Like you, I’ve seen all of the ads about Ritual vitamins. You are curious, I’m curious, we are all curious about multivitamins. The supplement market is insanely profitable and we constantly see new brands popping up everyday. Still, I’m not quite sold on the vitamin industry. For starters, they aren’t regulated by the FDA.
Yup- it’s true. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to review dietary supplement products for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed.
So is it really worth it? Medical professionals have varying opinions.
However, many people claim multivitamins, like Ritual, have made a huge impact in their health and lives. If you’re curious about Ritual. We did the research and here’s what you need to know.
What is Ritual?
Ritual is a multivitamin brand that creates specialized capsules that cater to people of various age groups. In the sea of pills and supplements Ritual stands out because of its commitment to science, the truth and properly sourced ingredients.
It is a brand created by Katerina Schneider (Forbes did a profile on her for their 30 under 30 series). She was inspired in the midst of her hunt for the perfect prenatal vitamin. She found that there were no supplements that didn’t contain questionable ingredients, so she created her own solution.
What is a multivitamin? Let’s talk.
Multivitamins package the essential (and non-essential) vitamins and minerals into easy to consume pills; chewable or soluble are also options.
Sounds convenient, doesn’t it? But you need to remember that the FDA does not regulate these items and that it can contain higher or lower levels of certain nutrients compared to what is listed. The content is not monitored the way prescription drugs are.
It is very important to discuss with your doctor about any supplements you plan on taking especially if you are on any type of medication.
You can find more information here about the FDA regulation on supplements.
Everything you need to know about Ritual
If you are a skeptic, Ritual claims that it will be the perfect match for you. Transparency is a primary tenet at Ritual, and it goes much further than the clear capsule that makes for pretty Insta stories.
The supply chain of Ritual’s partners is just as important to them as their own. Creating a multivitamin that is specifically designed for women and ensuring that every ingredient included is necessary was one of their first missions as a startup.
Related: Tips from a millennial nutritionist
Ritual multivitamin ingredients
Ritual claims that their Made Traceable™ standard has been designed to ensure that each and ingredient used is properly sourced and is not contaminated with potentially questionable substances.
Sourcing and traceability of Ritual vitamins
You can explore their website to learn more about the source of each ingredient. The location to the supplier is listed to ensure transparency and build customer loyalty.
We haven’t seen many other brands do this, so it’s kinda cool that Ritual is including these details on their website.
Who should be taking Ritual Vitamins?
Initially, Ritual was focused on women’s health and especially working towards better prenatal care. The brand then expanded to include multivitamin for men and children.
Ritual claims to have a multivitamin for everyone including through different phases of their lives. Here are some of their product line.
Ritual for Women
We all know that medical research for women’s health is limited compared research done about men and brands like Ritual are pushing the boundaries by researching the needs of the female body and providing accordingly.
Especially since the female body undergoes various stages that have different needs in a lifetime it is great that Ritual has created a different composition for each stage.
Ritual Essentials for Women 18+
Women tend to face vitamin D deficiency among other things and this product is designed to cater for those needs.
Although not all women in this age group are actively preparing for childbearing, their bodies have similar needs, so they will need certain nutrients to cater to their reproductive systems more than other groups.
Ritual Essentials for Women 50+
Post-menopausal women have different needs, and that is a gap in the market. Not many products have been designed like this one to provide a solid combination of nutrients that caters to the needs of an aging female body.
Having a female owned brand creating a product like this is pretty exciting and honestly offers a sense of security for those who choose to use it.
Ritual Prenatal Vitamins
This is currently the most popular product by Ritual. It contains 12 ingredients and is designed to create an optimum environment for conception and is recommended for those trying to get pregnant and those that are pregnant.
However, despite the amazing reviews we have seen on the internet one of our team members tried it for themselves and did not have a good experience with this product. The prenatal vitamin made her feel slightly nauseated and have lower levels of energy.
This is just a reminder that certain products may not work for everyone, but that doesn’t make it a bad product. When you’re looking at products that go into your body, it’s important to listen to how your body reacts and discontinue use if things don’t feel right.
Ritual Postnatal Vitamins
The post-natal multivitamin contains 15 ingredients and is made for post-partum for 6 months whether or not they are lactating. Right after child-birth many aspects of the female body are regulating itself and finding a balance. Providing the necessary nutrients will contribute to easing this process.
