Websites to order vitamins

[Gawan]

I just want to report that I'm having problems currently with the tariff here in Germany when ordering from iherbs.

They have 'caught' the package (product value around 60 €) and are now checking whether melatonin, 5-htp and probiotics
are allowed in Germany (that is, the quantities/dose of the supplements). On top of that I have to pay duty on the supplements.
I learned that for every parcel from overseas which has a product value of more than 20€ I have to pay duty.
Guess I was lucky that my previous iherb order slipped through their fingers.

Question to other German members: what is your experience with this, and what measures do you take?
Ordering strictly from EU? Ordering in small amounts only, that is, many orders at iherbs, and each of them being below the value of 20€?

You can buy things from 22-150 Euros, but you have to add 19% income tax on the price (the total sum includes shipping cost then too). If you buy more than 150% you have to pay another fee, but I can't remember what it is called.

The products you mentioned should be fine, as long as they are supplements and no medications (hormones for example are forbidden: like melatonin)

To buy in Europe supplements imo is still too expensive, so I would go again ordering supplements from overseas. Ordering in smaller amounts I did before, but then you have to add again and again shipping costs. :)

At the beginning I didn't take too much measurement and I was on the lucky side, but it left me unsatisfied, so I did call two month ago the customs, to know for sure how much I have to pay. But it can get even more complicated, what for supplements are allowed, because each state has different laws, the customs don't know it, so that you have to call the ministry of a state. Well, bureaucrats. :)

 

[Thor]

I just want to report that I'm having problems currently with the tariff here in Germany when ordering from iherbs.

They have 'caught' the package (product value around 60 €) and are now checking whether melatonin, 5-htp and probiotics
are allowed in Germany (that is, the quantities/dose of the supplements). On top of that I have to pay duty on the supplements.
I learned that for every parcel from overseas which has a product value of more than 20€ I have to pay duty.
Guess I was lucky that my previous iherb order slipped through their fingers.

Question to other German members: what is your experience with this, and what measures do you take?
Ordering strictly from EU? Ordering in small amounts only, that is, many orders at iherbs, and each of them being below the value of 20€?

You can buy things from 22-150 Euros, but you have to add 19% income tax on the price (the total sum includes shipping cost then too). If you buy more than 150% you have to pay another fee, but I can't remember what it is called.

The products you mentioned should be fine, as long as they are supplements and no medications (hormones for example are forbidden: like melatonin)

To buy in Europe supplements imo is still too expensive, so I would go again ordering supplements from overseas. Ordering in smaller amounts I did before, but then you have to add again and again shipping costs. :)

At the beginning I didn't take too much measurement and I was on the lucky side, but it left me unsatisfied, so I did call two month ago the customs, to know for sure how much I have to pay. But it can get even more complicated, what for supplements are allowed, because each state has different laws, the customs don't know it, so that you have to call the ministry of a state. Well, bureaucrats. :)

I just want to chip in my two cents as I have had a recent experience with getting supplements into the EU (Denmark) from iHerb. I recently ordered a big package from iHerb.com to be sent to Denmark. It was also held back in customs like you describe. I had to pay VAT (25%) and a import fee (EUR 25). In the end it was still cheaper than buying in the EU but 25% more expensive than buying in the US :(

However, I also received a letter that the following products had been removed from my package: 5-HTP, Melatonin and GABA. I call up the authorities as I found it puzzling that I could buy the exact same products from the exact same manufacturers (I think it was NOW) within Europe. I was informed that it is not illegal to buy these products within the EU but it is illegal to import them into the EU. Therefore, I ordered the same products from a UK seller and received them without problem.

On several (two to be precise) occasions, I have ordered one or two supplements from iHerb. This way, their shipping costs are very low - only $4 which means that it is easier to stay below the EUR 20 limit. However, 4$ of shipping on a product of $ 12 is still 33% price increase :(. The restrictions on 5-HTP, GABA and Melatonin as well as others obviously still apply.

 

[dantem]

Just a note here. Can't remember if I've already posted it...

A while ago I've purchased 'DiMagnesium Malate' by Smart_City, and it tasted really bad. The recommended "metallic taste" wasn't there at all, and it seemed to sort no effect.

 

[Voyageur]

Q - can anyone tell me if there is a particular trusted supplier in Canada that has access to most things discussed here and elsewhere in the forum including DMSO?

Locally the response is, don't have that but will see if we can get it; and then don't follow through.

Thanks :)

 

[Jacques]

Q - can anyone tell me if there is a particular trusted supplier in Canada that has access to most things discussed here and elsewhere in the forum including DMSO?

