Which supplements should I take in the Spring/Summer…?

“Hello Montserrat,

I have a quick question about supplements: What would you suggest to take through the Summer?

In winter time I take vitamin C and D but do I need to take these also through the Spring/Sumer? At the moment I only take the MorEPA fish oil capsules. Could you give me some advice?”

M.J

In an ideal world, we should not have to take any supplements. However, here is a picture I took yesterday from our roof top in Amsterdam…

Spring in Amsterdam!

…there goes vitamin D out of the window.

It really depends on where you live, and your lifestyle.  If you are in a northern country, you should continue taking your Vitamin D (1000-2000IU/ day).  If, however, there is a long spell of sunny weather, or if you find yourself in Southern France or California, you can give the D a break.

Wherever you are, vitamin C is a must for all seasons. Vitamin C (500-1000mg /day) is the most powerful vitamin for your health. Personally, I never stop taking vitamin C, although I have to admit that when I go to Spain I do eat a really large amount of tomatoes, peppers and fruits which are rich in this vitamin, therefore I do not swallow the actual vitamin in tablet form, but in a natural way, through my diet.

The other important supplement to take in this season is Betacarotene (Provitamin A- 20mg/day) 

Betacarotene provides around 50% of the vitamin A that we need, and it is easily found in all red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables (except actually, oranges).

While high doses of vitamin A can be toxic, the use of Betacarotene as a source of vitamin A is safe. No wonder nature gives us  delicious apricots and cherries this time of the year as a healthy alternative.

The other easy way to take your super-shot of Betacarotene is of course, carrots. Vitamin A offers a natural protection against skin damage from the sun, so that is why many sun-tan lotions and bronzers use carrots as a base.

Betacarotene is better taken naturally from food, but watch out, too much of the orange stuff and your skin can turn an orange/yelllowish tone that you might not like.

Examples of foods high in Betacarotene are apricots, peaches, beetroot, carrots, plumbs, cherries, mango and sweet potatoes…

Betacarotene

Clean Omega-3 oil (1000-1200mg/day) -filtered, from small fish-  is also always on my list, but when I travel to the Mediterranean I do stop because I absolutely love fresh sardines, which make up for it. Read for some information on Omega-3 https://www.theyogatherapyclinic.org/members/health-news-articles/bestfoodsforyourback/

If you don’t go away on holiday and you stay working, with daily stress up to high levels, you do need to take your supplements -and remember to add Zinc (15mg/day) to your list to protect you from any nasty throat infections-, which are very common in the Spring.

After the summer is over, we see many of our clients coming back worse off than when they left. This is because during the summer they over-indulge in alcohol, rich foods and too much time under the sun. Stress can also be high when we spend time with our families -or the in-laws-…so apart from supplements, I would definitely advice to balance physical activities with rest, sleep, and take advantage of the fresh local produce where ever you go.

With love,

Montserrat