vast majority of your vitamins and minerals from food and take the word sup-
plementliterally. No pill will compensate for a diet of Doritos and Budweiser.
When you eat healthy foods, you not only get vitamins and minerals, but you
also get protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and other nutrients.Choose a multivitamin (rather than individual pills) with doses that don’t go
much beyond 100 percent of the U.S. RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance).
Don’t bother with super potency megavitamins, which often contain more
than ten times the U.S. RDA (and cost you bundles). Your body can absorb
only so much of each nutrient; if you go overboard, most of the excess is just
excreted when you go to the bathroom. As one doctor told us, “You’ll have
very expensive urine.” Also, some vitamins are stored in your body, so mega-
doses can lead to dangerous outcomes.Also, forget those designer vitamins hawked infomercial-style by has-been
celebrities and former athletes. Generic drugstore brands are identical.
Manufacturers have yet to come up with the magical combination of dosages
to banish wrinkles or to make you live to 196, although a telemarketer once
called to inform Liz that every single Olympic athlete today swears by her
particular brand of supplements. “Really, every single one?” she asked. Yes,
she said. She was quite sure — every single one.102 Part II: Enjoying Total-Body Health: Eating Well and Staying Injury-Free