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IM8 is the new all-in-one supplement on the block, and along with some serious scientific research to back them, they also have an impressive list of ingredients.
But are all of these ingredients really necessary? Did they use the best form of each to maximize potency and absorption for the average person? In this new series, I am going to go through the IM8 ingredients list – all 92 ingredients – to better understand why they included it in their products, if they chose a good source for that particular benefit, and what I recommend you do to make the most of these ingredients.
The Ingredients List
When you go to the ingredients section of their site, they’ve very conveniently broken it down by product (the ultimate supplement and the longevity supplement) and by benefit group.
For this first installment, I am going to cover all of the vitamins in their ingredient list, explain to you why they are important for your health, how much you need, and where you can get these vitamins in your diet.
As I’ve said many times on my blog before, supplements are meant to supplement your diet. So although there are some ingredients on their list with more than enough to satisfy your daily requirements, you’ll see some ingredients on their list with less than the daily requirements. This is normal, and should act as a reminder that you should be getting the rest of your daily intake from whole food sources.
Alright, let’s get into the vitamins in IM8’s Daily Ultimate Essentials.
What are vitamins?
To give you a quick understanding of why they highlight this as a group of ingredients, vitamins and minerals are micronutrients.
Micronutrients are essential nutrients you need in smaller quantities to support your daily bodily functions.
They are all essential because when you don’t get enough of them in your diet, the consequences can go so far as being fatal.
So, let’s get into the different vitamins and minerals listed in their ingredients list.
| Vitamins | Minerals |
| Vitamin A (as Retinyl palmitate) | Calcium (as Calcium citrate and Calcium phosphate) |
| Vitamin B2 (as Riboflavin) | Choline (as Choline bitartrate) |
| Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine HCl) | Chromium (as Chromium picolinate) |
| Vitamin B12 (as Methylcobalamin) | Copper (as Copper citrate) |
| Biotin | Iodine (as Potassium iodide) |
| Vitamin C (as Ascorbic acid) | Magnesium (as Magnesium glycinate) |
| Vitamin D (as Cholecalciferol VegD3) | Manganese (as Manganese citrate) |
| Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl succinate) | Molybdenum (as Molybdenum amino acid chelate) |
| Folate (as Quatrefolic (6S)-5-Methyltetrahydrofolic acid glucosamine salt) | Phosphorus (as Calcium phosphate) |
| Vitamin K (as Phylloquinone) | Potassium (as Potassium citrate) |
| Vitamin K2 (as Menaquinone-7) | Selenium (as Selenomethionine) |
| Niacin (as Niacinamide) | Zinc (as Zinc citrate) |
| Pantothenic Acid (as Calcium pantothenate) | |
| Thiamin (as Thiamin HCl) |
Vitamin A (as Retinyl palmitate)
Amount per serving: 900 mcg RAE (retinol activity equivalents)
Daily Value: 100%
Vitamin A is one of four fat-soluble vitamins, meaning they have to be consumed with a source of fat for our bodies to absorb them.
This form of vitamin A is a naturally occurring form most commonly found in eggs, cheese, and liver.
I have to be honest – I am a huge advocate for adding organ meats to your diet because they are so rich in vitamins and minerals, and typically offer the highest quantities per gram and the most absorbable version.
So when I researched retinyl palmitate and it said it was the version of vitamin A found in liver, I felt really good about this choice.
So, right out of the gate, IM8 is starting strong with its ingredient choices. Now, I will say that they don’t say where they sourced their retinyl palmitate from, but a lot of their claims are about sourcing ingredients from the highest quality sources, so we’ll have to trust them on that.
Why is vitamin A important?
As I mentioned before, all vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients because not only do they support normal bodily functions, but on the other side of the coin, they could have devastating effects if don’t get enough of them.
Vitamin A is responsible for maintaining a healthy skin barrier, good vision, healthy metabolism, and a strong immune system.The recommended intake of vitamin A for women is 700 micrograms/day and 900 micrograms/day. We can see from the IM8 website that their supplement has more than enough for women, and 100% of the recommended daily dose for men.
Not only do we want to make sure we consume enough vitamin A to support the aforementioned systems, but we also want to protect ourselves from the consequences of vitamin A deficiency.
When we do not get enough vitamin A (less than 20 micrograms/day), the first symptom will be night blindness. If the deficiency persists, your eyes will get dry, you won’t be able to produce tears, and eventually your eyes can get to a really bad place with open sores.
