Well, it appears Whole Foods has failed us. Despite receiving a tremendous number of requests in a short amount of time, they have decided at a corporate level to stop carrying single homeopathic remedies.
I am terribly disappointed, but I’m not surprised. (Though I haven’t heard an official word, I have noticed Whole Foods had stopped carrying most of the Bach essences recently, too.)
Ever since Amazon purchased Whole Foods, nothing has been as good as it was. At all. By far. The selection of products, the quality of prepared foods and even the offerings at the butcher counter are not as nice as they once were. It’s a real bummer on many fronts.
So, where to buy your homeopathic remedies locally?
If you have a Sprouts in your town, that is your best bet. Sprouts carries a much larger selection of homeopathic remedies than Whole Foods ever did.
Natural Grocers is another store that carries individual homeopathic remedies.
If you have a local independent herb store, they often have a few individual remedies for sale. If they don’t, ask them to do so!
Other than that, it’s to the internet we turn. (For all examples, I looked at Bryonia alba in both 30c and 200c for pricing.)
If you want the familiar blue and purple tubes, go to Boiron*. Online, Boiron actually offers a much wider range of remedies and potencies. Their 30c is $8.49 and 200c is $11.99. (Note: Boiron tubes contain 80 pellets or 16 doses.) Additionally, they sell some Gemmos (see here for a little information on those.) Bonus! At the time of this writing, Boiron has 10% off Calendula and “On the Go” medicines. I also see “free shipping is automatically applied to all orders.” It’s not clear if this is all orders all the time or just the above mentioned promo.
Washington Homeopathics is an excellent US pharmacy. They can be found at homeopathyworks.com. Their prices are $9.49 for a 30c and $16.29 for 200c. (Note: Washington sells their individual remedies in a 4 dram vial, so 900 pellets, which is a lot of pellets.) They also sell some of their remedies in 1/2 dram kit refills (containing 350 pellets) in nice little glass vials for $4.19 and $5.29 respectively. Additionally, they sell Bach Flower Essences and offer a nice selection of books and even a home-school curriculum. Bonus! Washington Homeopathics always has a few remedies on 20% sale each month.
Hahnemann Labs is another superb US pharmacy. They offer a wide range of remedies and potencies and their glass tubes are $10.95 for 1/2 dram and $12.95 for a 2 dram 30c; 200c is $16.95 and $22.95 respectively. (The number of pellets is different and a little confusing: for up to 99c potencies, 80 pellets in the 1/2 dram and 240 pellets in the 2 dram.) For 100c potencies and up: 1/2 dram = 240 pellets and 2 dram = 730 pellets. (Note: Hahnemann 1/2 dram do not fit in standard kits; they are short, fat tubes.) Bonus! I just got off the phone with a nice woman at Hahnemann Labs who confirmed that there is $2 discount on each remedy when ordering on-line.
Olloïs sells nice remedies. They don’t have a huge selection but what they have, I like. Their claim to fame is lactose-free remedies. Their 30c is $8.49 and 200c is $9.49. (Approximately 80 pellets per tube.) Additionally, they offer a free 7-day video course on homeopathy if you want to learn more. Bonus! Free shipping on orders over $29.
On to distributors in the US…
I have written about Tap Roots before in regard to their kits, which I really like. They sell some individual remedies from both Washington and Boiron (similar or identical prices to buying those directly). They also sell Narayani mixes (which appear to be $22.99 each) and some Banerji protocol combination remedies (ex. Aconite 200c + Bryonia 30c for $20.99. As a reminder, Acon/Bry is the go-to protocol to use at the first sign of feeling unwell.) Additionally, they have cell salts and a nice selection of homeopathic books. Bonus! Tap Roots offers free shipping on $75+ orders.
Vitamin shoppe sells a few Boiron single remedies, also for $8.49 each.
Vitacost has a few Boiron and Olloïs remedies on offer. Prices seem to vary more than the other sites.
Looking further afield (if you are in the US these are further afield anyway)…
Helios in the UK ships to the US, though don’t expect it to arrive immediately. They have an excellent selection of remedies but their site can be a little cumbersome. If you like the self-dispensing tubes (similar to Boiron), choose: “Pills (No 6) (sucrose) in a 4g dispenser)”. Generally speaking, it appears these tubes run £5.85. They offer a huge range of potencies and a really nice selection of books and other products. Additionally, when I was in the UK at Christmas I discovered A. Vogel’s Echinacea Bioforce tablets that you might want to consider. (Not homeopathic, but good stuff!)
Ainsworths is another UK homeopathic pharmacy. One feature I like about Ainsworths is you can build your own combo remedy. They, too, have a huge selection of remedies offered in a selection of pellets/tablets. 7g vial is the closest to the size we’re used to in the US. Though, their 1g vial (with the cute little cork stopper) is good for travel or if you are in need of a “specialty” remedy. A 7g vial of a 30c or 200c is £7.50. I recently purchased “tablets” and that has been a nice change from the little pellets, though it doesn’t feel like the quantity will go very far.
Weleda in the UK sells a nice “counter range” of 30c remedies for £7.65. Note: these bottles are not pocket friendly tubes. I have purchased these in the UK but I have not tried ordering from the US.
If you feel so inclined, Amazon also sells some remedies. However, proceed with caution as they sell some brands which are unknown to me and I have heard some not great things from some of the “off-brand” remedies they have on offer.
This is a short list of the pharmacies and distributors I know to be of good quality. I have no affiliation with any of these companies. I’m sure there are more, but this should be a good start.
So, not quite as easy as picking up a remedy while you’re buying your groceries, but with a little planning, you won’t be disappointed with purchasing remedies on-line.
Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath
#wellnessawaits
* As I was finishing up this article, I received an email from Boiron letting practitioners know where their clients can continue to purchase Boiron single remedies. Here is the image shown at the bottom of that email:
I boycotted Whole Foods over 10 years ago when they joined the GMA (Grocery Manufacturers of America) in blocking GMO labeling. They are not holistic...at all, but are happy to profit off those of us that are.