Help Yourself, Help the Children*

I was recently away for a few days and neglected to pack my vitamins. I’m pretty disciplined about taking them twice a day; been doing that forever. So I was kind of surprised that I would have forgotten something so important. To me, it’s like forgetting a toothbrush, after all.

And I swear I’m feeling sluggish. (Could it be?) So many people will argue that supplements do us no good, we don’t need them, we get enough from a well-balanced diet, blah, blah, blah. But not me. I’ve been taking vitamins ever since I was a little kid (maybe you remember those vitamin drops we used to take that tasted just horrid?) Sure, my mother made me do it back then (and thank goodness they’ve improved upon the delivery system!), but I don’t need her to convince me now that I’m on the side of those who say that we need extra supplementation in our diets, especially as we age.

I wasn’t malnourished as a child, but this statistic is frightening: One in three children worldwide is. And without proper nutrients, newborns, infants and children are denied the essential tools they need to prosper and thrive; the elements they need to fight off infectious disease and deficiencies. The recent situation in Haiti only magnifies this problem.

Although we may feel helpless (except perhaps to help our own children), fortunately there is an organization that is not. The non-profit organization Vitamin Angels has already shipped one million multi-vitamins to the children of Haiti since the earthquake. Their overall mission? To reduce child mortality worldwide by advancing the availability, access and use of essential nutrients to newborns, infants and children under five.