Holistic Health

I have been a bit obsessed with finding a daily vitamin regimen to help with fatigue and breakouts that I have been struggling with since moving into my apartment. I swear, there's something in the air. Well, if you're going to go on a health–kick, Austin is the place to do it. I find that Sprouts Market has the best selection of vitamins. HEB (four those of you outside of Texas, it is a popular grocery here) seems to have a ton of vitamins and pills but very little of what I need.

Find a list of supplements and my meal plan after the jump

What I supplement with:

1 (30) mg OptiZinc capsule
1 (1000) mg Evening Primrose Oil capsule (Sometimes I will break the capsule open and massage the oil directly onto my face before bedtime. Believe me when I say, $700 night cream, move over!

I have always struggled with breakouts, but the stress of being away from my husband and starting a new job has done a number on my face. After a bit of Googling, I am 95% sure my acne is hormonal. That is where the Zinc comes in. I use the OptiZinc because it is best absorbed by the body.  When taking Zinc, it is important to note the that amount of 'elemental zinc' and the amount of 'zinc' in a vitamin is different. 'Zinc gluconate' for example 14% elemental zinc per weight of zinc gluconate. In other words, a 50 mg tablet of zinc gluconate contains only 7 mg of elemental zinc. Who knew? Optizinc has 30 mg of elemental zinc.

When taking Zinc, it is important to note that certain foods (especially those containing calcium) can inhibit absorption. normally, this would not be a problem since one could just wait two hours before or after drinking milk or eating a slice of cheese, but Zinc must be taken on a full stomach or nausea will occur. With that, my diet has drastically changed as well.

In my search for dairy-free foods and milks, I came across the blog, eat life whole. Let me just say, Springer & Steph have made the transition to healthy eating much easier. Even if you aren't interested in supplementing with Zinc, it's a great site for those trying to break those bad food habits.

What I eat:

6:30 a.m.- Special K with Soy or Rice Milk (Each 8-ounce cup of plain almond milk contains a meager 2 milligrams of Calcium and less than 1 milligram is found in rice milk).    

8:30 a.m.-  (1) 30 mg OptiZinc (Make sure you are waiting two hours before or after a meal or snack to take Zinc. This ensures the Zinc is absorbed.

10:30 a.m.- Hummus and Pita Chips (Hummus is high in protein, which helps Zinc absorption)

1:00 p.m.- Newk's Black and Bleu salad with blue cheese dressing on the side (The dressing is high in Calcium, but my diet is pretty void of dairy otherwise. 

6:00 p.m.- Salmon with lemon over a bed of rice

Overall, getting used to watching my dairy and Calcium intake has been tough, but I am a bit glad the Zinc has helped me realize just how much dairy I eat daily.