Vitamin Questions Answered

I've had quite a few questions from my readers after my last post about the best vitamins at the best price. So here are some answers:

Several of you asked how it is possible for Puritan's Pride to have high quality at a low price. The reason is actually quite simple. They sell direct over the Internet. They keep their profit margins reasonable. And they have a high volume loyal customer base.

Now for the details.
Most retailers sell vitamins and related items at a minimum of a 50% profit. This means that if they buy a product for $1 they will sell it for $2. ( I know, I said "50%". Retailers calculate their profit margin based on the retail price, not the cost price.)

Most (if not all) MLM health suppliers sell their product at huge undisclosed margins. How can I say "huge"? Just go to their websites. Look at the promises of wealth to all the associates. Where do you think the money is coming from? The owner wants to be a multimillionaire. The staff want to be rich. And the associates want to live the life of their dreams. Just how is this going to happen without a huge profit margin?

Check out Puritan's Pride:


(Click on the logo)

Their founder wants to give quality product at a good price.
They pay a modest 10% commission to all Internet advertisers.
They pass on savings to the customers.

Now I'm sure that the head of the company is doing just fine. He just knows how much is enough.

So what about Quality?

Here is what the company says:

"Puritan's Pride is headquartered on Long Island in New York and for over 40 years has manufactured over 1,400 high quality vitamins, minerals, herbs and other nutritional supplements in our own state-of-the-art facilities. The manufacturing facilities total over one million square feet and we produce supplements in every available form, including tablets, two-piece capsules, softgels, powders and liquids."

They also get audited by third party independent labs to make sure their quality is as high as they think it is.

Why is this important? Well, because the refined ingredients come from all over the world. With the latest quality scares from China, you have to wonder just what is in anything! The only way you would know if your nutritional supplements were full of toxic ingredients is if they were tested by independent labs. Imagine a company buying tons of product. Would they really want to know if it was contaminated? Or would they hope that everything was fine and turn a blind eye? I've heard of local manufacturers starting out by mixing product in their bathtubs!

Puritan's Pride has in-house testing and third party auditing. And they curb their desire for profit so as to build loyal buyers.

So here is your homework. Go to your local Vitamin Store. Select your favorite supplements. Find the manufacturer that has the highest quality controls. Write down the prices. Then compare them with the same items from Puritan's Pride using this search box:

Or..... if you are like me. Just go to their site and order up your favorites.

Note to Canadians: I was impressed and surprised to find that there is a distribution point in Canada which saves in all the lengthy customs hassles.
( ever tried to get any "white powder" shipped across the border?)

I hope this answers some of your concerns. Please keep the questions coming in.

Best Vitamins at the Best Prices with the Best Service

OK a bit of a confession here. I have been unfaithful.....to my vitamin supplier. But the good news is that just found out I've been buying from their sister company! Real soap opera stuff eh?

As you know, I have been recommending Puritan's Pride because of their great quality vitamins, as well as the unique specialty formulations that set them apart from all the other vitamin suppliers. They make a point of delivering the highest quality at the lowest price. And they also test all the vitamin and herbal ingredients to make sure that you get what is on the label. I love just browsing through their website and reading the ingredient labels ( but then I'm a bit of a research nut).

My favorite vitamin products are the unique Men's and Women's Multivitamins. These vitamin formulations leave all other brands in the dust. They contain vitamins, and essential herbs which have strong histories of helping each sex. The vitamin content is also balanced to maximum effectiveness. These vitamin formulations were thought through.

Here are a couple links to each product:



(Just Click on the Picture)
This women's formulation has everything a mature woman needs to help her lead a healthy Balanced life.


(Click on the picture to get more information)
This men's formulation helps guys with all the problems the years throw at us. And yup, I'm talking "plumbing troubles" as well.

I'm Putting a Search Box here for Puritan's Pride because I want you to have fun exploring as well. Look for vitamins or minerals or herbs that you currently use and compare the prices! Also when you are on the site, look for some of their specialty formulations. One of my favorites is the "Focus Complex" which contains just about everything to help with brain function.

