Vitamania

One of the best things about road trips, in my opinion, is getting to listen to all sorts of interviews on the radio while we drive. Interviews that I would not normally have time for, often on topics that I wouldn't naturally gravitate towards. Whenever we hit the road, Doug and I switch back and forth between CBC Radio One and NPR depending on our moods and the topic of the hour.

Last year when we drove to Florida and back I heard several authors interviewed and came away with a list of books that I wanted to read. I downloaded them all and, over the year, have worked my way through them. This year, I had my notebook and fountain pen ready and was not disappointed. I now have 6 more books on my 'to read' list.

The one that I wanted to read first was a new book that just came out called Vitamania: Our Obsessive Quest for Nutritional Perfection. It's written by Catherine Price. She was interviewed for almost an hour and we listened with fascination while she explained what vitamins actually are, what they do and how we have been convinced that we need megadoses of these things in order to be healthy. She talked about the history of vitamins and how devastating it can be if someone is deficient (scurvy anyone?). She talked about how dramatic vitamins could be and how having something as simple as a few oranges could miraculously bring someone back to robust health.

She also talked about how it's not yet clear how much of any of these vitamins we really do need to consume and what the long-term risks are of getting too much. She also talked about how unregulated the production of vitamins is and some of the risks associated with taking pills when we don't know for sure what they contain.

Oh, and she has type 1 diabetes too boot which upped the coolness factor by a few notches.

So I got the book and I've started reading it. We heard that interview last week. Since then I have read an article about her in the National Post and I have seen mention of her book on Diabetes Advocacy Facebook pages. It sounds like she's reached the 'tipping point' (which by the way is another interesting book) and I'm guessing you'll be hearing a lot about this book if you haven't already.

On a personal note, I've been interested in nutrition as long as I can remember. I read everything I can get my hands on about it. Over the years, I've learned that the world of nutrition a slowly evolving one where things like fats, carbs, protein, vitamins, omega 3s and other things come in and out of favour as our knowledge increases. It can seem frustrating as the messages change (I've lost track of whether eggs are good for me or not) but I take comfort in the fact that the messages change because we are learning more.

So I will read Catherine's book with fascination and add what she says to my knowledge base. I may not clean out my vitamin cupboard but I expect I may pare it down a bit and spend a bit more energy trying to get what I need from my diet rather than my pharmacy.

Supplement Overload

Remember a few months ago when I went to see a naturopath?

And he sent me for all sorts of blood tests that confirmed that I was NOT low in iron or B12?

And then he sent me home with a list of vitamins, digestive enzymes and fish oil to add to my diet?

Well, I added them. As instructed.

I even worked out a vitamin schedule to fit them all in without overlapping the things that should not be overlapped.

- one digestive enzyme tablet and a vitamin D with breakfast, along with a teaspoon of fish oil in my breakfast shake
- vitamin C (sometimes with iron) around 10:30am
- digestive enzymes, a calcium and a K2/D3 gel at lunch
- vitamin C in the afternoon
- digestive enzymes with dinner,
- and a multivitamin before bed.

I've been doing that since October. Every day.

I'm getting kinda sick of all the pills I have to take. I'm also getting kinda nervous because the supply I bought when I started this whole thing will be running low within a few weeks and the cost of replenishing is making me nauseous.

On top of all that, there have been a rash of articles lately in the newspapers and magazines as well as CBC interviews with people talking about the amount of money we waste on vitamins and other supplements that are often unnecessary and sometimes downright harmful.

I don't feel any different since I've started taking them. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to or not but I don't. No more energetic. No 'healthier'. I don't sleep better. My blood sugar doesn't behave any differently whether I take digestive enzymes before a meal or not. The only thing I've noticed is that I have not yet been sick this year. Considering the amount of cold germs I'm exposed to every day, that is a pleasant surprise.

Still though I'm beginning to doubt my regimen. And beginning to wonder if I really need to be taking all that I'm taking.

My diabetes doctor put me on vitamin D years ago. My naturopath agreed.

My family doctor put me on calcium late last fall after getting the results of my bone density scan back. My naturopath agreed.

The other stuff? My naturopath put me on it all and no one else has had any input to agree or disagree. So I don't know what they would say if I asked but I can guess they would tell me that most of it is unnecessary.

