I finish every dinner with three pills.

Pill one is glucosamine. Many years ago I had trouble with my knees and my hips. They hurt a bit and “clicked”. My biochemist parents suggested glucosamine. Apparently vegetarians may need glucosamine supplements. It made an immediate difference. Whenever I take a break – travelling, running out of pills – it takes about a week before I miss it.

Pill two is omega-3. I’ve been taking these for years as well. For every supplement I read about there are studies with conclusions in both directions. Omega-3 is one of the few where the benefits seem clear, especially (again) for vegetarians.

Pill three is a multivitamin for vegans. This is a very recent addition.

I eat a varied diet, not vegan, not even 100% vegetarian since I eat some occasional fish, so I’ve lived in the belief that I get all I need from just eating food. I even had my B12 and iron levels checked as recently as November, on a hunch, and according to the doctor all was good.

Recently I got cracks in the corners of my mouth that just wouldn’t heal. Weeks of treatment with balms and creams made no difference. I did some research and guessed that maybe I have a vitamin B deficiency after all. The pharmacy had no products with vitamin B only; this “for vegans” thing was the closest I found.

Literally after a week the cracks stopped bothering me, and another week later they are effectively gone.

It bothers me that the doctor said that all is good when all is apparently not good.