I am curious if it is cheaper to get quality products through the internet rather than in the store itself. And can someone recommend a good site if it us more cost-effective?
And I would like to mention that I have found that a good high-quality Noni juice helps to elevate my mood and also gives me some added pain control. Lately I have been adding some Acaia juice as the Noni is nasty tasting and I want to boost my immune system. I have a really hard time with Vit. C but it is so good for boosting energy. I am still looking for a way to take this. Maybe someone can help me with this as well.

online is much less expensive.

Puritan's is good, but they only sell their brand with a few exceptions. I use them for basic things.

Many of us here use www.iherb.com because they are about 1/2 price and carry many unusual things as well.
I get my husband's inositol for $12 there, where it is $67.00 locally in stores. Same high grade powder!

Some people like vitacost, and others Swanson.

What is the problem you are having with Vit C? I don't understand the question. I use a delayed release form, that I get from Puritan's Pride.

Thank you Mrs D...the vit. C messes with my stomach, and I don't digest or absorb the delayed release. I have pretty much tried everything that I know of. But I don't know about everything. Maybe there is something else out there. Sometimes I can take a dose of Airborne but no more than one once in a while. I really miss being able to take it. I have fibro and it use to really boost my energy.

My Vit C has tiny beads in it... it is a capsule. Because it does not dissolve quickly, it lasts longer in the body.

Have you tried Ester-C? It does not make the stomach more acid. But it costs more. Puritan's has a generic now:
http://www.puritan.com/vitamin-c-pro...apsules-011980


This is the one I like:
http://www.puritan.com/vitamin-c-pro...-500-mg-004750

I like extended release forms, because Vit C is excreted quickly, so that if it is absorbed more slowly, then it works in the body better.

How do you know you are not absorbing the delayed action types?

...warning, this will not be a pretty image...the ones I tried were in tablet form...they went in one end whole, and whole out the other as well, undigested. I have tried the ester-C as well. I am re-thinking all this as I learn more. I have taken proton pump inhibitors for some years now. I have had fibro for more than 15 years. I just saw a new doc and he wanted to test me for celiac's, I think I spelled that right, but I woud not let him. I am thinking that might have been a mistake. Good diets are so hard to stick to, but good health is worth it. I am going to try one of the vit. C's you mentioned. And I am thinking I should let the doc test me. I have been diagnosed in the past with IBS. I really like natural alternatives. I think they are the best way to go, but I don't have the knowledge base to go about it in the best way possible, for the best results. Thank you for sharing the knowledge and experience that you have. I really appreciate it. My son prefers natural alternatives as well. Some of us have to learn to use them as we react badly to the meds. Thank goodness there are alternatives, and TG for the people here.

...when I was studying A&P in college (one of my fav subjects), and we were learning about energy combustion in the muscles (I hope I get this right, its been sooooo many years), I believe ascorbic acid was a necessary ingredient in the process required to produce ATP, which I think, has something to do with the muscles being able to work properly and energy levels. Is this right? I have often wondered if that is why Vit. C always boosts my energy level. I use to see a doc in Houston who was trying to treat the fibro and chronic fatigue. She would test the urine for ATP levels. Mine were very low and below normal. The killer cells would always be very low as well. I use to give myself injections, and now I forget what it was, that were suppose to help boost the level of ATP and the killer cells. Unfortunately, it never worked. But I am thinking that if I can take the vit. C it woud produce this result naturally?

may be made from a matrix, in which the active compound is imbedded. It slowly releases it into the GI tract, but the matrix itself DOES NOT dissolve.

It is then eliminated and may look like it did when it went in
because it has absorbed water.
We call these casts "ghosts", and they are very common.

They occur with many drugs too. One dosage form used for Covera HS, Procardia, have a tiny hole in one side where the drug comes out. This passes as an empty shell when it is done.

Sometimes compounds with a thick outer coat may also appear as casts (ghosts). These rupture and release, then fill with
other stuff as they move thru the GI tract and out. I remember many years ago my husband was using an enzyme product which is no longer available...called Festalan. When he found a cast in his stool, he was very concerned as well.