By taking IM8, you can feel confident that you are getting enough vitamin A to support healthy vision, immune function, skin health, and metabolism.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
Amount per serving: 4.2 mg
Daily Value: 323%
Vitamin B2 is part of a larger family of B vitamins that are critical for energy and brain health, along with supporting other systems in the body. The B vitamins are water-soluble vitamins, so the body will use what it needs and then rest is flushed out in our urine.
It is common practice for multivitamin supplements to have more than the recommended dose of water-soluble vitamins because any excess will be excreted from the body. Having more than enough ensures maximum absorption by the body.
Why is Vitamin B2 important?
Vitamin B2, as well as all other B vitamins, helps the body break down carbs, fats, and proteins and turn them into energy that the body can use. Riboflavin also helps the body break down B6 and folate, 2 vitamins that are especially critical for women during pregnancy.
Riboflavin is also an antioxidant. This is a common term in the health and wellness industry, so let me quickly explain why anti-oxidants are great to include in your diet.
There are damaging particles in your body called free radicals. Free radicals are associated with the aging process and breaking down cells. Anti-oxidants circulate the body fighting off these free radicals, meaning your cells are protected and you will age more slowly. I’ve included a helpful image below to with a list of plant-based sources of anti-oxidants.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
It is important to note that men and women require different amounts of vitamin B2 to support their unique body functions. Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and people over the age of 50 will also have different doses due to the way to body absorbs vitamins as we age, and the additional nutrients needed to support a healthy baby.
For men and women between the ages of 19 and 50 years old, you need 1.3mg/day. You’ll notice this is far below what IM8 has included in the Daily Ultimate Essentials supplement. Again, vitamin B2 is a water-soluble vitamin so any riboflavin that isn’t used by the body will be excreted.
For women over the age of 50, you need 1.5mg/day. Men over the age of 50 need a little more, at 1.7mg/day. Pregnant women require 1.9mg/day, and breastfeeding need the most vitamin B2, at 2mg/day.
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
Riboflavin is present in various food sources, including:
- Poultry (chicken, turkey)
- Fish (salmon, tuna)
- Bananas
- Potatoes and other starchy vegetables
- Fortified cereals
- Nuts and seeds
The B vitamins are a very important set of vitamins so I happy to see the IM8 has chosen to include more than enough vitamin B2 in in their daily supplement. I have had a B complex supplement sitting in my cupboard for months and know that I am missing out a powerful dose of vitamins, so IM8 will be the supplement to make sure I am actually taking my B vitamins.
Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine HCl)
Amount per serving: 5 mg
Daily Value: 294%
What is it?
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin involved in over 100 enzymatic reactions, primarily related to protein metabolism and neurotransmitter production. An enzyme, to take you bake to high school biology, is a catalyst, meaning that it helps speed up the rate of a reaction in the body.
This B vitamin is absolutely crucial for normal brain function and to keep your nervous system healthy and functioning as expected. Your nervous system quite literally controls everything. So making sure you are consuming enough B6 is so important, and is likely why IM8 has included more than enough for one day.
Why is it important to human health?
When the body has a enough B6, it will support a number of critical bodily functions. Not to pick favourites, but the fact that vitamin B6 is an important factor in the development of our brains, and helps keep our brains working properly should be enough to really drive home the important of this vitamin.
Another cool function of B6 is that it helps produce the neurotransmitters (the biological messengers of the nervous system), specifically serotonin and dopamine, two neurotransmitters that I am sure we are all familiar with. They help us feel that sense of euphoria when we go for a long run, and dopamine is important for our biological reward system, which can help with motivation and habit formation.
Beyond our beautiful brains, vitamin B6 is hard at work helping to produce red blood cells, and essential components of our immune system. It also helps maintain a healthy heart by reducing homocysteine . When the body has too much homocysteine, this can lead to blood clot formation, and increases your risk for heart disease and stroke.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
As I mentioned, IM8 made sure that you have more than enough vitamin B6 when you take their daily supplement. But just so you’re prepared for your next micronutrient trivia night, here are the recommended daily intakes for vitamin B6:
- Women (19–50 years): 1.3 mg/day
- Women (51+ years): 1.5 mg/day
- Men (19–50 years): 1.3 mg/day
- Men (51+ years): 1.7 mg/day
- Pregnant women: 1.9 mg/day
- Breastfeeding women: 2.0 mg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
Similarly to vitamin B2, you can find vitamin B6 in many staple food items such as poultry (chicken, turkey), fish (salmon and tuna), bananas, starchy vegetables like potatoes, and nuts and seeds.
