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The Siren Call of Sleep Aids and Supplements

You've probably seen all the hubbub in the news about how many of the sleep aids, supplements, and vitamins on the market are a scam, often containing little or none (NONE!?) of the ingredients claimed. It's especially bad news here in our household, where we have a bottle or two...thirteen...of vitamins and supplements.

tart cherry juice to help you sleep
The ones I take every morning.

which sleep aids actually work
Oh, and these too.
I hate mushrooms, so reishi pills make a lot of sense, right?

sleeping pills
Sexy Nerd and I take these each day. The Saw Palmetto was recommended for our lousy, acne-prone skin.
(I am not taking it for prostate health. I really can't stress that enough!)

fish oil supplements
Even our dogs take a daily fish oil pill!

vitamins for the entire family 
Pica loooves them, whether there are any health benefits or not. She's addicted to sucking on her own toes (aren't dogs just the worst?) and fish oil pills supposedly help reduce the hacking that results. She still hacks just as much as ever.

In my defense, I never intended to buy some of these. They just sort of found their way into my online shopping cart. I'm fairly certain the Nature's Way Astragalus Root, Now Apple Cider Vinegar, and Enzymatic Therapy Tart Cherry Ultra supplements are all a scam. The Tart Cherry was supposed to help me sleep. It didn't. I also take an occasional Unisom tablet, or at least the Costco-equivalent of Unisom.

The others claimed to do everything, from improving your memory to keeping you alive. Who's to say I'd be breathing and typing this right now if it weren't for the supplements? The benefits sounded far-fetched.

But then you read the reviews, claiming that these magic pills will maximize your health:

"I was on the verge of death until I started drinking apple cider vinegar each morning. I just completed my 27th marathon! I'm 102 years old."

"Just because Google's spellchecker doesn't recognize astragalus doesn't mean it won't change your life. Just 8 pills daily is all you need for the enzymes in your skin to eat away your wrinkles. Your body is capable of it if you just give it the nourishment it needs!"

"All the naysayers told me I was wasting my time with tart cherry supplements, but they've all changed their tune now that I fart rainbows."

Although these magic pills may seem expensive when priced by the bottle, they're practically free when you look at the cost per pill. Only three cents a day to fart rainbows! Who wouldn't buy that? And it's certainly reassuring to think I'm filling any nutritional gaps in my diet.

vitamins to make up for an unhealthy diet
For breakfast this morning, I enjoyed a few leftover slices of Little Caesar's Pretzel Crust Pepperoni Pizza (so good!) 
I would have eaten this whether or not I was taking supplements, so why not?

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