An important piece of maintaining good health is vitamins.  While taking vitamins don’t necessarily help your body get anything “extra”, they are really good at filling voids.  For example, if your body has the right amount of Vitamin A but is deficient in Vitamin D, when you take a multivitamin that has both your body will use the Vitamin D to fill the void and get rid of the extra Vitamin A via waste.  I also wanted to talk a little bit about supplements in this post because it seems to be such a hot topic these days.

Everywhere you look, somebody is talking about a weight loss supplement or seemingly “magic pill” that will help you reach your body goals without the hard work.  While I don’t support that idea, I do think that supplements can be helpful, and for that reason supplement education is important.  There’s a huge difference between a pill that claims to do all the heavy lifting for you and a pill that will help you make the best of the heavy lifting you’re doing.  I don’t know everything, but in this post I’ll be breaking down some vitamins and supplements that I like and hopefully helping you become a little more knowledgeable about what you put into your body and what it’s actually doing.  So let’s jump right into it.

Garden of Life Multivitamin for Women – Vitamin Code Raw One Whole Food Vitamin Supplement with Probiotics

I’ve tried quite a few multivitamins on the market and this one is my favorite hands down.  While it’s a little on the expensive side, it’s well worth the money (and if you have Amazon Prime, you can use the subscription option and save money!)  This vitamin is specially formulated with nutritious and organic whole foods.  It also contains live probiotics and enzymes for extraordinary health and vitality.  Another reason why I really like this vitamin is because of the iron.  TMI Warning: as someone with borderline anemia, adding iron supplements to my daily intake would be a good idea but I hate the constipation that frequently accompanies iron pills.  This daily vitamin includes enough iron so that I don’t have to take an additional supplement.  The probiotics and enzymes held with digestion and I definitely feel an increase in energy when I take this vitamin.  I also love that it’s not a horse pill and that the capsules are easy to swallow.

Mielle Organics Adult Healthy Hair Formula

I just started taking this a few weeks ago and I’m loving the results.  It’s marketed as a healthy hair vitamin, but I’ve also noticed a difference in the strength and length of my nails.  What I think makes this different from some of the other hair supplements on the market is that for one, it’s organic.  Although I don’t buy everything organic (because I’m not rich yet lol), there is something to be said about organic foods and products and their unparalleled benefits.  I’ve also noticed that I have not had to sacrifice hair health for length.  When I took Hairfinity shortly after I cut my hair and went fully natural, my hair grew but I noticed that it was much thinner.  With Mielle Organics, my hair is just as thick as before and even shinier and more resilient.  Lastly, no breakouts!  I’ve taken Hairfinity and Biotin and had craaaazy breakouts as a result.  I drink a lot of water (close to a gallon a day) because I love it, and I still had issues with the breakouts.  This vitamin is a “formulated supplement to support healthy hair without the skin breakouts” and it has definitely lived up to that claim for me.

Smooth Move

Okay, we all have problems sometimes.  When I’m on vacation or just eating all kinds of stuff I shouldn’t be eating, my body makes me pay each and every time.  It’s almost as if my body is saying “okay, you want to eat all this bad stuff?  Let me hold onto it for forever since you like it so much”.  I am all for eating tons of fruits and veggies to try to get the movement going, but sometimes I just don’t have the time to wait or the patience if we’re being honest.  So when I need a little help, I’ll take one of these at night and I’m good the go by the morning!  Formulated with fennel, coriander, and ginger to reduce the potential for unpleasant feelings and cramping, this product helps to get the process going without pain or major discomfort.  The pill is small and easy to swallow, and Smooth Move also comes in the form of tea, which is great for people who like to have tea before bed or have trouble taking pills.

CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid)

CLA is a “mixture of different types of isomers of linoleic acid, primarily position and geometric isomers, which is found preferentially in dairy products and meat” (source).  CLA is is an omega-6 fatty acid derived primarily from meat and dairy products.  It cannot be produced by the human body, but it can be obtained through foods.  It’s a powerful anti-oxidant and a powerful immune system enhancer, and it also assists in fat burning and building and retention of lean muscle.

CLA is not part of my regular daily vitamin/supplement intake, but I do like to take it when I’m on vacation or when I know I’ll be eating unhealthy stuff consistently.  Keep in mind that CLA does not burn fat for you!  You have to do the cardio and strength training, and then the CLA can do its job.

Gold Standard Whey Protein

I believe in getting protein naturally thru foods and before you even consider implementing supplements into your workout regimen, you should have the natural basics together.  What are the natural basics?  Eating clean and training dirty.  You should be eating well, working out with proper form if you’re lifting, etc. before you even think about a supplement.  Like I said before, supplements help us do the heavy lifting, they don’t do the heavy lifting for us.  So if you’re already doing the work and you just want a little help, great!  This protein powder is a great option if you don’t have the protein-rich foods on hand (and even if you do, it's a solid additional source of protein).  I drink this after workouts to help restore protein and rebuild muscle tissue.

That’s it!  Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe, and I’ll see you in the next post.  Thanks for journeying with me.