Buzz
A compelling reason behind the explosion of 'personalized' products in recent times is our fascination with hearing stories about ourselves. Personally, I find astrology silly, but I still scroll through a bunch of Sagittarius memes until one aligns with what I want to hear. It’s no wonder that this trend has extended to vitamins.
As we discussed with personalized protein powder, the entire scheme of personalization revolves around gathering data and selling you a basic product that you could easily find elsewhere for less. However, to entice you into taking the quiz and spending more on the product, companies have to convince you it’s uniquely tailored to you. One vitamin brand used to run ads stressing how confusing the vitamin aisle is, implying that we're all just trying to make basic healthy choices and need someone to guide us through the seemingly impossible challenge of selecting the right vitamins.
The appeal is genuine, but the core concept is misleading. Vitamin supplements are anywhere between mostly ineffective and entirely useless. If you regularly consume fruits, vegetables, and animal products, you most likely have everything covered. There are a few exceptions, and they’re not exactly hidden: Vegans often need a B12 supplement. Those who are pregnant or trying to conceive should take extra folate, often in the form of prenatal vitamins. (There are some nutrients where experts don’t agree; maybe we all need vitamin D supplements, or maybe we're fine without them.)
As the National Institutes of Health highlights on their dietary supplement page, nearly everyone can obtain the vitamins they need through food, and your time and money would be better spent improving your diet rather than purchasing pills, even if they’re curated by a polished algorithm. Keep in mind, these are likely just products you could find at the store, based on basic information like your age and gender.
If you suspect you have a medical condition that requires something specifically tailored for you, consider this revolutionary idea: consult your doctor. Vitamin deficiencies are rare, but they do happen, and a qualified medical professional can diagnose one. (By 'qualified,' I mainly mean someone who doesn’t rely heavily on supplement sales for income, so skip the chiropractors with vitamin bottles in their waiting rooms.)
But if you're contemplating buying vitamins—personalized or not—simply because a company promises to deliver them in fancy packaging, remember: you're probably fine without them.
