<p>We are on a delicious mission to put health in reach of more kids and grown-ups by bringing simplicity and sanity to our supplement routines. The founders of SmartyPants were all facing the same issue: why did it have to be so hard to make sure the kids in our lives were getting the nutrients they needed every day? We wanted a single serving <a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/smartypants-gummy-vitamins-for-kids/">all-in-one vitamin</a> that would cover the gaps in our kids’ diets. We wanted a multivitamin with loads of Vitamin D and Omega 3s from sources we could trust. And when we couldn’t find one, we decided to make our own! And when parents confessed they were sneaking them too, we made one for <a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/smartypants-gummy-vitamins-for-grown-ups/">Adults</a>.</p><h3>Poor Nutrition in America Is Making Us Sick</h3><p>Everywhere you look these days you see stories about nutrition-related afflictions, such as skyrocketing rates of <a href="http://report.nih.gov/NIHfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=121&key=D#D">diabetes (including juvenile diabetes)</a>, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html">childhood + adult ADHD</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_autism">autism</a>, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html#National">obesity</a>, cancer, rampant heart disease, as well as <a href="http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2011/01/21/jech.2010.111955?q=w_jech_ahead_tab">lower IQ’s</a>.
Why is this happening? Are our diets really that nutritionally poor and so loaded with empty calories and processed "foods" that we are both becoming more obese while still starving for key nutrients? Well, according to the USDA, the answer is YES, OUR DIETS REALLY ARE THAT BAD. Recently, the USDA gave the diet of American kids a FAILING GRADE of 59/100 on the<a href="http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/healthyeatingindex.htm"> USDA Healthy Eating Index</a>. Adults did no better at eating their veggies and scored a dismal 58/100 on the Healthy Eating Index. Maybe this helps explain why<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm"> nearly 20% of children between the ages of 6-19 are now obese</a> and<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm"> 33.9% of adults are obese</a>,<a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=vitamin-d-deficiency-united-states"> 77% of Americans are vitamin D deficient</a>, <a href="http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/minutes01_2829_2004.htm">70% of Americans are not getting Omega 3 fish oil benefits</a>, and why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all children take a vitamin D3 supplement.
The truth is Americans do not eat a well balanced diet of organic whole grains, fruits and vegetables in proper proportions, plus some lean meats, such as the one suggested by the USDA's new<a href="http://www.choosemyplate.gov/index.html"> MyPlate</a> standard. Instead, most Americans now live on heavily processed foods, much of which is factory-farmed fast-food, canned or packaged in beautifully marketed plastic wrappers, and often soaked in<a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/blog/?p=797"> High Fructose Corn Syrup</a>. The result: expanding our waistlines, overflowing landfills, polluting our water, and<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/news/2004/12/01/nr_chemistry/"> depleting our soil</a>.
Of course, the result of skyrocketing obesity and disease rates among adults and children cannot be placed solely at the doorstep of poor nutrition. But it’s a good place to start when looking for solutions to these problems.
Part of the solution for both kids and adults is including a high quality natural vitamins + omega 3 fish oil nutritional supplement as a staple of the new American diet. The natural vitamins should contain all the nutrients that are hard to get thru diet alone (vitamin D3, B12, Omega 3 fish oil, etc) and be made with Organic and eco-friendly ingredients. And it should be easy to swallow and TASTE GOOD because no one, especially kids, likes swallowing horse pills or eating yucky tasting fish oil or tablets.
Because we were worried about our kids health and because no all-in-one gummy natural multivitamin + Omega 3 + vitamin D3 made with organic ingredients existed, we created<a href="http://www.smartypantsvitamins.com/index.php/kids-gummy-vitamins"> SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins for Kids</a>. And because so many parents asked if they could take our gummy vitamins too, we created<a href="http://www.smartypantsvitamins.com/index.php/adult-gummy-vitamins"> SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins for Adults</a>!<a href="http://www.oprah.com/blogs/Look-What-We-Found-Good-for-You-Gumdrops"> Oprah Magazine</a> liked our gummies so much, they called them the "good for you gumdrops!"</p><h3>Can Natural Gummy Vitamins Really Make a Difference?</h3><p>We look at it this way: if you have a bucket full of leaks, the best thing you can do for that bucket to function more optimally is PLUG THE LEAKS. We saw that American families' nutritional buckets were leaking (including both our kids' and our own buckets!). Like many kids, our kids can be picky eaters. As a result, our kids were not getting the nutrients they needed through their diet alone so we wanted to give them a high quality Multivitamin + Omega 3 fish oil + vitamin D3 supplement they would actually like. And, when we were being honest with ourselves, we also knew we did not eat the recommended multiple daily servings of dark leafy greens ourselves ;-). So we decided to do something to help the situation and <a href="https://store.smartypantsvitamins.com/family-packs/gummy-vitamin-family-pack-with-kids-multivitamin-plus-omega-3-and-adult-multivitamin-plus-omega-3-by-smartypants.html">protect our family's health</a>.
