Products I Use & Trust: Vitamins/Supplements & Health Treatments

In this series I will introduce and share products that I use whether it’s Vitamins/Supplements, Household/Cleaning Products, or Body/Skin Care. These are products that I have used for at least several months and 1) have seen be effective, 2) like to use, 3) believe to be the best choice for purity AND cost-effectiveness. 

Last Updated: August 2019

Vitamins/supplements are a tricky area because some people need certain vitamins/minerals more than others! Every person is different, and some things will work for one person but not another. I always advise people to go see a naturopathic or holistic doctor before spending a lot of money on vitamins/supplements. Some supplements can actually just work on symptoms and not address the real cause which means you’re stuck taking it forever. Most vitamin/supplement use should be temporary and NOT life-long (although there are exceptions of course). Please consider seeing a trained homeopath/naturopath before spending money on specific supplements! For example: I was dealing with fatigue/energy and digesting issues and went to a naturopath. She found that my body was/is not processing water and digesting food correctly so put me on specific supplements that my body would respond well to. Also, it is very important to be drinking lots of water, have a good diet, exercise and get fresh air & sunshine to help your body stay healthy! All the vitamins in the world will not help if you are not proactive in these ways. For sickness I typically always treat myself naturally first and only go to the doctor if it’s something more serious and it’s been several days. Example: I had a VERY bad sore throat a few years ago that I tried treating myself but after a few days of it not getting better and hurting a LOT, to the doctor I went. It was mono and I got an antibiotic. Go to the doctor if it’s serious or you’re unsure!

Magnesium: Magnesium Glycinate is one of the better-absorbed forms of magnesium. I get it online.

Other vitamins/supplements I have taken (some at the recommendation of a naturopath):

Probiotic Pearls (Amazon). This kind is the most recommended by my naturopath because of their effectiveness and how they are made. I've also had home-grown 1st generation probiotic that was made by a natropath friend. For probiotics my husband and I took daily for 3 months and then were advised to cut back to every other day, then once a week. If you’re eating healthy, that should be enough. Vitamin D3/K2 (I have been quite deficient in these – many people are), and Combination Potassium (this helps with hydration since my body at one point was not holding/processing water well). 

While pregnant/nursing I take pre-natal vitamin daily (I’ve used different brands – my favorite is SmartyPants gummies). Occasionally I will also take an iron supplement as I can get low (and the SmartyPants vitamins do not have iron). Turmeric on occasion as well. I've also started taking cod liver oil almost daily (Nordic Naturals is the best brand for this). 

When I’m feeling sick (or trying to avoid getting sick!):

Pure powdered Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) - The pure stuff is more expensive but the cheaper tablets that you find like at Walmart are actually not as effective). Emergen-C powder is NOT as good either, there are added ingredients in those so I would not recommend.

Cold Calm – you’re supposed to take this at first signs of a cold (runny nose/congestion/sore throat) for it to be most effective. This works!

Zinc Lozenges – great for sore throat.

Kevita Elderberry Apple Cider Tonic - I’ve found this at a few different local grocery stores (ShopRite, Market Basket), but it can be hard to find sometimes. I’ll drink a few sips throughout the day if I think I’m coming down with something or if I’m sick. The Lemon Ginger one is also good for you!

Oil of Oregano – This cleans out my sinuses really well! The best brand I’ve used is from Herbal Authority, but it’s very strong so be careful! I’ll put just two-three drops on my tongue then gargle with water-swallow-repeat until it’s dissolved and not strong anymore.

Vapor Rub – Mainly for sore throat/stuffy nose. Pure Haven makes a great non-toxic one that I use. The Honest Company also sells one that’s also rated well. I do NOT recommend Vicks because of added ingredients.

Oscillococcimum – For body ache, headache, fever, chills… basically I have this on hand to treat flu-like symptoms. Get it at Walmart or Amazon. Also pure Elderberry syrup. NOW brand Elderberry Liquid is elderberry syrup and oscillococcimum together – perfect for flu symptoms! You can make your own Elderberry syrup or buy it from Eartley.com

Dr. Schulze’s Air Detox – air purifier/disinfectant made from pure essential oils. This kills germs in the air. Also a very nice to spray in the bathroom if it um… smells from use. :-)

For cuts/scrapes: If it’s minor, Pure Haven’s Boo-boo Stick (has neem and tea tree oil, also good for bug bites). For deeper/bleeding cuts I use hydrogen peroxide or iodine. (I got a deep cut once that many people would have probably gone to the doctor for, maybe even gotten stitches. It was pretty big/deep…. I just treated it with hydrogen peroxide and bandaged it tightly. Healed up great and didn’t even have a scar!) I’ll also sometimes use Colloidal Silver (I get Sovereign Silver from Amazon) for cuts, and I will also spray in my mouth if I’m sick or have a sore of some kind.

