Wellness Support
I am a little behind on getting this out there but wanted to share an update on my daily supplements, the kids daily supplements, and what I have on hand in case of illness. I like to be prepared for what may come up so I don’t panic or end up scrambling to find what I can. Quality is incredibly important when it comes to supplements (and everything else). It pays to invest in high quality, pure, and potent products so that when you need it you need them you have reliable tools to support you and your loved ones.
Remember, you can do all the right things and you or your kids will still get sick. Germs get passed around at work, school, children’s church, daycare, etc., you will be exposed to germs, its just part of life. I have four kids ranging from 2 to 13 with different activity, school and life situations. I try to stay pretty tight on wellness with them as much as I can - it’s definitely easier with the 2 and 4 year old, but they still get sick. I try to see this as an opportunity for their immune systems to build and become stronger so it will be a great support throughout their lives. I am thankful for the resources and training I have to support them so that illnesses are not as severe and typically don’t last long.
The information I have to share with you below is just that, information about what we do in our household that works for us. This is not medical advice. Please always check with your preferred provider for your unique situation and do your own research, don’t rely on someone else even a doctor to do the research for you. I am always happy to pass along more resources as well. I want to empower you to take control of your own health and wellness so that you do not have to be fearful or panicked.
Disclaimer: I do receive a small commission when you shop through my links and I thank you so much for the support!
My Daily Wellness Support at 28 Weeks Pregnant:
I’m including average meals because food is an important foundational support! I aim for 30+ grams of protein each meal with quality fats and easy to digest vegetables or fruit. I usually need a snack between meals right now as well. These are usually fruit & cheese or yogurt or raw milk, gummies, pork rinds & homemade hummus, etc. always making sure to pair protein or fat with a carbohydrate to support blood sugar balance.
Rise:
Water with Redmond Relyte (unflavored) to hydrate and replenish electrolytes.
Bone broth and maybe some homemade gummies depending on how hungry I am right away.
Breakfast usually consists of two eggs, fruit, bacon or homemade sausage, sometimes a coconut flour + sourdough discard waffle quarter/small pancake, and a yolky coffee (I’ll share more on this and the recipe in another post!)
Supplements:
2 Multi-Avail Mama: prenatal/multivitamin for women in their childbearing years
1 EPA/DHA Extra: supports fetal brain development, skin, inflammation, immune, and respiratory
6 Heart & Soil: Skin, Hair, Nails for a whole food collagen + bone marrow and liver to support my stretching skin and growing babe
1 Cellular Antiox: glutathione + NAC & B6 for immune support, cellular defense, antioxidant support, supports lung tissue, breaks down mucous, increases oxygenation. The B6 can also help prevent nausea in pregnancy (see my first trimester blog here)
1 Bio-C Plus: a potent dose of vitamin C with botanical compounds + quercetin for increased immune and inflammatory support as well as adrenal support
Lunch is usually leftovers or soup with leftover chicken/sausage and bone broth. If it’s been a busy or stressful day, I’ll take some Adrenal Support to help support balanced cortisol levels.
Dinner is usually a homegrown protein + roasted vegetables/sweet potatoes/squash/etc
Before bed supplements:
2 Multi-Avail Mama
1 EPA/DHA Extra
1-2 scoops Relax & Regulate - depending on how active I’ve been and what my stress level is
1 Vitamin D3/K2: K2 is important to get in with vitamin D to support utilization and prevent calcification of soft tissues. I’ve read that it can help with depth of sleep so I try to take it in the evenings because quality sleep is important!
Kids Daily Wellness at 2 and 4 Years:
My little ones eat very similar to me, slightly more in some areas, slightly less in others. Charlotte will drink broth plain, but not Gavin so I do work to get soup in them at least once a week and incorporate bone broth into my cooking so everyone gets the benefits. I put the Unflavored Redmond Relyte powder in their water bottles every time I fill them up to make sure they’re getting electrolytes especially since our drinking water is reverse osmosis filtered.
Quick note on why I am specifying the Unflavored powder: the flavored varieties are sweetened with stevia powder. While it is originally sourced from the leaves of the stevia plant, those (green) leaves are processed and refined to extract a compound called rebaudioside A (Reb-A) which is about 200x sweeter than regular sugar. For something that we use regularly, I don’t want to train our bodies to always expect sweet. Even though it is technically a zero carb/calorie sweetener our bodies are still tasting sweet and can encourage cravings for more sweet. This 2019 study actually showed that low dose stevia consumption negatively affected gut bacteria. Gut bacteria is incredibly important for so many functions of our body, immune & wellness, digestion, neurotransmitter production, hormone balance, skin health and more. If we want something sweet in our drinks, I’d much rather use honey or a splash of whole organic fruit juice. To me stevia is just not worth it.
Their daily supplements:
Morning
Evening
Fast Asleep Glycerite - not always daily but it does help with winding down on the busy nights
Active illness in me or one of the kids (because we all know how great they are at sharing their germs!)
Ok, now for the part you came here for! When we’ve been exposed to an illness or anyone in the house starts developing symptoms I pulse in extra supports and increase or decrease depending on symptoms and severity.
Bio-C Plus: I will take 2-4 if exposed to any illness, up to 6 if actively ill (depending on severity of symptoms). Kids get half if exposed, up to 1/1.5 if ill. I split it up between morning and lunch
Cellular Antiox: I pulse up to 2 if someone in the house is sick then up to 4 if I develop symptoms, especially if its respiratory. Kids get half if exposed to illness up to 1 if actively ill. This is one of the best tools to have on hand for respiratory viruses and just overall illness support.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7649937/
"NAC administered intravenously, orally, or inhaled, may suppress SARS-CoV-2 replication and may improve outcomes if used timely. Potential therapeutic benefits of NAC include, extracellularly scavenging ROS radicals, replenishing intracellular GSH, suppression of cytokine storm, and T cell protection, thus mitigating inflammation and tissue injury. NAC administration in combination with other antiviral agents may dramatically reduce hospital admission rate, mechanical ventilation and mortality."