(Just type in the vitamin, herb, or minerals you currently use and hit the search button.)

OK now for the rest of the confession:
If Puritan's Pride is so great, why do I occasionally buy from someone else?
Well, I have a few specific medical concerns which means that I need specific products. Also Mary and my friends are quite athletic, and they need great athletic supplements at good prices. So I have found myself buying a fair bit of these things from Vitamin World.

Vitamin World has great quality vitamins, minerals and sports formulations at the best prices I have found.

I watch for the deals and stock up on the things I need. For example, they have a magnesium at high strength that is actually easy to swallow. Not an easy thing to find. They sell a Vitamin A cream for 1 tenth the price of any pharmacy or cosmetic company.

So, here I was, telling everyone how great Puritan's Pride was and then going off to Vitamin World for other things. Now I find out that they are sister companies and that they just have a different customer focus.

Puritan's Pride is more focused on giving the best nutrition to people in middle age and up. Vitamin World is focused more on the younger athletic market. They both have outstanding quality and prices. Mystery solved. No wonder I was attracted to both of them!

So if you have specific performance product needs I have no hesitation on recommending Vitamin World. Here is a link to their site:


(Just Click on the Picture to see all they offer)

Here's to your Health!
Colin

The Best Health Newsletter on the Internet

If you are looking for Real Accurate Health Information -- not that watered down lawyer approved pap you usually get, or some weird stuff some paranoid health nut makes up-- then there is only one newsletter out there. I don't know why I haven't recommended this before. Perhaps I thought everyone knew about it. Hit this link and subscribe NOW to Dr. Mercola's newletter.

I have been reading Dr Mercola and referring info from Dr Mercola and using the free programs and health advice from Dr Mercola for years. Why? Because he is not bound by any ideology.

Dr Mercola takes things and tests them in his clinic. He keeps what works and dumps the rest. And he employs people to tear products apart to see if they really have the quality they claim. Does your doc do that?

I've learned about an amazing technique to get rid of nagging problems in a flash. And I've watched a video on his site to help me learn it.

What diet is the best one and the safest one? Dr Mercola is not like Nathan Pritikin or Robert Atkins. He tested everything and looked at the successes in his clinic. ONLY THEN did he announce his unique findings in his newsletter.

Want to get a professional perspective on the latest health news releases? In Dr Mercola's newsletter, he quotes and comments on these releases, so that you can get another opinion. Sometimes he agrees with the findings and sometimes he points out those grey areas that the researchers are trying to hide. ( having been in the business, I can tell you that this is common).

OK....You've gone to the latest health fair and seen all the weird and wonderful things. Where do I get a second opinion on alternative health products and practices? In this newsletter.
Dr Mercola keeps an open mind and does the testing. He also has keen analytical skills and probes beneath the hype.

So you see why I insist that everyone subscribe to his newsletter? So please, do yourself and your future health a favor and hit this link and subscribe.....it is free. I'm writing this because I just found out that some of my friends actually don't get this free service. I thought everyone did. I just doesn't pay to assume.

My New Website

I finally got my website up. I've been putting this off for some time. Other things seemed more important and my blogs have been a great place to put my thoughts in print.

Actually the domain name www.colinnoden.com has been around for a while. I use the hosting account to house a few sub domains. But I never got around to putting a page up on the ColinNoden site. But then I realized that there was no good place to put my links and invitations to newsletters. So voila it is now up and running.

not pretty....but running

There are some interesting links there. But the main thing I want to point out are the newsletter sign ups. I love these blogs, but when there are time sensitive deals to tell you about, the blogs are a bit of a pain.

I have to post the deals and then go back and delete them, or run the risk of offering dead links.

Now that I have an account with Aweber I can create as many specific newsletters as I want.

I now have two running. One is focused mainly on Internet Resources and Software.

