Wellness for Innovative Educators - Supplements

As the pandemic hit the United States, I found myself working extremely long hours to help our schools move to emergency remote learning. I also spent an abundant amount of time publishing numerous articles around ways to do remote learning successfully. As a result, I was not finding the time to exercise. I was eating convenient (often unhealthy) food. I was not connecting socially. After a few months of this, I realized I needed to reset, take time for myself, and start living a healthier life.

About a year into my journey I reached my goal: I lost the COVID 19. In other words, I lost 19 pounds as well as reduced body fat, my BMI, and increased muscle.

One way I found the time to do that was by taking a break from writing in my blog and focusing my attention on studying wellness. We know wellness is important for students. It's also important for the adults who care for them. I've learned a lot over the past year.

Now that I'm back, I'm excited to share what I've learned.

Here's how I did this:

• I discovered the keys to longevity: Eat a healthy diet, exercise, get enough sleep, avoid tobacco, manage stress, stimulate your brain, and nurture a healthy social circle.  
• I figured out which key opens these doors. These were: supplements, diet, exercise, health trackers, books, podcasts, and a few gadgets. 

In this next series of blog posts, I'll summarize what I learned. In this post we focus on supplements.

Supplements

I always hated the idea of supplements. Wouldn't a healthy lifestyle and diet give me what I need? And, if not, how would I find what is right for me? What I found is it takes a lot of research, finding a doctor who knows about integrative and functional medicine, and knowing what areas you want to address. My areas of focus are as follows:

Immunity

Since there was a pandemic, I wanted to know what I could take to boost my immunity. I wanted to take what would keep me from getting the Corona Virus and/or help me fight it off should I become sick.

• Turmeric Quercitin Bromelin $21.89
• NMN / Resveratrol $29.68
• Naturewise Vitamin D3 $14.99

Bone, joint, muscle health

Like many people of a certain age, I suffer from some of the "itis." You know the "itis." Arthritis, bursitis, etc. This is caused, among other things, by inflamation. Since I was interested in enhancing my exercise routine, it was important I found some natural supplements to address this.

• Move Free - Glucosamine Chondroitin $20.76
• Collagen Powder $34.39
• Naturewise Vitamin D3 $14.99

Diet / digestion

A healthy diet means healthy digestion. There are supplements that can support digestion.

• Dr. Formulated Probiotics for women $27.94
• Garden of Life Probiotics for men $29.94
• Collagen Powder $34.39

Hair, skin, nails

Having beautiful hair, skin, and nails is a part of any good wellness program. There are supplements that can improve how you look on the outside.

• Collagen Powder $34.39

Antihistamines

I suffer from allergies and was taking a few traditional medications for that such as Claritin and Benadryl. I learned that taken often (I was taking them daily) there could be long-term negative effects. I stopped taking them and found a healthier, natural alternative.

• Turmeric Quercitin Bromelin $21.89

Supplements that aligned to my priorities and personal needs

You can check out the table below to see the six supplements that I take aligned to my areas of focus. Do NOT take these blindly. Get a physical. Go to a doctor. Make sure what you take is right for you and your needs as verified by your doctor. What I share below are the best supplements for me based on advice from experts in the field. They also have the stamp of approval from my integrative/functional medicine doctor who is based in New York City and also happens to take my insurance.

Supplement	Immunity	Joints, muscles, bones, ligaments	Hair, skin, nails	Anti-aging, mental performance	Antihistamine / allergies	Digestive Health
Turmeric Quercitin Bromelin $21.89	X	X			X
NMN / Resveratrol $29.68	X			X
Naturewise Vitamin D3 $14.99	X	X
Move Free - Glucosamine Chondroitin $20.76		X
Collagen Powder $34.39		X	X			X
Dr. Formulated Probiotics for women $27.94 Garden of Life Probiotics for men $29.94	X					X

I'm Back! Wellness Ideas for Innovative Educators

Hello innovative educators. I've missed you, but I'm back with a lot of ideas to help you focus on you and your wellness to start this school year off right! During the pandemic, I took the time to reset and take a look at my own wellness. I focused on areas such as diet, exercise, supplements, and social health.

I didn’t want to do this alone. So a few friends and I got together with a simple goal: Losing the COVID 19. We called ourselves the “COVID Chicks." In addition to losing weight, we wanted to increase muscle, lose fat, feel great, streghthen relationships, and live a long and healthy life. Over the course of about a year, mission accomplished! 

How we did it and how you can too 

We focused on the keys to longevity, which are obvious when you think about it: 

Eat a healthy diet, exercise, get enough sleep, avoid tobacco, manage stress, stimulate your brain, and nurture a healthy social circle.  

You may be thinking that sounds good, but how can you focus on all these areas? One lesson I learned was that it is great if you can do more than one of the items above at a time. For example, exercise and/or eat healthy with your social circle. Or listen to a podcast while exercising.

I also learned that there are a number of supports to look into when pursuing a long healthspan. I asked myself questions about the following: 

Supplements

What supplements will support my immunity and health? This post on supplements answers this question.

Exercise

What equipment do I need and what type of exercises should I be doing for a stronger healthier body?

Diet

What should I be eating for a life-long diet that will support my health?

Health trackers and gadgets

What’s the best way to track health data like activity, sleep, mobility, weight, body fat? 

Books and podcasts

What are the best books and podcasts to read and listen to support my health and fitness?

So, what are the answers?

Read my next series of blog posts where I will outline what I focused on in each of these areas.