topic Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take in Wellness

Supplements - which supplements do you take

bebe777 — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 16:03:44 GMT

@World Traveler I thought I'd start a new thread to answer your question.

Between Charlie Rose (Charlie Rose Show) talking about anti-aging in his science series broadcasts, Oprah having Dr. Oz on her show, and the new crop of PBS shows on health eating... well around 2005 I decided to start eating organic food... though I barely understood what it was at the time.

Dr. Oz had explained to Oprah that in seven years time, our body completely rebuilds itself: literally every single cell in our body is new. Some parts of the body (organs, etc.) take less time to regenerate, and others take longer, but in seven years you will have a brand new you.

Well, that inspired me to really take the time to learn how to take care of my body. At the time, I figured that my 40 some body would thank me in seven years... an it has!

Around 2007, I started looking into supplements more seriously. I had always taken a multivitamin, calcium, iron (for my iron deficiency) and had recently added Fish Oil to my routine (it took me a few years to understand how fish oil related to Omega-3s). After about a month of using fish oil, I noticed that my skin felt noticeable smoother and more hydrated, so I knew that it was having an effect.

I got inspired so I searched out the best multivitamins. There was Rainbow Light and another brand. At a nutrition conference the guy who runs the Hippocrates Institute (for nutrition, in Florida) told me that Rainbow LIght was the best, so I started using Rainbow Light. I saw/felt some noticeable changes very quickly, so I was very encouraged.

Since then, I've figured out that my body feels the effects of supplements very, very quickly. This is unusual, but I've talked with a small number of other people who report the same thing. I generally feel the results of supplements in 4-12 hours (occasionally in 10 minutes), while most people may take 3-6 weeks to feel results. -- Basically, my body's chemistry makes it much easier for me to assess the results of each new supplement quickly.

Because supplements can be expensive, I started using ebay as one of my supplement sources. The bay is always a bit tricky because, as you know from ebay Wen purchasers, there's a lot of fake Wen hair care products out there. -- What I realized was that, for the most part, it didn't make economic sense to sell fake supplements on the bay because it was a relatively small and niche market.

It was a real education because there were so very many supplements and I didn't know what most of them were for. I spent a lot of time googling the supplement names and learned about their properties that way. I also found out about a lot of the pyramid scheme Vitamins which was very informative and eye opening. There were a lot of companies marketing snake oil products with seductive (though vague) marketing hype. I learned just what the FDA allowed these snake oil salespeople to say... and where the line was drawn. -- This education really helped be able to evaluate new products quickly.

I did a lot of buying in the bay as well as through health food store sales. I bought some snake oil products of interest when the prices were dirt cheap. Curiously, sometimes these products did have some effect. Afterwards I would comb through the ingredients listings to try to figure out which ingredients were probably useful. Then I'd buy the targeted ingredients from a more reputable company.

Early on, I started using tryptophan because it helps regulate seratonin levels in the brain (for mood, sleep & satiety). I chose the Doctors Best brand quite simply because they put out a 40 page booklet outlining the benefits of their top supplements. To me that said they were serious about their supplements. -- The tryptophan worked like a charm, but the DB line was twice the money of other lines so I bought the 4 competitor brands on the bay (as I had done with DB). I got ZERO results from all four competing brands, which was an eye opener. This told me that there really was a difference in the efficacy of different brands.

Around that time, I got introduced to Andrew Lessman. I was flipping through the TV channels and I heard this guy on a shopping channel mention COQ10. Well, the guy at my local health food store had mentioned that Alec Baldwin and Kevin Costner had been buying everything COQ10 but he couldn't tell me much more about it. They were movie stars which meant that they could buy the best stuff and probably COQ10 was a Hollywood buzz word, so I wanted to know more about it. Except no one... anywhere... had anything much to say about it... until Andrew.

Well, I had never watched a shopping channel program, because I though they just sold plastic cows and other such stuff... but since I had struck out everywhere else (for about 3-4 months), I thought why not. And besides Andrew had all these impressive looking charts with all these quotes from various medical journals.

Well, I still wasn't exactly sure what this COQ10 stuff was, but I went all in and bought the 360 capsules 90mg COQ10 capsules for $199 since I could return them in 30 days and I knew I would be returning them (fyi, this October it should be 600 200mg COQ10 capsules for around $199). Of course, that never happened.

For the prior 8-9 months I had been unable to stay awake past 8pm at night. I had done all sorts of supplement research and spoke to my doctor, but nothing helped. -- When I got the COQ10 at 4pm, I took one 90mg capsule with a little bit of olive oil (because COQ10 is fat soluble). Then I just went about the end of my day. At 8pm I was still awake which surprised me and I wondered if the COQ10 had anything to do with it... but that sort of seemed ridiculous. At 11pm it was finally lights out and I went to sleep. The next morning I began to realize that there might be a link between the COQ10 and my additional energy. Andrew had mentioned the "energy" word during his presentations and something about mitachondria in every cell being the "gas" fuel that provides the necessary energy to each cell. Well, the second night I was able to stay up until 1am (I wanted to see how late I could stay up) and, at that point, I realized that the COQ10 was providing all the cells in my body with the energy it needed. -- lol, that was when I became an Andrew Lessman believer.

I continued to purchase additional Andrew Lessman supplements as they became TS offers. I figured that if Andrew really thought a supplement was essential, then he would probably create a TS for it. The TS values were generally 30-40% less than the per unit price for the largest sizes of Andrew's supplements, so these were great values.