Locally the response is, don't have that but will see if we can get it; and then don't follow through.

Thanks :)

All i can say, since I am a Canadian too, is that I order most of my vitamins (including DMSO) from the USA. It is a lot cheaper.

However, I have ordered DMSA from Canada.

 

[Voyageur]

Q - can anyone tell me if there is a particular trusted supplier in Canada that has access to most things discussed here and elsewhere in the forum including DMSO?

Locally the response is, don't have that but will see if we can get it; and then don't follow through.

Thanks :)

All i can say, since I am a Canadian too, is that I order most of my vitamins (including DMSO) from the USA. It is a lot cheaper.

However, I have ordered DMSA from Canada.

Thanks Gandalf, will use your initial list; was thinking with shipping and duty, finding a supplier within Canada would be reliable and cheaper.

 

[Aiming]

Thanks Legolas and Thor for relating your experience with the customs!

The products you mentioned should be fine, as long as they are supplements and no medications (hormones for example are forbidden: like melatonin)

As it turned out, not even 5-htp and probiotics are allowed to be imported into my state from the US. :( I've sent them back, so I'll at least get refunded 80%.

But say, Legolas, where then do you get your melatonin, if you get any?

 

[Sheebah]

Ok, I think this thread is a good place for me to add my knowledge a bit and correct some of the mistakes.

What I'm seeing is a mixed bag of really good info and some links I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Instead of nitpick over all the details I'll give out my guidelines and you will see from there what is viable and what should be avoided all comes down to one factor:

SYNTHETIC vs. NON SYNTHETIC

Fritz Popp, whom you should all be familiar with since Laura was kind enough to post that awesome excerpt from Lynne Mctaggarts book about him, has proven through his science that synthetic vitamins and supplements damage DNA over time.
http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=7462.0

The wisdom of his science also lead my favorite nutritional mentor Dr. Bob Marshall to determine that FILLERS also interfere with healing and can damage DNA (stuff like magnesium stearate is to be avoided).

So when it comes down to it, a lot of the products out there are garbage. Sure, many of these supplements give a boost at first but later they cause all kinds of issues like liver stagnation and whatnot.

I also personally avoid 5-HTP. IMO, it turns to quinolinic acid in too many people, plus I have yet to see a truly good product. Also, there are easier more natural ways to boost the seratonin (camu camu for one). It's something I say use with caution if you really want to try it. I think Laura posted some good guidelines about it the seratonin thread.

So with that in mind here are my favorite links which include the products from one of the few manufacturers I use:

_http://phpure.com/ (best link for Canada)
_http://www.qnhshop.com/home.php
_http://healthline.cc/
_http://www.quantumnutrition.com/

PRLabs are so far ahead of the game it puts most of the other companies in the dust. If only I'd found them sooner. 10 years ago I was worth a quarter of a million and lost most of it over my health. Yup. Spent over $60,000 on supplements and remedies alone. I was DESPERATE and the truth is my problem would never have been resolved had Dr. Marshall not come along and revealed the insideous mycoplasm infection that I had. These people are so far ahead of the parasites I cannot recommend them enough. Nothing but morgellons eludes them, really.

They also use a very advanced system of utilizing the knowledge of the meridians to figure out what's wrong and what needs to be dealt with (Quantum Reflex Analysis). It's too complicated to go into here but the mud pack therapy helps get the surface meridians in the ground substance of the flesh to get MOVING. When the meridians are flowing the nutrients you ingest actually get to the tissues that need them. When there is stagnation sometimes the nutrients don't even make it to these tissues.

Plus, lower astrals HATE THE MUD. I find it be an incredible psychic relief actually.

In fact, my secret to beauty and health is MUD and CLAY. French green clay and magnetic clays are out there too. Bathe in them and put them on your skin!!!!

Really at this point all my health problems are due to my own will power issues I have no excuses (ok maybe money plays a role sometimes this stuff gets expensive and can't always keep up on it).

For when I'm poor, it's always about the seaweed. I can always afford that and no one should NOT be eating seaweed the iodine is beyond needed, even if it's taken in capsules it's one of the most necessary superfoods.

Oh and one more thing, for the poor esp, non synthetic vitamins D3!!!!!!
If you live in a cloudy cold climate this is the one supplement that can do wonders and it's cheap and safe (most D3 is garbage!):
_http://www.qnhshop.com/D3-Serum-Quantum-.5fl-oz.html

The other company I feel is viable is New Chapter. Their products are on store shelves in much of the states and Canada and tho expensive are definitely high quality comparatively.

