Supplements I’ve taken to boost my immune system!
Growing up, I was ALWAYS sick. Every holiday, every birthday. Every two weeks I was sick and missing school. I had my tonsils taken out at a young age. I have always considered myself the type of person that gets sick very easily. And even though my immune system has gotten better over the years, I had some serious issues a few years back that led me on this health journey. I was getting sick every few weeks and never really kicking the initial cold that I had come down with. I was simply taking Dayquil and Nyquil and powering through. But as time kept going by, I felt like there was a larger issue that I needed to figure out. I went to my doctor and requested that they do a blood test to see if anything was wrong…everything came back fine. I then reached out to my Chiropractor and asked him to view my blood test results to see if he saw anything different than my doctor did. He also scheduled another blood test for me that dove into more measurements then the previous blood test I had done. And guess what? These test results showed that I was auto-immune positive to something! It didn’t really matter what auto-immune disease it was but rather the fact that my immune system was significantly struggling. So, with the help of my Chiropractor, we came up with a list of supplements I should take to boost my immune system. And minus having the flu last year, I’ve been relatively healthy! I can certainly tell when I’m coming down with a cold, but it’s never gotten so bad that I need to take a day off work. Which is crazy considering I used to have to take 1-3 days off work in the past. I’ve gotten down a pretty good routine which also helps…so let me tell you how this daily routine has changed my life!
Morning Routine:
Anyone know Maggie Q? She’s an actress and is really good at sponsoring Instagram adds - that’s how she got me. She came out with a supplement called “ActivatedYou”. This is a recent supplement I’ve added into my routine, but I can tell a MAJOR difference when I take this. I will let you research her company and her supplement but two main things about this product is (1) digestion - helps you poop! and (2) gives you energy - like I don’t even need to drink a cup of coffee type of energy, but if I do it’s only one cup max - type of energy.
Anyone heard of 1st Phorm? It’s a St. Louis, MO founded supplement company and people have mixed emotions about their founder, but I do use two of their supplements - Micro Factor and the Opti-Greens 50. Micro Factor is a multivitamin that allows you to take 1 scoop of something vs. 8+ pills. I like the powder, but my partner takes the pill pack and he likes it a lot. You can find a multivitamin and greens from a different company if you do not like 1st Phorm. All vitamins are not created equal though so do some research there!
Anyone heard of NuMedica? This is a company I was introduced to via my Chiropractor and they have REALLY good quality supplements - so I lean into their products a lot and trust them. I use two products by them: Colostrum and Micellized D3. If you haven’t heard of Colostrum, it’s basically the first nutrient we receive when people/animals are born and their mothers feed them. This supplement is the one I account majority of my health to. When I first started taking it, I was taking 3 scoops a day, 3 times a day for a month. This was recommended to help boost and repair my immune system. Now that I take these supplements daily, I only do 1 scoop a day. If I miss a day or two, then I take 3 scoops to make up for those days I missed. The Micellized D3 is an intense version of Vitamin D, and it’s more important to take during the winter months. If you remove this from your supplements during the summer that is fine. It’s a droplet formula which helps you absorb it better.
I mix ALL of these into 8oz. of water in a shaker bottle and drink it real fast cause it’s not the best tasting - but ActivatedYou makes it taste a lot better actually! In my opinion, supplements are things that some people overlook and don’t want to spend the money on. However, I would really encourage you to invest in good quality products like these ones because the healthier you are, the less time you have to miss work and miss out on life activities. And I also think if you are going to spend your money on items, spend them on things that fuel your better for the better.
