When’s the last time you went down the multivitamin aisle at the grocery store and felt overwhelmed? Not only is this aisle packed with different formulas and brands, but each one consists of 20+ different vitamins and minerals — as well as other nutrients you’ve probably never heard of.
To the average consumer, finding a multivitamin that’s right for you can be a daunting task. Most people won’t know how much they need of each vitamin and mineral, while others won’t know how much they already receive through their diet.
Of course, this leads to an uninformed buyer’s decision, which can prove to be dangerous since having an excess of these vitamins and minerals can cause side effects.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to guess which multivitamin was best for you? What if you had a daily supplement tailored to meet your nutritional needs? If you answered yes to those two questions, you’ll be pleased to learn more about Baze Personalized Supplements. So, without further ado, let’s dive into this Baze review and see if these personalized supplements are worth purchasing!
About Baze
In today’s evolving economy, consumers are starting to favor products and services that are tailored to meet their unique needs. We’ve seen it lead to a rise in popularity with meal prep services and have even seen it in Coca Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’ marketing campaign, where they added names to their soda bottles.
It seems like everything is slowly making its way into a more personalized and customized market — and personalized vitamins and supplements are following right along. With Baze Personalized Supplements, you get a daily supplement packed with the nutrients your body needs.
It’s much more effective than giving every consumer the same formula, especially considering some studies suggest nearly 90% of Americans suffer from a deficiency of at least one vitamin or mineral. Since we don’t all suffer from the same deficiencies, a personalized supplement makes sense.
How does Baze work?
If you want to talk about combining supplements with cutting-edge technology, Baze has done exactly that. They’ve developed a process that involves just three steps — Assess, Supplement, and Track.
First, you take a small test; then you receive your supplement, then you track your results — it’s that easy! The test is a small blood sample that’s drawn from your arm. Don’t worry; there are no doctors or scary needles involved. In fact, they’ve created their own device that looks like a doorbell.
All you need to do is fast for 12 hours, sterilize your arm (wipe provided), attach the sticky side of the device to your arm, and press the small button. Once the test is done (around 5 minutes), you just send the test back to Baze for further analysis.
They’ll assess the sample and measure your blood for your body’s nutrient levels. This helps them determine what nutrients you need in your personalized supplement, which they’ll create and send back to you.
After receiving the supplement, you’ll start taking it as directed and tracking your results by checking back in with Baze. They’ll be able to change your supplement as your nutrient levels change — giving you a personalized supplement that adapts to your body at all times.
A little more about the company…
For those of you that are wondering whether they can trust this company, I totally understand. With that being said, you have nothing to fear when it comes to Baze, and they are highly transparent about the work they do.
They’re on a mission to take the guesswork out of nutrition and give consumers more control over their bodies on a daily basis — without needing a degree. Not only is personalized nutrition the future, but it’s the best way to ensure your body receives what it needs throughout the day.
Baze was founded by two veterans of the biotechnology and health industry, Isam Haddad and Philipp Shulte, in 2014. According to their website, they founded the company to “bring affordable, high-quality, and effective nutrients to people; not just to prevent harm, but to make people feel good.”
This isn’t a company that was built overnight. It took four years to develop what we see today, and there was a lot of hard work that went into it. Their team is made up of scientists, dietitians, and a leadership team that keeps everything moving smoothly, safely, and successfully.
They pride themselves in being rooted in science, devoted to empathy, realistic about health, and committed to results.
Why choose personalized supplements?
Personalized supplements are a new concept to a lot of people, but that’ll start to change as more companies find a way to do it safely and accurately. If you were unsure of whether personalized supplements are meant for you, here are some of the major benefits:
- You only take the nutrients your body needs, avoiding an excess of any one nutrient
- Supplements are automatically delivered to you every month
- You retest yourself regularly to ensure your supplements remain tailored to your body
- Baze supplements are non-GMO, gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegan-friendly
- You can upload your own blood tests from your doctor to bypass the Baze test
- Baze tests 15 different nutrient levels, a mixture of essential and specialty nutrients
- Supplements combine to improve bone health, cognitive function, energy, hair, skin, and nails, immunity, joints, libido, fertility, longevity, sleep, stress, strength, and endurance
- Precise dosages help you maintain nutrient levels accurately
Personalized supplements are made for you — no one else. They truly do take the guesswork out of nutrition, which is beneficial to anyone that doesn’t know a lot about their body, diet, and nutrition.
