I take a lot (A LOT) of supplements. Some I take because I think they’re good for me. Others I take because they make a noticeable difference in my health.
This list is current as of June 2024. I’m only listing the supplements that I take that make a difference in my health, as well as the amounts. Hopefully, this will help your own path to health.
SIDE NOTE: These are things that work for me and MY body. They may or may not work for you and YOUR body. Every BODY is different.
SAMe—400 mg per day
I take SAMe for my arthritis pain. This has been such a game-changer for me. When I use my hands too much and I have a flare-up, the SAMe reduces the amount of time I spend in pain from a week to just a day. I normally take 400 mg per day. When I’m having a flare-up, I’ll go up to as much as 1200 mg per day. As far as I can tell, it does nothing to change my mood. Just my pain.
5-HTP—50 mg per day
I take 5-HTP for my mental health. I am generally a happy person. Even without the 5-HTP, I can find my happiness. However, with the 5-HTP, it’s much easier for me to be happy. I don’t have to work at it. I’m just generally in a better mood.
5-HTP does nothing to help my sleep. I’ve tried taking it at night a couple of times and I see no difference whatsoever.
I take the Thorne brand of 5-HTP, so it also comes with B-6, 3.4 mg per day. The recommended dosage is actually two pills, so double the amount I generally take. Sometimes (like right now) I take the full amount. However, I always find myself reducing it because I don’t need it.
L-Lysine—1000 mg per day
I get cold sores. The l-lysine reduces my cold sores from once a month to once a year. When I have a cold sore, I’ll go up to 3000 mg per day. That significantly reduces the amount of time that I’m suffering from a cold sore.
Hyaluronic Acid—400 mg per day
I use this for my joints. I notice that I don’t move as well without it.
There was one time when I’d just started taking it, and I was in physical therapy. I cut the amount I was taking by half, just to see what it was like, if I really needed that extra amount. (The bottle says to take only 200 mg. However, most studies on hyaluronic acid start at 250 mg.)
My therapist started working on me that week and asked me, “What did you do? What did you change? All of your joints are crunchy. This is not good.”
So I went back up to 400 mg per day and have stuck there ever since.
English Lavender—80 mg per day
I take CalmAid to help with hormone-induced anxiety. It took about 30 days for this to kick in. For me, this stuff is an absolute game-changer. I no longer get anxious without external causes. (Without this, I could have a panic attack for absolutely NO REASON. Just out of the blue, my heart rate would skyrocket. No external stimulus would cause it. Just hormones playing silly buggers.)
Since I’ve hit menopause, I thought I’d see if I needed it or not, if I was still anxious over nothing. Turns out I am. Maybe in a year or so, I’ll be able to stop taking it. Right now, my hormones (and probably, my current situation) make me anxious.
Electrolytes
The electrolytes I take every day are sodium, potassium, and magnesium. LMNT gives out the recipe they use for electrolytes here: https://science.drinklmnt.com/electrolytes/best-homemade-electrolyte-drink-for-dehydration/
I mix up a batch of electrolytes based on their recipe and have it every day, instead of buying expensive packets.
For me, having these electrolytes every day makes an incredible difference in my well-being. My muscles feel better, my digestion is better, and I have much more energy.
Aller-Flo (Flonaize)—100 mcg per day
Changing my diet made a HUGE difference in my allergies. Instead of becoming a snot machine and sneezing my fool head off for an entire season, I would only have a few days here or there. My allergies aren’t bad in the spring/summer but come fall/winter they would get really bad, between the dust and mold in the PNW, the house no longer open, and not as much fresh air, etc.
Using the Aller-Flo (the Costco generic equivalent of Flonaize) has meant that I never get allergy attacks. I may sneeze now and again, but I never spend a day (or three) sneezing, unable to breathe, my eyes watering constantly, etc. I honestly can’t remember the last time I did. Probably years ago.
Again, this is something that has to build up over time. Using it just when you have a problem won’t solve your issues. You have to be consistent with it. But for me, it’s made such a difference.
And one extra!
Bone Broth
This isn’t a supplement, per se. I make bone broth about once every ten days, then have a cup every morning. When I regularly have good, gelatinous bone broth, I can see the difference in my skin. I am an older female, fully into menopause. With the bone broth, I don’t need to use lotion. My skin remains supple and well-hydrated. There are other things I make, and other foods I eat, such as paté and all the meat help. Not eating nightshades also makes my body happy. However, I have tangible results from the bone broth, and you might as well.
And that’s it! What do you take that really makes a difference to your life?
# # # # # # # # # # #
Thank you so much for being a patron of mine! I truly appreciate you.
If you’re reading the free version, posted two weeks after the Patreon essay gets put up, maybe think about supporting me for as little as $1 a month.