What supplements do you take?

Gobias

Cathlete
I am curious as to what supplements everyone takes and why. Other than a Multivitamin, I sometimes get overwhelmed as to what to take and why to take it.

Thanks.
 
I take:

Preworkout drink: the caffeine wakes me up since I don't drink Coffee, and tea just makes me sleepy. It gives me the boost at 5:10am to wake up and actually workout instead of falling back asleep on the couch.

Workout drink: BCAA/Electrolyte: Branched chain amino acids must supplemented in the diet (while the other amino acids can be manufactured by the body.) I drink them during the workout (and immediately post workout). The electrolytes are also good on cardio days. There is evidence that says that a BCAA/Glutamine supplement can alleviate some muscle soreness.

I just started a glucosamine pill to see if it helps my knee recovery from an injury (runners knee.)

Oh - and I drink a protein shake every morning for breakfast, but am not committed to any one brand .. I use different brands for different purposes.

Other than those, I sporadically take: multivitamin, CLA, Omega 3 fatty acids.
 
I take fish oil, Omega seven skin formula which has see buckthorn juice powder and seed oil, I take a multivitamin. I take milk thistle for my liver.

When I need it, I will take marshmallow root for my G.I. tract, a probiotic, and or triphala. They help with G.I. tract pain if I'm having a flareup or I have eaten something that hurt myself.

What I have learned over the years is that avoiding certain things is more important than taking supplements. I no longer eat anything with nitrates or nitrites. I no longer eat or drink anything with aspartame. I avoid caffeine. I don't eat white bread. I don't eat fast food.

I don't mind using some cane sugar in my cooking. But, I don't drink sweetened drinks.
 
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My skin routine

I guess you could think of my skin routine as a use of supplements because each of my skin products has active ingredients that help me avoid eczema flareups.

I use derma E Psorezma cream, I use Cetaphil daily lotion, and I use organic 100% Shea butter on all of my rough spots. I use anti-itchy spray when I have a flareup. The advantage to all of these things is that I have not had to use steroid cream since December.:D
 
I take CLA as recommended by my trainer to help maintain lean muscle and enhance fat metabolism; protein powder in my green smoothie after workouts; Calcium/ Vit D/ Vit B100 (because i cannot eat gluten/ grains); liquid Magnesium as a sleep aid. That's pretty much it!
 
Very Helpful, thank you everyone.

I did start taking a fish oil and iron. I also started spirulina and chlorella since I was having horribly itchy skin and no one knew the cause (I think I do now - another prescription med and foods!...). Those two supplements are supposed to get rid of toxins. I am going to look into CLA - I have been hearing about that lately.

Jamie - is Vit B100 recommended for gluten/grain free individuals? I don't consume either except quinoa once in a great while.

I totally agree about watching what goes into your body. I now eat 98% clean. Out of that clean 98%, I would say 75% of it is raw. I try to use agave syrup and maple syrup very sporadically as a sweetener. I have been on this clean kick for a few years and incorporated the raw portion in the past 6 or so months. What a difference!!! Hard body, great skin, energy, less sleeping needed at night, shiny hair (which is hard to achieve since I have curly hair and it isn't known as being shiny like straight is), longer blacker eyelashes that I didn't notice, but I get remarks about them all the time and just feel great in general.

I travel a lot, so it is often hard, but I am learning to always find a way. I just see so much out there for supplements and wonder what to take.

Thanks for all the input.
 
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Gobias:

if you eat 75% raw, would you mind detailing a sample day's eating, just so I can see what that looks like. No rush. When you have time, if you have time!

Thank you,

Clare
 
Questions on Eating Raw

Gobias I'm curious about your raw diet and I hope I'm not hijacking the thread. Could you give a typical breakdown of your meal plan for the day including your 75% raw. And if you eat alot of salads what's your typical salad and do you put any dressing on it and what kind? Do you find it fills you up, satiates you enough? And is the raw food cold? As I live in a cold country and I'm wondering if it would be too much to eat cold (meaning not warm or hot food) when it's cold outside. lol! Also, do you add any fish or other flesh into this diet? Thanks for your help! As I'd love to see more of the benefits you listed for me too. :)

I wanted to mention I have a "RAW" green smoothie in the morning in which I include Spirulina among other lovely superfood powders. And since Spirulina is high in iron, protein and beta carotene and chlorophyl it's an amazing food. But to absorb the iron in it's best to ingest it with vitamin C which allows you to absorb the iron. So in addition I add Camu Camu powder which is my superfood for vitamin C and goji berries which also has vitamin C. Here are my supplements:

In my Raw Green Smoothie:
• any one of or combo of mixed garden greens, kale, chard, baby spinach, etc.
• carrots
• cucumber
• sprouted ground flax with ground blueberries (essential fatty acids)
• camu camu (vitamin C)
• Spirulina (protein, iron, beta carotene, chlorophyll)
• goji berries
• maca powder (balances hormones and increases fertility, and for peri/post menopause balances hormones)
• Y.S. Eco Bee Farms, Royal Jelly & Pollen in Honey
• frozen berries (I try to keep the glycemic load down by only using berries as fruit if I include the fruit at all)
• Whey protein powder (fantastic for muscles and AMAZING for my nails and hair, my nails are rock hard and grow super fast, same with my hair it grows super fast with it)
• Almond milk
Blend in my amazing NutriBullet

