Friday Reading Report: Summary of Vitamins and Minerals

The last bunch of chapters in my text have been about vitamins and minerals.  Let me summarize.

Humans need a whole bunch of different vitamins and minerals for optimum function.  However, we do not need huge quantities of each one.  In fact, the symptoms of vitamin and/or mineral toxicity are often as horrible as the symptoms of deficiency.  (Heart arrhythmia?  Nerve damage?  Coma and death, anyone?)  In this, as in so many things, we want the Goldilocks way:  just the right amount.

It is extremely human to think:  I will do this the easy way and pop some supplements and then I can go on my merry, donut-eating way.  Sadly, this does not work as well as we might hope.  For one thing, the body absorbs many vitamins and minerals more efficiently from food.  For another, supplements, given the state of regulation in the industry, may or may not contain what they are supposed to and might even contain a bunch of stuff they are NOT supposed to.  The exceptions:  some vegans, people with genetic disorders, and folks taking certain medications may require supplements.  (Please note:  I take a bunch of supplements myself, but I’m weeding them down as a result of what I’ve learned.)

If I had to summarize this entire book, not just these chapters, the advice would be the same:  Eat a varied diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins; don’t forget to move.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the summary will be enough to pass the test…

Curmudgeon Is a Good Word

I may well be a curmudgeon, but I don’t love Valentine’s Day.  I don’t need the shopping industrial complex to tell me to love people.  I love my people every day.  However, I do like hearts.  Cardio is love for our hearts and here are three bonus reasons to do it:

1.     It makes us feel good.  Cardio boosts our mood better than antidepressants, according to some studies.  (If we are taking antidepressants, this does not mean that we should stop without talking to our doctors, but we can also take a walk or two or ten…)

2.     It makes our brains work better.  Our cognitive function does, in fact, improve after we’ve gotten good and breathless.

3.     It burns calories.  If our loves happen to give us chocolates to mark the day, we might need to burn a few extra of those.

Go play.

Ticking Boxes Does It For Me

My Fitbit died, again.  Since I liked it but did not love it, this is not a tragedy.  I did get a little jolt of something when it buzzed me for reaching my step goal, but really, I already know when I’m getting enough exercise.  It is not the very best accountability tool for me.  That said, it may well be the right tool for some of us.  And all of us do better if we have some system for keeping ourselves on track.  It often takes some experimenting to find the right one.  Here are some things to try, including ones that I use.

• Fitness trackers.  Yes, this includes my dearly departed Fitbit, but also everyone’s fancy Apple Watch.  People will do a surprising number of things to complete little circles or hit buzzing goals.

• Buddies.  This one works in person or by text, phone, email, or other communication method (smoke signal?).  A buddy can, obviously, work out right along with us, making us show up by presence alone.  Alternatively, we can make a deal where we text our buddy after we’ve done our workout or our buddy can gently harass us about it if we haven’t made contact yet.

• Social Media.  I use this one.  It works like having a whole bunch of buddies.  I take a photo of something in every workout and post it on Instagram.

• Paper.  I use this one, too.  I have a lot of fitness activities to track (cardio, weights, Pilates, yoga) and I like to have a weekly workout sheet that reminds me about what exactly I’m supposed to be doing.  I also enjoy ticking boxes the way some people enjoy completing virtual circles.

Try one or more and see what works!