I love attending training courses. It’s a bit like going back to school but there’s no uniform, you wear as much or little make-up as you like, and you can drink tea while the tutor’s talking (sometimes). Best of all, it’s in my chosen subject. It’s rare that I don’t get something useful out of a training course and my latest one was no exception.
I attended the iiaa live event, with Anna Richardson as the host. There were talks from esteemed professors and doctors around the world but one segment surprisingly caught my attention. Clients had reported how taking supplements from ANP (Advanced Nutrition Programme) had changed their lives. There were people who had rosacea, chronic eczema with severe itchy skin, acne, very oily or very dry skin. They had tried topical creams but it was the supplements which made the difference. Whether it was Accumax (for acne), multi-vitamin/mineral, Skin Omegas or just vitamin A, these people’s lives had changed for the better because their skin problems had improved as a result of the supplements. There was even one story of a lady who, after suffering miscarriages as a result of an internal condition, and being told by the doctor she needed to take pharmaceutical drugs, instead took ANP supplements and conceived. She did this with her 1st child, and then again with her 2nd. Two miracles!
I have had my own experience with good quality supplements. I once had a case of itchy skin on my hairline and my forehead (I have a fringe). Even though I eat fish at least twice a week and I was taking an omega 3:6:9 supplement, I decided to up my omega 3 intake. Taking an omega 3 supplement resolved the problem, itchy skin gone. Taking the correct type of supplement is also important. I've known for a while that I am anaemic and even though I had taken iron tablets in the past I hadn't felt any different. This time I went to iron supplements but in a liquid form. Within weeks, my hair was noticeably thicker and in better condition.
Popping a pill sometimes gets bad press. We’re told that supplements are wasteful, we should rely on a healthy diet, although a healthy diet can be difficult to define as the recommendations do appear to change. What’s more, relying on fruit and vegetables to give us our daily quota of vitamins and anti-oxidants is not easy. The 5-a-day recommendation should really be 8 or even 9-a-day but still, not everyone manages even the 5 fruit/veg a day. Furthermore, they are not as packed full of nutrients as they used to be. It is said that we need to consume something like 40 oranges a day to get the equivalent vitamin C that an orange in the 1950s would have given us. The same goes for tomatoes, although it’s probably best to cook your tomatoes. Our supermarket tomatoes are not known for their flavour nowadays and besides, cooking increases the amount of anti-oxidant lycopene in the tomato.
If you decide you need to take a supplement, either to boost your health, for a specific condition such as skin or for fertility, understand that it does not replace the nutrient rich food in your diet, it supplements your diet. To do this, opt for a good reputable brand.
* Viridian is an ethical company which donates 50% of its profits to children’s and animal charities. Its supplements are vegan and very efficient. A friend who switched his wife’s calcium supplements to Viridian found she was able to take a quarter of one tablet to meet the equivalent of one of her previous brand.
* Patrick Holford endorses his own range of supplements which are sold on-line or through Tesco.
* Advanced Nutrition Programme (or ANP) are sold by Environ stockists or direct from http://www.advancednutritionprogramme.com/ their own website. Here you can buy the Skin Accumax, vitamin A+, Skin Omegas and more.
There are more quality brands of supplements but I only mention here the ones that I use and trust.