when I used to hit the weights pretty hard, but between chasing a three year old around and wearing out the corporate treadmill, I tend to shift into third gear pretty easily without the need for any of the energy-enhancers that are out there.  And man, those things can be expensive.  Just to be honest though, I do still have a big bottle of Hydroxycut that I may occasionally dip into that has lasted me well over a year.

So, what needs does my body really have that can’t be met by my diet or the multi vitamin I pop each morning?

Additional Cardiovascular Support

My father died of a heart attack at age 62.  My 45 year old brother just recently had a heart attack.  He weighs 185lbs, works out, and plays rec basketball 3-4 times a week.  So, I’m pretty sure that there’s some hereditary family risk there that has nothing to do with cardio fitness.  Understandably I’m a little paranoid in doing what I can to maintain heart health.

In the interest of boosting cardio strength and controlling cholesterol, I do take omega-3 supplements.  This is in addition to eating fish at least 2-3 times a week.  I take both fish and flax seed oil supplements.  Reputable brands don’t have to expensive, although, as with any supplement, do your homework on the quality of the manufacturer.

In addition, I pop a Red Yeast Rice pill each day.  Science looks good on the cholesterol reducing benefits, and they also are not expensive, so better safe than sorry.

Additional Anti Oxidant Support

I’ve done alot of research into the science behind free radicals and the power of antioxidants.  There’s alot of hype out there around the miracle effects of antioxidants.  Most of the anti aging product lines are based on their anti oxidant ingredients.  But the research behind their beneficial effects is solid.  As we get older, our body cannot keep up with the destructive oxidative processes that result in many of the inner and outer effects of aging, such as skin wrinkling, loss of bone density, and reductions in mental clarity.

I wish I could get more fruit in my diet, especially the dark berries.  They are chock full of antioxidants.  So are carrots, bright peppers, and other colorful vegetables.  But I don’t get enough of those either.  Of course I could beef up my red wine intake.  The resveratrol in red wine is a powerful antioxidant.  But I’m not sure I want to start my day with a glass of Merlot.

So, I take Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA).  ALA enhances the abilities of vitamin C and vitamin E, and is a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals throughout the body, including the major organs such as the heart and brain.  There are many studies around the use of ALA for a variety of disorders, but it also seems to be beneficial for anyone just looking to boost their intake of antioxidants.

And that’s pretty much all I need.  Well, this and my handy bottle of V8 Juice.  I do try to get those vegies in one way or another.

What supplements do you take?  And do you really need them?

Tomorrow I’ll discuss the second question I ask when considering a supplement:

Does it work?

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