Does that mean they are right?

Why should I give one doctor's opinion more weight than another's.

Argh!

So I continue to take what I've been taking. Until they run out. And then I decide whether or not to get more. At this point, I'm leaning rather heavily towards not getting any more of any of it - except vitamin D and calcium.

We'll see.

Admitting is the First Step

I was driving home yesterday afternoon and listening, as always, to CBC Radio One.

It's a rare day when I'm am not fascinated by what they are talking about.

I missed the beginning of the interview and didn't catch who exactly they were interviewing. Whoever it was was talking about the growing number of people out there who are using some form of alternative therapy. My ears perked up when she said ''naturopath".

The speaker did not have any problem with naturopaths but she did say that many traditional family doctors do.

Because of that, many patients keep that information from their family doctor. They also, often, refrain from mentioning that they are taking fish oil. Or Coenzyme Q10. Or any other non-traditional supplement which, according to the speaker, can interact with pharmaceutical drugs in unexpected ways.

The message was not to stop taking supplements. Nor was it to stop taking pharmaceuticals.

It was to be open with everyone about who you are going to see, what you are taking, and why.

It's interesting.

When I went to the naturopath last week, they asked me to fill out a form with all the medications I was taking and the doses. I didn't hesitate and put every little pill down. I even put down the Vega powder I put in my breakfast shake because it's pretty high in a lot of things and I didn't want them recommending something that might lead to my taking too much.

On the other hand, when I go to my family doctor and they ask what I'm taking, I have no problem listing all the medications that they, or my diabetes doctor, prescribed. I do, however, refrain from mentioning my Vega powder. Or my iron pills.

I haven't seen my GP since I saw my naturopath but I'll be there early in the new year. I already know I'm going to think several times before 'admitting' that I'm taking a teaspoon of fish oil in my breakfast and digestive enzymes before meals.

Because I'm pretty darn sure I'm going to get a sigh and a polite lecture.

I also know that I'm going to think twice about telling my diabetes doctor because I've asked her several times about supplements for people with type 1 and she has always insisted that I only need Vitamin D and nothing else.

I'm not sure what the problem is exactly. I'm a firm believer that I am responsible for my own health and that the doctors, nurses and dieticians I see are there to help me make good choices and understand my options. They are not my bosses and they don't have the right to tell me what to do or not do. They can make recommendations and provide information to help me make my own choices.

And yet I am not thrilled at the idea of telling them about the naturopath in my life and the fact that I'm giving their advice as much weight as everyone else's. I won't do everything they recommend either but I'll certainly consider it seriously.

I have a few months before my next 'traditional' appointment which should give me enough time to get used to the idea that I'm going to have to look my doctor in the eye and say 'yes, I'm taking fish oil and enzymes'.

Do we have a problem?

What Exactly IS a Naturopath Anyway?

Anyone out there ever been to a naturopath?

I haven't.

In fact I'm not totally clear on what exactly a naturopath does. I know that they can order tests to check for food allergies. I know they look at a person's overall health, lifestyle, eating habits etc and can make recommendations of things to start doing or to stop doing. I know of people who have had food intolerances or allergies diagnosed by a naturopath when no one else could figure it out.

There's a bit of a void in my knowledge however and I have to work hard not to let words like 'tincture', 'garlic pills' and 'remove all sugar, caffeine and alcohol from your diet' prejudice my thinking.

There has been some naturopath talk around the office this week. We do have coverage under our work benefits but none of us have ever gone to see one. The more I think about it, the more I'm intrigued. I mean really, what's the worst that can happen?

I bring in three days of food and drink intake and the naturopath gasps in horror? Recommends that I cut down my one cup of coffee per day? My afternoon chocolate fix? My glass or two of wine after work?

I'll probably say thank you for the advice and head home to my coffee, chocolate or wine depending on the time of day.

They might, however, notice other things that I have not picked up on. Perhaps I'm low in something I didn't know I was low in. Maybe the little ridges in my nails don't mean that I have nails with ridges. Maybe they mean I'm missing something in my diet. Maybe the constant dark circles under my eyes aren't there because I get up before 5 many mornings per week but because something is off in my digestive system.

Maybe I eat too many fruit in the morning and should spread them out a little more. Maybe I'm overdosing on chia seeds or bananas.