The other one is for time sensitive deals. I have contacts who send me some fantastic weekly deals that are only available through referrals and only for very limited periods or quantities.
The newsletter is the only way I could figure out on how to share these deals.

So if you are interested. Go to my website www.colinnoden.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up. This is just for your convenience and mine. All contact info will be confidential.

See you there!

Colin

Oh yes..... I meant to say how great I'm finding Aweber. The service is fantastic and the staff are there to help. They are focused on ethical techniques that will keep you on the good side of the email servers ( for instance; you cannot just import a huge list to send out. They will scrutinize the list to make sure you are not buying a block of names to send spam)

For most of us, this may not seem relevant. But for me, I want to have every contact I have to be of the highest ethical standard.

You can check them out at their website. Just click here to go to Aweber's Home Page

A Personal Gift for Dad

I read an article in the paper which stated that men have this odd habit of smiling when distressed. I can vouch for this. The study was done by a man who was on a fishing trip and snagged a lure through the middle of his hand. His friends helped him, but only after laughing themselves to tears. He wondered if this was an instinctive reaction for men, or whether his friends were just idiots.

I can see all the ladies eyes rolling right now.

The study found out that men did indeed "grin and bear it". But I will add one extra observation so as to separate the man from the sociopath. When a critical emergency hits, most men will react swiftly and in a very sober manner. We save the giggles and guffaws for the other stuff.

Which brings me to bathroom humour.

A lot of men of a certain age have trouble "with the plumbing". And those that don't are on a heightened state of alert. You ladies may here us joking about it and teasing the fellow who is heading off to the can for yet one more squirt, but bear in mind the study I mentioned.

With this in mind I'll pass on a notice I received from a Vitamin Company I deal with. Puritan's Pride is offering a great special on all Men's products. And yes there will be smiling and joking when he gets your gift basket.....but I'll bet the bottles will soon be empty!

Buy 1 Get 2 Free on Men's Vitamins and Supplements including Saw Palmetto at Puritan's Pride.

Happy Father's Day!
Colin

The Latest Most Powerful Life Changing Info

WOW what a title eh?

Well it is happening in a few days, and I thought I would give you a heads up with a free video promotion.

What am I talking about? Well, Mark's new book of course.

There are literally thousands of people just waiting for this to be released.

Here is a link to the Promo for the Book. I have to admit it was fun to watch.

Since I am a member of Simpleology I got a sneak preview of a few things in it. And here is the thing.............even though I do the Simpleology techniques, I was immediately reminded of a couple of places I slipped up. As soon as I remedied those two things, I had the most productive day in weeks.

You know, I could go on and on, but instead I will just put the link here and let you see the promo for yourself. And remember Simpleology 101 is a free course. If you haven't signed up for it, then you ought to. Period.

I believe there is a link to the course sign up along with the book promo.

So let me sum up:

• FREE
• LIFE CHANGING
• IMPECCABLE CREDENTIALS
• FUN TO WATCH

Can you see why I'm a bit blunt here?

Just click on Mark's name : MARK JOYNER (yup that was it) and watch the short video.

AND

If you want to change your life to make it more productive and successful sign up for the free course ( it is a real course, not some little teaser).

Have Fun!

Colin

The Best Exercise Machine

Could this be the best exercise machine?
Something that:

• only takes 10 minutes a day
• sculpts your whole body
• gives you a youthful healthy look
• invigorates your internal organs and skin
• folds up into its own travel case in seconds
• can be used by almost everyone; from invalid to athlete
• backed by a highly ethical company
  

YES I KNOW.......SOUNDS TOOOO GOOD TO BE TRUE EH?

I THOUGHT SO TOO

BUT I WAS WRONG (I think)

I was at a health convention a few weeks ago and saw a presentation by David Hall. He was demonstrating this machine. Part of the appeal is the fact that he looks FANTASTIC!
He has a body that most guys would die for....and most women would ( and did) swoon over.

