Sorting Out Supplements

Supplements & vitamins have always had quite a prevalent part in my life. It's something my dad's always encouraged my family to take since I was a child so the shelves of Holland&Barrett are almost like home. As long as I could remember, my brother and I have been taking multi-vitamins with our breakfast and various other vitamins if ever we were under the weather. But when I moved away from home, I stopped taking vitamins and I've definitely noticed that a lack of extra vitamins and a poor student diet (at first), I noticed changes in my skin and health as a whole. Sidenote: I definitely think you should be able to get most of your vitamins & nutrients from a balanced diet, but these merely add to that.

After about two years of working out my supplements & vitamins, I've now got it down to a T and thought I'd share what kind of things I take and why - especially as I know how overwhelming & confusing it can be when in the vitamin aisle!

Zinc: If you're a big fan of skincare, you'll know that Zinc is a brilliant anti-inflammatory and ideal for reducing redness and often plays a key part in any spot treatments. Zinc is great for skin & hair - strengthening your nails and reducing redness. I've been suffering with quite bad breakouts along my chin - nasty red spots that just sit there - and I realised that I needed to change something. I've cut out dairy completely and been taking zinc supplements for about 2 months now and have definitely noticed an improvement in my skin and far less red angry spots.

Melatonin: This is not so much a supplement as I don't take this daily but it's a natural sleep aid. I've found this helpful in times of stress or jetlag as it promotes sleep. I find it tends to make me drowsy but by no means does it knock me out so it's nothing to be wary of. Obviously, I doubt it does much good if you take ten tablets, but one is great for triggering drowsiness.

Vitamin C: Fortunately I eat quite a lot of fruit and veg but I definitely supplement my vitamin C whenever I'm feeling unwell or can feel a cold coming on. I get the chewable versions from Holland & Barrett as they taste like oranges and are really easy to take. 

Multi-Vitamins + Iron: Because of the negative effects of iron tablets, I go for multi vitamins with added iron to help keep my iron count up whilst keeping my general vitamin level up as well. I am prone to being quite anaemic and definitely notice an increase in tiredness when I'm low on iron and as I don't eat much red meat, I need to keep my iron count up! 

Are you a fan of supplements at all? Do you believe them or think they're a bit of a placebo effect?