Supplements: NOT a one-size-fit-all

The amount of information on supplements is overwhelming, truly. The actual quality of some supplements is pure junk.

First off, let’s define supplement.

As defined by Congress in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which became law in 1994, a dietary supplement is a product (other than tobacco) that

• is intended to supplement the diet;

• contains one or more dietary ingredients (including vitamins; minerals; herbs or other botanicals; amino acids; and other substances) or their constituents;

• is intended to be taken by mouth as a pill, capsule, tablet, or liquid; and

• is labeled on the front panel as being a dietary supplement.

Disclaimer: I’m not a nutritionist or doctor, I’ve just been asked a lot what I take. I would advise you to talk to a medical professional if you have any questions.

It’s taken me many years to figure out what works for me and my body. I change my supplements as needed based on how I’m feeling. This is what I’m currently taking and why:

My morning cocktail:
-8oz water
-1 teaspoon of Natural Calm
-1 scoop of Green Superfood
-1 scoop of Multi Collagen

At least once a day (no more than 2 times a day), on an “as needed” basis:
-8oz Almond Milk
-1 scoop Chocolate Egg White Protein Powder (my blog post on my protein powder HERE)

As needed: usually on days where I spend a lot of time outside or after long workouts
-1 scoop of Ultimia
-16 oz of water

Full disclosure: I also take a few supplements (pill and drop form) from my chiropractor as needed. Right now, these are geared toward getting my hormones back on track postpartum. I know everyone is not a fan of chiropractors, but he’s truly worked wonders for our family, so thank you in advanced for being respectful.

Now, the WHY behind it all

Natural Calm:

Natural Calm is advertised as the “Anti-stress drink mix.” Not why I bought it. I bought it because when I was pregnant because I wasn’t regular with my bowel movements (maybe a little TMI, but the truth). I’ve continue to use it postpartum because the benefit of magnesium are pretty legit:
click here for 10 evidence based health benefits of magnesium (healthline)

In a nutshell, here are the 10 benefits:
1. Magnesium Is Involved in Hundreds of Biochemical Reactions in Your Body
2. It May Boost Exercise Performance
3. Magnesium Fights Depression
4. It Has Benefits Against Type 2 Diabetes
5. Magnesium Can Lower Blood Pressure
6. It Has Anti-Inflammatory Benefits
7. Magnesium Can Help Prevent Migraines
8. It Reduces Insulin Resistance
9. Magnesium Improves PMS Symptoms
10. Magnesium Is Safe and Widely Available

So, yeah. Nothing on that list is something I would not want to have.

The flavor is actually pretty decent and I control how much I take everyday. Your body will let you know if you’re taking too much or taking it too often…. aka your bowel movements will be soft and/or more often than normal. There are easy directions on the bottle to tell you how to gradually introduce it so your body adjusts.
$27.99 for 20oz (lasts me a while)

Green Superfood:

There are sooo many green superfood powders out on the market right now, so just be cautious of WHERE the company is sourcing their greens. My husband use to take spirulina on a regular basis (before we found these greens) and in his research, he found some had traces of metal in them… not what you want to put into your body.

I don’t like green vegetables. Let me rephrase that.. I’m learning to like green vegetables. I can tolerate broccoli from time to time, romaine lettuce in salads is cool, zucchini from time to time, but overall, I cannot stand green vegetables. I found these greens and was blown away at all the great stuff that was in one scoop. Really love this stuff!

Each scoop has:
-14 supergreens (organic alfalfa Leaf juice powder, organic barley grass whole leaf, organic wheatgrass whole leaf, organic spirulina, organic chlorella, organic parsley, organic broccoli, organic kale, organic dandelion leaf, organic sea kelp, organic dulse, organic cabbage, organic broccoli sprout),
-9 antioxidants (organic moringa leaf, organic matcha green tea, organic blackberry, organic grape, organic blueberry, organic pomedgranate, organic cranberry, organic maqui berry, organic black currant)
-7 adaptogens (organic maca root, organic ashwagandha, organic reishi mushroom, organic tumeric root, organic cordyceps mushroom, organic chaga mushroom, organic ginseng root)
-Probiotic- Bacillus Coagulans

It has other natural stuff which helps with the flavor. It doesn’t taste like complete crap, but definitely better than others I’ve tasted. I still chug it though.

$37.99 for 30 servings. Shauna Reiter, the founder is a mom... so that’s a bonus for me, too! :-)

Multi Collagen

I stumbled across this when I was buying the greens and then looked up “benefits of collagen” and found all sorts of goodies.
It’s great for skin, hair, nails, joints, muscles, and gut health.
Since I started using it 4ish months ago, I have noticed my nails are significantly stronger. I’m assuming it’s working other wonders inside my body as well, so I’ll stick with it.
$39.99 for 40 servings

These are my essentials for the morning in this phase of my life. Again, I’m constantly adjusting, adding, and removing as my body changes (two babies and a miscarriage), BUT I’m done having babies, so maybe this little concoction will stay for a while. Let me know if you have any questions; I’ll do my best to answer them!