When you go to the pharmacy or the health food store you find all those cool little bottles with the fancy names that claim they are excellent for anxiety, help you sleep, lose weight, or relive stress. The thing is how do you know that you are going to get your moneys worth when you buy these bottles that contain all those combinations of herbs? The trick is to know your herbs first. Second you need to know the recommended daily dosage of the herb you want to purchase. Some combinations can be can be considered good buys, some on the other hand, well read on and you be the judge!

Lets take MSM and Glucosamine for example. Both of these herbs are excellent herbs for the purposes that they are intended for. When you take MSM you need to get at least 4,000 mg per day in order to get a therapeutic dosage for most adults. This is easy to do with MSM capsules, granules or powder. 1 teaspoon of powder or the granules contains 4,000 mg. MSM capsules are inexpensive as well 1,000 mg capsules are $12.50 for 250.   Glucosamine 1,000 mg capsules can be purchased are approximately $10.00 for 60 . The recommend dosage of this herb is 3,000mg daily.

Now lets compare prices of the MSM-Glucosamine combination capsules. I checked several on the market online and the best I could find as far as potency were made by Nature’s Sunshine. These contained MSM 800mg and Glucosamine 800 mg. They recommended dosage of 4 tablets a day, 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening.  The cost for 60 capsules was $25.50 This would constitute a 15 day supply.

As you can see by comparing the prices above, you can purchase the separate herbs for $22.50 and get a 20 day supply of the Glucosamine and a 60 day supply of the MSM. If you purchase the combination bottle you get a 15 day supply for $25.50.  If you are like me and want to get quality merchandise for the best price possible it is a no brainer which one is the best choice.

By doing some homework you can really save yourself a lot of money in the long run!. Be a savvy consumer and know which herbs you purchase, the amounts you will need per day and then you can make an informed decision on your purchases. If you practice this you will feel good about your supplement purchases and I know  your wallet will thank you!