[Doctor's Repeat Buys] Introducing *only* the items that a cost-conscious female doctor repeatedly buys on "iHerb".

Hello. I am a doctor and a mom.

Suddenly, are you familiar with an e-commerce site called "iHerb"?
It is one of the world's largest e-commerce sites for "natural products and supplements," headquartered in the United States.

There must be quite a few of you who have purchased from there before.
I myself am an iHerb enthusiast.

There are items you can't get in Japan, and since they aren't expensive when discounted during sales, the price range is satisfactory even for a cost-conscious person like me.

In the beginning, I tried one promising thing after another in various fields like food, snacks, and cosmetics, but having purchased from iHerb a total of 20 times, the items I actually "repeat buy" are limited.

So!

This time, I would like to introduce to you only the items I "repeat buy".
The items I am introducing this time are items that I will likely continue to restock (repeat) for a while to come, so please use this as a reference.

By the way, if you purchase through the links, you can also buy at a discounted price, and it seems to be a win-win system where I get a tiny referral fee as well (lol).
The referral fee is minimal, so that is not the goal; please rest assured that I simply want to share my personal recommendations with everyone.

Now, here are the purchased items that I, a 40-something doctor approaching menopause, love to use!

And as a bonus, I will secretly introduce just one item that is talked about but was personally "a purchase I regret".
(Please understand that this is just my personal opinion.)

Now, let's go through them one by one at a good pace!
(The numbers in parentheses indicate how many times I have repeated the purchase, for your reference.)

1. Biotin gummy supplements (7th bottle)

This is a supplement I have introduced many times in my articles and videos so far.

As a premise, I have a mindset of wanting to "keep supplements to a minimum" for the sake of my body and for cost reasons.
After trying various things, these are the chosen supplements.

Here are the reasons why they won

The reason I don't use a "it has everything in it!" type like a multivitamin is out of consideration for the excessive intake of fat-soluble vitamins.
While water-soluble vitamins like Vitamin C are relatively safe because excess amounts are excreted in urine, fat-soluble vitamins are easily stored in fat, and if you were to accidentally remain in a state of excessive intake, it could lead to health damage, so it is more convenient not to have everything included.

Also, expensive items cannot be continued for a long time.
Since they need to be purchased regularly, in a sense, they are a subscription.
I don't want to spend that much money on supplementary supplements so that they don't become an expensive subscription.

A type of vitamin B called "biotin" is deeply involved in maintaining the health of skin, hair, and nails and acts as a coenzyme that aids metabolism.
It is contained in many foods such as meat and mushrooms, so it is rarely deficient, but if it is deficient, it is said that skin symptoms such as atopic dermatitis and hair loss, loss of appetite, and depression may appear.

Above all, it's delicious, so the honest truth is that I've been able to continue it easily by positioning it as a reward for my body-building efforts... (lol)

② Omega-3 Supplement (4th bottle)

Omega-3 is a general term for "essential fatty acids" that cannot be synthesized in the body and must be obtained from the diet.
Yes, they are things that are necessary for the body but can only be taken from the outside.

Omega-3 is said to be abundant in seafood (fish, crustaceans, etc.), and there are research results showing that people who consume seafood at least once a week (1-4 times) have a lower risk of heart disease than those who do not consume it at all.
It is also said to be effective from the perspective of preventing lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, which are risk factors for heart disease.
The link to the onset of dementia is currently under study.

I say this after talking so much, but it is not clear at this point whether supplementing as a supplement has the same effect.

In my case, there are days when I can't eat seafood, so I take it as a supplement the morning after a day when I think, "I didn't eat fish..."

③ Organic Coconut Oil (3rd bottle)

This is butter-flavored coconut oil.

I often make bread using a home bakery, and bread making often uses "unsalted butter".
Until now, I used to buy block butter at the supermarket, but it was troublesome because I had to freeze it, and when I used it, it was rock hard and I had to go out of my way to cut the necessary amount with a knife.

That's when I found this oil.

It can be stored at room temperature, and since it is liquid to semi-solid at room temperature, it is easy to scoop with a spoon and handle, so I use this for bread making.
Unlike MCT oil, it is resistant to heat, so it can also be used in cooking when you want a butter flavor.
I use it as a topping for foil-baked dishes or in butter-soy sauce sauces.

Since it is about 90% saturated fatty acids, unlike things that should be actively consumed for health, I use it strictly as a substitute for butter or margarine.

④ Powdered Oatmeal (7th bag)

I use it in my "oatmeal protein," which is my staple breakfast.

Granular rolled oats might be better known.
Since this is in powder form, it can also be used as a substitute for wheat flour.

Every morning, I mix 30g of this with protein, dissolve it in water (soy milk is also fine), and eat it with yogurt and frozen berries.

It has a better mouthfeel than the granular type, so I prefer the powder.

Why oatmeal?

Why choose oatmeal among carbohydrates?
Actually, I don't have a very strong preference for it. (lol)

(If I only have protein for breakfast, I get hungry.)
(But then again, combining it with rice or bread doesn't feel quite right...)

It was out of this feeling that I tried mixing protein with oatmeal, and since I thought "this works," I've kept doing it. That's all there is to it (lol).

I do hope for the effects of high dietary fiber and stable blood sugar levels, but personally, I think as long as your PFC balance is generally met, it doesn't matter what you eat as a carbohydrate.

