Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:04]
A
You are listening to the Navigating Adult ADHD Podcast with your ADHD coach and expert, Xena. Hello, my friend. Welcome back. We are Navigating Adult ADHD again today. And I am so happy to be here with you, my friend. So this is a question I get asked quite a lot, which is, what are the supplements that I take for adhd? D so I thought, let's do it. Let's answer that question. Today I'm going to talk about the supplements that I take, why I take them, what I take, all the things, all right? Especially as it relates to the science and the research, because you guys know I love that shit. I'm a nerd when it comes to something I enjoy, I'm a total nerd about it. So the supplement aisle of the supermarket, the store, it can be a little bit intimidating because every bottle is screaming at you. You know, brain focus, clarity, energy. And it's kind of like you're one capsule, one pill away from a completely different life. But what actually works? What is just really expensive pee, let's be honest. And which ones make a difference for those of us who have adhd? Okay? So let's get really honest and straight to the point. I do want to say this. Supplements are not a magic bullet. They are a tool that you can have in your ADHD toolbox. Okay? So today, like I said, we're gonna do the simple science backed stuff and I'm gonna share with you what I personally take and why. So you guys know I love a word picture. So let me paint a picture for you. Our sparkly ADHD brains, we know that they run on a slightly different operating system. So if you were to think of your neurotransmitters as little courier pigeons delivering dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin, right? The good, good chemicals that those of us with ADHD have got a little less of. But if you were to think of those neurotransmitters, right, as little curry pigeons delivering those, the dopamine around the brain, when the nutrients are low, the pigeons get tired, they get distracted. Occasionally they wander off and start eating snacks. Okay, so a couple of key points here. We know those of us with adhd, we have challenges with dopamine regulation. Basically, we have less dopamine being produced in our brain. Dopamine plays a key role in things like focus and motivation. There are certain nutrients that can help build or activate neurotransmitters like dopamine. Okay? And research also shows certain dietary patterns can really help this as well. So if we're eating lots of fruits and vegg, particularly like, eating a lot of variety, eating seafood, and that's because it's actually high in Omega 3, which is the first supplement I'm going to talk about. So seafood, but also eating, like, polyunsaturated fats. So that's like healthy fats, right? Like, you think your. Your avocados, your olive oils that like the good fats and minerals as well, like zinc and magnesium. So all of those, the research shows that those sorts of things, they are linked to reduced ADHD symptoms. Okay? So that does not mean, my friend, that kale cures adhd. Okay? Remember, there was like a massive, like, kale fad, and it was like, meant to. I don't know if I can be the miracle drug. Basically, what this means is that nutrients help our brains to function better. Okay? Kale or no kale. So basically, it helps the rest of our ADHD tools to work more smoothly. So I'm going to start with the five supplements I take every day, and I'm going to also dive into a little bit of what the research says. Okay, so the first one, as I said, Omega 3 fish oils, specifically something that is high in EPA and DHA, okay. This is a heavy hitter for those of us with adhd. Both the EPA and the dha, they support brain cell communication. Okay. They help our little cheerio pigeons in our brain to communic. But also there are sort of a lot of, gosh, what's the word I want to say? Studies. I couldn't find the word for study, but we found it. Here we are. So there are a lot of studies that show how having omega 3 fish oils. Right. Again, high in the EPA and the DHA can improve attention, emotional regulation, and impulsivity. Okay. If you were to think of it like changing your brain's oil, right, Just like you would change the oil in your car, things run more smoothly, a little less grindy. Okay. So higher EPA formulas specifically seem to have more benefit for attention and for people with ADHD. So you want to look for a high EPA number. I personally aim for around 1,000 milligrams of the EPA per day, which means based on what I'm currently taking, I take two capsules a day. Okay. Also, you want to note that this takes roughly 6 to 12 weeks to notice an effect. I definitely agree with that. When I started taking it, I was like, why can't I feel it? Why isn't it doing anything? You've got to build it up. In your system. Okay, I know for those of us who are not patient, we're like, oh come on, I get it. So for me, I take my omega 3 fish oils, I take them in the morning with my breakfast, as I said, aiming for around 1,000 milligrams of EPA. So the second supplement is magnesium glycinate. Now there is a shit ton of different magnesium that you can get out there and lots of rubbish. Okay, so specifically magnesium glycinate. This is often referred to as the calming mineral. So it does support nervous system regulation, which of course helps us to calm, to be regulated. It helps with sleep, it can help with muscle tension and emotional reactivity as well. So many of those of us