Topic Title: Nature's Plus
| |  "Nature's Plus"
, Wed 18 Jun 16:03
Is Nature's Plus brand Rhodiola any good?
Thanks,
DD
Posts: 18 | | Registered: Sun 8 Jun 2003 23:57 |
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| | "Re(1):Nature's Plus" , Fri 20 Jun 14:13
I've never tried Rhodiola yet, but on paper, Nature's Plus looks to be one of the best brands on the market. You could do a whole lot worse.
Epyx
Posts: 594 | | Registered: Mon 3 Dec 2001 22:11 |
| | | "Re(2):Nature's Plus" , Thu 26 Jun 16:12
It does look good on paper but I've been using two per day for 1 and half weeks. Don't feel much better in fact feel like it agitates me.
Thanks
DD
Posts: 21 | | Registered: Sun 8 Jun 2003 23:57 |
| | | "Re(3):Nature's Plus" , Fri 27 Jun 01:43
Depends what you are you using it for. It seems to have stimulant properties, which if true would indicate it more for depression, and contraindicate it for anxiety.
Epyx
Posts: 600 | | Registered: Mon 3 Dec 2001 22:11 |
| | | "Re(2):Nature's Plus" , Fri 20 Jun 16:28
Hi Epyx,
How are you going researching Rhodiola for we Australians?
I'm considering getting some as well, and I've begun researching - if you'd like to compare notes, let me know.
Sneak
Posts: 2 | | Registered: Wed 28 May 2003 5:58 |
| | | "Re(3):Nature's Plus" , Fri 20 Jun 16:41
Sneak,
I keep forgetting to ring TGA. I need to do it from work, but once I get there, I get busy with other stuff 
When I looked on their website, there was nothing forbidding the personal importation of rhodiola (aka "arctic root", "golden root"), so I can't see a problem. The trick will just be to find a US source willing to ship your chosen brand to Australia -- let me know how you go in that area.
I've also meant to check out the TGA's position on kava. It's not entirely clear on their website although I think you are allowed to bring in a 3-month supply from overseas when you are travelling. There's also some sort of confusing permit arrangement.
I'm always interested in comparing notes, so keep me informed of what you find out.
Epyx
Posts: 595 | | Registered: Mon 3 Dec 2001 22:11 |
| | | "Re(4):Nature's Plus" , Sat 21 Jun 03:30:
Epyx,
I might be able to contribute a few things to your search! I'm a naturopath, so I've done quite a bit of ordering from the States in the past, for both my patients and myself.
Regarding the TGA, the personal importation system is actually fairly straightforward. An individual is allowed to import up to three months worth of an unapproved substance for personal use. By unapproved, they mean a product that is not on the Australian Therapeutic Register of Goods (i.e. has an "L" or "R" listing and number), NOT a controlled substance. Many unsuspecting individuals have taken "unapproved" to mean anything from anabolic steroids to amphetamines, with disasterous consequences!! (Customs loves that sort of person :) )
You probably would have seen from the TGA website a list of controlled substances, the majority of which are steroidal in nature, and some quite bizarre items such as "products to treat hangovers", or "aphrodisiacs". Some of the TGA items (unapproved or controlled) are really quite archaic, and some quite inexplicable - such as 5-HTP. Ask the TGA why 5-HTP is unapproved, and you'll get a hundred different answers. Supposedly, it is on account of the Shenko Dowa tryptophan disaster some years ago...TGA appear not to be able to differentiate between a compound and its precursor however - hence the restrictive ban. There are of course all the conspiracy therories (which in this case I subscribe to) about the enormous influence the pharmaceutical industry has over TGA policy. 5-HTP is such a threat to established anti-depressants, that it seems it will be some time yet before it is approved for retail, if ever. Sad, but true.
Kava is a little trickier - the dust is yet to settle from the liver toxicity nonsense of a few months ago (yet another chance to relieve the public of a wonderfully effective herb). At this stage, I won't import it, as I feel it will get seized. The permit system is strange - more for commercial import I think, though I'm yet to clarify this.
