Supplements...does brand make a difference and what do you take?

karen1956 · April 2012

I need to start taking several supplements....the doc I am seeing likes PURE Encapsulations that is mail order, but she is also okay with ones from Vitamin Cottage or similar stores...The doc says that the PURE are pharmaceutical grade...what does that really mean and does that really make a difference!!! I looked at Costco today at their brand and Nature Made brand...I don't want to be penny wise and dollar foolish, but then again, don't want to pay more if I'm not getting more....

These are what I will be taking with doses:

Vit D 10,000 iu/day

DIM 200

Folic acid as metfolin

B-Complex (and doc recommends getting it with mefolin instead of taking it seperately)

Calcium citrate 1200

Vit k (forget the dose)

Omega 3 4000/day

Magnesium citrate 400 mg

Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks, Karen

karen1956 · April 2012

Bump....still hoping to get some responses!!!

madpeacock · April 2012

My integrative doc told me that most grocery store or chain drugstore supplements are not of very high quality and do not tend to be as effective. Some may sit on the shelves for months. That said, they are definitely cheaper - and tend to be on buy one/get one free specials. I have found that some of these have fillers that I don't want - I'm gluten free, for example - but I also do not want soy , dairy, or other odd fillers in my supps.

I order a few of my supps through the integrative doc and they are not cheap. I also buy my basic stuff - C, magnesium, B complex, calcium - through Jigsaw Health. Many of theirs are time released so you don't have the the GI issues that jumping right into a full dose of magnesium can give you, for example. You can also take higher doses of C this way. Again, not as cheap as drugstores, but I like their quality and have never had any stomach troubles with theirs.

I recently ran out of calcium and wanted to pick some up locally. All of the drugstore brands contained SOY! I finally found Caltrate at Target and at $14 a bottle, it was at least twice if not 3X the price of the cheaper ones, but it didn't have soy.

I believe pharmaceutical grade means they have to adhere to the same standards as prescription medications.

Just my experience, but hope it helps!

dlb823 · April 2012

Karen, I've been a heavy supplement user for 30 years, and I can tell you there's a huge difference in brands, although it's not always easy to figure out which ones are all that they claim to be. Most supermarket and drugstore brands are synthetic. They are often singular nutrients (even if combined into a multi), not derived from whole foods, so they are missing all of the micronutrients that exist in food. They can't nourish our bodies the way food does, and sometimes even stress our bodies trying to get rid of them -- especially the binders, shellacs and artificial colors many of them contain. In general, the next step up are the natural brands you can get at Whole Foods and other natural foods markets. Most of them are derived from food sources, but there's a difference in both the quality of the source (i.e. organic, non-GMO, etc.), the processes (e.g. cold pressed vs. high heat) used to make them, and the binders, fillers, etc., which often account for the differences in prices between similar supplements. You really have to read labels to ascertain the differences even amongst these higher-quality natural brands. The highest grade are the pharmaceutical grade supplements that most integrative doctors recommend.

I sometimes think whether or not people can actually feel the differences between these depends a lot on what else we put into our bodies. I eat pretty clean, and in the past when I tried a calcium citrate supplement from Wal-Mart (on a cost savings whim), they literally made me sick. OTOH, I recently started using a product my ND RX'd for me by Pure Encapsulations (the same brand your doctor likes; maybe the same product?), and I swear I can feel my body just soaking it up! UCLA's Reflections shop also stocks several pharmaceutical grade brands, and sometimes I check their website to find those brand names (since I know they spent a lot of time researching them), even if I cost compare and buy them elsewhere.

I try to stock up when I see high quality supplements on sale, and Sprouts does a 25% off sale on their supplements a few times a year. Some on-line places like VitaCost offer discount prices, but to tell you the truth, with all the fake drugs out there, I think the lesser-known pharmaceutical grade brands are much less likely to be forged, which might be another reason for justifying their cost. Another cost saving trick, depending on the supplement, is to take it only 6 days a week or maybe skip the weekend. Deanna

Anonymous · April 2012

I am not objective about this - I DEFINITELY think the brand makes a difference. I looked at several at Costco - and I was amost sick at the "fillers" - including so much wheat, soy. I'm gluten free and avoid soy (E+). I get all my vitamins online, since I can no longer walk the mile or so to The Apothecary in Bethesda MD. I hope this doesn't sound like a sales pitch ( violating rules) but I trust them and have used their Pathway produts for more than 30 years. http://www.myvillagegreen.com/

I only use the Pathways ( their own brand) so can't speak for any others. Also on sale til 4/30. They have thise sale 3 times a year. I buy everything online, wel, I call them, and order.

