Genuine vitamin supplements

[superal]

Does anyone know of an outlet in Thailand that sells genuine / not fake vitamin supplements . I am trying to source  benfotiamine pills but all the normal online companies give me no confidence with much of their produce coming from China and the price variation for the same pill is sometimes huge . I tried my local pharmacies and government hospital but not have any . In the western countries you can normally buy with confidence as the product has established manufacturers with government approval and  licence to produce but I am not aware of such laws in Thailand .

[lopburi3]

Iherb is long established here and what many use - you will also find on Lazada/Shopee but as you note price will vary greatly (many advertise at high price in hope to sell one rather than really being a merchant - it does not mean it is better).  NOW brand is what I use for items I order.  

https://th.iherb.com/pr/now-foods-b-1-100-mg-100-tablets/403?gclid=Cj0KCQiAmpyRBhC-ARIsABs2EAreZqsR-n2__ZS7w0u8drCZQ7DsZ4zy1pFGmyB8_hpr8tZTA6xg4eAaAh9QEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[KhunLA]

KirkLand products have been tested, and contain pretty much what the label says, or so I read.   I stick with that brand for my multi & vit C.  

USP approved ... ????

https://www.quality-supplements.org/verified-products

 

https://www.mskcc.org/news/how-do-i-know-if-dietary-supplement-contains-what-label-says-it-contains

Edited March 9, 2022 by KhunLA

[Sheryl]

I have had no problems at all with US brabds (Puritan's Pride, Kirkland etc) bought through Lazada and Shoppee.

 

However I don't think the have benfotiamine.

 

For that, iHerb is your best bet.

[eezergood]

even ebay for small orders works fine 

[superal]

23 hours ago, KhunLA said:

KirkLand products have been tested, and contain pretty much what the label says, or so I read.   I stick with that brand for my multi & vit C.  

USP approved ... ????

https://www.quality-supplements.org/verified-products

 

https://www.mskcc.org/news/how-do-i-know-if-dietary-supplement-contains-what-label-says-it-contains

 

23 hours ago, KhunLA said:

KirkLand products have been tested, and contain pretty much what the label says, or so I read.   I stick with that brand for my multi & vit C.  

USP approved ... ????

https://www.quality-supplements.org/verified-products

 

https://www.mskcc.org/news/how-do-i-know-if-dietary-supplement-contains-what-label-says-it-contains

Thanks for your info but what outlet do you buy Kirkland pills from . Do you trust Lazada or Shopee as they do sell fakes , probably unknowingly . Also your 2 links are both addressing USA products and it seems that it is not possible for the buyer to get the same level of consumer confidence in Thailand .

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, superal said:

 

Thanks for your info but what outlet do you buy Kirkland pills from . Do you trust Lazada or Shopee as they do sell fakes , probably unknowingly . Also your 2 links are both addressing USA products and it seems that it is not possible for the buyer to get the same level of consumer confidence in Thailand .

LAZ or Shopee the past few years.  Kirkland is readily available here.  Google 'how to spot fake kirkland', as surely some vendors may be selling, with or without their knowledge. 

 

Why I think many use iHerb here, though not myself.  I've used different online sellers, via LAZ & Shopee, and so far, don't think I've had any fakes.  I only take a multi & vit C.

 

My urine tells me I'm getting plenty of vitamins, excess actually, along with immune system apparently running at peak performance ????

[FriendlyFarang]

The vitamins from brands like Kirkland, Centrum etc. found on Lazada/Shopee are usually just grey/illegal imports, not fake.

Somebody in a country where these products are sold cheap sends them to Thailand, and then resells them here. By avoiding taxes he can sell them relatively cheap while still making a profit. This is why these vitamins don't have a Thai FDA registration number or a Thai label.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On this subject, what's been people's experience lately with the mailing/Thai Customs process for buying online abroad and then having small packages ($30 or under valuation) mail forwarded here by regular mail? And how do you fill out the customs declaration in such cases?

 

I've got an upcoming multi-vitamins shipment that I'll be sending onward after an Amazon online purchase. And I seem to remember some stories in the past of people's vitamin shipments getting held up or blocked by Thai Customs (ostensibly because the imported "health" products may not be "registered" for sale here).

 

Of course, I'm hoping to avoid any Thai Customs grief. My regular U.S. mail forwarder and the international mail service they use has been rock solid for me thru the years. But I can't recall ever needing to mail forward vitamins here before (a new shopping priority as we get older!!!  ????   )

 

[KhunBENQ]

I have successfully received supplements from a US company (Piping Rock, NJ) a couple of times without any hassle. Last shipment was here in 10 days!

Package might have been opened for check. Not sure. But no customs.

Shipment not cheap though.

About 15 USD for 1.8 kg.

