
Ingredients
Are SmartyPants Vitamins soy-free?
Yes. All SmartyPants supplements are free of ingredients derived from soy. You can also view our Manufacturing Allergen Matrix for more detailed information about allergens.
How much lutein and zeaxanthin should I get per day? What foods are they found in?
One more reason to eat your greens. They're a source of lutein and zeaxanthin.
There's no recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for either of these important nutrients, but the most recent clinical studies indicate there are some serious health benefits to consuming 10 mg of lutein and 2 mg of zeaxanthin per day for adults 18+ and 6 mg lutein and 1 mg zeaxanthin per day for children 2 – 18.*
However, most people only get about 0.8 – 1.1 mg of lutein and zeaxanthin from their diet. Taking a supplement can help fill those nutritional gaps.
Here’s a list of the combined amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin in natural foods:
- Kale (cooked) – 23.8 mg / cup
- Spinach (cooked) – 20.4 mg / cup
- Collard Greens (cooked) – 14.6 mg / cup
- Turnip Greens (cooked) – 12.2 mg / cup
- Broccoli (cooked) – 1.6 mg / cup
- Green Beans (cooked) – 0.8 mg / cup
- Eggs – 0.3 mg / 2 large eggs
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
How much lutein is in SmartyPants supplements?
The measure of the amount of lutein and zeaxanthin in your eyes is called macular pigment optical density, or MPOD. Low MPOD means less protection from excess blue light.
Talk to your eye care professional about a quick and easy test to measure your MPOD†.
†MPOD devices are fairly new and might not be available everywhere. Ask your eye doctors if MPOD testing is available in your area.
What’s the big deal with lutein and zeaxanthin? Why are they important?
Lutein and zeaxanthin are found naturally in your eyes, and they're important for eye health.* You're body doesn't make lutein and zeaxanthin. Instead, they must come from your diet. We include these nutrients to help fill those nutritional gaps.
Lutein and zeaxanthin can help improve your visual performance, reduce daytime disability glare, support your eye's ability to see distant objects more clearly and act as a natural filter to high-energy blue light from your smartphone, laptop and sunlight.*With 60% of Americans spending more than 5 hours a day on digital devices, it has become increasingly important to get lutein and zeaxanthin in your daily diet.
In addition to supporting eye health, lutein is also found in the brain. Studies also suggests that lutein may serve as safe and natural support for cognitive function, especially as you age. Lutein is also an important nutrient for brain development and may provide antioxidant protection for the brain.*
You can find lutein and zeaxanthin in our Masters Formula Women's 50+, Teen Girl Formula and Teen Guy Formula and supplements - and we're working on adding it to other products in the future.
Visit our blog for more information on the best foods to eat for lutein and zaxanthin.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
What’s the difference between Lo Han Fruit and Monk Fruit extract?
There is no difference between Lo Han Fruit and Monk Fruit—two different names for the same fruit! We use it as a sweetener in our Fiber multis. Due to regulations, we need to refer to it as Monk Fruit on our Canadian labels but as Lo Han Fruit on our U.S labels. We source our organic Lo Han Fruit from Asia.
Your Certificate of Compliance shows that there are heavy metals in your products. Should I be concerned?
Heavy metals such as lead are naturally occurring minerals found in the water, soil, air and foods we come in contact with every day.
As a result, it’s impossible for us to completely eliminate all traces of heavy metals in our products.
Any naturally-occurring heavy metals in our products are part of the food matrix contained in the premium ingredients we use to craft our supplements.
That aside, we adhere to the strictest safety standards to ensure we're making the purest products possible. But you don't have to take our word for it. All SmartyPants supplements were awarded the Clean Label Project's Purity Award, the highest rating for product purity and value.
That's because all SmartyPants products meet or fall well below the legal limits of California’s Prop. 65 – the strictest standard, worldwide, for environmental toxins.
As shown in the example below, “Specification” denotes the maximum allowable dose levels (MADLs) for each heavy metal under California’s Prop. 65 while “Results” shows how much of each heavy metal was detected in our product.
As indicated in our Certificate of Compliance, each and every batch of SmartyPants has always met, or fallen below, these limits.
You can always find our most recent testing results on our our Certificates of Compliance page.
Why do SmartyPants supplements only include two strains of probiotics?
The research on probiotics is constantly evolving, but we know that different species of probiotics perform many different functions. We specifically chose to include Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus coagulans in our Adult Probiotic Formula and Kids Probiotic Formula because they are backed by extensive research and are proven to deliver optimal digestive and immune health benefits.*
In addition to their numerous individual health benefits, B. subtilis and B. coagulans have also been clinically proven to promote the colonization of other, different kinds of probiotic bacteria in your gut.