Baze Ingredients
When Baze receives your test results, they look at 15 different nutrient levels inside your blood. Since the nutrients in your blood are a representation of the nutrients you consume on a daily basis, they’ll use this information to determine which nutrients your personalized supplement needs.
These 15 nutrients are broken up into two categories. The ‘Essentials’ include choline, chromium, copper, magnesium, omega-3, selenium vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin E, and Zinc. The ‘Specialties’ include ashwagandha, elderberry, l-theanine, rhodiola, and turmeric.
Let’s take a closer look at these nutrients, where they come from, how much we should be getting each day, and side effects you can encounter when too much or too little is received.
Choline
Benefits: a major component of memory and overall cognitive function, improves cell signalling, cell structure, DNA synthesis, fat metabolism, and the nervous system
Source: an essential nutrient produced inside the liver and found throughout the body and brain. We consume choline when eating dairy, fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, and grains.
Recommended Dosage: 400-600mg per day
Side Effects: sweating, body odor, gastrointestinal distress, vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea when taken in high or low doses
Chromium
Benefits: helps regulate blood glucose levels, improves insulin activity, and frees energy from glucose
Source: a micromineral commonly found in nuts, cheese, eggs, potatoes, and most meats
Recommended Dosage: 20-35mcg per day
Side Effects: impaired thinking, judgment, and coordination, skin irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, mood changes in high or low doses
Copper
Benefits: works well alongside iron, improves the immune system, and helps the body produce red blood cells
Source: a micromineral commonly found in nuts, seeds, liver, beans, grains, seafood, black pepper, and cocoa
Recommended Dosage: 900-10,000mcg per day
Side Effects: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, black stool, irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing, stomach pain, and headaches in high or low doses
Magnesium
Benefits: necessary for a wide range of functions and processes inside the body, regulates blood pressure and blood clotting, strengthens your bones and teeth, and improves muscle contractions
Source: a macromineral commonly found in seeds, milk, cashews, legumes, dark green leafy vegetables, and whole wheat bread
Recommended Dosage: 320-420mg per day through diet, 350mg through supplementation
Side Effects: stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches when taken in high or low doses
Omega-3
Benefits: reduce depression and anxiety, improves eye health, promotes brain health, reduce risk of heart disease and ADHD, fights inflammation, improve cognitive function, improve joints and bones, healthy for the skin, and enhances sleep
Source: fatty acids that are also known as healthy fats, consists of ALA, EPA, and DHA, commonly found in fish, nuts, seeds, oils, and other seafood
Recommended Dosage: 250-750mg per day
Side Effects: heartburn, diarrhea, bad breath, sweating, body odor, bad taste in the mouth, headaches, and nausea in high or low doses
Selenium
Benefits: works as a powerful antioxidant, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, helps regulate thyroid hormones, and reduces the risk of certain cancers
Source: a micromineral commonly found in nuts, grains, liver, plants, and seafood
Recommended Dosage: 55-400mcg per day
Side Effects: blood clotting, tremors, nausea, energy loss, irritability, vomiting, muscle tenderness, dizziness, facial flushing, liver issues, nail changes, and kidney problems in high or low doses
Vitamin B12
Benefits: increases cell production, DNA production, red blood cell production, and cell growth, protect cells, breaks down amino acids and fatty acids, decreases homocysteine in the blood, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, and increases energy production
Source: a water-soluble vitamin, one of the eight B-complex vitamins, also known as cobalamin, commonly found in eggs, dairy, fish, meats, and fortified in some breakfast cereals
Recommended Dosage: 2.4mcg per day
Side Effects: headaches, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, upset stomach, and anxiety in high or low doses
Vitamin E
Benefits: works as a powerful antioxidant, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, reduces risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and protects Vitamin A from damage
Source: a fat-soluble vitamin, also known as alpha-tocopherol, commonly found in nuts, whole grains, some salad dressings, leafy green vegetables, and some vegetable oils
Recommended Dosage: 15-1,000mg per day