Tracking shows: shipped by DHL to Frankfurt. Deutsche Post to here. So normal postal shipment.

Other posters use iHerb from the US. Seems to be a more popular name.

Edited March 16, 2022 by KhunBENQ

[superal]

47 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

I have successfully received supplements from a US company (Piping Rock, NJ) a couple of times without any hassle. Last shipment was here in 10 days!

Package might have been opened for check. Not sure. But no customs.

Shipment not cheap though.

About 15 USD for 1.8 kg.

Tracking shows: shipped by DHL to Frankfurt. Deutsche Post to here. So normal postal shipment.

Other posters use iHerb from the US. Seems to be a more popular name.

I ordered and received my supplements from Piping Rock after doing a Google search on them to make sure they are a reputable company .  Bought them from Lazada .  The pill bottle looks authentic with all the product info on the label . Thai suppliers name / importer is IBODY ,based in Chiang Mai 

[Sheryl]

12 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

On this subject, what's been people's experience lately with the mailing/Thai Customs process for buying online abroad and then having small packages ($30 or under valuation) mail forwarded here by regular mail? And how do you fill out the customs declaration in such cases?

 

I've got an upcoming multi-vitamins shipment that I'll be sending onward after an Amazon online purchase. And I seem to remember some stories in the past of people's vitamin shipments getting held up or blocked by Thai Customs (ostensibly because the imported "health" products may not be "registered" for sale here).

 

Of course, I'm hoping to avoid any Thai Customs grief. My regular U.S. mail forwarder and the international mail service they use has been rock solid for me thru the years. But I can't recall ever needing to mail forward vitamins here before (a new shopping priority as we get older!!!  ????   )

 

 

 

 Are you sure Amazon won't ship directly to you in Thailand? If not then  best to use iHerb and have them ship directly, they know how to do it. (Assuming you can't get this same thing from Lazada or Shoppee, both of which have many Western brands).

 

Otherwise I would mark the customs slip "vitamins for personal use" but no guarantee customs will allow it through.

 

By the way the issue with customs is not just  whether the product is registered in Thailand but that import of all pharmaceuticals, including vitamins, requires an FD permit.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

 

 Are you sure Amazon won't ship directly to you in Thailand? If not then  best to use iHerb and have them ship directly, they know how to do it. (Assuming you can't get this same thing from Lazada or Shoppee, both of which have many Western brands).

 

Otherwise I would mark the customs slip "vitamins for personal use" but no guarantee customs will allow it through.

 

By the way the issue with customs is not just  whether the product is registered in Thailand but that import of all pharmaceuticals, including vitamins, requires an FD permit.

 

But direct IHerb shipments here nonetheless seem to get thru successfully?

 

FWIW, my order was for a 200-tab bottle of Centrum Silver for Men, which I got from Amazon as the seller (so it's authentic) for $15, down from their regular price of about $17.50. Lazada prices for the same or similar product are all over the map, but the problem with many of them is, most seem to be no-name sellers of unknown authenticity.

 

The official GSK store on Lazada doesn't even offer a 200 tablet size package of Centrum Silver for men... Instead, they only have regular Centrum Silver, a 90 tabs jar, for 969b... So half the number of tablets for about $30 US, almost double the price of Amazon (not including shipping costs, of course.)  Even with import shipping, my total cost for 200 tabs would be less than the total cost of buying the 90 tablets jar from GSK on Lazada.

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Hummin]

Why take multivitamins?

 

Did you take a blood panel test to find out what you are missing? 

 

Multivitamins are found in effective since some vitamins and minerals using same reseptorer for absorbing, also some vitamins and minerals can harm you if you get to much.

 

There is clinical studies to be found for those who is interested.

 

NB, I do not say vitamin and minerals do not work, I only point out multiple vitamins is waste of money, and better buy each and one you really need instead.

 

,"Is There Really Any Benefit to Multivitamins"

 

John Hopkins article

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/is-there-really-any-benefit-to-multivitamins

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

40 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Why take multivitamins?

 

Did you take a blood panel test to find out what you are missing? 

 

Multivitamins are found in effective since some vitamins and minerals using same reseptorer for absorbing, also some vitamins and minerals can harm you if you get to much.

 

There is clinical studies to be found for those who is interested.

 

NB, I do not say vitamin and minerals do not work, I only point out multiple vitamins is waste of money, and better buy each and one you really need instead.

 

,"Is There Really Any Benefit to Multivitamins"

 

John Hopkins article

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/is-there-really-any-benefit-to-multivitamins

 

Thanks for that interesting article/link... I think it's a conundrum.

 

In my case, I realized from info here on the forum that I'm probably not getting enough Vitamin D from the healthy foods I eat (since I drink almond milk instead of regular milk) along with being mostly indoors these days. So I wanted to deal with that.