Ritual for Men
While women may be skeptical about taking vitamins, men tend to be even worse. Men are less likely to take added supplements (unless it’s protein powder!) to their diets.
Ritual created multivitamins specifically for men and in two different age categories. These are created for men to focus on any deficiencies that are common among men and both the products contain 10 essential ingredients.
Multivitamins for men 18+
The products are meant to fill in any gaps that might exist in daily nutrient consumption to ensure that the body receives all that it needs and can function at an optimal level.
Of course a multivitamin is no substitute for a healthy diet, but it can help your body when you just overlook your own needs.
Multivitamins for men 50+
This pill is great because instead of taking multiple pills for each ingredient that you might need, you only need two of the Ritual Men 50+.
Ritual for Kids
Kids are picky eaters we all know that. Adding the right supplement might boost their health and growth with minimal hassle, but is it the right path?
Some researchers wonder if it might actually cause harm to give your child a multivitamin regularly. There are many concerns with regard to giving kids a multivitamin since it may mask symptoms or delay a diagnosis for certain conditions. Parents may use these supplements to improve a child’s health without understanding the root cause of the issue.
However, the use of supplements for children have been on the rise in the US with about a third of them being given some form of a supplement regularly.
As always, you should talk to your doctor before adding supplements for anyone, especially children.
Multivitamins for Teen Girls
Many teen girls face iron deficiencies in addition to other health concerns. This multivitamin tackles the needs of growing girls.
Multivitamins for Teen Boys
This capsule contains 9 traceable ingredients to help your teenager’s growth.
Since the major difference between the Teen Boys and Girls formula is iron this might be your go to option for a non-binary or trans teenager.
However you should speak with a physician and your teenager before making a decision.
Ritual supplements for children, 4+
The children’s vitamins are citrus-berry flavored gummies designed to appeal to little kids. To be fair, we wouldn’t mind a couple either.
Getting all the necessary nutrients are struggle for adults so we imagine it is much harder for children that might be picky or at the peak of their development.
Related: Lessons from a registered dietician
Are Ritual Vitamins worth it?
Nothing about Ritual is traditional and the brand does not follow the models that are in place for a vitamin company. Every aspect of Ritual is designed around maintaining transparency, and this is a technology of its own kind.
Ritual has an app that pairs with the multivitamin. It is created to establish a habit loop in the consumer. The Ritual App also pairs with the Apple Health app and allows the user to keep track of the vitamins and micronutrients they have consumed. It is definitely a novel way to sell and consume vitamins.
Is Ritual harming the environment?
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Many sceptics have pointed out how harmful companies like Ritual can be. Subscription services like these create far more waste than traditional sellers. Buying supplements at the drugstore means a bottle that will last you months, and the only waste created is the bottle itself. But with Ritual it is a bottle month and there is trash from the shipping packaging as well. So, it’s something to consider.
However, it is important to note that the bottle by Ritual are made of 100% recycled material and are 100% recyclable.
Vitamin subscriptions increasing in popularity
In the past few years vitamin delivery has become a huge thing, either in the form of the individual daily packs or the multivitamin capsules. Monthly subscriptions Paying for them monthly and having them delivered to your doorstep seems to motivate many to be consistent in taking their pills.
Plus the bonus of posting cute Insta stories seem to help too, at least one person on our team is guilty of this.
Are Care/Of Vitamins similar to Ritual?
The individualized pack by Care/Of are cute and fun for many of customers. It is also highly personalized, as each individual is able to choose the vitamin and nutrient that they want based on their needs.
However, unless they discuss their needs with their doctor, it is only based on a simple quiz so the accuracy isn’t something we’d count on.
The packaging for Care/Of is compostable and you can add it to your compost pile at home.
Final Thoughts on Ritual
With my limited experience, I appreciate the tranparency of the brand. Honestly, Ritual seems to be great. Not perfect, nothing is though. With Ritual you are not pumping yourself full of nutrients you might not need, and you can be certain that the ingredients are sourced ethically and there aren’t any fillers.
But the question remains do you really need a multivitamin? That’s only a decision you can make with help from your doctor.
