FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Anyone who is interested in their health and supporting skin health should consider taking supplements to ensure that their body is getting all the nutrients they need. Additionally, for individuals with specific skin concerns, our team have developed targeted solutions for problem skin, dry skin, ageing skin and more. Our skin produces 200 million skin cells per hour so it is important that you are making this from a diet rich in nutrients.

First of all, it is important to note that you should not be using supplements to replace a varied and balanced diet. Secondly, it is possible to consume too many supplements, especially if you are combining different brands. The risk here is that you may be getting too much of certain vitamins and minerals. The Advanced Nutrition Programme™ range has been specifically formulated to work in synergy so you can take a few products together and it is perfectly safe. If you are taking other food supplements and have specific queries, please feel free to contact our in house customer services and nutrition team who will endeavour to advise you.

Yes absolutely, combining supplements will not interfere with the way they work, in some cases it can even be beneficial as vitamins and minerals often rely on each other to work properly. This is also why it can be good to take a multivitamin and beneficial bacteria as a foundation and then include other supplements. Please make sure you are taking food supplements with a main meal and not on an empty stomach.

In general, it is best to take most supplements with food as this is the way nature intended us to digest and absorb nutrients. We recommend that you take supplements with a main meal as this provides for better absorption. This can be lunch or dinner. The important part is that you take your supplements on a daily basis.

Sometimes it can be hard to get into a routine with this so here are some tips that may help get you in a routine:

• Set a daily reminder on your phone.
• Keep your supplements in a draw at work or on your desk so they are easily accessible.
• Use one of our Advanced Nutrition Programme™ travel tins to make sure you always have your daily supply with you.
• Consider our Skin Boxes such as Skin Ultimate which has convenient daily, tear-off pods which act as your daily supplement dose.

All our products are searchable on our website by skin concerns. If you are still unsure, please contact us for advice.

This is a complex question and can involve many factors that affect the outcome. To simplify, every person is unique and individual so results will vary from person to person. As a general rule we find that people start to notice a difference around 12 weeks (based on our in-house studies done in our Skin Research Centre). For some supplements it may be quicker, for example with our Skin Omegas+ and Skin Youth Biome™ individuals have noticed a result within 7 days. In contrast our Skin Accumax™ optimal results are achieved after a minimum period of 14 weeks. Skin cells in the epidermis turnover every 28 days so you may not notice a difference in your skin immediately, but you may notice improvements in wellbeing and energy first.

For best results consistency is key so we recommend that you take your food supplements on a daily basis. If you forget to take your supplements for one day that is fine, just continue to take them again the next day. There is no need to double up.

It is safe for children to take specifically formulated supplements for children. Our range of supplements have been designed for 16 years and over.

The ingredients listing for each product states whether it’s suitable for vegans.

The ingredients listing for each product states whether it’s suitable for vegetarians.

No we do not test on animals.

As a general rule of thumb, supplements are available in capsule, softgel or tablet format For capsules, our Experts recommend that you can break these apart and mix the powder in with some food like yoghurt or into a glass of juice, and if you can stand the taste you can even mix it in some water. Just remember to eat/drink the mixture straight away as the capsule is designed to protect the ingredients from light and air and once this is removed, they will start to degrade. Regarding tablets, you can break in half or even crush into a powder and mix into food.

This can be perfectly normal if you are taking supplements on an empty stomach or on a meal that doesn’t contain enough food e.g.: a slice of toast. Make sure are taking supplements with a main meal that contains some oil or fat for better absorption.

In an ideal world, we should get all our nutrients from food but sadly, this can be challenging. Due to changes in farming and changes in supply chain processes such as storage and processing of food, the nutritional content of food has diminished.

An analysis by the UK Department of Agriculture reveals that the amount of magnesium in vegetables has dropped by 24% in just the past 70 years. Calcium has dropped by 27%. The iron in meat has fallen by 54%. Selenium (a key antioxidant) in fresh food is down by 50%.

The National Diet and Nutrition Survey carried out in Great Britain on behalf of the Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health reveals that a considerable percentage of women aged 19-64 are not getting the recommended daily amount of many vitamins and minerals and 59% don’t even get the recommended amount of vitamin A.

There are many abbreviations in the world of nutrition and food supplements so it can be confusing to understand labelling the abbreviation RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) has been commonly used on food supplement labels and this term has been replaced with NRV which is an abbreviation of ‘Nutrient Reference Value’. NRV’s are set for 13 vitamins and 14 minerals for the purposes of food labelling and are EU guidance levels on the daily amount of vitamin or mineral that the average healthy person needs to prevent deficiency.

Food supplement labels list the ingredients included in the product and give the proportion of the NRV value (% NRV) that is contained within the supplement e.g. vitamin C, 80mg, 100% NRV.

No, the NRV is just an average guidance level. When formulating our products we adhere to a stringent set of rules for safe amounts of nutrients that is provided by EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). Our product labels are also reviewed by HFMA (Health Food Manufacturers Association) to make sure we fall within the EU legislation and our experienced team ensure alignment with legislation in other countries worldwide

Yes, they can. If you are on any prescribed medications please check with your Doctor or Health Care Professional if you can take the specific food supplement you are thinking of alongside your medication.

