Bolster your resilience and maximise your glow with The Nue Co.
Hold up #CultBeauties, supplements just got sexy. Totally Instagrammable and instantly revitalising, {The Nue Co,’s} prebiotic powders feed your gut with the highest standard of naturally-sourced proteins, vitamins and minerals - to help you beat the bloat, enhance your energy and restore complexion’s youthful bloom. We spoke to their creator - Jules Miller - who talked us through the range, dismantled common 'protein myths' and spoke about her stance on modern beauty...
{Cult Beauty} Could you begin with a little bit of the brand back story? How {The Nue Co.} came to be, and what differentiates it?
{Jules Miller} I come from a family where food is prescribed if you're sick - my mother is Colombian, so I grew up around strange, homeopathic remedies... my childhood bumps were soothed with raw potatoes while a fever was treated with vinegar. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, my grandfather was a pharmacist (he helped in the discovery of vitamin B12 at Cambridge University) so I straddle both approaches to wellbeing.
When I developed IBS in my mid-twenties, I tried to be careful about what I ate and looked to off-the-shelf supplements to help treat my symptoms. Quite quickly, I was taking 5-8 different things a day and actually feeling pretty poorly until my grandpa pointed out that whilst I dutifully avoided processed foods and sugar, I was still consuming several in my cocktail of supplements.
This totally blew my mind - I assumed that everything in my supplements was 'doing me good' and there for a reason. I dug a little deeper and found out that (as a general rule) 50% of a supplement will be active ingredients, while the other 50% consists of synthetic fillers, bulking agents and processed ingredients. Basically, nothing your body needs.
{The Nue Co.} is born from the belief that food should be our first, unadulterated source of nutrition and supplementation. We take tried and tested vitamin formulations, but remove all unnecessary preservatives and ingredients and replace the synthetic actives with powerful organic foods. The result is a supplement that your body recognises, is easily digested and absorbed, but best of all, that works - in one spoonful.
{JM} 'Nue' means to be different, to go against the grain. When setting up the company I had one goal - to redefine the category. I don't believe that nutrition has to be complicated. Eat real food and when you can't, fill in the gaps with natural, organic supplements. It’s a very simple message.
The range is for anyone, particularly those who are usually confused or wary of traditional supplements.
{JM} There has been a huge amount of dietary information thrown around in the last few years, and health trends will come and go. I’m very conscious of attaching myself to anything before seeing real data to back up each and every claim.
People need to remind themselves that everyone is different and what works for some, may not work for others. But the best rule of thumb is to keep it simple - if the majority of your food comes from the ground, sea or air, rather than a packet, you’re doing ok.
Personally, I try to get lots of naturally probiotic foods into my diet - things like kombucha, sauerkraut and yoghurt. I try and avoid raw vegetables as they tend to trigger my IBS and leave me bloated, so tend to sauté or steam them instead.
Finally, and most importantly, have a bit of what you enjoy! I’m a big believer in listening to your body - knowing when to have a brownie and when to have a bit of extra broccoli.
{JM} Put simply, prebiotics feed the existing good bacteria in your gut and encourage it to thrive. Probiotics are live bacteria delivered to your gut - they will help to repopulate and rebalance your microbiome.
There’s still a huge amount we don’t know about the gut, but microbiologists are beginning to understand that it can impact everything from mood to weight and the immune system. For example, around 95% of your serotonin is produced in your gut, so it stands to reason if something is 'off', you’re going to experience an impact throughout the rest of your body.
Taking a prebiotic and probiotic daily is an easy step to incorporate into your day. Aside from easier digestion, people also report higher energy levels, better concentration and glowing skin - worth trying!
{JM} Absolutely, it all comes back to the gut. I’d recommend our {Skin Food + Prebiotic} daily - it’s a blend of ingredients naturally high in vitamins C and E, as well as beta-carotene which help to increase cellular repair and renewal. The added prebiotic also helps to regulate digestion and balance blood sugar.
I think our concept of 'beauty' has become warped. I feel most beautiful when I’m healthy, empowered and well rested - I rarely feel my best when I’m caked in make up! For us, beauty is about feeling good from the inside.
{JM} Our ingredients ethos is quality, not quantity. On average, our formulas contain around five ingredients - each of these is certified organic by the Soil Association, meaning they’ve been grown without pesticides or solvents, and sourced sustainably everywhere from Indonesia to South America.
By using five ingredients rather than forty, we ensure that each ingredient does what it’s supposed to, instead of delivering a trace element, or a cocktail of 'actives' that cancel each other.
It comes back to this idea of simplicity; the industry has hammered into us that nutrition is some complex beast and that your body needs specialist concoctions to thrive - it’s just not true.
{JM} It really depends on what your aim or concern is. One of my favourite combinations is our {Plant Protein + Gut Food} with our {Skin Food + Prebiotic}; that’s my daily go-to. When I’m feeling tired, I’ll have our {Milk Protein + Gut Food} and {Energy Food + Prebiotic} - it’s really quickly absorbed and gives you an energy boost.
For instant results, I’d recommend our {Debloat Food + Prebiotic}. Everyone has one on their desk and I always have one in my kitchen - one spoonful in warm almond milk soothes a bloated stomach immediately. It’s my post-pasta secret weapon!
{JM} I love the feedback we get about the taste. I think the fact that the blends are completely unsweetened and unflavoured may scare people off at first... but remember that our blends are made with 100% foods. Vitamin C is delivered through Baobab fruit - which has a lovely citrus flavour.
Our magnesium is delivered through Maca, which reminds me of a soft caramel. People are surprised by just how great natural food can taste. With that in mind my favourite recipe is simply to have the supplements straight up - 1 tablespoon of {Plant Protein + Gut Food} with 1 teaspoon of {Skin Food + Prebiotic} and (about) 250ml of almond milk. Blend with a few ice cubes and enjoy.
{JM} Protein is the building block of every single cell in the body - think hair, skin, nails, as well as immunity, muscle and cardiovascular health, it’s important stuff!
If you bear in mind that we should aim to have protein at every meal, most of us don’t get enough. Supplementing your diet won’t turn you into a muscle machine - instead it will leave your feeling alert, sustained as well as boosting your collagen production and helping your hair grow. Pretty good benefits!
We have two proteins in our REBUILD capsule, {Milk Protein} and {Plant Protein} - both are fortified with our probiotics and prebiotic gut food complex and contain the same protein as two eggs.
I tend to recommend the {Milk Protein} for post-exercise or if you suffer from low energy as it’s very quickly absorbed. It’s a whey-based protein made from organic, hormone-free milk and is naturally very low in lactose.
The {Plant Protein} is a blend of pea and hemp protein which contains all nine essential amino acids, rare for a vegan protein. I think of this as the backbone to any routine, it’s a light and easy to digest blend which is slow-release, so it’s a good addition to breakfast or a snack.
{JM} In the last six months, {The Nue Co.} has been spotted in the hands of everyone from Bobbi Brown to Emma Roberts. There are big plans in the horizon though, so watch this space...
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Cult Beauty’s Content Editor and a Cult Beauty OG, Verity loves nothing more than the marriage of language and lip balm. A quintessential Libran, she’s a self-professed magpie for luxury ‘must-haves' and always pursuing the new and the niche — from the boujee-est skin care to cutting-edge tech. Balancing an urge to stop the clock with her desire to embrace the ageing process (and set a positive example for her daughter), Verity's a retinol obsessive and will gladly share her thoughts about the time-defying gadgets, masks and treatments worth the splurge...
