what supplements I swear by

Walking down the vitamin and supplement aisle at a store can be super overwhelming. You ask yourself, “I eat generally well, but feel like I need other “stuff” to supplement my diet with. But “what” do I need?” or maybe a question like, “Do I really need all of this? It is so expensive.” Eating a variety of healthy foods is undoubtably the best way to get the nutrients you need, but the reality is many of us are not consistently consuming foods that contain all the vitamins and minerals we need. That’s where supplements can come in and play a valuable role in increasing our level of total nutrient intake. I am not a registered dietitian and strongly encourage you to consult with your health care provider to ensure that what you are adding into your routine is appropriate for you, but as a health coach and nutritionist who has explored a bunch of different supplement routines and have found one that that works for me, I wanted to share supplements worth considering (and ones I have had clients tell me have made a difference for them).

1. Probiotic

I swear by taking my probiotic. Probiotics are a type of “good” bacteria – and while our bodies naturally produce them, if you suffer from general bloating or discomfort, food sensitivity or find yourself getting sick more than you’d like, adding a probiotic to your routine to build more “good” bacteria in your gut could be something you want to consider. Prior to adding one into my routine, I got sick often (almost anytime I traveled) and can honestly say that once I made taking a probiotic an everyday thing for me, I rarely get sick. In addition to feeling like my immune system is stronger, my gut feels less inflamed and bloated as a reaction to any food I eat. I personally take mine at night to best ensure the prebiotic + probiotic goodness doesn’t get stuck behind my food as it makes its way down my intestines and gets to my colon, where it does its best work.

Product Recommendation: Seed’s Daily Synbiotic - Probiotic + Prebiotic

2. Digestive Enzyme

This is potentially another great supplement for those that deal with bloated or upset stomachs regularly. If you feel like this regularly, your body may be low on enzymes. As we age, our body’s production of enzymes start to drop and digestive issues may increase – which ultimately makes a difference on how well (or not) your body can break down meals – especially foods that are harder to digest. Personally, I find these super helpful to take when traveling, when my diet is different than how it usually is.

Product Recommendation: Majka’s Digest & De-Stress Magnesium & Digestive Enzyme Blend

3. Multi-Vitamin

As someone who eats very healthy and eats more than the recommended amount of veggies in a day, I still take a (prenatal) multivitamin every day. I like to look for ones that have vitamin b12 in them, as I do notice that makes a difference in my energy levels. If you are taking a prenatal, I definitely recommend one with choline, omega-3 DHA and methylfolate (versus one with folic acid) and that’s because methylfolate is the most active form of folate in the body.

If you are trying to conceive, I recommend getting on a prenatal now. There is a lot of benefit building up your reserve of key nutrients provided in a quality prenatal 3 months prior to getting pregnant, and continuing to take one while breastfeeding.

Product Recommendation: Ritual’s Prenatal & Postnatal

4. Supergreens

Supplementing your diet with supergreens (be that in powder or pill form) is a highly concentrated way of getting the benefits of greens, detoxifying the body, aiding in healthy digestion and boosting your immune system. My husband just does not eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, and having him supplement with a supergreens powder is a simple and effective way to up his daily dose of greens.

Product Recommendation: Organifi Green Juice + Athletic Greens AG1

5. Immune Boosting Supplements

I firmly believe that taking care of our immune system should not be a reactionary matter, but rather something we are proactive about. There are two immune boosting vitamins/supplements I include in my routine as a preventative measure to getting “sick.” The first, vitamin C. Adding an extra dose of vitamin C to your routine during the flu season is a great idea for boosting your immunity, as vitamin C helps to build up your white blood cell count, which are what help your body fight against infection. I also love taking vitamin C because it can help improve the absorption of iron from your diet. This is especially important for those who do not eat meat, as meat is a major source of iron - or those who are anemic. Another couple of reasons I love adding a vitamin C supplement into my routine are to help speed up wound healing time, boost production of collagen and to help flush muscles of lactic acid so you can recover more quickly from a hard workout. Personally I take an extra 1000mg of vitamin C in addition to what I get from my diet. Elderberry is another powerhouse immune boosting supplement. It is a dark purple berry from the European elder tree and supports fighting viruses, including the flu and its symptoms, might reduce inflammation and swelling in the body, lessen stress and boost your immune system. I take it throughout cold and flu season. I also take it when I am traveling and my immune system is more susceptible to be compromised by things in the environment my body isn’t use to. Now, if I am already sick I add in echinacea into the mix. Echinacea does not have the same preventative properties as elderberry, but has the ability to slow or stop what cells are being infected as it stimulates the immune system to make more white blood cells and helps clean the body of dead viruses.

Product Recommendation: Pique Daily Radiance - Elderberry Liposomal Vitamin C

6. Vitamin D

You can get vitamin D from eating foods like salmon, eggs, milk and mushrooms, as well as some from the sun. In the winter, when it’s dark more hours in the day and the sun isn’t out as much, getting enough vitamin D can be difficult (especially if you are not regularly eating those foods mentioned above). However, even eating those foods and getting that sunshine in often times is not enough. Thus, adding a vitamin D3 supplement into your routine (5000mg a day) is important. Also very important - take a vitamin D3 supplement with K2 in it so you are optimizing bone health.

Product Recommendation: Athletic Greens D3 K2 Liquid Drops

7. Selenium

While you only need a small amount of selenium, it is a mineral that plays a key role in your metabolism and thyroid function, protecting against damage to cells, helping protect your body against chronic diseases, preventing mental decline and improving memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease. However, an overdose of selenium may cause bad breath, fever, and nausea - and more seriously, liver, kidney and heart problems. I personally eat 2 Brazil nuts a day to get my dose, but salmon is also a great source. Worth noting too that selenium can counterbalance mercury toxicity, so the fact that salmon has selenium in it also eases my concerns about its potential mercury contents.

8. Beef Liver

This is newer to my line-up, but grass-fed beef liver is one of my favorite compliments to my diet of real, whole food. Since an animal's liver plays multiple roles within the body, it requires many vitamins and minerals to complete its functions. Therefore, liver is a storage house of nutrition and earns the title as “nature's multivitamin.” It is full of bio-available vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A and vitamin D, B6, B12, iron, copper, and even vitamin C. You don’t have to eat it to get the benefits either - you can take it in capsule form, which is what I do.

Product Recommendation: Ancestral Supplements Grass-fed Beef Liver

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Chlorella and Spirulina (both of which are algae). I love Spirulina for natural energy and love that it’s a complete protein (with 18 out of the 20 amino acids, so something I always recommend for vegetarians and vegans). I take Chlorella at night, and love its detoxifying properties. It will bind with everything from mercury and copper to alcohol and help your body push it out. It’s also helpful in pushing out lactic acid in your muscles, so it’s great for muscle recovery.

Product Recommendation: ENERGYbits Spirulina and Chlorella tablets

Vitex/Chaste Berry, Maca and Ashwaganda were very healing supplements for me in my hormone journey, which I go into more detail in this blog post.

I do not think you need to overwhelm yourself in taking a million supplements to be your best healthy self, but that these few might be ones you want to consider and do your own homework on. It is worth noting, that if you are not taking any supplements at all and have not for a while, you might experience digestive upset at first when adding these into your daily routine.

Make sure to check out my Product Discounts page for discounts on some of these brands I mentioned.