Yes, Advanced Nutrition Programme™food supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Medications are specifically designed to treat diseases and are prescribed by doctors and pharmacists.

Yes you can. All our claims that we make on our products are authorised EFSA claims. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is responsible for evaluating the scientific evidence supporting health claims

As demonstrated in our Brand Story section, quality is key pillar of Advanced Nutrition Programme™. As a result, we meticulously triple test each and every batch produced to make sure that you are getting exactly what it says on the label. For more information about our quality procedures please visit our Brand Story section.

As with most things in life, quality comes with a cost. The cheapest supplements are usually less expensive for a reason due to ingredient selection, potency and testing. In general, heaper forms of nutrients may not be easily absorbed, or lower amounts are used. Many unnecessary bulking agents and excipients may be added. Testing each batch to ensure that the right levels of nutrients are in each capsule is an enormously expensive process and will affect the price. Most food supplement manufacturers don’t do this and there is no requirement in the industry to actually test.

A great barometer for quality is with Omega-3 essential fatty acid ingredient. Omega 3 is from fish and reputable companies will list on the label that the oil has been checked for impurities (e.g pollutants from the sea), has been purified or something like this. If it’s not on the label, chances are that this hasn’t been done.

The label should list the value of all the nutrients as well as list the full ingredients. The more information on the ingredient list the better.

We encourage individuals to seek information on eco and sustainability standards of manufacturers which showcases a dedication to the health of our planet and you.

For more information about our quality procedures please visit our Brand Story section.

No, this is not an industry requirement so brands that do test go above and beyond. The team at Advanced Nutrition Programme™ engage in strict testing procedures which exceed industry requirements, and full information is featured on our Brand Story section. The team also complete case studies to showcase results on various skin parameters and invite you to visit our Skin Research section to discover full details and results  

Research from the British Journal of Nutrition in 2006 concludes that taking oral supplements has many benefits over topical application. It supports the importance of supplements that feed skin over the entire body, in an easily absorbable form and which can nourish even the deeper layers of the skin. As a general rule of thumb, the team support a 360 degree skin care programme which combines supplements with high quality professional treatments, topical skincare and make-up.

A recent report from the British Journal of Nutrition reported that taking supplements has advantages over creams for skin care: the nutrients are more absorbable; the nutrients reach skin cells all over the body (not just where you put the cream) and nourish even the deepest layers of skin where creams can’t reach. We encourage a 360 degree approach to skincare by combining supplements and healthy diet with high quality treatments, topical skincare and make-up. Remember, the skin is the last organ to actually receive vitamins and minerals, as the body prioritises other organs like the brain, heart, muscles, etc. So, if the diet is low in nutrients, the skin will suffer first.

Your body will always prioritise nutrients to go to the organs that keep you alive such as your heart and brain, especially if you are deficient in certain ones. That said, there have been research studies done on how long it takes for certain vitamins to reach the skin and for some of them it’s been shown to be as little as 12 hours to appear in the epidermis, for others it can be longer than 21 days. When it comes to developing our Advanced Nutrition Programme™ products, our team select nutrients with an affinity for skin such as hyaluronic acid, ceramides, vitamin A and D, omega 3 and 6, plant extracts and many others.  All our product combinations are based on research from independent clinical studies and our own internal studies in our Skin Research Centre to make sure that we are having an impact on skin and invite you to discover more at our Skin Research section. Remember as well that if you are taking one of our products on a daily basis (along with a healthy, varied diet) then you are providing your body with enough nutrients to feed your internal organs and your skin at the same time.

Firstly, I think we need to discuss the dissolution rate of the capsules. Our capsules are guaranteed to dissolve in the stomach within 30 minutes although we know that they often dissolve within 2 to 11 minutes. This means that the contents of the nutrients in the capsules are released into the stomach within minutes of swallowing.

Regarding absorption of nutrients, this depends on many things. In fact research suggests that we may absorb between 10% and 90% of the vitamins and minerals we consume through food and supplements depending on age, stress, foods eaten, gut health to name a few.

We know that the best way to get the most from you supplements to take them with a main meal. And for those people who are particularly interested in absorbing, then they should minimise or avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco.

The amount in our Skin Vit A supplement is regarded as safe. Two slices of calves liver contains 120,000ius, to put this in perspective our capsule contains 5000ius which falls within industry recommended upper safety limits while still being at a level suitable to support skin health.

Pregnant women, or women planning to become pregnant, should not take vitamin A except on the advice of their doctor or ante-natal clinic.

Antioxidants are special nutrients that protect us from harmful toxins called oxidants or free radicals, which damage cells, accelerate ageing and cause disease.

These by-products of oxygen are like the ‘sparks’ that emanate from anything that’s burnt, including cigarettes, petrol and fried or barbecued food. Even the process we use to ‘burn’ food for energy inside our body cells end up making a bucketful of oxidants every year.

Antioxidants are like fireproof gloves, catching the sparks and protecting us. Each antioxidant becomes ‘hot’ and passes the oxidant to another until there is no more danger – so they work cooperatively.

The key players are vitamin E (seeds, nuts and fish); vitamin C (fruits and vegetables); vitamin A and beta-carotene (orange or red foods); glutathione (onions and garlic); and anthocyanidins (berries and beetroot). You can top these up with an all-round antioxidant supplement that contains each of the above.