Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I make changes to my monthly auto-ship subscription?

  First, thank you so much for subscribing. We appreciate you. As for how to change, pause or end your monthly shipment of Nutritional Roots, you can log into your account here (or at the bottom of the website). Once you log into your account, you’ll see a subscription section where you can make your changes. If you have any issues, please contact us with the name of the subscriber.

• When is the best time to take Nutritional Roots vitamins? With or without food?

  We created our supplement line to be a quick and easy plant-based solution for busy people.  The simple schedule looks like this:

  Morning

  Multivitamin+, Vitamin D3 + K2, and Maca 10x | With or without food.

  We formulated our supplements to include fermented whole food ingredients with the addition of vegan friendly Omega-3 DHA.  The addition of this beneficial fatty-acid means your body can more easily absorb important fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E, and K without needing to take them with food, like you would with synthetic supplements.  With the substantial inclusion of B12 in the multivitamin along with a generous 5,000 I.U’s of vitamin D3 in our D3 + K2 supplement, you might notice a nice boost of energy in the mornings from adding Nutritional Roots to your daily “rootine.”

   

  Evening

  Probiotics+ | Without food on a nearly empty stomach

  We recommend taking Probiotics+ in the evening about 30 minutes before bed.  This allows the beneficial bacteria to colonize your microbiome overnight while you sleep.  This time of day also usually means that Probiotics+ is taken on an empty stomach, which helps ensure the good bacteria make it to the gut as quickly as possible.  Additionally, the mood-balancing botanical blend contains ingredients like organic Valerian and Ashwagandha which have relaxing properties and can help support a good night sleep!

• Where are your products made?

  Here in the USA!

  While we source the best plants from the best places around the world, all of our products are made in the United States at FDA-registered facilities using the highest industry standards of good manufacturing practices.

• Are all your products organic?

  We prioritize organic ingredients when creating and crafting all our products. In fact, our first priority is regenerative organic plants, but there is limited availability of a lot of regeneratively grown plants. So we often fall back on certified organic ingredients. If we can’t find a certified organic source for an ingredient, we find partners that can sustainability produce the ingredient from wildcrafted sources.

  Since all of our products are delivered in capsules, our products can not be USDA Certified Organic. There is currently no USDA Certified Organic capsule available. We choose to forgo the USDA seal to use capsules because we believe in protecting the raw micronutrients that are created through the fermentation processes we use.

  The bottom line: we love organic almost as much as we love regenerative organic. We use a lot of organic ingredients in all our products, but we just don’t have the fancy seals on any of our products.

• What is "probiotic fermentation"?

  Our naturally-brewed microbial vitamins and minerals — made with the same anaerobic fermentation process used to make beer, yogurt, and even kimchi — produces quality whole-food nutrition.

• Why is Multivitamin+ not certifed USDA Organic?

  All the vitamins and minerals in our products are organic. There is one vegan ingredient found in the capsule – vegetable cellulose – that is not yet registered on the USDA organic list. We chose to sacrifice the much politized “USDA Organic” symbol because we wanted to keep the living fermented ingredients alive. Other vitamins may use tablets to attain this USDA Organic certification, but tablets are created through a pressure and heating process that kills all the beneficial microbes found in Multivitamin+.

• Why does Multivitamin+ only contain 50% of the daily value of Vitamin D3?

  We intentionally lowered the Vitamin D and Vitamin K because we don’t want them to interfere with taking our incredibly cool new D3+K2+Omega-3 DHA. Since Vitamin D and K are fat-soluble vitamins, they can accumulate more in the body than water-soluble vitamins. Vitamin D is a seasonal vitamin for a lot of people. We lowered that dose to 50% the DV so that in the warmer months, when people are out in the sun and taking our Multivitamin+ and the D3+K2+Omega 3, their Vitamin D levels don’t go crazy. It helps let people control their Vitamin D doses.

• Why does Multivitamin+ contain a Daily Organic Food Blend?

  Whole plants provide a diverse array of phytonutrients that make raw plants the optimal source of nutrients. We chose a specific blend of fermented whole foods to capture the goodness of raw plants found in nature.

• What is Boron and why is it in Multivitamin+?

  In a recent study, scientists found that changes in dietary boron and magnesium affect calcium levels, and thus bone strength. A combined deficiency of boron and magnesium caused bad changes in bone density. It basically found that without enough boron to help our bodies properly work in tandem with magnesium created cases of osteoporosis.

• What is the difference between water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins?

  Water soluble vitamins are easily absorbed by the body, and do not need to be taken with food. Any excess amounts of vitamins our body doesn’t need is disposed of via urine. We go through them fast so they need to be replenished regularly either by the foods we consume or a handy little multivitamin. Commonly taken water soluble vitamins include the vit B Complex group and vit C. Fat (lipid) soluble vitamins need to be taken with food (or fatty acid) to be readily absorbed by our bodies. We also don’t run through them as fast as the water soluble ones. Any excess of these vitamins are stored in fatty tissue in our body for use at a later time. These include vitamins A, D, E, and K.

