[Thank you all so much for the responses to yesterday’s post! I am becoming more and more hesitant to get to personal on the blog because of the negative backlash I’ve been facing…but then I get the most amazing feedback form some of you and it brightens my whole day!]
I feel like I live in a happy medium when it comes to taking supplements. Some people are in the GIVE ME ALL THE SUPPLEMENTS mentality…pre-workout, intra-workout, post workout, creatine, BCAAs, etc. And others swear off supplements as unnatural and would rather get all their nutrition from food. Hey, what works for you…works! For me however, I fall somewhere in the middle. I see the merit in using some select products to bolster your health and help you in specific areas of your life, but I don’t think I could ever be someone who gets most of my nutrition from supplements.
With that said, I’ve tried my fair share of supplements over the years and I finally feel I am on a good regimen that works for me. Today I wanted to share my Top Five Favorite Supplements with you all. Everything from vitamins to green superfood! I take a little bit of everything and use all of them moderately. With this mix of products I’ve never had any adverse reactions or side effects.
I don’t deny that I probably could be taking more and feel even better, but at a certain point I just feel like you have to leave well enough alone and just trust your body to do what’s right!
So let’s get to it…
Herbal: Zyflamend Whole Body
A hefty mix of herbs of and spices like tumeric, rosemary, ginger, holy basil, organic green tea, and oregano, I started Zyflamend when I got my second knee injury. I was diagnosed with bone marrow edema, which is a fancy word for severe inflammation, and I was looking for any and all remedies to bring it down. I didn’t want to be on pain killers long-term so I sought out more natural ways and was introduced to Zyflamend as a natural anti-inflammatory from Shawn Stevenson. Zyflamend promotes a healthy inflammation response that helps support joint health and many other body benefits. I actually can say that I sort of turned a corner in my recovery after starting to take this supplement. Whether it truly helped or not, I don’t know, but I do know I feel great taking it and we could all use a little more natural anti-inflammatories in our lives.
BCAAs: My Protein BCAA+
Marco at My Protein sent me these to try after I complained about the awful taste of the unflavored powdered BCAAs I was taking. I would mix them with about 1/4 cup of water and just try to chug as fast as possible after a workout. Unfortunately, unflavored BCAAs are GAG worthy and pretty much taste like dirty socks. These BCAA+ capsules from My Protein totally solve that problem! They are solid versions of the unflavored powder, so all you have to do is pop ’em and swallow. Much easier! And they definitely have helped me recover quicker after workouts and decrease muscle soreness.
Vitamins: Nature Made Multi For Her
This is my everyday multi-vitamin. Nothing fancy and you can pick it up at any drug store, but what I like about it is its affordability and its simple ingredients. It’s got the standard dietary supplement blend of vitamins and minerals, but it is also fortified with folic acid, 100% daily value of iron, vitamin D, and calcium which women especially need. It’s also has no added colors, flavors, preservatives, yeast, sugars, or fillers! It’s also gluten-free for all you Celiacs out there.
Green Superfood: Amazing Grass
It’s no secret I’m a huge Amazing Grass fan. I’ve used their products for years now and have at least a serving everyday of their green superfood powder. My favorite flavors are Chocolate, Chocolate Peppermint, Pumpkin Spice, Tangerine Immunity, and Watermelon Energy. The taste is awesome. Not too ‘green’ with the addition of a little stevia. Every green and superfood you can imagine are in these powders. They promote alkalinity, good digestion, and overall health and wellness. I think EVERYONE should have a green superfood supplement in their diet. It’s a really great way to cover all your bases in terms of nutrition. Of course getting nutrients from whole foods is best, but in a pinch, while you’re traveling, or just for some extra nutrients, Amazing Grass is a great (and tasty!) way to supplement. My favorite way to use it is in smoothies or on yogurt with cocoa powder (the chocolate tastes like ‘worms in dirt’ from when I was little!).
