What do you take to help you/your family stay healthy....

[newg]

The thread on flu shots got me thinking..........what does everyone do (if anything at all) to try and stay healthy (supplement wise)?

I take a prenatal multivitamin and folic acid everyday.....I will add vit. C and zinc during cold and flu season to try and help keep germs at bay........
I try to get DH to take a men's multivitamin, but he's horrible about taking pills.
DD1 takes a flinstone vitamin every day.

I know we're doing the bare minimum......but I'm not sure what else to add, safely.......especially with me BF DD2, and DD1 only being 2.5yrs. old.

So what does your family do?

[Tondi G]

I take a multi vitamin, Omega 3's, vit D, and probiotics daily

My Dh takes the same

my DS's take gummy multi's, vit C and echinecea (2 weeks on, 2 weeks off). Oh and sunny gummies (vit D)

If anyone sounds like they might be coming down with something or we were hanging out with someone who ends up sick, we all take Elderberry Syrup (Natures Way brand)

my boys also love those Emergen-C packets so if anyone is feeling sniffly or itchy throat we allow the boys to drink one packet in a glass of water.

My mom makes homemade kefir and my boys love kefir smoothies, good probiotics. Banana, strawberry, blueberry, and kefir... if the bananas aren't super sweet we add a little agave syrup to it.

My mom also makes her own Kombucha tea and the boys have a little in a glass of juice at least once a week.

[elephantmeg]

multivitamin and vt D. It's working really well. Started it last spring and we've been barely sick since! (And this with 2 kids in full time daycare)

[lovebebes]

We all take probiotics, fish oil/cod liver oil, i take a prenatal and both dds take a liquid multivitamin, oh and vitamin D. We also do green smoothies with spinach/kale and spirulina.
Last time I made the green smoothie dds were actually fighting over it:jammin: (we just recently started and the first few times i gave it to them they made faces).

[MommyAllison]

Me - prenatal, add echinacea & vit C when I feel like I'm coming down with something

DH - multivitamin, vit C, vit D daily. Adds echinacea/goldenseal combo, EmergenC & Cold Eeze when feeling sick.

Kids - multivitamin daily. Alternating days: vit D, vit C/zinc/ech combo, Omega 3. When sick: Elderberry syrup, extra vit C/zinc/ech combo, Source Naturals Wellness Herbal Kids drops, probiotics (not all of these - I pick and choose depending on type of illness)

I need to be better about taking Omega 3 and vit D daily. I'm laziest about vitamins for myself. :)

[twowhat?]

Everyone in our family takes a daily multivitamin and the girls get an additional vitamin D gummy (to get their AAP-recommended 800 IU). We don't use sunscreen unless we will be swimming or out in the sun for hours. I need to start taking calcium and vit D, and will be encouraging hubby to take vit D as well.

But most of all, we eat as healthy as we can. We eat fish at least twice a week and often more. Veggies are served before meats (so the girls eat their broccoli first, then we give them chicken or fish), and a couple times a week we eat vegetarian (usually tofu, but sometimes we do whole wheat pasta or indian-spiced lentils or chickpeas). IMO, eating healty is the best thing you can do.

[m448]

Hubby and I do some targetted supplements but for immune health everyone in our family takes vitamin d3, a probiotic and we superdose on vitamin C and zinc 3 times a day the minute we get any type of sniffles.

I also keep homemade chicken bone broth that I make by simmering the carcasses of storebought rotisserie chickens. I just keep the bones in the freezer and when I get 2-3 I dump them with a splash of cider vinegar in a pot of water and let that go for 8-12 hours then strain. I freeze it and I reheat with veggies & ginger/garlic plus noodles for a nourishing meal while ill. We also hold back on dairy with any kind of respiratory stuff to reduce mucous buildup and we also hold back on sugar even more. Thyme tea is great for clearing out respiratory gunk and it's a great immune boosting tea.

[fumofu]

I'm taking a prenatal vitamin with DHA, since I'm breastfeeding DS, who takes his Tri-Vi-Sol (vit A, C, D) drops. DH takes his multivitamin.

You ladies who are taking prenatal vitamin, are you taking it because you're TTC/pregnant /nursing? Or you just want a higher concentration of vitamin dosage?

[brgnmom]

I take a prenatal vitamin w/ DHA supplement. I'm far along in my 3rd trimester with DC2 and plan on still taking this prenatal vitamin w/ DHA supplement postpartum while I'm nursing.

my DH and son take a daily multivitamin, and my DS also takes an omega3 gummy supp. my DH and I take fiber tablets.

I also make sure that my son washes his hands well w/ warm water & soap after preschool, and he's been in great health overall. No flu shots, and he has been healthy. I also make him chicken soup or miso soup at home, if he complains about his throat ever or if I notice any signs of congestion or symptoms of a potential cold... and the soups help him a lot.

