Down with Dew, Up with Supplements

Once again, I have kicked my caffeine addiction. We have stopped buying Mountain Dew completely, opting for Jones root beer made with pure cane sugar. It's also a small start to eliminating high fructose corn syrup from our diets. Now that the weather has warmed up, lemonade and iced tea will again be our drinks of choice. Two weeks ago, I also started taking more daily supplements. Now every morning I take 2 OneSource multivitamins for women and one each of 5-HTP, Triple Magnesium complex, Ubiquinol, and DL-Phenylalanine, all washed down with a chocolate Ensure. The last 3 supplements are new, along with the fact that I realized I was supposed to take 2 multivitamins daily instead of just 1. ALWAYS read the label! Swanson Vitamins website (where I ordered mine) says this about the new supplements: Triple Magnesium complex - Features magnesium oxide, citrate, and aspartate for maximum bioavailability. The best supplemental source of magnesium for a strong, healthy body. One of the most important minerals in the diet, magnesium is essential for strong muscles and bones, cardiovascular health, and nervous system function. Our Triple Magnesium Complex provides a full day's supply of this vital mineral from three distinct sources to promote optimum bioavailability. Ubiquinol - CoQ10 finally comes of age--with new Ubiquinol! You know all about the heart-healthy benefits of the vitamin-like nutrient CoQ10, also known as ubiquinone, but did you know that our body has to break this nutrient down to create a useable molecule called ubiquinol? In fact, over 90% of the CoQ10 stored in the body is in the form of ubiquinol. Kaneka Nutrients, the world's leading manufacturer of pharmaceutical-quality, bio-identical CoQ10, recognized this, and after a decade of research and development, they created the first stabilized, bio-identical supplemental form of Ubiquinol. Produced from 100% natural CoQ10 through a biological fermentation process, Kaneka's Ubiquinol achieves higher elevations of circulating CoQ10 in the bloodstream with just a fraction of the dose required when using a regular CoQ10 supplement. This is especially beneficial for individuals over 50 years of age and those who have substantially lower CoQ10 levels. We proudly welcome Kaneka's 100% Pure & Natural Ubiquinol to our family of Swanson CoQ10 supplements. DL-Phenylalanine (DLPA) - Get a nutritional boost for mobility and mental health with DL-Phenylalanine (DLPA)! A great source of amino acid precursors for neurotransmitters that help regulate mood and other mental functions, DL-Phenylalanine also provides valuable support for joint flexibility. All of these supplements are recommended for fibromyalgia patients in the book Prescription for Nutritional Healing. I decided to take the DLPA because this book recommends it for pain control. Since I've been taking these new supplements, I've felt better overall. My daily pain level has decreased, while my energy level has increased. I've had only 1 rough night so far, but I also got a bottle of L-Tryptophan to take in those cases. I took some melatonin the next night and managed to get back to a good night's sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to start the Ultimate Probiotic Formula, also from Swanson. I imagine that there may be a purge, so I wanted to wait until I felt better to start taking this on a weekend. I'll update in a couple of weeks. Here's to health!