After going through the research on this, I am really kicking myself for not taking that B complex supplement that’s been sitting in my cupboard these last few months.
Vitamin B12 (as Methylcobalamin)
Amount per serving: 24 mcg
Daily Value: 1000% (!!)
What is it?
Vitamin B12 is another water-soluble vitamin that will help keep your nervous system running smoothly, will develop healthy blood cells and even plays a part in the creation of new new DNA. IM8 has done it again, and by using methylcobalamin, they’ve chosen the bioactive form of vitamin B12, which makes it highly absorbable, and should leave you feel confident that your body has all the B12 it needs.
Why is it important to human health?
Remember that funny term from the previous section, homocysteine? Here’s a refresher if you’ve forgotten or you’ve been reading this article in more of a “choose your own adventure” format.
Homocysteine is something that can naturally build up in the cardiovascular system (your heart and blood vessels). When the body has too much of it, blood clots can form, leading to a higher risk for heart disease and stroke.
Vitamin B12 is one of the key catalysts that help break down homocysteine so that we do not have a build up, and we can rest easy knowing our heart and blood vessels have the best biological clean-up crew taking care of things.
When vitamin B12 isn’t keeping our heart healthy, it is also support our nervous system (classic B vitamin), it is preventing anemia by supporting the healthy formation of red blood cells, it promotes healthy cell division and, last but not least, plays an important role in providing us with enough energy that we feel less fatigued throughout the day.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
When you see how much we need of B12 in a day, and how much IM8 has packed into the daily supplement, you realize that maybe this isn’t just another brand cashing in on the supplement industry. They are certainly turning this skeptic into a bit of a believer!
Here are the recommended dose of vitamin B12:
- Adults (19+ years): 2.4 mcg/day
- Pregnant women: 2.6 mcg/day
- Breastfeeding women: 2.8 mcg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
As always, I want to make sure you know that you can also get vitamin B12 from natural food sources. As with other B vitamins, you can find vitamin B12 in poultry, fish and beef, but it can also be found in these sources as well:
- Dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt)
- Eggs
- Fortified plant-based foods (cereals, plant milks)
- Nutritional yeast
What happens when you don’t get enough?
If the above sections haven’t already made you realize how important vitamin B12 is, I also wanted to include what happens when we are deficient in B12. Specifically because vitamin B12 in it’s most bioavailable form and in its highest quantities is found in animal products. So for those of you who are following a plant-based diet, I believe it is important for you to understand why you have to supplement with vitamin B12 so you can avoid the following symptoms of deficiency:
- Fatigue, weakness, and dizziness
- Nerve damage leading to tingling or numbness in hands and feet
- Memory loss and difficulty concentrating (brain fog)
- Megaloblastic anemia (enlarged, poorly functioning red blood cells)
- Increased risk of depression and mood changes*
We are not done yet with all of the B vitamins, but I hope you’ve noticed the pattern that these vitamins are really important for your brain health, but also play an important role in your mental health. From helping with serotonin and dopamine production, to improving your energy levels, and maintaining a balanced mood, this family of vitamins really is incredible and it makes sense why IM8 has absolutely packed their daily supplement with more than enough B vitamins.
Biotin
Amount per serving: 300 mcg
Daily Value: 1000%
What is it?
Biotin, another B vitamin (B7), plays a key role in energy metabolism and the health of hair, skin, and nails. It has become popularized by many of the hair, skin and nails supplements that you can find at your local pharmacy, but also has an important role to play in your metabolism (the breakdown and absorption of nutrients) and is really important for the healthy development of the baby during pregnancy.
Why is it important to human health?
With this next B vitamin, we see it working alongside the other B vitamins to keep our brain and nervous system working well. But biotin’s greatest claim to fame is it’s role in keeping our hair, skin and nails healthy.
Biotin supports healthy hair, skin and nails because it is a coenzyme that helps break down amino acids that are required for the maintenance of hair, skin and nails. Specifically is helps with the production of collagen, which I’ve written about in this article if you’re curious about how collagen works.
