The Almost Green Mom

As promised, this blog focuses on the daily supplements we (my 3 year old and I) take for general health maintenance.  As I’ve stated many times, I’m not a doctor so you should definitely check in with your pediatrician, general doctor, naturopath, etc. to see what is right for you.

CHILDREN

Here’s our morning routine:

• Elderberry Syrup.  Our typical day starts off with elderberry syrup during cold season (we take this even if we are not sick as a preventative measure).  As I mentioned in my blog about colds, I am a huge fan of Gaia Herbs Black Elderberry Syrup – you can use the same formulation for adults and children, but make sure to check the dosage chart on the side of the box
• Probiotics.  I then give my toddler probiotics – as also mentioned in my blog about colds, we really like the Metagenics UltraFlora Childrens brand.  We buy it in the refrigerated section of a local Pharmaca store.  (Note that when my toddler was younger, I’d use Metagenics UltraFlora Baby liquid drops or pharmax HLC neonate powder – I’d mix them in with milk / formula as they are tasteless).
• Multivitamin.  Then, with breakfast, my toddler takes a multivitamin.  After speaking with our naturopath as well as chiropractor (a very gifted and talented chiropractor is an amazing inclusion in your overall wellness), we started taking Douglas Laboratories Ultra Preventive Kids in the orange flavor (for whatever reason, my toddler hates the grape flavor.  Go figure).  Why do we like this specific brand?  (1)  it not only contains vitamins, but also minerals and trace elements which I believe are really important for general health; (2) it does NOT contain any artificial colors, artificial preservatives or GMOs (as many of you have asked, I promise to do a blog on GMOs soon!); and (3) it actually tastes pretty good (yes, I’ve tried them).
• Vitamin D.  I give my toddler vitamin D, 2000 units, every other day.  I use a liquid brand, and I put 1 drop inter her water bottle (it doesn’t taste at all.  It does make the water cloudy, so I usually use a darker water bottle that day so she doesn’t see it!).  The brand we used, which was recommended to me by a naturopath, is Biotics Research Bio-D-Mulsion Forte Vitamin D.  It doesn’t need to be refrigerated, so it’s also a great one to travel with.  Note that this can also be used for adults.

Here’s our evening routine – we only do one thing right after dinner (unless we are sick, then we add more things as noted in my blog about colds):

• Fish Oil.  No, it’s not gross.  She’s actually been taking it since she was 1 year old at the suggestion of my naturopath (again, check with your own doctor).  The only brand we will use is Nordic Naturals Kids DHA (the liquid version which has a strawberry flavor; they have chewable, but we’ve never tried those).  Why Nordic Naturals?  It’s one of the few brands that is completely transparent on the entire process of harvesting the oil, packaging it and shipping it.  Who cares?  I do – because if fish oil is heated, processed the wrong way or shipped incorrectly, it can completely negate the health benefits of the product.  Yeah, Nordic Naturals is more expensive, but it works (I have my own bloodwork results to prove it). And why even take fish oil?  I’ll explain it below in the “Adults” section.

ADULTS

Like my toddler, I start off my day with the Gaia Herbs Black Elderberry Syrup.  I then also take a probiotic, and I switch between a few different brands including a Metagenics UltraFlora Balance, Udo’s Choice Adult’s Probiotic and pharmax HLC High Potency Capsules.  To add a fun little twist, I always take my probiotics with my “green drink” in the morning.  It’s really not gross, I swear.  I really, really like the Amazing Grass Green SuperFood ORAC, Acai Berry.  It’s s green powder you mix with water.  With the acai flavor, it really doesn’t taste grassy or anything to me – then again, I’ve been drinking this stuff for years.  If you want to just test it out, I’ve seen single serving packets of the various flavors of Amazing Grass at Whole Foods.  It’s definitely worth a shot.

