Hi my beauties!
I hope everyone is having a fabulous week. Between my water fast earlier this week, beginning my liver cleanse at Surya Spa yesterday (another Ayurvedic healing treatment I can’t wait to share with you guys), and gearing up for a relaxing weekend before heading to Ojai with my love for Valentine’s Day… I am feeling like my self-care this week is on POINT.
Also, have you caught my podcast episode with Biet Simkin from yesterday? She is a GODDESS in every sense of the word. I can’t wait to hear what you think
After going straight from my Panchakarma to a wild week in NYC and then right back to LA for a full day at The Good Fest, this sista needed some major resetting. I wouldn’t even call it downtime, because this week has not been much of that, but a RESET is more like it.
I wanted to pop in today to talk about something I have been getting tons of questions about from you guys, particularly since I’ve started talking more on social media about my herbal supplements and holistic remedies for eczema, sleep, anxiety, digestion, fatigue, nutrient & mineral deficiencies, and more.
First I want to tell you my thoughts on supplementing our diets with vitamins, herbs, and probiotics… then I want to tell you what I take just to lay it all out! Take it or leave it because we are all DIFFERENT, but this is what works for me and I want you to find what works for you!
My Thoughts on Supplements //
As with everything in the wellness world, you must first and foremost listen to your own body. If you feel healthy, vibrant and energized with smooth digestion and great sleep — MAYBE supplements, herbs, and vitamins aren’t for you. You’re already feeling like a million bucks, and that’s amazing.
But if you’re anything like me at this stage in my life, you fall into a different category. That category looks a little something like this… debilitating eczema, chronic fatigue, gut health issues, parasites and candida, insomnia, the list goes on.
And by no means does that mean that I am unhealthy person. I feel very healthy actually (maybe healthier than ever in my life despite the current health concerns), and because I have taken so many steps to clean up my life in every sense of the word — my sensitive system is reacting and up-leveling in certain ways, which is bringing my body along for the ride. I truly believe that my spiritual awakening and explorations in the cosmos / kundalini / reiki / etc. have caused my body to be WAY out of whack (for now)… because my bod isn’t used to all of this stuff that my mind is experiencing and expanding with!
The health issues are all a gift from the universe because now I am inspired to draw inward, use supplements and herbs, learn about plant medicine, take care of myself on a whole new level, embrace the self-care life even more so, and HEAL. I am really, truly thrilled about this stage in my health journey if you can believe it — debilitating eczema / hives and all.
So when it comes to supplements… I think they are an incredible way to supplement an already healthy diet full of nutrient-dense foods, exercise, happiness, and good sleep. Those would be my key components of a healthy lifestyle right there.
Beyond supplementing an already healthy lifestyle, supplements & herbs can be used to manage deficiencies or areas where we need a little extra boost. For me you know what that is… sleep, digestion, skin, the whole gamut!
But what is also awesome is that they can be used as preventative medicine to keep us from getting sick and to keep our immune systems strong. ESPECIALLY with the toxins we are consistently exposed to in our daily life in these big cities we live in (hello, LA…) liver support is hugely important to supplement in my opinion.
Plus, the all around multivitamin for overall balanced health. Again, ask yourself how YOU feel and what you need supplementation with. No one wants to walk around talking 16 pills with every meal (I’ve been that girl, many times in my life) but a few simple, key supplements, vitamins and herbs are an amazing part of a healthy lifestyle!
What I Take //
Ever since finishing my Panchakarma and feeling so incredibly GOOD in my body for the first time in a long time, I have been more consistent with my supplement regime. In fact, even before my PK when my skin flared up and my body was SPEAKING to me to take deeper care of myself… I hopped on the supplementation wagon with a whole new gusto.
The multivitamin I have been going with is Swisse Women’s Ultivite for many reasons… for one, because I got to meet a bunch of people from their company when they were LA for a yoga event and I fell in love with them, the brand, and the mission behind it. I also love that they are Aussies… I always have a soft spot in my heart for Australian loves!
Lex, Ash Hart, & I at the Swisse event in LA the other week! x
I also love this brand because not only does it provide 50 different essential vitamins that women need, but there is also a mixture of 12 different herb extracts for MOOD and ENERGY support. I love this because we all know I have stopped drinking coffee, and that extra boost of energy in the morning really has been serving me well… in a totally NATURAL way, which I love. I mean, they use herbs in their vitamins… hello! I am an herbal freak!
Another thing I take from Swisse is their cranberry supplement (Ultiboost High Strength Cranberry) because with my body being so HSP and all… I get UTI’s extremely easily. Like, all of the time unfortunately if I am not keeping an eye on all of the preventative measures. The other things I do beyond the cranberry supplement are drink tons of water, eat foods rich in antioxidants, change out of sweaty workout clothes as quickly as I can (when I can!), annnnddd pee right after sex. Sorry if that’s TMI but that is what helps the most.
This supplement has helped a LOT and I can safely say I haven’t gotten a single UTI since starting to use it. Woo!
A List of Supplements + Herbs that I Take:
+ A good quality probiotic every morning (I will go into depth about the brands that I love in a future post, but make sure it is totally natural with as many strains of probiotics as you can find), and probiotic coconut yogurt throughout the day
+ Magnesium for sleep, digestion, and liver support
+ Swisse Women’s Ultivite multivitamin (in the mornings with food)
+ Swisse’s Ultiboost High Strength Cranberry
+ Chickweed herb for shrinking my uterine fibroid and all around promoting toxin die off and shrinkage
+ Herbal teas throughout the day to slow down and relax, and for digestion and relaxation properties (I especially love ginger, fennel and peppermint for digestion, and licorice mint tea for relaxation)
+ ADAPTOGENS of all kinds! Reishi, chaga, cordyceps, matcha… all of the yummy plant-based herbs that help wake me up in the morning and set my brain on fire so that I can get to work sans coffee!
+ Dandelion tea — you know I love it, but I am taking a break because occasionally people report dandelion allergies and I can’t risk it with all of the rashes I’ve had.
+ Triphala herb every night before bed because it helps my digestion run SO SMOOTHLY it’s insane… I have never experienced anything like it for my gut health. It was “prescribed” to me by my Ayurvedic doctor, although you can buy it online or in stores — I recommend the powdered kind vs. the pills, for absorption reasons!
+ Coffee enemas and chlorophyll enemas — I know these aren’t technically supplements, but coffee enemas use an herbal coffee and when it comes to ridding my body of parasites and getting my digestion/skin back on track by releasing toxins… enemas have been my CALLING lately. A post to come on this soon!
So overall, I am all about taking what works for you, tuning in to your own body, and asking yourself what YOU need to thrive and feel your best. I always feel my best with a little additional support on top of my healthy diet and lifestyle, but that is also because I have a lot of deficiencies. I go back and forth with taking Vitamin D and Vitamin B-12… but I am starting back up on it now because I know it’s good for skin and digestion, two things I struggle with!
There you have it, my loves. I hope you enjoyed this little breakdown of what I take on the supplement, herb, and probiotic front! Be sure to check out Swisse and thank them for supporting TBB blog — it’s brand partners like them that keep this going as my career! Woo!