He claims that he has achieved this by only using his " cellerciser" for less than 20 minutes a day. He has amazing agility to go with a well sculpted body. SO.....lucky genes? Perhaps. but he also has a story of recovery from ill health that would put most people either in the grave or out of commission for the rest of their lives. You can check all this out on his website I think.

Anyway, back to the machine. It looks like a mini trampoline, but with subtle modifications that make it anything but typical or simple. I had a mini trampoline years ago and immediately noticed that this is different.

I like it because it is possible for me to get some level of exercise regardless of what condition I am in.

For example; The other day I was having a relapse. I could not sit up. I could barely speak. I could barely tolerate the weight of my clothes. It felt like pain soaked sheets were draped over me. And yet I was able to do a few sessions on the cellerciser. This allowed the blood to flow and keep cramping away. I also felt warmer and able to breathe as my sinuses drained.

I did all this by standing on the unit and holding onto the balance bar. I felt a bit like a baby in a crib, but it did help. I also felt good that I was able to accomplish something. During the bad times, it is easy to get discouraged.

OK, so it works with a gimp like me. But how about an athlete? Well, my spouse ( Perpetual Motion Mary) finds that the cellerciser gives you quite the workout. And if you get a chance to see David Hall, you will see how this machine can deliver. ( And also how a 50-some person can look like a 20ish person) I'll give you a link to his site here so you can find out more.



Happy Bouncing!

Colin

P.S. You may notice some words in my posts have double underlines. I'm trying out a new service which is supposed to offer "contextual links". I'm not sure I like it, but I"m willing to give it a try for a while. Let me know if they are distracting. They are supposed to add more information sources.......we'll see.

More Winter Survival Tips

I have had a large response to my post on Winter survival tips. Right now I am living in a west coast rain forest, and forgot what the rest of the continent is going through. Sorry. I mean it. I have lived in the arctic and in the most inhospitable regions of the north. I know what you are going through.

Here are some things you have to remember to survive:

• Circulation and skin exposure are everything. When you are out in the cold, make sure to constantly touch your exposed skin. As soon as you feel any numbness, make sure you cover up that area.
• Keep the blood flowing in your feet and hands. Clench and relax your hands continuously. Curl and relax your toes. Wear loose boots. Keep moving.
• Yup, the old "survive naked under the cariboo skin" routine is true. But it is hard to find a good cariboo skin these days. The cariboo hairs have little air pockets which give excellent insulation. But if you are stranded, it is still good to share body warmth. So peel off, and put all your insulated clothing around you.
  
• Snow caves are good, but remember two things: make sure there is ventilation and make sure you create an inner ice wall. This means that you will ahve to have some support at first, unless you have the right kind of snow, and have excellent igloo building techniques. The easy way is to have a small dome tent in your emergency gear. ( you can get a hiker's version that is small and light). Use this as your support and then heap snow over it. Keep an opening for fresh air. Light a small flame and the ice will build up. Don't let things get too hot or you will be swimming! Snuggle in and enjoy the winter!

The Best Webhost and The Best Website Building Software

NOTE: Update to this article. The developer of the website building software I write about here has a new version which is out now!

As I've mentioned in other posts, the people who buy it now will get the upgrade for free. So please do yourself a favor and check this software out soon. The links are in my blog post here and in my other posts about the best website building software ( check the labels). I have completely fallen in love with this software because of its ease of use, support, and professional product.



UPDATE 2: I've had a chance to play with Xsitepro version2 and have made a couple videos showing an actual website being built. You can actually watch a website being built on my youtube videos.

WARNING: this was also my very first time using camtasia and youtube. So please forgive the low sound. Actually, working with xsitepro2 was easier than uploading the video. This is Demo 1. I have this video demo of xsitepro version2 at my other website where I help people build great elegant websites. www.WebsiteBuildingforBeginners.com . After you see the first video, you can subscribe for further tutorials as we build this website together. Just hit the subscribe button at Youtube. The quality gets better, I promise you.