ETA: Just looked this up http://www.pureencapsulations.com/aboutus.asp must be what you & Deanna are talking about - but seems you can only get through a doc?

Good luck whatever you decide to do. It's what Deanna says - I live in a verey rural area, not near stores, so I buy online.

Kadia · April 2012

The Consumer Lab website is a great resource. They are like the Consumer Reports of supplements. They test and rate a variety of brands, and a variety of different supplements. It costs $ but might be worth it.

MariannaLaFrance · April 2012

I use Whole Foods store brand (their brand is often cheaper than the others), and Designs for Health. I get the Designs brand through my nutritionist. I do think the brand makes a difference, though I have been known to get the gummy Vitamin C Esters at Walmart from time to time, since I consume A LOT of Vitamin C during allergy season.

MariannaLaFrance · April 2012

And, New Flower market seems to have less $$ vitamin products. I go to New Flower and Natural Grocers.

momoschki · April 2012

FWIW, my integrative onc has me taking a number of supplements from Pure Encapsulations also. A number of others from Thorne and a couple from Jarrow.

karen1956 · April 2012

I went to Vitamin cottage today and spent some time with the gal there....she didn't seem to think that there was a difference between the brands other than if they are vegetarian or vegan....I have some questions for the doc about the Omega 3 and the Vit K......I bought supplements at Vitamin cottage....and for mid range it was over $70....not sure what I am going to do....think I'm going to email the doc and ask what she thinks of the brands I get and then decide...she wasn't against the ones that Vitamin cottage sales (similar to what Sprouts or Whole food sales)....I've been on DHEA/Testosterone and Armour thyroid for 2 weeks now and not sure that I see a difference....Thanks for all your help....its appreciated.....

chefmb · May 2012

Momoschki,

I see you are in NY. Can you recommend an integrative oncologist in NYC? I have been searching for one but not sure who to go to. Thanks so much.

karen1956 · May 2012

Does anyone have supplements bother their tummy besides me!!!! I've been on 8 different ones including calcium, magnesium, Vit D, Vit K, folic acid, omega 3, DIM and B complex and I'm finding that I need my calcium again...not eating as much and not snacking (now that might be good as far as loosing the 13# I need to loose)...but tummy was much better when i was off everything...Spine is osteoporosis, so I know its in my best interest to stay on the Vit D, calcium, mag and Vit K...but wondering what words of wisdom anyone has....

dlb823 · May 2012

karen, when do you take your supplements? I not only need to break them up throughout the day, but I'm careful to take B-Complex with a full stomach and Omega 3s before I go to bed. The B-Complex especially makes me nauseous if I forget and take it on an empty stomach.

chefmb, until you get a specific recommendation, this website might be helpful: http://www.integrativeonc.org/ Deanna

MariannaLaFrance · May 2012

Karen,

To back up what Deanna says, my nutritionist cautioned me to break my supplements up during the day. It's quite time consuming to think that way initially, but once you do this you may not experience so much tummy upset.

As for the magnesium, I am on magnesium glycinate, as it's supposed to be good for those with sensitive digestive systems. My zinc is also chelated and is supposed to be good for stomach, though sometimes it upsets me if I don't eat enough.

I take my morning pills with a full breakfast, and the only pills I take later in the day are additional calcium with lunch, then I take (on varying days) Turmeric (ON FULL STOMACH) or CoQ10 (ON FULL STOMACH). Those two in particular make my stomach hurt. And they are a killer if you take them together!!

I take another magnesium glycinate at night, and it makes me sleep like a baby.

Raili · May 2012

I think that brand matters more for some supplements and vitamins than it does for others. I'll take pretty much any kind of melatonin or vitamin D, for example, but will only take high quality, pharmacuetical grade fish oil/omega 3 supplements. In general, I like and trust New Chapter, but their products are so expensive. I get turmeric capsules from Mountain Rose Herbs (online), and when bottles of green tea extract got too expensive, I "subscribed" to Newman's Own organic green tea on Amazon. You get a discount for having it delivered to you automatically on a schedule that you set. By using the teabags instead of the concentrated extract, I'm not getting quite as much as my naturopath recommended...but I steep 3 green teabags at once, and add lots of coconut sugar and almond milk.

Supplements...does brand make a difference and what do you take?

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