Our Family Vitamin and Supplement Journey: With sickness and overall health, it was time I started focusing more on what our family needed. Here’s what we’re trying…
Our Family Vitamin and Supplement Journey
If you’ve been following me on Facebook and/or Instagram, then you know we’ve been struggling lately with my son having seizures again. (He was seizure free for a year, and then they made a comeback… and a HARD comeback.)
While taking my turn to stay up and watch him all night the other night, I found myself researching and Googling so many things to see if I could figure out why he was having seizures, outside of prescriptions, in case there was something else we could do.
I read everything from:
- Infection
- Growth spurts
- Seizure medication withdrawals
- Diet
- Allergies/Sinuses
- and so much more
But I found myself really diving in and reading about the overall health of the gut, and how it can affect so much more of the body, than just “the gut”. (Especially the brain — which caught my attention because of the seizures that were making yet another appearance.)
Gut Health
The more I read, the more I realized that our whole family needed a reality check on gut health, because as someone who considers our family somewhat of a “foodie family” you can almost bet we consume foods that aren’t the best for us and we could use all of the help we could get.
So, we’ve cut back on carbs/sugars a LOT, because we know what we eat can play in to so much of how we feel… but with birthday parties, school functions and family get-togethers, we don’t have the best self-control. Can you relate?
Realistic Goals
Now as the “momma” I could easily hold a quick family meeting and announce:
Listen up! We’re no longer going to keep sugar in the house, and we are only eating raw, unprocessed foods.
But I know we’d quickly fail, and I’m not the type that will set unrealistic goals, just to fail. So instead, I decided that we would implement things into our daily lives to see how it goes and do the best that we can.
Because that’s what life is about, right? Doing the best that we can?
Family Vitamins and Supplements
The easy first step for us was to incorporate more vitamins and new supplements into our daily routines.
So for those of you who are interested in this type of thing too, or have been kicking around the same ideas… I thought I’d share what supplements, vitamins and natural products that we started implementing, and report back after a little bit of time to see what kind of improvements we’ve noticed… if any.
Momma Disclaimer:
I DO NOT give/take all of these vitamins and supplements, every single day. I think if I did, it would be overdoing it, and some of these items aren’t necessary every day.
So please just know I’m sharing the items we’re using, and I am in no way, recommending that this is the right thing to do for your family, or that the products and dosages I mention are best.
I’m sure as heck not a doctor, nor someone that knows everything about health, vitamins, and supplements. Just a momma who wants to do what I can to protect my babies and journaling/sharing what I’m doing in case it helps someone else.
Natural, Organic and “Healthy” Products
When researching and looking for items, I wanted to keep things as “healthy” as I could. Now I’m definitely no expert in ingredients and may or may not have made the best choices in selections, but it was as close as I could get for now and thought we’d start somewhere.
So if you find that you love a certain product more, or if you know something about any of these products that are NOT good for someone… please don’t hesitate to drop a note in the comments below. I’d love all the info I can get!
Kids Health
I’ll first tell you what products we are using, and then will tell you how and why, broken-down, afterwards.
Day One: Product Purchases
On June 3rd, 2019, I went to a health food store and grabbed the following items for my kiddos:
ProBiotics and PreBiotics for Kids
Now those need to be refrigerated, so please make sure if you buy them online, that they are sent with ice packs or ways to keep them cold.
I have also used Culturelle Probiotics Kids, occasionally, and like taking these with us if we’re going on a trip and I can’t keep something refrigerated.
Kids Vitamins & Supplements
I also bought the following on June 3rd and started implementing them into my kid’s daily lives.
Items I Bought and Started:
- Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Kids, Multivitamin Chewable Bears
- Carlson Fish Oil with Lemon
- Vinegar drinks (Bragg’s Apple Cider Drinks)
Items I’ve Implemented Before and Still Use:
- Elderberry Syrup
- Manuka Honey
- Colloidal Silver
- Vitamin D Drops
- Echinacea Goldenseal Drops
- Vitamin C
Multivitamin for Kids
I chose the Garden of Life Vitamin Code for Kids because it is made with food-created nutrients and is vegetarian and is gluten-free.
Before this new journey, I gave my kiddos L’il Critters Immune C daily, and still have some to give them when they need a boost. But I’m not sure if I’ll buy gummies anymore.
Why No Gummies?
I haven’t heard the best things about gummies, and even if they are “ok” to consume, I’ve also heard that sometimes gummies don’t provide as many nutrients as other types of vitamins. (i.e. liquid, capsule, etc.)
Now I could be VERY wrong, and they may work just as good, but I thought I’d see if I could get my little’s to try something else, just in case.