For example, studies have shown that the presence of Bacillus bacteria promotes the growth and colonization of Lactobacillus acidophilus, one of the most common bacteria in our gut that helps us digest lactose.
We also use probiotics with a 95 percent survivability rate to ensure the majority of this good bacteria actually makes it to your gut alive where it can support proper digestion and immune health.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Your probiotics include soil-based organisms (SBOs). How do I know they’re safe and effective?
We created SmartyPants with our own children in mind. We give our products to our families, friends and take them ourselves, so safety and quality are our highest priorities.
We specifically chose to include Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus coagulans in our Probiotic Formula supplements because they're proven to deliver optimal digestive and immune health benefits.* While these two strains of beneficial probiotic bacteria are not native to the human body, they're found widely in the envrionment in soil and air.
Additionally, research shows that Bacillus bacteria have actually evolved to be able to live and thrive in the mammalian body, suggesting that they're a well-established and safe component of the human diet.
B. coagulans is one of the most clinically studied Bacillus bacteria out there, and is known to support normal digestion and healthy gut function and promote healthy immune function.*
In addition to their individual benefits, both B. subtilis and B. coagulans have been clinically proven to promote the colonization of other, different probiotic bacteria to your gut, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, which is one of the most common bacteria in our gut that helps us digest lactose.
By helping other kinds of good bacteria grow, the two species of beneficial bacteria in SmartyPants Probiotic Formula help diversify and strengthen your microbiome.
We also use probiotics with a 95% survivability rate to ensure the majority of these healthy gut bugs can make it to your large intestine alive, where they can flourish, multiply and help you thrive.*
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
What is a PRO-biotic? What is a PRE-biotic?
Based on the latest science, we believe the best way to deliver probiotics is by pairing them with a prebiotic, which is why our Adult Probiotic Formula and Kids Probiotic Formula include both.
Probiotics are live microorganisms, mainly bacteria, that are good for your health. They’re typically found in fermented foods like sauerkraut and kombucha.
Prebiotics are natural, non-digestible food components that help create the ideal environment for good probiotic bacteria to grow and promote digestive health and healthy immune function.* To ensure the majority of these good bugs make it to your gut alive, we use probiotics with a 95 percent survivability rate. No refrigeration required!
How can SmartyPants supplements be free of fish allergens if they include fish oil?
We get it! This one is a little confusing. Our products are allergen-friendly, yet some of them contain fish oil. This is because our fish oil is highly refined, a process that removes proteins that cause allergic reactions. Due to this removal process, highly-refined oils are exempt from FDA’s required allergen cautions. Along with this, all SmartyPants supplements have been awarded the Clean Label Project's Purity Award, the highest overall rating for product purity and value. So you can always be sure that what's on the lable is exactly what's in the bottle. If you still have concern, we always encourage checking with your doctor before starting any supplement regimen to see if it’s right for you.
You can also check out the FDA’s food allergen labeling guidelines.
For more information about allergens in SmartyPants supplements, view our Manufacturing Allergen Matrix.
Do SmartyPants Vitamins contain nuts? What does free of tree nut allergens mean?
All SmartyPants products are free of tree nut allergens.
Some of our products, however, are coated with medium chain triglycerides derived from coconut oil. The coconut oil we use is highly refined and fractionated. According to the FDA, consuming highly refined oils derived from major food allergens by allergic individuals does not appear to be associated with allergic reactions.
Although this coconut oil base is considered non-allergenic, we recommend you consult your healthcare practitioner before use if you have a known tree nut allergy to determine if our products are right for you. You can also view our Manufacturing Allergen Matrix for more detailed information about allergens.
Learn more about FDA allergen labeling.
Why don’t you include magnesium in your vitamin supplements?
We formulate our multifunctional supplements based on recommendations from the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences (formerly the Institute of Medicine), advice from our Scientific Advisory board and current research on dietary patterns to ensure that our formulas fill nutrient gaps typical in the average Western diet. We chose not to include magnesium in our all-in-one formulas because many people get enough magnesium through diet alone.
However, if you want a premium mineral supplement, we include magnesium in our Adult Mineral Formula, Kids Mineral Formula chews, and our Healthy‡ Kids Sleep* Formula.
Our Mineral Formulas were designed to complement our other multifunctional supplements by delivering vitamins along with eight essential minerals including calcium, zinc, selenium and chromium.
Like our other all-in-one formulas, we use premium ingredients that your body prefers and can easily use. So, you get more of the nutrients you want - all in one easy (and delicious) serving.
Why is the fish oil at SmartyPants only sourced from small fish? How is that more eco-friendly?
At SmartyPants, we want to make vitamins that are as planet-friendly as they are kid-friendly. Unsustainable fishing is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time. Tuna, salmon, and other large fish are being fast depleted in the wild, causing widespread ecosystem disruptions and fishery collapse. Unlike many other vitamin companies, our MEG-3â fish oil is sourced from sustainable stocks of wild-caught small fish only.