Side Effects: rashes, blurred vision, fatigue, cramps, headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, and diarrhea in high or low doses
Vitamin D
Benefits: strengthens your bones and teeth, regulates phosphate and calcium levels in the body, reduces risk of a spinal fracture
Source: a fat-soluble vitamin, also known as calciferol, our main source of Vitamin D is sun exposure to the skin, also found in some cereals and milks
Recommended Dosage: 15-50mg per day
Side Effects: fatigue, dry mouth, nausea, weakness, dizziness, sleepiness, headaches, loss of appetite, and vomiting when taken in high or low doses
Zinc
Benefits: releases Vitamin A from the liver, increases production of enzymes, cells, sperm, and proteins, enhances taste, smell, sight, healing wounds, and the immune system
Source: a micromineral commonly found in nuts, beans, poultry, seafood, and red meats
Recommended Dosage: 8-40mg per day
Side Effects: kidney problems, stomach issues, metallic taste in the mouth, nausea, and vomiting when taken in high or low doses
Ashwagandha
Benefits: helps body adapt to stress, reduces depression and anxiety, reduces blood sugar and cortisol levels, improves strength and muscle mass, and reduces inflammation in the body
Source: an ancient medicinal herb native to India, Africa, and the Middle East, but can now be found throughout the world, considered to be an adaptogen
Recommended Dosage: 450-550mg per day
Side Effects: headache, sleepiness, and stomach upset when taken in high doses
Elderberry
Benefits: powerful antioxidant, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, boosts the immune system, reduces stress, prevents cold and flu symptoms, and protects your heart
Source: a dark purple berry that comes from the European Elder tree; it looks like a blueberry
Recommended Dosage: N/A
Side Effects: nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness, headache, and stupor when taken in high doses
L-Theanine
Benefits: helps you feel relaxed, reduces crash and jitters from caffeine, improves cognitive function and brain health, increases production and synthesis of GABA, serotonin, and dopamine, boosts the immune system, enhances sleep, and crosses the blood-brain barrier
Source: a non-dietary amino acid that’s structurally similar to Glutamine and Glutamate, commonly found in green and black tea
Recommended Dosage: 200-1,200mg per day
Side Effects: headaches, nausea, and irritability when taken in high or low doses
Rhodiola Rosea
Benefits: helps the body adapt to stress, reduces depression and anxiety, fights fatigue, improves cognitive function, improves exercise performance
Source: an ancient medicinal herb that’s grown in the colder climates of Asia and Europe, considered an adaptogen
Recommended Dosage: 400-600mg per day
Side Effects: allergy, irritability, insomnia, increased blood pressure, and chest pain when taken in high doses
Turmeric
Benefits: works as a powerful antioxidant, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, increases BDNF in the brain, improves cognitive function, and reduces cognitive decline
Source: a plant found in the ginger family, contains curcumin, it’s what gives curry its yellow color, also known as Curcuma longa
Recommended Dosage: 500-1,000mg per day
Side Effects: stomach upset, nausea, dizziness, or diarrhea when taken in high or low doses
Baze Dosages, Packaging, and Pricing
Like most supplements and multivitamins, Baze personalized supplements come in capsule form. Unlike most supplements, however, Baze comes with a test kit packed with a little device you need to send back to the company.
The test kit is colorful, and the directions are clearly found in an instruction packet. Don’t worry, it’s not difficult and won’t take you long to complete. It comes with a sterilizer pad and band-aid to keep everything clean and safe.
As for the capsules, they are sent to you in individual daily packets. The packets are connected together inside a box, so all you have to do is tear off a packet and take the capsule. The nutrients inside the capsule and dosages used will be determined by your blood sample.
If you wanted to purchase the test kit without signing up for a monthly subscription of personalized capsules, it’ll cost you $129. That price drops down to $99 if you purchase the monthly personalized capsules, which are then $15/month. Compared to most supplements, that’s a rather cheap price.
Pros vs. Cons
Personalized supplements are the new kid on the block when it comes to supplements, so there’s sure to be some hiccups along the way. When it comes to Baze, however, they’re one of the companies that are doing it well.
We’re going to take a closer look at the pros and cons involved when purchasing Baze Personalized Supplements; that way, you can make a more informed decision when shopping for the right supplement.