I had always wondered why supplement manufacturers used rock had tablets instead of powder capsules because it seemed like there could be problems with tablets dissolving quickly and efficiently. The owners of a very reputable local health food store had their own brand of tablet supplements and they both were pharmacists. On several occasions I asked them about dissolvability issues and they always assured me that there was no difference between tablets and powder capsules. It dind't make sense to me, but they were pharmacists and I thought they should know. -- It wasn't until Andrew explained that rock hard tablets literally "explode" in the stomach in order to become more bioavailable that I realized the problems with tablets.

The next day I took my beloved Rainbow Light multivitamin tablet and ground it up in my Krups coffee grinder. My body could tell that it was about 30% more bioavailable. Once my Rainbow Light multis were finished, I switched over to Andrew's Elite multivitamins (available at Procaps Labs). Andrew didn't have the Essential-1 at that time (which is an amazing one capsule multi)!!

At that point I started to understand that Andrew's supplements were just in a different class from all other supplement brands. And that's when Procaps Labs became my go to brand. And I've never looked back.

Below I've listed all the supplements that I take. These are my suggestions of which are the most helpful/essential versus others which have more specific benefits in specific instances. -- Unfortunately I'm out of town right now and so I don't have most of my vitamin bottles with me (I use vitamin boxes), so I'm working from memory. I've also included the general times of the year that Andrew offers particular TS specials.

If you're starting out, you may want to just go with the first section of Basic Supplements that I've suggested. -- It's in the next message.

-- bebe

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

bebe777 — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 15:36:56 GMT

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SUPPLEMENTS - my general recommendations

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BASIC KEY SUPPLEMENTS

Note: the supplements in this section are all "essential" because your body is not able to make them on it's own (it can make 5mg of COQ10 a day, but that's not enough) -- Within this first section, I've listed them in order by first choice, second choice, etc. -- That said, everyone has their own unique supplement needs. -- bebe

Essential-1 with 3,000 IU Vitamin D, alternatively Elite multivitamins

* These are two multivitamins that Andrew offers. I take the Elite but my parents take the Essential-1 (my mom hates taking pills). -- I'd recommend starting off with the Essential-1 with 3,000 IU Vitamin D because it's a lot more affordable and it's a great way to try out Andrew's line. -- The Essential-1 with 3,000 IU Vitamin D is fairly new to Andrew's line (360 capsules for $100) and I recommend it over the older Essential-1 (360 capsules for $900) because. If you are of average weight the 3000 IU of Vitamin D should give you your needed Vitamin D dose for the day (if you are overweight, you may need 4000-6000 IU of Vitamin D daily). -- The Essential-1 with 3,000 IU Vitamin D may well be Andrew's very best vitamin value. Honestly, I think he may be offering this as a loss leader because I don't see how he can make any money on this supplement. -- Usually Andrew offers an Essential-1 TS once a year, but he didn't this year.

Omega-3

* Nordic Naturals 8oz bottle of liquid Omega-3 with Vitamin D ($23) -- don't get the concentrated "Ultra" formula because they charge you extra for concentrating the Omega-3 dose. -- While the Procaps Elite includes Omega-3 capsules, the Essential-1 does not. -- Andrew offers a great Omega-3 TS in April but, until then, the Nordic Naturals is your best bet. Both Andrew and Nordic Naturals use the more expensive (and 2-3 times more bioavailable) triglyceride form of Omega-3. -- Take one teaspoon of the Nordic Naturals dairy (about 1.3 grams of EPA & DHA combined). -- EPA, in particular is concentrated in both your brain and your eyes -- Most good research recommends 1/2 gm to 1gm of Omega-3 daily. -- TS special in April

COQ10 (as ubiquinone)

* COQ10 provides the mitachondria in each cell in your body the energy ith needs to run efficiently: COQ10 is to the body as gas is to your car. -- COQ10 is fat soluble so take it with a bit of fat. Omega-3 or Phosphatidyl Choline are both fine 9as would be olive oil or coconut oil). -- I take my vitamins in divided doses in the morning and the evening. This is because the half life of most multivitamins is around 12 hours (i.e. 50% of the active ingredients are still bioavailable after 12 hours in the body). Since Andrew's COQ10 has a number of additional beneficial "multi" ingredients, I'd suggest taking the Essential-1 in the morning and COQ10 in the evening. -- Andrew also sells the much more expensive TruQ10 (ubiquinal), but recommends people go with the less expensive ubiquinone version. He says the possible better ubiquinal results do ot justify the huge price increase. -- TS for ubiquinone is usually in October.

Vitamin D

* if you are overweight you will need extra Vitamin D because Vitamin D gets trapped in omentum fat in your belly. -- Vitamin D is fat soluble. -- Frequently an October TS and sometimes bundled with Calcium / Magnesium.

Calcium / Magnesium

The guidelines for women are 1,000 mg daily, but some go up to 1,500 mg for post menopausal women. Last year Andrew started suggesting that people only take 500 mg total cal/mag supplements daily since there is so much hidden calcium in various prepared foods (e.g. orange juice and milk). -- Your body cannot absorb more that 500 mg of calcium at a time. If you give it more in a single dose... it actually absorbs less (yup, less!). -- So you need to get a good understanding of how much calcium you are eating in your food on a regular basis and supplement accordingly. -- Without Vitamin D in your system, only about 10% of calcium is absorbed. -- Frequently an October TS and sometimes bundled with Vitamin D.