While we believe no nutritional supplement is a magic "silver bullet" and that we should always try to eat as healthfully as possible, research shows how supplementing with natural vitamins, Omega 3 fish oil, and vitamin D3 can benefit health by filling in nutritional gaps. Indeed,<a href="http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vitamins/"> Harvard University</a> School of Public Health, The<a href="http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/287/23/3127.full"> Journal of The American Medical Association</a>, and The<a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/122/5/1142.full.pdf"> American Academy of Pediatrics</a> all recommend everyone take a multivitamin and/or vitamin D3 supplement since diet alone is usually not sufficient to get all needed nutrients. So we wanted tasty, gummy natural vitamins to help plug some of the leaks since we knew gummies are popular with kids (and adults).
We then set out to find high quality, eco-friendly, all-in-one gummy natural vitamins + Omega 3 fish oil + vitamin D3 that our kids would actually take. We looked and looked for kids gummy vitamins that had all the good stuff and none of the bad stuff (no High Fructose Corn Syrup, no artificial colors or flavors, no mercury risk, made in the USA) that also tasted good.
But we could not find one.</p><h3>Choosing the Best Gummy Vitamins For Your Family</h3>So we asked our pediatricians and health care providers what we could do? They suggested making our own high quality natural gummy vitamin + Omega 3 fish oil + vitamin D3 that kids will actually want to eat. And guess what? We were so successful with our kids gummy vitamins that we launched a new line of adult gummy vitamins based on the same healthy all-in-one approach!
We were very careful when designing our natural vitamins to include only the highest quality ingredients we could find, because we wanted only the best stuff going into our own children. Even though it costs more to make, we use organic ingredients, natural vitamins forms (whenever possible), and eco-friendly Omega 3 fish oil. We are committed to making SmartyPants All-in-One Gummy Vitamins with only the finest ingredients and using the highest quality standards to protect your family's health and our family's too because<a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/blog/?p=744"> what goes into your family's vitamin really does matter</a>! We feel we have made a unique and tasty line of products packed with nutrients that you, your kids, your doctor or pediatrician will all love.
Below are some of the unique benefits of SmartyPants All-in-One Gummy Vitamins:
<ul>
<li><strong>Unique All-in-One formulation:</strong> SmartyPants are the ONLY gummy vitamins to combine a complete multivitamin + omega 3 fish oil + 150% of vitamin D3 made with natural, eco-friendly, and Organic ingredients.</li>
<li><strong>Omega 3 Fish Oil:</strong> Our gummy vitamins (for both kids and adults) are an Excellent Source of omega 3 DHA / EPA and a great tasting way to ensure your children are getting omega 3 fish oil benefits. Studies show omega 3 DHA fish oil benefits the<a href="http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm"> heart</a>,<a href="https://www.acc.umu.se/~svanberg/skrifter/HEALTH%20BENEFITS%20OF%20DOCOSAHEXAENOIC%20ACID%20%28DHA%29.pdf"> eye and brain development in children, as well as provide nutritional support for these vital organs in adults</a>. Omega 3 DHA / EPA are essential fatty acids that can only be obtained from the diet, your body will NEVER make omega 3 oils. So if you or your kids are not eating enough sardines or salmon, they may not be getting the omega 3 fish oil benefits.</li>
<li><strong>Vitamin D3:</strong> <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2009-08-03/health/vitamin.d.children_1_vitamin-d-levels-low-vitamin-d-levels-vitamin-d-deficiency?_s=PM:HEALTH"> According to CNN, 70% of kids suffer from vitamin D deficiency</a>. Additionally, possibly up to<a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=vitamin-d-deficiency-united-states"> 77% of adults</a> are also deficient in Vitamin D. The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that ALL children take a vitamin D supplement (preferably D3 form). Our gummy vitamins contain only vitamin D3 cholecalciferol, the most bio-available form most recommended by doctors. Plus we source our D3 from lanolin which is considered to be a more pure, higher quality source of D3 than the fish meal used in other vitamins.</li>
<li><strong>High Quality Full Multivitamin with Natural Vitamins:</strong> Our gummy vitamins focus on the hard-to-get nutrients from diet alone. We never cut corners or use cheap fillers, ensuring both you and your children are taking the most beneficial organic all-in-one gummy vitamins available anywhere. For example, almost all other kids vitamins use a <a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/blog/natural-vitamins-vs-synthetic-vitamins/">synthetic form</a> of vitamin B12 called cyanocobalamin that is not naturally used by your body. Cyanocobalamin is made using cyanide and even leaves trace amounts of cyanide behind in your kids bodies! We said "no way to cyanide" and use the more expensive natural form of <a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/blog/nutrient-guide-vitamin-b12/">b12</a> called methylcobalamin that your body expects.</li>
