Health-Wise Wednesdays

Topic: Vitamins


I weighed myself this morning, and I'm still at 137 pounds. No loss, no gain, no problem. I'm not disappointed, because I've been eating better than usual. Even when we've gone out I've made every effort to eat healthier than in the past, resulting in my sodium levels being much lower than before. I know exactly why my weight stayed the same. It's the vitamins.


I take Women's One a Day vitamins because I have low blood iron and eating right is just not enough. If I take just straight iron pills I get severe pains in my legs and kidneys, so my doctor told me to take a multi-vitamin instead. It has helped as far as iron levels go; however I find that too many vitamins affect my body in other negative ways - constipation and colic being the primary issue. Vitamins also make me gain weight, partly because my digestive systems isn't working at its best. However, I've found that if I take my vitamin every other day and continue to eat properly, I have better digestion and still get the health benefits I want.


Last week I went to see the eye doctor, and I mentioned that my eyes get tired easily, and they burn whenever I sit down to read for a while. If you enjoy reading as much as I do, you understand how frustrating this can be. He examined my eyes and found that I don't produce enough oil. We all know that our eyes have tears. What I didn't know was that there's a layer of oil underneath the tears that helps keep the eyes lubricated so the eyes don't dried up. If the eyes don't produce enough oil the water breaks up, leaving the eyes dry and burning. This was my problem, and the remedy was a simple one: omega-3 tablets. We have these at home, so I decided to start taking them twice a day (the doctor said 3 times a day but I wanted to see how my body reacted to them first). I also started taking my regular vitamins daily to see if that would help. Right away I noticed I was getting bloated, and rather than having more energy I was getting tired very quickly. I also knew I was gaining weight again. Sure enough, I weighed myself and was back to 140 lbs. This has been an issue with me for years: the sure way to put on pounds is to start taking vitamins. Why this is, I'm not quite sure. Maybe I retain more of my calories when my body absorbs this many vitamins, both from the pills and from food. The worst part is, I don't feel better when I'm taking them. I feel sluggish, like an old woman (which I'm not!). So I went back to taking the vitamins every other day, including the omega-3. And once again, my body began feeling better. My digestive system is back on track, I've got energy again, and my weight is back to where it should be.

Does this mean I'm against vitamins? No. It means everyone is different. What works for one person won't work for everyone. How many times haven't I heard, "*Such-and-such* diet is wonderful, I've lost XX pounds," while someone else on the same diet will say, "I didn't lose anything, instead I gained weight." Each body is created differently, everyone is special, and everyone needs to find what works best for their own bodies. Don't get upset if someone says, "I tried your methods and they didn't work." Pray and ask the Lord to show you how to properly take care of the body He's given you. You'll look and feel better if you follow His advise for you.