How to Choose Your Supplements
From bioavailability to megadosing myths: find everything you need to know from Wild Nutrition’s Head of Nutrition
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How to Choose Your Supplements
From bioavailability to megadosing myths: find everything you need to know from Wild Nutrition’s Head of Nutrition
As a new year brings a fresh focus on nourishment, our rituals of care extend to encompass beauty inside and out. Grounded in the principles that shapes Liberty’s renowned curation, a new selection of holistic names joins our beauty roster, bound by world-leading innovation, creative curiosity and the pursuit of truly transformative creations: where beauty starts from the inside.
For many, a focus on wellness means making sure we’re nourishing ourselves with the vitamins, minerals and ingredients we need to support a holistic approach to health. While food comes first, with a few extra veggies (and grains and proteins…) earning their places on our January plates, supplements are an extra way to up our focus on nourishment.
But, with so many vitamins, minerals, blends and complexes out there, decoding what we actually need, and why we might need it is no easy task. Well, fortunately for you Liberty-lovers, we’ve got an expert on hand to help answer all your supplement questions.
Isabelle Nunn is the head of nutrition for one of the latest arrivals into Liberty’s Beauty Hall: Wild Nutrition. With an ethos build on evidence-backed ingredients, impactful formulations and Food-Grown ingredients, who could be better to help cut through the confusion?
HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR SUPPLEMENTS
With Isabelle Nunn, head of nutrition at Wild Nutrition
On the Rise and Rise of Supplements
“We always say food first, supplements second, but the reality is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to meet nutrient needs through food alone. Ultra-processed foods are now a mainstay of many diets, our soils are less nutrient-dense, and because we’re all so busy, we simply don’t have time for home cooking. In addition, three in four of us worldwide aren’t eating Omega 3-rich oily fish two or three times a week, and only 5% of us are getting enough fibre.
While supplements will never be a replacement for food, they’re an incredibly valuable way of bridging nutrient gaps.
A curated supplement routine not only helps fill nutrient gaps but crucially lays the foundations for specific health goals. We speak to many women preparing to conceive, which is where Folate, Choline, Vitamin D and antioxidants all come in. Likewise, we meet a lot of women who are vegetarian, yet low in Iron and B12. And increasingly we’re seeing depleted stores of Magnesium, Vitamin C and B vitamins as a result of chronic stress.
We always say that supplements work best along with good food, movement, sleep and stress management: the pillars of a balanced and realistic approach to wellbeing.”
On Curating a Supplement Routine
“Supplementing is a lot like exercise - there’s no one-size-fits-all, but three solid steps to consider are:
1. Assess your health goals
Do you want to boost your energy, feel more balanced or need hormonal support? We offer several nutritional quizzes specifically dedicated to each life stage and concern.
2. Seek professional guidance
Research can only take you so far, so we always recommend speaking with a health professional. It’s why we offer everyone a free 15-minute consultation.
3. Don’t overlook the merits of a multivitamin
A high-quality multivitamin is foundational for nutrient gaps, particularly in winter and stressful periods when your body increasingly draws from your body’s reserves."
On Wild Nutrition’s Science-Led Ethos
“We know the supplement market is pretty overwhelming - let’s face it, there are lots of lofty overpromises out there, but a real lack of transparency. This is why we go to great lengths sourcing ingredients of integrity - ones that have been rigorously studied and widely demonstrated for their bioavailability. We take a zero-compromise approach on quality, sustainability and sharing expertise.
Fundamentally, we recognise that the best form of nutrition comes from Mother Nature, so we lean on her intelligence for every product we develop and every piece of guidance we offer.
Your body is wired to receive nutrition from food. Food-Grown® ensures that we keep all of the ingredients you see in our supplements as close to their original food form as possible. This means that the whole biochemistry - of any nutrient, botanical or herb - is fully represented so your body understands, absorbs and retains all of its beneficial compounds.
We never include anything that your body doesn’t need, which means no added synthetic fillers, binders or preservatives. Just active and therapeutic ingredients that your body knows exactly what to do with.”
On Ingredients to Know and the Myths to Ignore
“On top of core staples like Omega 3 and our dedicated fertility and pregnancy ranges, we’re seeing incredible demand for Collagen 500 Plus, as women recognise collagen’s role in not just skin health but joint health. And Vitamin D is a go-to for immunity and musculoskeletal support, particularly where sunlight levels are so low.
Emerging research is now indicating that 41% of women aren’t getting enough sleep owing to stress. Our Magnesium helps so many get a handle on their fatigue, and a lot of our customers understandably want natural, holistic support, seeking adaptogenic solutions like Ashwagandha, Saffron, Shatavari and Reishi.
[On the other hand] If there’s one myth we could dispel now, it would be that megadoses are the most impactful.
Why? Large doses are rife as the nutrients are often from synthetic sources, because they’re cheaper to produce, but a higher dose is required for them to have any real effect.
However, if the nutrient is whole-food-bound and of high quality and stability, you need far less of it for your body to use it successfully. Take collagen, for example. Most collagens require 10 to 20g daily. We focused on a bioavailable source, which means only 3g a day is needed. So, it really is a case of less is more.”
On Wild Nutrition’s Women’s Health Focus
“Although women represent 50% of the global population, they’re massively underserved in health and wellbeing. Research and understanding are still incredibly poor, as we were systematically excluded from most clinical trials until the early 90s because of factors like menstruation and menopause.
Our founder Henrietta [Norton] saw this disparity manifest time and time again in her clinical practice and experienced it first-hand herself on her own endometriosis journey. She founded Wild Nutrition on the belief that women deserve better, to provide solutions rooted in lived experience and guidance that truly serves them.
From puberty to postmenopause, every life stage represents a new hormonal evolution which can be physically, mentally and emotionally taxing. But we find that women often don’t recognise how adapting their nutrition or lifestyle can help.
For instance, many know that they need supplements in pregnancy, but postpartum often goes under-recognised. Yet it’s often the most demanding stage of motherhood as it’s the time when a woman is nurturing her newborn but low on real deep rest - all while navigating hormonal fluctuations. Research shows that over a third of women attribute stress to juggling the mental load of a career and childcare, so it’s such a vital stage to continue supplementation efforts.”
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