Phosphatidyl Choline

* Andrew had only done a TS on this once, and that was a number of years back. I'm always puzzled about why this doesn't get included in a TS because Procaps reps have told me that Andrew takes 3 servings a day of PC and regularly talks about how important it is. -- PC comprises two-thirds of the liver cells membranes so it controls the toxins that go in and out of your liver as they are filtered by it. PC is also a key phospholipid in your brain. -- Purchase the PC granules as opposed to the capsules because they contain at least 500% more key ingredients. -- I think just starting out with one serving a day is just fine.

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SECOND TIER SUPPLEMENTS

Note: There are lots of great supplements out there, but everyone has their own budgetary requirements so I'm trying to be conservative with my recommendations. -- A number of these supplements are simply on an "as needed" basis... and you may not need them.

Iron

* Only if your need it!!! I'm post menopausal and I still get occasional iron deficiencies. I take one of Andrew's iron capsules about once a week. If I'm exhausted for a few days, that's generally a sign that my iron levels are low and then I'll take one capsule a day for 2-3 days in a row. -- Andrew's iron supplement is the only iron supplement that has ever worked well for me. Before I started taking it, well life could be challenging at times. -- Iron gets stored in your fat cells, so you should only take iron as needed. Do not just pop iron pills.

Ultimate Friendly Flora

* FF is expensive no matter which brand you buy. If you are going to buy Andrew'e FF, then just purchase the UFF (25 billion colony forming units) as opposed to the regular one (5 billion colony forming units). For a little more money, you'll get much more of a bang for your buck. -- Due to some surgery issues, I've bounced back and forth between a few probiotic (friendly flora) options. -- This recent July TS marks the first time I've used Andrew's UFF on a regular basis. -- FF help regulate the balance of pathogenic bacteria in your gut.

Andrew's enzymes product or Enzymedica's enzymes products

* Once you hit your 40s, the digestion process can become more challenging. If it feels as though you are not absorbing your nutrients as effectively, them you may want to consider taking an enzyme capsule with each meal. -- Enzymedica is a great brand. They only make enzyme products and they do this very well. -- I don't need to take them, but they are an excellent product.

Cranberry Benefits

* I've known I should be taking them but only finally added them in when Andrew included the in this past July TS. -- Your liver and kidneys filter all the toxins through your body as they take daily toxic abuse. Frequently, you don't know that these two organs are in distress until it may be too late, so giving them supplements to make their jobs easier seems like an excellent idea.

Ultimate Eye Support

* Lutein and Zeaxanthin act as sunscreen to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays. Essentially, take it now for better eyesight when you're 70. -- TS generally in April.

Healthy Hair, Skin & Nails

* This supplement bundle helps your your integumentary system (your skin) make necessary repairs. Your skin is the largest organ of your body and is in constant need of repair. Biotin and all it's necessary cofactors are in HHSN as well as MSM. -- TS generally in July.

FiberMucil

* I don't take it because I get more than enough fiber in my diet on a daily basis. I have used it on rare occasions though and it's a great product if you need more fiber in your diet. -- The average American gets around 5 gms of fiber daily, and most nutritionists recommend 25-35 gms daily. -- From the reviews I've read, most people tend to take 3-6 FiberMucil capsules daily. It's going to vary from person to person. You may not need it but if you do need it, it's a great product to have around.

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THIRD TIER

Note: sometime during the year, Andrew usually has a TS supplement bundle that includes Resveratrol and ECGC at a great add on price (i.e. resveratrol and ECGC are in the "add on" secondary bundled offering).

Resveratrol

* I think it's Dr. Sinatra who has been doing the extensive resveratrol research at Harvard (and then marketing a resveratrol product). -- Resteratrol helps keep telemere markers long. There seems to be a corelation between longer telemeres and aging well (i.e.anti-aging benefits). -- Andrew suggests 100mg daily while most of the other research is suggesting 200-500mg daily. My sense is that 100-200mg daily is just fine.

EGCG

* Again great anti-aging research. You can drink 4-6 cups of green tea daily or take an ECGC supplement. -- It also acts as a very mild sort of "sunscreen" (much like lycopene, which can be found in abundance in COOKED tomatoes).

Cruciferous Extracts

* In the past few years, the recent research on cruciferous veggies has read as though they're magic bullets. The research is crazy good and it's still coming in. It is crazy good. -- I don't take this product because I eat a whole lot of Vitamixed cruciferous veggies every day, but if you don't then this is an excellent supplement choice.

Turmeric/Curcumin

* I got this as part of the January TS in a bottle of Tumeric/Ginger. I didn't start using it right away, but I added it to my routine after my wrist surgery in early March to hopefully easy my pain. It definitely did help. -- Epidemiological studies have found that Altzheimer rates are lowest in India where people evidently eat 2-3 gms of cooked tumeric a day. -- Make sure you purchase the tumeric that has the phosphatidyl choline complex in it. Otherwise it's basically NOT bioavailable.

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FOURTH TIER

Glucosamine / Chondroitin

* Excellent for stiff and painful joints. It also helps keep veins/capillaries/arteries, ligaments and tendons flexible. For me, it helps to reduce bruising because I bruise easily. -- Andrew only uses the sulfate forms of Glucosamine and Chondroitin because is the effective (and expensive) form used in most of the research studies (and not the inferior and ineffective HCL form). -- TS is generally in January.

