A few years ago I wrote A Frugal List of Supplements for ME/CFS using knowledge at that time trying to rank order supplements that may help by best cost. Today a similar question came up. I am retired (72 y.o.) and working part time with a variety of complex conditions in the household so getting the right stuff at reasonable cost is a priority.

In this post I will share what our current strategies are and illustrate cost savings. For making our own capsules, I have ignored the cost (since it is low).

Example #1 Supplement Hesperidin

Choice #1: Off the shelf: 13.57 / ( 0.500 g x 60) = $0.45 per gram

Choice #2: Bulk Powder off Amazon. $16.96/ 100 grams = $0.17 /gram

Choice #3: Buying direct from a manufacturer in bulk (but certified organic): 24.14 /100 = $.24 / gram (with free shipping)

Example #2 Lactobacillus Plantarum

Choice #1: Off the shelf: 30 capsules with 10 BCFU: $12.42 / (30 x 10) = $0.04 / BCFU

Choice #2: Bulk Probiotics as powder: 169.17 / (400 x 100) = $0.004 per BCFU. Lower package sizes available at slightly higher cost per BCFU.

Choice #3: Buying direct from a manufacturer in bulk (Organic and typically manufactured within 2 weeks of shipping): $138.73 / (20 x 1000) = $0.007/BCFU. Lowest package is $0.02/BCFU

A key issue is probiotics is time since manufacture, abuse in storage (i.e. not kept is fridges in transit and storage — if you look “behind the scenes” at many health food stores, you will see boxes of probiotics just kept in the back, not refrigerated. They are then put it into the display refrigerator as needed). See Probiotics — what is advertised may not be what you get

Example #3 Herb Turmeric

Choice #1: Off the shelf: $12.49/(1 gm x 60) = $0.21 / gram

Choice #2: Bulk – from Amazon (note this is Organic, above is not): $14.99 / 907g = $0.016 / gram

Choice #3: Oversea supplier (also organic): $18.11 / 100gram = $0.18/gram

Bottom Line: Up to 90% reduction in Supplement Costs is possible

There are always other factors — for example, some probiotics may only be available from just one supplier (i.e. L. Jensenii, E. Coli Nissle 1917). Do you want it to be Organic? Degree of trust in manufacturer, supply chain handling, seller’s handling (I deemed it very unlikely that Probiotics sold by Amazon are refrigerated, more likely just sits in their warehouses until sold).

Also, be pragmatic on likely duration of use. Don’t over buy to “save money” and have it sitting on the shelf forever…

Remember: Most supplements are high profit margins. At least one supplement seller who also sells microbiome testing kits is suspected to sell their kits at below cost because of the profit from selling the supplements to the same customers.

Our own experience with Maple Life Sciences probiotics have been awesome. We see changes in stools within 48 hours when we rotate between probiotics.