Day 82 – The supplements I take and why I take them.

Firstly my sincerest apologies once again for not writing much of a person blog entry yesterday but exhaustion just took over.

Today has been a good day and amping up my iron tonic has really helped. I am now dosing myself 10mls 3 times per day and I am thankfully diluting it in my water. So before you start emailing me that I shouldn’t be dosaging myself I should let you know that my friend Lilla is a Naturopath whom I consulted with. So there!! This tonic smells like rotten fish and the taste is definitely putrid. I get the cold shivers just thinking about it. It has to be taken so I must grin and bear it.

The reason why I thought I should discuss the supplements that I take is basically that a lot of you lovely readers have emailed me encouraging me to take my vitamins and minerals due to my recent complaints of feeling tired and lethargic. I had to laugh because if only you knew how pedantic and anal I am when it comes to taking vitamins and supplements.

So, each and every day with out fail I take the following supplements and have done so for the past 10 weeks. I take 8 different supplements and I have a method to my madness as I have to take them in the precise order. I’m sure that this reads as if I have obsessive compulsive disorder and I guess I do when it comes down to my regime.

Now this blog entry is going to discuss vitamin and mineral supplements so I want to make it clear, crystal clear that the supplements I take are about MY nutritional requirements. Just because they appear to work well for me it doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for you. Each and every one of us are individuals and my needs may be totally different than yours. So, if you are interested in taking supplements may I suggest you consult with your surgeon, nutrionist, dietician or a naturopath. Are we clear?

So what does she take? I can hear you all asking. So, I start the morning with Multivitamin tonic, then my Iron tonic which is diluted in water (and thank Christ for that) then we go to Goji Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Aloe Vera Tonic , Colloidal Silver, Flaxseed Oil and then I have a Calcium Supplement. Then I have a V8 juice chaser. Can you all understand why I don’t have breakfast? After all these supplements I am full as a goog. I also take 20 minutes to swallow all this stuff.

In relation to the multivitamins, and why do we have to have vitamins after the lap band surgery. I am sure that a lot of you if not all of you know all this already, so my apologies for boring you. So after this surgery we are obviously eating smaller amounts of food but our bodies need to absorb the full daily requirement of vitamins and minerals. It is also easier to dispense if the multivitamin is in a liquid form as usually multivitamins are bloody huge. Also taking multivitamins in a liquid form avoids a possible Lap Band blockage

I also found an amazing article explaining why liquid multivitamins are superior. It stated that research evidence suggests that only 10 -20% of vitamins and minerals in a pill form are absorbed by the body, compared to 98% for liquid vitamins. This is mostly because liquid vitamins bypass the digestive process and are absorbed directly in the blood stream and into the cell. Vitamins in capsule or tablet form, therefore, have low bioavailability, hence have weaker therapeutic benefits. Makes a lot of sense doesn’t it?

So in short, the multivitamin I take is to help me meet my daily requirement, my iron tonic is because I have always been anaemic and now since having turned vegetarian I need all the help I can get. Goji Juice is not really a juice but more of a tonic that is also referred to as an energy medicine as it claims to do the following:it is a powerful antioxidant, it counters premature ageing, it increases resistance to disease, helps to regulate blood pressure, minimizes the risk of cancer by preventing DNA mutation, inhibiting growth of tumors, and by controlling the peroxidation of lipids, regulates blood-sugar during the early stages of diabetes, has a positive effect on vision, heart, relieves headaches and insomnia, regulates weight, promotes sexual health and improves fertility and helps digestion and memory functions.

The Pomegranate Juice is a super strength antioxidant, which helps the body’s natural defence system fight oxidation damage, and also helps maintain a healthy heart.

Aloe Vera Juice is taken as it maintains and restores balance of stomach acids and promoting the right amount of acids in the stomach. its also a tissue regenerator, helps build tissue of the small and large intestine, colon and stomach tissues, improves the property of immune cells, eliminates waste and build up. It also enhances absorption of nutrients and digestive functioning. Also usefully treats digestive system conditions, acid indigestion, Candida, colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. Aloe Vera can also treat acne and pimples, prevents wrinkles, removes dandruff and many more benefits.

Colloidal Silver for fighting infections. Flaxseed Oil is to aide the general well being and whole body nutrition and it is also nature’s richest course of Omega 3 fatty acids. It also contains Omega 6 and Omega 9 Essential fatty acids, Vitamin B’s, Potassium, Lethicinin, magnesium, Fibre, Protein and Zinc. Calcium Supplement for my bones, which is in a chewable supplement

I end today’s entry with this: Our weight loss surgery is basically a tool to assist in our weight loss; vitamins are only one aspect of how we need to look after ourselves after our surgery. So having said that we need to be extra sure that we are adhering to a healthy diet for today, for tomorrow, for next week, for next month, for the next year and lastly FOREVER. We need to be make sure that we get enough protein, vitamins and minerals, stay hydrated and most importantly we need to (for once) really start looking after ourselves and our bodies. Remember we are what we eat, and what we ate in the past has bought us to the stage that we are at now. We need to start believing in ourselves and my mantra “My body is a temple”.

I hope this entry has helped some of you.

Peace, love and mung beans


Reney