This blog post has to come with a LOT of disclaimers! But it addresses a question I’m getting all the time, “What kinds of vitamin and supplements are you and your family taking right now to stay healthy?”
As far as we know, our family has not yet had the big C, so our supplement protocol is a combination of the vitamins we normally take at this time of year + preventative nutrients we are focusing on at the advice of our doctor.
I am not a medical doctor and I’m not telling you to take any of these supplements. I’m a nutritionist and a mom and I’m happy to share what is working well for my family during cold & flu season and how we’ve navigated it well in the past. I’m also not going to give specific dosage amounts because that varies a lot according to so many factors.
I also want to let you know that it’s OK to get sick. Sickness is our body expressing health and we are all going to get the occasional cold and flu bug. A strong immune system succumbs to these viruses less frequently and recovers from them faster, which helps further strengthen our immune system.
I use to feel like a failure if my kids caught a cold but now it excites me to see their immune system kick in and know that they are going to be stronger for it. It’s also been really cool to see that as we’ve made changes to their diet and lifestyle they seem to kick these bugs more easily.
Our supplement protocol is easier to speak about than write out in full, so I recorded this video on Instagram.
If you’re not on Instagram, I uploaded it on Vimeo too so you can view it HERE.
In the video I showcase certain brands we are using and talk about why I’ve chosen to go with those brands. Many of these are available on Amazon but I DON’T recommend buying supplements on Amazon.
The amount of tampering and fraud that goes on with supplements ordered through Amazon is really unsettling. I don’t say this to alarm you, but if you’re going to spend money on supplements I really want you to get what you are paying for.
I recommend shopping in-store (and yes those prices are higher), ordering directly from the brand or manufacturer, or ordering from a dispensary like Fullscript. Fullscript is the best money-saving option but it requires a practitioner to write you a recommendation. I’m happy to help you save money this way if you email me directly.
I also want to emphasize that you can’t out-supplement a bad diet and lifestyle. No matter how many vitamins you take, diet and lifestyle are always going to have the biggest impact on your immune system. I’ll write about that more next week but please please please make sure you:
Have your vitamin D levels checked yearly
Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night
Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water per day
Avoid added sugar and refined carbohydrates
Eat lots and lots of fruits and vegetables
Exercise
Spend time outside in nature daily
Poop every day
This is a BIG conversation and I try not to make these blog posts too long and overwhelming, so if there’s a specific aspect of immune health you’d like me to cover over the next few weeks, please let me know by replying to this email. Whether it’s talking more about supplements, prevention, what to do when you are actually sick with a cold or flu, the most impactful dietary changes to make, specific nutrients our body needs for a strong immune system, how to create lifestyle habits that make you more resilient…. There are so many directions we could go here and I love your input!
