The Health Advocate | Amway

Quick quiz: Where's the best place to store vitamins, minerals, and supplements?

A. Your bedroom

B. The kitchen

C. The medicine cabinet

Did you pick C? Sorry. Would you believe … A?

According to a recent article in The New York Times, scientists found that the warm, moisture-laden conditions in most bathrooms tend to degrade vitamins and other supplements over time. "Airtight lids do not necessarily solve the problem, since opening and closing them allows humidity and moisture to get in," according to the article.

Actually, I would have picked B, because we keep all of our NUTRILITE® products in a kitchen cabinet — close to drinking glasses and the tap. And every night, I sort my next day's doses in a small medicine cup that I leave out, uncovered, overnight. This explains why my CLA 500 and OCEAN ESSENTIALS® omega-3 supplements sometimes feel especially soft and limp in the morning.

For more information, we turned to our own resident expert: Micheline Vargas, a research scientist in Amway supplement product development and nutrition research and development.

"Exposure of product contents to heat, air, and moisture can decrease the nutrient activity and potency stated on the label," Micheline said. "As the article stated, the bathroom can be hot and humid, which may not be the best environment for dietary supplement products."

Nutrilite labels instruct you to keep your vitamins, minerals, and supplements in a "cool, dry place." We never did. But now we do. How about you? 

I'm a big believer (and consumer) of all things NUTRILITE®, from DOUBLE X®  and CF&V to OCEAN ESSENTIALS® Heart Health and Glu-7. After this weekend, you can add NUTRILITE Endurance Cubes to my product checklist.

I've been training for a 15.5-mile race coming up in three weeks, and my running group puts on these long runs every Saturday morning. Last Saturday was a 16-miler. During my runs, I'm always sure to hydrate every few miles. And every five miles or so, I consume a competitive gooey gel product (let's call it goo, for short) for a quick boost. But this time, instead of the goo, I decided to go with our Endurance Cubes instead. I opened a pack I had at home, took out six, transferred them to a sandwich bag, and stuffed them into the pocket of my running pants.

I took two at the beginning of our run, and two each at the six- and 10-mile marks. I tucked one under each cheek, and let them slowly dissolve. I like the taste (mine are berry flavored). And you don't have to mess with goo in its foil packets. As you run and perspire, it becomes increasingly difficult to tear the tab off the goo. Then you have to chase it with water; otherwise, you're left with a chalky sensation in your mouth.

I felt energized after taking the cubes, and was able to finish hard.

A few weeks ago, I bought a box of goo, and I guess I'll keep it if I run out of Endurance Cubes. But theyway I'm looking at it now, I just got myself a new running partner!