In dieting, "sustainability" is more important than anything else, so things you force yourself to incorporate just don't last.
In that case, I think it's fine to say, "Oatmeal is supposed to be good for dieting, but I don't like the taste, so I'll stick to rice."

Try incorporating something that seems good for a while, and
"if it suits you, keep doing it; if it doesn't, try something else"
—I think you need this much leeway.

5. Kids Vitamin C (11th bottle)

This is the only thing that belongs to my children.

During seasonal changes or when events overlap, they would often get a bit of a cold, with coughs and runny noses... my children were prone to getting sick.
As they've gotten older, they don't run fevers as often, but for some reason, they have a habit of feeling unwell whenever school events or trips are coming up... (tears)

That's when I decided to introduce this liquid-type "Vitamin C".

I tried several tablet versions, but even if they liked them at first, once it became a daily thing, they would say, "I don't like this anymore," and wouldn't take them.

Meanwhile, both of them love this liquid Vitamin C supplement and even ask for it themselves, saying "VC!"
The taste is light citrus and not overly sweet.
It tastes a bit like diluted Chelate Lemon!?

Unlike multivitamins, it is a water-soluble Vitamin C on its own, so there is no worry about overconsumption, and I can incorporate it daily with peace of mind.
They take one spoonful every night.

There are other things I'm mindful of regarding my children's health, so I don't think it's just the influence of this supplement, but they really stopped catching colds!
I can't even remember when the last time they were sick was.
(*This is just my personal opinion (lol))

6. Toner (3rd bottle (4th one waiting in line))

This is a toner I apply immediately after washing my face.

As a premise, I recognize that external skincare is all "much of a muchness."
If you get into the details, each has its own features, rare active ingredients, and specific concentrations, but I think, "Isn't it enough already?" given that human skin doesn't change that much, yet so many skincare products are being created and overflowing in the market to the point where you can't choose (lol).

With that mindset, there are only three things I prioritize in external skincare.

As you can see, it's different for everyone.

This toner was the one that met these three criteria.
It is light and absorbs quickly into the skin after washing (it doesn't feel like it's just sitting on the surface of the skin forever).
And the scent is subtle, with a botanical tea tree aroma.

I think preferences for scent and feel vary greatly.
Some people like rich textures, others like light ones.
Some people want to enjoy the scent, while others prefer fragrance-free.

I think there are many people who are refugees from external skincare, but I feel that from a medical perspective, it is better for your skin in the long run to spend that time and money on "internal" skincare, such as diet and exercise.

⑦ Serum (Moisturizing Toner) (2nd bottle (3rd bottle waiting))

The toner I mentioned earlier absorbs quickly into the skin, but it lacks sufficient moisture, so I use this toner along with it.Wait, this is actually an ampoule.

Like the previous one, this also meets the three criteria mentioned above and has almost no scent.
It uses a dropper, so the area around the cap doesn't get dirty, and it stays clean.
And I like how it looks.
It is from the Korean manufacturer SKIN1004.

To talk a little about the characteristics and effects of the ingredients,
more than half (55%) is made of "Centella Asiatica extract."

"Centella Asiatica" is commonly known asCICAand I think many people will recognize it, but it is said to haveanti-inflammatoryandskin repair propertiesand is effective forcalming acne and redness, strengthening the barrier function, and anti-aging care.

⑧ Additive-free organic honey (2nd bottle)

Honey has become expensive lately, hasn't it?
I repeat this one because it is organic, has no strange aftertaste, and is not too expensive.

Honey comes from various regions and the prices vary widely, so I feel it is one of the more difficult products to choose.
If you are too particular, it becomes too expensive and is no longer "sustainable," so I choose one that has a good balance.

Extra edition: Things that are getting attention but didn't work for me (no repeat)

This is the much-talked-about "melatonin."
It is sold overseas as a hormonal supplement used to adjust the body clock andregulate sleep-wake rhythms.
In Japan, it is treated as a pharmaceutical ingredient and is not sold as a supplement domestically.

It is said that taking it about 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime can help support natural sleepiness, so I bought it to try it myself first for my mother-in-law, who was having trouble sleeping.

By the way,

With the understanding that it is not recommended, I will share my personal experience using it.

This product is a gummy supplement, and after taking it, I felt a heavy, sluggish, floaty sensation within about 30 minutes to an hour. Since it is a gummy, having to brush my teeth after taking it was more of a hassle than I expected.

I felt sluggish, so I went to bed, but I felt somewhat unwell, which was different from the "naturally lulled to sleep" sensation I had imagined.

I tried it a few times, but since it wasn't a pleasant feeling, I stopped taking it.

I didn't originally have any sleep issues, so perhaps I was more prone to feeling sluggish. I tried it with my husband, but his reaction was that he "
felt nothing." (laughs) It seems he didn't feel any effect at all—he didn't sleep better, nor did he feel sluggish.

My mother-in-law, who has struggled with sleep (mainly difficulty falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, and difficulty falling back asleep), also tried it, but she said, "I couldn't sleep."
I suppose its mildness is both a good and a bad thing.

Summary

I have introduced the items I purchase and repeat on everyone's favorite, "iHerb."

I hope this is helpful for those in the menopause generation aged 40 and over, like me, or those in the adult transition phase who are conscious of similar concerns and body maintenance.

"I want you to share this!"
"What do you think about XX?"
I am always accepting requests for articles and videos.

Thank you for reading until the end.