Vitamin Reviews
Quality Companies, Quality Pricing
Good quality vitamins and supplements are tough to find at good prices especially since the government puts such lose regulation on the manufacturers. I have looked around the web to bring you some quality vitamin manufacturers that follow GMP (good manufacturing practices), which are well established procedures for quality control. I’ve noticed that the markups at some store retailers like GNC and some drug stores is incredible, but you get the same exact brand name products online for huge discounts!
Who Is GMP Certified?
The vitamin companies listed below are all GMP certified by NSF or other third parties. You can check out the list of NSF certified companies here: http://www.nsf.org/Certified/GMP/.
I am skeptical of the NSI brand products as the company completely ignored my e-mails questioning their manufacturing standards. I am not the only consumer this has happened to, but they are listed on the NSF website under Nutraceutical Life Sciences.
Products such as designer protein, weight loss supplements, ginseng, fish oil, multi-vitamins, and anything else you’re taking are all available. My favorite vitamin shop is Puritan’s Pride because of their high manufacturing standards and low prices. Just wait for their 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 sales and you will get a good deal.
Where to Learn More About Supplements
You will also get free access to nutritional research and other nutritional product information from the websites below. It’s a good idea to find out if there is any factual information or research regarding the effectiveness of any supplements that you’re interested in taking.
It is also important to check out the safety of natural products in combination with prescription medication. Some natural products like Kava Kava have actually been banned from the market in other countries! You can always call your pharmacy if you’re not sure about a drug interaction. Most pharmacists are well educated about the effects of vitamins and herbal products.
A Few Product Suggestions
Some of the best products with some evidence for use include glucosamine for arthritis, cranberry for possibly preventing UTIs, and garlic for mild reduction of blood pressure. The effect of lowering cholesterol with red yeast rice or fish oil also appears promising.
Although the FDA does not approve nutritional supplements to treat or cure any disease states, if you do your research you will likely find some natural products that may work for you. Just remember that natural does not always mean safe. Educate yourself about the possible side effects that may occur.
#1 Puritan’s Pride
Puritan’s Pride catalogs over 1,000 high quality vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutritional supplements in their state-of-the-art facilities then ships them directly to your home at manufacturer direct prices. Puritan’s Pride’s has invested over $130 million in their manufacturing and quality control infrastructure and follows strict GMP guidelines (Good Manufacturing Practice). They also submit to third party testing with STR so you can be assured that you’re getting quality products.
You’ll also get free or very cheap shipping on your order. Puritan’s Pride is a great place to look for quality products at very low prices!
#2 Life Extension Foundation
LifeExtension.com researches and develops anti-aging products and claims to be the "world’s leading anti-aging organization." Much of their research is done to develop therapies to treat degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, stroke, macular degeneration, etc.
The website has a variety of anti-aging creams, popular vitamins, and other health related products. The Flordia based company claims to be the leader in anti-aging research and product development. You may currently get a free trial subscription to the popular Life Extension Magazine and you could even sign up to be a test subject in one one of their studies!
#3 VitaCost
At Vitacost I found excellent prices on brand name vitamins, protein, gluten-free products, and other nutritional items including organics! Some of the brand names featured include Kashi, NSI, Twinlabs, Burts Bees, MetRx, and OnWhey. Examples of the deals that you’ll find includeJim’s organic coffee starting at $5.99/lb (30% off), Nature’s Path organic cereals starting at $3.49 (25% off), and Nature’s Way "Metabolic ReSet" weight loss shake mix for $23.99 (40% off).
You can also request a free catalog, subscribe to a free e-newsletter published by Dr. Allen Josephs, and enjoy free access to their nutritional research library. Shipping is only $4.99 for your entire order and all products are backed by Vitacost’s 30 day money back guarantee.
#4 Vitamin World
Vitamin World is another favorite for natural product information which you can find in their "health notes" section. Health notes includes information from approximately 550 scientific journals on healthy foods, herbal product safety, weight management, and a variety of other useful things.
In addition to great information, you can find a huge selection of vitamins and earn bonus points by signing up for their Savings Passport Program. The Passport Program is FREE and is sent to you after you make your first purchase online. It will also work when you shop in over 470 of their retail outlets too!
Vitamin World has a user friendly website, competitive pricing, excellent health information, and either cheap or free shipping!
10 Ways to Save in 2010
I stumbled upon this website by accident, and its really awesome! Lots of useful information, especially when wanting to try something new or to find the best product. I love this place! Thanks!
BEWARE OF VITACOST’S OWN “NSI” Products!
Do you wonder why Vitacost’s NSI Brand is so cheap? It’s because they are manufactured in China. They are not certified as manufactured under GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) guidelines. Many customers emailing or calling Vitacost and NSI about this have been ignored.
It is also rumored that Vitacost does not publish negative reviews on their NSI products or their service.
On the flip side, Vitacost does sell products from other companies that are GMP certified, like Jarrow, Natural Factors, and Doctor’s Best. But until they announce and prove that their own NSI products are GMP-safe, I would not buy them ever.
Hey Net Analyst,
Looks like you need to do a little more research.
Let me point out TWO things.
1. Puritans Pride. As you stated they follow GMP guidelines. From their website, “Puritan’s Pride also manufactures products under very stringent GMPs.”
Note however, they are NOT GMP Certified, which brings me to point number 2.
2. VRP – Vitamin Research Products. Their products are actually GMP Certified. GMPs are regulatory requirements that provide guidelines for necessary processes, procedures and documentation to assure the products produced have the identity, strength, composition, quality and purity they are represented to possess.
