Vitamin pills put to the test: do they really boost skin and energy?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Chinese adults of Asian descent aged 18 and above; 2. Daily fruit and vegetable intake \< 240g (calculated based on the fruit and vegetable section of the food frequency questionnaire); 3. S3 measurement index \< 30000; 4. Participants must possess basic Chinese reading comprehension and expression skills, and be able to independently complete questionnaire surveys; 5. Voluntary participation in the test and signing of the informed consent form; 6. Willingness to comply with all evaluation requirements. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Presence of open facial skin lesions, clearly visible scars, acne marks, etc.; 2. Skin lesions, scars, or significant pigmentation on the hand measurement area; 3. Symptoms of skin disease on the face or hand measurement areas; 4. Having undergone medical aesthetic procedures within the last 6 months; 5. Participation in other clinical trials involving product use within the last 3 months; 6. Use of health supplements or nutritional supplements (e.g., vitamins, minerals) within the last 1 month; 7. Currently planning for pregnancy, pregnant, or lactating; 8. Presence of any disease under current treatment; 9. Any other health issues or chronic diseases that affect behavioral or cognitive abilities; 10. Other iatrogenic reasons identified by experts or professionals that may affect the evaluation results. The S3 instrument refers to a Raman spectroscopy-based biophotonic scanner. The threshold for the S3 screening value is based on previously published literature, which indicated that participants with a daily fruit and vegetable intake of less than 240g had an average Raman spectroscopy biophotonic scanner score below 25,000. However, considering practical recruitment challenges, the inclusion criterion was set at \< 30,000. The S3 device measures the Skin Carotenoid Index, a non-invasive biomarker reflecting skin carotenoid levels.