Vitamin B7 is especially important to pregnant folks because biotin helps with the healthy development of the embryo, or the initial bundle of cells that eventually develop into a fetus.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
As with the other B vitamins, IM8 has included more than enough biotin to maintain healthy levels, but for your reference, here are the recommended daily intakes of vitamin B7:
- Adults (19+ years): 30 mcg/day
- Pregnant women: 30 mcg/day
- Breastfeeding women: 35 mcg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
I love the B vitamins for many reason (if you can’t tell already), but one of the big reasons is that it justifies my daily intake of eggs, but also my ongoing battle with the quality of egg yolks in Canada and the US. The richer the colour of the egg yolk, the more nutrients are available. An egg yolk that probably has a lot of biotin will be a deep orange colour, which is almost unheard of here in north America, so another reason to supplement with IM8 to make sure you’re getting enough.
Okay enough about egg yolks!
You can also get biotin from the following whole food sources:
- Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts)
- Whole grains
- Meat and fish
- Sweet potatoes
- Avocados
Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid)
Amount per serving: 900 mg
Daily Value: 1000%
What is it?
Vitamin C is a one of the better-known vitamins. I grew up with a Costco sized container of vitamin C and always looked forward to that little orange-flavoured tablets in the morning.
We were always told that vitamin C was important for a strong immune system, with products like Ener-C promoting the cold-fighting benefits of high doses of vitamin C. There is some research to support this as well, so it is great to see that (yet again) IM8 has absolutely loaded the daily supplement with more than enough vitamin C.
Why is it important to human health?
Not only does vitamin C support a healthy immune system, but it is a bit of a multi-tasker.
When it isn’t helping the body fight off infections, it is also helping the body create collagen. Collagen is the most abundant form of protein in the body and support healthy joins, hair, skin, nails and even creates the protective layer around vital organs.
Not only is vitamin C helping to produce our most abundant protein, but it is also protecting our cells from damage (remember antioxidants from vitamin B2?). And for my plant-based pals, vitamin C is crucial for helping you absorb the iron that is found in fruits, vegetables and legumes. Vegans know that consuming enough iron is really important to ensure you don’t become anemic, so it is really important to also consider your vitamin C intake as a vegan girlie.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
With so many important jobs in the body, it makes sense that we need a good amount of vitamin C in order to maintain healthy body functions. These are your recommended dose of vitamin C, but as always, you are getting more than enough from IM8.
- Women (19+ years): 75 mg/day
- Men (19+ years): 90 mg/day
- Pregnant women: 85 mg/day
- Breastfeeding women: 120 mg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
Vitamin C can be found in lots of delicious fruits, making it one of the easier vitamins to get adequate amounts from our diet. However in northern climates, like my home of Montreal, Canada, these yummy fruits aren’t always in season, so supplementing vitamin C can be helpful to keep us healthy during the winter months.
Here are the common whole food sources of vitamin C:
- Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, grapefruit)
- Strawberries
- Bell peppers
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Kiwi
What happens when you don’t get enough?
I’ll never forget high school history class and learning that scurvy, the rotting teeth disease that sailors suffered during the colonization the Americas, was caused by a vitamin C deficiency.
Thankfully we are able to get vitamin C from our diets today, so many of us do not have to live in fear of developing scurvy. Again, if you are eating a balanced diet or taking a vitamin C supplement, you won’t need to worry about these symptoms, but just wanted to share the signs of vitamin C deficiency so you can understand the other side of the spectrum:
- Weakened immune system and increased susceptibility to infections
- Slow wound healing and easy bruising
- Dry, rough skin and increased risk of wrinkles
- Bleeding gums and loose teeth (severe deficiency leads to scurvy)
- Fatigue and joint pain
Vitamin D (as Cholecalciferol VegD3)
Amount per serving: 30 mcg (1200 IU)
Daily Value: 150%
What is it?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin just like vitamin A. This means that vitamin D requires fat in order to be absored by the body.
Vitamin D is a special vitamin, as it is so important to maintaining a healthy body that it is considered a pro-hormone in some scientific circles. It is involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphorus levels, supports bone health and plays an important role in maintaining healthy immune function.
IM8 has chosen vitamin D in the cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) form as this is the most effective form for raising blood levels of vitamin D.
Why is it important to human health?
I like to think of vitamin D as the sunshine vitamin. As someone from a northern climate, where the amount of sunshine we are exposed to throughout the year varies depending on the season, vitamin D is something that we have to supplement in our diet during the winter months.
