Romanowski obsessed with his health

© St. Petersburg Times
published January 24, 2003

SAN DIEGO -- Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski takes the idea of preventive medicine to a different level.

Romanowski takes a combination of about 30-40 vitamins and supplements each day, about 100 pills in all. He takes them to help his muscles recover quicker, to increase focus, to prevent tiredness, to bolster his immune system. On game days, he changes the mix to increase natural anti-inflammatories and lactic-acid buffers. All, he said, are legal.

"I have a lot of different things I take," he said.

To keep the pills straight, Romanowski carries them in a large tackle box that he takes almost everywhere.

He also travels with a water purifier/ionizer so that he doesn't have to drink ordinary tap water, which has too much acid. He tries to drink between 1-2 gallons of cleansed water a day.

As an extension of his health-conscious ways, Romanowski is mindful of what he eats (though he doesn't exclude red meat or sweets), has tried several new-age fitness activities and pays in excess of $200,000 to nutritionists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, masseuses and physicals therapists.

And every 2-3 months, he submits urine, blood and stool samples for analysis.

Everything, he said, is designed to give him an advantage on the field.

"I don't think I ever said, "You know what, I've got an advantage because this guy doesn't get his stool checked.' But, in general, absolutely," he said. "That's why I'm still playing."