Small fish such as anchovies, sardines, herring, and mackerel are considered the environmentally responsible way to get your omega 3s. Our fish oil is source from multiple populations all over the world to prevent overfishing of any one population and to minimize our environmental impact. By rotating fisheries, we give ecosystems time to recover.
Even better? Because wild-caught small fish are lower on the food chain, have a shorter life span, and swim in the open ocean, they
We're always working to make more sustainable choices, even when it comes to finding high-quality sources of omega-3. If you're looking for a vegetarian source of omega-3s, we use organic flaxseed oil as the source of omega-3 ALA in our Organic Toddler, Kids, Women's, Men's and Prenatal Formulas.
Why do SmartyPants supplements use sugar?
We use organic cane sugar, along with other natural sweeteners, to create gummies and chews so delicious, you and your kids will want to take your vitamins every day. Because the best supplements are the ones you actually remember (and want) to take.
It's also important to consider that not all sources of sugar are equal. Some sources, such as whole fruits, come with additional nutrients like vitamins, minerals and fiber. With every sugar source, you have to consider what else you’re getting along with it. Sure, you may be consuming a very small amount of sugar with our gummy supplements, but all SmartyPants vitamins also deliver at least 13 essential nutrients, omega-3 fatty acids and other premium ingredients carefully-selected for each formula like CoQ10 for heart health in our Men’s, Women’s, and Masters Formula; lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health in our Teen and Masters Formulas; and folate and iodine for fetal development in our Prenatal Formula.
We're always mindful of the amount of sugar in our products and are always looking for ways to lower the sugar content without affecting the taste or stability of our gummies.
Here is a full list of SmartyPants-Approved sweeteners:
Organic Cane Sugar
Organic Tapioca Syrup
Organic Rice Syrup
Stevia Leaf Extract
Inulin Syrup
Lo Han Fruit Extract
How did you pick which nutrients to include in your products?
We carefully craft each of our formulas to match the specific nutritional demands of the product’s target demographic (age, sex, life stage, etc).
SmartyPants is unique in the industry for focusing on the nutrients that are the toughest to get from diet alone. We formulate our multifunctional supplements to help fill those nutritional gaps and help offer many health benefits too.
To do this, we consider the most recent recommendations from the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academy of Science, the latest science, current research on dietary patterns and advice from leading nutritional experts.Each formula is rigorously reviewed by our Scientific Advisory Board which include some of the top minds in preventative health. This way, you can be sure that every bottle of SmartyPants has been carefully crafted and thoughtfully tailored just for you and the ones you love.
What’s the difference between fat soluble vs water soluble vitamins?
Water soluble vitamins, such as your B vitamins, are not stored in your body’s fat cells and any excess is excreted from the body. Conversely, fat soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A(in the form of retinyl palmitate), D, E and K, are stored in your body’s fat cells and can accumulate over time if your body does not metabolize those vitamins. Excess fat soluble vitamins can accumulate to detrimental levels if we consume too much over a prolonged period of time. This is why leading nutritional experts caution consumers to check the supplement facts of their multivitamins to see how much of each vitamin they’re are ingesting daily. With SmartyPants multivitamins, you never have to worry about getting too much of a good thing because each serving of our vitamins is carefully designed with the average American diet in mind. We focus on the nutrients hardest for some to get from diet alone and filling dietary gaps. Our products are meant to complement a healthy diet, not replace it.
Where do the ingredients come from in SmartyPants vitamins?
When it comes to safety, our ingredients are responsibly-sourced and our manufacturing facilities meet or exceed FDA Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) which are laws for producing food and dietary supplements.
Our manufacturing facilities are registered with the FDA and are up to date with the FDA’s latest food safety requirements like FSMA (the Food Safety Modernization Act) and have active Food Defense Programs. Rigorous food handling procedures are in place including Quality Control sampling and inspections, robust cleaning procedures, and metal detection at multiple phases including our final finished product to ensure the purity and safety of our products throughout the manufacturing process.
To ensure our manufacturers are following these regulations, they undergo rigorous 3rd party certification by NSF or UL that audit facilities against the FDA regulations and best practices in the industry. Each final batch of SmartyPants product is tested by a 3rd party laboratory for purity, potency and safety.
To go a step further, product certifications like Non-GMO Project, IGEN, USDA Organic, and AVA Vegan & Vegetarian let you know that we stand up to the scrutiny of 3rd parties who inspect our ingredients and manufacturing processes, and verify that what we claim on our label is accurate.
We continuously take all the appropriate measures to maintain a high standard of safety and accountability because the utmost importance to us is your safety and peace of mind when seeking out products that are safe for both you and your family.
