My love of supplements started back in Austin, Texas 19 years ago.
I used to wake up at 6 AM everyday, make coffee, get in my car and go for the 1 HOUR wholesome drive to Smithville, Texas where I worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center. I loved to get there at 7:30 AM and start all of my experiments before anyone stepped in the lab!
By the time people started arriving - 9:30 AM - I had everything going beautifully and peacefully and experiments well under way! - cell culture cells washed, phage particles packaged with DNA, western blot materials ready to go.
I loved my research work there! Loved it so much! So, in exchange for the mind blowing and fun work, I was ok driving there everyday.
But it was a whole hour of commute, and even without traffic that is quite a bit of time, specially because I did this 5 days per week! After awhile, it started to compound and I wondered if I had made the right decision.
So, I pivoted and started playing around with different ways to keep me entertained and sharp minded throughout my drive.
XM radio was a thing at the time and they gave me a month long free trial, to which I happily accepted and then later signed up for the membership! To my delight, I found many channels talking about health in a more out-of-the-box way.
Every day I listened to various shows but my favourite was the one by Dr. Oz- haha! It was truly great as he had all kinds of interesting ‘crazy’ health people come in to discuss specifics about different supplements and how they made ‘health’ easier.
I was flabbergasted with delight! I loved it!!
I adored my XM radio health shows so much that my commute started to get shorter and shorter hahahaha! Because I wished it took me longer to get there so I could finish listening to my show!
Needless to say, I started learning about supplements then! And the thing that really got me interested, was not only the science of it, of course, but the REAL LIFE effect it had on real lives and real people.
Science evidence is one thing but does it really help a person in real life?
I became obsessed with this question.
AND this very question has served me and my clients amazingly well OVER and OVER AGAIN (and now, as you know, I ask this same question about everything that has to do with health, not just supplements)
Ever since then, I have read thousands upon thousands of people’s real live supplement reviews: for example, what do people who are taking Magnesium Glycinate by the brand Designs for Health have to say about the effects of it in their daily lives?
(I still do this, by the way, not only with reviews but learning from hundreds of clients’ experiences!)
So, for 19 years, one of my most delicious hobbies has been (and is, to this day) to get a dang interesting compound say, like, MAGNESIUM or TAURINE, learn everything about their science, start connecting their science to how it can help clients, and then go to amazon or iherb and read all the reviews (good and bad) that people leave for that brand of supplement.
I have been curating supplements for years!!
If you are my client you know that if I recommend a specific brand, there is a VERY SPECIAL reason why I gave you that brand to try, so don’t even ask if you can buy another brand because it might not work!
And, as you can imagine, I am the biggest guinea pig of all time.
I love trying out different compounds but also different brands of the same compounds (and yes! They can be VERY different).
I also like to stack and pair supplements for different goals, diets, recovery routines.
Supplement protocols are as unique as your fingerprint!
So! Today, without further ado, here is my tried and tested supplement routine!
For now, I will give you the ‘long story short’ of why I take each but I will most definitely make 1 entire post for each of these over time - they are all so freaking awesome and interesting that they deserve a space of their own at Health Minis.
HELENA’s Amazing List of Tried-and-Tested Supplements
(health elevation at its finest)
FIRST THING IN THE MORNING
LMNT electrolytes - half a pack in 2 cups of filtered water (1 pack per day)
This is FOUNDATION. Every cell needs this for quick electrical connections (ie. no brain fog).
Also, on average, a human being loses about 1 L of water per night - this is code for ‘a human being loses a lot of electrolytes per night too!’
6 mg Boron - by Trace Minerals - in a little water
This is A MUST for healthy and strong as steel bones.
Increases half-life of sex hormones like estrogen (estradiol) and increases free testosterone availability.
Increases the half-life and bioavailability of vitamin D
2 droppers full of Strauss Heart Drops
I love this thing. I can’t live without it. I feel so good taking this. Cleanses you.
It contains 100% natural herbal extracts like aged garlic, hawthorn fruit, European mistletoe leaf, and others!
Helps to balance lipids and even, as the brand says, dissolve heart plaques already created.
MORNING COFFEE
To 2 cups of coffee I add:
15 drops of Trace Mineral Drops:
FOUNDATIONAL like the LMNT electrolytes but adds more depth. These are trace minerals that we are supposed to get from foods nowadays but don’t. Body cannot function properly without this.
20g of Collagen by Ancient Nutrition - this has vitamin C and 10 types of collagen (currently using Ancient Nutrition: I change brands often to fit in all collagen types).
Heart artery lining, gut lining
Bones!! - most abundant protein in there!
And, of course, beautiful and glowing skin AND many othes
6 grams - Glycine by Nutricost
Collagen production, reduces oxidative stress in the body, helps a whole lot with blood sugar regulation and helps one fall into deep sleep!
Gotta be one of my favourite supplements of all time!
1/2 tsp Lion’s Mane Powder (Pacific Rim - a fabulous local company top-notch quality)
Amazing for overall body health with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and growth of beneficial gut bacteria.
SO incredible for brain health helping to create more brain connections and keeping brain cells healthy!
