Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and am just sharing what has been beneficial to me. Your experiences may vary. Be sure to consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet or health regimen.

Gut health is a buzz word we see everywhere these days. But for some of us, a healthy gut is both more important and harder to achieve because of various health issues. Among other issues, I have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and celiac disease. Our daughter also has celiac disease.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease with no known cure. Eating a gluten free diet eliminates further damage to the body, but many people, myself included, have found that there are associated issues that a gluten free diet doesn’t take care of. I’ve seen a lot of progress in my symptoms, but even after a couple years of a strict gluten free diet I still wasn’t feeling great. Sunshine was also still having problems, so I did some research to figure out what else we could do.

What I’ve done to improve my health

In the years since then, I’ve tried a variety of elimination diets (GAPS was most successful for Sunshine and I) and supplements. I’m currently eating a low carb (almost keto, but I can’t quite manage it yet) diet, and my body is much happier. I’ve known for years that my body doesn’t digest starches and carbs very well, due to the damage done to my intestines. But anytime I tried eating low carb I’d turn into a hangry monster and eat all the carbs. The higher fat in the keto diet has been key to staying low carb without turning into that hangry monster.

While it’s difficult for me to do, I’ve found that keeping a consistent sleep schedule helps me feel better. I’ve also found that regular moderate exercise is beneficial, as is getting outside in the sunshine and fresh air. Which is part of why we do so much hiking.

Because celiac disease affects the intestines and their ability to properly absorb nutrients, it’s very easy to become deficient in a variety of nutrients. I know some people don’t think supplements work, but for other people they are a necessity. Supplementation is important to compensate for nutrient deficiencies and malabsorption. Over the years I’ve tried a variety of whole food vitamins, supplements, multivitamins, and so on.

Perfect Supplements

Low vitamin D levels are common in people with celiac disease (and my blood work has shown this), and even many people without celiac disease. Because of my low vitamin D levels, I supplement daily with Vitamin D3 (3/2020 edited to add: it’s been discontinued, but I’ll update when they stock the new version) from Perfect Supplements. The quality and price are fantastic, and one bottle lasts a long time. Perfect Supplements carries a variety of high quality, nutrient-dense supplements, and they offer a 60 day money-back guarantee on Perfect Supplement brand products.

I also use Perfect Hydrolyzed Collagen Protein, Perfect Desiccated Liver, and Perfect Bone Broth, though not always on a daily basis. And I just noticed they now carry MCT oil, which I do use on a daily basis, so I’ll be adding some of that to my next order. I also used to order Prescript-Assist Probiotics from Perfect Supplements and found it to be an effective, high quality probiotic.

Plexus

More recently, and by that I mean more than a year ago, I started using some of the supplements from Plexus. I started with Slim, BioCleanse, and ProBio5 (those three products together are also known as Triplex).

ProBio5 is a combination of probiotics and enzymes and helps promote a healthy digestive system. Once I started taking ProBio5 I stopped taking the Prescript-Assist Probiotic, since I think ProBio5 is more effective. BioCleanse helps clean out the harmful microbes in the digestion system so that the probiotics and probiotics can do their job. Slim contains prebiotics that are good for the gut, it activates the microbiome, improves gut health, and promotes weight loss.

I started taking Triplex in hopes of losing weight, but the first thing I noticed was that I didn’t turn into an ogre leading up to that time of the month. It also wasn’t nearly as painful as usual. Before starting Triplex, I spent two days every month in massive amounts of pain and unable to do much of anything. And like I mentioned, I was an ogre to everyone around me in the days leading up to it.

In the months since starting Triplex, my PMS symptoms have continued to improve, as have the cramping, pain, and bloating that previously accompanied my period. PCOS has been problematic in many ways throughout my life, PMS being one of them, and it’s been so nice to finally see some improvements to my symptoms.

I’ve also added other supplements. XFactor Plus is a multivitamin that supports healthy function of the body and VitalBiome contains 8 different probiotic strains and supports the gut microbiome. My poor gut needs all the help it can get 🙂

Have they worked?

These supplements have helped me get the nutrients I’ve been deficient in, re-populated my gut with healthy bacteria, helped me feel better overall, and have more energy. Energy I need for keeping up with the kiddos and for our adventures. There’s not much worse than feeling too crummy and tired to take them out on the day’s planned outing.

Plexus has a variety of supplements for healthy guts, weight loss, and healthy skin. Interested in trying any of them? Plexus offers a 60-day money back guarantee if they don’t work for you. I’m picky about what I’ll recommend to others, but I believe in Plexus’ products and the company, which is why I signed on to be an ambassador. Full disclosure here 🙂

Go here to order, or send me an email at jen (at) ouradventuringfamily.com if you have any questions. I’d love to help you!