Supplement Your Diet!

It's no surprise that while we have a plethora of choices when it comes to food, we don't always get the vitamins and minerals we need on a daily basis. Unlike our ancestors, we aren't eating mostly plant-based foods, exercising all day, sleeping well and then getting up to do the same thing all over again. We don't move enough and we certainly don't eat fresh foods like nature intended.

While you should try to get the majority of your vitamins and minerals from whole, natural foods, this isn't always possible. But, stepping into a supplement shop can be an overwhelming experience. Throughout the years, I have tried multiple supplements, studied how they affect the body and have tried numerous whole food, natural supplements myself.

Contrary to popular belief, if you want to get "shredded," you don't need to take fat burners or pick supplements that promise weight loss. These are packed with stimulants and cheap products that will end up doing more harm than good. The only stimulant I ever put in my body is coffee or green tea. Eating right and training hard can wield amazing results all on their own. So, picking vitamins that gently help supplement the diet is very important. But, which to choose? I love many different companies and their products, but my favorite by far is NEW CHAPTER. They are diligent about using organic ingredients and are careful when packaging supplements (all vitamins come in glass bottles and then in a cardboard box, so when they are scanned, frequencies do not compromise the vitamins). Solaray is another great brand, as well as Source Naturals.

Here's a list of my top 10 favorite supplements to be taken on a daily basis. And as with any vitamins, take 2 days off per week, to give the body a break and let it reset naturally:

1. BoneTone Advanced Bone and Teeth Formula (Solaray) It's said that the staple of someone's health can be directly related to the teeth. And, with constant acidity, lack of flossing and harmful bacteria, our teeth do need supplements. Bone Tone is just that supplement. Packed with vitamins C, D, K, folate, iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, and calcium, it's like a full course meal for your bones and teeth. There's a noticeable difference in nail and hair growth, as well as stronger teeth when taking this supplement. A great everyday multivitamin.

2. Coral Calcium (Source Naturals) One of the best supplements I have ever found, coral calcium is a salt derived from fossilized coral reef. With magnesium and trace minerals, this supplement goes beyond the duties of regular calcium in promoting a wide array of health benefits, such as building strong bones, teeth, hair, and nails, as well as keeping your muscles, nerves and blood working properly. It also promotes healing, may help with weight loss and staves off many diseases.

3. Coenzyme B Food Complex (New Chapter) B vitamins are directly correlated to energy, and sometimes, we can become deficient (especially if you are a vegetarian or are pregnant). This supplement delivers 8 different probiotic vitamins as well as 11 stress-balancing, soothing and restorative herbs. This particular supplement has immune response support and many superfoods, such as spinach, blueberry and ginger. I notice an immediate surge in my energy level when I take this supplement.

4. Wellness Formula (Source Naturals) Perhaps my number one, all-time favorite supplement, this little vitamin has saved me from having so much as a cold for the last 3 years. An herbal defense complex, people can take this as their daily multi-vitamin as well, due to all the wonderful ingredients. With vitamin A, C, D, and zinc, as well as garlic clove, olive leaf extract, ginger root, and about 20 other natural herbs, this is a powerhouse of a supplement to prevent sickness from invading the body. It literally acts as a shield. At the first sign of sickness, pop 3 pills every 3 hours, or take 1 everyday as a "maintenance" vitamin.

5. Cell Food (Lumina Health Products) This super energized mineral concentrate provides high levels of oxygen and hydrogen to the body, aiming to improve endurance and promote overall health. Little drops that you can add to your water, cell food contains dissolved oxygen, trace minerals, plant source amino acids and enzymes to help boost energy and immunity.

6. Advantage (Wisdom of the Ages) Perhaps the powerhouse of all supplements, this little bottle of liquid is a potent antibacterial concentrate that can kill strep, staph, salmonella, e. coli, candida, herpes, influenza, cholera, parasites, fungi and diarrhea, just to name a few. A few drops a day in your water can ward you (or your pet or child) from all types of invaders. It can also be applied directly to rashes or skin disorders, help heal earaches and is said to kill over 800 bacteria and virus strains, 100 strains of fungi and numerous parasites. A mixture of distilled water, citrus seed extract, green tea and jasmine tea, it is one of the best and most useful supplements I've ever seen.

7. Unbounded Energy (New Chapter) Known as the multivitamin for power and performance, this supplement contains tons of vitamins and minerals, as well as probiotics, herbal extracts and flower essences. Known to increase energy, the 22 essential vitamins and minerals are derived from natural sources.

8. Whole Mega (New Chapter) Most of us know how important omegas are, but now, there's one supplement to supply ALL the omegas - 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9, in one little pill. This supplement is made from 100% sustainably-caught wild salmon oil and has been shown to benefit cardiovascular, immune system, brain and digestive health.

9. Amino Vital Fast Charge (Ajinomoto) If you work out hard, you deplete your body. Period. You can become deficient in many vitamins and minerals, amino acids being a major one. Amino acids are the construction materials of muscles - they are vital for strength, performance and long-term conditioning; branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) for energy and repair plus arginine and glutamine for overall health. You can pop these little packets before, during and after exercise, as they provide 2400 mg of amino acids per packet, as well as many vitamins for energy, including B1, B6 and B12.

10. Shark Cartilage (Bell) Made from the dried and powdered cartilage of sharks, this little pill combats a number of diseases - most notably, cancer. There have been numerous articles about how sharks "don't get cancer," and soon, this supplement made its way into holistic health food stores. And, most notably, it has been known (in many cases) to have cured stage 4 breast cancer for $30/bottle instead of hundreds of thousands of dollars in chemo and radiation. It shrinks tumors in the body, and coupled with other forms of detox, can literally be a natural life saver.