with adhd, many of us are low in magnesium levels without even knowing it. Okay. So again it can really help people with ADHD when it comes to calming our over firing neurons in the brain. Help to help us support our nervous system shift out of that fight or flight state. Some people report that it helps with their anxiety and improves their sleep quality. I definitely think it helps with my sleep for sure. Okay. So that's when I take it in the evening. I take mine when I hop into bed, which is like roughly about an hour before I go to sleep. So the magnesium glycinate specifically is more gentle on the stomach and more absorbable. Is that a word, absorbable? It's easier to absorb if it's not. I just made up a word. All right, number three. The third supplement that I take is creatine. Yes, creatine. Now this is a surprise. When I tell people this, they're often like, what? Why? Although it is getting more traction these days, I must admit. So creatine really helps with our brain. Creatine is so fucking good for the brain. For such a long time. It was thought of as like the gym bros supplement and something that they would cycle on and off because it would make them hold on to water, like water retention and they'd put on water weight, etc, which, you know, when you're trying to build muscle in the gym, it's something that you want. And the first introduction I actually had to it was my partner would take it, he would have, you know, a scoop of it most days. And I was like, what's that weird powder that you're having? You know, not under his nose, in his mouth, just to be clear. So anyway, this weird powder that he was having every single day and it's like, oh, it's creatine. It's really good for like bodybuilders bodybuilders take it and that. So that was, of course, my first introduction to it. I didn't know that women took it. He said, oh, you know, women don't. Probably don't use it so much because it'll make you put on weight. I said, okay, interesting. But so many studies coming out right now in recent years showing how good this is for everybody. And women in perimenopause, women aged 35 plus, for sure. Okay, so again, it really helps with brain energy. Creatine supports brain energy. There was something I read recently. I didn't get into the research behind this, but something said that if you've had a really poor sleep or if you're really tired, have some creatine, because that will really help. And I was like, okay, that's interesting to note. So some of the research links creatine to improved mood to better cognitive performance. So our brain functioning better. Right? Reduced brain fog. Hello, we need some of that. And like, as I said, if you are a woman aged 35 plus, you definitely want this on your radar. Anyone out there who is a fan of the work of Stacy Sims? She's really huge here in New Zealand. She is one of those people who says creatine regardless, like, every woman should be on creatine if you are 35 plus. Okay, so she's preaching it. So if we were to think of dopamine as like the petrol, creatine helps keep the engine clean and firing. Okay? It is safe, it is well studied. And like I said, it's not just for the gym bros, okay? For me personally, I mix it up first thing in the morning. I drink it with the next supplement I'm about to share with you. And it's the first thing I drink when I get up in the morning. Okay, so number four. Number four is electrolytes. Because hydration isn't just nice, it is actually neurological. So ADHD is. We can often forget to drink water or we wait until we're basically a raisin, okay. Before we get out some water. Brain function drops dramatically when we are dehydrated. I found it fascinating to find the research on that and learn that because I had always felt like if I didn't get hydrated enough, it would negatively impact my sleep. And it made my ability to function and make decisions even harder. And the research actually says, yes, that is correct. Okay, so brain function drops when we are dehydrated. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, like, these are the ingredients in your electrolytes. They help with the energy, the Focus, the blood pressure stability, the nervous system regulation. Okay? When electrolytes are good, my brain feels switched on instead of kind of glitchy. I think that's how I would best describe it. So one of the known side effects that those of us on stimulant medications can experience is dry mouth or a reduction in our saliva production. So this is just something I want to draw your attention to. So, as I said, I mix my creatine with my electrolytes and I down that first thing in the morning in a tall glass of water before I head out the door to go for a walk. And this is actually a recent change for me because I used to have the first drink I would have in the morning would be a coffee. And I've just switched it up to now having this. And I definitely think it is better for me. My body feels better for it, and I feel a little more alert and awake in the mornings than I have recently, which is quite interesting just to pay attention to. Also, we are most dehydrated first thing in the morning, right? Typically, we don't drink any water throughout the night, and if you do, you might have a few sips. But we are most dehydrated. We are our most raisin, like, first thing in the morning. So that, again, is why I choose to have the creatine and the electrolytes mixed up first thing. Get it done and hydrate before I get that coffee in me. Number