Info all Articles

Hi everyone, hope your week has got off to a good start! I thought I’d do another Monday musings post, this time looking at supplements. I thought it would be interesting to post on this topic as it can be quite difficult to navigate due to the huge array of supplements available as well as the fact that some argue that we don’t need to supplement our diet with additional pills and potions while some others will feel that supplementation is essential to good health.

Source

I tend to feel that a good balanced diet should provide you with all you need to be healthy, and that whole food sources of vitamins and minerals are always better than the pill form. However I am experimenting with some supplements and I thought I would share with you what I’m currently taking and why.

My own limited research has mainly been via the various nutrition books I have read alongside what I have learned on my Diet and Nutrition course.

First up I always take a good multivitamin – I see this like an insurance policy as even though I’m confident I have a healthy diet, taking a multi vitamin means that if I ever have a less balanced day I’m still getting what I need. Of course, as someone that eats a mostly vegan diet I also have to ensure that I’m getting vitamin B12 (which is usually only present in animal products). I take these vegan multivitamins from Holland & Barrat:

I have also recently started taking a daily pro biotic supplement also from Holland and Barrat (which isn’t vegetarian so will be changing to a different brand soon). Probiotics support the development of healthy internal bacteria that help with the digestion process. These bacteria can often be depleted (especially if you have been taking antibiotics).

I’ve also started to experiment with taking digestive enzymes after reading a lot about how our digestion works and the role of digestive enzymes in ensuring that essential vitamins and minerals are fully absorbed. There are chapters within Crazy Sexy Diet and the The Beauty Detox Solution which look at the role of digestive enzyme supplementation in a little more detail, but they are especially recommended when you are eating cooked foods as the digestive enzymes within foods can be destroyed when cooked.

I take this high potency digestive aid from Viridian. It contains the key enzymes for the digestion of fats, carbs and protein: amylase, protease and lipase. I’ve also just started taking the Ultimate Beauty Complex supplement which contains a mix of vitamins and minerals that support the growth of healthy skin, nails and hair including MSM or methyl sulphonyl methane. MSM, often called the ‘beauty mineral’ is basically sulphur, this supports the development of collagen and elastin. As well as supporting beauty it can help with inflammation and swelling (source) so it may also be supporting the stress placed on my body via physical activity. I’ve also started to take it in a more direct form by adding 1/2 a teaspoon of these Raw Gaia crystals (derived from natural sources, not petrochemicals) to my smoothies:

It is suppose to take a few months before the benefits of such supplements can be seen and felt, but I have to say that even though I have only been taking the MSM for a few weeks my skin and nails are in the best condition they’ve ever been in!

The only other thing I take on a semi regular basis are these sachets of Emergen-C whenever I feel like I may be coming down with a cold:

I always feel better with the direct vitamin C boost!

One thing I found very interesting when reading for my nutrition course was the concept of Suggested Optimal Nutrient Allowances or SONAS:

‘The results consistently revealed that the healthiest individuals, meaning those with the fewest clinical signs and symptoms, were taking supplements and eating a diet rich in nutrients relative to calories. The researchers found that the intake of nutrients associated with optimal health was often ten or more times higher than the RDA levels. On the basis of this evidence they have established Suggested Optimal Nutrient Allowances, SONAS for short, for vitamins. These levels are more likely to be the kind of intake you need to maintain optimum health.’ Patrick Holford

This research is used to promote the benefits of taking additional supplements alongside the research that suggests that the vitamin and mineral levels of fruits and vegetables is far less today than it was in the past. Additional info on SONAS can be found here.

As I said earlier, I still believe that whole food sources of vitamins and minerals are by far the best option as they come from natural sources – this is why I also enjoy adding ‘super foods’ to my diet. Just as with the supplements I still feel that a good balanced diet full of fruits and veggies is fine, but for me, I like the added benefits and enjoyment using super foods.

I won’t go in to lots of detail as that’s a post in itself, but these are more concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential fats etc that can have a range of impacts on our bodies and wellbeing. These are the ones I’m currently experimenting with:

• Spirulina
• Barley Grass
• Maca
• Mesquite
• Purple Corn Powder
• Raw Cacao

I love adding these powders to smoothies to give them a boost of added nutrition and flavour. I used to just chuck them all in but now I tend to be more selective with which combination of powders I use or I use them alone depending on how I’m feeling and which of them I’m drawn to. I definitely feel like they give me a distinct sparkle! If your interested in super foods I would recommend you take a look at Lana’s excellent super food series of blog posts.

Do you take any supplements? Which ones do you take and why? What are your thoughts on supplements?

