If you take vitamins or herbal supplements, how do you decide what brand?

[Brilliant]

I am already overwhelmed at just deciding if I NEED to take some of these things. But lets assume I decide that something for my aging joints would be good. I have a friend who is into nutrition who says to take a "good brand" and she recommends Garden of Life. Wow, that and other brands are expensive! How do I know they are better than, say, the lowest price brand I can get at Costco? Do my vitamins need to be from "whole foods"? I don't want to waste money on cheap supplements that won't do me any good, but nor do I want to waste extra money on expensive brands if they are no different.

 

I could say, "Take what works", but when these things are supposed to take a month or more before you see a difference - or maybe you're not supposed to see a difference at all, but you WON'T develop problems you might have developed if you weren't on the supplements - well, you see my dilemma!

 

Help!

[Chelle in MO]

I take supplements from Standard Process. I do like the whole food products. I think they are less likely to contain useless additives, although I know I can't be sure.

 

It's frustrating trying to navigate all the info, that's for sure.

 

Best wishes~

[Brilliant]

I take supplements from Standard Process.

 

 

Their website is very slow (for me, at least). I can't find any pricing info or where to buy - do you have to find a medical provider?

[Chelle in MO]

Their website is very slow (for me, at least). I can't find any pricing info or where to buy - do you have to find a medical provider?

 

I buy them through my chiropractor. Never thought of trying to order direct. I just went to their site and it was clicking right along.

 

HTH,

Chelle

[scrapbookbuzz]

Yes, QUALITY vitamins/supplements are expensive; HOWEVER, think about WHAT you're getting. In your $4.00 Walmart bottle you're getting lots of filler along with who knows what! Garden of Life is a decent brand as Jordin Rubin is very health-conscious. Personally, I take Nutrilite brand vitamins. Why? Because they do their own farming and don't use pesticides on their plants. They use worms and ladybugs as their pest-control. Pricey? Yes but I know what's in them AND I can tell the difference between when I take them and when I don't! That's key right there. AND whatever you do, DO NOT take CENTRUM. Aides in the hospitals call Centrum "bedpan bullets" because they do not digest. Eww.

[Negin]

Agreeing with both posters.

Standard Process, although, sadly, I can't get it here, is excellent. Dh has loved it every time he's used these.

Never heard of Nutrilite,but will look into them

Yes, do not use Walmart, Costco (for the most part), or Centrum brands.

I usually order ours from vitacost or amazon. Reading reviews helps. If I could, I would just get everything (or at least as much as I could from Standard Process).

 

These ones I know from personal experience are good:

Carlson’s

Nature’s Way

New Chapter Organics

NOW

Enzymatic Therapy

Solgar

The Vitamin Shoppe

Garden of Life

 

I've heard many times that the following are very good, but I have not yet tried them.

Rainbow Light

Nature’s Plus

Nordic Naturals

Health from the Sun

Jarrow

Member’s Mark

Pure Encapsulations

Puritan’s Pride

Shaklee

Darwin’s

Vitamin World

Zone Perfect

Metagenics

 

As Peela once so wisely suggested, I avoid supplements from multi-network companies.

[5KidzRUs]

I am taking Pure Essence Labs "One 'n' Only" - 11,000 mg whole foods power.

It is $49. for 90 pills.

Can anyone tell me if this is a good brand or not? Thanks!

[Peela]

Yes, make sure you dont buy from multi network companies- they put such a huge profit margin on their products, even thought their products are often good quality.

The other thing is- if you have a chance to compare several products- check out the quantity of the herb or mineral etc. It can vary widely- I was looking at cranberry supplements recently in a health food store and you could get anything from 500mg to 7000 mg of cranberry in a single capsule.

And thirdly, you will usually, but not always, pay more for a better quality product.

[Guest Katia]

Putting in another vote for NOW Foods supplements. I use them and think they are great! I just order them from Amazon.com and use my Amazon Prime to get them in two days. So far; so good.

 

I can tell you that they have helped lower my hypertension and regulate my blood glucose levels. Really, I'm amazed that supplements can do this for you! I had NO idea. I use Eve (woman's multi-vitamin), CoQ10, D3, E, B12, Ultra Omega 3, and Magnesium Citrate. I'm thinking about adding Olive Leaf Extract as it is supposed to be really good for hypertension as well.

 

My dh uses Member's Mark, which he gets at Sam's Club, with great success. I think he uses the men's multi-vitamin, assorted Bs (doctor directed), and Flax Seed Oil. His blood-work always comes back so good, his doctor tells him he is taking great supplements and to keep with them. (well, the vitamin portion of his blood-work. He has very high cholesterol.....:glare:)

[Desert Strawberry]

I order from Vitacost.com. Good, high quality vitamins, suppliments, herbs and natural health and beauty products at deep discounts. Most of the stuff I order is half the prices I find locally, if I can find it at all.

[RoughCollie]

I read the research at Consumer Lab.

 

http://www.consumerlab.com/

[Negin]

Haven't yet had time to read all the replies, but will soon.

One thing that came to mind just now, look for a short ingredient list. I love Nature's Way - good prices, great product (as far as I can tell for quite some time), and short ingredient list. I can't afford very expensive supplements, particularly since we take quite a lot of them. Nature's Way is on vitacost as are many others. I love the reviews. Very helpful. Vitacost also has the best prices that I have seen.