My Supplement Regime

I am often asked what I personally take for supplements, and what I give to my kiddos.  Sometimes people are surprised by my answers, for a number of reasons.

A main one is that many people still hold the belief that if one eats relatively well, they shouldn’t have to take any supplements.  And people believe me to be healthy and one of those people.  Which, well, I am!  I do consider myself healthy, largely because I take really good care of myself.

I practice self-love in the forms of daily prayer and meditation time.  I engage in daily physical activity from a place of self-kindness.  I try my very best to get a minimum of seven hours of sleep a night, preferring to hit the 8 hour mark where I can, and making up the difference when I have the opportunity to have a bit of a sleep-in or a nap on a weekend, on vacation.  I eat well, smoothies every morning packed as filled with nutrient dense foods as possible, including several scoops of various “superfoods” as I will discuss in a bit.

Because I mostly practice intermittent fasting, which is leaving a 12-18 hour window between evening dinner and morning breakfast the following day, my smoothie is generally consumed mid-morning and due to the sheer volume of goodness I attempt to pack in there, it holds me well until dinner time.  Occasionally I might sneak in a mid-afternoon snack of some nuts or a homemade power bar or ball type of treat (I’ll include a recipe!).  Suppers are for sure several cups of mixed organic greens, some sort of protein (usually vegetarian-based or fish, but sometimes chicken and every once in awhile a good beef or bison burger), a few giant forkfuls of fermented foods (kimchi or sauerkraut), generous drizzles of flax oil, sometimes a little goat feta… you get the gist.  Healthy, right?!

That being said YES, I do supplement as well.  Main reason is that I love having the extra insurance that I am getting the right amounts of all the micronutrients on a daily basis.  I always take a good quality multivitamin that has extra B-vitamins and antioxidant support.  I take daily fish oils, in liquid form, adrenal support (as I am on the go, a lot, and have much on my plate, I like knowing that my nervous system and adrenals have some extra TLC to keep me healthy, energized and sane), liquid calcium:magnesium, Vitamin D+K, Reishi mushroom (because I love the medicinal mushrooms for all of their amazing properties: healthy immunity, hormones, hair, etc.).  I toss in iron and B12 periodically as I don’t eat a lot of meat, I give myself a few squirts of liquid liposomal Coenzyme Q10 and Vitamin C, for mitochondrial and immune health.  And my smoothies… I mentioned those, right?

Filled with Greens First (greens powder), Nutribiotic brand fermented rice protein, Maca powder (more adrenal and hormonal support), several tablespoons of ground flax seeds (love ground flax!!), cacao nibs, astragalus powder, green tea powder, moringa leaf powder and mucuna powder when I can find it.

I use a base of frozen berries, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of unsweetened non-dairy milk or non-dairy chocolate milk and a chunk of banana to sweeten it a little, and dump in a scoop of each of the above goodies.

I love my mid-morning shakes!  They keep me full, satisfied, and energized throughout the day.  Because they have so many great nutrients in them, I don’t crave much and I just feel so ‘clean’.  It is of course important to be your own inner detective and find out what mixture of goodness agrees with you and your body, and of course any of our NDs can help you out and give you personalized suggestions at any point in time.

Maybe next blog I will do about Superfoods!! These are essentially nutrient dense foods that come in powdered forms that can be used to fortify what you are already eating and drinking, many of these concoctions I mentioned above as part of my smoothie extravaganza fall into the superfood category.

So, consider your investment in your supplement regime an investment in yourself!  And pop these little nuggets knowing you are in good company, and are engaging in quality self-care.  Of course, they are but condiments, and they need to rest on the “main course” of sleep/ rest, exercise, meditation/ prayer, laughter, outdoor time, food, community that make up health.