[luckytwenty]

I take prenates and calcium supplements (my bone density isn't great for a 36 year old, and pregnancy hasn't helped). DH and the kids take multis.

We eat a lot of fresh produce, which is naturally high in vitamins, and try to eat more good fats than bad fats. We get a lot of sunshine and exercise, too. (OK, for me, I am on mod. bedrest right now, but normally, I'm a runner, and DH plays ball with the kids almost every day and we also just have them run around a lot outside.) We're not overweight (well...I won't be hopefully once I have the baby and have a few months of running and nursing back in my system!!) and we're pretty good about hand washing. And we're up on all our shots.

I do think living in Florida helps with staying healthy. I remember being sick a lot more often when I lived up north. I also mainly exercised in a gym and not outside then, though, and I swear gyms are little petri dishes of germs!!!

[luckytwenty]

You ladies who are taking prenatal vitamin, are you taking it because you're TTC/pregnant /nursing? Or you just want a higher concentration of vitamin dosage?

I am pregnant but I might continue with prenates after nursing (I'm getting my tubes tied next week so won't be TTC.) I mentioned to my non-TTC, non-married coworker that since I got pregnant and began with prenates, I hadn't gotten a single cold. She started taking prenates as well and hasn't been sick MY entire pregnancy.

[hillview]

Eat as healthy as we can. Wash hands. Get the flu shot. That is about it.
/hillary

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Eat as healthy as we can. Wash hands. Get the flu shot. That is about it.
/hillary

:yeahthat:

though i must admit, i don't eat healthy at all when pregnant, because the mere smell of most vegetables makes me sick, plus cooking smells tend to set me off. though i take flintstones vitamins + the bear gummies that have calcium/vitamin D. and i do love Emergen-C as well, and sometimes take those cranberry pills to avoid UTIs which are common in pregnancy. oh and lots of yogurt (probiotics).

i also think exercise is one of the best ways to keep healthy & remove stress, as stress tends to weaken immune system. in my first pgncy i did pilates and then later prenatal yoga. unfortunately though it's a major challenge to find the time (& energy) to exercise once u have kids.

[PAfirsttimemom]

Eat as healthy as we can. Wash hands. Get the flu shot. That is about it.
/hillary

:yeahthat:

[brittone2]

Eat healthy and keep sugar/crappy food to a minimum (not easy this time of the year through Christmas!). Hand washing.

We all take D3. I take a pretty substantial dose (tested w/ low levels even after supplementing for almost 2 years with 2000iu/day) as does DH. My kids take Rainbow Light ones.

Probiotics off and on. Especially if there is a lot of GI stuff floating around or we've been around someone who recently had a GI related thing.

Carlson's cod liver oil here and there.

Emergen C as needed. Sometimes Elderberry syrup but not a regular thing.

That's about it. I'm pretty consistent w/ the D3 for all of us, especially this time of the year.

[1964pandora]

Coromega now makes a Omega-3 fish oil with Vitamin D, so we all take that daily. I take two and the kids take one.

Vitamin C chewables in the form of ascorbic acid for all of us. ETA: scratch that. Vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbate.

I agree with a lot of the other suggestions, but haven't implemented them. We eat plain yogurt with sugar free jam for probiotics, but I would like to make kefir and haven't. I would like to get some Elderberry syrup. I am actively working on changing our diet to a traditional diet along the lines described in the "Nourishing Traditions" book.

The biggest thing is we try to consume as little sugar or highly processed grains as humanly possible!

ETA: Oh, and good handwashing several times a day if we're out and about.

[Tanya]

I've been using a neti pot.

I'm 35.5 weeks pregnant with twins and my youngest just started preschool in August. We were hoping that she'd be somewhat "immune" to all the preschool germs since she has an older sister, but she's been catching a few colds.
When my oldest started preschool, my youngest was born and that was our sickest fall ever. My oldest had never had an ear infection and ended up with double ones, I had my first sinus infection, dh got an ear infection and of course the baby had tons of ear infections. We just had horrible colds that fall. Once we got past that cold/flu season, we all returned to being fairly healthy.

So, the little one has had a few colds since school started. The first couple weren't too bad, but this last one was hard. Meanwhile, I've been using the neti pot and surprisingly, I haven't caught any of these last few colds. Dh caught one of them and our oldest caught the current one. Trust me, I'm run down and miserable, so I thought I'd surely add a cold onto my list of "I can't take even one more thing".
I take prenatals (been on them since 1999) and extra folic acid. I was eating fairly well until recently when my appetite disappeared and I get full instantly.

We/I have the kids wash their hands when they get home from school or somewhere else and before eating, etc. We've been much stricter about all that since we'll soon have newborn twins during cold/flu season.

Dh takes a daily multi vitamin. The kids have multi vitamins, probiotics, and Omega 3's, but I don't give them regularly.
The dog gets her supplements regularly though. ha ha.

[MommyAllison]

You ladies who are taking prenatal vitamin, are you taking it because you're TTC/pregnant /nursing?

