Late last week, we had a discussion on Instagram about influencer marketing. And one of the topics that came up is when you open up your Instagram Stories, and every other influencer you follow is hawking the same product, on the same day, using the same phrases, with or without proper sponsorships disclosures.
How can you know whether that product is really a “game-changer” or a “must-have”? How can you trust that the puffy language and glowing recommendation is based on more than the check clearing? How can you separate the wheat from the chaff on social media?
This exact issue is why Saw It On Social was created. A review of a viral product that isn’t gifted or sponsored. And this week’s subject is Ritual Vitamins.
Ritual is a vitamin company. Their about page uses all the startup buzzwords — reimagined, challenged, commitment, mission, transparency. So let’s skip the viral puffery and get down to the actual product, because just once, I’d like to hear a company skip the fluffy jargon and say, “the product works well enough you won’t regret spending the money,” and leave it at that.
I’ve purchased a lot of multi-vitamins in my life, but I’ve never really understood what they’re made of or why. So one of the things I like about Ritual is that they take the time to explain the internal research behind which vitamins and minerals they include and at what levels.
Further, this vitamin is the first one I’ve ever seen tell me not just what minerals and vitamins are in the mix, but what stabilizers and binders are used and where they are sourced from. As someone who has had terrible allergic reactions to generic drugs due to binding agents, I was impressed by this level of information.
Obviously, I have a law degree, not a science degree. I can’t speak to the quality of Ritual’s studies or research beyond just being grateful by the depth and transparency of what they provide. I can’t provide any informed opinions about the delayed-release capsule or the efficacy of the ingredient mix. I can only tell you what I liked about these vitamins from the perspective of a regular consumer, comparing them to other vitamins I’ve taken.
Recently, I started taking prenatal vitamins, and it sucked. The vitamins my doctor prescribed were so large that I had to break them in half to get them down without gagging. And the taste, dear Lord. I know you’re supposed to take vitamins with water, but Dr. Pepper was the only thing that could mask the flavor.
I switched to a gummy vitamin. I thought that would be the cure. But they were grainy and tasted bad, and worse, now I had to take four every day instead of two. I went to another pill, it upset my stomach. I tried a chewable tablet, it made my teeth sensitive. So here I was, stuck in a situation where I needed to take a multi-vitamin, and everyone I tried was a tremendously unpleasant experience.
So I set aside my general skepticism about aggressively marketed, social media friendly companies, and tried Ritual. And it is a much more pleasant experience.
The pills aren’t so big they make me gag. They have a citrus flavor that has a pleasant taste and smell. They don’t upset my stomach. And I don’t dread taking them. That is a serious improvement.
It is enough of an improvement that I am willing to shell out the $30 every month to keep them auto-delivery. It is enough that I would recommend that anyone who is in the market for a multi-vitamin talk to their doctor about taking this one, as they have many different formulas to choose from. And it is enough, that I bought my husband a bottle.
Bottom Line. I like these vitamins enough to keep taking them without complaint or dread even though I could buy a cheaper option at the store, because I tried most of those, and like these better.
Like all Saw It On Social products, no gifts or sponsorships were solicited or accepted. There are no affiliate links in this post. This is not in anyway an ad. It is an actual review of my actual experience, written by me alone, about a product I purchased with my own money.
I loved the ritual prenatals for two months and then suddenly they started making me have the worst burps! And then I started to gag when I took them. This was all when TTC. I was/am still upset because prenatals, as you detail, are pretty terrible!! Glad they are working for you!!!
I took the regular ritual vitamins and had gross burps! I think it was the combination of my love for bubbly water plus the fact that the vitamins contain fish oil. Yuck
FWIW, I had really intense hyperemesis throughout my pregnancy and eventually was prescribed Prenate Pixie (plus alternating doses of Zofran + Reglan). They’re not cheap but my insurance covered them and they’re much easier to swallow. Maybe a bit much preconception but if anyone gets body slammed by “morning” sickness, it’s worth asking about.
That’s a solid tip, thank you.
Two things that have helped me with this, including specifically with ritual but for any fish oil containing supplement. Take them either at night or in the morning before you eat or drink anything. I always did the nighttime dose with prenatals and now I take my Ritual vitamins before eating or drinking anything in the morning. No fish burps.
I also tried a multitude of prenatal vitamins, and the brand that finally worked for me was SmartyPants gummies. NOT the organic formula, just the original. Similar price point. I’m glad that you found something that worked and wish you all the best!
Those are the ones I tried. The flavor wasn’t bad, but the grainy texture just was too much.
+1 for the SmartyPants gummies, organic or regular. They’re pretty good tasting and have a good amount of what you need, minus iron.
I liked the Smarty Pants, but I loved the Olly ones! My husband took them too because they were so tasty.
I echo the comments about the gross burps. After a week or so, I had a morning of gross fish burps and I couldn’t bring myself to take anymore of them. Blech.
I started the gummy prenatals too – they were awful! The Ritual prenatals sold me on the “double capsule” where the harsher ingredients get absorbed further in your digestive tract.
For what it’s worth, some OBs take issue that it is not folic acid in the Ritual prenatals, and thus not actually proven to prevent neural tube defects.
Yes! An OB account, BabiesAfter35, spends a lot of time talking about this on her Instagram account.
I came here to say the same thing. Please be wary of what you’re consuming and always check with your doc. It could be a matter of just supplementing a vitamin or you might have to switch altogether.
Whoa, this is super interesting and sent me on a mad googling episode. I’ve been taking another prenatal with L-5 methylfolate in part because the MTHFR gene runs in my family, but yes, you’re correct that the recommendation is to take folic acid since that has the research behind it. (Given that I’m in my second trimester and no neural tube issues have been found, I’m going to carry on with the same prenatals…)
I came to leave a comment with the same concern about Ritual! My OB told me to avoid any prenatal vitamins that don’t contain folic acid because the synthetic form of folate does not provide what’s needed to help with neural tube development in fetuses. Please research folate and talk to your care provider (and check your vitamins to make sure the folic acid is coming from folate) before continuing use. I know prenatal vitamins can be awful but it’s important to get the right nutrients.
I have a separate folic acid supplement from my REI, so I didn’t think to look for it in the Ritual vitamins. Thanks for flagging.
FWIW, I find the CVS generic prenatals to be the best. They’re smaller tablets and have no noticeable taste.
I always took my prenatals right before bed. That way I slept through the inevitable nausea. Maybe the same strategy could help for some of the other symptoms?