17 replies to this topic

[ricca91]

Hi guys! I was a long time lurker, and now I decided to begin to write too!

My question to you is: what would you consider to be the best brand of supplements and herbs in your opinion? I'm interested in anectodes.

Especially between NOW, Jarrow's, Source naturals, LEF, Dr. Best and Nature's way. If you have another preference please write it too!

Thanks and cheers!!

[Drax-Quin]

(SmartPowders)Short answer: There is no best brand, only best prices.

Long Answer:

Firstly make sure you aren't being messed around with concentrations. Less is more, on most occasions. Also less is generally safer and more inclined to give you healthy results without side-effects. Just research, sites offer dosages that are ludicrously high for the substance they provide, stuff like Triple-Strength Melatonin is unnecessary. Make sure you understand dosages/chemicals first and prices next. Some sites also pre-stack chemicals like LEF, which is never a good idea. You don't know if one chemical in that bunch could cause a reaction and slow integration is always preferable. Also make sure if you have an extracted chemical that it's concentration is provided, Ginkgo Biloba for instance is often advertised as 6000mg, but that's just leaf extract, the concentrated Gingko there is only 250mg. Gingko is a bad example but you get the idea, don't get cheated out of money for thinking your buying a higher concentration when it's essentially it's diluted. Same goes with chemicals under numerous types, for instance Choline can be provided in CDP, Alpha-GPC, Choline Bitartrate etc. Some sites won't list what kind of Choline is actually provided, Dreamamins for instance provides a Galantamine and Choline product which seems reasonably low priced till you realise they've not provided what sort of Choline is in there. If it's just standard Choline it won't pass the blood-brain barrier therefore it's useless junk. So I just purchased both supplements seperately (SmartPowders provides Galantamine).

Swanson is the best choice however, they're incredibly cheap, provide multiple discounts and have a flat-rate + weight charge for shipping. I recommend you use RetailMeNot to get all sorts of lovely things like 10% off, Free Shipping etc. But for the most part Swanson always has discounts, offers and the prices are just incredibly low. Just purchase from their website and not a 3rd party retailer because 3rd parties don't discount. Anyway aside from that Swanson provides in my opinion one of the biggest selection of supplements, I can find oddly obscure things on their website, I mean literally everything you want is provide and everything is in an acceptable dosage. it's professional and just generally quick and easy. This is coming from someone living in England, so the costs are even low plus international shipping that it has diverted me purchasing from domestic suppliers.

Source Naturals, is moderately pricey but they provide certain goods that I can only get from them. You can purchase their stuff through Swanson anyway and it is generally 30-50% off so it's not too shabby. They're one the few places I can actually get L-Dopa from Mucuna Pruriens (a type of bean), most retailers just sell the actual bean, L-Dopa is very hard to obtain otherwise. Regardless of that they also don't do silly stacks, which most companies do when providing Nootropic type substances, for instance Life-Enhancement provides GalantaMind and that's upwards of $60-100, that product its filled with sleep substances which don't even mix with eachother. Vitamin B5 with 5-HTP for instance just causes Seratonin to metabolize in the gut not in the brain. You'll find Source Naturals on a lot of Nootropic retailers (SmartPowders) because they just provide things simple and plain, no extra crap and no flashy brand labelling.

Dr.Best I would avoid, they're very pricy for traditional supplements, I don't know how much they cost in Argentina, but in England most brands far outweigh them in terms of affordability on supplements across the board i.e Select Healthy, Valupak, Higher Nature, Fortis Health and even Centrum and they are awfully priced and packaged (they're the providers of general Pharmaceutical supplements and tend to package things really flash for dumb consumers). Aside from that I just really dislike their marketing and brand labeling, they smack of that whole Consumer Ignorance/Impulse buying similar to Centrum. They wash their labeling in Brian Boosting and Health Boosting exaggerated tags, that plus the high cost generally makes it clear they're catering to someone who hasn't done their research on how Nootropics/Health Supplements actually affect them. Just avoid basically.

LEF is much worse then Dr. Best because they provide more expensive stuff like Acetyl-L-Carnitine Arginate which is like $59.99 or $39.99 on SmartPowders with a discount, for comparison Swanson does that for $19.95. Less tabs but way cheaper. They're even selling Omega-3 for like $30 and that's only 120 softgel tablets, I can acquire 150 tabs for $4.99! In general I find buying stuff from brands like this a bad idea. Anything
slathered in "Life-Enhancement" with a bunch of added supplements, then slapped with a name like "Ultra Sleep Complex" is a dumb idea + celebrity endorsements from stuff like "The Suzane Show".

Out of the others I haven't had much experience with NOW and Jarrow's. Lastly I just think Nature's Way has an awfully small selection.

Edited by Drax-Quin, 06 October 2012 - 03:25 PM.