Maybe they'll discover I have a tapeworm?

Or an allergy to Aero bars.

Nooooooo! 

And, for the record, by Aero bars I mean these:

Not these:

I don't actually have any reason to go see a naturopath. It's not like I am experiencing digestive issues or food intolerances. I'm not in the habit of making appointments with medical professionals out of curiosity. Heck, I don't even go for a massage unless there's a medical reason for it (like my shins are tight...again).

I am sufficiently intrigued by the idea that I may find myself making an appointment in the near future.

Any of you nice folks ever been to one? What did you think? Is it worth exploring?

And what about the whole Type 1 thing? How did they handle that? Did they understand the fact that sometimes we need to eat when we don't want to and sometimes we can't eat even when we're hungry? Or the fact that refined sugars can play a pretty important role in our diets whether we want them to or not?

Let me know what you've experienced and I'll let you know what I learn.

Deal?

Medical Report

I went to see my sports injury doctor on Friday.

I felt kinda sheepish since my injury feels pretty much gone but he told me not to worry. Nature takes its course while we wait for appointments he said. It's still good to come.

I explained the situation. I told him that I ran a half marathon on March 15th and felt no pain. I told him that I then spent ten days in Israel with my sister, walking all over the place for hours and hours every day.

I told him that my foot started hurting and hurt more and more every day. By the end of the trip I could hardly walk.

"Well we both know what that is right?" he asked. "A stress fracture".

I told him I had figured as much and that I haven't run in 8 weeks. In fact I had avoided doing pretty much anything that put weight on my foot for 8 weeks. He approved.

He told me to ease back into running to see what happened.

"This is my second stress fracture in two years" I said. Both happened during pretty intense periods of weight-bearing activity (marathon training and all day walking). "Should I be worried?"

"Well" he replied, "that might be a sign that there is a bone density issue". "Is there osteoporosis in your family?"

Yes, there is. My grandmother and my mother have it.

He suggested I contact my family doctor and ask for a bone density test. I'm a bit young for one but two stress fractures is a red flag apparently.

So I called my doctor and I'm seeing her this Friday. Hopefully she sends me for the test. If not, my sports injury doc told me to call him and that he would send me.

He also told me to get new orthotics since it has been 1 1/2 years since I got my first pair. My feet, as I am well aware, are not designed for running. I am pretty flat-footed and my feet flop flop flop when I run. Calcium issues or not, that doesn't help and contributes to shin splints, tight calves and plantar fasciitis which are always threatening to flare up again.

When I got home, I pulled out my Vega protein powder and my multivitamin to check the calcium. Between those two things and my soy milk and yogurt in the morning, I get a bit more calcium than a healthy woman my age should be getting. But I did a bit of online reading on the weekend and what I found seems to say that people with type 1 have difficulty absorbing calcium. So perhaps I am deficient?

Guess we'll find out soon enough won't we?

Calcium and other Deficiencies?

If you Google: type 1 diabetes vitamin deficiency, guess what comes up? 

Not exactly what I was looking for but I did learn that a deficiency in vitamin D might be linked to the development of Type 1 diabetes. 

Interesting but a little late for that particular tidbit of information. 

Then I tried: type 1 diabetic athlete deficiency and found out that there is a lot of information out there for people who coach type 1 athletes and a lot of reminders that the athletes are deficient in insulin.

Again, it might be helpful for other people but I know full well just how deficient I am in that department.  

Basically, I was just curious about whether having type 1 diabetes puts one at risk of being deficient in certain vitamins or minerals and figured I'd be able to get my answer in a few clicks of the mouse. 

Not so much. 

The reason for my sudden interest was my latest foot injury which, by the way, my massage therapist and I are hoping is simply a bruised 4th and 5th metatarsal. My foot injury got me thinking and here's how that train of thought played itself out. I was making a plan for how to take care of my foot when I began thinking of my shin splints and then my stress fracture and then wondering if stress fractures can be caused by not having enough calcium in my diet which lead to me wondering if I have enough calcium in my diet or, dammit, maybe I have enough for a non-type 1 but maybe type 1 diabetes somehow affects ones ability to absorb calcium. Bloody hell, if that's true I'm going to be really pissed off. Omigod, what if there are other vitamins that I am not getting enough of? What if I've been low in all of these things for years and didn't know it? What if diabetes is slowly eating away at my bones or my zinc levels or my vitamin B12. 