Skin Irritations: See skin care post for lotions/creams.

Other Health Issues & Treatments:

Cold Sores - Vitamin C! Stick a tablet (usually I’ll cut one in half) against the sore in your mouth and let it dissolve. It doesn’t taste good but it works every time! Also spray with Colloidal Silver.

Muscle/body aches: BioFreeze roll-on works great on sore/tight muscles. I’ve also used Arnica for muscle/pain relief. 

Gut/Bowel issues: If you think you might have some gut issues (not having regular bowel movements, constipation, not digesting food well) I’d recommend doing Dr. Schultz Intestinal Formula – two bottles and a lot of pills to take but it really gets into your gut and cleans you out. The #1 pills you should end up with extra which are nice to have in moments of flare-ups– gets things moving!

I also use some Plant Therapy brand essential oils to help with things like headache, anxiety/depression, lack of energy, etc. Magnesium and vitamin D are also important for helping with energy, sleep, digestive health, etc.

Companies I’ve Reviewed: Plexus

Companies I’ve Reviewed Series:

In my research and reviews of companies/brands I look at:

-Rating/Reviews – I look at general reviews online and check rating on ewg.org and/or ewg.org/skindeep (a website that examines brands/ingredients for toxicity). On the main website the best rating is an A, on skin deep best rating is 1. Note that it can be complicated to search for things on the main site – usually I google the brand and “ewg” and see if it comes up. Occasionally a company/product cannot be found so then I look more closely at the actual ingredients and reviews both online and people I know.

-Cost – Is it worth it for what you’re getting? How does it compare to what else is out there?

-Effectiveness – Do the products really work? This is sometimes a matter of opinion - some find certain products to work well that others don’t.

Disclosure/important note on Vitamins/supplements: This is a tricky area because some people need certain vitamins/minerals more than others! Every person is different, and some things will work for one person but not another. I always advise people to go see a naturopathic or holistic doctor before spending a lot of money on vitamins/supplements. Some supplements can actually just work on symptoms and not address the real cause which means you’re stuck taking it forever. Ideally vitamin/supplement use should be temporary and NOT life-long (although there are exceptions of course). Please seriously consider seeing a trained holistic doctor before spending money on specific supplements! For example: I was dealing with fatigue/energy and digesting issues and went to a naturopath. She found that my body was/is not processing water and digesting food correctly so put me on specific supplements that my body would respond well to. Several years ago she helped me regulate my period (there was something very specific that we fixed very quickly without any vitamins or anything). Also, it is very important to be drinking lots of water, have a good diet, exercise and get fresh air to help your body stay healthy! All the vitamins in the world will not help if you are not proactive in these ways. For sickness I typically always treat myself naturally first and only go to the doctor if it’s something more serious and it’s been several days. Example: I had a VERY bad sore throat 2 years ago that I was pretty sure was strep or mono. I tried treating it myself but after a few days of it not getting better and hurting a lot, to the doctor I went and got an antibiotic. Go to the doctor if it’s serious or you’re unsure!

Now for my Plexus review….

I hesitated a lot about publishing this. Plexus is a big rage in some circles and there are very loyal followers… I also have several friends/acquaintances who have used their products, found them “life changing” and are now passionate ambassadors for the company - and I really don't want to alienate or offend them. But, having spent hours and days looking online at tons of reviews, at Plexus products, researching ingredients, I’m sorry to say I am not impressed. It is a MLM company (which is not bad, I worked for one at one time), however, this is one that bothers me some. People have become ambassadors because they have found it to work extremely well for them and as ambassadors they get discounted prices and can make money (although how much they really make is debatable - I worked for an MLM remember). This is not a bad thing (who doesn’t like to earn and/or save money?), but how they market and the fact that they tend to share what is told them by the company is another thing. It’s very much promoted as a “one size fits all” type of thing… as if Plexus is the answer for everything! I’ve seen many ambassadors make claims about how their products fix leaky gut, and while I certainly believe the stories of it helping people greatly I do not believe they completely “fix” it, because you have to continue these supplements indefinitely. Weight-loss is a big emphasis as well, but their Slim doesn’t work for everyone and their clinical study wasn’t impressive (only a 2 pound weight loss difference between the two groups). What actually causes leaky gut syndrome and how can you really fix it? What’s the best way to lose weight? Sure, you very well may feel better taking Plexus supplements, however I am not convinced that long-term it is addressing the real problem nor do I feel that some of their vitamins are of the best quality. Many ambassadors are being honest and forthright, but their marketing strategies irritate me (and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way!). I am not a big fan of their business model or structure (again, coming from someone who worked for a MLM company). (NOTE: Some ambassadors have denied that Plexus is a MLM company, but there are downlines and uplines so this denial is absurd.)