Now, I won’t bore or shock you with the list of all the supplements I take, rather I’ll highlight a few which I personally believe are critical to my daily health.  As background, in about 2007 / 2008, I was feeling very, very sick.  No traditional doctor could seem to figure out what was going on with me, and in fact, one doctor told me I was crazy and should be medicated.  Thanks buddy.  At the recommendation of a friend, I finally found an amazing naturopath.  I was a huge skeptic of naturopaths in general at the time, so I made the appointment with hesitation.  My naturopath ran a ton of tests (blood work, stool samples, saliva tests) to really see what was going on.  It turns out, my lipid profile was totally screwed up (LDLs, HDLs and triglycerides) as well as many other things.  Fortunately for me, my naturopath provided me with options of natural alternatives or traditional prescription drugs (he was able to prescribe them), which actually made me feel like I was empowered to make my own decisions rather than him forcing one or another on me.  I chose to go the natural route, and we redid my bloodwork about 8 weeks later.  It was shocking – all of the lipid figures were in the optimal range and other metrics had improved as well.  I felt like a rock star.  I became a believer.  How did we do this?  And how did we do this naturally?  Well, here are a few of the key supplements I used and continue to use:

(1)  Fish Oil.  I can’t say enough about this.  There are studies upon studies about the health benefits of this fatty acid improving / maintaining healthy cholesterol and lipid levels, reducing overall inflammation throughout the body, decreasing cardiac risk, reducing joint pain, improving fertility and the list goes on.  As I mentioned above, I will only use Nordic Naturals brand – I use Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega.  And don’t worry, if you do burp, you won’t taste fish because of the added lemon flavor (and, I’ve never burped with this version.  If you take fish oil, you know what I mean).  And if you still aren’t on the natural supplement train, know that when my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, one of the first things his “western doctor” did was tell him to take high doses of fish oil.  This isn’t some tree hugger thing.  Look into it.

(2) Resveratrol.  This is one of the polyphenols which acts like an super antioxidant to protect the body from oxidative damage.  Resveratrol is from the skin of red grapes and is produced in plants to protect against fungus.  There are countless studies on resveratrol and its ability to promote healthy arterial blood flow (cardiac health) as well as cell life.  I’m a huge fan in general of the NOW supplement line, and I usually take its NOW Foods Natural Resveratrol on a daily basis.

(3) Buffered Vitamin C.  Also one I use on a daily basis, vitamin C is beneficial not only when you have a cold, but also for general health maintenance with respect to connective tissue, general immune health, pregnancy, cardiac health and many other issues.  I’ve always taken buffered vitamin C because it’s gentler on the stomach (remember that vitamin C is water soluble, so you just pee out any extra your body doesn’t need).  I use Country Life Buffered Vitamin C.

(4) Multivitamin.  I’d like to think I’m a healthy eater, but I admit I probably don’t “eat the rainbow” every day so I choose to take a multivitamin.  I refuse to buy an off the shelf multivitamin that contains anything artificial.  My naturopath recommended pure encapsulations Nutrient 950 multivitamin.  I take the version without iron, but there is a version that includes it. The only real bummer with this brand is you need to take 6 per day – so I take 3 with breakfast and 3 with dinner.

(5)  Vitamin D.  Here’s a newsflash – vitamin D is actually a hormone and not a vitamin! Our bodies make vitamin D naturally with the help of sunlight, and vitamin D is critical for for our muscles, hearts, lungs and brains, amongst many other things.  It’s also critical for the health of our bones (long ago it was proven that Vitamin D could prevent rickets in children).  Many general practioners are now including a blood test for vitamin D levels in general annual physicals…and rightfully so.  Given that most of us now don’t spend much time outdoors in the sunlight (unlike our ancestors), we have lower vitamin D levels than are advised even by the federal entity that sets the “recommended daily allowance” levels (Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences – my person view is that if anything, these recommended levels are on the low / cautious side).  So, my view is that if your vitamin D levels are already below “recommended” levels, you can be pretty sure that you need to supplement.  And, vitamin D is  relatively inexpensive supplement.  I take NOW Foods Vitamin D3 5000 Iu on a daily basis.

The other supplements I take are more personalized to my health concerns.  Again, I urge you to find a great naturopath to help you navigate what’s right for you and your family.  My naturopath literally changed my life for the better.

Love and Peace,

The Almost Green Mom

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