Healthy vitamins and supplements can be beneficial to your health, but they can be harmful to the environment when produced. For example, the materials used to make these supplements and packaging could be depleting the environment's resources, such as paper, plastic and water. 

The question is, what are the best environmentally-friendly supplements to buy? 

1. Oregano Oil

Oregano oil is a great supplement to purchase if you want to reduce your impact on the environment. Essential oils need to be contained in dark-colored glass. This helps increase their shelf life and boost their effectiveness. Therefore, oregano oil doesn't require plastic to be produced. This essential oil is great for human health as it contains a phenol that has antioxidant properties when ingested.

Antioxidants help support the immune system. Taking oregano oil internally also supports healthy digestion and respiratory function. There are many other oregano oil uses as well. You can use it to replace dried oregano in spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce or a roast. You can also dilute oregano oil in water and use it as an all-natural surface cleaner.

2. CBD

CBD is another sustainable supplement that offers many health and lifestyle benefits. The plants don't require a lot of watering or pesticides. Therefore, the best thing to look for in a CBD brand is to make sure it's been certified by a third-party. You can also look for brands that work with farms that regenerate their soil. Other sustainable brands may be certified USDA organic and produce their CBD products in-house, which reduces emissions. When purchasing CBD, be sure to look for plastic-free packaging that's suitable for upcycling.

3. Probiotics

Probiotics are healthy bacteria that are present in the gut. Even though your gut already contains probiotics, it can greatly benefit you to take a probiotic supplement. That's because the balance between the good bacteria and bad bacteria in your gut could be thrown off. Consuming sugary foods and drinks is a common culprit of this problem. By restoring this balance, probiotics can significantly improve digestion and absorption of nutrients.

You can find many probiotic brands that are sustainable and eco-friendly. For example, some brands package the probiotics in glass jars and ship them in compostable products.

4. Collagen

Did you know that collagen is the most abundant protein in the body? It's very essential to skin health. However, the body's natural collagen production declines as you age. That's why the skin begins to lose its elasticity and develops wrinkles when you get older. When looking for a sustainable form of this supplement, make sure your chosen brand sources their collagen sustainably. For example, some brands get their collagen from fish skin - which is very rich in collagen - that's often discarded when producers filet their fish and then package it. This is a very sustainable way of collecting collagen as it prevents it from going to waste.

You can also see if brands use other packaging materials instead of plastic. If not, still see if the plastic is 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. Recyclable plastic reduces the carbon footprint for travel by a significant amount because it's lighter than glass, it consumes less energy and it's pure, which means it can be recycled again and again.

5. Omega-3s

Omega-3s promote brain health and heart health. They're also useful for reducing inflammation within the body. While you can get more Omega-3s in your diet by eating salmon, walnuts, flax, avocados, etc, you can also take a supplement. Because Omega-3s are most abundant in fish, this resource has been a great source of the nutrients. However, this has resulted in overfishing. You can instead look for brands that get their Omega-3s from algae, which are also rich in the nutrient.

Finding eco-friendly supplements can be daunting. However, by knowing what to look for, you can make the search much easier.