[ricca91]

(SmartPowders)Short answer: There is no best brand, only best prices.

Long Answer:

Firstly make sure you aren't being messed around with concentrations. Less is more, on most occasions. Also less is generally safer and more inclined to give you healthy results without side-effects. Just research, sites offer dosages that are ludicrously high for the substance they provide, stuff like Triple-Strength Melatonin is unnecessary. Make sure you understand dosages/chemicals first and prices next. Some sites also pre-stack chemicals like LEF, which is never a good idea. You don't know if one chemical in that bunch could cause a reaction and slow integration is always preferable. Also make sure if you have an extracted chemical that it's concentration is provided, Ginkgo Biloba for instance is often advertised as 6000mg, but that's just leaf extract, the concentrated Gingko there is only 250mg. Gingko is a bad example but you get the idea, don't get cheated out of money for thinking your buying a higher concentration when it's essentially it's diluted. Same goes with chemicals under numerous types, for instance Choline can be provided in CDP, Alpha-GPC, Choline Bitartrate etc. Some sites won't list what kind of Choline is actually provided, Dreamamins for instance provides a Galantamine and Choline product which seems reasonably low priced till you realise they've not provided what sort of Choline is in there. If it's just standard Choline it won't pass the blood-brain barrier therefore it's useless junk. So I just purchased both supplements seperately (SmartPowders provides Galantamine).

Swanson is the best choice however, they're incredibly cheap, provide multiple discounts and have a flat-rate + weight charge for shipping. I recommend you use RetailMeNot to get all sorts of lovely things like 10% off, Free Shipping etc. But for the most part Swanson always has discounts, offers and the prices are just incredibly low. Just purchase from their website and not a 3rd party retailer because 3rd parties don't discount. Anyway aside from that Swanson provides in my opinion one of the biggest selection of supplements, I can find oddly obscure things on their website, I mean literally everything you want is provide and everything is in an acceptable dosage. it's professional and just generally quick and easy. This is coming from someone living in England, so the costs are even low plus international shipping that it has diverted me purchasing from domestic suppliers.

Source Naturals, is moderately pricey but they provide certain goods that I can only get from them. You can purchase their stuff through Swanson anyway and it is generally 30-50% off so it's not too shabby. They're one the few places I can actually get L-Dopa from Mucuna Pruriens (a type of bean), most retailers just sell the actual bean, L-Dopa is very hard to obtain otherwise. Regardless of that they also don't do silly stacks, which most companies do when providing Nootropic type substances, for instance Life-Enhancement provides GalantaMind and that's upwards of $60-100, that product its filled with sleep substances which don't even mix with eachother. Vitamin B5 with 5-HTP for instance just causes Seratonin to metabolize in the gut not in the brain. You'll find Source Naturals on a lot of Nootropic retailers (SmartPowders) because they just provide things simple and plain, no extra crap and no flashy brand labelling.

Dr.Best I would avoid, they're very pricy for traditional supplements, I don't know how much they cost in Argentina, but in England most brands far outweigh them in terms of affordability on supplements across the board i.e Select Healthy, Valupak, Higher Nature, Fortis Health and even Centrum and they are awfully priced and packaged (they're the providers of general Pharmaceutical supplements and tend to package things really flash for dumb consumers). Aside from that I just really dislike their marketing and brand labeling, they smack of that whole Consumer Ignorance/Impulse buying similar to Centrum. They wash their labeling in Brian Boosting and Health Boosting exaggerated tags, that plus the high cost generally makes it clear they're catering to someone who hasn't done their research on how Nootropics/Health Supplements actually affect them. Just avoid basically.

LEF is much worse then Dr. Best because they provide more expensive stuff like Acetyl-L-Carnitine Arginate which is like $59.99 or $39.99 on SmartPowders with a discount, for comparison Swanson does that for $19.95. Less tabs but way cheaper. They're even selling Omega-3 for like $30 and that's only 120 softgel tablets, I can acquire 150 tabs for $4.99! In general I find buying stuff from brands like this a bad idea. Anything
slathered in "Life-Enhancement" with a bunch of added supplements, then slapped with a name like "Ultra Sleep Complex" is a dumb idea + celebrity endorsements from stuff like "The Suzane Show".

Out of the others I haven't had much experience with NOW and Jarrow's. Lastly I just think Nature's Way has an awfully small selection.

Wow, thank you very much for the very detailed answer! Yeah, I suspected that LEF was not a very good brand in terms if price/quality ratio!

I buy supplements from iHerb, a really good site, here in Argentina the supplements are crap and very pricey (example: 30 "new" (as they say) 200 mg resveratrol tablets cost 32 USD! It's crazy!). Valerian root ia carried in tablets which contain a maximum of 150 mg of nom standardized extract. It is neither good nor cheap.

I buy from iHerb and never had any problem!

