My daily dilemma with vitamins is that I simply don’t remember to take them.  Part of the problem is that I’m in constant movement – and don’t sit still very long to develop this type of routine.  I also don’t want to place vitamin bottles on my breakfast table – while they would be a great reminder to me, I hate to do this with young children around.  I’ve even bought one of those pill boxes – but again, that hasn’t helped me much at all.

My next dilemma with vitamins is determining what I should actually be taking.  I’m someone who shies away from medicine in general…but as my bones age, and despite a relatively healthy diet, I still believe I should be doing something.  I also have a doctor who does not feel passionately about vitamins – and believes a healthy diet is more than sufficient.  But nine daily servings of fruit and veggies?  I don’t think I’m eating quite that bountifully.

So, I recently took a scan through Dr. Nancy Snyderman’s new book, Medical Myths That Can Kill You.

I was particularly interested in what her recommendation of taking vitamins would be.  She made it clear that there is an ongoing debate about vitamins and minerals, but the one thing that is critically important is calcium.  This is her take on what we should take:

1.  Calcium - Dosage is 1000-1500 miligrams.  Calcium carbonate and calcium citrate are the most easily absorbed, and most generic supplements are fine.  

2.  A general multivitamin formulated with antioxidants (taken once daily with food).

3.  Vitamin D, 200 IU daily for people 19-50, 400 IU daily for those 51-70, 600 IU daily for those 71+ (an average multivitamin tablet contains 400 IU of vitamin D  - therefore if you take a daily multivitamin, you most likely are covered.

4.   Omega 3 supplement,  especially if you don’t eat fish twice a week.  Talk to your doctor about the proper dosage for you, based on your cardiovascular health. 

What is your daily vitamin routine?  And how do you establish a routine?!  Since my husband is usually the morning coffee maker, maybe I should enlist his help in laying out my vitamins as well.  Or I can ask Sam to remind me, as usually “can I have my vitamin” is the first sentence out of his mouth every morning.  Of course to him, it’s the next best thing to a gummy bear.