We naturally produce vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight, but when you’re bundled up in the winter and the sun is only out between 8:30 AM and 4PM, we just aren’t produced enough of it. On the opposite side of the world, it has been said that Australians can also be deficient in vitamin D because the sun is too hot, so they are not getting out during the day when the sun is at its strongest.
I have found that when I properly supplement with vitamin D, my mood in the winter is much better. Seasonal affect disorder (S.A.D.) is a very real thing that we northerners have to deal with every year in the winter, but studies have shown that supplementing with vitamin D has been shown to help with some of the symptoms of S.A.D.
Beyond mood, vitamin D also supports a healthy immune system, something that also tends to suffer in the winter months. Additionally, vitamin helps with the natural absorption of calcium, strengthening the bones, something we’ll get into in the next part of this series when I cover minerals.
Safe to say that vitamin D is incredibly important, so it is great to see that IM8 has packed their daily supplement with more than enough.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
When it comes to supplementing vitamin D, the amount varies depending on your age and your ability to absorb vitamins. I’d also like to include here that folks with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) should be especially focused on getting enough vitamin D, as studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency can worsen symptoms.
- Adults (19–70 years): 600 IU (15 mcg)/day
- Adults (71+ years): 800 IU (20 mcg)/day
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women: 600 IU (15 mcg)/day
A quick vitamin D fun fact that I love to share: In the summer months, pale skin can naturally produce up to 10,000 IUs of vitamin D with just 15 minutes of sun exposure. After that, make sure you put on your sunscreen! However, more melinated skin tones produce less vitamin D from natural sun exposure and typically require more time in the sun to produce the same amount of vitamin D.
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
Although the sun is an excellent source of vitamin D, we can also get small amounts of vitamin D from whole food sources like fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), as well as fortified dairy products and plant-based milk. They’ll typically include something on the packaging to let you know that the product has been fortified with vitamin D.
Some other interesting sources of vitamin D are egg yolks and mushrooms that have been exposed to sunlight. It’s amazing how much is packed into the yolks of eggs. But I also love when mushrooms are listed as a source of a vitamin or mineral. I heard someone say on a cooking show that eating mushrooms is like eating a piece of the earth. If you romanticize your food like me, that will make you appreciate mushrooms a little more.
What happens when you don’t get enough?
Vitamin D deficiency is actually more common than some of the other vitamin deficiencies because our body can make so much of it on its own when exposed to sunlight. So in those times when we aren’t seeing the sun, it is common to experience some of these deficiency symptoms.
- Weak bones and increased risk of osteoporosis
- Muscle weakness and joint pain
- Increased susceptibility to infections
- In severe cases, rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults
Vitamin E (as d-alpha tocopheryl succinate)
Amount per serving: 15 mg
Daily Value: 100%
What is it?
Vitamin E is the third of four fat-soluble vitamins and a powerful antioxidant that helps protect cells from oxidative damage. As mentioned previously, antioxidants protect your cells from damage. Oxidative damage relates to a specific type of damage certain free radicals that can lead to broader damages to organs and disease.
Once again, IM8 went for the most bioavailable form of vitamin E by using d-alpha tocopheryl. At this point we should come to expect this from IM8.
Why is it important to human health?
I have always known vitamin E as an important vitamin for healing wounds. When I had surgery to remove a cyst from my back, I made sure I had a gel with vitamin E as a main ingredient because I knew it would help the incision heal, and ideally leave me with less of a scar.
Turns out vitamin E isn’t only good for the outside of your body, but it is also keeping things protected internally as well. As I mentioned before, vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, protecting cells from damage related to oxidative stress.
But what I have also discovered while doing research on vitamin E is that the type being used in IM8 is commonly used to deliver medication more effectively to cells. Specifically, recent studies have shown that not only is it a great carrier for medication, but it may actually interact with certain cancer cells, cause something known as apoptosis, or the death of a cell. And in the case of cancer cells, cell death is exactly what we want.
I found this interesting given IM8 is backed by Prenetics, which is a company that does a lot for cancer research and treatment. Me thinks this was intentional!
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
It doesn’t take a whole lot to get your daily dose of vitamin E, so IM8 has given you exactly what you need for one day’s intake. The rest that you absorb from whole food sources is just gravy!
