Nordic Naturals Magnesium Citrate Gummies

Just when I thought I was out of the supplement game, they pulled me back in with these magnesium gummies! 10/10 docs have told me to take magnesium in (no joke) 4 different forms, which is a lot of magnesiums. I do eat veg, docs!! But anyway, citrate is supposed to be highly "bioavailable", and this company is among my trusted inner circle of supplement dealers, so why not add another weird sugary thing to my rotation of pills, gummies, elixirs, etc? And actually these are by far the best tasting supplement yet! Very mild blueberry flavor, no weird notes or chemical taste, no bitterness, no sugar crystals on the outside, none of that. Just a pleasant blue opaque gummy. The serving size is 3 which is stupid, but other than that, I have no complaints. Did they do anything for me health-wise? I guess it's too soon to say. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I'm not very good at it. Nevertheless!

Overall
Cost: 4/10 (25$ for 20 days' supply)
Taste: 7/10

Bluebonnet Earthsweet Chewables Vitamin B12

Now we're talking. I think this is the last of my supplement inventory, at least for now (the only other thing recommended to me was lots of different magnesiums that I can't find a suitable source for) and I saved the best for last. Don't get me wrong, this didn't do anything to heal me either, but it had the nicest form factor by far. It's a small pill shaped tablet, firm, and tastes like a vague sugar pill. I guess B12 is really small and that's why it can be in such a pleasant format(??). I find the dosage (something like 5000x DV) weird and unsettling, but I guess it's hard to force it past the brain-blood barrier, or something. I wish these did something for me because I'd happily take them eternally, but as it stands I'll just finish out the (60ct) bottle and cherish its memory. If you take B12 I highly recommend this one though!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10
Efficacy: 1/10

Herb-Science Vitamin B2 Supplement

As far as supplement brands go, this one is on the less-legit-looking side. The name alone evokes suspicion. But B2 is apparently not available in a appropriate form via my already vetted sources, and although I am kind of out of energy to vet, this one does say that it is nut free. And the ingredients are only B2, water, and glycerin. Therefore I eye-dropped it into my juice as instructed. It doesn't have a noticeable taste (in juice), but it is a neon yellow color, which makes it seem legit. Also, this reminds me of a sign I saw on the church by my house:

   `The best vitamin for friendship is B1.'

I didn't understand it because I'm so deep in vitamin land that I forgot about language land! I was like, "what does that mean? Is that true? Should I also take B1????" But it's a silly and syntactically weird thing to say, anyway.

So, back to business. Does this do anything: no. Of course not! Well, (content warning?), it does make your pee really yellow, so that's something. But alas, I aspire to more.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10
Efficacy: 2/10

Nordic Naturals CoQ10 Gummies

God, there's a whole world of supplements out there! So many people have told me their lives are everchanged by iron pills or vitamin D shots or whatever, so I guess it's possible something like that could happen to me, although it feels unlikely. Then again, what do I know? I'd never ever heard of CoQ10 ("Coenzyme Q10") before this month, because it doesn't have a daily value and so it isn't on food packaging, and also my last biology class was in... middle school. But apparently this helps with calming down bb's sensitive brain (I am bb). And it's in meat, nuts, and fish, which means it isn't crazy to think I'd have a low level of it. So, the search for an allergy-friendly source was on. Sadly my already vetted Bluebonnet did not have a suitable form, so I had to look elsewhere, and this was the most legit company I could find. (Nature's Bounty and Nature's Own are both unwilling to declare themselves nut-free, and they seem to be the biggest in the supp game.) Even though they make a lot of fish oil stuff, I was able to contact someone there who assured me there's no nut/fish/legume in these bad boys. So, that's one hurdle down. 

But they are bad, boys. These are very soft gummies, as if someone tried to make a good candy but did a bad job with the formulation and it melted and has a weird strawberry taste and maybe sugar on the outside??? And it says to take with food?? Good thing I don't enjoy Food anymore because this would render any adjacent meal pretty unpalatable, like strawberry flavored kids toothpaste. 

That said, I'm not taking these for taste, and they didn't kill me, so that's half the battle. The other half is: will they actually do anything?! It's too soon to tell, but I don't have any new foods to review, so you're getting this word vomit instead. If I am magically healed I will be sure to check back! :)

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [Like 24$, dang]
Taste: 5/10
Efficacy: ???/10

Bluebonnet Earth Sweet Chewables - Calcium Magnesium & Vitamin D3

Are supplements food? No, they are not. Do they have any consistent allergy labeling at all? No, they do not!! So for these reasons (plus my inherent skepticism), the only supplement I'd ever taken til recently is your classic childhood Flintstones Vitamins. Plus, my dietary labs have always been fine (thanks, Toaster Strudel). But now I've reached the "I will try literally anything" level of medical misery, so it's all aboard the supplement train. Luckily this company has very transparent labelling, and they were quick to respond to my queries about legumes (no legumes). Unluckily there is citric acid & raspberry in here, which I am supposed to avoid for dubious brain diet reasons, but it's got to be a pretty small amount, right? 

A serving is 2 Tums-size tablets. The taste is "tums" and the texture is "tums". Are these just tums? They aren't a joy to eat or anything, but they aren't objectionable. The real question is: do they do anything? In my case, the answer is no, but I didn't have any direct evidence that I was deficient in any of these substances to begin with. Plus it's only been about 3 weeks since I started. I will probably finish the bottle and then not buy another bottle, but I would not have a problem with resuming the Tums life if somebody said I should.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 (20$ish)
Taste: 5/10
Efficacy: 1/10