My Vitamin Addiction, a Delightful Affliction

    Part Two of "My beautiful so-called eating disorder"

    (12/18/2014) It started when I moved to New York during what has since been deemed the dirtiest and most crime-ridden decade of the century. I loved it anyway, but I couldn't quite get used to the fact that every surface one touched was sticky: subway straps, elevator buttons, pay phones, doorknobs, even faucets in the restrooms. Having grown up in a home where everything was disinfected CONSTANTLY with Lysol and Clorox, this was hard to tolerate. My feelings of joy at being in this grand city were punctuated by shudders of revulsion (and this was long before various TV investigations informed us that practically every surface around us is covered with fecal matter and seminal fluid).
    I launched my career of pill-taking innocently enough, ingesting a Vitamin C tablet several times a day to ward off the germs. Then I read that zinc boosts immunity and is good for your skin, so I added that. Then I read that Vitamin E maintained heart health, so I thought "why not?"
    And thus it began.

    These days, I take my first dose of Vitamin C at 2 a.m., along with a lactobacillus probiotic (intestinal health & immune protection), oil of oregano (antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal), oil of peppermint (digestive aid), chlorophyll (internal cleansing & deodorizing) magnesium (bone health and relaxant) and acetyl l-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid (antioxidants, brain function & anti-aging).
    Before my oatmeal, after my morning jog, I take three Omega-3 capsules (cognitive function, skin, eye dryness, lots more) and Vitamin C.
    I take more Vitamin C (immunity, collagen builder, etc) throughout the day.
    Before dinner, I take calcium citrate and Vitamin D (bone health and cognitive function, immune boost), Vitamin K2 (improves calcium absorption), selenium (antioxidant), zinc (immune boost) a multivitamin, three more Omega-3 capsules, glucosamine & chondroitin with MSM (joint health), Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid (anti-dementia),  Co-enzyme Q-10 (heart health), chromium (blood glucose control), melatonin (for sleep) and more oil of oregano. I also take a super-dooper probiotic and black currant oil, both of which I believe have moderated my lupus.

Just arrange them neatly in a big pantry, and they won't be so overwhelming.

   There are other lovely pills reserved for particular occasions: pantothenic acid, L-lysine,  olive leaf extract, turmeric, beta glucans, activated charcoal. I tried DHEA (to maintain bone & muscle mass and skin integrity), but it didn't feel right. If I had more shelf space, and tummy space, and money, I would also try l-arginine, 5-HTP, SAMe, pycnogenol, noni juice and digestive enzymes.
    I don't just throw these pills back as a matter of habit. I use visualization to help me appreciate what each supplement is doing as it makes its way through the byzantine highway of my circulatory system. It's a beautiful moving picture. 
    I love my vitamins. I don't advocate that others take them; it's a personal choice. Sometimes I think I've gone overboard, but I'm passionate about each of them.
   Occasionally, for some reason, I think about how I'd feel about going to prison. The first thing that comes into my mind is "Would they let me have my vitamins? Could I go jogging?" Also, I really wouldn't want to be someone's "wife" in there -- not that there's anything wrong with that.