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Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and Minerals

Date: Jun 06 2008

Themes: Health

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

For every ailment, there’s a vitamin or mineral. Have a cold? Take some zinc. Can’t focus? Try some vitamin B.

supplements[/def] are a big industry. There’s no doubt they can do a lot of good. But there are so many, how do you know which ones you really need? Marni and Jason both fancy themselves vitamin experts.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Jason

Jason

Marni:  So, do you take a lot of vitamins?

Jason:  I take so many. I take so many supplements.

Marni:  Really? Do tell.

Jason:  I take garlic for my immune system. Calcium because I don’t eat a ton of dairy, really.

Marni:  Neither do I. That’s good.

Jason:  I take evening primrose oil…

Marni:  For what?

Jason:  ...which keeps my skin clear.

Marni:  It is good for that. I don’t know very many men who take that.

Jason:  Oh really? My mom is obsessed with this stuff so she’s always passing along some new supplement or vitamin. Do you take ‘em?

Marni:  I do. I take…I’ve sort of tried to pare down because for a while I felt like for a while I was like, “It’s a supplement. I want to take it!” which really isn’t very healthy for you.

Jason:  And you end up taking a handful of pills everyday.

Marni:  Yeah, and it gets a little cumbersome. But I have to say I’m kind of a secret closeted fan of Dr. Oz, he’s always on Oprah and he was talking about supplements and what you really should take and he recommends everyone take a multivitamin. So I do do that. And calcium and in conjunction with magnesium. But I think the main thing I keep hearing lately and I’ve been reading about is vitamin D because we’re so vitamin D deficient because…

Jason:  The sun…

Marni:  There’s no sun here! So I actually take fish oil. I feel like a 80-year-old woman, I’ve got my fish oil, you know. And it has vitamin D in it and it gets you all the omegas you’re supposed to get in your diet.

Jason:  Interesting. I often wonder though, when I’m taking all my supplements. I’m like, “How did people live before supplements?”

Marni:  Exactly!

Jason:  I mean, there had to be some way to get all this stuff without these pills.

Marni:  Right. Well that’s also why probably why people died at the age of 40 on the farm.

 

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Discussion

Jason takes a lot of vitamins. His mother sends them to him. He even takes evening primrose oil, which is normally only taken by women, because it keeps his skin clear.

Marni takes vitamins, too, but she’s trying to cut back. She’s afraid she’s taking too many pills and that it isn’t healthy.

She trusts a doctor she watches on TV who suggests everyone take a multivitamin and calcium and magnesium. She also takes vitamin D, which helps the body use calcium and which you absorb from sunlight. Since she lives in a rainy city, Marni doesn’t see much of the sun.

Even though he takes them, Jason thinks its strange to take so many vitamins since people lived just fine without them until recently. Marni points out that people didn’t used to live as long.

Do you take any dietary supplements?

 

Comments

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yousef81

Jordan

i am yousef

i not speak english

01:30 PM Jun 09 2008 |

abey_800

India

thanks nelli hehe

actually I gave a little elaboration for what christo said..target is money for the companies and it is the customer who is to be blamed.. as the majority agree if we take proper food, we dont need any vitamin in the shape of a tab..it is unnecessary.

do u think commercial ads are 100% true? in most cases we will find what they claim in the ad does not work in practice…their aim is just to attract customer by any means 

that is the modern marketing strategy … the same is very much  applicable to the case of vitamin also

but we have to agree it is a good business nowadays 

 

 

12:07 PM Jun 09 2008 |

Flory

Flory

Romania

Eat healthy and you won't need any of these multivitamins :)

11:22 AM Jun 09 2008 |

nellis

nellis

Indonesia

 

Hi abbey reading to your comment about Vitamin and mineral I can see you can be a politician in your country due to your wide explanation behind the product you can examine what the product purpose for the vendor and the conection benefit to economic market, solute for you

08:25 AM Jun 09 2008 |

getchar

getchar

Algeria

i never took them..i don't feel any pain..i just get every thing from nature..am very healthy..i don't need them..since Marni's town its rainy one..she has just to move from time to time..to get some sun..! that her body needs..the same thing for all of us..its better to move and getting it naturally than taking…all those vitamins..

09:59 PM Jun 08 2008 |

lovely_ruby56

Viet Nam

  I want to give a suplementary idea with tintee' , besides onion and legium, ginger, garlic, saffron and lemon are useful as well

08:46 PM Jun 08 2008 |

Olivia95

Olivia95

Taiwan

i also took vitamins when i worked late….like a cup of coffee in the morning

i will feel tired all day long if dont take or drink them

hmm…....maybe more exercise is a better way to cut down these Smile

05:42 PM Jun 08 2008 |

gorir

gorir

Sudan

Hi guys

 I never ever use Vitamins, for two reson:

One I am able to obsorb it from natural sources

Second it's too expensive in my contury!!

03:20 PM Jun 08 2008 |

hushiqi19870314

China

I do not have them !because i think it is not necessary,if you have food enough and take exercise enough! you will have a healthy body !

02:25 PM Jun 08 2008 |

hushiqi19870314

China

I think it is not necessary to eat them! only if you eat  opportune foods and take  opportune exercises! you will have a healthy body!

02:20 PM Jun 08 2008 |

Ariana Li

China

I think,when your body need vitamin or mineral ,you will have the desire to eat some foods,which are full of it.So,I don't approve of someone eating it. 

01:33 PM Jun 08 2008 |

smart2022

smart2022

Saudi Arabia

Vitamins and Minerals are very important but people are not aware of that… 

 i have vitamins daily to keep my body health…

 

cooooooool 

12:46 PM Jun 08 2008 |

Jenny58

Jenny58

Ukraine

i agree with Christoph07 absolutely.a lot of products have only one target: to gert money from the consumer.

to keep health the best way is natural way ,haveing variety natural food and regular exercise, good mood….....

 

11:48 AM Jun 08 2008 |

sh.parnianchi

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

we can take those vitamins that my body can void the extra dose like vit C , B ,...

08:13 AM Jun 08 2008 |

abey_800

India

Hehehe christo… a good one … you know the problem today is people are looking for shortcuts for everything.. Nobody in this very busy life today has time to make use of natural resources which are very healthy and side effect free….the marketing brain of multinational companies easily grasps the social changes undergo in certain societies , I mean regions ..and they make the very best possible use of  the special environment prevails in certain market.

Everybody is behind money today and the social welfare is the least concern for huge companies. I am not forgetting companies are doing a lot of good things also. the main reason is, people work in big companies are not ready to miss a chance to show his capability to enhance the sales volume of companies since it brings for him recognition in the firm and the higher management is looking for the high sales volume only and they never consider the way it comes. It is some sort of exploitation.

We cant blame companies because the stands for profit and not for charity.   

08:06 AM Jun 08 2008 |

nabiha joe

nabiha joe

Djibouti

i think when u  take the  vitamins from the natuer food is better then  taking it as chemical drugs

07:40 AM Jun 08 2008 |

kirn

Pakistan

No i do not take pill's.withoud doctor permission.I think food is good for health.

04:36 AM Jun 08 2008 |

SÉRGIO

SÉRGIO

Brazil

looking after the health!

08:42 PM Jun 07 2008 |

SÉRGIO

SÉRGIO

Brazil

I often eat much fruits and vegetables!  these are my daily suplements!

08:38 PM Jun 07 2008 |

berene

Turkey

     ı think so.peaple should not take pills .every body should eat vegetables and fruits.         

08:25 PM Jun 07 2008 |

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