There's something fishy going on...

All my life I have been encouraged to take vitamins...

Calcium ("just take 2 tums, it's for your bones"), vitamin C ("so you don't get sick"), A ("for your eyes"), E ("for your skin"), multi-vitamins ("for everything!!!")- and, as I'm sure many of you have experienced, you end up taking 9 pills each day, forgetting what most of them are for and eventually forgetting to take them at all. Then five or six years later the battalion of expired bottles has taken over your cabinet creating their own little shaker band.

I will not argue the value of any of these vitamins, nor will I try to suggest a regimen that is right for everyone- but I'd like to take a moment to salute one (just one right now) that you should really know about.

So let's step back, get a good running start, high step rapidly down the sandy bank and go tumbling into the ocean waves. Oh yes, here it comes...the talk of fish. Specifically their oils. Here's a handful of the benefits (that I swiped from http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Fish-Oil-Benefits-Proven-by-Research&id=415032) of regularly taking fish oils:

1. Less Pain and Inflammation. For anything ending in "itis".
2. Cardiovascular Health. Lowers blood pressure and bad cholesterol (LDL), while increasing good cholesterol (HDL).
3. Protection from Stroke and Heart Attack.
4. Better Brain Function and Higher Intelligence. Pregnant and nursing mothers can have a great impact on the intelligence and happiness of their babies by supplementing with fish oil. For adults, omega 3 improves memory, recall, reasoning and focus.
5. Less Depression and Psychosis.
6. Lower Incidence of Childhood Disorders. Studies show that children (and adults) with ADD and ADHD experience a greatly improved quality of life. And those with dyslexia, dyspraxia and compulsive disorders have gotten a new lease on life thanks to omega 3 oils.
7. Reduction of Breast, Colon and Prostate Cancer.

There's loads and loads of info out there- don't get bogged down in it...just start taking it! And don't worry, it comes in tasteless capsules, or even strawberry flavored oils for the kids.