Care/Of Subscription Box Review + Coupon – May 2017

Care/of is a personalized vitamin and supplement subscription. You can choose individual items a la carte or take a quiz to personalize your Care/of packets. Possibilities include vitamins, minerals, probiotics, Ayurvedic herbs, and more.

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Care/of

The Cost: Varies depending on the vitamins you select. Each vitamin is priced individually and start at $5/month. 

The Products: Vitamins, minerals, and other supplements. You can elect to take a quiz and have Care/of select products for you (you can edit what they choose) or you can pick your own supplements.

Ships to: U.S. (free if your total is over $20)

Check out all of our Care/Of reviews and more supplement subscription boxes in the Fitness Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

A handful of different cards were in the box. One was personalized with my name, one had more information on the packs and how to take the pills, and one was specific to the items I had chosen (an identification key).

You get 30 packets and you take the contents of one packet each day. I have a confession to make: I forgot to log on and choose different pills before this shipment, so I actually ended up with the same things as last time. In order to give you some new information, I took photos of the pills with a penny for size reference (I know that is important since some people have trouble swallowing pills) and I’ve made some comments below on what I thought the effects were after taking the last package’s pills.

I chose the following:

Magnesium 

This mineral has a lot of potential effects in the bottom. It is supposed to increase calmness and relaxation (if you have ever had the Natural Calm drink powder, magnesium is the main active ingredient). It also may decrease blood pressure and it is supposed to promote sleep.

I don’t think this decreased my blood pressure, but it did help me with sleep. Glad to have more!

Calcium

This also has vitamin D and vitamin K; these vitamins help with calcium absorption. Caffeine can interfere with calcium absorption and I do drink a ton of caffeine. Plus, as I was trying to lose weight last year, I cut a lot of dairy because it was an easy way to drop calories, so I’m not getting as much calcium in my diet as I used to. But, as a small-framed Caucasian woman, I am in a fairly high osteoporosis risk group, so I’d like to do what I can while I’m still relatively young. Vitamin K may also help fight inflammation. (Plus, magnesium supplementation can deplete calcium stores over time so if you are taking magnesium, it is a good idea to also take calcium.)

I have no idea what kind of effect this had, to be honest, because I didn’t get bloodwork done before and after. Three pills are kind of a lot to swallow but all calcium supplements are bulky because calcium is a bulky mineral. If your doctor recommends you try calcium, though, this can be a good way to make sure you don’t run out.

Probiotic

I am all about finding the right probiotic. I have a few that I like, but I’m always looking for the next great thing. Gut bacteria are increasingly being found to be important contributors in many areas of health.

This did not cause any digestive issues over the course of a month (some probiotics have upset my stomach in the past), and I actually feel things were a little better in that regard while I was taking this, like maybe I was absorbing nutrients a little better or digesting my food a little better or something.

Turmeric

This one is good for fighting inflammation. I worry about my knees based on family history and my own experience, so I was curious to see if this would change anything.  I am not normally one to take herbs, but I feel like turmeric has a lot of science to back it up and also I know that it is unlikely to be harmful since people regularly consume it as a food ingredient.

I feel like taking this for a month did help with inflammation in my knees. I don’t think this would replace painkillers for someone with arthritis, but it is an option if you’re not too bad yet.

Do check what you are signing up for so you don’t end up with extra doses of, say, vitamin D, from taking both a multivitamin and the calcium supplement.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for Care/of because it is so individualized. What one person selects might be completely different from what someone else selects. I like having specific information about sourcing and manufacture in one place, as well as links to resources about the supplements.

I would not suggest starting out with quite so many pills, though. By the time I took all of these, my multivitamin, my omega-3 fatty acid pill, and my Zyrtec, I was swallowing a ton of pills and capsules; it was right at the edge of what I have the patience for. (Taking them at different times of day could help with that, but then you’d have an open packet of pills to deal with.)

The package I received is sold for $36. That is, Care/of charges $12/month for the calcium and $8/month for each of the other items. You can get more pills of each for less money per pill/capsule from other sources, like Swanson, if you stick to their private-label products, but you are paying a little for convenience here -- no need for pillboxes for travel, and you can just grab a packet and take it to work or wherever.  Also, you're not stuck with 240 capsules of turmeric or something if you decide it's not for you -- you can change what's in your packet for the next month. The other place you get added value is if you need help selecting supplements. Let's say you are worried about heart health due to family history but you don't know where to begin. The Care/of quiz can help guide you there.

What do you think of Care/of?