Staying Healthy

[Rahila]

So, I'm going to be a sophomore in college this coming year. I spent a good half of my first year of college tied down by sicknesses. I had the swine flu, colds and sore throats once every month or two (lasting weeks), strep throat, and to top it all off I got Mono at the end of last semester (took literally months to recover)...

 

While I think I figured out the main cause of my poor immune system, I'm always looking for ways to stay healthy. I'm an extremely active and fit person, I eat a healthy balanced diet, and I wash my hands a fair amount. However, I used to be a serious nail-biter and my hands would often come in contact with my mouth/face. I decided this was the main cause of my illnesses (living in a dorm, I was basically hand-feeding myself germs...). After last semester, I decided to forever stop all nail-biting and hand to mouth contact (other than eating after washing hands). I have since then not been sick once (it's been about 3 months of feeling well, which must be a record for me...).

 

My goal is to be able to enjoy this year without all the sicknesses, and I think I am well on my way. I'm curious though, about what types of immunity supplements or precautions you all take in order to stay healthy?

 

I currently take daily multivitamins, daily vitamin C pills, and I recently bought daily Zinc pills (of course, a balanced diet and consistent exercise too).

I've heard things about antioxidant pills, vitamin B complex pills, fish oil pills, etc. Have any of you used these and would you recommend them?

[Kimberly]

I take a simple multivitamin and that's it. Other than that, washing my hands, avoiding excessive contact whenever possible, and so on saves me from frequent colds. Sometimes I just can't avoid it, though, say when I'm working in the school's computer lab. So many gross people come through there, and then lay their greasy paws all over the desk after wiping all the snot on their hands in lieu of tissues...blech.

 

I personally have a hard time buying into any other specific vitamin supplements unless otherwise advised by a doctor (like my mom, who was recently told she had a Vitamin D deficiency, strangely.) It just seems unwise, since I don't know what I need and what I don't. Too much is just as bad sometimes as too little.

[Sam]

Just multivitamins for me, seems to do the trick.

[Pirate_Felix]

Pills o_O? I eat fruit?

[The Observer]

I don't take any supplements whatsoever. Just regular food.

[Jeffwilson99]

Yeah, I don't take anything. I haven't been sick all year, at all which I find pretty amazing. Last year (first year at uni, and flatting) I got sick a few times, and I also had tonsillitis, but this year I haven't had any problems. I'm not sure if my diet has changed much, I think this year, because we cook together as a flat I've been eating a bit better, but not by a hige amount or anything...

[obfuscator]

You could have a blood test done, to see if you have any deficiencies.

 

Other than that, I'd say with a balanced diet (lots of fruit and vegetables) you most likely won't need more than a multivitamin.

[Hobgoblinpie]

I don't eat terifically, and I don't take supplements, but I haven't been very ill for the last 4 years (very ill to me means things that mean I have to stay in bed for a day or two), besides a few headaches. I'm not a cleanliness freak either.

[Lenticular_J]

I ought to take a multivitamin or something. I don't. The only times I get sick are when pneumonia or bronchitis, both of which have been with me for a long time, come back around.

 

Just eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

[Range_This11]

Never take vitamins, never had any immunizations, never gotten sick with anything more than a bad cold. Just eat healthy and stay active.

[Orpheus]

I use a multivitamin to counter the medicine I have to take. I feel completely terrible otherwise because it drains you if you don't solve the vitamin deficiency issue with it.

[Wavemasta]

Pills o_O? I eat fruit?

This. I never eat any vitamin pills. Eating healthy seems to do the trick. (And maybe growing up/living in the middle of nowhere where [cabbage] is never far away helps too :thumbup: )

[Undo]

-Water

-Milk

-Bananas

-Jogging

There ya' go.

[Star.]

I have an iron deficiency so I take iron tablets but apart from that I don't need anything else. I eat enough fruits/healthy foods to keep me sorted :thumbup:

[fastortoise]

I take fish oil pills during the winter because in Canada we have about 7 months without sunlight so I need the D

[Nadril]

I don't eat terifically, and I don't take supplements, but I haven't been very ill for the last 4 years (very ill to me means things that mean I have to stay in bed for a day or two), besides a few headaches. I'm not a cleanliness freak either.

 

Same thing here.

[Flyingjj]

Supplements? Personally I think if you take pills to stay healthy you're doing it wrong.

 

I took a daily flintstone chewable multivitamin for a few months about a year ago, but that's because I decided to be vegetarian for a while, and didn't want to struggle to find the right foods to replace the vitamins I was lacking.

[dsavi]

Supplements? Personally I think if you take pills to stay healthy you're doing it wrong.

