"Super" supplements

[Dhiana]

I second IL's comment regarding the Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements. Some supplements have been tested to be scientifically sound. Just do your homework and also realize your mileage may vary.

[awakenedsoul]

Hi Gardenarian,
I make yogi tea each day. It really provides a lot of benefits. It's black peppercorns, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardomon, cloves, and water. I'd forgotten what a boost it gives me! If you google each herb, you'll see why. So many benefits...
I also take glucosomine, fish oil, Wobenzym, and Gotu Kola.
Oh, the other thing that makes a huge difference for me is to make a daily salad with fresh garlic, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar.
There's a book called Energy Secrets that you might like. I forget the name of the author. She's Russian...
Oh, and cold showers or baths. Yogi Bhajan said that if people took cold showers every day, they wouldn't need doctors...
I've been swimming instead.

[creaker]

I think it's worthwhile to try out a few things - keeping in mind that most of these are a gentle "nudge" as opposed to like swinging a baseball bat. I'm skeptical of the ones that sound like swinging a baseball bat.

Often removing the right thing can be much more effective than adding something - but they can't bottle and sell that.

My favorites are coffee and beer - but they're usually not categorized as "supplements". Chamomile tea with a little honey. I've tried a round or two of glucosamine/chondroitin without much effect, but it did seem to help my ex's newfs when they got older. I want to incorporate more probiotics, but I don't intake much dairy. Kombucha, kimchi, pickles, I'd like to find more.

[kib]

I think it's worthwhile to try out a few things - keeping in mind that most of these are a gentle "nudge" as opposed to like swinging a baseball bat. I'm skeptical of the ones that sound like swinging a baseball bat.

Often removing the right thing can be much more effective than adding something - but they can't bottle and sell that.

My favorites are coffee and beer - but they're usually not categorized as "supplements". Chamomile tea with a little honey. I've tried a round or two of glucosamine/chondroitin without much effect, but it did seem to help my ex's newfs when they got older. I want to incorporate more probiotics, but I don't intake much dairy. Kombucha, kimchi, pickles, I'd like to find more.

I think I'm oblivious to nudging, which might be why I consider all of it more or less useless. Took glu/chon for a year and didn't see any notable difference. I didn't notice a difference with probiotics either, but I think I have amazing gut flora already, I freak out when I'm given antibiotics because I don't want to kill the "zoo", so I'd just say it's not going to take you beyond a healthy baseline.

I will second coffee and beer, however!

[awakenedsoul]

Gardenarian,
Another thing I've started doing daily is making and drinking bone broths. That way I won't need to spend money on glucosomine and chondroitin. Yesterday I used leftover bones from the grass fed baby back ribs I bought at our organic co op. I added a couple tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar to the water and let the bones sit in that for an hour. The vinegar pulls out the minerals from the bones. I cooked it on the simmer burner of my vintage stove for four hours. Drank a few mugs of that; it was a very healing tonic! The dogs love it, too!
This morning I've got a chicken carcass with vegetables simmering on the back burner of my stove. I'll use it to make a cream of broccoli soup. I added some whole peppercorns and garden herbs, too. (Bay leaf, parsley, sage, oregano, basil, garlic, and rosemary.) I notice that any aches or pains just disappear when I have that broth. It's like a natural pain killer. I like what it does for the skin, too...

[lessisbest]

awakenedsoul-
I never thought about bone broth as a dietary supplement, but it sure is. I freeze it in cubes for easy use. Instead of gravy I'll make a pan sauce with some cubes of bone broth (melted) and a little butter to thicken and enrich it, add herbs and seasonings to taste. If I don't add some bone broth somewhere in my meals, I'll be sure to add some bovine gelatin to some cocoa, hot tea or a smoothie in the morning.

Have you ever read "Broth Is Beautiful" at the Weston A. Price Foundation site? http://www.westonaprice.org/health-t...-is-beautiful/

[awakenedsoul]

lessisbest,
I know. I was just thinking, "Why am I buying glucosomine and chondroitin at Costco when I can just make broth?" I really like having a mug of it with my meals. It's so nourishing. It's also a way to eat less meat and poultry. That helps me to spend less money and to spare more animals. I'll check out your link. Thanks!

[Gardenarian]

My dh and dd both drink a lot of broth and make soup, but I'm a vegetarian.
I've been questioning my commitment to vegetarianism, as I still eat dairy and the ethical arguments are sketchy...but there is something in me that revolts at eating meat (though I loved it as a kid, and would happily catch, gut and fry up fish.)

Most supplements, including glucosamine and chondroitin, went through a period of being looked down upon by the medical establishment. At my work in libraries all these years I've seen a lot of scholarly journals do an about-face on any number of topics - garlic, ginko biloba, fish oil, - oh, and the whole "butter and eggs will give you heart disease" legend. I remember in the 80s we were told to eat lots of complex carbohydrates (like pasta and bread (!)) and to avoid all fats.

So I'm not really believing what the media or advertisements are telling me, but I do appreciate people sharing their personal experience. I think I have quite a healthy diet but have many health problems anyhow.

[cx3]

I try to take a vitamin D containing 1000IU when I can remember.I've read nothing but good things about vitamin D. My son is nearly 12yrs. past a BMT and has been on vitamin D since that time ( plus a multi vitamin and vitamin C). He rarely gets sick. Less often sick than his parents or brother.That's enough proof for me that there is something to supplementation.

[Blackdog Lin]

I have been taking a fish oil supplement for 3 years, along with other vitamins. I believe in them. But DH would never agree to any sort of supplement regimen. He didn't believe in them.

Last year his doctor discussed his latest blood-test results with him while I was in the room, and casually mentioned that a fish oil supplement might help with DH's very high triglycerides level. DH would have ignored the mention, but since I heard it.....the next day I insisted he join me in a daily fish oil pill, saying it couldn't hurt and very well might help.

Eight months later, new blood work, and DH's triglycerides have gone from something like 390 to something like 220. I mean, a dramatic improvement. Gotta be the fish oil, since I'd made no other changes in our diets. His last blood work a couple months ago showed the same improvement. Looks like it's down to stay.

The kicker: I just had my blood work done for the first time in 3 years, and guess what my triglyceride level is? WAY too high. And I'm going well, shoot, I've been taking the damn fish oil for years. Why isn't it working for me like it is for DH?

I guess blood chemistry is such an individual thing.....