I put a little ground flax (under 1 TBS) in my pre-workout protein shake about 4 or 5 mornings a week. Other than that I take fish oil about 3 or 4 times a week along with a multi-vitamin, vitamin C and a B-complex. About twice a week I take a Calcium/potassium/magnesium supplement but it's mostly to help with muscle recovery from lifting weights. Vitamin D is plentiful in my life as I spend a lot of time outdoors and all my lab results are good so that's about it for me.

Vitamin D. I need to remember to take it. I am bad with supplements.

Oh, hun, quit torturing yourself. You can get most of your vitamins/minerals without gagging down that stuff. I take an old lady multi-vitamin, a C and alternate D and E and truth be told, probably don't really need them. If we just eat right, we are probably fine.

Vegetarian multi vitamin (1/2 dose, they're mega-crazy), algae omega-3s, vitamin D, and calcium (I'm osteopenic), plus prescription levothyroxine for hypothyroidism, and am weaning myself off Esomeprazole. Some of the stuff others report as supplements (Chia, cinnamon, cocoa nibs . . . .) I eat more or less frequently, but consider to be food.

I am not a smoothie person. And I prefer whole foods as opposed to powdered or other extracted/processed stuff, so I don't do protein powders & such. (It's an eating preference, not a religion. I'm not saying you should do the same! )

You should checkout TrueFood by brightcore nutrition. After only 3 days I could tell a difference in how I feel. I have never felt a difference with any other supplements. I also take Vitamin D3. I also just started taking collagen.

nikkib0103 wrote: »

bm1409, has taking collagen made a difference in your skin? Actually, I was not aware one could ingest collagen. I always thought it was just in skin creams.

I have just started taking it. I take Dr. Axe protein collage. It comes from grass fed cows and there is a LOT of great reviews. Some people drink bone broth for collagen. After I take if for a month I will report back and tell you if I have noticed a difference. I noticed a difference in how I felt only after 3 days on the TrueFood by brightcore nutrition. There most be something in it that my body needed.

After blood work, my doc put me on Metafolin (helps with inflammation), D3, Fish oil.

I've been asking myself WHY about a lot of routines lately, it's part of my "developing good lifetime habits" approach (rather than the previously-failed "being on a diet" approach). I used to sit down every month and make up daily packets of supplements. Cut out a lot of supplements by asking WHY - even WHY take supplements at all (because it adds something you don't get from your diet). WHY take fish oil (because we don't get enough Omega-3 from our diet - well, that's changed, we eat a lot of fish now).

Now it's down to just an old-lady multivitamin (WHY? Because it claims to help hot flashes, and although I don't really believe it, at this point I'll do anything) and extra iron (WHY? Because I'm anemic and adding iron-rich foods wasn't enough).

I've become a three-year old. WHY is the sky blue? WHY does cinnamon smell so good? WHY are you taking all those supplements?

I take Dandelion (root and leaf), Stinging Nettle Root, Stinging Nettle Leaf, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin C (1000 mg) to help absorb the Vitamin B12. In addition, I make a point of substituting raw Spinach for [iceberg] lettuce in sandwiches and salads with every opportunity. I had also experienced great results applying Magnesium spray in the past when I was weight training, and I may go back to using Magnesium Spray as it's highly absorbent, reduces muscle cramping and soreness, and reduces my blood pressure significantly. I find the spray works much better than taking Magnesium tablets, which often cause many people to experience diarhea.

Just about nothing for me except some biotin for hair and nail strength. It seems to have helped with my nails, especially my toenails, which seemed to be getting brittle. It's a long-term thing though and takes a while to notice a difference.