January 09, 2008
ear, nose and taint
1/9/08
It is January 10 as you read this, which means, for me, I have gone a whole calendar year without getting sick. Given my body's suggestibility, that probably means I'll be in the hospital on January 11 with the grippe, goiters, shingles and the Strong Fives, but for now, I'm feeling utterly blessed to have made the anniversary.
Last holiday season, I'd fucking had it with being sick. I got five separate, horrible illnesses that kept me in bed - off and on - for two months, and I was getting desperate for a solution. My buddy Mark Rizzo, our neighbor and charmingly funny writer, turned me on to a cocktail of supplements his friend had researched, and I decided to try it. We also have a massage therapist friend who suggested something else. So I present to you the regimen that has kept the immunity wolves barking at illness for one whole year:
1. Omega-3 supplement (preferably odorless) - I use the Trader Joe's brand, and I recommend the odorless kind or lest you burp fish all day, which really can happen. Just one of these a day.
2. Basic good multivitamin - I can't imagine anyone reading this blog could possibly remember to do this more than once a day, so be kind to yourself: get the once-daily kind. Experiment with the ones that won't give you heartburn, like the Nature's Way version pictured above. If you want an adrenaline rush, try the "Energy" ones with all the B-vitamins.
3. Co-Q10 softgels - Once a day, I take two of these. I don't even care what they do, I'm just following directions from Mark's friend. And my doctor liked them.
4. Young Living Inner Defense softgels - From Julie Chertow, massage therapist nonpareil, we got this product - and both Tessa and I feel like it's actually doing something. And this is coming from a guy who got kicked off stage by a hypnotherapist because he said I was ruining his show. Definitely take it with food, or else you'll feel the essential oils, which are spicy ones like oregano. Their secret ingredient? A blend called "Thieves", comprised of herbs once eaten by thieves during the Great Plague. Most of them apparently never got the plague, and credit this mixture.
Is all of this total horseshit? I don't know and I don't care. I'm not sick right now. I wasn't sick all year. Better than that, I don't instantly assume that I'll get sick every time somebody coughs up a lung, which used to happen. I actually assume I'll get past it. Sure, I'll have a crappy afternoon or night once in a while, but for some reason, I have faith that I'll be better the next day.
Does experience breed positivity, or does positivity create experience? Are those Thieves gels keeping me well, or is the act of taking them keeping me fooled? In this case, I'm happy to have my analytical powers fail blissfully.
Posted by Ian Williams at January 9, 2008 11:51 PMBravo for your good health-- many thanks for sharing! FYI-for the Vegetarians out there, Flaxseed Oil (1000mg) works as a great source of Omega-3 and you don't burp fish!
Can't wait to get me some Thieves on my side; i'd like to think of myself as robbing the plague of one more victim. cheers.
Congratulations! One year sans illness is nothing to, errr, sneeze at.
My husband takes a similar cocktail of supplements several times a day and hardly ever gets sick -- once a year would be a lot for him. And he's 62.
Does Lucy go to preschool yet? Once your child is in school, all the newly evolved viruses ride home with her and you may need those supplements more than ever.
This is interesting information, but I would like to hear Dr. Neva's opinion about these supplements. I am glad that they worked for you, but I am leery of taking too many myself.
Neva? Is the doctor in?
taint?
Yesterday on NPR, I heard Michael Pollan promoting his new book, "In Defense of Food."
If you follow his simple formula -- "Eat Food [i.e. natural, non-processed foods], not too much, mostly from plants" -- I believe you'll get all of the above in a healthier form.
But eating "Food" is hard. So hard. [sigh]
Noted. I certainly need something; I can't seem to shake my sinusitis at all.
watching tyler's dunk last night over 7'7" kenny george is also good for you, like vitamin c.
it's that time of year and i'm doing the raw/whole food thing -no meat, no dairy, no sugar, no oil, no carbs. but as much fruit/veggies/legumes as you can handle. so the omega-3 is a must or else my brain will melt. i do the flax seed version.
Not much time right now, but short version of my opinion - I think O3FAs are worth it, esp if you have high lipids or heart disease risk - check to make sure they are tested for mercury though - Nordic Naturals are a good brand. The others have no good studies for or against them so I can't say but I would be a bit cautious with lots of herbs if you're on any other meds. I have seen patients with kidney and/or liver problems from drug combinations (and herbs are drugs after all). Would be nice if we could get some good studies on all this stuff but until big pharma feels it's worthwhile to them, it won't happen.
Back to work..
I grew up with a doctor father who had the same view as the person that Bud describes. If you have a good diet, vitamins are worthless. Vitamins were almost a dirty word in our house. Unfortunately, I didn't touch a green vegetable until I entered college. I survived just fine, but ever since my blood was refused to the Red Cross because my iron levels were too low, I've been taking a multivitamin every day (almost). And I don't feel quite as tired as I used to.
Good job! Since being out here in California, I also have taken steps toward the Hippie Way. Here's three things I do that keep me healthy:
1) Take a swig of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar in the morning. BRACING, to say the least. Make sure you get the "live" kind with the "mother" in the bottom, not just regular Heinz or whatever. Hippocrates drank it!
2) Drink green tea with turmeric added. Turmeric's good for the heart and stuff, and combined with green tea it supposedly takes the blood out of your swollen muscles so the lymph can do its healing job... something like that. I dunno. Like Ian, I just listen to my massage therapist and drink what she says.
3) KOMBUCHA and KEFIR! Nectars of the gods, for sure.
...and don't call me a hippie
ive always enjoyed and been intrigued by the response to taking alternative medication as possibly being "placebo".........i think "placebo" is just the best doctor/philosopher/mother/therapist/economic/ergonomic/intuative/human in the house.
At last--something Craighill and I agree on! Thanks for posting the link. IMF
Rizzy in the hizzy!
I remember feeling bummed that I was going to a dinner party with artsy types on the night of the Dook-UConn national championship game, only to learn that Mark--HI MARK FROM DAVEBALL BALL [Note: Mark used to date Kimima Ima, so he understands]--was a big hoops fan and, being a man of uncommon good taste, hated Dook. So two bonuses--I got to watch the game, and I got to watch Dook lose. Ah, serendipity. DB
I take 3000 mg of fish oil a day and miss it when I miss it. Good for heart, clears up your skin, gives you a great big mocha and fish burp at 10:42 am like clockwork and is reputed to be good for the brain. I could eat 25 bucks worth of salmon a day to get the natural effect but prefer to spend that much a month to get what is basically cod liver oil on the spoon in a handy pill form.