Trustworthy websites to buy supplements from?

[sproggle]

I've been looking at the pros and cons of different supplements and Olive Leaf Extract took my attention.

However a major concern I have is buying supplements online at all. How do you know your getting what you paid for?

What I'm asking is what sites do you know and trust?

In the UK (as far as I know) the most well known natural remedies store is Holland &Barratts, this is a chain I know and trust so I immediately went to their site. However they only sell Olive Leaf Complex Liquid and are unclear about the exact ingredients: "The Olive Leaf Complex contains up to 100 naturally occurring compounds, 12 of which are polyphenolic antioxidants."

Doing a simple search for OLE yields many results and lots with detailed info about content e.g. Ingredients: Standardised Olive Leaf Extract (6% oleuropein), Raw Olive Leaf Powder
It's great there's so many sites that sell it, the problem is I've never heard of any of them!!

I know buying a particular brand of supplement SHOULD be enough to guarantee safety.
But with so many online stores (which lets face it could be set up by pretty much anyone!) and the fact anything can be counterfeit these days I'd love to know which online stores you know and trust and would be most happy buying from??

I've never bought supplements online before so any suggestions appreciated!

 

[_Kim_]

Many of us buy our B12 protocol supplements from iHerb.

Here's their page for OLE products.

 

[MEKoan]

Doesn't Rich Carlson donate a portion of Pro Health profits to ME research? If I could afford supplements, I would consider buying from them.

 

[Andrew]

I think the main thing is to figure out which brand is good, then find a place to buy it. But as far as stores go, I buy from luckyvitamin, iherb, and naturalhealthyconcepts.

 

[oerganix]

I buy online from Herbspro

 

[sproggle]

Cheers everyone for your quick replies, most helpful!!

 

[Jenny]

I've used iherb for years. I'm in the UK. Even with international shipping most of their prices are way below UK prices and they have a huge range.

You have to make sure your order comes to less than 18 though, or you'll be charged import tax by UK customs, which can be expensive.

I'm currently using Natural Factors olive leaf extract which is 15% oleuropein. Been on it a few weeks and feeling dreadful on it. Possibly a good thing!

Jenny

 

[sproggle]

Cheers Jenny!

I've used iherb for years. I'm in the UK. Even with international shipping most of their prices are way below UK prices and they have a huge range.

You have to make sure your order comes to less than 18 though, or you'll be charged import tax by UK customs, which can be expensive.

Jenny

Thanks Jenny it's good to hear about a reputable site that also has great prices

If I order I will definitely make sure it is under 18 -had no idea about the import tax so cheers!

Hope you feel better soon

 

[Sushi]

In the US a lot of us buy from Vitacost.com as they have a huge range and carry many of the good brands--though not the "physician-prescribed" ones. They are very competitive in pricing. My only complaint is they are somewhat disorganized, like if you order something from iherb, if it is out of stock, you are told during the order process. Vitacost emails you this info a few days later. They have been doing better with this though.

Sushi

 

[Dainty]

I can personally vouch for the purity of the products from http://www.healthline.cc/ . I have severe MCS, and long story short they're the only brand where I can generally assume I won't have a reaction to, which is saying a lot. After a really bad mold exposure I did become intolerably reactive to one of their supplements derived from a kind of mold, but other than that the lack of negative reactions ot their products is quite shocking to me, something that I haven't experienced with any other places I've purchased supplements from. I can't say I agree with all their claims, but at the very least my personal experience is that their products are definitely not harmful, and some of them have been quite helpful for me; even essential to my regime.

P.S. I'm assuming that my body is a fairly good indicator, since my body reacts negatively even to the difference between organic produce and conventional produce. I know; my caretaker switched them on me once without my knowledge...and then saw the obvious results.

 

[liverock]

Vitacost customer service is not a patch on iherb.
I once had to wait a month for delivery of a parcel to the UK and when I asked about this late delivery they said this was normal delivery time. Iherb on average takes 4 working days and their shipping and handling are cheaper.

 

[Diva55]

However a major concern I have is buying supplements online at all. How do you know your getting what you paid for?

What I'm asking is what sites do you know and trust?

In the UK (as far as I know) the most well known natural remedies store is Holland &Barratts, this is a chain I know and trust so I immediately went to their site. However they only sell Olive Leaf Complex Liquid and are unclear about the exact ingredients: "The Olive Leaf Complex contains up to 100 naturally occurring compounds, 12 of which are polyphenolic antioxidants."

Hi
I'm in the UK & I avoid Holland & Barett!

I was told that there products are a very low standard along with Boots & Superdrug.
Can't remember the exact reason but it was to do with the active ingredients which are available. eg H&B supplements only give you 5% whilst quality brands give you 50% or something like that.

