My fab 5

I HAVE AN ON-AGAIN, OFF AGAIN RELATIONSHIP with vitamins. I've always been attracted to the idea that I can get amazing health benefits by swallowing a few capsules. I've spent years reading up on them in books and magazines (especially this one), trying to figure out which ones I need to counterbalance my questionable lifestyle choices (too much soda and computer time; not enough green salads and sleep). Downing a few vitamins every day gives me the sense that I'm doing something good for myself.

Since they all sound promising, I tend to collect bottles upon bottles. There's an entire cabinet in my cramped kitchen devoted to supplements, much to my husband's dismay. I try to confine them there, but they always escape and infiltrate the countertops, too. Even though I recently performed a major winnowing of my collection (highly encouraged by the dismayed husband), they've begun to multiply again. Soon it will get to the point where there are literally too many to take. That's when I'll throw up my hands and go cold turkey for a month--until a fetching bottle of selenium catches my eye at Whole Foods, and the cycle begins anew.

I've been through this process many times; I wouldn't call it destructive, but it's not exactly helpful, either. After all, the point of taking supplements is to reap their benefits over time. Thank goodness, then, for the commonsense approach in this year's vitamin guide, "Get What You Need" (page 82). Nutritionist Molly Siple assumes that most folks will only take five supplements on a regular basis. The trick is to find the five that are just right for you, but Molly's made that easy, offering real-life sample plans for party girls, couch potatoes, weekend warriors, and workaholics.

I can see myself in each of these. I also see how the take-five approach can be modified to reflect what's going on in my life. Right now, I'm more couch potatoey than I'd like, and I'm spending too much time at work. But the upcoming holidays are guaranteed to awaken the party girl within. So I'm drawing from all three plans for my own lab five: carnitine, vitamins C and B-complex, coenzyme Q 10, and omega-3 fatty acids. I plan to stick with this formula for a while. It's simple and doable--and no doubt I've got bottles of all of them at home

HILLARI DOWDLE EDITOR IN CHIEF

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