Product Review

Whole-Food Nutritional Supplement

On January 16^th I was approached by Kirsten who works for the marketing department for NutriGold ( http://NutriGold.com ) to do a few reviews of some of their many products. I’ve decided to create a two-part review project due to the number of products I was sent. Whenever I do a review I look quite closely at a company, read the customer comments, do online research, scan their site, and read the material they send. In this case the company sent a 20-page catalog and the first thing I noticed were two symbols on the index page – one for Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and a “please recycle” symbol encouraging people to recycle their product information package.  SFI certifies that the catalog is printed on paper that was harvested responsibly, while the printing inks (EcoTech) are made from 65% renewable content and omit near zero VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). 

According to their website, NutriGold is a nutritional supplement company based in North Orem, Utah (USA) that values a challenge, integrity, kindness, health and respect. The company guarantees that they use certified organic, high quality, clinically validated and allergen-free ingredients. Their products do not contain GMO’s, additives, fillers, binders, artificial ingredients, stearates, sulfates or dioxides, eggs, peanuts, milk, shellfish or wheat. The company sources, purifies and manufactures their products in the USA.

On Jan. 27^th, I received 2 bottles and 10 trial sample packs of Triple Strength Omega-3  Gold™ as well as a bottle of prenatal Multi-gold™ . These items were shipped in a recyclable cardboard box filled with packaging foam, which is not recyclable in our area, but could be reused.

NutriGold offers 3 different sizing options for their Triple Strength Omega-3™ - 30 ($14.98), 60 ($24.98) and 180 ($61.65) softgels. Each (fairly large) softgel capsule measures 1” in length, 1 cm wide, and is 13 calories with 1,250 mg of pharmaceutical grade concentrated fish oil. The oil is distilled to remove any impurities, toxins and heavy metals. The omega-3 product holds Certified Sustainable Seafood status and the fish is harvested off the Alaskan coast where the fish is naturally healthier and has fewer toxins, heavy metals and PCB’s. The capsule itself is made from bovine (cow) gelatin, vegetable glycerin, and purified water. Instructions are to take 1 pill 1-2 times per day before a meal. The solid white plastic bottle (#2) is recyclable and has a flip top lid for easy access.

For those of you unfamiliar with omega-3, 6 or 9 – these are polyunsaturated fatty acids, the good kind of fat, that helps reduce problems with heart and circulation, stimulates brain function, supports vision and joints, increases energy levels and supports emotional wellness. Omega 6 and 9 are fairly evident in today’s healthy diet, but omega-3 is hard to find except in a few sources like fish, avocado, coconut, flax seed, chia seed and hemp seed.

The other product, Whole-Food Prenatal Multi-Gold™, was packaged in a recyclable brown glass bottle and is a vegetarian (or vegan) multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplement designed to support a healthy pregnancy. It comes in just one size via their website – 120 capsules with a list price of $54.98. Although I did notice the catalog showed a 90 capsule size. The instructions say to take 3 pills per day with or without food. They use the term “100% whole-food and cultured vitamins and minerals” on the bottle, which got me wondering what they meant by “cultured”.  A little research revealed it is formulated (cultured) with organic nutrients derived from concentrated fruits, vegetables herbs and something they call “activfood™” – a nutritional yeast blend (probiotics, bioactive enzymes, glycoproteins, lipoproteins, chlorophyll, glucomannan, limoic acid, essential trace minerals, SOD, Glutathione, B-glucans, CoQ10) as well as carotenoids and bioflavonoids. This supplement provides 100% or more of the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for a total of 19 nutrients.

While the current multivitamin brand on my table is not prenatal, I compared the two bottles and found NutriGold’s to contain 30% more nutrients, however I didn’t see calcium listed on the bottle. The clear capsules look to be about ¾” in length and reveal a light grey brown colored nutrient blend inside.

I do have some closing comments that I feel are important to mention. Both bottles were sealed with a clear (recyclable) plastic safety seal wrap and topped with an easy-to-peel safety seal under the lid. Interestingly the bottles did not contain cotton swab – which although compostable (shred by hand first) is additional “waste” and cost to the company – as such I felt the fact they didn’t include this item is a plus. Sadly the bottle labels have incredibly tiny printing that strained my relatively healthy eyesight – I found that a magnifying glass was helpful. The website also had incredibly small text; I had to increase the size of the web pages twice in order to read them.

Currently  http://NutriGold.com is offering a product-wide 40% discount for online purchases, so you might want to take advantage of their 100% satisfaction and 60 money-back guarantees.

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