Why do I need to take supplements?

“A healthy, balanced diet should be the foundation of any wellbeing journey,” explains Jade. “However, it’s now more difficult for customers to get what they need to ‘be well’ from food alone.” Ross J. Barr, the namesake founder of the fertility-focussed supplement brand, agrees. “Soil quality is not what it once was, and many crops are deficient in minerals. Sadly, the reality is that many people can’t get sufficient nutrients from modern farmed foods.”

Some supplement ingredients have always been hard to consume naturally. “Collagen, for example, is only really found in the tendons, connective tissue and organ meat of animals, so it’s not that accessible in a regular diet,” explains Anna Lahey, Founder of Vida Glow, whose supplements promote glowing skin. “Even if you’re eating ‘nose-to-tail’, or drinking bone broths, you’re consuming collagen in its raw form, which is a very large molecule and not well absorbed by the body. So, it doesn’t offer much benefit for skin.”  

Away from the dinner table, there’s Vitamin D. Exposure to sunlight gives most of us our daily fill during the summer months, but at wintertime, it’s much harder to naturally absorb. Stress, age, pregnancy and dietary requirements also impact the body’s supply and absorption of B vitamins, magnesium and iron. This is where supplements come into play.

Which supplements should I take?

Choosing supplements can be tricky, as their effects on the body aren’t always direct. Vitamin C, for example, has skin-improving qualities, but it also stimulates the body’s production of hyaluronic acid and collagen, and improves the body’s absorption of iron. With all this happening inside the body and behind the scenes, it’s hard to know which ingredients are doing what.  

Anna Lahey believes that “anyone with a skincare routine would benefit from adding a collagen supplement to their regimens. Our Natural Marine Collagen is clinically proven to firm skin and boost skin hydration.” And there’s ongoing research underway to determine how it might regenerate bones, tendons and cartilage.  

Consider how you might take them, too. Brands consider the sensitivities, speed and efficiency of absorption associated with different ingredients, so supplements can get to work, rather than just passing through the body. This is why Vida Glow’s Radiance supplement is delivered in capsule form, but its Anti-G-Ox supplement is a powder that absorbs on or under the tongue.  

Understanding the need for an individualised approach, Dr. Vali holds consultations and tailored in-person supplement treatments. The By Dr. Vali 360 Experiential Centre at Selfridges London on 2 uses “prescription-strength, intravenous nutrient therapy, supercharged supplementation programmes and superhero IV boosters of amino acids and vitamins,” she explains. Her work is part of a much-discussed process called biohacking, which uses therapies to alter a person’s biology. “I can hack your metabolism to increase fat-burning capacity,” Dr. Vali explains. “I could supercharge libido, performance, and concentration.”

Will they actually work?

As biohacking and B vitamins have become buzzwords, pressure has grown for supplement brands to prove their value. “Putting products through clinical trials is going above and beyond the standard procedure for our category,” Anna Lahey explains. “Our marine collagen was put through a double-blind placebo-controlled trial to substantiate its anti-ageing benefits on skin,” she continues. “The clinical trial found when taking 2.5mg of marine collagen daily for eight weeks, there was a significant increase in skin firmness, a decrease in wrinkles, and skin complexion and radiance were significantly improved.”

The same is true in the world of fertility and pregnancy supplements. “Most supplements are in a chemical form – not a form the body readily recognises,” Ross Barr explains. “Our Food State RJB Pregnancy Formula capsules are in a form known as ‘food state.’ This term means the nutrients are in a form like food that the body will recognise as properly digestible foods and use them accordingly.”

The mission for supplements is simple. “The aim of our formulas is to help bridge the gap to provide a lot of what can be missing from a modern diet,” says Ross. And when that means staying healthy while keeping our food significantly less than 95% spinach, we’re all ears.