With supplements there are two points of views I hear often; either people think they are useless, it just creates fancy pee and is some sort of scam. Or people believe in supplements, and have a whole cabinet filled with them even if they hardly ever remember to take their multivitamin for women’s/men’s health each morning.

So what is the deal with supplements? Should everyone be using them? Should we only take them if recommended by a doctor? 

I personally have not been recommended by my doctor to take any supplements, my levels are healthy, and I do have a small regiment of what I take. How did I know what I needed? I listened to my body, I noticed how I felt, and I was okay with sitting with it so I could figure out what was going on. I listened to those moments where hips, knees, my mood felt odd. I would notice a trend with sounds that my knees or shoulders would make that don’t show up on an X-RAY, there’s no medical term to exactly explain some of the things going on with my body. But this doesn’t mean the discomfort, pain, dis-ease, doesn’t exist.

On a daily basis I take a vegan collagen supplement. I have a rather “full-time” yoga-instructing schedule, on top of my personal regular practice, workouts, and strains I put my body through. I felt a difference, could hear a difference in my knee and shoulder and my hips felt like I rubbed some sweet coconut oil in there. It feels like a tender, loving coating that has been added inside of my being. May be that sounds like total hippy dippy B.S to some people. It is however how I feel, and when I run out of my supplement before my order comes in, I can hear cracks, I can feel stiffness, I can feel as if I don’t want to be in my body because of the discomfort.

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What is collagen? What is vegan collagen?

Collagen is the main structural protein found in skin and other connective tissue. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies, especially type 1 collagen. It’s found in muscles, bones, skin, blood vessels, digestive system and tendons. It’s what helps give our skin strength and elasticity, along with replacing dead skin cells. When it comes to our joints and tendons, in simplest terms, it’s the “glue” that helps hold the body together. With time, aging, we naturally loss collagen.

A few bullet point benefits of collagen:

1. Reduces joint pains and degeneration
2. Beauty health; improves hair, skin, teeth, and nails. Reduces cellulite and stretch marks.
3. Helps heal leaky gut
4. Boosts metabolism, muscle mass, and energy output
5. Improves liver health
6. Protects cardiovascular health

I think most people are familiar with collagen due to the popularity of collagen powder, bone broth, and diets like the Paleo diet. So I would like to focus now on what vegan collagen is. Most vegan collagen supplements have Vitamin C (sourced from plants; broccoli, oranges, red pepper and kale just a few examples) zinc (cashews, pumpkin seeds, cacao), amino acids, anthocyanin.flavonoid (most berries), copper and other trace minerals (kale , sesame seeds, shiitake mushrooms), Vitamin A (carrots, kale, dried apricots). These are all plant based sources and again this is roughly what would be in most vegan collagen supplement forms, each company will have its own special offerings but this is at the base of what creates a vegan collagen combination.

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Supplements I believe can be healing, it can be a medicine, an aid, when diet, moving, rest, and doctors are not helping. Depending on the brand, some supplements are made of herbs, food, they may have been produced into a product but they have earth binding ingredients. This is what I look for in a supplement. I want it to not be foreign chemicals for my body, instead can it be another form of nourishment, self care, and can I care about supplementation like I care about feeding my hunger? Absolutely.

There are some specialists who do not support supplementation, and all I can say is please consider how you speak to those of us who have found relief through supplements feel when you talk about us as if we are incomplete. If I’m not feeling well, I don’t need someone to make me feel incomplete on top of it.

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Another supplement I take is Vitamin B12 patches. I do not have lower B12 levels than most people (believe it or not, not all vegans have B12 deficiencies) I do however notice at times I go through a heavy depression period, for reasons that I cannot thread together. It ends up creating some fatigue and lack of clarity in my mind. As if I’m seeing through a blurry window into my brain. My diet hasn’t gone down, my life is going well, my self-care is steady but I’m simply sinking in the blues. That’s when I take my Vitamin B12 patches, and this isn’t something I do daily. I see this as kind of my “rescue” remedy. I’ll share that I may be doing this two or three times out of the entire year. I think this is a healthy balance for this supplement and myself because supplements are medicine too.

What is B12?

B12 to try to simplify the definition, is a microorganism that creates a bacteria that usually carries a disease or fermentation. This is something that is too small for the naked eye to see. There is a misperception that animals and plants MAKE B12, which they do not. It is something made by the Earth, it is a natural living organism.

Bacteria such as B12 grow in the guts of animals, which is why their bodies and products can be a source of this vitamin. Our herbivore primate cousins get all they need ingesting bugs, dirt, and feces, and we may once have gotten all we needed by drinking out of mountain streams or well water. But now we chlorinate our water supply to kill off any bugs and diseases. Overtime, this bacterium has been missing from our foods as we have refined our farms, food methods, productions and so forth.

Do yogurts, meats have B12 oh absolutely because they have to have bacteria to even exist haha.

Several resources including Nutrition Facts, recommends at least 2,500 mcg (µg) cyanocobalamin once each week.

For many years I was taking a liquid dropper B12 that was fabulous but I switched over to these patches mostly because of convenience and I have been feeling a difference.

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Supplementation is a form of medicine, it doesn’t have to be a daily routine because may be our bodies do not need it that often. Perfect example is how B12 is often a once a week care practice. Please listen tenderly, try not to see every little sensation as an ailment. It could just need a little tweaking of our diet, supplementation, or rest. Always absolutely check-in with your primary care doctor. Be curious about the food, drinks, water, herbs and other forms of medicine you are purchasing. Not all countries have the same regulations, even with supplements! Feel free to look up ingredients on your phone if you aren’t sure.

I hope this sheds some light on some big topics. Thank you for taking the time to stop by my site. Wishing you all a delicious day! Many thanks, much love ❤ and raw power 😉

x Jess