In my opinion, there are two groups of people who should take multivitamins:

1. Pregnant women (specifically prenatal vitamins)
2. People with a medical condition for which a doctor has recommended they take a multivitamin - such as malabsorptive diseases, including but not limited to Crohns, ulcerative colitis, pancreatitis, liver disease, and cystic fibrosis
   
   

Where the line is drawn (in my opinion) is when your primary care provider at your annual "well" exam suggests you take a multivitamin to "fill in the gaps" in your not-so-perfect diet.

It is to the habitual multivitamin takers, who are otherwise healthy, that I am talking to.

Gout is a condition where crystals - made up of "uric acid" - build up in the joints, causing swelling and intense pain. Treatment is a double-edged sword: what you eat and drink.

If you've ever talked to your doctor about a "gout diet", you were probably discouraged by Doc's answer. Traditional gout diets recommend restricting some of the tastiest food and drink there is! And just like any restrictive diet, it can leave you irritable and depressed, pining away for the foods of yesterday.

Luckily, a general healthy eating plan combined with some of the newer medications out there can cut down on the number of gout flare-ups you have - without an overly strict diet. (1)

Your body has more non-human cells than human cells. In fact, 10 times more! These non-human cells are called "microbiota" and include bacteria as well as other types of cells. Do you remember The Human Genome Project that concluded in 2001? Researchers succeeding in mapping out the entire genetic makeup of human DNA.

The National Institutes of Health, America's premier research institution, has embarked upon The Human Microbiome Project to do just the same but instead, map the microbiome that resides within the human body.

What is fat talk?

Have you noticed any "body-positive" campaigns lately? Perhaps Operation Beautiful by TriDelta? Or "Fight Fat Talk" by Special K? Don't forget one of my favorites, the Self-Esteem Project by Dove that has an entire section devoted to the Role of the Media and how airbrushing and photoshopping as well as scantily clad music video dancers impact the young women of the upcoming generation. They have games like "Retouch Roulette" where young girls learn to spot altered images, gradually redefining their sense of beauty without the impact of the media.