Sunday, March 11, 2012

What Supplements Do You Find Helpful?

I had been noticing, for awhile that I have a hard time getting through the day. At first it was easy to blame on pregnancy. But since it's been almost a year since my 2nd baby was born, I couldn't really use that excuse anymore. Was it because I was overweight? No, because even after I had lost 20lbs, I was still exhausted all the time. Of course having 2 toddlers would wear anyone out, but I was even struggling to cook and play simple games. I would manage to push through the day, the best I could for the sake of their well being but I couldn't live like this forever.

My husband had several supplements in the cabinet so one day I added the into my breakfast routine. Whoa! Burst of energy! Multivitamin, Omega-3, Probiotic and Vitamin D-3. The next day I went without taking the D. Is it a surprise that I was lethargic again? I found my answer. The bottle that we had was 2,000 IU of vitamin D-3 gel caps. But how do the make those cute little squishy, easy to swallow gel caps? Gelatin. I don't think I can emphasize my disgust for how gelatin is made. My hunt for a gelatin free vitamin D began.

My mother-in-law said that vitamin D-3 is the best, most potent D available so make sure, when purchasing this supplement, you opt for the D-3 over D or D-2. Trader Joe's only have plain D on their shelf so I went over to Whole Foods. What a selection they have! They must have a hundred varieties of probably every vitamin. I wish I took a picture to post but I suppose you will just have to go see for yourself!

I ended up going with this liquid form of vitamin D-3.
I was really looking for a 5000 IU serving but I didn't see one available without gelatin. This cute little bottle recommends 2 drops to give you the 4000 IU so I guess it would be safe to assume each drop is 2000 IU. I LOVE this product! I take 3-4 drops either into my smoothie or right on my tongue. The ingredients are simply Vitamin D-3 and extra virgin olive oil to give it a substance.
It took me a few minutes to understand exactly how to get it to drip. It says to just turn it upside down. Not obvious in this picture, but there is a tiny tube, less than an inch long and you need to position the bottle as if you are pouring through the tube. (I hope that was a good explanation.) Once you figure it out, it's super easy.
Just under $15 gives you months of use. The box says it contains 300 servings of 4000 IU so even if you double it, like me, your still getting a good 5 months out of this tiny bottle. I don't think it gets any better this but if I find that it does, I will share.


What about fiber? For several years now, I've used Benefiber (thanks to my dear cousin Jamie). While this is a great product and I don't see anything wrong with it, I have found one better.
Here is a comparison:

                                                                Benefiber            Clear Fiber
Serving Size -   2tsp                    1Tbsp
Calories -         15                        10
Carbs -           4g                      5g
Dietary Fiber -    3g                       5g
Soluble Fiber -     3g                       5g
Price -        $9.59/8.6oz                 $15.99/9.5oz

Clear fiber is a little more expensive and takes just a little longer to dissolve but it is organic! And if you wanted to do the math and incorporate the higher price with the higher nutritional value then I'd bet its about equal. :)


Vitamin C I don't take too often. Honestly, my only reason is that I take my vitamins pretty early and since I brush my teeth first thing in A.M., I dont quite enjoy the sour taste. I know, poor excuse. But I do have a Trader Joe's bottle in my house, compliments of my sister-in-law. I would definitely suggest these.

1 comment:

  1. I started taking vitamin D after you mentioned it in a previous post. I have more energy now. Thanks for the tip.

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