Supplements I Take:
• Liquid fish oil, more potent than pills
• Swiss Halibut Liver Oil, pill
• Healthy Origins Probiotic 30 billion supplement to heal and balance my gut
• Ultimate Flora VS Vaginal Support 50 Billion :)oTMI Alert!: I can easily get vaginal yeast infections with the slightest ingestion of natural sugars, even from stevia, fruit and carrot juice! This keeps it at bay along with the Healthy Origins formula. They are the most effective and believe me I've tested them all!)
• Mega Food Baby & Me Herb Free Multi-vitamin (I take this baby formula as I know their won't be any funky herbal stuff to mess with my delicate sensitive canary in a coal mine system! lol :confused::rolleyes:)
• Great Lakes Beef Gelatin Collagen Hydrolysate (collagen to maintain healthy lubricated cushioned joints)

Supplements I Want to Incorporate:
• Garden of Life Perfect Food Raw (I used to take this and it's great!)
• Sibu Sea Buckthorn Omega 7, soft gelcaps (supposed to be SUPERIOR for you skin and nails, which the previous poster got me researching. Lol! :D)
 
Hi Gobias,
Yes to answer your question, it was "strongly" recommended that i take Vitamin B100 as the lack of grains in the gluten free diet can lead to deficiencies. I suppose one could find alternate food sources but that just seemed like too much work to me!:D
Jamie
 
I've weaned myself off all supplements except for Vitamin D. I try to get everything I can out of my food. I use my savings to buy more Cathe DVDs!;)
 
Hi Gobias!

I hope you can still answer my question:

Gobias I'm curious about your raw diet and I hope I'm not hijacking the thread. Could you give a typical breakdown of your meal plan for the day including your 75% raw. And if you eat alot of salads what's your typical salad and do you put any dressing on it and what kind? Do you find it fills you up, satiates you enough? And is the raw food cold? As I live in a cold country and I'm wondering if it would be too much to eat cold (meaning not warm or hot food) when it's cold outside. lol! Also, do you add any fish or other flesh into this diet? Thanks for your help! As I'd love to see more of the benefits you listed for me too. :)

Thanks so much!
 
Hi Everyone,

Thanks for replying. I am more than happy to elaborate on my diet. In fact, I did respond several days ago but somehow lost the entire post! :mad: I am currently travelling and think it might be because of spotty internet or it timed out? Anyway, I can't find my response anywhere.

I return after Memorial day and will gladly re-post. I am not going to type it up again only to sadly lose it. :(
 
As little as possible. I take iron and magnesium 2 to 3x a week when I remember. Every cancer preventative clinical trial that included antioxidants, vitamins and minerals ended badly or early including the ones that used modest amounts of fish oil. Not worth the risk when you are younger and not sick.
 
Every cancer preventative clinical trial that included antioxidants, vitamins and minerals ended badly or early including the ones that used modest amounts of fish oil.

I'm curious... do you have links to any of these cancer preventative clinical trials? TIA!
 
I'm curious... do you have links to any of these cancer preventative clinical trials? TIA!

I don't think it is appropriate to post scientific links here but I'll give you an idea of where to start learning more if you are interested. Cancer.org has information about individual vitamins which include references to clinical trials. Also Google SELECT clinical trial (selenium and vitamin E). You will get a lot of publications including the ones with the fish oil risk. I wasn't happy to see that because I have my dad on a fish oil supplement after his triple bypass.

The other trial that is worth looking at is the alpha-tocopherol and beta carotene trial for lung cancer which is almost 20 years old now. You will find a lot of links on the cancer.org site which will land you in PubMed (NCBI). Some full length papers are available if you are comfortable reading scientific papers.
 
I'm really confused what I should take! Jeanne Marie, do you still take calcium supplements?
I just began HRT for menopause, and I read studies that tell menopausal women to take calcium and one study that says it can increase risks of heart attack.
When I add up the foods I eat that contain calcium, I realize I'm consuming about half of my daily requirement. I hate the taste of kale, but I eat oranges, broccoli, oatmeal, and yogurt daily.
My doctor checked my vitamin D levels and they are super low, so I was prescribed 50,000IU's once a week for 5 weeks, and she wants me to take 1,000 iu's daily after that.

I do drink one scoop of protein shake after a hard workout.
 
I'm really confused what I should take! Jeanne Marie, do you still take calcium supplements?

I do take calcium. My bone scan showed mild osteopenia, so I take 1200 MG daily. I take CitraCal slow release which also has 1000 IU of Vitamin D3. With the slow release I can take two pills every morning and forget about it. I think many of the studies that show the risk of heart disease with calcium supplements are referring to what is sometimes called the "super calcium" drugs. Fosamax, Boniva, etc. My doctor advised against those, especially in my case. She wasn't that worried about my osteopenia DX because I have such a low body weight and small frame size. I do everything else I can, including weight bearing exercise and a good diet.

To chime in on the topic of the thread... other supplements I take are a Krill Oil Omega 3, Vitamin C, Biotin and One-A-Day multi vitamin.
 
Morning - Heart and blood pressure health: Omega 3 Fish Oil and Ubiquinol(better form of CoQ10).
I also take Vitamin C powder in my morning protein drink.

Noon - I had gene testing done recently. I have MTHFR so I have a difficult time absorbing most regular B vitamins. So I take a special multi with active forms of B6 (Pyridoxal 5'-Phosphate), B12 (Methylcobalamin), and Folate (L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate). Also take 18MG of Gentle Iron (less chance of constipation).

Evening - I've read that the Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 should be taken together, so I take them both at dinner time. The magnesium helps with sleep. Vitamin D 2000IU, Magnesium Glycinate (best absorbtion), Calcium, Vitamin K2.

Bedtime: Probiotic, different one every night of the week.

I'm still undecided about whether or not I should take a calcium supplement. I probably should continue to since I'm actively avoiding dairy and just don't think I'm getting enough in the foods I eat.
 
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I would love to know more about the fish oil studies since I also take that daily...can you point me to the specific study?
 

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