I recently visited the Vitamin Shoppe and noticed they have a product called "The Ultimate Meal".

Have any of you ever tried it? What did you think? I'm thinking about buying it. Here is a link to the product:

[www.vitaminshoppe.com]

Please, don't tell me to eat more bananas or calorie dense fruit.

What is it you want to get out of taking a product like that is my question, that would help me tell you if I think it's good for that or not. And is there something you are looking to replace or boost like green smoothies or some other supplement etc?
The only drawback to that product is the flax meal, it is so volatile that the oils go rancid quickly. If it is vacuum sealed after production maybe but still, I would rather fresh grind flax myself.
Another thing is that there are so many things in there I would wonder if my body was absorbing all of it or if most of it was just wasted. You know what I mean? I don't think we can process a ton of things at once, I think it's too much for the body to handle.
Also in terms of low impact many of the ingredients flew great distances to come together, there is a large footprint associated with that sort of thing that if you are sensitive to ecological issues is a deterant.

Aside from those points it looked like a carefully thought out and processed ingredients list. High quality.

I am thinking about making my own green food with moringa powder, cholrella and spirulina, wheatgrass or barley grass juice powder and possible some sprouts I make and dehydrate myself and power (alfala, broccoli, lentils etc). It would cost so much less to mix it up myself and then I could control just what goes into it. We'll see...

newhoove,

It has nothing, and yet, it has everything! It must be magical!

Seriously, though, the reviews below the product description are useful: it appears to have a lot of seaweeds, and one must make it into a smoothie with a few pieces calorie dense fruit--sorry--to make it palatable. So if you can afford it, it would be worth trying, I think. Hope it works out for you

I'm using Ultimate Meal because our kitchen is being remodeled and I don't have access to a refrigerator (but I can still use my blender). I have green smoothies every morning for breakfast and thought I would try this as a replacement--I didn't want my greens to start going bad so decided to try this as a substitute. We're keeping the berries in a cooler on our screened in porch.

It's pretty palatable, but then, I only use it with fruit, as suggested. I think it would be pretty grotty just by itself mixed with water.

I also use this with coconut or almond milk. It gives it a thicker texture. I also do NOT use the suggested amount--which is 2/3 cup of UM to 8 to 12 ounces of liquid!! It would be more like pudding, I think. I use 1/3 cup of UM, 12 oz. of liquid, a banana, berries, and half of a pear or half of an apple.

I find that it keeps me full for about 3 hours or so. I have a piece of fruit mid-morning and I'm fine until lunch.

One thing I am not crazy about it is that it will not blend completely smooth, even in my high-speed blender. It is still a bit gritty.

As a short-term substitute for my green smoothies, it's fine, and if you were going camping, or were in an institutional setting (hospital), this stuff would be nice to have, but I am really looking forward to going back to my green smoothies made with 100% unprocessed food.

Another meal replacement powder that I tried and liked a lot is Amino Acid Omega Balanced Natural Meal Replacement (https://www.enerhealthbotanicals.com/review/product/list/id/120/category/9/?limit=50). I would actually rather use this than UM. It blends up nice and smooth and is quite tasty--I use it the same way as UM (water or nut milk and fruits). I got mine from the Green Smoothie Girl web site, but you can buy it directly from the manufacturer.

HTH.

coco,

I'm not sure why I'm purchasing it, but I do know a few things:
1) I don't feel good
2) I have cognitive-linguistic deficits
3) I'm skinny and weak
4) I have an autoimmune disorder
5) Most likely malaborption too
6) Inflammation in my joints and intestines
7) seem to be allergic to everything I eat


I've been stagnant like this for awhile with my current regimen and I need change - now. I am currently on medication (entocort EC) I'm worried about if I'm absorbing enough nutrients or getting enough calories. Of course, I can count calories, but the calories I take in, is that what I'm utlizing?

I thought this supplement would allow me to start to clean up my diet (its already pretty clean compared to SAD) and provide me with enough energy to exercise to help me get things going again (detoxing).

I dunno, suggestions?

I bug him lots for infomation but that's because Powerlifer really knows a lot about supplements, herbs etc. A few of the symptoms you list he has spoken about being due to adrenal fatigue. I am following a few of his suggestions for myself, he's been more than generous with his advice. If he lived closer I'd go bug him in person and just really pick his brain .
I think nutrient dense foods are probably a good thing for you. A smoothie is very easy to digest, you can have them all day long if you want (green, fruit, veggie "soup", with nuts/seeds, avo, coconut oil etc).
You might find it helpful to use a nutrition tracking site for a while to get an idea of what you're actually taking in and where you might be missing some things. Fitday.com is one but there are lots of others that are also free.
My favourite go-to book is prescription for nutritional healing, it is absolutely jam packed with valuable information including vitamins, minerals, amino acids etc, what they do, what not having enough of them looks like, what foods contain them. Most of the book is about illnesses and how to nutritionally deal with them. I can't recommend it enough if you don't feel good and don't know why.
Have you considered or are you able to see someone holistic to advise you? If not there are some very knowledgeable people here if you want to ask specific questions.

