Supplements: A Holistic Guide To The What, When And Why!

Supplements are like a good friend, they pick you up when you’re down. But have you ever walked down a supplement aisle? Um, yikes! It’s a mine field out there and then there are the questions of what to take when, and how much? Good thing you have us… vitamin and supplement geographers to the rescue.

Why take supplements you ask? Am I really spending all this ££ on cold pressed green juice just to take supplements as well? Truth be told, when it comes to nutrition you have to have a balanced diet, no supplement or acai powder is going to make up for that. But quite apart from your diet, something that’s often forgotten is how much of the vitamins in your food you are actually absorbing, and when is the best time of day for your body to get as much out of them as possible.

Unfortunately, even with a good diet, due to over-farming our soil is depleted of nutrition which hinders our food’s nutritional content. This is where supplements come in! They are your back-up option and insurance policy for when life gets busy or doesn’t go strictly to plan.

“Combine the lower nutritional value of our food, with a dose of stress, (or maybe a few too many glasses of vino) and your gut’s ability to absorb the minerals you do manage to get from your meals will be hindered dramatically too,” says Nikki Cooper, Founder of Inner Me.

Inner Me is a holistic supplement brand, creating daily supplement strips and vitamin tablets. But they’re also all for giving you the full scoop on what you’re taking and how it will help you – no more blind pill popping. Nikki is certainly quick to stress the importance of getting your diet in line as well – supplements will pick you up, but your meals have to do the leg work.

So, which supplements and when?

We asked Mrs Vitamins, Nikki Cooper, the founder of Inner Me, to explain how she structures her meals and routine to get maximum value from any added supplements… 

PRE BREAKFAST

“I always start my day with a cup of warm water with a good squeeze and a slice of lemon – a perfect pre-food cleanse. This aids my digestive system, balances my PH levels, boosts my immune system and being a diuretic, helps my body to eliminate toxins never mind rehydrate my body for the day ahead!”

BREAKFAST AND SUPPLEMENTS

“For breakfast I usually have a tummy friendly breakfast smoothie packed with antioxidants. I always include a banana as they are rich in pectin and fibre aiding my digestion and gently removing toxins and heavy metals from the body. They are also a prebiotic, stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria in the bowel and produce digestive enzymes to assist in absorbing nutrients. With my breakfast I take my digestive health one step further by taking a digestive capsule which contains probiotic Lactospore 15 billion and also my multivitamin from my Daily4 Strip to ensure I reap the benefits of both throughout the day, in particular the energy converting B Vitamins!”

LUNCH & SUPPLEMENTS

“For lunch I love a large, wholesome salad with butternut squash or warming soup with seeds on top. With my lunch I take my co-enzyme Q10 capsule to give me that much needed energy boost for the afternoon ahead.”

DINNER & SUPPLEMENTS

“When it comes to my diet I try to keep as close to the Paleo principles as I can – this means lots of fish, grass fed meat and tons of organic vegetables. As I do eat quite a bit of meat I like to balance out the Omega 6 in my diet with Omega 3 so at dinner time I take my high strength Omega 3 capsule and if I have been eating red meat I tend to take a DigeZyme® tablet being a potent blend of 5 digestive enzymes to aid digestion of protein, carbohydrates, fat and fibre.”

The take-away lesson?

“I always stress that a good diet must come first. For ultimate optimisation, all supplements should be taken with food – that’s why Inner Me provide Inner Recipes and Menus to underpin the benefits of all their products.”

Doing all the research so you don’t have to, Inner Me Daily Strips in tailored packs are designed to eliminate the guesswork and confusion about daily supplementation. For the supplementing woman, the Daily 4+ packs are an absolute must – recognising that our nutritional needs change as we enter different stages of our life, these packs are tailored for the 20/30/40/50+ woman to provide everything you need!

And for men and women who champion Paleo or plant-based diets, the Essential Three strip of Omega 3, Vitamin D and Probiotic ensure optimum, tummy-loving absorption of nutrients that are extremely hard to get from diet alone. Expert-endorsed, premium quality and purity – and in simple ‘tear and go’ strips to pop in your handbag when on the move – supplementing your health couldn’t be easier!

Use ‘WTDL’ at the checkout to receive 20% all Inner Me products.

www.innerme.co.uk

A COLLABORATION WITH INNER ME