Circulation and Vein Support

* Helps to reduce swelling of calves and ankles when you've been on your feet all day. Nurses and Counter Sales people (and anyone else on their feet all day) love this product. -- It helps to tone blood vessels, so I take it to help reduce bruising. -- TS generally in January

Phosphatidyl Serine (PS)

* Doctors Best brand -- Aside form Procaps Labs, it's one of my favorite brands. They started as a relatively small company about 15 years ago and now have an excellent range of supplements. I number of years back I spoke with their CEO and was very impressed with his knowledge of various supplements. And their supplements are effective. -- Their PS works well for me and on sale is still a good bit cheaper than the Procaps PS, although Procaps has been bringing their price down. -- PS is a very subtle but very effective supplement. So it's effects are tricky to describe. Essentially, it helps to the nervous system calm by blocking the release of too much cortisol when can happen when you are anxious or even just multi-tasking.

Valerian

* I just started taking Andrew's valerian and it's great!!! I was really surprised. It helps keep me calm during the day will no side effects and it doesn't make me drowsy.

Marine Collagen

* Doctors Best -- I just have started taking this. It was on sale and was a better value than Andrew's MC. -- I'm going to take this brand for a few months and then switch over to Andrew's brand and see if I see a difference. lol, so we'll see.

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PROCAPS - other supplements you might want to consider

* CholestaCare -- to lower cholesterol levels

* Positive Passage -- for menopause support

* Evening Primrose -- for menopause support as well as "monthly" support.

* Memory & Brain Benefits (360 capsules for $100) -- I've used this before and it really does help.

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OTHER SUPPLEMENTS I TAKE

Tryptophan -- Doctors Best -- needed for optimal setatonin levels in the brain. Seratonin helps regulate mood, sleep and satiety.

Maca -- Whole World Botanicals -- I've shared more information on this in the Life after hormones? thread (message #2). Don't start using Maca without reading that thread. And if you start using maca, start very very slowly. -- it'a a precursur for pregnonelone which is a precurser to progesterone which is a cofactor in making the adrenal hormones. When the ovaries turn to dust, the adrenals take over their job... but you've got to give the adrenals the nutrients they need for that to happen. -- A number of years back I used Enzymedica's Nattokinase and Whole World Botanicals to completely destroy large fibroid tumors. I chose these brands very carefully because not every brand is diligent about their active ingredients. I've been scanned and the tumors are completely gone.

Kelp (for Iodine) -- Nature's Way -- I take one Nature's Way kelp capsule daily because I don't use iodized salt and I have very little extra salt in my diet. -- Natures Way used to be a German company but was sold some years back to a company based in Utah. German companies are fairly reliable for supplements, but I really don't know how good Nature's Way these days. lol, I really need to check this out. -- Too much iodine can be toxic to your body, so don't take more than one capsule daily. If you eat prepared foods or have iodized salt in your diet then you may not need to use this supplement.

Nattokinase -- Enzymedica -- A number of years back I used Enzymedica's Nattokinase and Whole World Botanicals to completely destroy large fibroid tumors. I chose these brands very carefully because not every brand is diligent about their active ingredients. I've been scanned and the tumors are completely gone.

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SUPPLEMENTS I'VE RECOMMENDED TO OTHERS

Cinnamon -- A good friend of mine is a Type 1 diabetic and I gave him Andrew's cinnamon supplement. It's helped with his blood sugar levels. He's reordered than as well as other Procaps supplements. -- Procaps has their own assay lab so they can vet each batch of cinnamon. There's a lot of ineffective cinnamon out there being marketed to help blood sugar levels, so i'd recommend Procaps cinnamon.

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last update: 9/11/15

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Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

town and country lady — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 15:34:35 GMT

Wild Yam SW1258

Astaxanthin NWF528 60# / 1126 90#

Kidney Essentials SWC015

Black Cohosh SW1344

Black Currant SW1272

Omega 3 SW1309

Collagen NEC001

Evening Primrose Oil SWE010

Alpha Lipoic Acid SWU190 SWU167

Hawthorne Berry SW773

L-Arginine SW1293 SW1615

Horse Chestnut SWH210

Butcher's Broom SW415

Boswellia SW1320

Lutein SWU272 SW902

Valerian SW506

Passion Flower SW1143

CoQ10 SWU610

St. John's Wort SW1353

The numbers after each are for swansonvitamins.com which I've found to be most effective and value driven. I went off during a recent long distance move and the first notice was my mood depressed followed by yellowing of eyes. Back on in addition to Multi Vita, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Vita C. I also have Lupus and in lieu of RX, these have brought inflammation down.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

World Traveler — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 16:55:46 GMT

WOW, Bebe, this is totally so much to digest (pun intended!) in one sitting. I want to read this again when I get home tonight. But, thank you, thank you, for all the time it took to sit down and spell this out for me. What you have found out is extraordinary and I'm so "all in" for Lessman. I'm printing your information out, and the following post too. Such great information for not only me, but everyone else! You are a God-send. As with your WEN information, you are very thorough and there's not much one can ask you that you don't have well documented thoughts and experience to toss back to us for consideration. Keep it up. Am sure I will have questions/thoughts for you after I get a second, more thorough, reading on this.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

BichonEmma — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 18:26:14 GMT

Wow great well written list

I am also a big fan of Andrew Lessman's vitamins. I had so much trouble with stomach upsets or pain with little to no results from other supplements. I've had no problems with Andrew's. I do start only one supplement at a time, waiting 1-2 weeks before adding another. I do that so if I did get an adverse reaction I would know what it was from. Also so if I start seeing some positive changes I'll know it's something I'd want to continue.