They’re really good about taking things and they don’t have to be in a child-friendly form.
Fish Oil or Cod Oil
I purchased Carlson Fish Oil with Lemon (Although I meant to get “cod” oil… not sure if there’s that much of a difference) because I wanted to get this for the Omega 3’s, for the alleged benefits of helping with epilepsy. But I’ve read great things about Omega 3’s for heart health too!
Bragg Apple Cider Drinks
I wasn’t sure if my little guys would drink apple cider drinks or not. I knew it would have a hint of vinegar so they may fight it.
My youngest (5) did fight it, but my oldest (8) said he didn’t like it but took it like a champ.
But I really wanted to incorporate this type of product into their daily lives because I hear food/drinks are better for gut health than supplements.
Elderberry Syrup
I give a teaspoon of this each day unless sickness has hit our household or someone near us has been sick, especially with the flu or some type of stomach bug… in which I’ll give a teaspoon, multiple times a day.
Someone near me makes this using local honey, and would you believe my boys didn’t get the flu ALL flu season, and they ALWAYS caught whatever was going around!!
They also love the taste of this way more than what I used to buy online or in the store.
You can make your own using this elderberry syrup recipe on Wellness Mama.
Manuka Honey
I recently fell in love with manuka honey. It is said to have antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits. So I’ll give this to my boys is they have a sore throat or even daily to help with digestion or to be proactive.
It is even said to have topical benefits, which we haven’t tried yet.
Colloidal Silver
I’ll occasionally add colloidal silver to their ice water if I notice one of them coming down with something. It’s not something to give every day, and was actually told to treat it like an antibiotic. You don’t use it when needed, and not ongoing.
There have been claims that it is a cure-all that will boost the immune system, fight bacteria, viruses and more.
A holistic health coach recommended this brand to us.
Vitamin D3 Drops
During the winter months, we take these BIO-D-Mulsion Forte® vitamin D3 drops almost daily. But during the summer months, I’m not as adamant about it, although I hear that the sun alone doesn’t give the amount/type of vitamin D that we really need.
Vitamin C
I will also give this during the “sick heavy” months unless it’s included in the daily vitamin that they’re taking. But a boost of vitamin C can help with immunity!
Echinacea Goldenseal Drops
When I was a little girl, I remember my mom giving us echinacea goldenseal capsules if we started coming down with something. I was AMAZED at how we seemed to recover from colds or any type of sickness, so I’ve relied on Echinacea Goldenseal drops for my kiddos since they were 2, and the capsules for us!
Essential Oils
Since my son started having seizures again recently, I also started applying the following essential oils on his temples, and the results have been shocking.
I’ll share one day in a separate post just how much…but here are the oils I’m using and asked our neurologist about…
(Some oils can interfere with seizure medication, so consulting with your doctor first is recommended!)
- Frankincense (This stuff is EXPENSIVE, but you wouldn’t BELIEVE what all some have said that Frankincense can help with; like seizures and even different types of cancer.)
- Valor
- Lavender
- Copaiba
CBD Oil
We’ve been told/asked about CBD oil, and we’re holding off at the moment due to some other reasons, but it’s definitely something we’re going to consider one day after speaking with our neurologist.
Adult Health
Ever hear that a mom puts herself on the back burner when it comes to her health? Yeah, that’s me. You won’t find me taking much, because I’m guilty of putting my family before me.
For Myself:
But for now, I’ve started taking:
and a daily vitamin. (This varies.)
But the beautiful thing about not taking much, is that I’ll be able to notice any improvements in the new probiotics I’m taking!
For my Husband:
He has started taking a multivitamin, TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) and now recently this:
Testosterone Replacement Therapy
I’m hoping one day I can sit down with my husband and have him spill the beans on more about what TRT is, but men his age should have a testosterone level between 370-1070 ng/dl, (average level is 679 ng/dl) and before he started taking TRT, he was only at 175 ng/dl.
Before this, he lacked energy, was depressed and overall… felt like crap.
Now, he has more energy, happier and feels SO much better.
He has also been working out and lifting almost every day (Soooo not something I’m doing) and the dude has gotten insanely strong. Not gonna lie… it’s pretty sexy.
I’ll be sure to also fill you in on how he’s feeling after taking this new probiotic and give you an update!
Our Family Supplement and Vitamin Wrap-Up
I hope this helps, and I’d LOVE to hear what your MUSTS are for vitamins and supplements for you and your family!
Again, I’m not a doctor and am not recommending any of these items. I’m simply journalling what our family is trying!
I’ll be sure to update you on any progress that we notice, or update these as needed!
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