Here’s a recap of the morning supplements I take:
ActivatedYou (1 scoop)
Multivitamin (1 scoop)
Greens (2 scoops)
Colostrum (1-3 scoops, varies depending on how I’m feeling)
Micellized D3 (5 drops)
I mentioned above that ActivatedYou gives me a lot of energy in the morning, but if you are like me, I usually hit that 2 p.m. sleepiness and that’s when I need an extra boost. I’ve had a major caffeine addiction over the years, drinking 1-2 Monsters a day, lots of coffee….if it had caffeine in it, you know I was drinking it. I was getting to the point though that I would get caffeine headaches and I was consuming too much caffeine to where I could tell it was negatively impacting me. This is where my afternoon routine comes into play.
Afternoon Routine:
I use a supplement called B-Replet (also from NuMedica) and I would count this as the number two game changer in my routine. B-Replete is a pill that combines all the B vitamins (who knew there were multiple you needed?!) and gives you an energy boost. NOTE HERE! I do not take B-Replete after 4 p.m. unless I’m staying out really late. I also change the amount of them I take depending on how I’m feeling. For instance, when I first started taking this supplement, I would take one pill in the morning, then one in the afternoon. Now I just take two in the afternoon. If it’s past a certain time I will only take one or I will take none. One thing my Chiropractor did tell me is that people can feel jittery taking these if you take too much at the beginning, so I would recommend starting slow and going from there. However, this is just a vitamin so I don’t worry about any health concerns.
Regarding getting sick….Vitamin C and Zinc are key. Yes, I know my multivitamin has these ingredients already, but I swear if I feel sick, I double up on vitamin C and it works! On a normal day, I take 2,000mg of vitamin C and and 50mg of zinc. If I am feeling sick, I bump it to 4,000mg of vitamin C.
This isn’t particularly related to health, but being a woman sucks sometimes and I’m prone to UTI’s - so I take a daily cranberry pill and have for many years. Another recommendation from my Chiropractor was to take Selenium - studies have shown that this can help prevent breast cancer. I didn’t really need to start taking this one but I thought, “what the hell, it’s only $13 for 90 capsules” so I bought those too. Lastly, I take my birth control. The birth control is the only thing I take in this whole daily routine that I don’t consider “natural”. I’ve been on birth control for 15+ years because I have a blood disease so I’m not totally ready to get off of it yet, but, I am doing my research on how I can get off my birth control without getting pregnant and also not worry about 3 week+ long periods :) Once I can phase off of that, I will consider this entire routine a relatively natural way to get the supplements I need to have a strong immune system.
Here’s a recap of the afternoon supplements I take:
B-Replete (2 pills)
Vitamin C (2,000mg)
Zinc (50mg)
Cranberry pill (500+mg)
Selenium (1 pill)
Birth control (1 pill)
PLEASE NOTE! I’m not a medical professional so if you do want to consider any of these supplements, PLEASE talk to your doctor. I am also not sponsored by any of these companies so I’m not getting paid to talk about these supplements. These are just items that I’ve come across and they have SIGNIFICANTLY made an impact on my life, so I wanted to share it with you! If you are worried about money and paying for supplements, I would start small. Vitamin C and Zinc are pretty cheap and you can find them at most stores. From there I would stack based on how you are feeling. Multivitamins and Greens are a staple each day, but the Colostrum & the B-Replete are going to boost your immune system and energy levels. If you have an employer that offers a Health Savings Account (HSA), I would encourage you to set one up. You put money into it each month just like a 401k but then you can pay for medical experiences like these supplements! My HSA has a debit card so I just order all of my supplements with the card. Then when I retire I get to take all of my HSA funds and they are tax-free. Finally, if you go to a doctor and they tell you that nothing is wrong but you know deep down that something is wrong, don’t take no for an answer. Find a new doctor. Fuck western medicine if you it isn’t giving you the answers you need. I love doctors and what they provide, but it took me going to a Chiropractor to get these answers. Most people don’t even consider going to a Chiropractor but this is where I’ve seen the most success and positive impact on my health. You know your own body best — advocate for yourself and make sure that you treat your body with kindness. It’s the one thing keeping you alive every day, might as well treat it like your life depends on it.
So until next time….stay bold, stay empowered,
Rach