five, my friends, number five is the B vitamins. So that is your B6, your B9, and your B12. Now, this comes with a little caveat, okay? So I only take those based on having done my own blood work and knowing specifically which ones I'm a little bit low on and not in the optimal range. So these matter. The B vitamins matter. B6 and B12 really help when it comes to creating dopamine and serotonin. So if you've ever been through a period in your life where you've had really, really low energy, people will often say, oh, have you checked your B12 levels? Okay. But B6 and B9 are a little bit less widely talked about. Okay? So again, these B vitamins help to create the dopamine and the serotonin. So dopamine, as we know, plays a big role in our focus, in our motivation, our ability to do the things. But serotonin plays a big role in our mood, in how we feel, and also in our sleep. Okay? Folate, which is B9. So B9 equals folate. That helps with Something called methylation, which is a really key thing when it comes to brain functioning. Okay, so basically what we could say is low B vitamins equals low mood, fatigue and irritability. So these are kind of like the construction crew behind the dopamine. If they don't clock in, nothing gets built. So I do want to mention many people with ADHD have suboptimal B levels. I personally noticed a difference. I did my testing a few months back now and introduced B12 in because I wasn't in the optimal range. Now if I'd done the testing through a doctor, typically what will happen is your doctor says it's fine, you're in the air quotes normal range. Now normal is, isn't optimal. Most people go in and get blood tests, are getting blood tests because they're not feeling great, because something is not right, that's not optimal. So you want to make sure that you are doing a little bit of your own research there to know what are the optimal levels of this to be in that, as I said, is what I did. I did my own bloods privately, got my own results with the help of ChatGPT and a bit of research to understand what are the optimal levels, and then did a bit of research on getting a decent supplement. And again, like I said, noticed some difference. So those are the five, okay, Those are the key five that I am taking right now. Number one was the omega three. Okay? Omega three fish oils, specifically with a really high EPA level. Number two, magnesium glycinate. Number three is the creatine, which is a powder. Number four is electrolytes. Number five is the B vitamins. Now I want to talk about as well the as needed helpers that I have used and continue to use from time to time. Again, a lot of these are talked about in the ADHD world. So the first one is L Theanine. Okay. L Theanine is like a bit of a chill pill. So this helps to increase the alpha brain waves, which is like the more calming sort of soothing brainwaves. So it can help to sort of reduce or sort of smooth out the anxiety that you may be experiencing. So I use this a little bit when my brain is more sort of jumpy, a little bit more all over the place. I might have some of that. Number two is ashwagandha. Okay, so this is a really good natural stress support. So if you do have quite a bit of anxiety or stress happening, this supports the cortisol regulation. So the stress hormone in the body, it helps to sort of dial that Down a little bit. It also can help people with sleep as well, especially when it helps to reduce that stress, making it easier to sleep. Okay, so really good if you are experiencing a lot of overwhelm. I think it definitely takes the edge off when there are too many browser tabs in life open, shall we say? And the next one I want to mention is iron, but only when needed. Okay. I want to be very clear that low iron is one very, very common for people with adhd. We actually have an entire podcast episode on low iron because so many people experience it, it makes your ADHD symptoms worse. It can even mimic ADHD symptoms in somebody who doesn't have adhd. Okay, so iron is required to make dopamine. Now, normal range is not the same as optimal range. Hear me when I say that. Okay, so this is definitely one supplement you should not take without testing it. Don't just go and buy it off the shelf because I said iron is something we're often low in. No, you gotta do the test, my friend. Okay, so what we want to measure. I did a full iron panel. I think it measured three different things. Or four. I can't remember. Three, I think. But ferrets. Just think ferrets, little ferrets, those little fluffy animals. Ferrets running around in the blood. Okay. The ferritin should be at least 70 to 100 nanograms. Okay, 70 to 100. That is the optimal function range, not just in range. So I think from memory, don't quote me on this, but I think anything 30 and under is. Your doctor will be like, yeah, we should probably do something about that. But anything 30 and over, they're like, no, that's okay. Okay. So in range is not what we're looking for because that's often way too low. We want to go with optimal levels. Okay. I'll actually link that podcast in the show notes, because if you are somebody who's got really low energy and your ADHD symptoms are constantly just firing up, even more so than normal, that might be something worth exploring, my friend. Just doing that iron blood test or blood panel. So a couple of considerations that we need to take into advisement. I've got my hands, like, pressed together in a little triangle, and I'm tapping my fingers together