- Adults (19+ years): 15 mg/day
- Pregnant women: 15 mg/day
- Breastfeeding women: 19 mg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
If you are eating a plant-based diet, or a plant-forward diet, chances are you are getting plenty of vitamin E from your food. A quick 30 gram, or a quarter cup, provides you with 7.7mg of vitamin E.
Here are some other whole food sources of vitamin E:
- Nuts and seeds (almonds, sunflower seeds)
- Spinach and other leafy greens
- Avocados
- Vegetable oils (sunflower, safflower, olive oil)
- Fortified cereals
What happens when you don’t get enough?
For a vitamin that offers your cells protection both inside and outside the body, it should come as no surprise that when you don’t get enough vitamin E, your body suffers. You are at a higher risk of developing disease and your muscles and joints feel weak and sore.
Good thing IM8 has all you need for one day in just one serving!
Folate (as Quatrefolic (6S)-5-Methyltetrahydrofolic acid glucosamine salt)
Amount per serving: 400 mcg DFE (dietary folate equivalents)
Daily Value: 100%
What is it?
We’re back with another B vitamin! Folate, or vitamin B9, is a water-soluble vitamin essential for making new DNA, new red blood cells, and fetal development. Similarly to the other B vitamins we’ve seen, they have are part of some pretty critical functions, so it is important to get enough from your diets and supplements.
By now I hope this comes as no surprise, but the Quatrefolic form is a highly bioavailable version of folate. So once again, IM8 really went for it went it came to sourcing a high quality folate ingredient.
Why is it important to human health?
Fun fact – your cells are dividing all the time. DNA synthesis and cell division is something that just hums along without us even noticing. Folate is there to help make sure this happens smoothly every time. It’s a big task, but if any vitamin can handle it, it’s a B vitamin.
Similarly to other B vitamins, folate also helps with red blood cell formation and preventing anemia and it also supports the regulation of homocysteine, that pesky molecule that can lead to blood clots and heart disease.
Folate’s true claim to fame is its importance for pregnant women. Folate is crucial in the formation of the neural tube of a fetus. The neural tube is what eventually becomes the baby’s brain and spinal cord. So any issues with the development of the neural tube, will likely lead to issues later in the baby’s development. This is why folate can be found in such a high dosage (600mcg) in prenatal vitamins.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
IM8 has enough folate to support adults of all ages who are not pregnant or breastfeeding.
- Adults (19+ years): 400 mcg/day
- Pregnant women: 600 mcg/day
- Breastfeeding women: 500 mcg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
Once again, my plant-based girlies are likely getting plenty of folate in their diets. If you are not plant based, IM8 has you covered, but it is always good to include the following whole-food sources in your diet as well:
- Leafy greens (spinach, kale, lettuce)
- Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, black beans)
- Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons)
- Fortified grains and cereals
- Eggs
What happens when you don’t get enough?
Similarly to other B vitamins, when you don’t get enough folate, you risk developing heart disease due to the build up of homocysteine.
Specific to folate, however, if you do not get enough during pregnancy, you risk birth defects in the baby due to the underdevelopment of the neural tube.
I’ve spoken a lot about pregnancy here, so I will say that as per IM8’s FAQ, they (very responsibly) recommend that you speak with your physician before taking IM8 during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. I imagine if you are reading this and you are currently pregnant or breastfeeding, you have heard this 100 times, but just wanted to be sure to include it here.
Vitamin K (as Phylloquinone)
Amount per serving: 30 mcg
Daily Value: 25%
What is it?
Vitamin K is the fourth and final fat-soluble vitamin. It that plays a crucial role in blood clotting and bone metabolism. Phylloquinone (Vitamin K1) is the primary form found in plant-based foods, is best consumed with a fat source, and is non-toxic in high doses.
Why is it important to human health?
Vitamin K is really important for blood clotting. Blood clotting is a crucial function of the body as it helps seal wounds, preventing outside bacteria and potential infection from entering the blood stream. So it’s really important to make sure your body is getting enough vitamin K so that this process can happen without any delays.
Vitamin K also works with one of our other fat-soluble vitamins, vitamin D, to maintain healthy levels of calcium in our bones, keeping them strong and healthy.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
Now you may be looking at the dosage here and be thinking, that’s weird – they only gave us 25% of your daily recommended intake. This is, of course, by design. Vitamin K is one of those vitamins where if you consume too much – like way too much – you actually risk rupturing red blood cells and jaundice, the yellowing of the skin and eyes. Again, it takes a lot of vitamin K, and the form that they’ve used can actually be safely consumed in high doses without the risk of reaching toxic levels.
