Smarty,

My wife and I take vitamin supplements too. Mostly we take supermarket brands which may or may not be quite as good as some of the higher-end brand names but we do seem to do better when we take them than if we don't, so I guess at least some absorption is taking place.

In addition to vitamins, we also take cod-liver oil and I take turmeric supplements for inflammation control. For years I had recurring bouts of shoulder bursitis requiring cortisone injections. Finally, a doctor told me that the cortisone would probably lead to bone softening as I got older ( I know there is a name for that condition but I can' remember how to spell it) and recommended that I start having physical therapy instead. That was too expensive. Eventually I heard that cod-liver oil was good for bursitis and I tried it. It has been over six years now since my last episode of bursitis even though I routinely do things that used to bring it on, such as shoveling wet concrete and raking gravel.

Latter, I did start having tennis elbow type problems and my older sister who has also suffered with it told me about turmeric’s ability to control inflammation. Tried it and it worked. Neither the turmeric or cod-liver oil produced immediate results—it took two or more weeks for the improvement to be felt.

Just thought I’d pass that along.