Around ten years ago, Lorraine Perretta, Head of Nutrition at Advanced Nutrition Programme, told me something that changed the way I viewed supplements forever. “Madeleine, even if you ate the most nutritious diet possible, you still wouldn’t have a hope in hell of getting anywhere near the vitamins and minerals your grandmother would’ve from the precise same foods. Our soil is depleted. Our foods just can’t offer us what they once could.”
After that, I started getting serious about supplementing my diet. As a vegetarian, I added omegas and B12 to help make up deficits. I knew my body wouldn’t be able to synthesise enough of the essential vitamin D during winter months in the UK, so took some. I also added a hefty dose of vitamin C — and regularly — to help shift anything chesty. Seasonally, and depending on my lifestyle, I’d discriminately add others in.
I noticed a difference when I was taking good supplements, so have continued to do so — and to forensically scour advances and launches in the field. And my goodness are there a lot of them, with abundant and robust promises to transform anything from gut health to energy levels. I’ve trod carefully, tried things with guidance from experts, looked at the science. As a result, I’ve found some great staples.
Next year, however, I’m clearly going to have to make some additions to my regimen because the industry has upped its game and there are some seriously snazzy supplements and supplement-akin things which I think are going to shake things up.
Here are the eight in particular that I think you should pay attention to.
1. Divergence Gamma Focus
Blended specifically to support neurodivergent individuals, the 27 scientifically-backed ingredients (which include vitamins, minerals, herbs, nootropics, adaptogens, prebiotics, probiotics, and amino acids) were chosen by clinical nutritionist and neuroscientist Lara Hughes to promote focus, help regulate emotions, and reduce the symptoms of anxiety so really offer a hand navigating challenges when neurodivergent.
£80 per pouch; divergencesupplements.com
2. SEED DS-01
Probiotics are by now well-established as a way of positively impacting not just the gut but the rest of the body — and mood (increasingly the significance of the mind-gut relationship is being proven in studies, with a good, diverse gut bacteria profile being shown to have a positive effect). But not all probiotics make it into the gut itself. Seed DS-01 has been engineered to get there, surviving acid, enzymes, moisture, and heat so it can deliver live prebiotics and 24 strains of probiotics through to the end of the small intestine for delivery into the colon. Unsurprisingly, it’s won awards. Surprisingly, it is not yet mainstream. That looks likely to change this year.
£49.99; Seed.com with International Delivery.
3. Ally No1
This neuroscientist-developed supplement is all about supporting the mind, and offering groundbreaking non-drowsy anxiety relief along with support in regulating emotions. Another benefit: increased stress tolerance. You can thank a clever mix of ingredients for this, which include probiotics (the ones shown to have the best effect on the gut-brain axis to reduce biomarkers of stress), polyphenols (these are anti-inflammatory and help encourage robust mental wellness), and saffron (which is a mood-enhanced).
£40; ally.bio
4. Get a Drip Ozone Therapy
Prepare yourself to balk when you read this (I certainly did): ozone therapy involves extracting blood and passing it through an oxidation chamber where it is combined with a high concentration of said ozone, then passed back into the body. The idea is that the supercharged blood goes back in then disrupts unhealthy processes, deftly reducing inflammation, improving brain function, encouraging the metabolism, etc. The experience of it is only mildly odd, and once I’d sat down and accepted that my blood was outside my body being treated before rejoining me, it was fine. I noticed a stubborn cold departed shortly after my session and felt energised immediately post.
Sessions start from £300; getadrip.com
5. WelleCo The Evening Elixir
Founder Elle MacPherson has long championed sneaking goodness into really delicious products (her nourishing Protein Powders are the only I’ve consistently stuck with primarily because they taste so good when mixed with yoghurt), and this hot chocolate serves up both a nice comforting evening drink, along with — deep breath — passionflower, chamomile, lavender, lemon balm, magnesium, acerola, and niacin to reduce stress, support the nervous system and muscle function, and help skin glow. It’s also, of course, sugar-free and makes for the perfect send-you-to-sleep treat.
£35; due out on January 18, 2024 at welleco.co.uk
6. Leapfrog IMMUNE
The hero ingredient here is lactoferrin, an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory protein that is an immune modulator, doing its work to protect you from germs via the eyes, nose, mouth, and certain white blood cells. Chew one of these daily, and the combination of the lactoferrin, vitamin C, and zinc begins its good work in the mouth before making its way into the body, optimising immune function, and potentially nipping incipient illnesses in the bud. Very clever and paving the way for how immune-boosting supplements will invariably look in the future.
£34.99, leapfrogremedies.com
7. Elete Electrolytes
Think electrolytes are something you only need if you’ve had a bad stomach? Think again. Associate nutritionist Michelle McKenzie makes a compelling argument for them being added with regularity. “Our body is 60% water and a third of that is salt water. Our sweat is salty, our tears are salty, and our urine is salty — so it’s hard to hydrate adequately with just plain water. Our body needs electrolytes for optimal hydration so that fluid is carried into the cells and isn’t just excreted out in the urine.” She recommends Elete which is 100% natural, and contains four essential minerals and 70 trace and ultra-trace minerals, as well as being clinically studied.
£18.45 for 120ml; eletewater.co.uk
8. Westlab Wellbeing Range
Westlab have long been revered for its bath salts — but now they’ve created two products which are neuro-scientifically proven to contain mood-boosting ingredients alongside their signature magnesium (which will penetrate the skin, where it’ll do some muscle and joint-soothing work, alongside being generally settling). The first, a relaxing blend aptly called RELAX, makes use of magnesium chloride, chamomile, and bergamot, while the BALANCE variety contains jasmine and orange blossom to support hormonal balance, calm cramps, and soothe muscle aches.
£9.99; westlabsalts.co.uk
9. Marina Abramovic Longevity Method Set Box
Keen to strip back superfluous additions to supplements, the renowned performance artist has created a range that is simple and focusses on essentials and effective ingredients. The three drops (Energy, Immune and Anti-allergy) within this set couldn't be easier to navigate — just take whichever you need at that certain moment in time, or all of them — think of it as a holistic pharmacy in your cupboard. The face lotion is a nice bonus too, packed with vitamin C, white wine (for the antioxidants), and hyaluronic acid to make it a one stop shop cleanser and hydrator.