But just wanted to clear that up in case you were wondering why they only put 25% of your daily recommended intake in the daily supplement.
- Women (19+ years): 90 mcg/day
- Men (19+ years): 120 mcg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
You know how we’ve been told to always consume our dark leafy greens. Well if their appearance in so many of the lists before this one wasn’t enough, then hopefully this list convinces you. Vitamin K1 is most commonly found in dark leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, and green peas. If you want vitamin K, you gotta eat your greens!
What happens when you don’t get enough?
Not getting enough vitamin K1? Then you can expect your body to struggle to form blood clots, and you may experience weaknesses in your bones due to poor regulation of calcium in those very bones.
So take your IM8 daily supplement, and eat your leafy greens!
Vitamin K2 (as Menaquinone-7)
Amount per serving: 40 mcg
What is it?
Vitamin K2 is another form of Vitamin K, mainly involved in directing calcium to bones and teeth while preventing it from accumulating in arteries. Menaquinone-7 (MK-7) is a highly bioavailable form that is synthesized by certain bacteria, especially those found in fermented foods.
Why is it important to human health?
Vitamin K2 is the second form of vitamin K, and is found in much smaller quantities in whole food sources. It’s primary role is to work with vitamin D3 to support healthy bones by regulating calcium metabolism. This, of course, helps prevent osteoporosis, as we saw with vitamin D.
Some studies have also shown the vitamin K2 to be good for the healthy maintenance of our cardiovascular system and our nervous system, but more research still needs to be conducted.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
There isn’t one agreed upon amount for vitamin K2 specifically, which is probably why IM8 left out the daily value for this particular vitamin. If we combine this vitamin K with the previous, and assume that those recommendations are for your total vitamin K consumption, then you’d be sitting at about 70mcg of vitamin K, which is within a healthy range of the recommended dose.
Please note that vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin, so any unused vitamin K gets stored in your liver. This is also likely why IM8 didn’t overdo it with the dosage, knowing that your body is likely storing vitamin K2 in the liver already.
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
As I mentioned before, vitamin K2 is a form of vitamin K that is mostly produced bacteria, so you’ll find it in fermented foods and some meat products:
- Fermented foods (natto, sauerkraut, cheese)
- Egg yolks
- Liver and organ meats
- Grass-fed dairy products
What happens when you don’t get enough?
Your risks with vitamin K2 deficiency are similar to vitamin D and K1 due to its role in the body. This includes weakening of your bones, your arteries may be at a higher risker of calcification, or stiffening, and you could be at a higher risk for heart disease.
Niacin (as Niacinamide)
Amount per serving: 20 mg
Daily Value: 125%
What is it?
Niacin is not just a great ingredient for glowing skin but it is also our next B vitamin! Vitamin B3 is a water-soluble vitamin involved in energy metabolism and cell function. Niacinamide is a non-flushing form that is well-tolerated and bioavailable. Non-flushing relates to the reaction that some folks have when they take niacin, where their skin flushes and feels hot after taking certain forms of the vitamin.
This form, however, is the non-flushing form so you should not experience any flushing due to IM8.
Why is it important to human health?
Food is fuel, but food can only be turned into fuel when the right vitamins and minerals are around to support that step of metabolism. Niacin is one of the many players in the game of metabolism and helps your body turn food into usable energy.
Niacin also support DNA repair, and has been shown to help maintain healthy skin by reducing “puffiness” or inflammation.
As a B vitamin, it also plays an important role in your nervous system by supporting mental clarity by protecting nerve cells from damage and stress. Ultimately supporting better memory and your ability to think clearly.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
IM8 once again has you covered in terms of your daily recommended intake of niacin, but just for your reference, this is what is recommended for men, women, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding:
- Women (19+ years): 14 mg/day
- Men (19+ years): 16 mg/day
- Pregnant women: 18 mg/day
- Breastfeeding women: 17 mg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
If you’ve been eating your poultry to get your daily intake of the other B vitamins, you can feel confident that you are covered for vitamin B3 as well. You can also find niacin in tuna and salmon, as well as whole grains and legumes like peanuts and lentils.
What happens when you don’t get enough?
