Buying health supplements/vitamins

[JR8]

I was writing a post in reply to a topic that just got Locked for spamming.

So now that my post is drafted, it's 'all dressed up but has nowhere to go'

As I think it contains info that might of interest and/or use to others, I thought I'd post it separately, especially as the subject products tend to be so outrageously expensive in this country.

Note to any spammers. Do NOT take this as a cue to start promoting your own goods. The Mods will vapourise you before you have even exhaled...

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http://www.healthspan.co.uk/

In my experience, this is the mother-source for supplements in Europe.

Also what's nice is that they have intelligent packaging. So a packet of vitamins might come in a container the size/shape of a paperback book ... that WILL go into a postbox, or through a letterbox. Order several items? It'll come as one bundle of these packages, like a really fat paperback, the postman pulls off a tear-strip and it turns into one string of small paperback sized connected packages, akin to a length of fat sheets of loo roll, that can be threaded through your door, or detached into the individual packs, and put into a postbox. [As you can tell I'm really quite taken by that concept... oh to have dreamt up and patented that idea!]

Example:
http://www.healthspan.co.uk/products/vi ... flavonoids
£12.95 for a years supply (360). When I go to Check-Out it then gives me a £2 discount => £10.95 (maybe it recognises me as a returning customer, I don't know?). I can't see the postage rates, but in my experience they're quite reasonable.


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Vitamins can in one way, be categorised into two kinds: Water soluble, and fat soluble.

Water soluble vitamins cannot (within reason) be overdosed on, as any excess to requirement is expelled from the body via, [cough], 'water-based means'. For example my daily Vit C pills are 1250% of the RDA. Seems like overkill, but there we are, 1150% gets excreted.

Whereas with oil-based vitamins any excess quantity taken, will be retained within the body. With such vitamins, it is possible to overdose on them. Take as just one example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervitaminosis_A
Overview:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_poisoning

An alternative 'High Street' UK option is simply going to Boots The Chemist (or Superdrug). Boots do jumbo packs of all manner of supplements. They also quite regularly do 'mix and match 3 for 2' offers, and the like. So say a years supply of daily Cod liver oil, Vit C, and A-Z vitamins might come to £25 or S$50. Whilst looking into whether they do mail order to over here, I chanced upon something VEEEEERY interesting! Boots have started a tie-up with Guardian here! (Nine branches so far it seems)
http://www.sg.boots.com/where-to-buy.aspx

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Note: I have no connection to Healthspan beyond being an occasional customer. I know my parents and sister's family use them too, so am suggesting them solely as they've passed the informed, money-conscious and picky 'collective family test'

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Reminder to any spammers. Do NOT take this as a cue to start promoting your own goods. The Mods will vapourise you before you have even exhaled...

[PrimroseHill]

I buy from Holland & Barrett when they have a sale on in the UK. Whilst in the UK, I used to buy Vit C that we supermarket own brand. Sometimes it can be quite competitive.
Nowadays, I either use Comgate via Citibank and bulk buy from UK or US or sometimes, I buy it from Holland & Barrett when they have sales or promotion - usually via Singtel bills

[JR8]

Holland and Barrett sell (or until very recently sold) shark's fin. And they kept on doing so until the howls of global protest became too loud to ignore.

So they are a taboo/verboten brand amongst the diver/marine community.

[stiwi]

Since I moved to Singapore, I have been ordering from iHerb for few years now and it is my number 1 website for stocking all kinds of supplements. They offer very cheap (like US$12 depending on the weight) DHL express shipping to Singapore, which takes 3 business days.

{edited by moderator}

Just keep in mind to keep the orders below S$400 (approx. US$310) including shipping fees in order to not pay 7% GST.

[Sergei82]

And vitamins pass customs in Singapore without problems? I ordered those ones from bodybuilding.com. After being held for 3 months at customs they were sent back.

[JR8]

And vitamins pass customs in Singapore without problems? I ordered those ones from bodybuilding.com. After being held for 3 months at customs they were sent back.

On what basis was delivery refused?

[Sergei82]

No idea. At least I got my refund after a half a year.
All I was ordering is some clothing, protein shakers, protein powder and niacin - that nicotinic acid (vitamin B3), normal one - with flushing effect. For some mysterious reason you can't get niacin in Singapore, only niacinamide which is a derivative from that - no flushing, but no consistent evidence that it works as well (and some liver toxicity). Maybe, usual logic: if it works, there may be some likelihood of side effects (even if nobody seen those), so lets ban it and allow something similar that doesn't work, but chemically close.

[Addadude]

There are certainly some products that are quite innocent (like liver support supps) that contain ingredients like N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) that are not allowed here. Same thing applies to certain pre-workout supplements. Sometimes it's down to pure luck what they let it in or reject. I'm sure certain supplement brands and online stores are on some kind of watch list.

While iHerb is great for vitamin-type supplements, I buy larger items like protein powder from local online stores like Nutri-Forefront.

Otherwise, for general vitamin/mineral supplements, I like buying them from Eden in Peninsula Shopping Centre.