The 5 Supplements I Take: A 6 Year Update

If you found me because of my post I made 6 years ago about the supplements that I take that are cheaper alternatives to Plexus Triplex, welcome! That is one of my most popular posts to date (mostly because of how I broke down the Plexus Triplex ingredients into cheaper alternatives without the MLM and brand price tag) and I continue to get comments and Instagram DMs about whether or not I am still taking the same supplements. So after 6 years, I’m finally here to provide an update of what I am taking and if I still take the exact same supplements.

The short answer is no: I’m not still taking the same exact supplements. Over the past 6 years, I have done more reading and trying different supplements to come up with a regimen that I personally think is better than before, while still being loosely inspired by the original lineup that were alternatives to Plexus triplex, plus taking certain things for benefits other than a healthy weight! However, most of these have to go with gut health, because I believe that good gut health has a lot of other benefits elsewhere in the body.

The Supplements I Take / Cheaper Alternatives to Plexus Triplex

Like I said in my previous post, this is simply a post to talk about what I take. Please talk to your own doctor before you start any new supplements! Just because it is a supplement does not mean that it is 100% safe for each and every person.

Orgain Collagen Peptides + Pre– and Probiotics Powder

I buy this 1.6 pound container at Costco for around $25, and has a bit over 30 scoops worth in it, so it should last a bit longer than a 30 day supply. If you don’t have a Costco membership, the best price elsewhere I have seen for it is at Walmart for around $40 (Amazon currently has it for about $60 which is a bit much imo).

I do a scoop in my coffee (after letting it cool a bit); however, for best results, you really ideally should mix it into something cooler (such as water, iced tea, iced coffee, yogurt, etc.). The things that I have read say that it’s not a big deal to add probiotics to your hot coffee or tea (source 1 and source 2), but it’s MORE ideal to add it to something cold.

Prebiotic

In my original post where I wrote about the supplements I take, one of the things I mentioned that I take was a prebiotic. I was using these Bio Nutrition Pre-Biotic capsules (under $16 for a 30 day supply) at the time. The ingredient in these capsules is Xylooligosaccharide (XOS). According to the literature, some pro-inflammatory bacteria (Dialister spp Bacteria and Slackia bacteria) are pro-inflammatory were greatly reduced by XOS, but XOS supplementation increases the Bifidobacterium population (good bacteria!).

Now I won’t give you a full dissertation on the benefits of prebiotics; however, I do have a post already all about why I take a prebiotic which will give you a little bit more information if you are interested in learning more!

This collagen powder is equipped with that SAME prebiotic of xylooligosaccaharide with the added benefit of collagen and probiotics. So if you are looking for something that has prebiotics and probiotics, and collagen all in one, the one I take is a great option. But if you are just looking for a prebiotic, I took the Bio Nutrition one for a few years and thought it was a great option.

Why I Take a PREbiotic

Probiotics

1 scoop of this powder contains 1 billion probiotics, which isn’t actually a ton, but considering I take it daily, and it has the benefit of prebiotics, I think it counts for something. 🙂 If you were recently on an antibiotic and having stomach issues, a doctor might recommend a probiotic with a higher probiotic strain count, but I think for regular daily use, the probiotic in this powder works for me. Do I wish it had more probiotics in it? Sure. But I also eat yogurt almost daily, so I get probiotics naturally in food as well!

I talk about the benefits of probiotics a bit in my original post, but basically what you need to know is that there is good bacteria and bad bacteria that live in your gut. Your gut microbiome (aka the bacteria that lives in your gut) plays a role in a number of different things in the body. The gut microbiome regulate the development and function of the immune, metabolic, and nervous systems. Plus it can influence disease processes in the gut as well as extra-intestinal organs, including the brain.

As far as how the gut microbiome impacts a healthy weight: there is one study that looked at sets of twins in which one twin was obese and the other was a healthy weight. They transferred the gut bacteria from the twins into mice and then watched the result. The mice that received the “obese” bacteria gained weight, and the mice that received the other bacteria stayed the same weight.

So all that to say, I think there are plenty of reasons to take a probiotic!