• Is Maca good for men too?

  Short answer is yes.  Our Founder Dr. Todd J. Pesek finds Maca extremely helpful for his male patients.

  But Maca doesn’t work by directly boosting testosterone serum in Men.  What it does do is help men and women maintain homeostasis in many areas of the body – including help balance hormones.  It’s really interesting actually, Maca was recently discovered to be one of a few plants on the planets (discovered so far) that interacts with our endocannabinoid system.  The endocannabinoid system has kind of a misleading name because it hints that cannabis is the only plant that affects this neuroregulatory system.  This is because cannabis was the first plant discovered to do so but there are actually many more like Maca, capsaicin in hot peppers, turmeric, etc…

  Emerging research points to unique compounds found exclusively in Maca called Macamides.  After 14-21 days of consistent Maca consumption (that’s why the new Maca has 2 months worth in it!), Macamides increase the amount of a neurotransmitter called Anandamide in the brain.  This compound supports mood and influences how the endocannabinoid system helps the body regulate itself.

• Doesn't Omega-3 usually come from fish or krill oil?

  Omega-3 is commonly recognized in the form of fish or krill oil, but the original source these sea creatures get it from is marine algae.  We use 100% vegan algal Omega-3, which is easier metabolized by the body, and much more sustainably harvested.

• Do your probiotics need to be refrigerated?

  Probiotics have 3 enemies: moisture, heat, and time.  We encapsulate Probiotics+ in a trademarked delayed-release capsule that protects it from moisture and contrary to popular belief, some live probiotic cultures can even tolerate temperatures up to about 115°F. Our Probiotics+ are guaranteed shelf-stable for 3 years from the date of manufacture and we recommend they be safely stored at room temperature, between 68-72 degrees fahrenheit.

• How many CFU's should be in my probiotic?

  When it comes to choosing the right probiotic for you, don’t be fooled by massive CFU doses. That is a marketing gimmick to trick us into thinking more is best.  There are several more important questions to consider when picking a probiotic.

  Were prebiotics included? In ours, yes.

  Does this probiotic offer a diverse array of strains? In ours, yes.

  High CFU doses of minimal strains compete with each other and can often prove to be ineffective.

• What are "psychobiotics?"

  Our Probiotics+ contains special strains known as psychobiotics.  Psychobiotics are a special classification of live probiotic cultures that have been shown to deliver mental health benefits by affecting microbiota of the host organism. They work with our gut-brain axis via the vagus nerve to support and promote neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and GABA in our brain.

• What are "soil based organisms?"

  Soil-based organisms are microbes that naturally occur in soil. Much like probiotics do for our microbiome, SBOs enrich the soil and protect the beneficial bacteria that plants use to grow thus helping to provide key nutrients (postbiotics) to plants.  Our ancestors used to consume multiple strains of SBOs, but as we have progressed (or regressed?) our food has become sterile and we are not consuming these beneficial bacteria that our microbiomes evolved to rely on.

• Your Probiotics+ contains a prebiotic blend. What is that for?

  Prebiotics are complex carbohydrates that microbes feed off of.  Prebiotics can help boost a probiotic supplement’s effectiveness when taken at the same time, so we added a prebiotic blend to Probiotics+. Prebiotics basically act as food to help the probiotic cultures grow, survive, and colonize quickly and efficiently.

• Where do you source the probiotic ingredients?

  The organic ingredients are sourced from USDA-certified organic farms around the world, but mostly in the United States. The digestive enzymes are from one of the biggest producers of digestive enzymes in the country. The soil-based strains are isolated from soil, and the other probiotics are cultured from various ferments. The probiotics are isolated and then put through a specific freeze-drying process to essentially pause them in their lifecycle without damaging their cellular structure. When they are reexposed to moisture, the probiotics resume their lifecycle.  This is why we go to great lengths to protect the blend inside the capsule. Previously, we used the moisture-barrier bottles, but we’ve moved towards the delayed-release capsules to do even a better job protecting the probiotics until they reach the large intestine.

• Do your products contain soy?

  Nope. And if any products did contain soy, we would disclose that on the label.

• I wanted to check whether this company uses animal-testing as part of your quality control procedure. (Are you cruelty-free)?

  As a plant-based company, we never have – and never will – test any of your products or ingredients on animals. We do not use any animal-sourced ingredients in any of our products. We source all our ingredients – like our D3 from lichen – from plants or mushrooms. We promote a whole-food plant-based diet. We are all about plants and leaving sweet little animals alone.

• Who is the company that does your 3rd party testing?

  We are passionate about purity and potency, so third-party testing is important to us. It’s not uncommon for supplement companies to only invest in third-party testing every year or two, but we don’t think that’s enough. Despite being a very tiny company, we make the financial sacrifice to third-party test every batch that we produce. We work with a couple of different labs depending on the analysis and timing. We use Eurofins – which is an industry-leading firm with laboratories around the world – and High Desert Analysis – which is an ISO-certified lab in the United States.

