Let’s be honest: choosing the right vitamins and supplements is completely puzzling. Who hasn’t stopped in the vitamin aisle of their local pharmacy or herbalist to look at the endless options and end up running away empty-handed because you just don’t know which one to choose?
But a new generation of companies promises to eliminate all static electricity and recommend the right combination of vitamins and supplements for you, all based on science and shipped straight to your home. But are custom vitamins legitimate and worth it? Or are they a placebo effect?
What are custom vitamins?
The companies Ritual, Care / of and Person are making a splash in the world of wellness by selling personalized vitamin packs delivered to your doorstep. With vitamins that look like mini snow globes, filled with tiny spheres suspended in liquid, and others dressed in chic pastel colors from Instagram, these companies have made vitamins the fresh new wellness accessory.
Their argument is simple: You take a quick online assessment and answer basic questions about your age, gender, location, lifestyle choices like diet and exercise, and any current concerns (low energy, digestive issues, dull skin). And, voila! The company will analyze all confusing information and recommend the right vitamin combo for your health.
It is not uncommon for this invention to be a revolution. Today we are very careful with our bodies, and the idea of personalized attention is something that people have clung to. Medical care has always been a rushed process in which personalized attention is not obtained. With personalized vitamins, people have a say in the process and participate in goal identification, so they can feel empowered to take control of their health.
Pros and cons of custom supplements
Personalization makes sense to some degree. Nutrient needs can fluctuate based on age, phase of life, and lifestyle. Also, some people may have a variation or genetic conditions that affect how they metabolize certain nutrients, which may warrant a more individualized approach, but that’s not very common.
For most people, personalized supplements have a number of drawbacks:
- There is not enough research to support that they are really effective . Although all are unique, the overall nutritional needs are relatively similar for most people. If we know that we have a deficit in some type of nutrient, you can take a multivitamin to complement the diet. But getting to the level of a personalized vitamin? Sounds like a trend and a marketing trick.
- Online evaluations may not be completely reliable . It is quite difficult to believe about the accuracy and validity of the online questionnaires that companies use. How thorough those evaluations really are is unknown.
- They are not a panacea, as some companies make you believe . Custom vitamins can be a piece of the puzzle, but it won’t be the only solution to the problem that someone is trying to solve.
- They are not guaranteed to be safe or effective. The same goes for all dietary supplements, because the Food and Drug Administration does not review them before they hit the market. Instead, the FDA simply encourages manufacturers to report any adverse effects caused by the supplements after they hit the stores.
How to choose your personalized vitamin?
If you decide to try custom vitamins, don’t make your choice based on the most beautiful capsule. Take a closer look at who advises the company, what research the formulations are based on, and what testing methods the company uses. Ideally, the company should be advised by a group of medical professionals, and its research and testing should be conducted by unaffiliated third parties on large groups of humans (not animals).
How to get a better boost?
Vitamins and supplements are meant to supplement your diet, so before you shell out your entire salary on this type of supplement, take a step back and take a look at your diet and overall lifestyle. How is your diet? Are you skipping meals? Are you underfeeding your workouts? Are you getting enough sleep? You’re stressed?
Sometimes people add supplements or vitamins to put a band-aid on a bigger problem. This will not solve the problem in the long term. There are other ways to do a sideways move without resorting to something expensive and highly involved like custom vitamins.
There are many factors to consider first before being so granular with custom supplements. You may be a really healthy person but you are not getting enough vegetables or you are missing nutrients like calcium, protein and vitamin B12 that can be obtained from food groups like dairy.
And even if you lack a single nutrient, it is best to eat real foods rich in the desired vitamin or mineral. Not only will you get the desired nutrient, but other nutrients in the food can help with absorption.
