Hey - thanks for that. I'll follow your advice. Could you also let me know which order sites you are using, I'll basically lived off iherb for a while.
I've lived off iherb myself. ...Still do, for the things they still carry.
They've got a little Douglas Labs, AOR, and Metagenics, but not much. I think most people just go for the cheapest option and figure it's basically the same, so they probably don't get as much turn over with those items. It's too bad. I didn't know how much difference there was either until I experienced it personally a couple of times, despite my naturopath having tried to tell me.
There may be other options that are cheaper and equally effective. ...I just haven't found them personally. And every time I've tried to make a move to a non-professional brand (with various types of supplement, not just gut stuff - the difference in methyl B12 and melatonin pretty much blew my mind
), I've noticed a HUGE difference, even when the brand is pretty credible and the dose is supposed to be identical. I'm not sure what other differences there are that save those companies money, but I definitely think it has an impact. A few of those times I didn't even know that I was taking a different brand - we ran out and my husband replaced them without telling me (not knowing there would be a difference), then let me know when I was confused over what the heck was going on with my body and why my supplement suddenly stopped working. I've had it happen to me enough times unexpectedly now that I won't trust the cheaper brands for anything that's truly important. Seems like it's not actually a better deal at all.
I don't really have a great online source for some of that stuff... I've ordered from various places, but am also lucky enough to have a great health food store right near me, so we've bought a lot of supplies from them as well. I can give you a couple of options that I have ordered from without any problems, but I'm not championing them in particular or anything.
I also can't speak for sure on how their supplements are stored before transport or how much turn over they have, but I haven't noticed any issues.
Health Palace carries AOR products and some Douglas Labs, Pure Encapsulations, etc. as well. They're Canadian based (AOR is a Canadian line), but ship internationally. They carry
both brands of enzymes I use. I've found them very reliable, though their website search is a bit on the slow side and drives me slightly crazy. They have PayPal as their preferred method of payment. You can buy an ice pack from them to be shipped with your order, to help offset any problems in transport, which I like.
Pure Caps Pro seems like a great resource if you're in the US. They've got the full line of Pure Encapsulations stuff, and seem to have a direct connection to the manufacturer, which means they're likely to be reliable and to have fresh stock. They won't ship to Canada, though.
Not sure about other countries. (there's an equivalent for Douglas Labs and Pure Encapsulations Canada, but their selection is slightly different)
Integrative Psychiatry seems to have pretty much the full line of Douglas Labs, Pure Encapsulations, and some other stuff that I haven't tried so can't vouch for. Don't be put off by the name - they seem to be advocating natural supports for mental health issues, but the online store selection covers the full spectrum of things. They're based in the US. I haven't used them as much (the shipping is more expensive for me), but when I have it's been okay. They ship to Canada. Not sure about other countries.
Hope that helps at all. If anybody else has good reliable sources for AOR, Douglas Labs, or Pure Encapsulations supplements (especially ones that will do foreign shipping so lots of us have access), I'd love to hear them.