My grandma took a lot of nutritional supplements and thought a lot about nutrition. She worked at a health food store, Ames’ Nutrition, until she was about 80. In some respects, she was far ahead of her time, for example her concern about cholesterol. Other times, her beliefs and health practices struck me as eccentric and at times, down right illogical. Like the time she asked for a whole wheat bun at Burger King. Maybe she thought by requesting whole wheat, it would help the fast food chain reconsider their offerings. Okay, now that doesn’t sound so illogical. A better example would be when she put honey in my grandpa’s eyes to help his cataracts. Grandma always carried a large purse. When we had some kind of ailment, she often had some remedy in there. She always had papaya enzyme tablets in there, in case someone had indigestion.
My father-in-law was visiting recently. He got a look at my pill box and was impressed by the size of the daily compartments. After many years of just taking vitamin D and calcium, I am now taking A LOT of supplements. I laugh at myself and think, “I am one of those crazy supplement people. One of the pod people.” Cancer has made me more like my grandmother than I had expected to be.
So what supplements are in the enormous pockets of my pill organizer, you ask? (Everything but the multi-vitamin are what my naturopath has recommended for me.)
Vitamin D (breast cancer prevention)
Vitamin E (tissue healing)
Fish oil (cancer prevention)
COQ10 (for cardiac health)
Bone Strength (combo of calcium and other goodies for the bones)
Zyflamend (combo of turmeric, ginger, and other anti-inflammatories for cancer prevention)
B12 to combat fatigue
B Complex for stress
GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) cancer prevention and skin health
Magnesium Citrate-for sleep and to keep me regular ’cause the 2 TB flax meal is not enough for a lady on hormone blockers
Multiple Vitamin (You know, just in case I missed anything.)
My Eyes Are Up Here 
My step-dad always took a million pills and just as many pill boxes. All kinds. He said he was always looking for the “right one.” And now, with all of the medication I take (along with some supplements) I find myself doing the same thing–trying to the find the right one. Your post brought back some find memories.
I’m glad the post brought warm nostalgia!
So tell me about Magnesium Citrate for sleep…something you take in the evening? My daughters are always having trouble falling asleep…their minds are just going! How many mg and I have also heard magnesium is good for bone health as well.I am also interested in the Zyflamend. Love all those spices and try to cook with them as much as possible. Thanks for posting!
It is magnesium citrate sold as “Calm” powder and yes, it is taken in the evening. I also take it for regularity since my hormone blockers are slightly constipating even with the 2 TB of flax meal I eat every day! If your girls have trouble with sleep onset, melatonin (3-5 mg night) can be a big help. My naturopath also recommended that I add it after the magnesium citrate but by that time I was sleeping a lot better so I didn’t need it. Plus, melatonin is especially good for sleep onset and that was not my problem. Lots of kids in my practice have taken it with good effects and there is also a fair amount of research on it for promoting sleep in pediatric populations.
Yes I have tried the melatonin with them…I will have to ask the one in college if she still tries it…
3-5 mg can work well, about 1 hour before bedtime. If she’s still having trouble, she might try Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia. There’s a program by that name that costs about $50 online.
However, Your Grandmother may have lived longer if she combined her supplements with her heart medicine. She was taking some unproven supplement from a wacko in Alaska. When Mom passed away , she immediately asked us to ship back her supplements. I was not aware of this and would have had them tested.
So, you are doing it the right way. Listen to both Drs.
Yeah, she treated her doctors like a banquet, from which she could pick and choose.
We use papaya enzyme…how funny, I’d forgotten Nonny did, too. I do remember the “hockey puck” natural cookies she used to send us in care packages, along with natural licorice. :- )
Yes, the “hockey puck” cookies were worse than going without cookies. The Panda licorice, on the other hand, was really tasty. And the Tiger Milk bars were pasty but tasted good enough to keep eating them.
Oh man, I loved those Tiger Milk bars! The one true licorice is Red Vines. I will have no others before me. I liked those slippery elm lozenges she carried in her purse, too. Any “Tom’s” product immediately makes me think of Nonny. I probably use so many of them because of her. :- )
Red licorice! That’s not even real licorice! Those are just red sugar sticks! You are worshiping a false god!
There was a great cartoon episode in which a kid wished to be older, he turned into an old man, his family mistook him for “grandpa”, and when he finally hobbled over to the dinner table, in anticipation of a good meal, he was served “his favorite”…pills! (“Dexter’s Laboratory”, if you are wondering).
That does sound like a funny cartoon. I will check it out!