In short
The vitamins and minerals in LAYER ZERO are the firmest ground in the whole system. Unlike botanicals, where we describe what studies show, these micronutrients carry health claims that European regulators have formally authorised: roles in energy metabolism, the nervous system, immune function, cognition and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. We use bioavailable forms at meaningful doses, and we are precise about what an authorised claim does and does not mean.
Every other page in this Library grades an evidence base. This one reports a regulatory verdict. The distinction matters, and it is the reason the micronutrients sit at the base of the system.
01The micronutrient base
Vitamins and minerals are not optional extras in a performance system; they are the substrate the rest of it runs on. Energy metabolism, nerve signalling, immune defence and antioxidant protection all depend on a handful of specific micronutrients being present in adequate amounts. LAYER ZERO carries a targeted set across the three layers: B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D3, vitamin K2, zinc and selenium, each chosen for a defined role rather than for breadth.
Definition · Authorised health claim
In the European Union, a health claim can only be made for a nutrient if regulators have assessed the science and formally authorised it. These claims, set out in EU Regulation 432/2012, are the highest regulatory standard a supplement ingredient can meet, and they are the basis for what this page says.
The exact amounts, by layer:
- LAYER ONE: vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) 16 mg, vitamin B1 (thiamine) 5 mg, vitamin B2 (riboflavin-5'-phosphate) 4 mg, folate (5-MTHF, Quatrefolic) 400 µg, biotin 100 µg, vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) 10 µg.
- LAYER TWO: vitamin C 100 mg from acerola extract, zinc 10 mg as bisglycinate, selenium 75 µg from Lalmin Se2000 nutritional yeast, vitamin D3 25 µg, vitamin K2 75 µg as all-trans MK-7.
- LAYER THREE: vitamin B6 (pyridoxal-5'-phosphate) 2 mg. Elemental magnesium runs across the system: 80 mg as malate in the daytime layer, 156 mg as bisglycinate in the evening layer.
02What regulators have authorised
The following are roles that European regulators have authorised, based on the assessment of the scientific evidence. They describe what each nutrient contributes to normal function, not what a product promises.
Vitamin C (from acerola) contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism, normal functioning of the nervous system, normal psychological function, the protection of cells from oxidative stress, the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and the normal function of the immune system. It also increases iron absorption.1
The B vitamins, including vitamin B6 as its active P-5-P form, contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism, the normal functioning of the nervous system, normal psychological function, and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Vitamin B6 also contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity and to normal homocysteine metabolism.1
Vitamin D3 contributes to the normal function of the immune system, the maintenance of normal muscle function and normal bones, and the normal absorption and use of calcium.1
Vitamin K2 contributes to normal blood clotting and to the maintenance of normal bones.1
Zinc (as bisglycinate) contributes to normal cognitive function, the normal function of the immune system, the protection of cells from oxidative stress, normal macronutrient metabolism, and the maintenance of normal testosterone levels in the blood.1
Selenium contributes to the normal function of the immune system, the protection of cells from oxidative stress, and normal thyroid function.1
03Forms and doses
Form matters as much as the name on the label. LAYER ZERO uses vitamin B6 as pyridoxal-5-phosphate, its active coenzyme form; vitamin C from acerola; vitamin D as D3, the form the body makes in sunlight; vitamin K2 as MK-7, the long-acting menaquinone; zinc as bisglycinate, a well-tolerated chelated form; and selenium at a dose set well within safe limits. These choices are about bioavailability and tolerance, so that the authorised roles above can actually be met.
The micronutrients are placed by layer to match their jobs: B vitamins and vitamin C support daytime energy metabolism and the nervous system, vitamin D3, K2, zinc and selenium sit in the daytime layer, and vitamin B6 as P-5-P is placed in the evening layer alongside magnesium.
04What authorised means
Reading an authorised claim correctly
An authorised claim is a statement about a nutrient's role in normal physiology. It is strongest when you would otherwise fall short of that nutrient, and it is not a promise of transformation in someone already well supplied. A food supplement does not replace a varied diet or a healthy lifestyle. We report the authorised roles exactly as regulators framed them, and we do not stretch them into claims they were never granted.
05The research horizon
The micronutrient base keeps accumulating exactly the kind of evidence a foundation should. A 2025 meta-analysis of 17 randomised trials in 5,275 older adults found high-certainty evidence that B6, folate, and B12 supplementation benefits global cognitive function; the effect is modest, which is what supporting normal function looks like in data.3 A 2025 meta-analysis of 20 randomised trials found vitamin D supplementation improved low mood, strongest where baseline levels were low, which is the correction logic this formulation is built on.4 Selenium's thyroid role received a 35-trial meta-analysis in the journal Thyroid, with antibody reductions and tolerability at placebo level.5 And the form choices are being validated directly: a 2026 randomised trial found 5-MTHF, the folate form used here, maintained equal folate status while cutting unmetabolised folic acid in the blood from 31 percent of samples to 7.6 Zinc's Cochrane review adds that supplementation may shorten colds by around two days. The base layer is the least glamorous part of the system and the best evidenced, which is exactly the right way around.
06How LAYER ZERO uses this
The micronutrients are the base the botanicals build on. They are the part of the system that stands on formal regulatory authorisation rather than an evolving evidence base, which is why they are dosed deliberately and described precisely. Everything else in the Library is graded by strength of evidence; this page reports what has already been approved.
In the system
The vitamins and minerals run across all three layers as the system's foundation, supporting energy metabolism, the nervous system and immune function on authorised terms. For how the layers divide the day, see peak vs. baseline. To place your own layers, the protocol builder takes about three minutes. Build your protocol →
Sources
Next in this thread
The forms of magnesiumWhy the bound form changes absorption and tolerance, and which form belongs in which layer.→How we handle evidence. Every claim on this page reflects a health claim authorised for the named nutrient under EU law, or its underlying scientific opinion. This page is educational and is not medical advice.