 

And then, since I won't/don't eat salmon here and don't much care for tuna, I probably could do better with Omega 3...  And then there are probably a few other items as well...

 

So by the time all was said and done, it was a choice between covering all the bases adequately with a single multi-vitamin, vs. going out and buying and keeping 3 or 4 different individual supplements that I know I should be doing better with.

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

"Vitamin D is the only nutrient your body produces when exposed to sunlight.

However, up to 50% of the world’s population may not get enough sun, and 40% of U.S. residents are deficient in vitamin D.

This is partly because people spend more time indoors, wear sunblock outside, and eat a Western diet low in good sources of this vitamin."

 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-foods-high-in-vitamin-d#_noHeaderPrefixedContent

 

I eat greek yogurt here every day, but the Caroline brand I use has no nutrition label info on it, and a bottle of Thai fresh low-fat milk (Meiji) I happen to have in the frig does have such a label, but makes no mention of Vitamin D. So I'm wondering whether the Thai producers supplement their milk products with Vitamin D or not. PS - Also saw no mention of Vitamin D on my Thai almond milk package label, so apparently they're not adding it there either.... even though:

 

"Because vitamin D is found almost exclusively in animal products, vegetarians and vegans are at a particularly high risk of not getting enough.

For this reason, plant-based milk substitutes like soy milk are often fortified with this nutrient and other vitamins and minerals usually found in cow’s milk."

[Sheryl]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

But direct IHerb shipments here nonetheless seem to get thru successfully?

 

 

 

Yes, they do. Soemhow iHerb has worked this out to seeming perfection.

[Live Long and Prosper]

Fresh fruit and vegetables every day? Home made smoothy to start the day

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Are you sure Amazon won't ship directly to you in Thailand?

 

I don't usually think of relying on Amazon U.S. for direct shipments to TH, because my own U.S. reshipper almost always has better shipping rates and I almost never have to pay any customs duty...

 

But in this case, because of the special issues relating to supplements, I thought, OK, I'll follow your suggestion and see if Amazon as the seller would ship my Centrum Silver direct to Thailand, and I got the answer!

 

 

 

But, thanks to your other suggestion above, I did check Lazada for sellers of Kirkland products from the U.S., and did find several seemingly legit sellers at reasonable prices.

 

So that may be a viable local option for me, depending on how my upcoming import effort goes...

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[lopburi3]

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I don't usually think of relying on Amazon U.S. for direct shipments to TH, because my own U.S. reshipper almost always has better shipping rates and I almost never have to pay any customs duty...

 

But in this case, because of the special issues relating to supplements, I thought, OK, I'll follow your suggestion and see if Amazon as the seller would ship my Centrum Silver direct to Thailand, and I got the answer!

 

 

 

Although likely a bit higher price this item is easily available on both Lazada and Shopee and have been buying 275 count for about 8/900 baht (made in Canada but not the plus) from such sellers for years without issues.  You may have to change seller as they run out of stock often so you have to find one that has stock when you want to order.

[NoshowJones]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:34 AM, KhunBENQ said:

I have successfully received supplements from a US company (Piping Rock, NJ) a couple of times without any hassle. Last shipment was here in 10 days!

Package might have been opened for check. Not sure. But no customs.

Shipment not cheap though.

About 15 USD for 1.8 kg.

Tracking shows: shipped by DHL to Frankfurt. Deutsche Post to here. So normal postal shipment.

Other posters use iHerb from the US. Seems to be a more popular name.

Unless you have a credit card or PayPal, Piping Rock NJ have no interest in you. Any company who does not accept debit cards even from reputable Thai and UK banks does not deserve to be in business.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 3/20/2022 at 9:07 AM, possum1931 said:

Unless you have a credit card or PayPal, Piping Rock NJ have no interest in you. Any company who does not accept debit cards even from reputable Thai and UK banks does not deserve to be in business.

 

Please share that thought with any number of Thai merchants whose websites won't accept my U.S. debit cards for online transactions, and some even credit cards as well.

 

In-person use of foreign cards usually goes pretty well, because a different security standard is involved. But for online purchases, these days because of all the online card fraud, the card transaction processors in various countries can make it quite difficult to do online purchases with bank cards from foreign countries.

 

And in the banking world, Thailand tends to be thought of as a place with a lot of card fraud, which probably puts its cards in a more problematic situation internationally than those from the UK.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just an update on my abovementioned plans to ship some multi-vitamins bought from Amazon in the U.S. to Thailand.

 

1. First try, ordered a 200 tabs bottle of Centrum Silver and had it shipped to my mail forwarding service in California. The package supposedly arrived opened and empty with no bottle inside, which was a very odd and unprecedented situation for me. So I ended up having Amazon, without any problem, refund me the entire purchase.

