Often, especially when we are on the go or too busy to cook fresh and healthy food, we reach for the pre-cooked alternatives or even go for fast food. While there is absolutely no shame in doing so, we all get busy and we all love a cheeky little burger, these foods often do not contain all the important vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy lifestyle. So we take the easy route and add some supplements into our diet.
Additionally, as someone who is chronically ill, supplements often drastically increase my wellbeing and help with flair-ups, fatigue, and chronic pain. But honestly, while I know about all the benefits of using supplements, I am the worst when it comes to taking them regularly. Not only do I forget but I also just dislike taking all these pills and capsules. Having to take all of these medicine-looking things makes me feel more ill than I actually am. So more often than not, I will take my supplements regularly for like a week or so and then never again.
Another problem is that many supplements do not indicate where their ingredients come from and how they are processed. This might not bother everyone but when you are trying to be sustainable, this can be super annoying. How am I supposed to know what to chose, if no one ever provides this kind of information?
Testing Natuamo
Having struggled with supplements for the longest time, I was unsure when I first found out about Natuamo, a local company that produces and sells sustainable supplements here in Germany.
They produce 100% natural supplements with quality ingredients from all over the world. Form a sustainability point of view, that might not be super ideal, I know that. But they do make sure that their ingredients have a high bioavailablity. Additionally, they do pledge to further improve their sustainability. So while they could be just a tiny bit better when it comes to sustainability, their production is cruelty-free and forgoes completely without animal testing. A huge plus in my eyes. Their production is climate-neutral and for each order above 50€, they plant a tree. So sustainability? Kinda check!
In addition, as I struggle with a lot of food intolerances, I very much appreciate that their products are vegan, gluten-free, and lactose-free. No stomach issues: check!
So while I thought I was done with supplements, I decided to give them another go and try Natuamo. Before we get into the products, I do think it is important to note that their products are a bit more expensive than whatever generic brand you can by on Amazon or other places. The products were gifted to me for testing but I honestly think that a product you like and that fits your needs is worth spending on. If you need to splurge, at least splurge on your health, am I right?
The Best of Berries
The first thing I tested was berries best, an antioxidant powder that is great for your skin. Antioxidants offer protection against so-called “free radicals” and can thus protect the cells from oxidative stress. Yes, you read that right, your skin can be stressed. So in addition to applying a skincare routine and especially sunscreen – never forget your sunscreen, kids! – antioxidant powders protect your skin from the inside. But what could cause such stress for your skin? Air pollution such as cigarette smoke, engine fumes or UV radiation, are just some examples of the stress factors that can negatively affect your skin in the long run.
So berries best seemed like something I could potentially really like – especially because it is not another pill or capsule but a powder that can be mixed into foods and drinks. And what can I say: I love it.
When I make my yoghurt in the morning, I always take 300g of plain yoghurt, add in 100g of frozen berries, two teaspoons or about 10g of berries best, and add some flaxseeds and chia seeds on top. Mix it all up, and boom, there you go, a healthy and super tasty breakfast bowl that will get you started for the day. And you won’t even notice that your are taking your supplements.
Berries best is also great for baking! Find a recipe for Berry Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins here.
Apart from tasting amazing berries best contains a lot of good stuff, such as:
- A rich mixture for antioxidants like the vitamines A, C & E
- The power berries Acai, Acerola & Maqui
- Vitamin mushrooms Reishi & Chaga
- Vitamin B6 for firmer skin
- Copper for radiant skin
- Vitamin E for fewer wrinkles
- Calcium to prevent skin blemishes
Ingredients: Blueberries freeze-dried (20%), Lucuma, Açai (13%), Maca, Yacon, Blackcurrant extract (6%), Maqui freeze-dried (6%), Acerola, Aronia extract, Reishi mushroom, Chaga mushroom, natural flavors.
So for me, berries best is an absolute winner. I honestly would eat it just for the flavour, everything else is just extra to me. A new breakfast staple! In the six weeks I have tested it, I have added it my breakfast almost every day and I have gone through about half of a container. So that is a lot of bang for your buck, if you ask me.
Getting my Vita in Check
In addition to berries best, I wanted something that would help me with my overall levels of vitamines and minerals, so I tested fully vita – natuamo’s vitamine complex capsules. Yes, i know, i said no capsulses but sometimes you just got to do what you got to do. Apart from the fact that I love that they are produced in Germany, they also come in a little glass bottle that is sustainable and can be reused after.
As for the components, fully vita is a multi vitamin complex, meaning it contains vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid (5-MTHF), biotin, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, molybdenum and chromium.
When I compared the amounts of the individual vitamines and minerals with my boyfriends generic and cheap brand, some of the stats were actually a little lower. But, and that is something i deem to be very important, there was no information on where the pills are produced or whether the are sustainable or not. They also come in a massive plastic container, and, most importantly, these things are massive, they taste weird, and are super hard to swallow. Hell no! So I will happily accept minor differences in the amounts of the ingredients if it’s something I will actually end up taking on a regular basis.
So I have been taking one fully vita capsule a day for about four weeks now and I feel like I already see a massive difference – may it be placebo or not. Especially as someone who suffers from hair loss due to chronic illnesses, I have seen a massive change in my hair! I mostly wear my hair up in a pony tail or a bun because it is relative thin and i tend to lose a lot of hair during the day – so, its just more convenient this way. Lately, however, I have been starting to wear my hair down because I feel like I am losing significantly less hair than I used to. Also it just feels like may hair has gotten thicker at the roots and more sturdy.
Whether it is placebo or not, I feel like fully vita has a very positive impact on my overall health. I do try to take it every day, but it is me after all, so I have forgotten about it several times. Not because its bad though but because I am me and I suck at taking supplements. Fully vita comes with 60 capsules, so if, unlike me, you actually take one every single day, they will last you about two months, which is great! No worrying about getting your vitamins for quite some time!
The Bottom Line
Natuamo is a great brand if you care about sustainability and local production. Obviously, not everything is for everybody, but their easy to take supplements have been a great addition to my, very much imperfect and lacking, daily routine.
So I am super happy with these supplements. Only time will tell whether I will stick to taking them this time, but this has nothing to do with the products but me being an inconsistent mess. So it goes!
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