It goes without saying that everyone’s body is unique – for better or for worse. And while genetics play a huge role in the way our bodies develop over time, so too do environmental factors. We all respond to foods and supplements differently. And based on where we live and the foods we eat, it’s fairly common to be deficient in certain micronutrients that are necessary for optimal health.
That’s where personalized vitamin packs come into play. Brands like Persona Nutrition walk you through easy online assessments in order to recommend custom vitamins that are tailored to your specific needs and lifestyle. Not only does this simplify your journey into vitamin land, but it gives you valuable health insights that you can hold onto if you ever cancel your subscription.
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The belief here is that most people don’t need everything contained in a typical multivitamin pack. The one size fits all approach is overly general and doesn’t take into account the consumer’s existing diet and unique needs.
Additionally, custom vitamins can target specific needs or complaints, including:
- illness
- disease
- fatigue
- athletic performance
- weight loss
- memory problems
- pregnancy
One of the big advantages of custom vitamins is potency. Multivitamins contain more ingredients, but often at lower doses. These low amounts can hinder how effective these supplements actually are, plus you may be taking some ingredients your body doesn’t even need.
There are some interesting studies on the effects of multivitamins.
- One study suggested that taking custom vitamins “modestly but significantly reduced the risk of total cancer” in men.
- Other research suggests they can reduce micronutrient deficiency.
- Another paper showed that multivitamins support immune function and reduce illness associated with poor air quality.
The benefits you get from multivitamins stand to be greater, however, when they’re more personalized. Alongside Persona Nutrition, there are several other reputable companies in the personalized nutrition space.
For example, Care/of also offers custom vitamin subscriptions. Rootine has a similar service, while Ritual is another popular solution (although they don’t provide personalized vitamin packs).
Are personalized vitamins worth it?
OK, so now you understand the process of how to get your hands on personalized supplements. But are personalized vitamin packs worth it?
The vitamin and supplement industries are incredibly huge. But that doesn’t mean you should just blindly buy products left and right. In fact, some dietitians don’t necessarily recommend a general multivitamin for everyone. One of the more commonly cited reasons for this is that they can give consumers more of what they already have — but not enough of what they need.
For example, multivitamin packs can give you lots of B1, B2, and B3. The problem is that most people get enough of these in their diet. However, many people don’t get enough of other micronutrients like calcium, zinc, iron, choline, and magnesium.
In addition, it’s not just our diets that determine whether we are getting enough vitamins. Things like age, sex, location, life stage, health conditions, pregnancy, and more can affect our ability to get enough of specific key ingredients.
As we move through life, our bodily needs change. Our diets, lifestyles, and physiologies are different. Therefore, we may experience unique deficiencies at different points of our lives.
A one size fits all approach can only do so much. To address specific needs, we need to drill down to a more personalized level. While nothing can replace working with a medical professional and doing stringent tests, an online assessment can help identify priority areas in regards to your nutrition — if the provider’s data and research are strong enough.
Additionally, personalized vitamin packs reduce the risks of duplication and vitamin toxicity. For example, when you use custom vitamins, you’re not getting too much of what you already have enough of.
Finally, custom vitamin blends can target specific health goals or situations.
Persona Nutrition offers other targeted subscriptions for things like sleep, energy, weight loss, etc. It also has PreNatal packs with omega-3 fatty acids and methylated folate, a form of folate that is more absorbable for most women. They also offer a whole host of other personalized packages for men, women, stress, aging, health, etc.
Considering all of this, personalized vitamin packs have many advantages over general, store-bought products. The process is headache-free and straightforward, and you’ll save money by not buying bottles of ingredients you don’t actually need.
Who is Persona Nutrition?
Persona Nutrition is a custom vitamins business based in Snoqualmie, WA. Founder and CEO Jason Brown formed the company in 2016. However, his track record goes back further than that. He was also the man behind Custom Nutrition Services, a similar company acquired by DrugStore.com in 2003.
His new venture started life under the name Nutrition Packs. It has since rebranded under Persona Nutrition before being purchased by Nestle Food Sciences.
The Persona Nutrition process is straightforward.
First, you fill out an online assessment. After including your name, age, and sex, they ask you to identify your top health concerns.
There are 13 different categories to choose from, including things like:
- weight loss
- immunity
- mood
- energy
- sleep
- fitness
- specific mental conditions.
Once you’ve picked your top three concerns, they ask about your diet. They offer Personalized vitamin packs for almost every diet, including keto, paleo, vegan, plant-based, etc.
Next, Persona asks if you’ve had liver issues, allergies, or other sensitivities. Again, this helps narrow down your custom vitamins.
After that, they check your diet for:
- fruit and veg
- calcium-rich foods
- red meat
- alcohol
- smoking
They also ask if you’ve ever had genetic health testing. Finally, they move on to questions about weight loss, fitness, sun exposure, family health conditions, and many, many more.
The breadth of the questions they ask is so vast that it’s beyond the scope of this article to list them all. But trust me, no stone is left unturned, including questions about if you are currently taking any prescription medications. This is an important safety component as certain prescription medications may interact with supplements.
It’s an exhaustive test with enough questions to ensure customers get truly personalized vitamin packs. However, even though it is comprehensive, it doesn’t take a lot of time to complete.
Of course, we need to note that doing an online assessment shouldn’t replace a medical consultation performed by a health professional. In fact, even with a personalized assessment, it is still recommended to consult with your doctor before starting any new supplements.
