Dietary supplements ... this is what I think of them...

Last week, when I went home, an elder family member offered me a botanical dietary supplement. I guess it was the way the elders in my family reacted to the soaring of COVID-19 cases in the country. Anyway, when she handed me the herbal extract mixture, she claimed that it could effectively decrease bacteria in the mouth. I did not have a chance to read the indications on the spot. Then, today I took out the extract and studied the label carefully. To my utter confusion, it says nothing about antibacterial effects. There are only a few vague words about how it can boost your metabolism and make your stay healthy if you take it regularly.

The above incident probably sums up my general impression of dietary supplements. When the friends and family around me who take dietary supplements on a daily basis try to recommend a dietary supplement to me, most of them either provide me incorrect information about the purpose and use, or can only give me an unclear account of its medicinal properties. Because I have never been able to get a clear picture of the medicinal advantages of a dietary supplement product, I have never taken any of it voluntarily. 

That being said, I am not against dietary supplements or object people to taking them to enhance health. My take in this matter is that these products are made to "supplement" our diets. That is, we take them only when the body suffers from a lack of certain nutrients. For example, a vegan may consider taking these dietary products given their unique plant-based diets. Or, it could be necessary for patients who need to follow strict dietary guidelines to seek the assistance of these supplements. In other words, if I can get all the nutrition that I need from everyday foods, I will opt for fresh ingredients rather than choose the synthetic forms of these nutrients.

In short, when there are no special dietary needs or specific medical conditions, I would prefer to obtain the essential nutrients that the body needs directly from meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, etc. However, I am 100% open to dietary supplements if a doctor suggests or instructs me to take them. 

Ignore me. I'm just thinking out loud.

    I can't believe it's been 9 years since l last posted on the blog. Well, I can't really recall the exact reason why I stopped updating the blog, but I guess life happened and things just got a bit hectic and messier along the way.

   One thing that hasn't changed is I'm still a diligent English learner (though not a very disciplined one ... 😅) and I'm still having a lot of fun (and trouble too if I'm being honest ... 😝) learning English. 

    The truth is, I think I've made some good progress in the past few years, but there is still a lot to be learned and improved. To put it in a nutshell, I need a haven to organize my thoughts (in English, of course 😉) or to think out loud (without scaring people off or being treated like a lunatic 👻), so to speak. 

    That's the reason I decided to revisit this blog and started a new series: Thinking out loud. I'm going to (try very hard to) put my thoughts (or everything I've learnt in English) into words in a more organized and coherent way. I will probably make some mistakes, grammatically or otherwise. But, that's the whole point for me to do this — having a place to make mistakes and learn from them. I'd definitely be grateful for any constructive feedback (or friendly suggestions / corrections). However, if my posts seem mundane or boring to you. Please ignore me. After all, I'm just a humble English learner who needs a little corner to think out loud.