mbg Vice President of Scientific Affairs
By Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN
December 6, 2021
Some things in life stay the same. The field of science and technology should not be one of those things. Just like novel medical therapies, opportunities for space exploration, and the latest smartphone technology all represent forward momentum—your vitamins should be advancing, too. That's where the new generation of old-school vitamins comes into play.
In 2022, supplements will continue to represent a significant personalized and targeted nutrition strategy for hundreds of millions of Americans. But smart supplements will undergo strategic improvements to reflect the latest science has to offer. And we'll all be better for it. Welcome to the new school of vitamins.
What's an old-school vs. new-school supplement?
Once relegated to a mere gap-filling strategy (i.e., vitamins or minerals you missed from your diet) and perhaps a chalky or bulky not-so-pleasant experience, the new era of supplements boast new-science upgrades—including multivitamins, letter vitamins (vitamins C or D, for example), omega-3s from fish oil, minerals like calcium or magnesium, probiotics, and more.
Forward-thinking supplements not only effectively address nutritional sufficiency but also nurture specific areas of your health, from your cells to your whole body. For these evolved products, the totality of science and care for the customer's health is driving ingredient selection and overall formulation.
The advancements range from delivery format and options that consider our personalized genetic makeup to strategic ingredient combinations, environmental sustainability, and more.
Here are 10 ways we see old-school vites getting a refresh moving into 2022.
1. Combination technology
The term "vitamin" is used interchangeably with "supplement" in colloquial use. But in reality, saying "vitamin" is sometimes selling your supplement quite short (unless it's literally a singular vitamin or array of vitamins).
You see, a vitamin is a specific type of essential micronutrient. But supplements can feature macronutrients (carb, protein, fat), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), phytonutrients (plant bioactives), probiotic strains, and other targeted ingredients like peptides, amino acids, and more. You get the picture.
Forward-thinking supplement formulas are currently leveraging combination technology to offer consumers more ingredients for targeted and maximal support.
For example, you could reasonably take a stand-alone zinc supplement to support nutritional sufficiency of that mineral and to bolster immune function.* In contrast, a thoughtful and targeted immune complex would ideally pack in more actives, leveraging zinc and its immune-essential vitamin buddies (vitamins C and D3), plus key botanical bioactives like quercetin, beta-glucan, or others for immune resilience and immunomodulation.* This strategy is literally more bang for your buck (and for your innate and adaptive immune systems).*
Supplements are not just vitamins and minerals anymore. In elevated formulas, you'll find a marriage of micronutrients with targeted botanicals and other bioactives. More is more, when it's backed by science.
2. Plant-forward formulas
Plant-centric dietary approaches (whether vegetarian, vegan, or flexitarian) are growing in popularity. This plant love has spilled over into supplement formulation. Supplement brands are now filling their formulas with fruits, veg, herbs, algae, and more.
Some real-time examples of this plant-laden approach in the nutraceutical world include plant protein blends, greens powders, innovative multivitamins, and algal-derived micronutrients.
While greens powders were previously siloed to provide just that, a blend of greens, the new-school of "greens" powders are organic and deliver a variety of leafy greens while also folding in root vegetables (carrot, beet, ginger, turmeric, etc.), sea vegetables (kelp, chlorella, etc.), grasses, fruits, herbs (green tea, cinnamon, etc.), prebiotic fibers (flaxseed, chicory, agave, etc.), and even sometimes digestive enzymes and targeted probiotic strains.
Modern multivitamins—I'm talking about a next-generation multi, not the chalky tablet you dreaded taking the past few decades—feature a comprehensive formula (read: complete lineup of fat- and water-soluble vitamins, macrominerals, and microminerals) while simultaneously delivering powerful botanical phytonutrients like carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene) and antioxidant powerhouses (resveratrol, glutathione, etc.).
Why? Because multivitamins are not just for filling nutrient gaps. They should also support our bones, brain, heart, eyes, immunity, longevity, and more (whole body) from our cells on up.*
3. A focus on sustainability & the planet
Globally and individually, we have room for improvement when it comes to sustainability and prioritizing our planet. This green-mindedness should carry over into your supplements too.
In addition to recyclable packaging (a must), you'll begin to see more vitamins, minerals, and botanicals with the environment top of mind—from the source to your bottle. Amber glass is the ideal planet-friendly packaging for a supplement in 2022 and beyond. Not only is it recyclable, but the amber hue protects the integrity of the supplement ingredients from degradation via light exposure.
Another sustainable (and plant-origin) innovation making its way into novel supplement formulas is algae. High-quality algal-derived ingredients, like calcium from mineral-rich red algae and vegan vitamin D3 from organic algae, are now available in the market for your plant-conscious needs.
For other botanicals, you'll begin hearing about their farming stories and methods to cut down on waste. For example, you can now find European organic heritage full-spectrum hemp produced sustainably on multigenerational farms in Poland.
There is the adaptogenic herb ashwagandha that leverages the root and leaf extract to minimize farm waste while also tapping into solar power for a smaller footprint.
Now, you can also get whole fruit extract from stateside-grown pomegranates, for a unique antioxidant-laden plant ingredient that also limits overall footprint.
These sustainability stories and practices are becoming increasingly common, and that's a trend we can get behind.
