Rain Soul in pregnancy, breastfeeding, with medicines and illness: what do we know?

The more people start with soul, the more questions come from situations where you need to be careful: pregnancy, breastfeeding, children, medicines and illness. This article collects what authorities and healthcare sources say about the ingredients in soul, with a link to each source at the end.

Important before you read on. This text is not medical advice and does not replace a conversation with a doctor, midwife or pharmacist. The information about Rain's products comes from Rain's official store on 15 October 2026. Always check the package and the manufacturer's official information, because recipes and instructions can change, and ask your doctor before you start if anything described here applies to you.

Short answer

• Soul is a dietary supplement for adults. In the EU, one of the ingredients, trans resveratrol, is approved only in dietary supplements for adults, and the EU requires the packaging to say that anyone who takes medicines should use the product only under medical supervision.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding: the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) advises pregnant women to avoid herbal products and plant extracts. Talk to a midwife or doctor, and expect the advice to be to wait.
• Children: soul is not made for children, and none of the authorities we have read supports giving it to children.
• Medicines and cancer treatment: ask your doctor first, and do not take soul during chemotherapy or radiotherapy unless your oncologist has approved it.
• Thyroid, liver, anaemia and other conditions: there are no approved health claims and no official evidence that soul helps.

What soul contains and why it matters

One sachet of soul contains 3.5 grams of a blend of black cumin seeds, black raspberry seeds, chardonnay grape seeds, D ribose and trans resveratrol. A sachet also provides 7 grams of carbohydrate, of which 4 grams are sugar. Soul contains no added vitamins or minerals. You can read more about each ingredient in our guide to Rain Soul.

In the EU's register of health claims, claims about ribose and resveratrol have been assessed and not approved, and there are no approved claims for black cumin. That means nobody may claim that soul prevents, relieves or cures a disease, and that is also why we do not do so.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

The Swedish Food Agency writes that dietary supplements are rarely tested on pregnant women, and clearly advises pregnant women to avoid herbal products, plant extracts, natural medicines and herbal medicines. Soul consists of seeds and plant substances. For grape seeds, the American NIH writes that little is known about safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and trans resveratrol is approved in the EU only for adults. The European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, also noted in its assessment of resveratrol a smaller safety margin in animal studies on pregnant rats than for adults in general. That is animal data and not a recommendation, but it is a reason for caution.

In summary, there is nothing in soul that is needed during pregnancy. Talk to your midwife or doctor before you take soul or any other Rain product when you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

If you take bryt, the caffeine also matters. Two capsules give 75 mg of caffeine according to our product page, and both EFSA and the Swedish Food Agency state a maximum of 200 mg of caffeine per day for pregnant women. Coffee, tea and energy drinks count towards the same total.

Children

Trans resveratrol is approved in the EU in dietary supplements for the adult population. For D ribose, EFSA wrote in 2018 that human data for children are lacking, and the authority set its safe level so that it would also cover children's possible sensitivity to low blood sugar. Bryt contains caffeine, and the Swedish Food Agency advises against caffeine for children under six and gives a maximum of 70 mg a day for children and young people under 16. Two capsules of bryt give 75 mg.

So do not give soul, soul red or bryt to children. If your child needs any supplement, ask the child health clinic or your doctor.

Medicines

In short, the Swedish Food Agency advises against using dietary supplements together with medicines without talking to your doctor. For soul there are more specific reasons:

• Resveratrol. EFSA writes that a breakdown product of resveratrol can affect medicines that are broken down by the enzyme CYP2C9, and the EU therefore requires the packaging to say that anyone who takes medicines should use the product only under medical supervision. The NIH database LiverTox mentions possible interactions with oestrogen and blood thinning medicines.
• D ribose. In EFSA's review, large doses of D ribose temporarily lowered blood sugar, and there were reports of raised blood sugar in people with diabetes. If you have diabetes, talk to your doctor before you start, and count the 4 grams of sugar in each sachet.
• Black cumin. In studies summarised by LiverTox, moderate effects on blood sugar and blood pressure were seen. Whether this matters together with medicines for diabetes or high blood pressure has not been studied, and it is our conclusion, not the authority's, that this is a reason to ask your doctor.

On its own US product page, Rain writes that soul should be fine with blood thinning medicines, but that a doctor should always be asked. We prefer to stick to the EU's requirements and the healthcare sources: ask first.

Two of Rain's other products are worth mentioning here. Vida contains vitamin K2, and the NHS in the UK writes that anyone who takes warfarin should not take supplements with vitamin K. Renu contains activated charcoal, and according to the package leaflet for medicinal charcoal from the Swedish Medical Products Agency, charcoal can reduce the effect of other medicines taken at the same time, for example contraceptive pills.

Cancer treatment

Here the sources agree. The American National Cancer Institute urges everyone who is receiving cancer treatment to tell their doctor about every dietary supplement, because some products can affect how the treatment works. The NIH centre for complementary medicine answers the question of whether antioxidant supplements are fine during cancer treatment by saying that they may not be, because they can reduce the effect of some treatments. Britain's Macmillan does not recommend herbal preparations during drug treatment for cancer, and doctors usually advise a break of a few weeks before, during and after the treatment.

Soul contains plant substances such as resveratrol and grape seeds. So do not take soul during chemotherapy or radiotherapy unless your oncologist has said it is fine.

Thyroid, liver and anaemia

Thyroid and Hashimoto's. No authority links black cumin to the thyroid. There is one small study of 40 people with Hashimoto's over eight weeks, and that is not enough for any conclusions. If you take levothyroxine, the NHS writes that the tablet should be taken on an empty stomach, 30 to 60 minutes before breakfast or a drink containing caffeine, and that you should tell your doctor about all dietary supplements you take.

Liver and fatty liver. LiverTox assesses black cumin, grape seeds and resveratrol as unlikely causes of liver injury, and no cases of liver injury from black cumin or grape seeds are described. At the same time there are no approved claims that any of them helps the liver, so soul is not a treatment for fatty liver.

Anaemia. Soul contains no iron, no vitamin B12 and no folic acid. Anaemia needs a diagnosis and the right treatment from healthcare professionals.

The same applies to questions about fibroids, cysts, psoriasis or weight loss: there are no approved claims and no official evidence that soul affects them.

Sources

All sources were checked on 15 and 16 October 2026.

• EU, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/51 on trans resveratrol: EUR Lex
• EFSA, safety of trans resveratrol, 2016: efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
• EFSA, safety of D ribose, 2018: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• EFSA, safety of caffeine, 2015: efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
• EU register of nutrition and health claims: ec.europa.eu
• Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket), pregnancy, foods to avoid: livsmedelsverket.se
• Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket), caffeine: livsmedelsverket.se
• Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket), risks with dietary supplements: livsmedelsverket.se
• NIH NCCIH, grape seed extract: nccih.nih.gov
• NIH NCCIH, antioxidant supplements: nccih.nih.gov
• NIH LiverTox, black cumin: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• NIH LiverTox, resveratrol: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• NIH LiverTox, grape seeds: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• National Cancer Institute, complementary and alternative medicine: cancer.gov
• Macmillan Cancer Support, herb and plant extracts: macmillan.org.uk
• NHS, levothyroxine: nhs.uk
• NHS, warfarin: nhs.uk
• Swedish Medical Products Agency (Läkemedelsverket), package leaflet for Carbo medicinalis: docetp.mpa.se
• Rain International, the soul product page in the US store: rainintl.com