Happy to receive more opinions!!

[nameless]

I'd probably consider Jarrow and Thorne two of the better brands. Prices being equal (or close), I usually go with them.

Swanson and other brands may also be okay, but it really depends on the ingredient. If Swanson is selling a branded ingredient, I'm usually fine with it. However, if no source is given, I usually pass. For certain supplements, such as fish oil, I'd prefer Nordic or a company that specialized in fish oil, over a store or cheapo brand.

I wouldn't use price as the main way to determine which brand is 'best'. I tend to be conservative regarding supplements, so don't take a lot of herbs, etc. but if I did, I'd certainly want to make sure they are tested properly from a company with their own labs.

Edited by nameless, 06 October 2012 - 11:40 PM.

[Buzzing Health]

Thorne I have found is excellent but I am also amazed at the effectiveness of Swanson vitamins especially as they are so cheap others that work really well are dr christophers and of course NOW

[shaggy]

My favourite brand is Jarrow, for me their quality and range is excellent.

I also like Dr's Best and NOW, although I use less of their ranges these days, particular NOW, as I have been disappointed with several of their formula's. I also think Healthy Origin's are worth considering, their prices and quality seem spot on and the range is expanding slowly.

Edited by shaggy, 07 October 2012 - 11:39 AM.

[nupi]

I take issue with the comment about LEF, while they certainly are not cheap, they are pretty decent value for some products. Their Fish Oil is top notch (plus I happen to like the fact that there is EVOO polyphenols in it) and they provide independent CoA to prove it (I think Nordic Naturals does so too but there we are really talking about expensive). Similarly their Super K K1/K2 mix is among the most affordable out there and well balanced. Finally, they are among the very few companies who offer 0.3mg timed release Melatonin, at all.

If you want low priced from iHerb, go for Jarrow or NOW (however, neither of them offers a decent multi at any price).

In the end it depends a lot on the actual supplement and in some cases also if you are willing to deal with powders (I am not, with the exception of Whey where there is pretty much no choice)

Edited by nupi, 07 October 2012 - 11:42 AM.

[Drax-Quin]

I take issue with the comment about LEF, while they certainly are not cheap, they are pretty decent value for some products. Their Fish Oil is top notch (plus I happen to like the fact that there is EVOO polyphenols in it) and they provide independent CoA to prove it (I think Nordic Naturals does so too but there we are really talking about expensive). Similarly their Super K K1/K2 mix is among the most affordable out there and well balanced. Finally, they are among the very few companies who offer 0.3mg timed release Melatonin, at all.

If you want low priced from iHerb, go for Jarrow or NOW (however, neither of them offers a decent multi at any price).

In the end it depends a lot on the actual supplement and in some cases also if you are willing to deal with powders (I am not, with the exception of Whey where there is pretty much no choice)

My issue with LEF and many similar supplement brands isn't with the quality of their product, my issue with their Omega 3 wasn't about the ingredients, clearly LEF has a superior brand given they add different forms of the substance which are obscure and have beneficial effects. My issue is simply marketing and cost, I bet you could easily acquire anything of LEF's by buying supplements individually. Plus as I already mentioned this tends to be a better idea anyway, buying things in a pre-stacked in a formula can give unexpected effects.

You may wish for one ingredient for it's nootropic effects while the other has the side-effect of giving you a headache for instance. Buying separately is more cost effective, you get to know which ingredients stack better together (different supplements work better together for different people) and you don't get the chance of a nasty side-effect. That is simply general advice, not necessarily related to a problem with LEF but a problem with general supplement purchasing. I see a lot of people on here with stacks the size of the Magna Carta, and then they post about how they have a headache or they're bleeding out of their ass and wonder what the issue is.

[Kevnzworld]

I like LEF products for the most part . I think that sometimes their doses are excessive in the multi ingredient products. That's why I buy most of my supplements individually.
I also like Jarrow formulas .
With both I know that the quality is good.

[Matt79]

Blue Bonnet has a really decent approach that gives me the most honest and transparent vibe, but their selection is not huge. For example when I was researching fishoil, they were one of the few that used a more expensive TG form, rather than the EE (ethyl ester) form that's 80%+ of encapsulations use. Also they have EPAX as a supplier, which is renowned for quality.

However, on the more pragmatic side of things I often end up with NOW or Jarrow (even though the CEO of Jarrow is emo/unprofessional).

Edited by Matt79, 08 October 2012 - 03:05 AM.

[Matt79]

Also, I'd just like to add, the "best" approach maybe to avoid purchasing from a single brand. It's unlikely that a mega-brand is going to be the best-in-class over a whole range of categories.

For example for Beta Glucans, I use Transfer Point. For Astaxanthin, I might use AstaVita/AstaReal (subsidiary of Fuji Chemical).

Edited by Matt79, 08 October 2012 - 03:14 AM.

