Let me start this whole thing out with a couple of caveats: I am not and expert or a doctor (despite my last name), I am aware that ideally we would all eat enough whole and clean foods that we wouldn’t need vitamins or supplements, and I know that your mileage may vary–what I choose may be different than what you choose or don’t choose. That’s fantastic. Rock on with your bad self and hear me cheering for you from here!

All that being said, I need to meet the people on that planet that the topic of vitamins and supplements doesn’t overwhelm because I am riding the struggle bus here. Do I need a probiotic? Is a multi vitamin enough? How many Bs can a girl take and should it be methylated? Is the Costco collagen ok? Do any of these supplements interact negatively with sun or alcohol (because I’m not giving up beer poolside yet) or with other supplements? Am I doing enough?

I don’t have the answers to all those questions, but I can tell you this: everybody and every body is different. My deficiencies are different than yours. One of us may be lucky enough to not brain fog, so Ashwagandha may not be necessary. It is, however, the first thing I started researching, so there’s that. I also don’t think I need a probiotic right now, but I know that you may swear by yours. Girl, take it. I’ll just be over here not taking one, at least not right now.

Recently, I asked my friends on social media about what they take as far as supplements go and I got hundreds of answers. I could not even begin to research all of the things people in my life take and I wouldn’t dare attempt to tell you what would work for you. But I’ve settled on an initial routine for myself that I’ll share here with you and I’m sure we’ll be revisiting it as I learn more and see (or don’t see) any benefits because, you know, it’s my blog and I’m a classic over-sharer. For now, I’m listing what I’ve landed on and why.

Vitamin C can help support my immune system

Vitamin D3 can help my support mood and energy

Magnesium can help with some sleep

Methylated B12 can help with brain fog and the production of red blood cells (and I learned about methylated B12 from Cam and Amelia on my favorite midlife podcast)

Ashwagandha is an adaptogen that can help with calming my brain, reducing inflammation, and overall stress (my new poetic midlife mentor, Gina, helped me with this one

Collagen Peptides can help my skin and hair (my hair is an entirely other blog post that will probably never happen)

That’s it so far. You’ll notice I haven’t listed a multi vitamin or probiotic, which lots of my friends take. I’m not against either of those, but I just don’t know if I necessarily need them right now. I’m happy to tell you where I got all these from if you’d like, just email me. I did a lot of research on third-party testing and cleaner supplements, but nobody is paying me or sending me free supplements for my opinion so I don’t have any skin in the game, per se. Once again, this is my jam, not yours, and I get that. But I would love to know if you take any of these and if you had any results.