Protein Powders: NOW Foods Unflavored Whey & Nuzest Clean Lean Protein Powder
Okay, I know I’m cheating by picking two…but these are my staple protein powders. Plus, one is a great vegan option and the other is good for the everyday protein powder user. Both are totally unflavored and have no added sweeteners which I love. I use them interchangeably in power bowls. The NOW brand is what I use exclusively for my protein baked goods and I’ve always had really good results with it. The Nuzest has a little bit of a stronger taste than the natural sweetness of whey, but that’s to be expected with a pea protein based powder. I have tried baking it with, however, and it works well depending on the recipe. Overall, both are high quality, have great nutritional stats, and are individually options for people who are ve
Do you use any supplements?
Are you pro-protein powder? I know this can be a touchy subject for some!
Were you a Flintstones vitamins kid? 🙂
PS: I am now on Tumblr! Come follow me there!
Subscribe to Healthy Helper
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on Pinterest
Like Healthy Helper on Facebook
Follow me on Instagram
Follow me on Bloglovin
Add me on Google +
Follow me on Tumblr
Today’s Healthy Help: Cleaned the kitchen cabinets!
Never too early to start Lending a {Healthy} Hand for next week’s round-up! Tell me what you’ve done to help someone else lately!
17 responses to “Top Five Favorite Supplements”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Supplements is an area I do want to learn more about in the nutrition world. I would say it’s one area I am weakest in when it comes to my overall knowledge and opinions of them. I am very interested in that Zyflamed, particularly for my mother! She has a lot of pain problems due to some back issues she has had most of her life. Perhaps it could help!
Yes you should definitely check out Zyflammend for your mom! It really works wonders!
I only take a multi vitamin right now! I should check out these other ones! Thanks.
Recent post: Runonoatmeal.com
Sometimes less is more! 🙂
NUZEST is hands down THE BEST!!!!! People need to jump on the bandwagon, ASAP!
Right!? Love them!
I’ve never been a huge supplement user, but I did grew up taking herbs whenever I got sick – I guess I contribute the fact that I am 30 years old and have never once been on an antibiotic to that fact. Now, my supplement regimen looks like this: Plexus Slim, Plexus BioCleanse, Plexus ProBio5 (those 3 are for my overall health/blood sugar balancing/gut health/craving and mood stabilization), Plexus XFactor (like a multi on steroids because it has aloe, which helps the vitamins absorb much more), and Plexus Fast Relief (for my back pain due to degenerative disc). (Can you tell I’m a Plexus girl?! lol) I also use the same Now whey protein. I’ve kind of been flip-flopping between different brands – I like the Pristine Whey by Trim Healthy Mama a touch more, but the Now is still good and is more economical.
Ohhh I’ll have to check out that Pristine Whey! I’ve never heard of it but I am always looking to find new protein powders to try.
I love learning about what supplements people take! Everyone is so different – and supplements should reflect that! I go through phases (partly because I believe in taking breaks from them, partly because I’m curious to try new things!) but at the moment I’m SUPER happy with pre-biotics, fish oil, magnesium, the occasional BCAA boost and my beloved protein powder. I am a fan of protein powder, but I try not to rely on it, and definitely have low-use periods of it.
I want to start taking a magnesium supplement! I hear it’s great for stress and anxiety relief!
Great stuff
wow never heard of these they look great!
Thanks for stopping by Ellie!
I can’t imagine who would say negative things to you… that must mean your blog is immensely popular (always gotta look at the bright side!)
I love Amazing Grass! Thanks for sharing =)
Thanks for the positive spin Kimmy!
[…] me feel better than I have in a while. It’s amazing what getting on the right beauty care and supplement regimen can do for your insides and […]
[…] stumbled upon a supplement called Zyflamend (I discussed my experience with Zyflamend extensively here). In short, Zyflamend is a mixture of rare herbs and spices (including things like turmeric) that […]