Let me be very clear about one thing before I share what I’m about to share: I’m not a supplement pusher.
And I say that because I’ve visited all kinds of practitioners in the past who were what I would call supplement pushers. And if I’m going to be honest, which I always am, then I want you to really understand that supplements cannot fix crappy foundations. Meaning, you cannot and will not be able to supplement your way out of a crappy diet. It’s impossible. And what I’m seeing more and more of, even in the holistic healthcare world, is a deepening trend toward adding more and more supplements into the mix, with less and less of an emphasis on transforming diet and lifestyle.
Can’t sleep? There’s a supplement for that.
Need to balance hormones? There’s 100 supplements for that.
Can’t go to the bathroom? There’s a million supplements for that.
It’s gotten quite out of hand, which is why I wanted to make it very clear that A) diet and lifestyle are ALWAYS #1 and B) If you’re going to take any supplements, make sure they’re necessary and make sure they’re high quality. If you find yourself in the hands of a practitioner who has you taking $500 worth of supplements a month, please run. Far and fast.
Alright, now that that cat is out the bag, let’s move on to the content you’re here for.
As a plant based gut health nutritionist, I’ve experimented with my fair share of supplements. It’s been a wild ride of trial and error, tons of wasted money, and a lot of sifting through misleading marketing claims. And after all of these years of “giving it a go”, I’ve realized that quality matters most, and that more isn’t always better.
Without further adieu, here are my favourite supplements for overall plant based and gut health*:
1. Seed:
Don’t get me wrong—probiotics aren’t for everyone, but there’s tons of probiotics on the market that are for no one, too. Meaning, if you’re going to choose a probiotic, choose one that is reputable, high quality, and specifies the strains in their formula that have been proven to have specific benefits for an area of health, as per human clinical research trials. To get the full run down on why I recommend Seed over other probiotics, you can read this series.
To save on Seed, use the discount code ROSLYNKENT15
2. Fulvic Acid:
Fulvic acid is the end product and smallest particle of the decomposition of ancient, organic matter. Organic matter is just a fancy way of saying peat bog.
When extracted, purified and delivered in a liquid supplement form, it carries all the nutritional information, anti-oxidant capacity and genetic coding of everything in that decomposed matter. We know the fundamental building blocks of our bodies are the same as other organisms so it only makes sense to nourish your body with what it is made of, optimizing regeneration and repair.
Due to its nanite size, fulvic acid, moves easily in to cells including crossing the blood brain barrier. It bonds to nutrients, carrying up to sixty times its molecular weight in nutrition in to the cell. Fulvic Acid also bonds to waste inside the cell, removing up to sixty times its weight in toxins, heavy metals and pesticides.
Some of the benefits people see from taking Fulvic Acid are increased energy, parasite elimination and die-off, better bowel movements, better skin health, and better sleep. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
To learn more about Fulvic Acid, you can join this group (please specify that I sent you): https://www.facebook.com/groups/262961081855289
To order the best quality Fulvic Acid, use this link: https://www.blackoxygenorganics.com/roslynkent
3. Pranin
Many women I talk to are used to taking crappy multivitamins with questionable ingredient lists that are of poor quality. I never recommend taking these kinds of all-in-one multis. Why? Because they contain a little bit of everything, but not necessarily any of what you need. Not to mention, multivitamins can throw off your body’s natural balance if you’re supplementing with nutrients your body isn’t deficient in.
That’s why I love whole food multivitamins. It’s like taking organic, raw, whole foods and turning them into concentrated, powder form. You get all of the nutrients, with none of the crap.
I like to call this an “insurance policy” that will help you fill in the gaps when you’re working on your diet.
Plus, these kinds of products help to increase energy, cellular function, and aid in strengthening hair and nails.
The brand I specifically love is Pranin Organics. I’ve been paying for their Women’s A-Z and iron (the only non-constipating, highly absorbed iron supplement I know of) out of pocket since day 1. Whole food nutrients are better absorbed because your body knows what to do with them—our bodies are designed to extra minerals and vitamins from whole foods, after all.
To save 20% on any Pranin products at any time, you can use the code plantsfirst
4. Complement
If you’re plant based, there’s three things you need to be supplementing with: Vitamin D3, Omega-3 (EPA/DHA), and Vitamin B12. It’s not that a plant based diet can’t provide enough of these nutrients, but it’s a great idea to be safe vs sorry due to the fact that absorption can be low or conversion of the dietary form into the form the body can actually lose can be low.
However, it can be a pain to have three different bottles of supplements going at any given time, which is why I like taking one supplement instead that combines all three.
Complement is a fantastic brand that does just this and it makes it SO much easier for me (and my clients) to remember to take these essentials, which, in the long run makes a huge difference for overall health.
I take their Complement Plus formula, which includes a couple of extra nutrients that may also be deficient in any diet. Zinc and magnesium are two of these nutrients.
Every evening, I take three capsules of the Complement and that keeps me feeling confident that all my essentials are covered.
You can use the discount code plantsfirst to save $ on your order.
5. CBD/THC 1:1 Tincture:
I’m someone who’s always been a terrible sleeper. And poor quality sleep is NOT my best friend when it comes to optimizing gut health. I’ve tried numerous sleep aids (natural, of course), in the past, but nothing has worked quite as well as a CBD/THC 1:1 tincture. The THC helps me fall asleep, while the CBD helps reduce anxiety and promotes a sense of calmness. Together, they help me stay asleep. And if you’re like me, then you’ll probably understand when I say that good sleep = happy gut.
There’s tons of THC/CBD brands on the market, and many of them are okay, but I’m a huge sucker for quality. My favourite brand (sorry if you’re not in Canada, as this product won’t be available internationally for obvious reasons) is Coast Botanik. Their products are organic, and they use a special extraction process to make it taste much better than other tinctures.
They also have a peppermint roll on CBD stick that really helps with joint/muscle pain and inflammation.
You can check out their products here, or use the code plantsfirst to save 15%.
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* Please keep in mind that I am a partner with a few of the brands mentioned above. I am not paid by these companies to promote their product, however, I do receive commission if you so choose to order using the links or codes provided. The reason i do this is because these brands are my favourite, and I pay for them out of pocket. I would never recommend a product I don’t personally use or love, and I find partnering with a company that I trust and personally use provides a benefit to both myself and my clients.
This blog post is not meant to be taken as medical advice, and none of the above supplements should be taken without consulting a qualified healthcare provider. Always check with a practitioner before changing your supplement routine.
