Before we go into the deets, it’s important to understand what exactly are personalized vitamins.
In a nutshell, personalized vitamins are vitamins that are customized to your health based on a questionnaire, health conditions or blood or genetic test.
So, are personalized vitamins worth it?
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Perks of Personalized Vitamins
Now that we know what personalized vitamins actually are, why are all the wellness companies jumping on the bandwagon with them? Vitamins can provide many benefits to our bodies such as being involved in metabolic and bodily processes.
Whilst there are guidelines with regards to the quantities of vitamins, nutrition is individualized and our needs can be increased due to health conditions, stage of life, current deficiency or genetics.
This is where the magic of personalized vitamins come in, these dietary supplements will provide vitamins that will match your needs and support your health goals, hence the word personalized.
Instead of taking a supplement and not knowing whether it is meeting your requirements, these dietary supplements do and can help to support our bodies better and prevent nutritional deficiencies.
I’m sure we can all agree that knowing exactly what nutrients to take is a challenge, especially with all the products lining the shelves. The beauty in getting personalized vitamins is that you don’t need to choose exactly what nutrients you need, the company will choose for you based on your results. This takes the guesswork and stress out of choosing a supplement that will support your overall health best.
Pitfalls of Personalized Vitamins
Whilst these types of vitamins may seem enticing, it’s important to note that these supplements are not a magic pill for a healthy diet. These supplements can support our bodies and are best used in conjunction with a healthy diet.
Supplemental companies are not regulated by the FDA and this can result in some products having poor quality ingredients or not having the dose that is on the label. To reduce the chances of this, its important to use a reputable supplement company.
Personalized supplement companies typically run a vitamin subscription service where you can receive your products on a bi-monthly or monthly basis delivered to your home. This is convenient however it doesn’t come cheap with the average price ranging from $25-$100.
Another concern with personalized vitamins, is that whilst some vitamins are water soluble meaning they are dissolve in water and get excreted through your urinary system, certain vitamins are fat soluble.
Fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin D, A and E typically get stored in the fat in our body, if there is an excess of these vitamins it can cause serious health symptoms.
If you do decide to get personalized supplements that include the fat soluble vitamins first, it is important to chat to your healthcare provider and get blood tests to check your levels, this will prevent an excess of these vitamins.
Do I need personalized vitamins?
After reading this, you are probably curious as to if personalized vitamins would suit you. If you are overwhelmed by all the supplements available, have a medical condition, are in a specific stage of life such as pregnancy or would like to have personalized nutrition, then personalized vitamins may be the solution.
Are personalized supplements worth it?
This question all depends on the reason for having personalized supplements, if you are taking them just because and have a vast understanding of vitamins and your requirements, then it may not be worth it.
However if you don’t have a wide knowledge on supplementations and you aren’t sure if your current supplementation plan is supporting your body best and you want to take the guesswork out and leave it to the professionals, then yes personalized vitamins are then worth it.
Care/Of
This is a tough question as there are many personalized vitamin quizzes on the market, however if I had to pick a winner for most detailed quiz, it would be Care/of. This quiz is around 56 questions and asks multiple questions on your health goals and current goals. When I did this quiz, it felt like the company was really trying to understand me and my health goals and the products that were recommended did feel completely personalized towards my needs.
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Hum Nutrition
Hum Nutrition takes the prize for the best personalized vitamin company, with their user friendly quiz, personalized nutrition, registered dietitian and a free health report.
What’s not to like? On the more serious note, their products are third-party tested so you can be assured that the products are of high quality.
Customer review on HUM:
“Iâve been using HUM for 4-5 years, and have tried most of their products at one point or another! Some are definitely better than others but a lot of it is personal. Currently I still use their vitamin D, probiotic (trying for the first time, so canât really recommend it yet) and I always keep their melatonin on hand. They can be expensive long term but they do have savings options if you really like their products. “- Almondcroissant
Rootine
Rootine takes the personalization to a whole new levels by using results from either a DNA and blood test. The DNA test analyzes genes that could influence your nutrient needs and the blood test measures the levels of vitamins in your blood such as vitamin B and Folate.
Once the results of the tests are in, Rootine then sends you a personalized vitamin pack based on your specific needs.
Customer Review on Rootine:
“I am on month three of using Rootine and coming to appreciate the results. My only concerns involve timing, cost, and customer service. Plan a month or more out on your reorder. I wanted until the last month. It took three weeks to process my new order. I had to take a different companyâs vitamin supplements -to cover the lapse in time. Also, the overall cost can be intimidating. I am grateful to be able to apply savings, when available. Customer service communication has been executed via text messaging. Most recently when I went to apply a promotion, I received zero response. If the promotion expired, thatâs cool. I just want to know if the promotion is possible. Those concerns aside, I have noticed an improvement in blood work. I look forward to continued use with Rootine on my wellness journey.” -Miamichelle29
Read full Rootine Review
Nourished
Nourished not only provides personalized supplements but they do so in a tasty way, gummies. The gummies are 3D printed and comprise of 7 layers containing high quality nutrients based on your results from a quick online quiz.
Customer Review on Nourished:
“Well made. Consistent product. Been feeling good since starting on my Stacks!” -Anonymous
Are fancy vitamins worth it?
It all depends on what your definition of fancy includes. If by fancy you mean personalized supplements, then it could be worth it if you are looking to use supplements that are focused specifically on your health.
If by fancy you mean vitamins that are a little more expensive than average but are reputable and third party tested, then yes it is definitely worth it! Rather spend a little bit more on a product that has been test rather on a product that may not be what it says it is.
Does brand name matter buying vitamins?
When you buy supplements, it’s important to remember that the FDA does not regulate dietary supplements, this means that the ingredients are not tested for authenticity and quality.
To ensure that you are using vitamins that use authentic and high quality vitamins, rather opt for a brand that’s reputable instead of the brand that your friends neighbor sold you.
Do store bought vitamins work?
Yes, just because a supplement was bought in a store, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. If you would like to go down this route, I would recommend using a company that is reputable and is third party tested.
What vitamins do you need daily?
When we talk vitamins, we talk about fat soluble and water soluble vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins are stored in our fat and accumulate over time, if we don’t need to get them daily through nutrition we can use the vitamins in storage.
Water soluble vitamins are different, rather than being stored in fat, they dissolve in water and get excreted through our urinary system.
The pro about this is that it is rare to experience toxicity of the water soluble vitamins. A deficiency in the water soluble vitamins however, is common as if you don’t get these vitamins daily, your body won’t receive them.
The water soluble vitamins are needed in our diet daily and these include the B vitamins and vitamin C.
How do I know what vitamins I should be taking?
If you are unsure of what vitamins you should be taking, you can start with the basic water soluble vitamins.
If you would like to know the specifics then either using one of the personalized vitamin companies, seeing your healthcare provider or having a blood test done can help you in determining your vitamin needs.
Is there a downside to taking vitamins?
When you start taking vitamins, it’s important to remember that it doesn’t replace poor nutrition, you still need to have good nutrition to support your body the best.
If you are taking fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamin D and E, it’s important to get your levels checked on a regular basis to ensure that you do not have over accumulation of these vitamins which can result in toxicity.
The water soluble vitamins are safer since they are excreted in our urine, the only potential downside is that if the dose of the vitamin is higher than your needs, the nutrients and essentially your money will be flushed down the toilet.
To reduce this, always look at the dose of the supplement, chat to your healthcare provider or use a personalized vitamin service to determine your needs.