Pros
- Only $15/month after you purchase the $99 test
- Access to a team of dietitians when signing up monthly
- They offer healthy meal ideas and recipes on their website
- They use the most bioavailable forms of each nutrient
- Supplements are automatically delivered to you every month
- You retest yourself regularly to ensure your supplements remain tailored to your body
- Baze supplements are non-GMO, gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegan-friendly
- You can upload your own blood tests from your doctor to bypass the Baze test
- Nutrients combine to improve bone health, cognitive function, energy, hair, skin, and nails, immunity, joints, libido, fertility, longevity, sleep, stress, strength, and endurance
- Precise dosages help you maintain nutrient levels accurately
- Focused on science and built specifically for you
Cons
- There’s a heavy $99 fee for the test when signing up for the monthly delivery
- You have to pay a fee for the test each time you take the test
- Only tests 15 nutrient levels, leaving out a wide range of vitamins and minerals
Claims vs. Reality
One of the things I really like about Baze personalized supplements is how dedicated to science their team is. They’ve not only developed their own gadget for drawing a blood sample painlessly and effortlessly, but they deliver a supplement with precise dosages based on the customer’s needs.
When you go to their website, they don’t make a whole lot of claims. Instead, they explain their process and tell you exactly what you’ll get. They test you for 15 different nutrients, determine which ones you can use more of on a daily basis, put it in a supplement, and send it to you each month.
They also monitor your results and change the supplement as your levels change. It’s a straight-forward process with no gimmicks in-between.
The only major downfall is they leave out a wide range of vitamins and minerals that people are commonly deficient in — including Vitamin A, Iodine, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Potassium. They do, however, include a wide majority of the most important ones.
Overall, they deliver exactly what they claim to deliver, and that should help make the consumer feel a little more comfortable when purchasing this unique supplement.
Baze Competitors and Alternatives
While personalized supplements are rather new to the market and most people are still taking general multivitamins, there are a few companies outside of Baze that are doing similar things in the industry.
We’re going to highlight some of those below. This can be an exciting new concept for most consumers, so it’s important to keep your options open in order to find the one that fits you best. Let’s see what companies like Care/of, Persona, and Vitamin Lab have in store for you!
Care/of
While Care/of’s process is backed by science, much like Baze’s process, it doesn’t take into account your blood sample. With that being said, they do quiz you to learn a little bit more about your habits, diet, and lifestyle.
Based on your quiz results, they’ll give you a detailed recommendation — based on science — of supplements they have in their inventory that will increase your quality of life. They offer everything from protein to vitamins, minerals, collagen, herbs, probiotics, and even electrolytes.
Because there’s no blood sample involved, Care/of won’t be as accurate and personalized as Baze, but it will give you a much more personalized experience than most other supplements on the market — and they have a solid selection too!
Persona Nutrition
Persona Nutrition is very similar to Baze in that they have dietary nutritionists ready to speak with you whenever you need guidance. In fact, their entire process is similar, except for the fact that there’s no blood sample. Again, that seems to be what sets Baze apart from the rest of these brands.
Still, Persona Nutrition gives you a much larger selection of nutrients to choose from — nearly 100 of them! If you wanted a personalized vitamin pack that gives you control over what nutrients and how much you take, this is your best option.
Most ingredients range from five cents to 75 cents per day, so the overall price will depend on which ingredients you’re interested in.
Vitamin Lab
Vitamin Lab takes what Baze, Persona, and Care/of do and packs it into one brand. They give customers a choice between taking a quiz/assessment to determine their supplement stack, upload blood test results, or take a personalized blood test — which tests for 30+ different biomarkers.
If you want to upload a test, you can get started for free. Taking the quiz will cost $50 to get started, while the personalized blood test costs $200. It’s more expensive than Baze but will get you the accurate results you need.
You can also select to receive it in a powder or capsule, which makes it even more appealing to a larger crowd.
Final Verdict: Baze
Personalized supplements are the future of the supplement industry, and any company that’s trying their hand at this unique supplement experience is getting ahead of the rest. Baze is one of those brands, and they are doing a great job at that.
The 15 nutrients they test for are key for a wide variety of reasons. One can only hope that they’ll continue to add to that nutrient list as time goes on. It’ll be nice to see them add some more vitamins and minerals, as well as some ancient medicinal herbs like Bacopa and functional mushrooms.
Either way, there aren’t many doing it better than Baze, and they are definitely worth checking out if you’re interested in trying a new supplement. It might be exactly what you’ve been looking for!