newhoove,

If you have a strict diagnosis, please consider, as coco said, that your endocrine system may be compromised. Liquid meals are very helpful as they don't tax digestion and are pre-chewed by a machine, allowing for fuller absorbtion of nutrients. I would say, get the Ultimate Meal, but maybe add more fruit to it than advised, and have green drinks besides. Don't know from what, as the ingredients list on the Ultimate Meal wasn't clear. Good luck

I have tried it. I like the product myself, my partner took it after recovering from surgery. The doc said he healed in record time, like hes never seen before. I don't know if its the product or him. I tend to think its him. There are some calcium and magnesium compounds that can cause loose bowels, which had had, plus the flax. He doesn't mind the product except for those things. They might have changed the formula since then, who knows.

Coco:
Thanks for your advice. Yes, I've seen several naturopathic doctors and spent thousands of dollars on different supplements/treatments and doctors. I've seen herbalists, homepathics, naturopaths, dowsers, and bio-set practitioners, etc. The best therapies I received was from 3 months of intense chiropractic care which brought about the most improvement in my health.

The basic conclusion was I had leaky gut syndrome/celiac which threw my intestines out of whack which created a messed up immune system. I got DNA tested for celiac and casein intolerances and results indicated I should never eat gluten or casein again.

I will have to get in touch with Powerlifter. I've read his posts before about how taking different herbs, B5 (I think), and vitamin C can boost the adrenal glands. I need to gain a better understanding of the endocrine system.

Funny thing, I was perfectly healthy up until the age of 21 and now I'm a 28 yr old who feels like I'm 70.

Thanks for the suggestion of the Prescription Nutritional Healing. I own the book, but need to dust if off.


Mislu: I'll keep you posted on how well it works for me.


Tamukha:
Sounds like a great idea and I think I'm going to try it. I really need to be proactive and strategically map out an approach.

newhoove Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> coco,
>
> I'm not sure why I'm purchasing it, but I do know
> a few things:
> 1) I don't feel good
> 2) I have cognitive-linguistic deficits
> 3) I'm skinny and weak
> 4) I have an autoimmune disorder
> 5) Most likely malaborption too
> 6) Inflammation in my joints and intestines
> 7) seem to be allergic to everything I eat

Autoimmune disorders are partially to do with under functioning adrenal glands, many of your other symptoms are also such as inflammation. Inflammation again is partially due to the adrenal glands not outputting sufficient anti-inflammatory corticosteroids. Allergies are again a symptom of adrenal dysfunction, i like you at one point was allergic to everything including food.

I see your taking corticosteroids, they will further weaken adrenal gland function and can cause them to atrophy.

The good bit is you can build you adrenal glands. I will be back later to tackle the rest of your posts.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Watch the flax as it is quite a potent goitrogen so can cause hypothyroidism if used daily in large amounts.

Leaky gut is usually a result of poor levels of good flora. So working on restoring it would be a good idea. Fermented foods such as water kefir, cultured veggies are good choices.

You can also use anti-inflammatory herbs such as licorice root and yucca root, Both of which are supportive to the adrenal glands also. But id advise the latter just now because licorice root prolongs the effects of corticosteroid medication.

Again ill be back in abit with more information.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

See that? I told you so. This guy knows his herbs...

Coco: You were right! hah

Powerlifter:
Thanks for your responses.
I look forward to hearing more information about how I can improve my health.

First of all, I'm shocked and weirdly relieved to find someone who was allergic to practically everything - like myself. If I try to vent to people about my health, they think I'm crazy and don't believe me.


First, I am eating cultured vegetables using the Body Ecology diet culture packets. Do you recommend a specific blend of vegetables to use? I really enjoy raw organic cabbage, ginger, garlic, and kale (I believe raw kale is a goitrogen?) blends.


Secondly, I will have to try Yucca. I know they make tea bags with Yucca, but do you suggest taking it in pill form, or buying the herb in bulk online?


Also, I went to a local Vitamin Shoppe and looked up adrenal support products and noticed they all ranged in ingredients. Some bottles were basically B-complex supplements, and others used TCM herbs like ashwagandha and rhodiola.

I look forward to hearing back from you about your approach about boosting adrenal functioning.


Thanks!

Best as with all herbs to take in powder form, you can buy in bulk. The doses are small so it will last you a while. half - 1 teaspoon up to 3 times daily at least 20-30 minutes away from meals.

Raw kale is a goitrogen, i actually wrote an article about goitrogens - [vegankingdom.co.uk], i use water kefir as i dont really like cultured veggies personally, but there are quite a few recipes online for sauerkraut and other fermented foods.

Most adrenal formulas are pretty poor, rhodiola although an adaptogen is actually a stimulant, same goes for american licorice root and korean ginseng. Many of these formulas can also contain hormones such as DHEA which are detrimental to adrenal gland function and can atrophy them long term. Same with glandulars.

