August is here which means it’s back-to-school season. During this transition it’s important to remember to support your health while adjusting to a new schedule, I know it does for me! As you gear up and get all your back-to-school supplies, don’t forget to pack your supplements! I’ve been interning at GNC over the summer and thought what better way to finish my time than to formulate a list of the best back to school supplements. These supplements can help support all aspects of your health during the commencement of the school year and throughout the year.
To create this list, I sat down with my mentor, Brittany Johnson, PhD, MS, RDN, CSSD. Brittany is a Registered Dietitian and Manager of Nutrition Content & Services at GNC headquarters. With her expertise and my knowledge as a nutrition and dietetics student, we came up with a list of the best back to school supplements.
Best Back to School Supplements
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Best Digestive Support: Probiotics
Entering a new school year forces us to leave our summer mentality behind and adapt to a new and more demanding schedule. This transition may cause a lack of routine which may heavily affect our eating patterns.
If you are not eating optimally, this can take a toll on your digestive system. Incorporate the best digestive support supplement: GNC’s Probiotics. Probiotics are digestible good bacteria which may provide digestive and immune support. At GNC we use a unique clinically studied probiotic blend, consisting of 4 strains isolated from the human microbiota. Our products have a guaranteed potency through their expiration date and are shelf stable, meaning no refrigeration is required. Brittany agrees, our probiotics solutions at GNC offer the best in class compared to leading competitors and said “As a dietitian I love the high potency of our probiotic products.
For example, if you were trying to obtain 10 billion CFUs from yogurt, you would be eating about 8 servings of regular yogurt. That’s around 34 teaspoons of sugar! With a probiotic supplement, you get 10 billion CFUs in 1 serving with 0 calories and 0 grams of sugar. Your gut will thank you!”. GNC offers a wide variety of probiotics including different potencies, formats (pills versus chews), and targeted solutions like 50 plus, chewable for kids, and more!
Best Immune Support: Vitamin C and Vitamin D
Maintaining a healthy immune system is important for back-to-school time. That’s why I recommend adding Vitamin C into your routine to support your immune health! Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient for our body. It has antioxidant properties that help support our cells and supports immune health. This vitamin can be found in many fruits and vegetables, like oranges, broccoli, and strawberries. You can also supplement this vitamin to ensure you are reaching the daily requirement.
Brittany’s recommended immune support supplement is vitamin D. She said “Vitamin D is one of those nutrients not commonly thought of for immune support. Why I recommend adding Vitamin D to your routine for immune health is most people aren’t consuming enough vitamin D in their daily diets. Vitamin D has other health benefits too, such as bone health, which is important for growing kiddos. I personally take a vitamin D gummy daily for my immune health”.
Best Sleep Support: Melatonin
Depending on what stage of school you are currently in, a new semester can bring restless nights. As a college student I know all too well the lack of sleep that occurs from studying. This is why I use a melatonin supplement to help support my sleep health. For me, melatonin is the best sleep support supplement because melatonin is a natural hormone found in the body and supports restful sleep. Brittany and I had different best sleep support supplements choices. She loves our newest PREVENTIVE NUTRITION® Sleep Support supplement. Brittany said, “This supplement beats leading sleep supplements with clinically studied Shoden Ashwagandha® helping you wake up feeling refreshed and restored without melatonin”. Getting high quality sleep is essential for our health and wellness especially as you transition back to school.
Best Supplement for Stress Support: Ashwagandha
Back-to-school can ramp up stress saying goodbye to summer days and back to hectic school routines. Having a packed schedule with a million things to do like school drops off, after school activities, and being the uber for all things kids’ schedules can be stressful.
Brittany and I consider Ashwagandha the best supplement for stress support. Ashwagandha has been traditionally used to manage everyday stress. This herbal supplement is an adaptogen that provides a sense of calmness. We know you’ll need to keep calm and carry on with the new routine! Brittany also suggested the Preventive Nutrition Stress Relief supplement if you’re looking for a more comprehensive supplement with Ashwagandha, holy basil, L-theanine, and clinically studied Cognigrape® to enhance mood balance. “Compared to leading competitors this supplement covers more than just helping reduce stress and promote a sense of relaxation.
