Prenatals
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-3 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I’m really torn because I like these prenatal vitamins and they don’t make me sick, which most prenatals do. Another plus is they have natural ingredients and taste good as well! But after doing some research I’m a little disappointed because this is not a ‘complete’ prenatal vitamin as advertised. I knew getting it that it didn’t have iron but it also lacks calcium and enough DHA, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, and zinc. These are all essential to fetal development. Instead of having to supplement what this multivitamin is missing I will be switching to a different prenatal. But if you are more concerned with natural ingredients over what the recommended levels are for prenatal vitamins than this is a good choice for you. Just wish they would not advertise this as a ‘complete’ prenatal when it is clearly not.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-3 review-rating', 'review_body': "Over the past few months, I've noticed dark spots in random gummies in all of the batches I've received (4 different bottles). I did a little research and it made it seem like it might be related to bathroom humidity and a degradation of the gummies. So in my most recent batch, that I just received (expiration of October 2019) - meaning it hasn't been exposed to any bathroom humidity yet - I opened the bottle, unsealed it, and poured out all of the gummies. There were no less than 25 gummies with obvious dark spots. Some are more pronounced than others. Pictures attached. I saw another reviewer had the same issue. Are these harmless dark spots or mold or (in another google search) gummy fleas? I have no idea. I'm contacting the company and will report any information I receive. Until then, I'll probably order a different brand, which is too bad, because otherwise I really like them!\n\nUpdate 1: in case anyone is interested, here's the batch info (same for all bottles I have with dark spots in the gummies), Lot PN180-MH8D04A, Exp 04OCT2019, 18156 1.\n\nUpdate 2: Response from the company: “The black specks in the gummies are char (gummy slurry burned in cooker). Char occurs when product slurry (hot liquid state of gummies) scorches on the cooker oils. Due to a range of fragment sizes, it is not always possible to completely remove char from product during inspection. The char is food grade with no quality or safety impact. We apologize for this concern and we will have our Quality Assurance Team conduct an inspection of this lot.”"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I have food allergies and have done a lot of research on behalf of myself and my family when it comes to what is really important in the supplements we take, and am constantly frustrated with the formulations of vitamins I see when I'm shopping for supplements. SmartyPants has really impressed me with the way this vitamin is formulated!!! Iron and Calcium block each other's absorption, for instance, so if you have a vitamin with both then you are paying for nothing. Zinc is also super important - especially in pregnancy - and can block / be blocked by calcium. This vitamin has zinc, though not calcium or iron, and I was so grateful for that distinction! Methylfolate is MUCH better than folic acid, especially for people who have the MTHFR gene mutation that prevents them from converting folic acid into methylfolate. When I found these vitamins I had been scouring the internet for HOURS looking for something that DIDN'T trigger my corn allergy AND had the necessary combinations of nutrients I needed. I already knew I was D3 deficient, so I was extra pleased to see these had D3 AND K2 (which is needed for better absorption). These vitamins are free of everything I can't eat, which is hard to come by. On top of that, the formulation really is smart! Nothing in this vitamin is wasted. I took them all through my pregnancy and am still taking them now while nursing. They taste great, and are about half the cost of the one or two other vitamins I could take. I am so pleased!"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Love this vitamins. I tried a few different kinds since I had a problem with nausea and these have worked great! I have been on them for at least 2 years now, still great. I did also have a few of them with the black spots on them. I contacted customer service and this was their reply...\n\nHello!\nThank you for reaching out to us.\nThe black specks that you have observed in your gummies are very likely char - which is burned gummy slurry. Char occurs when product slurry (the hot liquid state of gummies) scorches on the cooker oils. Due to a range of fragment sizes, it is not always possible to completely remove char from the product during inspection. Char is food grade with no quality or safety impact. We pride ourselves in having the highest quality processes in the industry, 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. Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is a system for ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled in accordance to quality standards required by the FDA. Each final batch of SmartyPants product is tested by a 3rd party laboratory for purity, potency and safety.\n\nAs Quality Assurance and Consumer Safety are top priorities for us, we can provide more information if needed.."\n\nSmartyPants Customer Care'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-2 review-rating', 'review_body': 'These gummies taste good, and they seem fine. But I ordered these October 21st, 2018 and when I went to take them last night, I found this in one. I don’t know what it is or if it’s normal. I don’t really know who to show this to, so I figured I’d write a review and see if they respond.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Be careful. I was taking these for a few months and something was wrong with the latest batch I received. I was having nausea and stomach aches for a few days without knowing why. After days of this I put one in my mouth and immediately had to spit it out. It tasted and smelled awful. I smelled the bottle and it smelled like rotten fish. I contacted the company and they were initially responsive, but said they would send me a label to send the vitamins back for testing. It’s been a week and I still haven’t received one, so I don’t feel like they’re taking it as seriously as they should.\n\nTo be clear, the first four bottles of these I received were perfectly fine. But if there’s a bad batch and the company doesn’t immediately take action, it’s not a product I can ever take again.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "These are great. My pregnant wife needs the methylated version of folate, but other prenatals either don't have this or just plain make her puke. But she has no problem eating these little guys. Plus they're about $10 cheaper than the other ones she was taking. Who's the hero that found her prenatals she can keep down?\n\n^^^ This guy :)"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2017', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "This is the only prenatal gummy on the market that is jam-packed with non-synthetic, methylated forms of vitamins (namely Folate and B-12) and tastes GOOD!\n\nI switched to this prenatal because the capsules I was taking were causing acid reflux and leaving a really nasty vitamin-ey taste in my mouth. Considering the intense morning sickness I was experiencing at the time, the capsules weren't helping my cause. I was hesitant to consider gummies as an alternative, because most gummies on the market have low-quality, synthetic vitamins in them, and the amount of vitamins they can fit into a gummy is tremendously low, compared to capsules. Most gummies are a ripoff, BUT when I came across SmartyPants and checked out the ingredients, I made the switch immediately.\n\nThey don't have a vitamin-ey taste, they don't cause acid reflux, and the quality is more than impressive for the price because the vitamins are REAL and not man-made crap that our bodies can't process or absorb well.\n\nI also ordered the SmartyPants Men's Complete version for my hubby, and he now happily takes vitamins on the daily. I will continue to buy this brand for my entire family, because simply nothing else compares."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "At 48.5 years old, my hair suddenly started falling out in clumps. All standard blood tests came back, so I deducted...MENOPAUSE-NOOOOO!\n\nIn several days of research, prenatal vitamins came up often.\n\nI stink at taking my vitamins, but I LOVE gummies. I rarely miss a day. They taste great, the container is huge, and best yet, my hair seems to be coming back slowly but surely.\n\nI can't attest to how they'd work for mamas to be, but they seem like a solid multivitamin."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'My hair is seriously thinning, so I’ve been looking for a multi vitamin with omegas and lots of folic acid. Decided on this and I’m super happy with my choice. They are DELICIOUS and not full of synthetic ingredients. I’m hopeful!'}]