If you want to buy in a shop go to a local health shop where the staff should be knowledgeable & stock the good quality brands although they are expensive.

Like some in the UK I shop on the internet from the States to save money. I've tried a lot of companies but always go back to Iherb as their prices are MUCH cheaper than in the UK (you can save as much as 75%) and their shipping charge is great at $4 where the package has to be under 3lbs in weight.

As advised keep the order under 18 to avoid customs duty but you can always order a few packages at $4 shipping each.

Besides supplements I get lots of nice toiletries where they are about half the price and you get a huge range.

I've also tried Vitacost where the prices can be cheaper than Iherb on some things but their shipping is more expensive.

Iherb have fabulous customer services where they respond by email very quickly & you can choose a free gift for every order you put in!

I also just like browsing in Iherb as I read a lot of their customer reviews & there product desciptions are usually very good at breaking down the ingredients in case there is something you want to avoid.

I'm sounding like Iherb's PR! I don't use them for everything as there's some things they don't stock like the Simplified Protocol's supplements.

Best wishes

 

[Sushi]

I agree that Vitacost customer service stinks! I once helped someone in Europe straighten out their order and it took several days of phone calls. I don't think they make much sense for Europe, but in the US, if you can deal with their screw-ups, their prices save you money on the same brands that iherb stocks. But...iherb is much easier to deal with.

Sushi

 

[Athene]

I buy everything here (in the UK):

www.nutricentre.com

They only stock the very best quality brands and postage is free in the UK. Their range of products is huge.

The main brand I use is Kirkman Laboratories. The difference in quality is amazing. I actually had a drastic improvement in symptoms when I switched to them. The other great brand is Higher Nature. These 2 labs specialise in products for autistic people and their purity controls (eliminating lead in Calcium, mercury in omega 3 oil and other contamination) are the most stringent of any producer I have discovered. They both collaborate with the leading researchers in methylation disorders etc. to find the best forms of each nutrient for absorption etc.

 

[anne_likes_red]

I buy everything here (in the UK):

www.nutricentre.com

They only stock the very best quality brands and postage is free in the UK. Their range of products is huge.

The main brand I use is Kirkman Laboratories. The difference in quality is amazing. I actually had a drastic improvement in symptoms when I switched to them. The other great brand is Higher Nature. These 2 labs specialise in products for autistic people and their purity controls (eliminating lead in Calcium, mercury in omega 3 oil and other contamination) are the most stringent of any producer I have discovered. They both collaborate with the leading researchers in methylation disorders etc. to find the best forms of each nutrient for absorption etc.

I use Kirkman Labs (for the same reasons as Athene, plus they don't use fillers I need to avoid), also Klaire Labs. I order from those companies direct (to New Zealand) and have never had a problem. Customer service all good!

PS I've also used iherb and agree their service is very, very good.

 

[Hysterical Woman]

I have ordered from House of Nutrition and had good results. The two products I get there inosine from Source Naturals and magnesium glycinate from Douglas Labs.

Good Luck,

Maxine

 

[willow]

Various groups and practioner codes allow up to 25% discount at the NutiCentre. Can't remember how I got mine, if you want to know PM me and I'll try to find out.

They stock Metabolics products which are high quality and nearly all additive free, ditto NutiScene.

If you can grind your own herbs, which is economical Herbs of Grace http://www.herbsofgrace.co.uk/index.phpare pretty much all organic and the told me they only sell stock that is less then 3 months old. Baldwins has case a wide range, unsure of organic/wildcrafted status http://www.baldwins.co.uk/customer-service/aboutus.shtml though some available from Nutricentre.

I too recommend iherb.

Willow

 

[sproggle]

Thanks again to everyone who has replied, I think maybe iHerb got the best response? Not quite ready to make a purchase yet but will refer to your recommendations when I do!

Cheers

 

[velha508]

Olive leaf extract

Thanks again to everyone who has replied, I think maybe iHerb got the best response? Not quite ready to make a purchase yet but will refer to your recommendations when I do!

Cheers

I also shop mainly at iHerb and am extremely happy with them!! The customer service is amazing - though I've rarely needed it (only due to my own errors!!).

Also, regarding the olive leaf extract - I am being treated for dysbiosis - candida and some bacteria overgrowth. I just started several weeks ago and bought Nature's Way brand after seeing it recommended somewhere on this site - it has worked wonderfully for me, I'm have worked up to taking 3 capsules of their 250 mg (12% oleuripin) 2x's a day.
Velha

 

[Athene]

I saw Kenny De Meirleir recently and he told me to buy certain products from this company

http://www.protea-nutraceuticals.nl/

They seem to have special versions of various supplements and seem oriented specifically towards CFS.