You’ll get added benefits such as a balanced mood, immune support, energy production, neurological function, and antioxidant support*.” Brittany did stress (see what I did there) the importance of combining the supplement with lifestyle habits to reduce stress, such as exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate sleep hygiene.
Read more: Best Supplements to Manage Stress & Sleep
Best Brain Health Support: Triple Strength Fish Oil
Powering through study sessions requires your brain to fire lots of neurons meaning your brain is working hard. Brittany and I unanimously agreed Fish Oil is the best supplement for brain health support. Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil supports brain function, more specifically DHA, a type of Omega-3, is important for brain cell function. And more than HALF the brain is made up of fats and the majority is DHA! Omega-3 consumption in the United States remains well below the recommended level across all age groups [1]. Exactly why Fish Oil made the cut on the best back to school supplements list. At GNC, we offer a Triple Strength Fish Oil with 1000 mg per serving and if you want just the DHA, we have that option too! Many people are hesitant to take fish oil supplements because of its reputable after-taste and fishy burps. However, at GNC, our fish oil pills are soft gels with enteric coating to help prevent fishy burps. It’s one of the things making our GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil a superior Omega-3 supplement in the market.
Read more: Supplements for Healthy Brain Function
Best Energy Supplement: Caffeine
You might find yourself needing an extra energy boost to accomplish your to-do list that seems to be never-ending. Or if you’re in college and need support for mental alertness, the best energy supplement goes to the classic, OG: caffeine. Caffeine was selected as the best energy supplement for back to school to help provide energy so you can fly through your mile-long to do list. Energy drinks are a top pick for energy, hence the name! I drink Alani Nu energy drinks because they offer a variety of amazing flavors and are a great afternoon pick me up with 200 mg of caffeine and 0 g of added sugar.
My personal favorite is the Tropsicle™ flavor. Brittany said her favorite energy drink is Zoa, white peach flavor. She said “I like the simplicity of the formula with a lower caffeine content at 160 mg per can. I start my mornings with coffee which means I already have quite a bit of caffeine in my system. When I need to focus on a project, I’ll grab my Zoa to help with performing those cognitive related tasks. It’s a great boost of energy to finish out my workday. I think caffeine is really a great choice for those moms and dads needing a boost of energy for hectic schedules with running from work to kids’ sports games, and more!”
Best Eye Health Support: Lutein
Back to school means less outside pool time and more screen time. Nowadays, we go from screen to screen, taking notes on our tablet during lectures to taking a deserved break watching TikTok on our phones. Even in grade school, kids are using computers which have replaced pen and paper.
Exposure to blue light from screens puts strains on our eyes. Because of the increase in screen time, we selected lutein as the best eye health support supplement. Lutein is a naturally occurring carotenoid that is found in the retina and lens of our eyes. Supplementing with lutein provides dietary support for eye health. Brittany agrees, lutein is a great eye health support supplement that’s not just your basic vitamin A… remember your parents saying, “Eat your carrots for your eyes”.
Read more: Supplements for Eye Health
Best Hydration Supplement: AMP Hydration
It’s time to quench your thirst for hydration! We added hydration for best back to school supplements because hydration is crucial for the proper functioning of the body. Staying hydrated is essential, especially with back-to-school sports. We both agree, AMP Hydration is the best hydration supplement on the market! AMP Hydration comes in convenient stick packs for you to throw in a backpack and take with you on the go. GNC’s AMP Hydration contains 3 clinically studied ingredients and supports immune health, gut health, and energy, with ingredients like a pre & postbiotic blends and B vitamins. Like Brittany said, “AMP hydration is hard to beat. Leading competitors have lots of added sugars and our formulators worked hard to provide hydration benefits without the sugars.