Plus-sides:

·         Their supplements contain many good vitamins/ingredients (although there is a lot of debate over how helpful some actually are, not to mention not everyone needs or will benefit from these vitamins either).

·         There is a 60-day empty bottle money-back guarantee so risk-free to try!

Downsides:

·         Some report reactions to supplements. Sometimes feeling worse before you feel better is a detoxing effect, however if you continue to feel bad on the supplements after a week or two I would stop and see a trained homeopath/naturopathic doctor. Vitamins CAN actually harm you if used incorrectly!

·         These supplements are very expensive! 60 days on Biocleanse, Probio5 AND Slim will cost you (on subscription) $133 (for the three) + $82 + $82 +$82 (Slim is supposed to be twice a day and there’s only 30 per package so you need 3 more to make it through 60 days) +$33 (for a 2^nd probio5 as it says take 1-2 and there’s 60 in the bottle – and it says you can take up to 4 a day so that could go up more). So, you’re looking at a minimum of $412 every two months!!!! Buying wholesale (requires you sign up as an ambassador and spend a minimum of $100 a month) is cheaper of course, but joining the team means a big commitment!

Now, here is a review of the three above-mentioned (and most marketed) Plexus supplements:

Their BioCleanse supplement is basically vitamin C and magnesium (magnesium hydroxide - the kind of magnesium that is used in laxatives and antacids). Now this has been very helpful to some people because many people nowadays are lacking these two vitamins in their diet and this kind of magnesium especially can have a big impact on how you feel/energy level/how your body functions and processes food, etc. So, a fine product, but you can easily get a similar magnesium supplement for a LOT cheaper elsewhere so honestly, I don’t think you should spend your money on this. Also, this form of magnesium may not be what your body needs.... my body needs magnesium glycinate (helsp with muscle relaxation) so that's what I take (and it's loads cheaper too!).

Their probiotic (Probio5) contains 20 billion CFU per capsule which is pretty good and enzymes Serrapeptase, Proteases, Chitosanase, & Cellulase (via website). My naturopathic doctor said it would be fine to take but only on a completely empty stomach and before eating for several hours (in other words for it to be really effective you’d need to take it very late/in the middle of the night. On the bottle it says to take before bed). This is because it needs to get through your stomach to your gut and if there’s food or acid in your stomach than it will just dissolve there since it’s just a regular gelatin capsule. For my husband and I this was not an ideal probiotic because we have some digestion/stomach issues so there wasn’t certainty our stomachs were completely empty even late at night. Now, my husband took Serrapeptase (which is a probiotic enzyme) once a day for 2-3 months (long-term use of this supplement is not recommended), per recommendation of our naturopath (she recommended this along with this probiotic - https://smile.amazon.com/Enzymatic-Therapy-Pearls-Intensive-Probiotics/dp/B002NL165W/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1521643135&sr=8-6&keywords=Probiotic+pearls ). (By the way, this costs us about $35-40 for THREE months on Amazon Prime.) The probiotic we took daily for 3 months and then were advised to cut back to every other day, then once a week. If you’re eating healthy, that should be enough.   

As for their Slim… nothing special from my perspective. It has helped people feel more energized (although this could also be a combination of the other two supplements above as well as working on a better diet) and can help some people stabilize blood sugar. In the link below you can see for yourself the ingredients and the clinical study that was done. Many reviewers (including medical staff) do not see anything special in the ingredients. Also note there was only a 2 pound difference between the two groups in the clinical study which is not really significant, so if you’re looking for a great weight-loss product this isn’t it.  It is very possible to stabilize blood sugar just with diet (although for some people that is harder – it takes a lot of discipline to eat right!).But I have seen people who follow the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan be cured of diabetes!  https://plexusworldwide.com/product/plexus-slim 

In closing, I’ll mention that my husband was on all three of these supplements for a month and didn’t notice any difference. We stopped at that point because we saw our naturopath. Maybe he would have after the whole 60 days, but based on her findings and recommendations I highly doubt it. It just wasn’t a good fit for him/us and didn’t address the real problem.

Is Plexus for you? First, do your research and see a trained homeopathic doctor is my advice.

From my research, I have not that impressed with their products and do not think the cost-benefit is worth the investment. I will again stress that you should see a trained homeopathic doctor before taking any supplement or investing money long-term.

Don’t take my word for it! Here’s are two other reviews that I found to be very good: http://www.patchouliherbs.com/blog/how-i-feel-about-itworks-and-plexus

https://www.dietspotlight.com/plexus-triplex-review/

More:
https://www.reddit.com/r/antiMLM/comments/8j4jrs/i_quit_plexus_thanks_to_this_sub/
https://www.lazymanandmoney.com/plexus-scam/ (apparently Australia has banned Slim!)

Thanks for reading! Check out my other reviews and stay tuned for more!