Supplements & Micronutrients for Busy Women – Part 1

Each month in the Green Body Circle Membership I present an online workshop and one of the most popular workshops yet has been about supplements, vitamins and minerals.

No wonder! If we could get great health from taking a tablet everyday – we would all do it right?!

Well of course it’s not that easy, and I’m very skeptical about a lot of supplements that are marketed to women these days.

However there are some gaps in the modern diet, even if we eat a diet that is ancestral or a paleo template, we shop organic and don’t eat processed foods.

In this blog I’m going to share some of the takeaways from my workshop and also a few of the supplements I personally use regularly to support my health.

In the workshop we talked about protein, certain minerals, the water soluble vitamins and then the fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K. We discussed where to get them from and what they do.

Now it’s important to know that there are plenty of supplements out there that are an absolute waste of money, and even more important, there are some supplements that can be harmful.

Even nutrients that are directly recommended to us, touted as natural and proven to work. So I urge you to do your research and be cautious.

Ok let’s dive in…

Number one is magnesium. Magnesium is a mineral that almost every woman would benefit from supplementing with.

It’s a hard nutrient to measure accurately as blood levels can be as little as 1% of total body magnesium.

For some, lack of magnesium may cause cramps through the night or restless leg syndrome, chronic muscle aches or pains.

But magnesium is actually used in hundreds of processes in the body, and can affect everything from metabolism to the immune system. Our stress response is a really important example – if we’re under a lot of stress, magnesium gets used up quickly.

Adding to that, chronic diseases and medications can increase the need for magnesium, plus the processing of foods common in the Western diet, combined with low soil nutrient levels mean that the vast majority of people in are actually at risk for magnesium deficiency.

If you’re a woman who is busy, stressed, tired, experiencing muscular aches and pains or sleepless nights… a magnesium supplement is essential to consider.

Magnesium is one of the most readily available supplements nowadays and you can get it in a variety of forms, however it’s not that well absorbed via the gut so it’s worth considering other options.

Personally, I’ve tried a bunch of supplements and my biggest issue is actually remembering them every day!

I’ve used a couple of different oils as skin absorption of magnesium is much better than oral, however many leave a salty residue and actually sting my skin.

My favourite topical magnesium is a cream by Ancient Minerals, it has some local effect as well so it’s perfect for sore or aching muscles. And the best part is it rubs in nicely and doesn’t sting!

Orally, glycinate or malate are the best for oral absorption.

I find these chews are much easier to take regularly though.

The other great thing about them is that they are tissue salts and are absorb via the lining of the mouth – so they don’t rely on digestion through the gastrointestinal system.

Here’s what I do:

I keep a bottle of chews in my bag and whenever I go into my handbag during the day I remember to take one! (you can take up to 4 per day)

I then use the cream on any sore or achy muscles, or at night if I’m going through a stressful time or having trouble sleeping. Easy!

#benefits

The most common thing I hear from clients who start taking magnesium is that they sleep better – and also that they never realised that they could sleep better just by supplementing with some magnesium!

So that’s number one.

Part 2 coming soon…

Kelly Moriarty