Xtend-Life
WHY I USE XTEND-LIFE SUPPLEMENTS AND SKINCARE
Paul Mealling BSc(hons) MCSP, Physiotherapist and Athlete
Physio - Biomechanics - Performance
Contact
Map and directions
Paul Mealling BSc(hons) MCSP, Physiotherapist and Athlete
There are a number of reasons why I choose to use xtend-life over other brands. One thing that stands out is that they have their own manufacturing facilities and don't use contract manufacturers. I've heard a number of stories over the years about contract manufacturers for supplements and I like the fact that xtend-life are in control of the entire production process from sourcing and testing of raw ingredients right down to testing finished products and storing them ready for shipping.
I spoke to a representative of one contract manufacturer who told me about being approached by a well-known supplement brand in the UK. She said that the price the brand was asking products to be made at was so low it just wasn't possible for them to accept their business. That got me thinking - this well known retailer was more concerned about paying their contract manufacturer the lowest possible price than they were concerned about the quality they were getting. This is the exact opposite of what I want as a customer!
I went and researched the price of plastic pots when bought in bulk. It turns out that by the time you account for the cost of the pots, lids, labels, manufacturing, delivery, warehousing and distribution etc, and the margin for the retailer you have to start wondering what ingredient quality there can possibly be when you're buying supplements so cheaply. To me, the whole point of supplements is that I'm looking for quality ingredients and formulations that I can expect could make a difference to my long-term health. I'm not interested in the pot and label - I'm after the ingredients. Xtend-life have always taken the opposite approach to what I described above. They set out with the formulations and health benefits in mind, and price the products according to what it costs to make them. It's the exact opposite approach to 'who can provide the cheapest vitamin E'. That's effectively a race to the bottom. And my health it worth more than that.
Bioavailability is a term that describes how easily the body can use the vitamin or other molecule. Many supplements contain ingredients in their in-active form because they are cheaper and easier to produce. Xtend-life take the opposite approach and prefer to use the active forms of ingredients. The CoQ10 in their Omega 3 QH Premium is an example of this as is the form of Vitamin B6 they use in Multi-Xtra.
Ingredient bio-availability is just one part of the finished product however. There is also the formulation. This is where many supplements also fall behind in comparison. For example, just look at the ingredients list in the Total Balance range and you'll see that the formulations are covering so many bases. The same is true of their other supplements like Multi-Xtra and Not Just Joints to name but a few. Look at the ingredients list and you'll see it's much more comprehensive than any you've probably seen before.
This brings up a point about cost. You have to be aware when buying supplements about the difference between cost and value. For exmaple, xtend-life's Multi-Xtra is a little more expensive than some other 'multi-vitamins' you can find out there. But then you look at the formulation and you see what is included here that is not included in other products - it goes far beyond vitamins (hence the name!). Now, go and add up how much it would cost to buy those missing ingredients separately and you'll very quickly see that it is far better value to buy the slightly more expensive complex formulation.
I could write a page about my experiences, or I could just say: customer service as it should be.
And so there you have my reasons for using xtend-life. I could have turned each heading into an article in it's own right but I decided this was sufficient to make the points clear. You can learn more about their manufacturing process by watching the videos at the bottom of this page.