It’s May 23rd, the 23rd day of Celiac Disease Awareness Month and today is brought to you by Nutrasumma, helping to find you supplements to help you heal and get your body back on track after years of nutrition deprivation.

I wasn’t really all about supplements until I went gluten-free. When I was diagnosed as a celiac, I was told to check my nutrient levels – as celiac hinders absorption, leaving a person low or missing key nutrients. I was low in…well just about everything. I take multiple vitamins, nutrients, and supplements throughout the day. One of the things that my nutritionist/naturopathic doctor talked to me about was that I wasn’t taking in enough protein throughout the day. As you know, I’m not the biggest meat eater (no beef ever, but chicken, turkey, or pork daily). It really grosses me out to eat meat (mostly just when I have to prepare it), but I need so much protein to make me feel like a human being.

This is where protein shakes come into play. I used to drink Slim Fast 24/7 when things were really bad, way before I was diagnosed. Here’s the ingredients for Slim Fast:
MALTODEXTRIN, SUGAR, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), GUM ARABIC, HIGH OLEIC SUNFLOWER OIL, CELLULOSE GEL, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, BUTTERMILK POWDER,SOY LECITHIN, XANTHAN GUM, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, DEXTROSE, CARRAGEENAN, SALT, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, GUAR GUM, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM (NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENER), ASPARTAME. VITAMINS AND MINERALS: CALCIUM CARBONATE, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, VITAMIN E ACETATE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, NIACINAMIDE, ZINC OXIDE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, CHROMIUM CHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, BIOTIN, COPPER GLUCONATE, FOLIC ACID, SODIUM MOLYBDATE, SODIUM SELENITE, PHYTONADIONE (VITAMIN K1), POTASSIUM IODIDE, CHOLECALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D3), AND CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12). SWEETENED WITH NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS AND A NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENER. MAY CONTAIN WHEAT . PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE.

That’s a lot of crap (in all caps nonetheless). Oh yeah, did you see the “May Contain Wheat” part?

But then there’s a company called Nutrasumma. I was turned onto them by my friend Ken who takes their supplements. Since then, I’ve become a believe in their products and their company (and so have other GFFs like Chandice from Gluten Free Frenzy)!

For example, here’s the ingredients for Nutrasumma Protein Powder in chocolate:

Pea protein isolate, protease enzyme (from Aspergilius Oryzae), betaine hydrochloride, amino acids (alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, cystine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine), other ingredients: cane sugar, natural cocoa powder, cocoa (processed with alkali) natural chocolate flavor, steviol glycosides, sea salt. (yep – those are all real things that I know of).

Also, all Nutrasumma products are gluten-free and the pea proteins are all dairy-free and soy-free now too (and non-GMO if you’re into that). Woot woot! I had a chance to sit down and talk with the CEO of the company and it was so awesome to see someone who had so much passion for his products and what he was putting into every bottle.

Other things that are important to my diet and are offered by Nutrasumma:

Glutamine Plus – regulates protein levels in your muscles, prevents protein breakdown.
http://nutrasumma.com/shop/nutrasumma-products/active-sports-nutrition/glutamine.html
My nutritionist/naturopath suggested taking more glutamine – and apparently many people don’t have enough glutamine in their diets, especially active people!

B12 spray – for energy production
http://nutrasumma.com/shop/nutrasumma-products/daily-nutrients/b-12-spray.html
My nutritionist/naturopath suggested upping my B’s and this spray is so much better than taking MORE vitamins!

Digest Complex – digestive enzymes and absorption help
http://nutrasumma.com/shop/nutrasumma-products/gut-health/digest.html
As you know, I take digestive enzymes after most of my meals, especially if I sneak in any dairy or eggs or other items I’m “sensitive” to. Others will take this if they are accidentally dosed with gluten cross contamination to help ease the digestive issues (note, it’s never okay to cheat on gluten).

Immulox – Helps stimulate an under-active immune system or calm an overactive immune system.
http://nutrasumma.com/shop/nutrasumma-products/immune-support/immulox-5-oz.html
This is made from Bovine Colustrum (yep, like milk), but I don’t react to it like I do dairy. Then again, I can handle trace amounts of dairy without getting stomach bubbles – not so much with cheese.

The next two I’ve been experimenting with for weight management
1) Carb Transfer – supports the healthy transfer of carbs
http://nutrasumma.com/shop/nutrasumma-products/weight-management/carbtransfer.html
This contains garcinia cambogia extract, white kidney bean extract, green tea extract, and african mango seed. If you’re not familiar with these ingredients, I’ve seen them in all the latest “weight loss” supplements on the market.

2) Summa Lean – supports metabolic and digestive systems
http://nutrasumma.com/shop/nutrasumma-products/weight-management/summalean.html
Contains L-Carnitine Tartate, Green Tea Leaf Extract, Yerba Mate Leaf Extract, Green Coffee Bean Extract, Cinnamon Bark Extract and more – along with many digestive support items like kelp powder, african mango seed, holy basil leaf, cayenne pepper fruit powder, and clove.

These products definitely stimulates digestion – I can feel it warming my digestive tract. I haven’t been taking these products long enough or regularly enough to see any benefit from it yet. However, I have trust in Nutrasumma’s quality ingredients and if I were to take any of these ingredients, I would want them to be from Nutrasumma. They test their batches regularly and vigorously. They believe in their products and stand by them – refreshing to see so much passion into doing what they do!

You can find Nutrasumma products online by visiting their store: http://nutrasumma.com/shop/

If you’d prefer to buy Nutrasumma at a store near you, use their handy store locator: http://www.nutrasumma.com/store-locator/

Enter to win via Rafflecopter below and you can be hooked up with awesome supplements from Nutrasumma!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tagged: Celiac Disease Awareness Month, giveaway, gluten free, Gluten Free Protein Powder, Gluten Free Supplements, Nutrasumma, pea Protein, Pea Protein Powder