Now that I have had my June blood tests, I have begun my summer supplement experiment. A few months ago I ordered curcumin capsules without bioperine from a reliable company in Milan. So this summer I want to see if the no-bioperine capsules will work as well as the ones with bioperine that I have been taking since last fall. I won’t change anything else about my intake, which will still include quercetin and oil capsules, and an occasional folic acid pill. A quick note: my Italian curcumin capsules are much smaller than my U.S. ones. I checked their weight (following the example of my friend Don, please see his informative Myeloma Hope blog), and found it to be correct. Why make big capsules if smaller ones work just as well? Smaller capsules are much easier to swallow, so that would be another point in their favour, if they work.

In the fall, I plan to take on a more ambitious project. I have ordered Chinese skullcap capsules (see my Scutellaria Baicalensis page for more information). I will test those for a couple of months and see what happens. When I say test, by the way, I don’t mean that I will stop taking curcumin. Too many potential risks involved (increase in IgG count and so on). Curcumin is to me what a security blanket is to the Peanuts’ character Linus.

Ending on a more personal note. I wish to thank those of you who suggested many wonderful names for our new kitten, who will be joining our merry household on July 10 (more or less). My Mom yesterday suggested Peaches, which I really liked. But last night my husband came up with what I consider to be the best name so far: Peekaboo. We will probably spell it the way it should be pronounced in Italian, that is Pikabu. Our mischievous furry baby loves to play peekaboo, so the name fits perfectly. Is there a cuter kitten in the world? I doubt it! I have no super recent photos, unfortunately; this one was taken about a week ago.