My three favorite things this month are …supplements.
I generally think supplements are overrated when it comes to fitness, so many places online are selling expensive products that don’t have real value or can even be harmful.
The supplements I do take are somewhat personalized for me. I take some fish oil caplets for my dry eyes and some vitamin d – especially since I use so much sunscreen :).
These following three things are ‘supplements’ that I think will work for most people.
The first is creatine monohydrate. Creatine is made up of three amino acids naturally occuring in our bodies. It is essential for energy production and other processes. The body’s liver, pancreas and kidneys can make about 1 gram of creatine per day and we can get it from food – mainly beef or seafood.
Supplementing with creatine has been studied for a really long time and there are literally hundreds of studies done showing its efficacy and safety.
Some benefits of taking creatine are greater energy, endurance and strength, brain health and mood enhancement.
One study said
“Creatine is an inexpensive and safe dietary supplement that has both peripheral and central effects. The benefits afforded to older adults through creatine ingestion are substantial, can improve quality of life, and ultimately may reduce the disease burden associated with sarcopenia and cognitive dysfunction.”
The second one is protein supplements. You can get your protein requirements entirely from food but it’s hard! I take some kind of supplement about once a day to hit my protein goals. This company and this company are both Canadian and have really good products.
Finally this last one is not really a supplement you take orally, it is a supplement to your skin care routine! I have been loving my snail mucin so much I have branched out into more Korean skin care and into peptides. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins like collagen and elastin. They are added to topical skin care products for their potential to improve skin firmness, texture, and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
This is a serum to layer under your sunscreen/moisturizer to plump up the skin. It also contains ingredients that help your skin attract and retain moisture. It comes in such a big bottle and is so inexpensive that I am using it on my face and on my body when I get out of the shower and before my body lotion.
Do you have any questions about any of these? any recommendations on protein supplements? Let me know in the comments.