Arrgh! 

(and that's the thought process of someone who isn't a hypochondriac by nature)

That's when I decided to Google and discovered...nothing particularly helpful. Granted, I did stop my research after about 10 minutes because I was sitting at the curling club watching Doug's team fight their way to the finals and wanted to focus on the game. Still though, I was hoping to find a simple answer like: no, there's nothing to worry about or yes, you should take a multivitamin every day plus a calcium tablet before bed. 

Seriously though, I have no idea if having diabetes affects my ability to absorb calcium and whether my stress fracture is a result of that. Or whether my stress fracture was the result of increased training for my first marathon and whether all the calcium I get in my diet is the only thing that kept me running for as long as I was able to. 

Who knows? 

Well, the DOC might. You guys are a wealth of knowledge. Do YOU know if having Type 1 diabetes puts us at risk of any vitamin/mineral deficiencies? 

I take Vitamin D every day at the suggestion of my diabetes doctor. I take iron a few times a week because I always struggle with getting enough. Other than that, I rely on a fairly healthy and varied diet full of fruit, veggies, grains and meat...plus a heaping scoop of VEGA in my breakfast shake for good measure. 

Yellow Pee

I'm fairly sure you've all heard that you are supposed to check the colour of your urine to know how hydrated you are. 

How the hell am I supposed to know if I'm hydrated enough when my pee is bright yellow from the multivitamin I took this morning? 

There is a certain comfort on the days when I don't take my vitamins because I get to watch the colour fade with each trip to the ladies.  By early afternoon, it's pretty much clear with just a faint yellow tinge.  Not today.  Today it looks like Big Bird melted in my toilet. 

I've heard all the jokes and comments already.  When you take vitamins, all you're doing is spending money to create really expensive urine.  Just eat a healthy diet and you'll be fine. 

Follow Canada's Food Guide. 

DON'T follow Canada's Food Guide. 

I actually had one person tell me that the daily requirements in the food guide are those that pig farmers follow when feeding their pigs. They warned me not to follow it because humans aren't pigs. Seriously?!?

Good lord.

I would love to be able to meet all of my nutritional needs in the healthiest way possible.  Trust me, I try hard.  But I have learned some lessons along the way about my body and about eating. 

Lesson one - I cannot for the life of me keep my iron levels up through diet alone.  I've tried all the iron rich foods, made sure I had vitamin C at the same time to help with absorption etc etc but if I slack off even for a few days I can feel it dropping again.  I have learned to recognize the signs - dark circles under my eyes, no energy during runs and a hard time trying to catch my breath when running. 

Lesson two - I don't get enough calcium.  I have yogurt and soy milk for breakfast, yogurt at lunch and often nibble on cheese before dinner. After runs, I'll have a glass of chocolate milk (my favourite post run treat).  Add that all up and I get about half of my daily requirement of calcium.  Osteoporosis is pretty common on my mother's side so I need to be extra careful about keeping my bones strong and healthy.

Lesson three - diabetes can affect how I absorb nutrients from the food that I do eat.  Over time, that absorption will probably deteriorate.  So I have to be extra vigilant.

Lesson four - I honestly don't think that there are enough meals in the week to eat all of the foods we're supposed to eat.  I exercise a fair amount and have a healthy appetite.  I don't skip meals (ever!) and I'm pretty fond of snacks too.  We don't eat fast food and cook 95% of our meals at home.  Every meal has carbs, veggies and protein and snacks are usually fruit and yogurt. And yet I cannot get manage to get all the servings of fish, multi-coloured veggies, dairy and healthy grains that are recommended.

So I take vitamins. 

I take a multivitamin, calcium supplement and a fish oil capsule most days of the week.  When my iron drops to the point of affecting my life, I take an iron supplement too. 

So my pee is bright yellow.  Apparently it's from the B12 or B-complex in the multivitamin.  The body absorbs what it needs and expels the rest as Big Bird. 

I may be throwing my money away.  Or I may be really really grateful when I'm 75 years old and still standing tall and straight. 

It's hard to know. 

Just like it's hard to know if I'm hydrated enough today.

One thing is certain - Big Bird is my bff.