And finally, my other new secret:
_http://www.naturalnews.com/030294_MSM_health_benefits.html

So I hope my gift of knowledge here helps, you guys deserve the best info you're clearly looking for it! ;D

moderator: disabled links

 

[truth seeker]

Plus, lower astrals HATE THE MUD. I find it be an incredible psychic relief actually.

Hi Sheebah,

Can you clarify this for me? More specifically, how do you know this? Thanks. :)

 

[1984]

Ok, I think this thread is a good place for me to add my knowledge a bit and correct some of the mistakes.

What I'm seeing is a mixed bag of really good info and some links I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.

Hi Sheebah, it would be helpful to forum members if you would provide more data as to what 'mistakes' you refer to above along with 'what you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole'. General inferences require clarification for members to understand your position.

Do you have a background in medicine?

 

[Sheebah]

Plus, lower astrals HATE THE MUD. I find it be an incredible psychic relief actually.

Hi Sheebah,

Can you clarify this for me? More specifically, how do you know this? Thanks. :)

Sure!

What I have found is that when things get "murky" for me astrally that if I take a mud bath it clears.
And what I mean is that when I sense STS astral attack or even thought forms weighing on me after a long stressful day any and all "company" clears with the mud, at least temporarily.
I can only speak for myself but I have found over the years that as a highly sensitive individual with a lot of psychic inclinations I'm a constant target. It's an ongoing learning process of keeping myself "clear". Surely the people of this forum understand.
Mud and the minerals in the mud seems to ground it out. As I said it gets the meridians moving if I do a bath or packs with the mud and that in itself is clearing.

 

[Sheebah]

Hi Sheebah, it would be helpful to forum members if you would provide more data as to what 'mistakes' you refer to above along with 'what you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole'. General inferences require clarification for members to understand your position.

The biggest mistake is taking any sort of synthetic supplement and there are many in the links provided. Literally all the B vitamins are synthetic and so is much of the rest of it, you have to look at the label and even ask the company in many casese. There are also many links with supplements that have fillers. I avoid binders, fillers, glues and gelatin capsules as a general rules.
Here are some examples (I really don't have time to go through ever single link, that is why I provided guidelines of no synthetics, no fillers):

_http://www.imedmart.com/
(the "NOW" brand is garbage IMO, and synthetic melatonin taken more than a few times is also not a good idea)
_http://www.imedmart.com/
(Jarrow, Natures Way, Country Life, Garden of Life....all have fillers and synthetics)


As I said before New Chapter is OK. Best to go company by company and look at the INGREDIENTS!
Also, not sure what is legal and not legal and importable in the UK and EU. I know the laws over there are getting ugly, not sure what is available.
I'm also not too jazzed about Mercola's products, but Mercola himself is a GEM of a man.

Do you have a background in medicine?

I'm a nutritional consultant since 2004. I no longer take clients but did for years. I also have extensive hours of workshop training in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine.
Again, not ALL products in all the links are bad. The basic guidelines are usually a solid way to get good products. Yet there is something to the integrity of a company and if they put fillers in one product it means there is a quality compromise in their operation. They will be more likely to compromise quality in other hidden ways such as irradiated herbs and solvent extracted oils. This is why I like to stick with a few companies that have a solid track record all around. Most of them don't. :/

 

[stellar]

Plus, lower astrals HATE THE MUD. I find it be an incredible psychic relief actually.

Hi Sheebah,

Can you clarify this for me? More specifically, how do you know this? Thanks. :)

Sure!

What I have found is that when things get "murky" for me astrally that if I take a mud bath it clears.
And what I mean is that when I sense STS astral attack or even thought forms weighing on me after a long stressful day any and all "company" clears with the mud, at least temporarily.
I can only speak for myself but I have found over the years that as a highly sensitive individual with a lot of psychic inclinations I'm a constant target. It's an ongoing learning process of keeping myself "clear". Surely the people of this forum understand.
Mud and the minerals in the mud seems to ground it out. As I said it gets the meridians moving if I do a bath or packs with the mud and that in itself is clearing.

We are all constant targets of the STS just as we are all STS anyway until we graduate. You must have read that over the years if you've read Laura's 'stuff'.
I guess you have also missed that it is KNOWLEDGE not mud that protects from any kind of attack, a constant intake and sharing of knowledge.I think you will benefit alot from the recommended readings list (I certainly did) and the books might give you some insight about your real 'I'.
Happy readings... ;)
No matter how much we know there is always someone who knows more so noone has the whole cheese by a long shot.