I want to give a big thumbs up for Andrew's Evening Primrose with Black Currant Seed Oil. I was getting hormonal breast pain. Horrible to the point where it would wake me up. A few days after I starting taking it the pains had already greatly diminished. I took it for awhile then stopped. A couple months later the pain was back full force. I had forgotten last time I ordered I did it on auto ship. It came just when I was thinking about ordering it again. A few days into taking it pain was going away.

I also like Andrew's valerian better than other brands I've tried but I do find it makes me a little drowsy. I don't take it regularly though, that may go away with consistent use.

My doctor did blood work a couple years ago and I was seriously vitamin D deficient. I tried multiple brands of D supplements but none agreed with my stomach. I got Andrew's when it was a TS. No stomach problems at all. I took 3 in the height of the winter, 2 once the amount of daylight was better and 1 for the summer. I plan on upping to 2 pills again with the decrease in daylight and time out doors. My physical will be in a couple months and I'll know how well it actually works then. I do have to say that I had almost none of the "winter blues" I normally get.

I also got Andrew's calcium magnesium intensive care when it was the TS. Calcium has always been the worst supplement on my stomach but I needed the magnesium and it works best with some calcium. I would get horrible cramps in my feet, on the advise of the health food store I took a freeze dried calcium magnesium powder that was mixed with water. However they were having trouble getting it in stock. Andrew's actually works better and I can take it everyday so it almost entirely keeps the cramps away. As a bonus to me my calcium levels are now well in the normal range

Those are my big always keep on hand supplements.

I also take the hair skin and nails. I've run out of it before and reordered when it was the TS. It helps my nails tremendously without it they split and break easily. I don't know that it does much for my hair. Hair does grow a lot slower than nails but I didn't see a big difference in the 4-ish months I wasn't taking it

The circulation and vein support sounds really great, I think it helps my occasional restless leg but the magnesium also helps with it. I think I was getting more leg cramps when I was out for a couple months but it could have been unrelated. If he keeps offering it as a TS I imagine I'll keep buying the big one but I don't think I'd pay full price.

I got the cholestacare when it was a TS. I don't eat great and had just had blood work including my first cholesterol test. It was a weak moment. My cholesterol levels were actually great. This is the only supplement of Andrew's that didn't agree with my system. It gave me "digestive issues" I'm guessing it's because I don't need it

When I've been aenimic I take floradix. It's a gross looking liquid. It works wonders though. It is the only iron supplement that has helped my iron, including Rx supplements. When I need it the taste isn't bad however if my iron levels are good its repulsive. It's plant based so no dreaded "blocked up" side effect common with iron pills

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

Nightowlz — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 18:34:20 GMT

All I can say is Wow & Wow. I thought I took a lot of supplements. I take Andrew Lessman Vein Support, CoQ10 (sometimes his TruQ10), Fish Oil, Turmeric, Ultimate Friendly Flora, Vit D, HHS&N, Eye Support, B12, Vit C, Cranberry Benefits, Essential One, Turmeric/Ginger, digestive enzymes. I also take Milk Thistle. I still have some EPO, Glucosamine Chondroitin, Resveratrol & PC I take sometimes. I also buy Andrews large TS. I just stocked all my smaller bottles so I could see what I need to order. I don't need anything right now. I'm going to order a bottle of the Turmeric since there's a $15 off $75 on Ebates. HSN now has free shipping & reduced prices on HSN & his TS's are listed for pre-sale right now.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

World Traveler — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 19:53:59 GMT

Bebe, regarding the TSV for the oatmeal.....your thoughts on why you would choose one over the other. Ultimate Oatmeal vs the Ultimate Oat Bran. Thanks in advance.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

NeNe1010 — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 22:07:29 GMT

Astaxathin/ Sea Bucktorn Oil/ MSM/ Vitamin C/ Omega 3/ Magnesium/ Calcium/ Trifala/ Vitamin and Sunsafe Rx.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

winamac1 — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 22:27:55 GMT

My diet, except for a few diet sodas is almost perfect. BUT....that being said...I still take a few supplements. I certainly don't need many due to the % of nutriets I get from all the veggies I consume.

I take calcium plus D3

I take Turmeric

I take ginger and I take Omega 3

Mostly Andrew Lessman.

I don't take any multivitamins as I don't need them. I already eat a lot of vitamin a and c thru my diet.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

winamac1 — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 22:29:17 GMT

from bebe's post

Cruciferous Extracts

* In the past few years, the recent research on cruciferous veggies has read as though they're magic bullets. The research is crazy good and it's still coming in. It is crazy good. -- I don't take this product because I eat a whole lot of Vitamixed cruciferous veggies every day, but if you don't then this is an excellent supplement choice.\

I don't take these as I eat so much broccoli and cauliflower.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

World Traveler — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 01:15:45 GMT

Bebe, I was finally able to read everything in detail that you wrote. Well done! I found it very informative and your details are amazing. I think Andrew should hire you as his PR person!

My main thing with what I have gotten from him so far is the fact that the capsules have such finely crushed ingredients in them. As I get older I note that things don't dissolve as quickly inside me as in years past. The more vitamines/minerals that I can have that dissolve quickly, the better I feel about the changes of it doing some good in my system. So that makes me a Lessman fan!

Some years ago I met someone who took a calcium pill and let it sit in a glass of water over night. Most of it was still hard the next morning. Could have been the brand, but that told me that I probably didn't benefit from tablets as opposed to capsules.

