Have you seen the price of fruit and vegetables lately? Want to get your 5+ a day without needing to take out a loan? For those of us who are feeling the crunch, our Naturopath has put together a list of everyday essentials that cost as little as $2 a day*. Easy on the budget and stretch a long way when it comes to supplementing your nutritional needs. Let’s get into it.

1. Greens – a nutritional cushion

Mum was right – we really should be eating our greens. But a trip around the produce section can leave one feeling a little… uninspired. Not to mention, green veggies aren’t always the tastiest to eat, and we can’t bribe ourselves with chocolate every time! That’s why spirulina tablets offer another great way to supplement your diet without skimping on nutrients, and you won’t have to block your nose to get them down. Now, let’s be clear, this isn’t encouraging you avoid broccoli, kale, spinach and other fresh green goodness. Veggies are most definitely our friends. But if you’re not quite hitting your five a day every day, spirulina can provide a valuable nutritional cushion.

Spirulina

Sometimes eating bowls of salad every day can be outside your realm of possibility – this blue-green algae could be exactly what your body is calling for. But why is spirulina called a superfood, we hear you ask. Super for good reason, Spirulina is packed with nutrients and phytochemicals - it's an all-rounder for plant goodness. It also offers a vegan-friendly source of iron and protein, while being densely packed with nutrients and phytochemicals – all round ‘fancy plant goodness’!

Healthy mum and healthy tum 

We’re also happy to report that taking spirulina during pregnancy is a suitable option, for a healthy mum and healthy tum. Being a nutrient-dense superfood – it's ideal for mums-to-be and their bubs.

Here at HealthPost we only offer brands that meet our  strict ingredient standards, so you can be assured your spirulina supplement has the highest quality, healthy ingredients.

Top Spirulina pick: Tropeaka Spirulina Powder

• Packed with vitamins and minerals
• Certified organic
• Food-derived nutrients for great bioavailability

2. Vitamin C – your (almost) everything extraordinaire

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that we can only get via the foods we eat. Some animals can make their own, but not us. The WHO vitamin C recommendation tells us that, in the very least, women should be having 75mg per day and men 90mg per day to avoid a vitamin C deficiency. While it’s important to avoid a deficiency, we’re more interested in optimal levels to feel your best.

Why Vitamin C is important?

You might be wondering why vitamin C is important and we’d love to elaborate. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, meaning it helps protect against cellular stress in your body. It goes into a lot of processes to do with your immune system, skin health and even your feel-good neurotransmitters.

Another question you might have is where vitamin C is found? Well, it’s just your luck - we’ve prepared a list. 

Highest Vitamin C in foods:

• 1 kiwifruit (gold) = approx. 131 mg
• ¾ cup of raw orange juice = approx. 93 mg
• 1 cup strawberries (whole) = approx. 85 mg
• ½ cup red capsicum (chopped) = approx. 59 mg

Which form of Vitamin C is best? Liposomal vitamin C

Deciding between vitamin C tablets, powders, gummies and liquids? While our full range of vitamin C is high-quality, some forms get to work faster in your body than others.

You may have heard this term “bioavailability” floating around, maybe you’ve even heard of liposomal vitamin C. If this is new don’t worry, here’s a simple explainer. Basically, vitamins come in all sorts of forms. Sometimes they’re attached to things that help them absorb better, for example, liposomes (think liposomal). Being attached to something bioavailable like a liposome helps our cells absorb and use the vitamin more efficiently. It would be like trying to eat soup with chopsticks vs a spoon - one option helps get more in.

This makes choosing the best vitamin C supplement a little more straight forward - look for liposomal.

Top Vitamin C liposomal pick: BioBalance Liposomal Vitamin C

• 180ml = 36 servings, 300ml = 2 months’ supply
• Liposomal, best absorption
• High dose, once a day

Looking for a great value vitamin C? Try Clinicians Hi-Dose Vitamin C Powder

• High dose
• Well absorbed
• Great tasting

3. Probiotics – for your happy gut

Do you know you have billions of bacteria living inside your gut? Do you also know that we rely on these bacteria for nutrient absorption and healthy immune function? Scientists call these little bugs our “gut flora”, or microbiome – little inner colonies holidaying in our intestines.

Beautiful, healthful garden

Since these gut loving bacteria don’t have permanent residence, it’s important to include  probiotics in our daily routine to replenish their population. We like to think of a probiotic like a seed – it’s something that’s planted in the soil of your body, and, with the right care, it grows into a beautiful, healthful garden.

What probiotic should I take?

Some of you may now be wondering, what probiotic should I take? Well, when it comes to probiotics, the more diverse the better. We don’t just want daffodils in our garden, we want daisies, roses, maybe a bit of lavender … but the garden analogy aside, different types of gut flora do different jobs in the body. This makes it important to consider foods or a supplement that contain many different strains of beneficial bacteria so you’re rounding off those bases.

Probiotic rich foods:

• Yoghurt
• Tempeh
• Sauerkraut
• Miso soup

As foods rich in bacteria can come with a hefty price tag, here’s a comprehensive - and affordable - probiotic supplement.

Naturopath top pick: Lifestream Probiotics 14 Strains

These easy-to-swallow tablets are surprisingly tiny considering they’re packed with literally billions of beneficial bacteria. Even, better you only need one a day, so they’re very easy to incorporate into your daily routine.

• Supports the growth of beneficial bacteria
• Great for your immune defences & skin health
• Minimum 2 billion probiotic microorganisms per capsule

Being on a budget and staying healthy doesn’t need to cost the earth. As a naturopath, I consider Vitamin C, Spirulina and Probiotics wellness essentials I take every day.

For as little as $2 per day*, you could choose any size of the three products above to add to your daily wellness routine. Easy, and affordable.

Not sure where to start with your daily supplements? Take our 1 min quiz to get personalised essentials for feel good results.

*Per day cost calculated from most valuable sized product.