Firstly I’d just like to say a big thank you for all the comments on my last post. Thank you to those of you that shared your own stories of weight gain, weight loss and weight maintenance. As Phil commented, this journey doesn’t have an end date. I know that my understanding of what is healthy for me is going to change and evolve over time, and that’s a journey I’m looking forward to enjoying!

For WIAW this week I’m sharing my eats from yesterday. I got a bit snap happy with my camera phone so these are my eats interspersed with some of the random goings on in my life, enjoy!

I kicked off my day with a short run. After getting up and drinking my hot lemon water I did a short and relaxed run that must have been about 3 miles. I snapped this lovely pic of the sunshine from my front door:

I then did the Yoga for Runners podcast and got myself showered and dressed before making breakfast. I always start with taking my supplements:

If I don’t take them straight away I usually forget! Then there was coffee, a smoothie and peanut butter on toast:

I treated myself to that peanut butter last week, it is the best and most drippy peanut butter in the world in my opinion! The toast was made with a delicious slice of the Burgen Sunflower and Chia bread I’ve been sent to experiment with:

The smoothie contained ice, frozen blueberries, half a frozen banana, Alpro hazelnut milk, a scoop of vanilla sun warrior and ground flax. It was fabulous!

Coffee was a must, this was vanilla coffee with stevia and hazelnut milk :-)

Every day I put on some of my vanilla oil from Kiehls. I love it more than perfume as it has a much more natural scent. Outfit wise, I decided to go a bit casual for work as I had no meetings:

OOTD: basic grey tee: New Look, yellow cardigan: H&M, necklace: Topshop, black ankle skimming straight leg trousers: Zara, socks: Accessorize, trainers: Converse, yellow coat: New Look, scarf: Dorothy Perkins

Mid morning I started to feel a bit hungry so had a big braeburn apple and one of my wonderful raw cherry almond protein brownies:

Those brownies really are so good! Lunch was a massive salad made with romaine, spinach, carrot, cucumber, red pepper, olives and some marigold braised tofu:

I’d bought the tin of braised tofu ages ago on the recommendation of a work colleague. It had a very odd texture, it tasted ok but I don’t think I’d buy it again! After lunch I tried some of this caramel redbush tea my colleague had brought in:

She used to live in Germany and had found this brand of tea over there. It was nice and reminded me of vanilla rooibos tea.

Later on in the afternoon I had another snack, rice cakes topped with tahini and molasses spread plus three fresh figs:

I’d seen the fresh figs in Asda for a reasonable price and couldn’t resist them!

After work it was off to deliver healthy eating workshop no 2! This week I decided to have a go making some cookies with them. I also brought ingredients to make individual microwave chocolate chip muffins:

I used a recipe based on CCK’s Mini Love bites for the cookies and her single lady cupcakes for the muffins. I slimmed down the ingredients leaving out the salt and vanilla extract and allowed the young people to choose their own add ins including chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, dried mixed berries and chopped nuts. I also cut the whole wheat flour in the cupcakes recipe with a little white flour to make them slightly lighter. Both recipes worked extremely well and the young people loved them! I was working with a lot more kids last night than the week before but things were great. I printed out copies of the recipes for them to take home. Of course I snacked on a couple of cookies, some of one of the muffins and a couple of pieces of pineapple and melon at the end of the session, yum!

I was knackered by the time I got home and just wanted something simple and comforting, enter porridge! I had a spare carrot in the fridge so decided to make my carrot, raisin and coconut porridge:

I topped it with two tbsp of coconut butter for some melty heavenly goodness. Then I made a cuppa while I cleaned up:

I’d just received this tea from iHerb and oh my god its lush! Its very spicy with almost a chai taste to it, perfect evening tea. I picked James up from his late shift and was very happy to just fall straight into bed:

I pretty much passed out ;-)

I’m pretty happy with that day of eats. I feel like I ate well although I would have liked more veggies but at least I got another carrot in via my bowl of porridge ;-)

Taking more snap shots throughout the day made me realise how many little routines I have like taking my supplements first, always putting on my vanilla oil, having a cup of herbal tea in the evening and doing the dishes before bed etc. What little routines to you have?

If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, are currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer, or a breast cancer survivor, you may have a lot of questions about vitamins and supplements.

Join us LIVE tonight from 6:30 to 8 pm ET from Living Beyond Breast Cancer's March community meeting to learn how vitamins and supplements affect your treatment plan and follow-up care.

During this chat, you will also get information about the latest research on the role of specific vitamins and supplements in reducing risk of recurrence and explore how to obtain evidence-based information to discuss with your doctor and care providers.

Date: TONIGHT, March 13, 2013
Time: 6:30 to 8 pm, ET
Location: Visit Oncolink.org/webchat to register for the chat, get a reminder about the chat, and submit your questions.

You can also listen to a recording of the chat on Oncolink after the chat.