Again, thank you so much for going to all this trouble for me, and I know others have greatly benefited from your research and desire to share.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

VaBelle35 — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 01:45:10 GMT

Thanks @bebe777for starting this thread.

re the question of oat bran vs oatmeal

I came to oatbran after doing Dukan. He is a big fan of oatbran. You have to eat 2 Tablespoons a day. It is lower carb and expands wildly in water. The longer it sits, the more water it soaks up, so you will feel full longer on it as it expands in your stomach. I love it. I bought Bob's Redmill brand. You can also make things like pancakes and galettes with it (the recipes are all over Pinterest if you search on Dukan and Oatbran).

I came very late to the supplement party. Over the years, I have had doctors who were for and against taking a multivitamin. My last gyn suggested I take something, so I did the uneducated thing and did gummis and Flintstone vitamins for a while and then decided to try Nature's Code. I loved NC. I had no problems taking it (I took my packet at lunch). I never felt better than when I was on it. I tried Andrew Lessman's multivitamins with Fish Oil at one point during my NC years. I think I saw a presentation. I got about 1/2 way through my vitamins when the second cannister has a broken fish oil capsule and it stunk up the joint. Couldn't finish them and went back to NC.

At one point I stopped NC again and went to Centrum Silver chewables and then went back to NC.

In August 2013, I had just finished yet another round of antibiotics for a sinus infection. I was traveling non-stop for work and I was constantly getting sick (sinus infection, female issues, sinus infection, female issues, and around and around it went for 2 years).

I stopped NC when Dr. Rouse left and they brought in the new representative. QVC could not confirm for me if NC would continue to be updated and who would be doing the updating, so I cancelled my AD and switched to Andrew's Women's Complete 100 Max in September 2014.

That's when I started watching the shows and got interested in supplements.

On Halloween 2014, I did a Whole30 (30 days of food elimination to see if anything I was eating was contributing to my nasal allergies. Sadly, food was not the issue. At the end of my 30 days, I switched to the Primal Blueprint, a Paleo-type diet based on whole foods.

In November 2014, I had a complete physical and blood workup. I go next week for the same (a little earlier this year due to my health insurance requirements at work). I am very interested to see what my numbers are this year vs last year and that will determine what changes I make to my supplements, if any, and my eating style.

Here's what I take.

Women's Elite 100 - Max - I just switched to this one from ProCaps. I haven't started taking it, it just arrived this week. I like the profile of these packets better than the Women's Complete 100 and it will also allow me to drop other supplements, especially when I switch to Women's Elite 200 in the spring (have to use up all the other supplements I have first so that I don't overdo it).

Fibermucil/Cholestacare - at the same time, I ordered the F/C packets. My family is 100% heart disease on both sides, so this product spoke to me. While my cholesterol is "normal" and in a good range, it is something I watch closely and take serioulsy.

Resveratrol - This was in a TS bundle, so I bought it. It's supposed to have wonderful benefits.

CoQ10and TruQ10 - A friend of mine told me that she and her husband started taking this at the insistance of their doctor. She felt a big difference after a month of taking it. I started researching it and felt it was something that would be beneficial to me and added the TruQ10 when it was a TS, because, why not.

Vitamin D - I started taking this after I got my bloodwork back last November. My D was 46 and both Mark Sisson (Primal Blueprint) and Andrew say they like their D to be in the 70s. So I will see how my D is this year and adjust accordingly.

Astaxanthin - I started taking this because I have dry eyes and my doctor wants me to eat flax seed (2T per day) or flax seed oil. This has flax seed oil in it and it is also good for your eyes. I personally don't notice a change taking this, but I will keep taking it.

Ultimate Eye - same as Astaxanthin - because it's good for your eyes and I spend a lot of time at home and at work staring at a computer screen (which contributes to the dry eye condition).

Maximum Joint Effort

Turmeric & Ginger

Circulation & Vein Support - I work out a lot and fly on airplanes a lot. I think these are crucial for my joints. I have one knee that annoys me (I've fallen on it, slammed it into things and just generally abused it over the years).

Ultimate Women's Wellness - I discontinued BCPs in April of this year after 27 years. I though this might help with the transition. I feel fine on it. I might add or change to Positive Passage to see how I feel on that, but I felt UWW was more for what I was experiencing and where I was in the process.

Ultimate Friendly Flora and Cranberry Benefits - I missed the TS as I was on travel, but I did watch the presentations when I got home and felt these were important to add to the Ultimate Women's Wellness. I had been taking Culturelle but stopped when I started taking the Fibermucil as that has probiotics in it. The UFF has a lot more than Fibermucil, so I think it's a good addition.

Marine Collagen and Health Hair Skin & Nails - The MC intrigued me when he first presented it. While my hair, skin and nails are good, I did have some nail damage that wasn't clearing up from overfiling, a deep bruise on my leg where I smacked it on the corner of the dishwasher many, many months ago that has not healed but is now almost completed faded out and a few other skin things where I've noticed a change. MC is the one product where I noticed a difference. I also think it contributes to the complements I've been getting recently (see below). I've only been on HHS&N since the TS, so I can't say I've seen a difference but my nails do seem to be growing faster. I go to the salon every 2 weeks and she had been cutting them the last 2 times.

Energy & Fat Metabolism and Urgent Energy - I love these. I take the E&FM on days I go to the gym for cycle and zumba. I also take it on days I have long meetings or long days of travel. I take Urgent Energy for when I work out in the morning. I think E&FM last longer and throughout the day and I get so much work done, I feel very focused and clear headed. I think UE is more immediate. For example, tomorrow I am volunteering at an all day festival, so I am taking 1 UE in the morning and one at lunch. I've taken E&FM more than I've taken UE but I like them both. It does nothing for weight loss for me, though, but that's not why I take it.

