Q: Being an Ayurvedic practitioner, what do you think of [specific brand of] vitamins (if you know of them)?

My husband convinced me to run a marathon on May 20th, against my better judgment. I think breastfeeding for the last year+ has drained me of necessary nutrients either that or I’m just starting to feel the aches and pains of my age. Either way, I figure it might be advisable to get on a daily vitamin to help with training recovery. What do you think?

A: Vitamins – go for food-based vitamins. I’m not familiar with that particular brand of vitamin, if it’s food-based it’s probably fine. And I know you’re careful to get enough protein & veggies, so you’ve got the nutrition covered. But this seems to require a more complex approach- we need to replenish deeper endurance resources exhausted by breastfeeding (and the interrupted sleep that usually goes with it), plus the heavy training.

Go for ghee – 1 tsp melted ghee on empty stomach first thing in the morning. Maybe a sip of herbal tea or chew on a sliver of ginger to cleanse your palate after drinking the ghee. But otherwise then wait until you’re hungry for breakfast. Try that for a week. After a light early dinner the night before, when you wake up with an empty stomach and a bit of hunger, each day increase the amount of ghee:

Day 1- 1 tsp
Day 2 – 2 tsp
Day 3- 3 tsp
Day 4 – 4 tsp

then decrease

Day 5 – 3 tsp
Day 6- 2 tsp
Day 7-1 tsp

And really wait for your true hunger to eat your first meal!

Meanwhile, try a combination of Ashwagandha and Turmeric, those are ok for both your constitution and helping you recover more quickly.