<li><strong>Organic + Natural Ingredients:</strong> We use natural vitamins forms and certified Organic, natural and eco-friendly ingredients wherever possible. Also, we use certified Organic cane sugar and Organic tapioca as sweeteners in SmartyPants. While we definitely think you should always limit your sugar intake, we used only 5g of organic cane sugar to sweeten our kids gummy vitamins which is about 20% of the sugar in a glass of apple juice. (The average American currently eats about 84g of added sugar/day). We used Organic cane sugar on the advice of pediatricians who recommended it over sugar substitutes because how the body metabolizes organic cane sugar is fairly well understood whereas science does not know the long term impacts of artificial sweeteners, other sweeteners like xylitol or stevia. (NOTE: SmartyPants can not be 100% Organic because some of the nutrients, like zinc, are not organic (i.e. zinc is a mineral and does not grow). If such a thing as Organic zinc existed, we would use it ;-)</li>
<li><strong>Natural Colors + Flavors:</strong> Some kids gummy vitamins (along with adult gummy vitamins) contain artificial dyes and colors, both of which have been linked to ADHD (in kids and adults!). We decided to leave these controversial ingredients out of our natural vitamins. Our flavors come from lemons, strawberries, oranges and bananas.</li>
<li><strong>NO High Fructose Corn Syrup:</strong> Did you know that over 80% of all corn processed in the US is now genetically modified and some<a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/02648wu132m07804/"> GM corn is even classified as a pesticide</a> because it contains so many GM toxins? Did you know High Fructose Corn Syrup has been linked to<a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/blog/?p=797"> rapid weight gain</a>? Since virtually all High Fructose Corn Syrup is made using multiple batches of corn mixed together, that means you have GREATER than 80% chance of having genetically modified corn in your gummy vitamin containing HFCS. Do you want to be eating genetically modified highly processed "foods"? If you’re like us, you want to avoid these chemically engineered products whenever possible and definitely do not want your kids eating them either.</li>
<li><strong>Eco-Friendly:</strong> The omega 3 fish oil benefits provided by our all-in-one gummy vitamins come from small sustainable fish (anchovies and sardines) that has been ultra-purified, ensuring you are doing your part to help save the oceans while providing the best quality fish oil benefits to yourself and your kids. Almost ALL other gummy vitamins get their omega 3 fish oil benefits from large fish like tuna and salmon, some of which are now almost considered a bio-hazard by the EPA due to high levels of mercury and heavy metals found in these fish. Additionally, virtually all salmon and tuna fisheries worldwide are in serious states of decline due to over-fishing. We believe you and your family should get your omega 3 fish oil benefits without having to worry about mercury or decimating fish stocks. Using tuna and salmon oil just does not make sense given the contaminants and the negative environmental impact.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Get Health, Give Health:</strong> We also believe in giving back. Our Mission is to help every child get a healthy start. That’s why for each bottle of kids gummy vitamins or adult gummy vitamins you purchase from SmartyPants we make a match 1-for-1 matching nutrient grant to a child in need. We feel every child has a right to good nutrition so please help us by being a <a href="http://www.smartypantsvitamins.com/index.php/ourmission">SmartyPants Angel</a>!
The founders all started our search for wholesome and complete natural vitamins for ourselves and our children over three years ago, and ended up developing our own natural gummy vitamins because we couldn’t find one that met our strict standards. We’ve worked with doctors to create our formulations. We combined a complete multivitamin + Omega 3 fish oil benefits + vitamin D3 + no HFCS + Organic ingredients to produce the best all-in-one natural vitamins + fish oil benefits gummy supplement we possibly could. Plus, SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins taste great and are made in California with love! ;-)
SmartyPants Gummy Vitamins have been featured in<a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/site/who-loves-smartypants-vitamins/"> Oprah Magazine, Parents, People, OK Weekly, DailyCandy, Babble,</a> and many<a href="http://smartypantsvitamins.com/site/who-loves-smartypants-vitamins/"> other publications</a>.
Courtney + Gordon
Robert Hammond, CoFounder of The High Line
AdChoices
