Botanique Skin Wellness Spa

Each morning around 10 am, and well after I’ve had my first coffee, I head to the kitchen and prop myself in front of what I call the “Keep Me Going” cupboard. Believe it or not, between myself, my husband and my step daughter we have a large cabinet dedicated to just supplements and medications, and thankfully, most of them we take by choice rather than necessity.

The addition of so many supplements has been a process over the years, and one that has required me to shift my thinking toward making this a priority rather than seeing it as ‘too expensive’, ‘too time consuming’ or ‘not worth the effort’.

I currently take one GP prescribed medication, one prescribed by a natural hormone specialist, and the remainder are all natural vitamins, minerals and extracts to help deal with the day to day issues that I’m now finding are part of life as I soon enter my seventh decade. Many of the natural supplements were suggested to me by the Clinical Nutritionist I consult with.

Here’s a list of what my current issues are and why I take the supplements I do:

• General join paint, possibly from having high thyroid antibodies present, or possible from being post menopause.
• High non diet related cholesterol and a family history of heart disease
• Family history of various cancers
• Unusual amount of fatigue
• Weight around the mid section that won’t budge
• Natural skin decline due to ageing

Current regime:

• Collagen & Peptide + C powder – skin health, hydration, healing
• Cod Liver Fish Oil – source of Omega 3’s for brain health, preventing heart disease and to improve skin
• Magnesium, Vit D and Calcium – muscles and bones (particularly important for women as we age)
• CoQ 10 – Maintain and support healthy cardiovascular system function, reduce free radical damage to body cells
• Cholesterol supplement – to fight bad genetic based cholesterol
• Mushroom Extracts – vitality, immunity, skin, reduce inflammation, general well being
• CBD Oil – assist with joint pain
• Bio Identical Hormones – to replenish depleted progesterone, estrogen and testosterone which we need for maintaining weight, joint health, skin, hair, sexual health and more
• Joint pain supplement with Potassium –help fight arthritis
• Thyroid sup with iodine, zinc and selenium – to fight high thyroid antibodies
• Statin – prescribed by doctor for cholesterol which has brought it down by 3 points.

Now I honestly have no idea how much of a difference all of this is making except for the fact that I feel worse when I don’t take them. What I do know is:

• My heart health is tracking well due to having had a good cardiac calcium score and lowered cholesterol.
• I’m tracking pretty well on the skin health front (well it is my day to day business after all)
• I’m still strong and flexible
• I don’t have brain fog
• My energy levels for the most part are good
• I sleep well

Of course, it would be ideal to get more vitamins and minerals from diet alone, however this is not always possible. I do the best I can, but struggle to get enough protein due to not eating meat (and remember some Vitamins our body just doesn’t synthesise so if you are not getting it from food, you will be deficient).

I have a relatively healthy, balanced diet without much refined sugar and little to no alcohol – one of the biggest causes of inflammation in the body. However I still enjoy my little vices including coffee, diet lemonade and too many carbs, but hey, happiness also contributes to health and I can tell you now….food makes me happy!

I also use good quality, botanical based skin care EVERY day. (Of course I recommend Botanique Skin Nutrition) to ensure I’m getting Vitamin A, Vitamin C, peptides, hyaluronic acid and more age reversal ingredients on a consistent basis.

If you are not sure what you might be lacking or what supplements may be the right ones for you, I highly recommend getting your GP to run some blood tests. I also benefited greatly from having DNA testing done with my Nutritionist (not cheap but very informative) which will help you understand what, exactly, your parents may have passed along to you.