The best adaptogens are ashwagandha, schizandra berry, jiaogulan, maca root, siberian ginseng, reishi mushroom etc. Best to get your b vitamins from natural sources, if your not vegan then bee pollen is one of the best and has highest concentration of vitamin B5. This will help build up your adrenal glands and relieve your allergies.

Things will improve, like yourself pretty much everything made me react and i could tell this as my face would go puffy, sometimes when my adrenals were pretty poor eyelids also. Heart beat would increase etc. Now i can even come in contact with cats with no problem and i had that problem before i was ill.

I dont tend to plug on here but most of these things can be bought from the store in my link.

hey powerlifer, if I wanted to make a mix of these herbs to help recover my adrenal glands and whatnot, (like mixing them all into a tub, and just scooping out as needed) which ones would you use, and what ratio would you mix them in?
(My current idea was the siberian Ginseng,ashwagandha,maca root, all in powdered form, 1-1, but want your input and advice, also on cost as well, which ones get ya the most helpful bang for your buck... thanks for your time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

hey curator, not a problem i can get ratios to you once you've decided on the herbs.

they are all good choices there, personally id go with jiaogulan over maca root being that it has many times more sterol saponins than maca. But maca is ok too.

id also add in schizandra berry, it is possibly my favorite adaptogenic herb and has good liver regenerating properties also. Suma/brazilian ginseng is another good adaptogen and has many unique benefits.

Nettle leaf although not an adaptogen i tend to add to my own mixes and is one of the best herbs in my opinion also. It supports the liver, lungs, adrenal, thyroid glands and kidneys. Very good nutritive herb and contains good amounts of vitamin B's which help the adrenal glands

Id also tend to add a little amla berry, bee pollen(vitamin B5 the second most important nutrient for the adrenal glands) and a little kelp/seaweed powder(for the minerals and b vitamins)

*mind boggles* er...so much stuff, I'll get back to you on what I am thinking of including... but in the meantime, if some one only had $100 to spend on a 6 month supply (assuming relatively small doses) what would you consider the most important things to have in the mix.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

The dose is small overall so $100 should cover you for that period.

It depends how through you want to go, id use jiaogulan, schizandra, ashwagandha and one other adaptogen of your choice siberian ginseng etc.

ah, k, that sounds like a good mix then, might think about adding kelp powder and the nettle leaf too depending... although when or if I buy this depends on whether or not the gov comes through as they keep saying they will for taking care of my mom,lol... they are still jerking us around a bit. but soon hopefully!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Sorry to hear that curator, i would personally add nettle and at that time when i was having problems bee pollen. Kelp if you can.

The above really isn't one dimensional, it wont just help restore the adrenal glands, many of these herbs have other benefits liver regeneration, immune boosting, antioxidants etc.

I like that morniga leaf powder, will order some of that soon I think.

thanks powerlifer, its going into my file,lol... I actually have a file of interesting things people have said that I want to try out, the funny part is, at least half of it is stuff from you,lol.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Curator - Here is what I ordered. It approximately costs $110. I'm not sure how long this will last me though.


Powerlifter - do you have any suggestions on how to implement these herbs (certain order, amounts) to have the best results?



Order Inventory:
Product: Organic Nettle Leaf Powder - 100g

Product: Ashwagandha Root Powder - 100g

Product: Schizandra Berry Powder - 100g

Product: Yucca Root Powder - 100g

Product: Organic Bee Pollen - 250g

Product: Organic Amla Berry Powder - 500g

Ahh never realized that was your order mate thanks for that much appreciated.

The bee pollen id take separate, start with a few grains to check your ok with it then double the grains everyday until you taking at least a teaspoon 3 times daily. Brilliant stuff for adrenal gland problems.

The yucca root although great for inflammation and supporting gut flora growth is also great for the adrenal glands so good choice there.

You could mix them all together if you wish and i could forward ratios, or you could try one at a time which also has its benefits as you know whats giving the most benefits. Although mixes are good as they tackle the issues from a variety of different ways.

Cheers again

No problem! Lets see what happens!

When you were practically allergic to everything, did that include foods? How long did it take you to figure it out?

hmmmm, interesting! (does some searches on domestic sources)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I understand I can probably get the products cheaper. I don't have a problem with supplementing one's income when they are generous with their knowledge without expecting anything in return. Karma is wonderful.

newhoove Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No problem! Lets see what happens!
>
> When you were practically allergic to everything,
> did that include foods? How long did it take you
> to figure it out?

Yeah mate foods were my worst allergens, at that time i eliminated the usual offenders, gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs etc which helped alot. But it takes trial and error to see whats making you worse, as i say as you restore the adrenals and if you do truly have leaky gut building up the flora will take care of them. I can eat whatever i wish with no problems.

A piece of bread before would give me panic attacks, make me tired etc.