What’s the difference between cyanocobalamin and methylcobalamin? Which is the better form of vitamin B12?
When it comes to the premium nutrients in our vitamins, we insist on the best of the best. Our vitamin B12 is a prime example.
Vitamin B12 comes in two commercially available forms: cyanocobalamin and methylcobalamin. Cyanocobalamin, which is B12 attached to a cyanide molecule, is the most common form used in dietary supplements. Methylcobalamin, the form we use in all our vitamin products, is the active form of vitamin B12 that is attached a methyl group. It's also the premium form your body prefers and can easily use.
Which is better? We’ll let you decide.
I’m worried about mercury and other toxins in your fish oil. How can I be sure the fish oil in SmartyPants is safe?
We created SmartyPants with our own children in mind. So you can be sure, we take safety and quality extremely seriously.
As a result, we use one of the most trusted sources of omega-3 EPA and DHA available.
Our fish oil is sourced from sustainable stocks of wild-caught small fish because they accumulate less environmental contaminants and toxins like mercury, PCBs, and dioxins than larger fish like tuna and salmon, which are used by most vitamin manufacturers.
Our fish oil is produced in a GMP (good manufacturing practice) facility, and the final fish oil that goes into SmartyPants undergoes numerous quality checks to make sure it's safe, pure and the highest possible quality. Vacuum-sealed bags protect our oil from oxidative degradation, while molecular distillation removes trace amounts of heavy metals, without the use of solvents.
All of our products that contain fish oil also comply with the regulatory limits set by the state of California – some of the strictest standards worldwide for environmental toxins. Each batch of SmartyPants is third-party lab tested for purity and potency of our products.
Additionally, we conduct our own internal test on each batch of our product for environmental contaminants and heavy metals and publish our results here So you can feel good about every gummy you and your children eat, just like we do.
Why are your vitamin B12 levels set where they are?
We love that you’re paying attention to the latest science and are asking the right questions. At SmartyPants we believe in innovating, updating, optimizing.
As our insights into the science of nutrition changes, so do our formulas. The levels of B12 in our supplements represent our most recent insights into how to best fill the nutritional gaps of our customers.
We customize our formulas for each product's intended user, so you may notice a few differences in the amounts we include in each of our products. If you have a specific question about your supplement, feel free to contact our Customer Service Team.
Is Too Much Vitamin A Dangerous?
First, let’s start with a little 101 on vitamin A. This is a fat-soluble vitamin that exists as preformed vitamin A and provitamin A carotenoids.
Preformed vitamin A (predominantly found in animal-derived foods) is readily absorbed from foods and supplements. Since it’s fat soluble, too much of this essential nutrient is not advisable, and a significant overdose over time can carry a toxicity risk.
Beta carotene is the most important provitamin A (found mostly in vegetables) and is converted to vitamin A as needed in the body. As a result, it’s not associated with the same toxicity risks as preformed vitamin A. For this reason, we use a 50/50 beta-carotene/retinyl palmitate blend because it helps moderate your intake of vitamin A.
With our premium 50/50 mix, your body will only convert beta carotene to vitamin A as needed, based on your individual levels of this essential vitamin. You’ll find our beta-carotene/retinyl palmitate blend in our Organic formulas and SmartyPants core line formulas.
It’s all part of our commitment to innovation and using the highest-quality ingredients available.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Why Don’t All SmartyPants Contain Iron?
At SmartyPants, we've given a lot of thought into what we include and what we don't include in our products. That's why we left iron out of our chewable formulas. Iron is a leading cause of accidental overdose, so we were concerned about putting it into a supplement that tasted so good -- kiddos and adults alike might be tempted to eat more than the recommended daily serving.
For those seeking a formula with iron, you can find iron in our Women's Multi Capsule and our Prenatal Multi Capsule. Iron is an essential nutrient for good health, especially for the health of our red blood cells, and is excreted from the body through blood loss, therefore women who are menstruating can benefit from supplemental iron.* We include iron in our Prenatal Multi Capsule because expectant mothers have heightened needs and may require an increase in many of our essential daily nutrients, with iron being one of those. As always, speak with your healthcare provider to determine the right amount of iron supplementation for your needs.
Is SmartyPants Safe for People with Allergies? What Do You Mean by Allergen-Free?
All SmartyPants products are allergen-free. That means we’re free of the top 8 major allergens – milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nut allergens, fish allergens, shellfish, soy, and wheat. We’re also non-GMO and gluten-free, and do not use any synthetic colors or artificial sweeteners and are formulated with natural flavors. Yay!
For more detailed information about our manufacturing process and how we test for allergens, view our Manufacturing Allergen Matrix.
As always, please consult your health care provider before using any of our products to determine if they are right for you.
For more general information on food allergens, please check out the FDA’s food allergen labeling here.