I love that it also goes beyond a basic electrolyte drink including added probiotics for a gut health and helps athletes recover from sports with clinically studied Dynagenix® shown to reduce muscle soreness. As a sports performance dietitian this is one of the best hydration supplements to add to your routine especially if you’re being mindful of added sugars! I personally love AMP Hydration as a post-exercise recovery drink”. Not only do you get these benefits but AMP hydration provides 3 times more electrolytes than a traditional sports drink with 0 grams of sugar and only 5 calories per serving. And it tastes amazing!
Read more: 8 Ways to Improve Hydration
Best Fuel-on-the-Go Supplement – Total Lean® Lean Shake™ 25
With a hectic schedule trying to balance your academics and other tasks, it may be difficult to find a moment to eat. Due to your tight schedule, you may resort to fast food or other non-nutritious foods because of their convenience. However, this is not the only option! There are many on-the-go fueling snacks or meal replacement options available. The MVP of fuel on-the-go is the Total Lean® Lean Shake™ 25. With a whopping 25 grams of protein per serving, the Lean Shake only has 170 calories and no added sugar! Apart from this, it is a great source of micronutrients, fortified with 22 vitamins and minerals.
It is the perfect on-the-go snack or meal replacement solution when you are in a hurry because it comes in a ready-to-drink format. If you prefer protein powder, Total Lean® Lean Shake™ 25 is also available in a protein powder form. As a dietitian, Brittany’s expert input said “Total Lean Lean Shake 25 is the best on-the-go protein supplement for so many reasons. First, it’s clinically studied to improve weight loss and the powder format offers 7-8 grams of fiber per serving! That’s more fiber than most of the leading meal replacement shakes on the market. Fiber has so many health benefits and is often under consumed by most Americans.”
Best Weight Management Support: BodyDynamix® Slimvance®
Managing your weight daily can be difficult especially with a more hectic back to school schedule. Solutions to help you manage your weight had to be part of the list for best back to school supplements. It’s no surprise BodyDynamix® Slimvance® takes the title of Best Weight Management Support Supplement. Slimvance® is a patented blend of three synergistic botanicals: turmeric, moringa, and curry. Slimvance works by targeting an increase in lipolysis, or breakdown of fat, and a decrease in lipogenesis, the production of fat, in the body.
This botanical blend is superior with clinically studied ingredients proven to help you lose inches and pounds^*. Brittany agrees with this, stating “I love scientific evidence and in a clinical study when combined with a diet and exercise plan, those who took Slimvance saw results in as early as 2 weeks, lost nearly 10 pounds in just 4 months, and lost one pant size compared to those who took the placebo^*.”
Best Overall Wellness Support: GNC’s Multivitamins
Finally, to round out the list of best back to school supplements is a multivitamin. But not just any multivitamin! Brittany and I both agree, our GNC Multivitamin lineup is best in class from children to older adults. GNC offers a wide selection of multivitamins, based on age, gender, and health goals. GNC’s Mega Men and Women’s Ultra Mega multivitamins include a clinically studied multi blend proven to outperform the placebo and the competitor lower potency multivitamin, plus subjects reported feeling better than those who took the placebo^. Our multivitamin selection uses the highest quality ingredients, yet it is still cost effective, offering more nutrients and ingredients in each serving.
We offer a wide variety of multis tailored to the customer’s specific needs, like their goals, gender, or age. Brittany stated the importance of a multivitamin for children, saying “as a dietitian, I want to ensure children and teens are eating well-balanced meals to reach their daily needs of vitamins and minerals to help with their growing bodies. But reality isn’t quite the same. Most kiddos are relatively picky eaters, and it can be hard to meet all the daily needs for the different life stages. Adding in a multivitamin for your kids provides nutritional insurance for their developing minds and bodies, which is why it made this list for back-to-school.
As someone who is active, I take the Women’s Active multivitamin to support my fitness routine.” Including a multivitamin in your routine provides foundation health for the whole family.
Read more: 10 Tips to Manage the Stress of Heading Back to School