What does "3 months personal use" constitute? Well, this is an enormously grey area, but it is roughly determined by the manufacturers recommended dosages, which as we know from St John's Wort, can vary enormously. In practice, Customs often allow far more than three months supply of 5-HTP in a single shipment - I frequently order 360 x 100mg capsules at a time; this doesn't mean, of course, that it won't be seized. Just depends if someone at Customs is bucking for a promotion :) Generally though, it'll get through. With 5-HTP, many thousands of orders come into the country every month, mostly ordered by clubbers who use it to counteract the negative effects of ecstasy usage, and as a neuroprotective.
In term of ordering, one of the problems with the United States is postage. Prices for product are usually excellent, particularly now our dollar is getting stronger. Due to the fact that many of their orders were getting lost, most large internet vitamin retailers no longer ship regular airmail to Australia, preferring the "track and trace" guarantees of couriers like DHL. IHerb, one of the better companies, charges a flat rate of $40US to Australia! Ouch!
There are a few who are less expensive, and some who still post airmail. One such company is Club Natural (clubnatural.com) who charge $8 flat rate postage, which is much more acceptable. Very reliable, too. Just recently, Club Natural have begun to distribute products by NOW Foods, who happen to make a Rhodiola product (500mg, standardized, min. 3% salidroside). I've not used NOW before, but I believe they're not bad (they have GMP manufacturing standards, but that's not always any guarantee of a good product). Club Natural will sell 4 bottles of 60caps of the above product for $55US (plus postage) - pretty good. Nature's Plus seems to be the way to go, but that's a little harder to find. One option is "totaldiscountvitamins.com", who stock a large range of Nature's Plus - I couldn't find Rhodiola though, and I'm yet to email them. Prices seem decent though. For a good list of the leading American online vitamin retailers, go to "solgar.com" and click on the "shop for Solgar online" link. Good list of retailers.
Sorry if I've just repeated things you already know, Epyx. Let me know how you go - Good Luck!
Sneak
[this message was edited by sneak on Tue 24 Jun 21:19]
Posts: 5 | | Registered: Wed 28 May 2003 5:58 |
| | | "Re(5):Nature's Plus" , Wed 25 Jun 14:13
I've just realised that I should paste a reply here too (so here I go):
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Sneak, I may as well respond here to our ongoing discussion about personal import. I got around to ringing the TGA the other day.
I asked about Rhodiola, which they said is not a controlled substance and therefore permissible for personal import for now.
Kava is a completely different story. You can bring in raw Kava (rhizome or powder) with a permit, but you can't bring in therapeutic forms (tablets/caps) AT ALL. I asked the Permits section why people couldn't just sign a disclaimer in their permit application and got a nonsensical reply. I am quite pessimistic about the outlook for kava.
(I also asked why TGA had allowed the media to run the information campaign during the Pan recall <g> Strangely, TAG are still not putting out any further details of what they found in their audits.)
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Thanks for your post, Sneak, I learned some new stuff there. I had no idea that clubbers were ordering 5-HTP!
I briefly used Iherb's International site (iherbi.com) while it was up (an airmail offering). They quickly closed it down, as you probably are aware.
I get very cross when I start talking about the L-tryptophan debacle. I think this is a very good example of the power of the pharmaceutical industry to restrict complementary medicines. Showa Denkei, among other sins, had changed their ROM filtration procedure which allowed by-products with heavier molecular weights into the yield product. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic tried to resurrect the EMS scare years later and were unsuccessful. You can still obtain L-tryptophan from pharmaceutical suppliers but the restrictions on supply are onerous (doctors will only provide it as a last resort, and have to do blood tests, blah blah).
Thanks for the list of suppliers -- invaluable. I have just emailed totaldiscountvitamins.com and will let you know what they say.
I have to ask: how are you finding the career of naturopathy? I've been tempted to go down that path as a second career, but I get a bit hung up about the traditional herbalist role versus say the phytomedicine approach (which would be more limited).
Epyx
Posts: 598 | | Registered: Mon 3 Dec 2001 22:11 |
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