[dear mrclock]

there are mostly crap brands even the names you guys mentioned sometimes fail to deliver. i wouldnt trust either one specifially for long term on all types of vitamins.
one i can think of that has always failed in quality has to be that Solaray crap. never buy those seriously, not any of theirs worked.

[Pirate]

What do you guys think of Vitasoft's house brand?

[nupi]

My issue with LEF and many similar supplement brands isn't with the quality of their product, my issue with their Omega 3 wasn't about the ingredients, clearly LEF has a superior brand given they add different forms of the substance which are obscure and have beneficial effects. My issue is simply marketing and cost, I bet you could easily acquire anything of LEF's by buying supplements individually. Plus as I already mentioned this tends to be a better idea anyway, buying things in a pre-stacked in a formula can give unexpected effects.

Where exactly do you get a cheaper option to match their Super K product? NOW sells MK7 stand-alone at approx the same price but then you still do not have MK4 (and its not exactly clear if we are better off with MK4 or MK7, really) or K1 for that matter plus it comes in a rather sub-optimal gelcap rather than in a softgel.

Anyway, about the only thing I truly buy pre stacked is AOR's Multi Basic 3 because its just way too much hasse to replicate a decent multi individually (I much rather have it at baseline and add the specific things I want more of, notably K, D and Mg).

As for their fishoil, I am all ears for a well priced, known to be good fish oil. NOW's Ultra Omega has a good price but I more than once had broken softgels effectively spoiling the whole batch...

[ricca91]

Thanks for the reply guys! I recently bought Jarrow's Rhodiola and for now I'm having quite good results, next time I'll buy NOW and compare the results! Seems like these two are quite solid, along with LEF (but its price it's simply too high) and Bluebonnet.

Keep the opinions coming!

[j03]

Thorne or AOR. I do like Jarrow for more reasonably priced supplements.

[Drax-Quin]

For certain brands of course make sure to check percentages. With stuff like Gingko you require 22% glycosides and 5% terpene lactones. For Rhidola you're looking for of 3% rosavins and 0.8–1.0% salidroside. Typically I haven't had much problem but it's something you should consider. Certain brands will dupe you by not providing these and all you're doing is taking a useless leaf. Other brands I've heard use a cheap substitute to get to these chemicals or provide lesser amounts then the necessary ratio of the above, which makes the efficacy poor.

It's something to consider but in most cases prices are what to look for. Simple because being duped like that with percentages rarely happens anymore. I remember with Gingko there were various tests done by ConsumerLabs that verified way back in 2000 that multiple supplement brands simple failed to provide the necessary concentration of glycosides and terpene, effectively meaning you were getting ripped off. Since then I haven't seen much of a problem, but I'd remain wary as usual.

What I want to make absolutely clear. Is that just because the retail price is cheaper for a certain concentration (500mg) or has more capsules (120) this does not mean the supplement is the cheaper option.

For instance:

-Now Foods Rhodiola Rosea = $7.99 | 60 caps | 500mg
-Jarrow Formula Rhodiola Rosea = $13.9 | 60 Caps | 500mg

Initially it would seem Now Foods is the no-brainer option. However Jarrow provides 5% rosavins, which means per capsule you get 25mg worth of rosavins. Whereas Now Foods only provides the standard 3% or 15mg of Rosavins. The difference is trivial in this case but in some brands/supplements it is very significant . Some brands will get easy money by changing more at a higher concentration (1000mg), when in truth they don't provide the effective chemicals in a standard or decent ratio. Some brands will also appear cheaper initially but provide lower concentrations aswell.

I hope that clarifies what I meant previously about prices and concentrations, just research the supplements and the concentration the brand is using and you'll be good.

Also when I'm referring to pre-stacked I don't mean multi-vitamines or ACES, anything like that is normal and traditional in nature. I'm saying be wary of stuff like "Higher Mind" or "Brain Booster XXX" you get the idea. One example right now which I think we can all agree upon is Onnit and it's whole selection of supplements, they're over-priced, low dosages and awfully stacked (B6 with 5-HTP and L-Tryptophan = disaster). When it comes to herbal supplements there efficacy is debatable at best even in most scientific research journals and published papers. Gingko, Ginseng and Rhodiola being some of the few you can count on. I say this because if you get an great effect from a pre-stacked formula it may likely be a handful of things contributing to that, which buying separately would achieve at a lower cost. You get to experiment, know what's good, what's useless and what's giving you that terrible headache.

Edited by Drax-Quin, 26 October 2012 - 12:41 AM.

[Galaxyshock]

Nature's Way full spectrum herbs have been high quality in my experience.
Source Naturals seems to deliver at least legit vitamin and mineral supplements.
Now brand is usually the cheapest and most of the time the quality is acceptable altough some of their herbs aren't standardized well.