Immune Factors - this one spoke to me because I fly a lot and go to the gym a lot and those are just breeding grounds for germs. For something like the festival tomorrow, where I am handling money and tickets and being with a mass of people, I will take some in the morning and some at lunch.

Brazil Nuts - I eat one a day. I consider this a supplement. It is the easiest supplement you can take. I buy conventional as I read organic isn't necessary for nuts. Conventional brazil nuts are huge, so one is enough. Organic tend to be smaller, so you may need 2 of those.

Night Time - I love this one. This is especially helpful when traveling, changing time zones and staying in hotel rooms. A good night's sleep is key to having a good day the next day, making good food choices and having energy to do what I'm there to do. I am interested in tryin Valarian as mentioned above.

Breath + - Colleen talked me into this the last show. She just happened to mention it and they talked about it briefly as an aside, it wasn't presented. I like it. I use it at lunch time when I go into the office.

How I take them:

Bebe pointed out a few things in the other AL threads, so I've made some changes since that discussion:

Early Morning: Coffee + Coconut Milk and 1/2 Banana

Ultimate Women's Wellness

Ultimate Friendly Flora

Healthy Hair Skin & Nails

Energy & Fat Metabolism Factors or Urgent Energy
Immune Factors

CoQ10 - 200

TruQ10 - 100
Vitamin D3

Allegra

Breakfast

Maximum Joint Effort

Fibermucil/Cholestacare

Circulation & Vein Support (1)

Ultimate Eye (1)

Cranberry Benefits (1)

Lunch

Women's Elite 100 Max 1000

Astaxanthin

Resveratrol

Ginger & Turmeric

Dinner

Circulation & Vein Support (1)

Ultimate Eye (1)

Fibermucil

Cholestacare

Before Bed

Marine Collagen

Cranberry Benefits (1)

For me, supplements are part of a whole lifestyle change I've been on since 1999. I workout 4-6 days a week (Zumba, Yoga, Water Aerobics, Cycle/Spin), I take sleep seriously and make it a priority.

In the last few months (and especially the last few weeks since I have not been wearing makeup due to an eye issue -- see the Pink Eye thread in Wellness), people have been commenting on my skin all the time. Today, the receptionist at the salon I go to was demanding to know what I use on my face. The other day a woman in line at TJ Maxx said I had great skin.

I have not been sick since August 2013 (unless you include my eye issues the last few weeks).

I attribute this to my eating, my supplements and my dedication to sleep.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

VaBelle35 — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 01:25:49 GMT

@winamac1 wrote:
from bebe's post

Cruciferous Extracts

* In the past few years, the recent research on cruciferous veggies has read as though they're magic bullets. The research is crazy good and it's still coming in. It is crazy good. -- I don't take this product because I eat a whole lot of Vitamixed cruciferous veggies every day, but if you don't then this is an excellent supplement choice.\

I don't take these as I eat so much broccoli and cauliflower.

I want to add this to my arsenal. It's on my list.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

BichonEmma — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 02:52:51 GMT

Those taking Andrew's marine collagen what are you mixing it with? I have the big bottle. I don't do smoothies. I had so much trouble getting it to mix in anything without having the whole process take over 1/2hr so the bottle is just sitting there 😪

i was making a cup of green tea, letting it cool down to warm tea. I'd add the powder, then let it sit for another 20 or so minutes until it disolved. Last couple times I did it I forgot about the tea and it got too cold to drink, wasting it.

I've had zero luck getting it to mix without clumps. I've tried a spoon, whisk, fork, room temp and warm drinks. I don't want to do hot because I'm afraid it would kill some of the good stuff, which is also why I didn't heat up the tea.

I feel like it's really aimed at smoothie drinkers, which I am not.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

World Traveler — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 03:43:00 GMT

@bichon_emma wrote:
Those taking Andrew's marine collagen what are you mixing it with? I have the big bottle. I don't do smoothies. I had so much trouble getting it to mix in anything without having the whole process take over 1/2hr so the bottle is just sitting there 😪

i was making a cup of green tea, letting it cool down to warm tea. I'd add the powder, then let it sit for another 20 or so minutes until it disolved. Last couple times I did it I forgot about the tea and it got too cold to drink, wasting it.

I've had zero luck getting it to mix without clumps. I've tried a spoon, whisk, fork, room temp and warm drinks. I don't want to do hot because I'm afraid it would kill some of the good stuff, which is also why I didn't heat up the tea.

I feel like it's really aimed at smoothie drinkers, which I am not.

Since you don't like smoothies, which is how I use it, you might just drink it straight like he demonstrated on the program in July. Evidently the past iteration of the drink was not so pleasant taste-wise, as he mentioned a few times that it now had no taste. I noticed that he had to stir it up pretty vigorously. That's when I realized that I better use it in a smoothie to ensure it is dissolved properly. One of his presentations he had the host try it too and she said there was no taste. So I guess you could down it with a tall class of water.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

VaBelle35 — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 12:06:55 GMT

@World Traveler is correct.

The original version needed to be mixed with something with a little bit of flavor because the taste was like drinking water from your fish tank. It wasn't horrible. I drank it in lemon water and it was fine.

The new version that was released with his last visit, is actually better in plain, still bottled water. I initially was drinking it with lemon water and it tasted funny. It actually made the lemon water taste flowery, like cheap hand soap in a public restroom. LOL

I mix it in about 1/4 cup of room temperature bottled water and drink it in 2 sips. I let it sit on the counter for a while and drink it later with my Cranberry pill. I personally don't find the need to mix it in 8 oz of water.