..............................................................................................................

Those of you who know me, know that I like to do things as cheap as possible. I also insist on the highest quality possible. This leads to quite a bit of tension. And when you add technology in the mix you get handfuls of hair being pulled out!

I recently decided to exercise my brain and build a website or two. Oh my.....

I also decided to use as much free software, or open source software as possible.
(Big Mistake!)

Let me save you a lot of aggravation. I could go on for hours about the frustration I went through. But instead ( since I think you have all been there with technology) let me focus on the positive.

I have found a fantastic Website hosting company. They focus on service, and do so on a very reasonable price. I spent a day or so comparing Web hosts. I looked at free web hosting and at the best performing web hosting companies. Then I went through the discussion boards and the search engines looking for reviews. Hostgator kept coming up with great customer satisfaction comments. They were reasonable and had flexible packages. But the real draw for me was the customer service. They challenged us to test them out. Oh they didn't know who they were dealing with.

If you have read my secret in the Ethical Income Blog , you will know that it takes me several days to accomplish the same thing that a normal person can do in an hour or so. Also, I have spells where nothing in front of me makes sense. A page just looks like a bunch of grey and white ( boy has this cost me in restaurants!).

SO I signed up with Hostgator with the noble intention of only using open source software to build my website! Watch out Hostgator Helpdesk!

AS you can imagine, everything was a hassle. The software was always in a state of development, with bugs and projects galore. I spent time waiting for answers in forums. I tried workarounds. I tried finding software to fill in the gaps that other software had. Everything had a different name for the same things. Sound familiar?


Hostgator's help desk worked with me all through this struggle. They were patient. They did not tell me to get a life and pay some website designer to build a site for me. They didn't tell me not to be so cheap, and to go out and buy Dreamweaver and Photoshop etc etc.

I used every type of help they had. I used the online help, and the ticket email help. And called in once when I was extremely desperate. I spent days with these people. ( you're feeling sorry for them now aren't you?). Everyone treated me like they had all the time in the world for me and that my problem was important.


So If you are looking for a Webhost, I would recommend Hostgator (just click on this link).

You will run into problems, and you will want them corrected as fast as possible. That is the advantage. Oh yes, and did I mention that they do all this for under $10 a month for an unlimited amount of websites? Not bad eh?



BUT I LEARNED MY LESSON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


No more cheaping out on the software.

I began looking for website building software that was inexpensive but actually was built to work together.

I finally found a software package that has almost everything a person needs. This is a beautiful program that is amazingly inexpensive.

XsitePro is a suite of software which allows you to build a website and have everything integrate. It is all run off of one main board, much like the adobe products, but without all the complexity.

I want something where I can build a banner for the top of my website and put pictures on it and make it look professional. XsitePro makes that easy. I want something where I can change colours or elements on the fly without worrying about what I've wrecked doing so. Again XsitePro does that. I wanted something where I could build a site and try it out on my computer before publishing it on the web ( oooooh boy did I need THAT feature).

XsitePro lets me build a site and tinker with it before exposing it to humiliating exposure to the world. It links things together and builds a sitemap for the search engines. It gives you hints on how to make things a bit better for the readers and search spiders; and on and on and on.

XsitePro also helps me not look like such a moron when dealing with Hostgator's helpdesk. You can watch a video of all the great features at this link: "7 Reasons" Video.

It isn't idiot proof, it just lets us idiots look a bit brighter.

I'll post a link to the website I'm working on in a while. I am busy trying to undo the damage all the free stuff did.

Oh well, live and learn. I'm still breathing, so I guess I'm still learning.

Colin

P.S. I reread this post and realized that I forgot to update you on the website.
Check out the site I built for a friend,Dr. J Gallant who is an amazing young naturopath.
He is now getting athletes and clients from around the world because of his dedication to
results. I'm trying to make things easier for him by building a website for patients
to use as a resource. Here is his website www.doctorgallant.com .

