Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder have lived a lot of life in front of the world, but the version of them you meet now feels more grounded and intentional than ever. Between raising two kids, running a farm, and building companies that reflect their values, they are thinking about wellness in a way that is personal, practical, and rooted in real science rather than trends.
What makes their perspective refreshing is how honest it is. They have both seen where the wellness space falls short, and they have shaped their lives around the question of what actually helps a body feel supported. Their work with The Absorption Company came from this place of curiosity, experience, and a desire to create solutions that feel real in everyday life.
In our conversation, they share what is teaching them the most right now, the studies that changed the way they look at supplements, and the rituals that keep them steady while juggling parenting and purpose driven work. It is a look at how two very busy, very thoughtful people are choosing to live well in a way that feels true to them.
For more founder insight on building with intention, read our recent Living Well conversation with Lauren Ireland and Marianna Hewitt, co founders of Summer Fridays,
Living Well with Ian and Nikki
You’ve both lived multiple lives at once—actors, activists, parents, founders. Which identity is teaching you the most right now?
Nikki Reed: Motherhood is my greatest teacher right now. It has reshaped how I experience time, responsibility, and presence. It’s not loud or performative, it’s deeply internal. Every choice feels consequential in a way that’s both grounding and expansive, and it’s teaching me how to lead with more softness and discernment.
Ian Somerhalder: Founding and building mission-driven companies has been my biggest teacher. It forces a level of accountability and long-term thinking that acting never required. You’re responsible not just for an idea, but for the ripple effects of that idea, on people, on systems, on the future.
Before launching The Absorption Company, what gaps in the wellness space did you repeatedly encounter in your own lives?
Nikki: I kept encountering products that looked clean and well-formulated on paper but didn’t translate into real results in my body. There was very little discussion around whether nutrients were actually being absorbed, especially for women navigating stress, hormonal shifts, and inflammation.
Ian: I saw a massive disconnect between marketing and biology. The industry was obsessed with ingredient lists but ignored delivery, dosage relevance, and the body’s ability to process what it was being given.
When you began working with scientists and researchers, what was the first thing you discovered that made you rethink the entire supplement landscape?
Nikki: How inefficient most supplements are. Even high-quality ingredients can become meaningless if they’re not paired or delivered in a way the body recognizes. That realization completely reframed how I thought about wellness products.
Ian: That the majority of supplements never make it to the bloodstream in a meaningful way. Once you understand that, you can’t unsee it. It changes how you evaluate everything.
Was there a specific study, data set, or scientific principle that became the backbone of your formulation strategy?
Nikki: One of the most striking data points for me was learning that nearly 77% of Americans take a supplement, yet over 90% are still deficient in at least one key nutrient. That gap made it impossible to ignore the reality that ingestion does not equal nourishment, and it fundamentally reshaped how I think about formulation.
Ian: What truly shocked me were our internal studies showing that, on average, 84 percent of traditional supplements aren’t being absorbed at all—at the same time Americans are on track to spend more than $60 billion on supplements by the end of 2025. When you sit with that, it starts to feel less like a wellness industry and more like a massive rip-off. People are investing their health, their money, and their trust into products that, biologically speaking, often never even make it past the gate
Can you talk about the first time you felt a difference using your own formulations? What clicked for you?
Nikki: I noticed a steadiness, energy without urgency. My body felt supported instead of pushed. That was the moment I realized we were creating something that respected the nervous system.
Ian: The mental clarity stood out first. There was no spike or crash, just a sense of sustained focus and balance that felt unusually clean.
To explore the formulations they created through this research, shop The Absorption Company here.
You both work at the intersection of wellness, environmentalism, and social impact. What do you believe is the most urgent truth people need to understand right now?
Nikki: Our bodies are not separate from the environments we live in. Chronic stress, depleted soil, and overconsumption all mirror one another. Healing requires restoring balance, not accelerating fixes.
Ian: You can’t optimize human health in a collapsing ecosystem. Wellness has to account for planetary health, or it’s incomplete by definition.
What’s a simple, accessible way anyone can bring more regenerative living into their daily routine?
Nikki: Reduce inputs and increase awareness. Eat fewer, higher-quality foods. Slow down meals. Pay attention to how your body responds instead of following trends.
Ian: Be intentional about consumption. Whether it’s food, energy, or products, ask where it came from and what it costs the system to produce it.
As parents, founders, and public figures, you navigate a lot of stimulation. What ritual or practice helps you regulate your nervous system most reliably?
Nikki: Morning quiet. I avoid stimulation before my nervous system is fully awake. Breathwork and time outside help me set the tone for the day.
Ian: Cold exposure and time in nature. Both force presence and reset my stress response faster than anything else I’ve found.
Which supplements anchor your daily routines besides your own brand currently?
Nikki: Other than taking our products daily, I take shilajit religiously. I also supplement with herbs like ashwagandha and milk thistle. I take black seed oil, collagen, Nutrafol, pumpkin seed oil, and saw palmetto!
Ian: I truly live on our products, but I also supplement with biotin, multivitamins, silica, saw palmetto, you name it! I love giving my body what it needs!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a purpose-driven company but feels overwhelmed by where to begin?
Nikki: Start with curiosity, not certainty. You don’t need the full roadmap, you need a clear intention and the willingness to learn as you go.
Ian: Solve a real problem you understand deeply. Purpose-driven work only works if it’s grounded in reality, not just ideals.
What is inspiring you each right now – books, podcasts, thinkers, creators?
Nikki: I love thinkers, and I love people who are fiercely passionate. Gary Brecka, who is redefining the wellness world; doctors like Dr. Cameron Chestnut, who focus on regenerative medicine, stem cells, and red light as part of their surgical approach; topics like holistic dentistry, with practices that incorporate ozone; and whole-body disease experts like Dr. Connealy, who are changing everything we know about cancer. I could stay up all night reading medical journals, listening to podcasts, and researching…although with two companies, two kids, and a farm to run, that’s proving to be quite difficult at the moment!
Ian: I could listen to Dr. Mark Hyman speak all day! At this moment in my life, building two global companies simultaneously, my schedule is so tight. I’m not able to dive into as many books and podcasts as I would like to. Soon enough!
What’s one question you wish people would ask about your life’s work but almost no one does?
Nikki: What did you have to let go of in order to do this work honestly?
Ian: What would real success look like if profit wasn’t the primary metric?
Shop the Routine
If you’re curious about the formulations Ian and Nikki reference and the products they’ve built to work with your biology, here are a few essentials worth exploring:
Restore Mango Lemonade Supplement is a hydrating, nutrient-rich powder designed to support recovery and daily wellness with electrolytes, vitamins, and glutathione that absorb more efficiently than traditional formulas.
For a more comprehensive reset, the Detox and Destress Stack brings together their two best selling blends, Restore and Calm, delivering double the support through nutrients formulated for up to five times greater absorption.
If rest and recovery are priorities, the Sleep + Magnesium Stack is designed to support deep relaxation and overnight recovery. This duo pairs highly bioavailable magnesium for muscle function and stress balance with Sleep, formulated to promote calm and deeper rest through clinically backed, absorbable nutrients.
For natural energy without the crash, Energy taps into sustained focus and uplift using advanced delivery science.
