Whenever I have back-to-back trips, especially those involving overnight flights and itineraries where I’m running from 7 a.m. to midnight, there are a couple of givens. One, I’ll fall victim to traveler’s nails and two, I’ll get sick. If you’ve kept up with my Fall travels, you know I traveled to Europe twice followed a week-long trip to Louisiana with a quick trip to Orlando thrown in there.
To my pleasant surprise the unusual happened. Rather than ending up sick with a cold following my travels, which is my typical MO, I’ve remained pretty healthy. (In June going from Brazil to Canada in one week then Atlanta caused me to lose my hearing!) And rather than breaking every single nail on both my hands, only one took it for the team. (Which is why this post’s headline reads, “fingernails.”)
Why? What have I done differently?
By accepting I’m no longer a young, spry thirty-something-year-old with the stamina for staying awake and functioning 48 hours at a time, I’ve been consciously taking better care of myself including taking my vitamins. By adding vitamins and supplements into my nutrition plan, I suspect they’ve contributed to my well being. Specifically, I’ve been taking Nature Made® VitaMelts which became available on the market this year.
Well, Hello VitaMelts
During July’s BlogHer conference in Chicago I was introduced to VitaMelts but I’m already familiar with Nature Made since I’ve been taking their supplements for a few years. Not only was I introduced to these vitamins, I met, Manager of Pharmavite (parent company to Nature Made) Research & Development and VitaMelts creator during a breakfast hosted by the supplements company.
“For VitaMelts the goal was to create a product that allows the consumer to enjoy taking their multivitamins,” she explained. Dr. Ikonte has been involved with VitaMelts from conceptualization through manufacturing.
“It’s no longer a chore,” she said in reference to taking vitamins in the form of VitaMelts and added they are, “smooth melting and delicious.”
Indeed they are! Sometimes I have difficulty swallowing my vitamins and supplements but VitaMelts simply dissolve in my mouth without water. They have the recommended daily values so even though they taste great, there are no compromises.
Every day since the July conference I took these VitaMelts: Hair, Skin and Nails which contains Biotin and Vitamin C; Zinc; Vitamin C; and Vitamin D. During my travels, I took along this entourage plus Energy with Vitamin B-12 and Sleep with Melatonin.
Why the Sleep VitaMelts? Because traveling to a different time zone greater than four hours reeks havoc on my system and I wanted to make sure I was rested upon arrival into Marseille and Ireland so I could hit the ground running. I also wanted a restful night’s sleep the first day I was in country. At 40-some-years-old, I’ve finally figured out how much sleep my body needs when traveling in order to function and ward off a cold.
As for the Vitamin D, I’m so happy they’re available through VitaMelts because my health care provider has me taking 4000 I.U. a day – which is four Vitamin D VitaMelts – and I much prefer dissolving four tablets in my mouth than swallowing (and gagging) four tablets.
In addition to being easy to dissolve, these vitamins have pleasant flavors as Strawberry Lemonade for Hair, Skin and Nails while Sleep has a Chocolate Mint flavor and Zinc has a soothing Honey Lemon flavor.
The results? Say No to Traveler’s Nails!
During that month of travel I only broke one fingernail when typically, all 10 would have broke. Did taking the Hair, Skin and Nails VitaMelts strengthen my nails? Perhaps.
Did I build up my immune system these Nature Made VitaMelt supplements? Maybe. I also got plenty of rest and drank proper fluids (other than rose wine in Marseille and Guinness in Ireland)in order to prevent sickness from settling in.
Nutrition is Super Important
During the July VitaMelts breakfast I also heard from registered dietician David Grotto who discussed the importance of eating a balanced, healthy diet. He also addressed how this is not always possible for pretty much all of us but adding vitamin supplements into a nutrition plan can help maintain a healthy lifestyle.
He’s penned the book The Best Things You Can Eat
I’m a Nature Made Wellness Rewards Member Because Saving is Good for the Travel Budget
For four months I’ve been taking my VitaMelts and although I received the first set complimentary from Nature Made to try, I’ve been purchasing them thereafter. Best of all, earlier this year a CVS cashier clued me in on Nature Made’s Wellness Rewards. If you look at one of their bottles you’ll see a code which can be entered into the rewards program and when specific thresholds are met, points can be redeemed for coupons in denominations of $3 and $7. Combine this with the CVS ExtraBucks program and with their sales (frequently vitamins and supplements are BOGOs) and you’ll be saving up a storm to put toward your travel fund!
Disclosure: As an attendee of the Nature Made blogger breakfast in July 2013 during the BlogHer Conference I received VitaMelts and David Grotto’s book complimentary. Opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal experiences and your experience with the product may be different.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any diseases.
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