If I hear someone has or just had a stomach flu (yes, I know the “flu” isn’t actually a stomach virus but I still call it the stomach flu) I become a crazy person. I don’t want to see them for weeks, breath anywhere near them, or even talk to them on the phone for fear of catching it via cellular waves (kidding about the cell phone...kinda). I have no clue why but it’s a fear of mine and has been for a very long time.

A common supplement people take to keep their immunities up, during cold and flu season, is Vitamin C. Vitamin C supplements have many benefits but when taken in high doses, can metabolize into oxalates, deposit in the body, and cause pain. For many years now I have steered clear of high levels of Vitamin C supplements because it has increased my pain, redness, and vulvar burning. That changed a few months ago when reading a book about gut health led to doing a gut health detox which led to a new world of supplements.

We live in a remote county in California and it’s a trek to get anywhere. If I drive alone or if my son sleeps in his carseat I typically listen to audiobooks to fill the hours. Last Summer I was in search of new books to download and my cousin suggested Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders. It was a book i’d have never picked to read without it being suggested to me but I have to say by the end of the book I was fascinated by how much the digestive system impacts overall health of the body.

Shortly after listening to that book my doctor scheduled me to have a hysteroscopy, dilatation, and curettage laparoscopy all under general anesthesia. At that point we had been trying to get pregnant for nearly a year and a half and I was having lots of intermittent bleeding so she was going in to flush my tubes and lysis adhesions and ablate any excess tissue. I scheduled the appointment and then saw that my friend Shannon was putting on a 10 day gut health detox. I wanted my body to go into the surgery feeling well so I signed up for the detox because it lead up to surgery day. I downloaded the detox guide, ordered the supplements and products she suggested, and followed the plan, steering clear of the foods that tend to flare me. I felt great after the detox.

Fast forward a couple more months and I had a physical therapist suggest that I start doing things that build up collagen levels in the connective tissue of my body. I immediately reached back out to Shannon and asked if she knew of any good supplements to help with that. One of her suggestions was Vitamin C and instantly I was seeing red flags because of my past experiences but I ordered it anyway. The Vitamin C she suggested was a buffered Vitamin C called C-Salts. It’s buffered for maximum absorption and 90% of the Vitamin C’s acidity is neutralized so it’s gentler on the body. I kid you not, this is the first time I've been able to take Vitamin C supplements without experiencing painful side effects.

I just scoop a teaspoonful into a small glass of water, stir it up, and let the fizzing settle before I drink it. It's actually pretty refreshing tasting too!