Collagen

I started taking collagen after I had my son because I was experiencing post-partum hair loss. I also wanted to take it for the skin/anti-aging and joint benefits. I can’t find any studies to support the idea that it helps with gut health, but some people also claim that collagen can help with enhancing the gut microbiome.

Ashwaganda

I buy the Youtheory brand of ashwaganda at Costco and get 180 capsules for about $20. Since I only take 1 capsule daily (instead of the serving suggestion of 2), it is 180 days worth! I have also tried the Goli gummy version as well.

I only take 500 mg (1 capsule) of it daily but will take periodic breaks from it (so that the adrenal glands can get a break). Ashwaganda can help lower cortisol levels and help with anxiety and stress. I went through a period of really high anxiety in post-partum and this really seemed to help me (along with daily exercise from the 75 medium challenge). Having elevated cortisol levels (which could be related to stress and anxiety) long-term can cause weight gain, acne, fatigue, impaired wound healing, to name a few.

If you think you have anxiety long-term, I really highly recommend talking to a doctor and/or counselor/therapist. Anti-anxiety meds may not be right for everyone, and I wasn’t quite ready to start one, so my doctor gave me the OK to try ashwaganda instead.

Vitamin D3

Ideally I think you should be getting vitamin D naturally from sunlight, but if you are like me and try to stay out of the sun and use sunscreen, supplementation makes sense. I buy the Target generic brand and take 2,000 IU daily. You can get 100 capsules for under $5, so this is a really cheap supplement to add!

Vitamin D may support weight loss and it has a ton of other benefits. In one study, people with obesity who received vitamin D supplements in addition to following a weight loss diet plan lost more weight and fat mass than the members of the placebo group, who only followed the diet plan.

Along with vitamin D being extremely important for bone health, vitamin D is important for reducing inflammation. The VITAL study investigated daily dietary supplements of vitamin D3 (2000 IU) or omega-3 fatty acids (Omacor fish oil, 1 gram). Investigators found the people who took vitamin D, or vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids had a significantly lower rate of autoimmune disease than people who took a placebo.

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease over 10 years ago, and have thankfully been in remission for many years. My doctors have always encouraged vitamin D for the benefits especially in autoimmune diseases, so I am taking it regularly now!

Daily Vitamin + Omega-3

I take the Nature Made Multivitamin + Omega-3 for women. You take 2 gummies a day. I buy mine at Target (that seems to be the best price, but I am going to look for it at Costco when I run out next time!), and it is under $22 for 150 gummies.

I picked this multivitamin because it’s tasty (lol), but also because it has Omega-3 fish oil in it! Like I mentioned in the previous section, omega-3s have anti-inflammatory properties and are good for heart health.

Chromium

This multi-vitamin also contains chromium which I mentioned in my original post. When I published my post 6 years ago, I said that chromium may help with blood sugar regularity, but there was not a lot of clinical trials to prove that. However, I did read a study published last year that showed that chromium supplementation had positive effects in improving the impact of type two diabetes mellitus. It has been identified as a beneficial factor in controlling blood sugar. In addition, it improved the lipid profile of diabetes patients with no effect on triglyceride levels. The study was giving patients 200 mcg twice a day (which is less than what is in this multivitamin), but I did think maybe it would be helpful to get a bit of chromium since I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. The diabetes went away after I gave birth, but that is not to say that maybe I didn’t potentially have some underlying insulin resistance.

Magnesium Glycinate

Lastly we have magnesium! Magnesium is one of the things that was mentioned in my original post (because it is a big part of Plexus Triplex). While I stopped taking it while pregnant and breastfeeding, I restarted it since then, but I am taking a different form: magnesium glycinate. I buy the Nature’s Made brand Magnesium glycinate and take two capsules daily to get 200 mg. It is under $15 for a 30 day supply, so it is more expensive than magnesium oxide (for example), but it is better absorbed for you to see the benefits of magnesium supplementation.

Magnesium glycinate is better absorbed by the body than other forms of magnesium on the market because it is combined with the amino acid glycine. This form of magnesium is highly bioavailable, meaning the magnesium is easily absorbed through your small intestine.

Magnesium supplementation can supposedly help with sleep and anxiety which is why I started taking it! It can also help with digestion.

Do you take any of these supplements? If so, what do you think? Drop a comment to tell me about your experience taking any of these!

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