You know those days where you just feel incredible? You wake up like you’ve slept for a decade, your skin is glowing and your hair looks like Jennifer Aniston circa 1990s. You smash out your work, you’re not bloated and at 3 pm you have so much energy it’s almost annoying.
…Not familiar?
Chances are, you never feel 100%. Most of us operate sub-par for the majority of our life because keeping up a healthy lifestyle and a full-time job and managing not to kill our children is frickin’ tricky. And even if we do eat well and exercise regularly, with everything we now know about health and wellness, is it even enough? I mean, do you remember to scoop collagen into your morning smoothie, add adaptogens to your lunch or fermented foods at dinner so that, hopefully, you’ll balance your hormones, slow the signs of ageing and build a thriving microbiome? Probably not.
In an ideal world, we’d get all our nutrients from our diet but this just isn’t happening. More than 170 million Americans pop a supplement daily. But how much better can supplementation actually make you feel? I wanted to find out.
The Test
I decided to try HUM Nutrition—the natural beauty supplements line that everyone’s been talking about—for a month to see if I noticed a difference. I chose HUM for three reasons: 1). Its clinically-backed formulations are 100% natural with no gluten, soy or fillers; 2). It creates personalised supplement plans with the help of registered dietitians, and 3) …I liked the packaging!
HUM took all the time and guesswork out of finding my perfect vitamin match. All I had to do was fill out a quick online questionnaire—to find out my eating, exercise and lifestyle habits, and my beauty concerns— and they provided me with personalised recommendations courtesy of their in-house nutritionists. The survey asked me things like: Do you subscribe to a particular diet? What do you choose to snack on? How do you like to unwind? and How would you describe your day-to-day emotions? (“All over the place” … tick!).
From my results, HUM created my personalized profile (verdict: crazy lady with thin hair and a bad gut) and with the help of their experts, they recommended the following:
- Gut Instinct – a 10-strain probiotic including Lactobacillus
- Flatter Me – a digestive enzyme blend to ease bloating
- Red Carpet. – sunflower seed oil and blackcurrant oil for glowing skin and fuller hair
A quick squiz at the products and I threw in an ‘Uber Energy’—a herbal blend including adaptogens like Ashwagandha—because, I’m always f*cking tired, and a ‘Turn Back Time’—an age-defying cell protection—for good measure.
They also set me up with one of their in-house nutritionists to provide support and advice (for free, might I add) and to work with me moving forward because, as they put it, “nutrition is much more than popping a pill … [it’s] the combination of making the right food, drink and supplemental choices [that] has a long-term impact on your beauty, health & happiness.”
The Verdict
I’ll be frank, my dedication on week one was less than exemplary. Remembering to take 1 x Flatter Stomach before my two main meals, 1x Gut Instincts on an empty stomach, 2 x Turn Back Times in the morning, 2 x Red Carpets and 2 x Uber Energies with food, was a little too much for my already overflowing brain. But once I had a routine down pat—and worked out I could tick off all bar one by the time I’d finished breakfast—I was right on track to a happier, healthier me.
I’d been advised that I wouldn’t start to see full results until about the four-week mark. (Editor’s Note: I think one of the biggest problems with supplementation in general is that people aren’t consistent and they give up too quickly, so I stuck with it). While this was true for my hair and skin, I noticed a change in my stomach fairly quickly. Although I still had flare-ups, they seemed to be less frequent and less severe. I also found that my nails were growing really fast and my energy levels were up too. That being said, I was trying to exercise regularly and I eat fairly well so this could have contributed to that.
Since I’m a health journalist—and a sceptical one at that—I decided to do my own research. Turns out, all the ingredients in HUM’s cute little bottles are backed by big evidence. I won’t bore you with it right not—because that’s a whole other article—but if you’d like to find out more just check out their science page and science section on every product.
There’s no doubt that supplements are polarising. But in my opinion, this is because too many people choose cheap, synthetic options and take them without any assessment of their nutritional needs. From my experience, supplements can make a big difference as long as you work with a health professional to tailor a plan specifically for you and you choose ones that test their ingredients and aren’t mostly fillers. The only thing you want to be filling up on is nutrients.
Think you could look and feel better? Take HUM’s 3-minute questionnaire and find out which beauty supplements might be right for you. Plus score 15% off your first order with code LUXE
*While this is a sponsored post for HUM Nutrition, this is my honest review. That being said, what worked for me may not work for you so we’d always recommend speaking with a health practitioner before starting a supplement program.