as I say that. Sometimes I wish you guys could see me. But it's probably a good thing that you can't some days. Trust me. So a couple of important things to consider. Supplements. Supplements. Supplements. Oh, dear. You know what I'm trying to say. Supplements, they are Not a replacement for ADHD medication. Okay? It is not one in the same. They're kind of like a support crew. They're not the main character. Talk to your gp. It is definitely a good idea to talk to your GP or if you're working with a psychiatrist as you navigate ADHD medication, talk to them about the supplements, about what you're wanting to introduce. You do want to make sure that nothing is going to interact with any other medications that you are currently on. Okay? Vitamin C is one of those. Vitamin C can cancel out some of the amphetamine medications. So some of the ADHD meds that we take, I accidentally double dot dose to myself. Once I took two of my 50 milligram vivances and learned pretty quickly that that was not ideal because I felt like I was vibrating from the inside out. And so I had a shit ton of vitamin C. Like the oranges, the orange juices, I can't remember. I had like a bunch of different vitamin C related things. I think it was kiwi fruit, like a bunch of things. And that actually helped it, to flush it out of my system quicker. Okay. So again, vitamin C is one of those things you've got to be careful with. But talk to your gp, your psychiatrist, whoever you're with when you are introducing some new supplements just to make sure that they go together. Okay? Now the next thing I want you to know is that quality does matter, okay? Cheap fish oil equals cheap results, right? Magnesium oxide does nothing except help you go number twos. All right? So it's worth doing a little bit of research here. Reading the reviews. I use IHERB personally. I'm from New Zealand. In New Zealand and Australia it's really easy to use. But iHerb, I don't know about America, probably there too, who knows. But IHERB is great because it does have a shitload of reviews that you can look at and it kind of rates products in order and all of this sort of thing. So that's a great one to use. I find it's relatively cheap as well. They do some really good deals. But again the quality matters. Don't just buy some cheap nasty ass fish oil off the shelf. Do a bit of research, okay? And the last thing I want to say is just pay attention to your own patterns. Like we ADHDers, we're a little famous and how me definitely for taking something for you know, two or three days and then forgetting and then thinking, oh, it didn't work right, so keep it focused on good enough rather than perfect. You Know if you take it five days out of seven, great, fantastic. They're simply good enough. But, but also keep track of some of the things that you notice. Keep a toilet wall. Sorry? Keep a toilet wall. Oh my God. Keep a calendar on the toilet wall. That was gold. I love it. My brain is hilarious. Keep a calendar on the toilet wall and track things, right? So if you are say taking magnesium at night, put in there, started taking magnesium at night and put the date that, that was so that after a couple of months you can look back and be like, oh yeah, actually my sleep has definitely improved. Right? Keep track of your symptoms of your mood, your anxiety levels, your mood levels, your energy levels, your brain function, your brain fog, all of those sorts of things. Just write the odd little note when you're sitting there on the toilet. Let's be honest, we all sit down on the toilet sometimes have a calendar there with a pen. So fucking easy just to keep track of some things, okay? Then you'll know like what do I want to continue to invest in supplement wise and what's just not even worth it. So my friends, to wrap it, these supplements, okay, they don't turn me into a completely different person. They just help me feel a little bit more like me. The regulated, resourced, grounded version of me. Still a little bit crazy, a little bit wild, love it, right? These supplements help give my brain the raw ingredients that it needs so that it can show up with a little bit more energy, maybe a little bit of a better mood, a bit more of a sparkle, okay? They just help all of the brain functioning things to do their job. So remember, remember, remember, it's not about doing all the things. Don't go out and buy every single thing I said here, right? Do one at a time, introduce them slowly. Otherwise if you do all five, right, I've so done this. If you go out and you buy everything I've said here today, how are you going to know what's working and what's not? Trust me, been there, done that. I want to save you money. Start with omega three. That would be my first one. Omega three, number one, magnesium glycinate number two and creatine number three. Like literally go in the order that I have given them here today. That's what I recommend. Now it's not about doing all the things, it's just about finding those few things that really help to support you and your ADHD brain so that you can thrive. Okay? All right, my friends, that is a wrap. Finally answered the question of what are the supplements I take? What are the ones I recommend and why? All right. Huge, huge love. Take care out there. Can't wait to speak to you soon. Hey friend, if you want some more help navigating and thriving with ADHD and some help applying everything that you're learning here on the podcast, then head over to our website, navigating adultadhd.com.