Once Persona Nutrition has crunched the numbers, they recommend your custom vitamins. Then you just need to check out and pay for your 28-day supply subscription.
It’s worth adding that you don’t have to go down the custom vitamins route. You can also buy individual ingredients or even blends for immune support, energy, sleep, weight loss, etc. Persona allows its users a lot of control and choices.
Another big plus point is that your monthly subscription grants you 7-days a week access to expert nutritionists. These specialists can give you one-to-one advice by phone, email, or chat. These consultations are a neat bonus that can help you stay informed or adjust your personalized vitamin packs according to your needs.
Personalized Vitamins Compared: Persona vs Rootine vs care/of
As we mentioned up top, Persona Nutrition isn’t the only subscription-based custom vitamins company in the game.
Rootine and Care/of also provide personalized vitamin packs. But how do their offerings compare?
*Prices were based on my own individual assessment. Your personalized vitamin packs may contain other ingredients, so the monthly cost may vary.
Overall, each of these custom vitamin brands is easy to sign up for. The personalized questionnaire takes 5 mins or less, and the websites are super user-friendly.
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Grab an Essential Vitamin Test for just $80Are Persona Vitamins worth it?
There is a lot to love about Persona Nutrition. The ordering process is simple, and their web interface is pleasant. Additionally, they have an excellent app for smartphone users.
Persona has a great selection of products. You can mix and match your own custom vitamins ortake their comprehensive online test to get personalized vitamin packs.
One of the biggest perks of Persona is that it takes the burden off its customers. Trying to figure out what you need yourself takes time, research, and a lot of trial and error. Even after that, you can’t always be sure that you are getting the right blend of supplements.
Using a subscription service means you don’t need to remember to pop to the health store to top up. Additionally, your vitamins come in daily packs, so it’s easy to get into the routine of taking them regularly.
Personalized vitamin packs are also a great idea for people with particular diets, sensitivities, or allergies.
One downside is a lack of third-party product testing to ensure the product actually contains what it says it does. In this regard, you have to take a leap of faith and trust Persona. Additionally, it’s worth remembering that the FDA doesn’t test supplements as if they are medicines. They treat them like food, so it’s a less strict process.
That’s not to say that Persona doesn’t ensure its products are safe and high-quality. They work closely with trusted US manufacturers and suppliers. Additionally, their products and processes are FDA-cGMP compliant, which means they follow high standards for their manufacturing processes.
Persona claims they are very research-focused. They have a credentialed team of scientists and nutritionists that recommend its supplements. Additionally, Persona has a Medical Advisory Board to ensure the quality of products and manufacturing.
They provide users with a lot of detailed information on each supplement and ingredient. Of course, some of these products have more robust scientific support than others, which is something to keep in mind.
Persona Reviews: What are other customers saying online?
Persona Nutrition is a pretty established name in the vitamins and supplements space. The brand has built a loyal customer base for its custom vitamins and other blends.
But what are their customers saying about their products? Do they vouch for their effectiveness? How do they feel about the overall service? Do their customers have any complaints to make?
We took a deep dive into the thoughts and feelings by reading online Persona vitamin reviews. Overall, opinions of the brand are positive.
The few negative Persona Nutrition reviews we did find were related to shipping delays or lost orders. I’m not saying this is something you should ignore, but if you regularly use the US Postal Service or shipping companies, you’ll know that things can go awry. And quite often, they’re out of your control.
The Persona Nutrition reviews we find most relevant are about the product and the service.
So, let’s explore a few.
TL;DR – Is Persona Nutrition a good choice for personalized vitamin packs?
Even people with a carefully planned and varied diet can struggle to get enough vitamins and minerals. So many factors influence what we need that even hitting the average recommended daily allowance can sometimes leave us short. Then, throw in our location, lifestyle, sex, health conditions, and other factors, and it’s easy to be deficient in one thing or another.
Without regular blood tests, it’s hard to be sure you’re getting enough of what you need in your diet.
Taking supplements is one way to cover the gaps. But, the one size fits all approach for multivitamins might work for one body, but it won’t work for the next. For example, if you have a diet that’s already rich in Vit B1, supplementing it will either give you too much or be a waste of time and money.
Personalized vitamin packs tackle these particular problems. Custom vitamins can target your unique dietary deficiencies through research, tests, or assessments. By understanding your personal situation, you can take the supplements you need.
Persona Nutrition uses a thorough assessment to match your custom vitamins with what you need — any only what you need. They also provide free access to nutrition experts. You can reach out to discuss your particular needs, find out more about specific ingredients, or book a consultation.
Persona offers over 80 different individual vitamins, minerals, and other supplements. They source from trusted suppliers and do rigorous testing—additionally, they’re compliant with industry manufacturing and production standards.
Persona Nutrition reviews are very positive. However, I found an occasional Persona review that complained about the price. Their supplements are in the higher price bracket, but they reflect high-quality products, customer service, and easy access to expert nutritionists.
Persona offers an excellent range of products. You can buy:
- Individual vitamins, minerals, and supplements
- Packs that target sleep, energy, immune system, weight loss, etc.
- Personalized vitamin packs based on an online assessment
The brand is also big into sustainability and eco-friendly packaging, and subscriptions can be paused and canceled easily.
Overall, Persona Nutrition is an excellent addition to the custom vitamins space. The brand is honest and transparent, and its wide array of products offers something for everyone.