VRP was rated “Top Products Overall” in the United States and Canada with a score of 93.1%.
* 1,000 American and Canadian multi-vitamin formulas were evaluated
* 508 met the criteria for testing – representing 232 companies
* Less than 1% of the total products compared exceeded a score of 90%
I would highly recommended and add VRP to your website. There prices are reasonable as well.
Thank you for the comment DK. You make a great point! I looked into the matter and it is comforting to know that VRF has received NSF certification for “good manufacturing practices”.
For those not aware, NSF is an independent organization that certifies consumer products and manufacturing programs. One of their certificates is specifically available to nutritional supplement manufacturers. You can search though their complete list at http://www.nsf.org/Certified/GMP/.
I would also like to mention that the source for VRP’s “Top Products Overall” award comes from the Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements. This would be an interesting read for those of you interested in finding out more info on the top supplements.
One another note. I am aware that Puritan’s Pride does not submit to third party testing. They do however still follow GMP guidelines. This is better than most vitamin manufacturers, but clearly not as good as independent certification from NSF.
GMP guidelines are a loose set of rules for quality control published by the FDA. You can find more information on the guidelines at the FDA’s website – http://www.fda.gov/CDRH/DEVADVICE/32.html
VRP likely has some of the best third party GMP certified vitamins on the market at very reasonable prices. I will be sure to add more information about them in the future. Puritan’s Pride sells products that are probably above average at an extreme discount. Depending on your budget and the product quality that you are willing to accept, both of these companies have something good to offer.
The best way to check your vitimans is through the comparative guide to nutritional supplements which costs 19.95 but is the guide Karen Wolfe recommends. she is an MD from Australia and lives in Calif and is an expert on health and nutrition.
There are comparative guides published for all kinds of products and they are independent.
“One another note. I am aware that Puritan’s Pride does not submit to third party testing. They do however still follow GMP guidelines. This is better than most vitamin manufacturers, but clearly not as good as independent certification from NSF.”
With all due sincere respect, I guess my questions would be WHY don’t they submit to third party testing?
And how do we know that they follow GMP guidelines…because they say so?
Perhaps someone could ask them the question…or ask them to come here to explain why no third-party testing?
I have looked into your question regarding Puritan’s Pride and according to a new video on their website they do submit their facilities to third-party auditing for GMP with STR instead of NSF. The web address for STR is http://www.strquality.com/en-us/Pages/default.aspx
You can view the Puritan’s Pride video for quality controls at http://www.puritan.com/house/puritan_tv.asp?aboutus
If you are interested in third-party testing for specific nutritional supplements, then I would recommend checking out http://www.consumerlab.com Membership is $30 per year and they independently test nutritional supplements from various manufacturers. I think that you will find some really great info on this site.
Thanks for this information, I have tries to get an answer from Vitacost as to the country of origin for the NSI products and never had an email returned. I do use them for other products as they are always cheaper. We use the natures way whole food vitamins are they are 20% lower than everywhere else.
Just stay away from NSI
A warning to all who consider Comparative guides are the “end all”. Please see the folowing link http://content.melaleuca.com/wc/pdf/Comparativeguide.pdf
NSI is most certainly GMP certified. It would be listed as:
Nutraceutical Life Sciences . It is on the GMP list.
That is good to know. I have found the information on the “Vitacost” website, but I’m still not sure why NSI did not respond to me or anyone else about the quality of their products when contacted directly. Third party certification is pretty darn important in my opinion and it should be listed on the NSI website so we can make informed decisions.
Everyone needs to be more cautious when it comes to these publications and web sites. I can’t argue with the NSF list, but I bet you have to pay them to get on the list?
Just keep in mind that many of these products are made in China, and some portion of the resources that go into the final products are locally sourced. Anyone remember the lead found in candy made in Mexico? It was in the water they used to make the candy.
These companies make it difficult to find accurate and true information because it is simply in their best interest. Money is king in this game, and that isn’t likely to ever change for 99.9% of these companies.
The book “comparative guide to nutritional supplements” written by Lyle MacWilliam is slanted at a minimum, see here (near the bottom): http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2009/05/12/usanas-sneaky-disclosure/
Also consumerlabcom is also paid by the companies to withhold information, this is a conflick of interest to me! It can’t be unbiased if they accept compensation from the manufactures right?
These companies make it difficult to find accurate and true information because it is simply in their best interest. Money is king in this game, and that isn’t likely to ever change for 99.9% of these companies.
NSI is not on the GMP list (I just checked). I’ve bought them before and was about to do so again but I’ve seen a few articles warning me away.
I thought they were too cheap…
I am surprised to see you endorse Puritans Pride on here. I have used them when at my parents (my stepmother buys them) and I can defineately tell a difference from the vitamins and supplements I buy at my local health food store. They are nowhere near the quality of the products I buy there. The biggest things I noticed was the flaxseed oil capsules and the kelp tablets……..they did virtually nothing when I took them and all I take are vitamins and supplements to treat my Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, asthma, fibromyalga, raynauds syndrome…….I take no drugs to treat any of these problems. I would not spend my money on their junk!
oh yeah, I am a former Pharmacy Technician that knows that most all vitamins and supplements at grocery stores and the such are either rancid or don’t work because they are tablets. People need to read more and become more informed. The government and others are not their to protect us!
Well, Puritan’s product potency is checked by a third party. If you want to get specific info on the best manufacturers, then I would subscribe to Consumer Labs reports because they independently test many of the major vitamin brands. I use Puritan Puritan pride Cal/Mag/Vit D, one of their probiotics, and a time released multi-vitamin. I am very happy with them and the price is right.