Everything you need to know about Heights
Want to learn more about Heights, and what we do? This is the place to start.
We’re Heights. Hi.
Now that the awkward introduction is out of the way, we can get on with things. We care about your brain. That’s not something you hear too often, right?
Your brain is your most important organ. It’s one-fortieth of the mass of your body, yet uses 20% of your energy. When you put it like that, it seems silly to not take more notice of it. So we decided to make taking care of your brain a little bit easier. Read on for a little introduction into what we’re up to.
Your brain is the common denominator
Tiredness, distraction, poor sleep, brain fog. As we’ve begun to destigmatise the language around mental health, the sheer number of ailments we suffer from has become clear. They all have different effects—some might feel small and manageable, others are crippling. Treatment for these conditions is largely reactive. You have a headache, you take a painkiller. You feel sluggish, have some coffee. Can’t sleep, tranquilliser. This ignores the source of the source of the problem. One thing links all of these ailments. Your brain.
The idea behind Heights is fairly simple. Your brain matters. It has an outsized effect on just about every other part of your body. The complexities of the human brain still confuse scientists and researchers—there’s a lot we don’t know, but in the fine web of interconnectedness that is a human being, the brain sits at the centre. This goes for physical aspects—the synapses cascading through nerves, the muscle cells twitching as they experience a current—but also for the mental side of things. Ultimately, your brain is the basis of all your feelings, good and bad. So you really want to start taking it seriously.
Hang on, what about the gut?
Your brain and gut are inextricably linked, communicating constantly, affecting everything from mood and mental health to sleep and immunity. Looking after your brain involves looking after your gut, and vice versa. So when you feel the difference a healthy gut makes, you’re feeling the difference a healthy brain makes.
What is braincare?
Braincare is when you look after your brain. It doesn’t get simpler than that. But it’s also more than that. It refers to something more rigorous, more regular. It’s common to have routines, exercises, and diets to look after your body, but when was the last time you implemented a regimen for your mind?
Braincare isn’t about trying meditation once and declaring yourself finished. It might not be about meditation at all. Some people find that it doesn’t help them, and that’s okay. Instead, the aim should be to put in place systems that help your brain to thrive, every day.
Our co-founder Dan's story
“I struggled with chronic insomnia, stress and anxiety for an extended period. My journey led me to the realisation that I wasn’t feeding my brain what it needed to do its job.”
That’s our co-founder, Dan Murray-Serter. He was having a rough time of it when, on the advice of a friend, he saw a dietitian. That was where he learned about the impact nutrition could have on a healthy brain, as well as the impact a healthy brain could have on a healthy body.
He opened up about what he went through, how he overcame it, and why that led him to starting Heights.
Our co-founder Joel's story
“I tried every type of diet—keto, plant-based, no-carb, sometimes no food—but no luck. Even eating lunch would put me out of action for four or five hours.”
Our other co-founder, Joel Freeman, also has a personal story that led him to start Heights. If Dan’s revolved around brain nutrition, Joel’s is focused on gut health. The connection between the gut and the brain—the gut-brain axis—is well-documented, but it’s still a recent area of research. Here, Joel explains the impact his gut has had on his health, and how that experience meant that he ended up at Heights.
The Heights nutrition survey
How would you rate your diet? It’s probably fine, right? You could eat more vegetables, but there’s nothing to suggest any problem.
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Getting all the vitamins and minerals is hard. Not impossible, but it does require some fairly meticulous meal planning. For most people, that’s not really feasible, not at the scale required, for every essential nutrient. That’s part of the reason that we want to provide a solid nutritional base—the foundations of feeling good.
But to know where to end up, we need to know where we’re starting. So we teamed up with an independent research body and interviewed thousands of people about their dietary habits.
What makes the Heights Vitals⁺ different?
Walk into any pharmacy, and you can easily get overwhelmed by the number of supplements on offer. But how can you actually be sure what you’re taking? There are all sorts of factors at play, from how much of the nutrient can be absorbed (normally dependent on the specific compound in the supplement), to the provenance of ingredients, to any additives, fillers, and caking agents. There’s no transparency.
That’s what we aim to change. High-quality ingredients, in doses that make a difference. With up-to-date research and small-batch manufacturing (so you know the capsules haven’t been sitting on a dusty shelf for years). And most importantly, everything is all in one place, because who really has time to take 14 different pills each morning?
6 vitamins you no longer need to take
Vitals⁺ provides you with 20 essential vitamins and minerals, all in one place. For the price of one supplement, you can get the nutrition that before would have required handfuls of pills and hundreds of pounds a month.
And because every nutrient in Vitals⁺ is in an impactful dose, if you get it here, you don’t need to get it elsewhere. For example, here are six common vitamin supplements that you can stop worrying about.
6 supplements Vitals⁺ replaces
What is the gut-brain axis?
Have you ever felt butterflies in your stomach before an interview? Needed a nervous poo? That’s the gut-brain axis in motion—the symbiotic relationship that exists between your brain and your microbiome.
In fact, the gut and the brain are connected in more ways than one. Physically, they’re connected by the vagus nerve, which links the brain and the enteric nervous system (the network of neurons in your gut. And chemically, the gut microbiome produces around 95% of your serotonin, and 50% of your dopamine—neurotransmitters with essential roles in balancing and regulating your mood.
Why we made Biotic⁺
Braincare doesn’t start and end with the brain. Maintaining a healthy gut is vital for full body and mental well-being, too.
Your gut microbiome is an entire ecosystem that impacts every part of your body—500 species, 2 million genes, and 400 trillion microbes working together. From digestion to bloating, to energy, and even immunity, a thriving microbiome supports your whole body’s health from within.
And at the same time, poor gut health can have an effect far beyond digestion. If you haven’t suffered from it, it’s hard to imagine how much of a problem it can be, but, as our co-founder Joel found out, poor gut health can stop you from making the most of life.
So we decided to do something about it—Biotic⁺.
What makes Biotic⁺ different
With live-bacteria supplements, there are a lot of marketing terms thrown around without really meaning anything, and it makes it hard to know exactly what you’re getting. But for something as important as your health, you don’t want to leave anything to chance.
That’s why it’s important to make sure you’re getting the best quality. Do your own research, and find out what actually makes it worthwhile. The strains, the supply chains, the delivery system—they all add up. So how can you make the best choice?
Our commitment to sustainability
At Heights, we know there’s no such thing as a magic pill. Taking care of yourself is a question of making sustained changes to your everyday life. This philosophy extends to the planet.
Everything we do is with the aim of being as sustainable as possible. That ranges from biodegradable packaging and shipping, to third-party reviews of our business practices. And in 2022, we became a certified B Corp—recognition that we’re setting the pace, and continuously working to improve.
Because while a supplement might be small, the potential environmental impact can be huge. And what’s the point of living better if there’s no planet to live on?
7 ways we’ve committed to sustainability
Building a transparent company
Our values aren’t only for the outside world. They also apply to our colleagues and our customers. Anyone we work with.
Complacency about culture is all too common in the workplace, and that’s not good enough for Heights. We believe that transparency is the key to success, and that treating each other with compassion and understanding increases our potential, rather than limiting it.
Get your Brain Health Score in 4 minutes
Take the quizChoosing to practise braincare is one of the best choices we can make, and a good routine is essential. Read our guide to designing the perfect braincare routine now.