I
don’t often wander through the nutraceuticals* section of the grocery store or
pharmacy (mostly because the stuff is way too expensive and the results are too
sketchy), but I was looking through a Costco coupon book and came upon the ads
for nutraceuticals.
Now
the ads don’t make a lot of health claims, though there is the “Green Tea Fat
Burner” that clearly seems to be making a claim. But there are some really odd
ones out there. There’s “Grape Seed.” Um, couldn’t I just eat grapes and chew
the seeds? And “Cranberries.” I’ve got those in my freezer.
What
about CoQ10—it sounds like a French chicken dish. Don’t forget Acai Berry
Cleanse. I’m not sure what that’s supposed to be, except there’s a picture of a
woman’s stomach on the front. So it’s some kind of intestinal gut soap? I
thought that many kinds of intestinal bacteria were good and made important
things like vitamin K.
What
about “CinSulin?” That sounds like something you’d hear preached against on
Sunday mornings. My favorite was “Flush-Free Niacin.” Would you really want to
put something like that in your mouth? Eew.
I’m
sure I’ve stepped on some toes. (I don't mean to--if they help your health, great). Nutraceuticals are big business in the
US and a lot of people swear by them. But it seems to me that you could be taking a LOT of these things. I
counted 26 different supplements, and those are the ones on sale. (Okay, I don’t need “Prostate Health” because
I haven’t got one of those.) But it seems to me that a balanced diet and
exercise would be a cheaper, more proven route to health.
On
the other hand, my fingernails are still recovering from the paint/lacquer stripper
I used on the bathroom doors. Maybe I need to try “Hair, Skin & Nails,”
which is probably a modern version of Knox gelatin that teenage girls used to
drink/eat to make their nails stronger. I never tried it; flavorless jello would
never make it past my gag reflex.
*Note
a “nutraceutical” is a combination of the words “nutrition” and
“pharmaceutical.” It’s a food or food-based supplement that is supposed to
bring health or medical benefits.