Yes. :) I am still nursing a bit, but am planning to be on prenatals until I either hit menopause (a long time away still) or we implement some sort of permanent birth control. My prenatals are OTC and not expensive, and I've heard that it's fine to be on them throughout your childbearing years, even if you aren't TTC/pregnant/nursing. It's just as easy as a multivitamin for me, and gives me peace of mind in case we end up pregnant.

[twowhat?]

:yeahthat:

unfortunately though it's a major challenge to find the time (& energy) to exercise once u have kids.

I don't know about others, but my kids count as exercise:) At least, they ought to considering how physically exhausted I am at the end of the day.

[ellies mom]

I give the girls gummy vitamins when I remember but other than that not much. My daughters are rarely sick. My husband's illnesses are usually from the guy at work who's twins are always sick (I wish he would stop using my husband's keyboard.)

I chalk up my children's strong immune systems to our messy house and letting them play on the floor at starbucks and a very loose "5 second rule".

[baymom]

Wow, you ladies are good! DC and I only sporadically remember to take a multivitamin, and DH never does. The kids get annual flu shots and while DH and I did last year, we have no plans to do so this year. All I can say for our family is that we are obsessive hand washers and have a healthy diet with very little processed food.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I don't know about others, but my kids count as exercise:) At least, they ought to considering how physically exhausted I am at the end of the day.

well with taking care of my son (plus dealing with all the other household stuff) i definitely get physically exhausted all right, but it's totally not the same thing as "real" exercise (at least for me! :)). before i had kids, doing cardio workouts like going running for a few miles would help me so much bc they would relieve so much stress, plus if i did it regularly enough i would feel like i had MORE energy at the end of the day vs less (kinda counterintuitive, but it was true for me). often times after running i'd feel so refreshed and less stressed out. i'd get sick far less often and would sleep better at night. chasing after a baby all day, while exhausting, does not really have that same effects, at least for me. i'm sure it burns calories and all, but in no way do i feel the same physical benefits i do from spending an hour at the gym or going for a jog. needless to say, i'm looking forward to in a few years when i'll be able to take my babies out jogging or when they'll be old enough to leave at the gym daycare for a bit :)

[twowhat?]

well with taking care of my son (plus dealing with all the other household stuff) i definitely get physically exhausted all right, but it's totally not the same thing as "real" exercise (at least for me! :)). before i had kids, doing cardio workouts like going running for a few miles would help me so much bc they would relieve so much stress, plus if i did it regularly enough i would feel like i had MORE energy at the end of the day vs less (kinda counterintuitive, but it was true for me). often times after running i'd feel so refreshed and less stressed out. i'd get sick far less often and would sleep better at night. chasing after a baby all day, while exhausting, does not really have that same effects, at least for me. i'm sure it burns calories and all, but in no way do i feel the same physical benefits i do from spending an hour at the gym or going for a jog. needless to say, i'm looking forward to in a few years when i'll be able to take my babies out jogging or when they'll be old enough to leave at the gym daycare for a bit :)

I know, I totally agree. I was looking for an excuse for me never hitting the gym since the girls were born. I'm also looking forward to when the girls are old enough for me to get proper work-outs again. I say this ("I'm looking forward to when the girls are old enough to _____") for a LOT of things!

[JoyNChrist]

DH, DS1, and I all take a multivitamin (mine is a prenatal, DH's in a men's formula from GNC, and DS1's is Flinstone's), probiotic, and Omega-3 (DS1's are gummy versions).

I take extra iron because I have pretty severe anemia.

We had flu shots this year (first time ever) because of the babies. We also have a habit of washing our hands every time we come inside (we have a mudroom off the garage door with a sink, which makes it easy).

We're working on making our diet healthier (something we haven't been great about).

[lhafer]

My 4 year old takes a multivitamin most days.

But I have to say the one thing that has helped her keep healthy and virtually allergy-less are Danactiva Immunity Smoothies!!! I SWEAR by these! She gets 1-2 EVERY morning. They are like her morning coffee!

She started having ear infections at 4 months old and ended up with tubes at 1 year old. She also had severe seasonal allergies and was on Zyrtec starting at 4 months. When I found the smoothies I figured it couldn't hurt to give them a try. She was probably 2.5 years old then. Since starting it, she has been sick only a handful of times (with being in full time daycare since 3 months old). When other kids were getting sick, she wasn't. She stopped getting ear infections. She stopped needing the allergy medicine.

[geochick]

Exercise. When I don't exercise, I get lots and lots of colds. When I do, I NEVER get sick (knock on wood).

[newg]

for those that do probiotics and the extra supplements (beyond a multi.)........how old are your kids?
Does your ped. know about the extra supplements?


For those that do the extra vitamin D, Omegas and such.........do you just buy them at the store (walmart, target,......) in the vitamin section?

Is it safe for me, as a BF mamma, to go beyond the prenatal vitamin?