• Is the Magnesium naturally resourced? Also, I am having constipation, would it help? Tried other forms of Mg, didn't like some because they gave me diarrhea like effect and other type are more of lab production rather than being natural.
  Magnesium is a naturally occurring mineral found all over nature. We chose to use a chelated –  (which is a fancy way nerds refer to a mineral that’s bound to an amino acid) form of magnesium called Magnesium Glycinate, and we simply combine this with certified organic Irish Sea Moss for the additional minerals naturally occurring in Irish Sea Moss.

  Chelated magnesium is considered easier for the body to digest, and Magnesium glycinate is specifically recognized for being more gentle on the digestive system. Magnesium is used around the world for constipation, but most healthcare practitioners recommended Magnesium Citrate for constipation since it attracts more water to the colon and overstimulates the tissue. Magnesium Glycinate is much less likely to behave this way in the digestive system. That said, everyone responds differently, so we recommend starting with just 1 capsule a day to see how your body reacts, and then over the period of a few weeks, you can work your way up to 4 capsules.
• Writing in regards to your Plant-based Multivitamin's Folate ingredients. It says "as Methylofolate and Folic Acid". How much of each please? As they are different.

  We understand how important this distinction is. Our Folate blend is a 50/50 blend, so it contains 459 mcg DFE of methylfolate – which is 115% recommended Daily Value.

• I saw on your website that your products are third party tested, so you provide CoA’s upon request of the customer?

  Yes – each batch of product is third party tested. We actually provide the COAs for each third-party test on our website. If you go to the product page, you can find the link under the product image. From there, you can look up the test results with the LOT number – which is printed on the bottom of the bottle.

• I would like to know if the magnesium Irish Sea moss capsules can be opened and taken with applesauce to make it easier to swallow.

  Opening the capsules and mixing the contents with applesauce is certainly an ingenious idea! In fact, you can absolutely do this – it’s an excellent way to make the capsules easier to swallow for those who may have trouble otherwise. Plus, it adds a little zest of flavor to your daily intake of our products.

• Are these supplements meant for vegetarians only?

  While we do encourage a plant-first diet (nutrient dense and calorie sparse), our supplements are made for everyone; vegetarians, vegans, and meat-eaters!

• Just wanted to say I love the multi vitamin! Just had one question I don’t see Iron on the label? Just wanted to know why it was iron free.

  First, our philosophy at Nutritional Roots is a food-first approach. That might sound like a weird thing for a supplement company to say, but our roots are in a medical practice with a food-first philosophy – specifically a whole-food plant-based diet. Most dietary iron is consumed from leafy greens, nuts, beans, mushrooms, lentils, dried fruits and tofu, so when a person is eating a variety of vegetables and plants, severe iron deficiencies weren’t a common issue at the medical practice.

  Additionally, too much iron is not a good thing. You can essentially overdose on iron, so if someone is deficient in iron, we want that person to have complete control of balancing their iron levels with an isolated iron supplement.

  So it comes down to two reasons to leave iron out of the formula. One, it’s not a deficiency like Vitamin B12 that occurs in the vast majority of people, so we didn’t want to include anything that we didn’t deem necessary. And two, if iron supplementation is necessary, we didn’t want our Multivitamin+ to interfere with improving the iron levels and putting someone in a position where they’re consuming too much iron.

• I am vegan and interested in taking the Vitamin D3 + K2. From the brochure, appears to be gelatin capsule. If that’s the case, it would not be vegan (or plant based). If so, Can I safely remove contents and add to my tea?
  The short answer is that yes you can safely remove the contents and add them to you your tea.

  However, I don’t think it’s necessary to remove the nutrients from the capsule. Our capsules are made from plant fiber – not gelatin. We use methylcellulose capsules. They’re derived from cellulose – the indigestible plant fibers that make up the structure of plants – and water. We do not use gelatin in our capsules. But it’s totally up to you if you’d rather not consume the capsules. Just be aware that we also use algal-based Omega-3 DHA in our formula. Since Vitamin D and K are both fat-soluble vitamins, we decided to pair these nutrients with our favorite essential fatty acid Omega-3 DHA. The results have been fantastic. Dr. Pesek’s patients are seeing immediate improvements in their blood work. Our omega-3 DHA is sourced from algae, so it can have an earthy oceanic taste. If you’re going to add it to your tea, I would add it to the last sip since it might not be the most complimentary flavor for teas.
• Are your multivitamins vegan?

  Yes – our Multivitamin+ (and all of our products) are vegan.

• I am pregnant and I have been told it’s safe for me to take magnesium. I am on your prenatal vitamin and I see there is no magnesium in its ingredients. Is it safe to take your sea moss magnesium supplement?

  We had to leave magnesium out of the Prenatal because it’s a physically big ingredient and we couldn’t get enough in there to matter. So the Magnesium + Sea Moss will give you 350 mg of magnesium in 2 capsules – which is pretty close to the recommended 400 mg of magnesium for pregnant women.

• Are your products manufactured in China?

  Nope. All our products are manufactured at a GMP compliant and FDA Registered facility in the United States of America. We also use a third-party ISO 17025 lab in the United States for all our third-party testing.