One of the interesting symptoms of niacin deficiency is a sensitivity to sunlight, known as pellagra. It also comes with other symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, and inflamed skin, or dermatitis. In very serious cases, pellargra can be fatal.
But not to worry, as long as you do not have any nutrient absorption issues, your body will be supplied with more than enough vitamin B3 by taking the IM8 daily ultimate essentials supplement.
Pantothenic Acid (as Calcium Pantothenate)
Amount per serving: 12 mg
Daily Value: 240%
What is it?
(2 more B vitamins to go!) Pantothenic Acid, or Vitamin B5, is a water-soluble vitamin that is for energy production and the creation of our oh-so-important hormones. The form chosen by IM8, calcium pantothenate, is a stable, bioavailable form.
Why is it important to human health?
Vitamin B5 has a couple pretty important jobs in the body. As we have come to expect with our family of B vitamins, B5 is also supporting our body’s ability to turn food into fuel. Pretty critical, especially when we are working out and need our pre-workout meals to turn into energy for exercise.
Beyond that though, vitamin B5 is also supporting our adrenal gland. The adrenal gland is a one of the glands of our hormone synthesis and delivery system, or the endocrine system. The adrenal glands have actually gotten quite a bit of media coverage as they are one of the places where cortisol is produced. Coritsol, if you didn’t know, is the fitness industry’s latest villain, helping to sell you all kinds of useless products.
In this case, vitamin B5 is actually supporting our adrenal glands natural response to stress and the various hormones that are released as part of that stress response.
Lastly, vitamin B5 is also involved in the production of coenzyme A. Now CoA has myriad of functions in the body, but to spare you all the biochemistry mumbo jumbo, I’ll just say that having sufficient amounts of CoA means that so many vital functions in the body continue functioning as expected, leaving us feeling strong and healthy.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
We don’t need too much of this to maintain normal, healthy functions, but as per usual, IM8 has given us more than enough in one serving of their daily supplement.
- Adults (19+ years): 5 mg/day
- Pregnant women: 6 mg/day
- Breastfeeding women: 7 mg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
One of the only B vitamins to not be found in large quantities in poultry and fish, but more-so in animal biproducts (eggs and milk) and some plant-based sources as well. Again, just further proving the need for a whole-food, balanced, and diverse diet.
- Eggs
- Avocados
- Whole grains
- Legumes
- Dairy products
What happens when you don’t get enough?
When the body is not able to properly respond to stress, you tend you feel disruptions or discomfort in different areas of the body. When your are deficient in vitamin B5, you may experience fatigue and/or irritability, as well as muscle cramping and digestive disturbances. In some cases you may also experience numbness is your fingers and toes.
Thiamin (as Thiamin HCl)
Amount per serving: 4 mg
Daily Value: 333%
What is it?
For our final B vitamin, we saved the best for last (B1.. get it?) Anyways, thiamin is a water-soluble vitamin essential for energy metabolism and nerve function, a theme amongst all of our B vitamins. Thiamin HCl is a stable and well-absorbed form.
Why is it important to human health?
As with all B vitamins, thiamin is here to support our energy production, as well as protect our nervous system and cardiovascular system. When we get enough of our b vitamins, we can feel confident that our brains and our cardiovascular systems are, at the very least, getting the support they need from this family of vitamins.
How much do we need to maintain a healthy body?
Needed in some of the smallest quantities of the B vitamins, thiamin is easy to hit your target daily dose at just 1.1mg – 1.4mg/day.
- Women (19+ years): 1.1 mg/day
- Men (19+ years): 1.2 mg/day
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women: 1.4 mg/day
Where can you find this in natural food sources?
If you’ve been eating the recommended whole foods from the other B vitamin sections, then chances are you’re covered for thiamin. But just so you know, you can get a healthy dose of thiamin from the following whole food sources:
- Whole grains
- Nuts and seeds
- Pork
- Legumes
- Fortified cereals
If you’ve made it this far, well done. This was a lot to take in, but I think it is really important to show each ingredient so you can understand why IM8 included it in their Daily Ultimate Essentials powder.
I also want to stress (for the thousandth time) that this is a supplement and has been designed as one. This is why I included the natural sources of each vitamin so you know what types of food you should be eating in their whole form to maximize the amount of the vitamins and minerals you are absorbing every day.
To read more IM8 content, check out the blogs below.
Riley Pearce 