GI Immune Builder: Provides immunoglobulins to aid in the response to bacteria and viruses as well as N-acetyl-D-glucosamine to support a healthy inflammatory response in the GI tract. I keep this on hand to boost our immunity as needed or if anyone starts developing any symptoms. I take one scoop and give the little ones half a scoop. This is also super helpful for anyone, baby to adult dealing with eczema or IBS/IBS/UC
Herbal Ginger Syrup: Amazing for cough, sore throat, and mucous as well as reducing inflammation and supporting the immune system. (also great for nausea!) I bring this one in as needed, little kids get 2mL big kids get 3mL, and adults get 4-5mL
For the kids who can’t swallow capsules, I open them up and mix with a teaspoon of raw honey. I am usually dosing the little ones at the same time so I empty 1 BioC, 1 Cellular Antiox, and 1 scoop GI Immune Builder into a bowl, mix with honey and split it between the two of them. It tastes a little sweet and tart, no complaints from them!
Anything respiratory, I’m usually encouraging Xclear nasal spray as a preventative and to help clear the sinuses when symptoms hit. This has xylitol in it which helps defend against bacteria, typically we’re dealing with viruses, but congestion can often lead to infection in the sinuses and ears. Ear infections can happen so easily in kids so I am always working to prevent those while also supporting through colds. I always keep this Ear Oil or Garlic Mullein Oil on hand and will do a drop in each ear if a kiddo has been congested for a couple days, even if their ears aren’t bothering them.
We also use a nebulizer with saline + H2O2 at a 0.04% concentration. This can be done as a preventative, helping to keep nasal passages and airways clear and defend against pathogens, as well as when symptomatic, thinning mucous, helping airways clear, and increasing oxygen in the lungs. I have found it to be a major relief with coughs and severe congestion. I also know a couple people who have found relief from sinus infections using this. I will say, this treatment using hydrogen peroxide has come with some controversy over the last couple years. We did our research and felt comfortable this would be a good way to support our family. Dr. Ashley Turner explains it here, but as with anything, do your research and choose what is right for you and your family. Nebulizing with just saline is also another helpful option as well. Just a reminder I am just sharing what we have done in our household. You do what’s best for you and yours.
Fever, another slightly controversial or tricky situation. Fevers can be scary as a parent. It’s important to remember that they are the body’s response to infection and I believe that is part of our design that we should respect. Typically I let a fever run its course monitoring symptoms and behavior more than the actual temperature. I will use cool washcloths, cold wet socks, diluted peppermint essential oil on the bottoms of their feet, ice chips, bone broth popsicles, and homeopathic remedies such as belladonna. Despite all those efforts, if my child is struggling to sleep, uncomfortable, etc., I will consider treating with ibuprofen. I avoid acetaminophen (Tylenol) as much as possible because it reduces glutathione (an important antioxidant) in the body. And, while this is purely anecdotal, it seems that the children in my house who receive more conventional fever reducers are sick longer.
If we do administer ibuprofen, I will make sure to bring in extra gut support as NSAIDs are hard on the gut lining and integrity. So this will look like extra gelatin gummies, bone broth daily, probiotics, or even this GI Lining Support. I know there are situations where acetaminophen might need to be administered, if that is the case I would bring in extra glutathione and liver support. Daily Cellular Antiox, daily bone broth, dandelion root tea or milk thistle if appropriate, for a couple days following the acetaminophen.
We have so many different resources and ways to support though illness. You don’t have to stick to tools from only one tool box. It’s okay to use vitamins and herbs, a little western medicine, and extra nutritional support. Sometimes in the natural/holistic health world we vilify western medicine. I know a lot of it stems from frustration of a lack of informed consent and a lack of acknowledgement of other safer options, but sometimes that is the option you need to choose for the situation you are in and I don’t want you to feel shamed for that. My intent here is to show you other ways of support that work well in my household so that maybe it will help you.
Stomach flu or any illness with vomiting or diarrhea: I do not force food, I encourage small sips of water or broth, ice chips are helpful as well. If we can, I try to get in some activated charcoal to help bind to the pathogen. Afterwards, I encourage increasing probiotic doses to help repopulate the gut since it is essentially recovering from an infection. I will take one Rebuild Spectrum probiotic at bedtime and give the kids half to full depending on age. Again opening and mixing with honey if needed. This probiotic blend contains a wider variety of strains to repopulate the gut and also strains that help reduce negative influencing bacteria/yeast, it is also really great for rebuilding after antibiotic use.
Nutrition wise things don’t change too much when we’re ill. I will put more focus on broth, gelatin, and electrolytes, reducing dairy if needed for congestion. Although, I’ve noticed that we don’t get as much of an increase in mucous with our raw dairy. It’s important to remember that everything we put into our bodies gives our cells information and material for tackling the tasks at hand. If we want to decrease inflammation, boost immunity and resiliency we need to focus on nutrient dense foods. I do my best to talk about this a lot with all my kids so they understand the why behind our food choices and why I might say no to a certain snack or treat.
Okay. I think that’s all! I am happy to answer questions if you have them or help direct you to more resources so that the next time illness pops up in your house you feel prepared.
Many of the supplements I mentioned from Naturally Nourished are 15% off through 11-30-22 with the code IMMUNE15 you can view their immune collection here. Otherwise anytime you shop through my links with Naturally Nourished you receive 10% off and I receive a small commission.
Praying wellness for you this season,
xo, Ashley