 

2. As a replacement, I then followed up with an order of two, 200-tablet bottles of One-a-Day for Men's multi-vitamins that cost about $15 total on sale as part of a promotion including free shipping with Amazon Prime. Then paid about $20 for insured, regular mail shipping via my mail forwarding service to Thailand for a 1.5 lbs package.

 

On the customs info, I simply wrote "One-A-Day tablets". My package arrived here and was delivered by Thai Post just fine. The envelope had been opened (and then re-sealed) and it looked like one of the bottles had been removed from its retail packaging and inspected, but the product seals were intact. And because it was regular mail, no Thai Customs duty charged at all.

 

So my total price, purchase and shipping, for the two, 200-tablet bottles of One-A-Day came to about $35 U.S., or about 1,100 baht... which equals about 2.75 baht per tablet all in.

 

Lazada is selling several varieties of the same product, with prices ranging from 3.24 baht to 8.64 baht per tablet.... Not sure why they have such a wide range of pricing....

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[lopburi3]

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Lazada is selling several varieties of the same product, with prices ranging from 3.24 baht to 8.64 baht per tablet.... Not sure why they have such a wide range of pricing....

Expect the same reason that Centrum Silver sells at different prices - individuals import for resale and use different margins - some trying to make a killing (often same person under many names with a very high price - so they fill the search page and you do not check further for lower price).  Other willing to make just a small profit and actually sell some.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Expect the same reason that Centrum Silver sells at different prices - individuals import for resale and use different margins - some trying to make a killing (often same person under many names with a very high price - so they fill the search page and you do not check further for lower price).  Other willing to make just a small profit and actually sell some.

 

Yep... I think that's part of what's going on...  And whenever I see the huge price variations like that, I'm always left wondering, on Lazada, whether the much cheaper version might be a counterfeit or otherwise problematic.... or.... just someone offering an actual good deal. And unfortunately, no real way to know for sure going in.

 

Another very galling thing I noticed today... Lazada is promoting their supposed "Mid-Month" sale and claiming big price reductions on all kinds of different products...including various of the vitamins.

 

Well, I went back today and checked some of the things I've purchased lately from Lazada long before their supposed "Mid Month Sale" came along, and the actual more or less regular prices I paid for various things in past weeks are all almost identical to today's "Mid Month Sale" prices from exactly the same sellers and listings...

 

So in other words, FAKE sales... but then again, that's nothing unfamiliar or surprising when it comes to retailing here.

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Sparktrader]

On 3/16/2022 at 4:58 PM, Hummin said:

Why take multivitamins?

 

Did you take a blood panel test to find out what you are missing? 

 

Multivitamins are found in effective since some vitamins and minerals using same reseptorer for absorbing, also some vitamins and minerals can harm you if you get to much.

 

There is clinical studies to be found for those who is interested.

 

NB, I do not say vitamin and minerals do not work, I only point out multiple vitamins is waste of money, and better buy each and one you really need instead.

 

,"Is There Really Any Benefit to Multivitamins"

 

John Hopkins article

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/is-there-really-any-benefit-to-multivitamins

 

 

I don’t recommend other supplements,” Appel says. “If you follow a healthy diet, you can get all of the vitamins and minerals you need from food.”

 

Dont agree. Very easy to be lacking in magnesium, potassium, D, B, C, Zinc if you exercise a fair bit. Very hard to eat all the foods you need.

 

 

[Hummin]

2 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

I don’t recommend other supplements,” Appel says. “If you follow a healthy diet, you can get all of the vitamins and minerals you need from food.”

 

Dont agree. Very easy to be lacking in magnesium, potassium, D, B, C, Zinc if you exercise a fair bit. Very hard to eat all the foods you need.

 

 

And everything you mention, can easy be detected by taking a blood test to find out what you need. 
 

 

[Sparktrader]

Just now, Hummin said:

And everything you mention, can easy be detected by taking a blood test to find out what you need. 
 

 

Yet blood tests arent always the best guide. I had regular magnesium levels and had joint pain. Increased magnesium and pain went away.

 

So blood tests are flawed. The guidelines are rough at best. 

 

Rda levels really are just the baseline.

[Sparktrader]

Rda magnesium men 400mg. I take 600+ otherwise joint pain.

[CharlieH]

1 minute ago, Sparktrader said:

Yet blood tests arent always the best guide. I had regular magnesium levels and had joint pain. Increased magnesium and pain went away.

 

So blood tests are flawed. The guidelines are rough at best. 

 

Rda levels really are just the baseline.

I think a good way to look at it is "general parameters" not specific needs as we are all different and have different geaneology, diet and activity levels.

Its also true that those requirements are also effected by ageing too.