How To Change Your Life

Well the title of this post sounds pretty grandiose doesn't it. But I'm serious; there are proven ways to change your life. I use myself as a guinea pig for a lot of experiments. And I look at the success of others as well. Why? Because I am seeing that different things work for different people at different times.

If you are at the stage where you are saying " enough already, I'm sick of my life and want it to change right now", then I think Mark Joyner is the guy for you. He uses a great formula to make dramatic permanent changes in peoples' lives. He has three courses available. The first one is free. Yes free! And it isn't just some simple little ebook that does nothing for you. Mark Joyner's Simpleology 101 is a full fledged course. You get a manual, videos, worksheets, a support forum, and short daily inspirational emails. All for free. Here is a link to it: MARK'S FREE SIMPLEOLOGY 101 COURSE .


Why? Well because he wants you to feel the power and success of his system. And then perhaps you will want to buy his Simpleology 102 and Simpleology 103. Which focus on Wealth and Energy.

Mark Joyner is on a mission to change the world, one person at a time. He is positive, ethical, and has a proven history. He doesn't need any big agent to promote him. The people whose lives he has changed to that with great enthusiasm.

Yes there are other ways to make significant changes in your life. But this program is the most practical and supportive. An of course it is free. A free course is Mark's way of putting his money where his mouth is. How many gurus and miracle product salespeople have done that for you lately? So check out his free course. Or if you want help in the specific areas of wealth creation ( making and keeping more money) or in More Energy in your life, then check out Simpleology 102 and Simpleology 103. I will give you the link to Simpleology 103 , but be warned.....this course is so popular that the hordes of people signing up have crashed Marks servers a few times ( And he has a huge infrastructure!) I have previewed what he is offering and IT IS ASTOUNDING. Look here fom all the info: MARK'S NEW ABUNDANT ENERGY COURSE .

And remember to check out his free 101 course. Here is the link again: Simpleology 101

Good luck in the New Year and may all your wishes come true.
Colin

Winter Travel Car Survival Pack

Boy a lot has been happening around here. I have been meaning to get some posts out with some helpful hints. But then Mother Nature prempted all those posts.

Winter is here in the west. Even in the Rain Forest of Canada, Vancouver, we are covered in snow. Now for us it is just a pretty inconvenience, but on the prairies of North America it is a deadly menace.

This week, several people have died from exposure when they left their cars in search of help. This news prompted me to pass on some old tips. This stuff may sound elementary, but I challenge you to check your car and see if you are ready.

1. Make sure your antifreeze levels are ready for winter. Remember that the air that rushes through your radiator makes it seem MUCH colder than the outside temperature. Get a mechanic to check the freezing level of your coolant. If your radiator freezes up, your car will break down in a steaming mess. It is as simple as that.
2. Carry Winter Clothes and Boots. You don't have to wear them, just have them in the trunk of your car. Many people go from a warm garage toanother warm garage. But if an accident happens you are stuck out in the cold. Better to have something available to get into fast. Hypothermia and frostbite can happen in minutes.
3. Carry a heating source. In the old days ( am I really getting old?) we would carry a roll of toilet paper in a tobacco tin and a bottle of alcohol. The idea whas that you could make an alcohol heater by pouring the alcohol in the tin over the toilet paper. The toilet paper also comes in handy for runny noses and ummm other things ( you'll know when you are stranded!). Nowadays a sterno pot for heating and a few candles, & lighter will work fine. ( remember to leave a crack in your window open for ventilation) The toilet paper is still a good idea for the other things.
4. Carry essential tools for survival. A shovel and a tarp and a few energy bars are easy to have ready. A reflective vest makes it easy for people to see you and makes a good flag if your car is snowed under.

These things are easy to put together and will not take up a lot of room in the car. But Most important of all:

DO NOT LEAVE THE CAR.

Everyone who died this week left their car. The highways are patrolled regularly and crews will check stranded vehicles. A frozen body is harder to find. Think about it.

Colin