New Year, new ideas

Yay! It’s a brand new year. A chance to begin anew. I’m especially excited about getting this weak body back in shape after recovering from foot surgery. Whatever your goals this year, here are some new ideas that can help us get going in the right direction:

Consider a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement. Yes, this is controversial, as many studies have shown that multivitamins do not reduce one’s risk for heart disease, cancer or mental decline. In this age of COVID, however, a daily multivitamin supplement may give a needed boost to our immune system, according to researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.

They found that older adults who took a multivitamin/mineral supplement for three months had higher levels of vitamin C and zinc in their blood—two of many nutrients needed for strong immunity. And while these volunteers still reported the same amount of illness during this study, the participants who took the multivitamin/mineral supplement reported fewer symptoms that went away three days faster than the group that did not take the supplement.

Don’t take shortcuts to lose weight. As easy as it may sound to pop a few pills to “melt off the fat,” many overthe-counter supplements for weight loss can be downright dangerous, according to a new warning by the US Food and Drug Administration. This agency found nearly 50 products sold on sites like Amazon and eBay contain ingredients that pose a health risk (https://www. fda.gov/drugs/medicationhealth-fraud/tainted-weightloss-products). As boring as it sounds, leaving that extra portion on the plate and moving the body more is still the best formula for losing pounds and inches.

Enjoy avocados. Yes, they are high in fat. But these