That's probably a question I should ask Andrew. Can you drink it with less water.

ETA: Okay, question asked! Let's see if "Virginia" gets an answer on air. LOL

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

bebe777 — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 12:13:38 GMT

@VaBelle35 I'm rooting for you.

-- bebe

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

BichonEmma — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 13:49:57 GMT

@World Traveler wrote:
@bichon_emma wrote:
Those taking Andrew's marine collagen what are you mixing it with? I have the big bottle. I don't do smoothies. I had so much trouble getting it to mix in anything without having the whole process take over 1/2hr so the bottle is just sitting there 😪

i was making a cup of green tea, letting it cool down to warm tea. I'd add the powder, then let it sit for another 20 or so minutes until it disolved. Last couple times I did it I forgot about the tea and it got too cold to drink, wasting it.

I've had zero luck getting it to mix without clumps. I've tried a spoon, whisk, fork, room temp and warm drinks. I don't want to do hot because I'm afraid it would kill some of the good stuff, which is also why I didn't heat up the tea.

I feel like it's really aimed at smoothie drinkers, which I am not.
Since you don't like smoothies, which is how I use it, you might just drink it straight like he demonstrated on the program in July. Evidently the past iteration of the drink was not so pleasant taste-wise, as he mentioned a few times that it now had no taste. I noticed that he had to stir it up pretty vigorously. That's when I realized that I better use it in a smoothie to ensure it is dissolved properly. One of his presentations he had the host try it too and she said there was no taste. So I guess you could down it with a tall class of water.

The taste isn't the problem. It really doesn't have one, I did drink one glass of water that I tried to mix it in, I failed and it was very chunky. It didn't taste like much of anything, the chunks however grossed me out 😝

I only switched to mixing it with the warm tea because I figured it would mix easier in something warm. It does but I'm still not getting it to mix well.

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

BichonEmma — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 14:04:01 GMT

@VaBelle35 wrote:
@World Traveler is correct.

The original version needed to be mixed with something with a little bit of flavor because the taste was like drinking water from your fish tank. It wasn't horrible. I drank it in lemon water and it was fine.

The new version that was released with his last visit, is actually better in plain, still bottled water. I initially was drinking it with lemon water and it tasted funny. It actually made the lemon water taste flowery, like cheap hand soap in a public restroom. LOL

I mix it in about 1/4 cup of room temperature bottled water and drink it in 2 sips. I let it sit on the counter for a while and drink it later with my Cranberry pill. I personally don't find the need to mix it in 8 oz of water.

That's probably a question I should ask Andrew. Can you drink it with less water.

ETA: Okay, question asked! Let's see if "Virginia" gets an answer on air. LOL

As far as the 8oz of water...I bet if you drink something around the time you take it that would be fine. So you have enough liquid in your stomach. I would imagine the cranberry pill would benefit from the liquid as well.

You have given me an idea though, I think I'm going to try putting it in a glass of watter before I go to bed. With luck it will be ready for me when I get up 👍🏻

I have RA so I'd like to take it in the morning. For the couple weeks I was taking it it seemed to help. I'm off my RA medication right now (per the dr) so I could really use it now

Re: Supplements - which supplements do you take

World Traveler — Sun, 13 Sep 2015 20:42:33 GMT

@bichon_emma wrote:
@World Traveler wrote:
@bichon_emma wrote:
Those taking Andrew's marine collagen what are you mixing it with? I have the big bottle. I don't do smoothies. I had so much trouble getting it to mix in anything without having the whole process take over 1/2hr so the bottle is just sitting there 😪

i was making a cup of green tea, letting it cool down to warm tea. I'd add the powder, then let it sit for another 20 or so minutes until it disolved. Last couple times I did it I forgot about the tea and it got too cold to drink, wasting it.

I've had zero luck getting it to mix without clumps. I've tried a spoon, whisk, fork, room temp and warm drinks. I don't want to do hot because I'm afraid it would kill some of the good stuff, which is also why I didn't heat up the tea.

I feel like it's really aimed at smoothie drinkers, which I am not.
Since you don't like smoothies, which is how I use it, you might just drink it straight like he demonstrated on the program in July. Evidently the past iteration of the drink was not so pleasant taste-wise, as he mentioned a few times that it now had no taste. I noticed that he had to stir it up pretty vigorously. That's when I realized that I better use it in a smoothie to ensure it is dissolved properly. One of his presentations he had the host try it too and she said there was no taste. So I guess you could down it with a tall class of water.
The taste isn't the problem. It really doesn't have one, I did drink one glass of water that I tried to mix it in, I failed and it was very chunky. It didn't taste like much of anything, the chunks however grossed me out 😝

I only switched to mixing it with the warm tea because I figured it would mix easier in something warm. It does but I'm still not getting it to mix well.

I hear you and totally agree. The chunks of anything that is supposed to dissolve is not my favorite either. My smoothie is a concoction of things that Dr. Oz had on his show one day. Very tasty. It has almond butter and whey for protein, a couple of dates for fiber and sweetness, half a frozen banana, flaxseed oil, one cup of unsweetened almond milk, a few cubes of ice, and a very small amount of unsweetened chocolate powder. I love this drink and have it every morning while downing my various Lessman supplements. So I just toss in the marine collagen.Started with two servings/scoops, as he suggested for initial use. Now down to one scoop.