ESL Podcast 349 - Taking Vitamins and Supplements

checkup - a periodic medical exam to evaluate one's health, usually once a year

At Rick's last checkup, the doctor told him that eating less salt would lower his blood pressure.

dietary supplement - non-food items, usually pills or herbal teas, that are taken to improve one's nutrition or health

Many people take ginseng as a dietary supplement because they think it will improve their memory.

vitamin - a substance that is found in plant and/or animal foods and needs to be eaten for good health

Oranges, lemons, and grapefruit have a lot of vitamin C.

mineral - a substance that is found in the earth and needs to be eaten for good health

Which foods are good sources of magnesium and other minerals?

balanced diet - a combination of healthy foods that are eaten regularly and give one all the necessary nutrition

A balanced diet includes lots of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products.

nutrient - something that a human or animal needs to eat in order to live and be healthy

It's better to get your nutrients from natural foods than from processed, fortified foods.

multivitamin - a pill that contains many different vitamins and minerals

This multivitamin is specifically designed to meet the nutritional needs of older adults.

chewable - able to be chewed; able to be crushed between one's teeth and then swallowed

Ingrid takes a chewable, orange-flavored vitamin C tablet every morning.

deficiency - lack; absence; less than the amount that one should have or needs to have

Some women have problems with memory because they have an iron deficiency.

better to be safe than sorry - a phrase used to show that it is better to spend money and time on prevention now than to pay the negative consequences of one's careless actions later

They decided to buy more flood insurance for their home because it's better to be safe than sorry.

to overdose - to take too much of a medicine or other drug and then get sick or die

The teenager overdosed on her medication and almost died in the hospital.

over-the-counter - medicines that are available without a doctor's prescription; medicines that can be bought in a store without a doctor's permission

Aspirin is an over-the-counter medication.

recommended dosage - the amount of a medicine that should be taken, either according to a doctor's instructions or the instructions on the box

The recommended dosage of this antibiotic is 200 mg every 8 hours.

to tolerate - to be able to be exposed to something without being harmed or injured

I'm amazed by how much noise airport workers can tolerate!

to absorb - to take in and use a substance, often through one's body tissues

Your body can absorb more of the medicine if you take it with meals.

all the more - even more; much more; significantly more

If you don't make very much money, that's all the more reason to start saving as much as you can for retirement.

to neglect - to not take good care of something; to abandon; to not pay enough attention to something

Randy neglected their garden last summer and now it's full of weeds.