How This Personalized Vitamin Service Made Me Believe In The Power Of Supplements

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Once upon a time, I was a bit of a vitaminoholic. In my early 20’s — which we all know is the time of your life when you eat a lot of crap, stay out late, and get most of your exercise in your dominant thumb as you channel surf on the couch — I hoped I could balance out my somewhat questionable lifestyle with a plethora of pills. (The good for you kind, obviously.)

RELATED: 8 Best Nutritionist Recommended Vitamins & Supplements For Kids of All Ages

As I got older and more responsible, my diet improved, my late nights became early morning runs, and I figured I could phase out most of the vitamins and supplements I was taking. Fast forward a few more years to the ripe old age of none-of-your-business, some annoying sleep and stress issues have caused me to reconsider. Enter Care/of — a new personalized way to take charge of your health with specific vitamin and supplement recommendations based on your individual needs, goals, and lifestyle. I decided it was worth a shot.

Here’s how it works: A quick quiz on takecareof.com helps you customize a health plan through a series of simple, straightforward questions about your diet, lifestyle, and health needs.

Whether you’re looking for healthy hair and glowing skin or want to up your energy, the quiz helps you figure out what’s most important to you, and then recommends a vitamin pack and/or additional supplements that help you get there. They even have protein powder if you’re on a fitness kick or looking for a healthy addition to your diet.

Since I’m not a vitamin novice, I was curious about the results I’d get. And they actually made a lot of sense to me. Based on my answers around caffeine and alcohol use (as I write this, I’m sipping my third espresso) Care/of suggested magnesium to help with occasional sleep issues and rhodiola to help me with my energy levels in a healthier way*. They gave me detailed info about the sourcing of each of their supplements, the research behind all of their suggestions and even rated how strongly that science is accepted worldwide.

If you’re one of those people who do their homework (I’m raising my hand right now) you’ll want to know that all their recommendations are backed by their Scientific Advisory Board and based on clinical research. And everything is made ethically, sustainably, and without harsh solvents or processing materials. So, that’s cool, too.

While the prices vary depending on your pack, for the 5 vitamins suggested for me, the monthly cost was super in line with what I would spend at the drugstore (It might have been cheaper, even.) Minus the time and energy it usually takes me to compare brands, read through ingredients, and scroll through customer reviews on my phone all while standing in the aisle blocking a crowd of people trying to get past me to the shampoo.

In the end, I only picked the vitamins I wanted and got my personalized, pre-sorted pack less than a week later. They come in small pouches from a super-cute dispenser, each with your name on it, and a fun fact/question/challenge of the day. (Dogs have unique nose prints like we have fingerprints! Who knew?) Plus, the packs are fully compostable, so you don’t need to stress about adding to your eco-footprint.

So, after reading all this, I know you’re wondering — how am I FEELING?! Dear reader, I’m happy to report — so far, so good. After a month of incorporating the magnesium and the other suggested supplements into my morning routine, my sleep has improved. Less night-time waking and I swear my morning eye bags have deflated a bit. I’ve definitely noticed I have more energy – especially in the late afternoons when I usually crash.

I don’t have any plans to go back to my roaring 20’s lifestyle, but Care/of has absolutely put me back on the vitamin wagon. Consider me converted.

Curious? Take the quiz and get your personalized recommendation and get 50% off your first order with the code SM50.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.