Not in Finland. I'm not sure if it's true, but I've heard that more people die here of vitamin D deficiency than skin cancer due to polar night (Opposite of midnight sun).

As such I take vitamin D tablets once a day from October to April.

[Orpheus]

Supplements? Personally I think if you take pills to stay healthy you're doing it wrong.

 

I took a daily flintstone chewable multivitamin for a few months about a year ago, but that's because I decided to be vegetarian for a while, and didn't want to struggle to find the right foods to replace the vitamins I was lacking.

 

When those "pills" are the only thing keeping my body from turning on me completely and dying, I don't have much of a choice, now do I?

 

That being said, supplements should be just that, a supplement, and not a substitute. Use it to help make up for vitamin deficiencies a times, but don't make it a crutch.

[Pirate_Felix]

Supplements? Personally I think if you take pills to stay healthy you're doing it wrong.

Not in Finland. I'm not sure if it's true, but I've heard that more people die here of vitamin D deficiency than skin cancer due to polar night (Opposite of midnight sun).

As such I take vitamin D tablets once a day from October to April.

Whats polar night?

 

EDIT: Permanent nighttime? And you get vitamine D from sunlight?

[Lenticular_J]

Yeah. People generally need a good bit of sunlight during the day. Some say at least an hour, some say ten minutes works. But that's the thing with health, no two sources are really the exact same when it comes to general things.

[OldJoe]

Supplements? Personally I think if you take pills to stay healthy you're doing it wrong.

Not in Finland. I'm not sure if it's true, but I've heard that more people die here of vitamin D deficiency than skin cancer due to polar night (Opposite of midnight sun).

As such I take vitamin D tablets once a day from October to April.

 

Huh? I've lived in your neighbouring country for over 22 years and have never heard of this. And i should have picked it up since my mom is a nurse within the cancer field.

Altho i live a couple of hours north of Stockholm. And i'd connect polar night to Lappland, and i've some relatives up there, but never heard about it either.

 

 

------

Anyways, was sick 1 day last year. That was the day after i had come home from a trip to Germany. No pills or anything, just eating relatively healthy and work out 5 times a week.

Altho i in general seem to attract less sickness than my family, because they all get sick a couple of times per year but i never seem to catch their stuff.

[anonymous1234]

I consider myself pretty healthy (only get sick ~once a year), and I don't take supplements or anything. If you eat a balanced diet and you're still getting sick all the time, then your life just pretty much sucks, OP. I bite my nails all the time and I'm doing fine.

[lizzywizzy]

I take starflower/evening primrose oil which helps with hormonal balance... PMT is not fun lol. I also take Vitamin C tablets and Cod liver oil tablets.

[magekillr]

I don't take supplements, although I do use protein powder in my meals. I don't count that as a supplement because, well, it's my food lol. Also, too many antioxidants can be detrimental to your health. My mother kept trying to get me to take different vitamin pills, and I kept telling her that too much of a certain vitamin can do damage. I get enough nutrition from my current diet, so I don't need to include any filler. I'm a vegetarian, so some people who are vegetarians might need to take iron supplements. The only thing I'm sometimes short on is potassium, but I'll just add a second banana if that happens during that particular day. I'm on a 3,500 calorie per day diet, so my daily values are based on that (except protein, where I aim for 150-180 grams per day).

 

Someone on the sport and fitness forum asked for my meals, so I'll post them here:

 

Here's a standard day, and there are different changes that can be made if you need more variety. This is just an example of what one might expect:

 

Meal 1:

Two egg white omelette with spinach and cheese, two slices of Arnold's Health Nut Bread, a glass or orange juice. I don't put anything on the bread, as I use it to make an egg sandwich. I'd stay away from butter, and stick with olive oil if you must put something on it.

 

Meal 2:

Bowl of Total or Shredded Wheat cereal with skim milk

 

Meal 3:

4 cups of mixed vegetables with a glass of water mixed with protein powder

 

Meal 4:

3 servings of pasta (spaghetti, macaroni, fettuccine, etc)

 

GYM

 

Meal 5:

Protein shake: protein powder, 2 cups of milk, 1 cup of oatmeal, 1 frozen banana, 1serving of peanut butter (Smucker's natural, get rid of the hydrogenated crap), 1 serving of brewer's yeast

 

Meal 6:

3 servings of black beans, 3 servings of brown rice, 3 servings of garbonzo beans

 

Lots of water throughout the day. Eat once every 1.5-2 hours. Your protein powder should have little fat and sugar content, by the way; like 1-2 grams of fat per serving is acceptable. Stay away from artificial and natural sweeteners.