Protective for brain conditions like Alzheimer’s
2 drops of 5% Lugol’s Iodine
I take it for breast, uterus, skin and thyroid health
Not just for thyroid health. Iodine is stored in the breasts, uterus, skin too!
A very controversial topic in the medical community - so, do your own research
Read the book: ‘Iodine, why you need it and why you can’t live without it.' by Dr. Brownstein
10 grams Creatine Monohydrate by Thorne
Recycles ATP in muscle and brain mitochondria!
Fantastic for building strength, muscle AND A MUST for tip-top cognitive function.
RIGHT AFTER RUCKING (around noon)
7 capsules of essential amino acids
(KION is by far my favourite and the one I have seen real life effects the most in clients and specially me!)
It has a very special ratio of specific amino acids to build muscle and improve recovery.
My rucking journey and progress would not have been possible without this.
2 capsules of Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Dr. Tobias - 800mg EPA+600mg DHA)
A must for membrane recovery after exercise (membrane fats like DHA get oxidized after exercising and this replenishment is a must for recovery)
Brain!! Without DHA your brain cells WILL NOT communicate properly
Heart!
Retina health - vision is one of the most energy consuming activities in the human body and DHA gets depleted quickly in eye cells. Gotta replenish often.
I don’t eat fish nor sea vegetables often, so this is a must for me.
5 capsules of vitamin D3 + K2 (Natural Factors: 1 capsule=1000 IU D3 + 120 mcg K2 mk7)
Vitamin D3 is a crucial hormone that must be replenished every day. Yes, you CAN get it from the sun but conditions have to be nearly perfect for this to happen: no sunscreen, right UV levels, outside not inside the house, bit patches of skin exposed.
Helps us absorb calcium from foods.
Majorly important for cancer prevention mechanisms.
A must for your immune system.
and so much more.
Vitamin K2 (not K1 that you get from kale and can be recycled): think of this as a little shuttle that carries calcium to all the right places in the body and catalyzes its entrance there (like calcium into bone), and removes calcium from the places it is not supposed to be in (arteries, kidneys).
Cannot be recycled in the body.
Really hard to get it from foods only. (more on this later)
2 capsules Liver Support (Himalaya) - this thing is INCREDIBLE for not only keeping your liver in tip top shape with new beaming cells but amazing for digestion and gut issues.
1 capsule Bilberry Extract (Life Extension): I take it to preserve exceptional eye health.
2 TBS of Mary Ruth’s Multivitamin + hair health: this thing is a powerhouse! 2 weeks ago I went to do my hair and my hair guy is like “what the hell happened to your hair! It is longer than I have ever seen! And look at all these little hairs growing!” I don’t have a problem with hair falling but this did take my hair health to the next level.
RIGHT BEFORE BED (around 9:30 PM)
Ginger/turmeric Apple Cider Vinegar TEA POTION:
To a cup of warm filtered water I add:
1 TBS of ginger/turmeric apple cider vinegar
9 grams myo-inositol powder by NOW (oh yeah incredible for going into deeper sleep, mental health, and keeping insulin sensitivity in tip-top shape!)
6 g Glycine by Nutricost - for everything I wrote above. But I add it here so that body core temperature will lower and so that I can get into deeper sleep stages. When I don’t take this, the difference in my deep sleep is enormous (goes down!)
4g Taurine by Nutricost - oh Taurine! helps the brain to go into a zen mode, improves retina health, and specially improves any electrical activity in the body specially the heart!
Alongside tea above
480 mg magnesium glycinate by Trace Minerals: my favourite currently! Not only does it have magnesium but other trace minerals too!
For sleep, nervous system regulation, heart, brain, gut, and energy production. The glycinate is awesome for nervous system regulation and sleep specifically.
600 mg Relora by NOW - helps to lower cortisol stress hormones in the body - I don’t take this as much now.
When in a recent toxic job situation (quit in past November) I had to take 900 mg per night just to be able to function with the enormous stress - this is one of the reasons I survived all of that.
Still taking 600 mg for healing purposes.
OTHER MAINTENANCE SUPPLEMENTS
All of the above I am taking now!
But I also take a few other game-changing potions a few times per month:
Liposomal Glutathione by LivOn- one pack when I feel like it and/or feel under the weather and definitely when traveling. (this is nasty tasting but AMAZINGLY EFFECTIVE! HOLY COW! Can feel it in 5 min)
Liposomal Vitamin C by LivOn - one pack when I feel like it and definitely when I travel or feel under the weather. My son Jack takes this when seasonal allergies attack - works immediately. (does not taste good but bodies LOVE this).
Aaaaaah many others! - these are the main characters! hahaha! More soon!
I hope you find this post interesting and helpful.
I would say that this routine keeps my body and specially my brain in tip-top shape!
I take all of this 7 days per week 90% of the time. Some days, due to scheduling or something like got a cold I may skip some.
What do you think? Tell me in the comments!
Your Health, Simplified
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Note 1: I am not a doctor, and the information provided here is for educational purposes only. Before making any changes to your health routine, please consult with a trusted medical practitioner who is familiar with your specific health condition and can provide personalized advice.
Note 2: This post contains affiliate links, but only for products I personally use, absolutely love, and trust to be effective.