 

[Thor]

SYNTHETIC vs. NON SYNTHETIC

Fritz Popp, whom you should all be familiar with since Laura was kind enough to post that awesome excerpt from Lynne Mctaggarts book about him, has proven through his science that synthetic vitamins and supplements damage DNA over time.
http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=7462.0

The wisdom of his science also lead my favorite nutritional mentor Dr. Bob Marshall to determine that FILLERS also interfere with healing and can damage DNA (stuff like magnesium stearate is to be avoided).

So when it comes down to it, a lot of the products out there are garbage. Sure, many of these supplements give a boost at first but later they cause all kinds of issues like liver stagnation and whatnot.

Hi Sheebah,

Thanks for the interesting info. It points right to one of the central dilemmas I had when starting with supplements recently. I was wondering what your experience has been with dosages. To be more specific, Mark Hyman, in The UltraMind Solution, recommends both essential supplements and a number of supplements one can take, based on the answers to the quizzes in the book. They are mentioned on the forum so you are most likely acquainted with them already.

For instance, on the B-vitamin complex that Dr. Hyman recommends, the quantities of the different components are:

BVitamin B2 (as Riboflavin-5-Phosphate) 50 mg
Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride 40 mg; Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate 10 mg) 50 mg
Folates (NatureFolate™ blend) 2 mg
Folinic Acid (as 5-Formyl tetrahydrofolate) 400 mcg
Vitamin B12 (as Methylcobalamin) 1000 mcg
Zinc (TRAACS® Zinc Glycinate Chelate) 5 mg
Magnesium (TRAACS® Magnesium LYSYL Glycinate Chelate) 10 mg
Trimetylglycine (TMG) 500 mg
Choline 100 mg
Serine 100 mg
N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) 100 mg


In the Max Stress B formula from Bob Marshall's online shop, the contents are the following:

Thiamin(VitaminB1, Thiamin Cocarboxylate) 1.7 mg 110%
Riboflavin (Vit B2 as Riboflavin-5-phosphate) 1.7mg 100%
Niacin (Vitamin B3 as niacinamide) 25 mg 125%
Vitamin b6 (Pyridoxal-5, pyriodoxamine-5, Phosphate) 2.6mg 130%
Folate (5-methyl, formyl tetrahydrofolate) 417 mcg 105%
Vitamin b12 (5 Deoxyadenosylcobalamin) 6mcg 100%
Biotin (D-biotin form) 338mcg 110%
CoEnzyme A (end-chaoin Vitamin B5) 2.6mg
PABA (para Aminobenzoic Acid) 12.5mg
Inositol (Inositol Hexanicotinate) 130mg

As one can see, there is a huge difference in the quantities of the ingredients. Now, I am aware that quantity does not equal quality, but I would like to ask you if the recommended daily dosages are adequate.

Also, I see that none of the sites you recommend carry multivitamins. Have you come across any multivitamins that you recommend and if not, what would you suggest as a substitute?

The supplement world is a jungle so if you can help shed light on some of it that is great :)

 

[Sheebah]

We are all constant targets of the STS just as we are all STS anyway until we graduate. You must have read that over the years if you've read Laura's 'stuff'.

Yes, I am a target for the "STS" polarity imbalance. I knew that before I read Laura and she does a pretty good job of clarifying a lot of the nuances of it. I have a lot of questions about the semantics of STS and STO, yet overall the "gist" is obvious to me from years of study and experience. I think I was pretty up front about my STS side in my first post on this forum actually.

I guess you have also missed that it is KNOWLEDGE not mud that protects from any kind of attack, a constant intake and sharing of knowledge.I think you will benefit alot from the recommended readings list (I certainly did) and the books might give you some insight about your real 'I'.

What a bizzarely assumptive commentary. Isn't is the knowledge of the mud as one tool to help deal with attacks that I'm providing here? I'm sharing knowledge, right? Could you clarify as to what you mean by you "guessing" that I have missed that "knowledge not mud protects". Cause it sounds like classic projection to me.
Mud is but one technique, and an external one at that. I could just as soon ward off the attack without the mud, but I enjoy tri-weekly baths and the mud sure is helpful when it gets severe. Prevention is obviously ideal but I'm not perfect. And yeah, my whole life is about insights into self and the universe so I really don't need you to lecture me about looking into the recommended reading list. Why else would I be posting here if I wasn't studying the materials?

No matter how much we know there is always someone who knows more so noone has the whole cheese by a long shot.

Am I coming across like Miss Know It All? Well I tend to seem that way on a forum. I wonder if you would have said any of that to me if I was sitting next to you. Lost in translation I guess.