Written by Jordyn King BS, MS

What are FLO VITAMINS?

Flo vitamins are the first PMS gummy vitamin that are formulated from the ingredients to help alleviate acne, mood swings, bloating, and cramping. This is also a plant-based gummy vitamin that is vegan friendly, gluten-free, non-GMO and made in the US. The ingredients include Chaste Berry and Dong Quai which is supposed to ease menstrual cramps, vitamin B6, and lemon balm which helps reduce the intensity of PMS cramps. Flo founders have recommended to take two gummies daily to prevent PMS symptoms right away but it is said on the website that it takes at least two cycles to achieve the full effect of relieving the pain and cramping. Now let’s review FLO vitamins and see if they are all it’s cracked up to be… 

Flo vitamins do not have any magical effects to ease PMS Cramps. 

Are these the real deal in taking two vitamin gummies a day?  Cramps when they come? Flo vitamins are not approved by the FDA due to being a dietary supplement but they do regulate dietary ingredients and claim to follow the health guidelines. The serving for each gummy is 20 calories. However, each donut shaped gummy includes 3g of sugar. That’s a lot of sugar content for just one gummy. Additionally, the first two ingredients in the gummy supplement include tapioca syrup and raw cane sugar. They also include “Proprietary Herbal Blend” on the nutrition fact label, which is basically a mix of ingredients by the supplement manufacturer to conceal the exact amount of each ingredient based on the nutrition label. This can be a red flag when manufacturers try to hide the natural supplements amount of each ingredient and just state it as Proprietary Herbal Blend. So if the product really works, why do Flo vitamins conceal the amount of “healthy natural” ingredients they have in it from what the benefits say? In order to achieve benefits of each product there has to be a certain amount of product or ingredients  to achieve the beneficial effect. Thus, here may not be an adequate dosage of those certain ingredients to be affected fully on the body. Again these mixed natural ingredients include Chasteberry, Maltodextrin, Lemon Balm and Dong Quai. 

High sugar content added 

These gummy vitamins contain a high sugar additive which could promote increased acne and from some reviews these gummy vitamins taste more like candy than a vitamin in general. High sugar content could also induce headaches if the individual is not hydrated enough. Thus, no matter what it is important to drink water throughout the day. These vitamins also take two months for the results to show the benefits. 

The Ingredients and the interference of BIRTH CONTROL. BE CAUTIOUS 

To first start off with, Chase Barry and Dong quai interfere with birth control. There is a lack of evidence to prove Chase Barry is completely safe in combination with different birth controls. Thus, Flo vitamins can interfere with female hormones thus, messing up period cycles or even changing up mood swings throughout the day. Additionally, Chase Barry isn’t recommended for women who are pregnant or lactating due to lack of research on its safety. The ingredients overall of Flo gummy vitamins do not provide enough support to officially effectively reduce PMS symptoms and also taking more than 2 months to achieve benefits, so is it really worth it? I did find one single study that showed the ingredients could be beneficial to alleviate cramping however, there is no proof for each individual will have success with this product. This is important to take precaution of because of the uncertainty of the interference of birth control in association to Flo vitamins and their effect on female hormones. Consult with your  physician first on recommending someone on the FLO PMS gummy vitamins as it may have an effect on your body. 

Other Side Effects 

Some side effects include bloating and constipation and an effect in female hormones, vaginal cysts, increased acne and period cycle thrown off and spotting in between periods.

In Conclusion……. 

As a nutritional professional, I would not recommend this product to anyone, especially while on birth control. Flo vitamins are also very expensive. There is not enough supportive evidence to recommend this product and additionally it is not approved by the FDA. Providng and consuming a multivitamin daily will incorporate the essential vitamins and nutrients that your body needs. However, maintaining a variety of healthy food habits or a healthy diet plan such as consuming 3 or 4 servings of fruits and vegetables each a day, can provide all the essential vitamins and minerals to fuel your body. 

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