Food Pantry Donations

We at Pass Health Foods have decided to become a permanent drop off location for the Palos United Methodist Food Pantry for people to drop off non-perishable food donations. There are lots of food drives around the holidays, but especially with the fallout from COVID, many people are in need.      

This is a crazy time for all of us, but as a community, we can get through it by pulling together and choosing to help other people. It’s a simple way to make a difference in another person’s life who may be having a difficult time.

If you or a person you know is in need of food, the Palos United Methodist Food Pantry is located at 12101 S Harlem Ave. in Palos Heights and their food pantry hours are Tuesdays from 9-11am and 4-6pm. The Palos United Methodist Food Pantry is our local branch of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Our store is located at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights, and donations will be accepted every day during our store hours, and then we will bring them to the pantry to donate.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” –Helen Keller

For more information on the food pantry, you can visit their website here.

Our Coronavirus Safety & Cleaning Procedures

The health and safety of our customers and staff continues to be of the utmost importance to us. We are continuing our sanitation regimen of disinfecting the store throughout the day and on a schedule as well as disinfecting carts, baskets, and pens after each use. Additionally, all of our staff are temperature checked before they begin work.

We also have two new medical-grade air purifiers in the store that run 24 hours a day that are able to filter the air down to .1 microns.

Masks covering the nose and mouth are required for everyone entering the store.

Additionally, while customers are welcome to shop in the store, we will continue to offer curbside pickup indefinitely. To place an order call the store at 708-448-9114 and we will bring it out to your car when you arrive.

Unfortunately, it seems coronavirus is not going away anytime soon, so it's extremely important to us to have a store where people can feel safe to be in, and I hope we've done that.

Extended Hours Beginning July 6th

Beginning on Monday, July 6th, we will be open from 10-5:30 Monday through Friday and then 10-5 on Saturdays.  We’re thrilled to extend our hours and to hopefully make it more convenient for people to make it to the store.

Even though the store is open to customers with face masks, we will continue to offer curb side pickup every day. Just call the store to place an order and then we will run it out to your car when you get here. Our phone number is 708-448-9114.

We’re located at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.

A Thank You to Our Customers

This past month has been wonderful. It’s been so great having our customers back in the store after only doing curb side pickup for over two months!

We wanted to give all of our customers a huge hug and a thank you for continuing to support us. Everyone has been so wonderful with wearing face masks in the store and doing a great job with social distancing. We weren’t sure what to expect when we reopened, since coronavirus has changed so much and there’s so much anxiety surrounding everything, but we have been so relieved and grateful for how this past month has gone and how amazing our customers are.

In a time when many small businesses are closing, we are even more grateful to all of you, for shopping with us, and supporting small local stores.

With lots of love,

Carolyn, Liz, Joanne, and Theresa xoxo

From left to right: Carolyn, Liz, Joanne, and Theresa

Natural Weight Loss Supplements that Actually Work

With summer in full swing, many people have been asking about weight loss supplements, so I wanted to highlight a few of our most effective supplements and explain how they work.

First, let me say that even the best weight loss supplement will not do that much when not paired with a healthy diet and exercise. Exercise doesn’t have to mean an hour long aerobics class, but for weight loss to be effective, increasing your activity level is important.

Another problem with some weight loss supplements is that the amounts used in research to demonstrate their effectiveness are often more than what most people take, and with any supplement if you’re not taking the recommended dose, it often isn’t effective.

For example, the supplement garcinia cambogia does have good results for weight loss, but for it to really work, you need to make sure to take a high potency extract of the supplement at the proper amount. We’d recommend Jarrow’s garcinia cambogia, since it has the highest extract percentage per pill, but to work, it should be taken as six capsules a day- three in the morning and three in the afternoon. Not all weight loss supplements need to be taken as that many pills, but I just mention it because dosing is important. If you’re only taking a fraction of a recommended amount, you’re only going to be getting a fraction of the benefits.

Also, even the most powerful weight loss supplement isn’t going to work in a week. Weight loss takes time, and for there to be a lasting change, experts recommend that you aim for no more than one to two lbs a week. Crash diets and extreme weight loss are unsustainable long term (and can be a shock to your system).

There are many great supplements for weight loss, but I’ll list some of our favorites below:

Metobolic Activators

There is a unique supplement by Life Extention called AMPK Metobolic Activator that we’d especially recommend. It works by increasing the activity of an enzyme in our bodies called AMPK that regulates energy in the cells of the body. When our bodies need energy, this enzyme moves excess fats and sugars into our cells to be converted into energy. This AMPK enzyme tells our bodies when to start burning fat stores for energy.

The AMPK Activator contains two plant ingredients that have been found to activate our body’s own AMPK enzyme, which tells our bodies to start using its fat stores for energy, especially abdominal fat stores.

Another nice thing about this supplement is that it’s just one-a-day to be effective. 

Garcinia Cambogia

Garcinia cambogia is also known as Citrimax, and its active ingredient, HCA, has been in numerous studies over the years for its benefits for weight loss. It works in part by inhibiting an enzyme that stores sugars and carbohydrates as fat, blocking the process of fat production. 

Instead of being converted into fat, sugar and carbohydrates are converted into glycogen, a fuel that is stored in the liver and muscles that is converted into energy. By raising the body’s levels of glycogen, it can also help with reducing appetite, since it tells the body that its fuel tanks are full. HCA (the active ingredient in garcinia cambogia) can also help to raise the body’s level of serotonin, which helps with boosting mood as well as reducing stress eating.

We’d say the best garcinia cambogia supplement is the one by Jarrow, and it should be taken three capsules, twice a day, thirty to sixty minutes before a meal for best results.  

Glucomannan

Unlike the two supplements mentioned above, glucomannan is not involved with raising metabolism or burning fat, which can actually be a good thing since it can be taken at any time, including in the evening. Glucomannan is a special type of fiber that increases many times its size in the stomach, helping you to feel more full and satisfied. Because of that, when taken before a meal (or whenever) the idea is that would eat less since the stomach is partially filled. It’s also nice since it can be taken in the evening to help to curb late night snacking.

Even better, glucomannan is be beneficial for high cholesterol and diabetes, since it can help to control blood sugar levels. Glucomannan is available in both powder and capsules, but if using capsules, make sure to take them with a full glass of water. 

L-Carnitine

Carnitine is an amino acid with many benefits particularly for cardiovascular health. While not specifically a weight loss supplement, carnitine can be helpful for weight loss since it’s involved with energy metabolism, and helps to transport fat from the foods we eat to be converted into energy. It can be helpful when you’re exercising since it can help to burn more fat during exercise and give the muscles more energy, reducing fatigue when exercising (which can be especially helpful for people who are just beginning to an exercise regimen).

Carnitine  works in part by increasing nitric oxide in the body, which helps heart health and cardiovascular function, and can help with increasing blood flow and cellular energy in the body-especially the muscles. 

Protein

Protein, and protein shakes do not help you lose weight. That being said, eating more protein can help you to feel more satisfied for longer, which can help with dieting. Protein also helps with muscle repair after exercise. Protein shakes are a simple, low-calorie way to increase the amount of protein in your diet and are available in milk-based whey protein or plant-based proteins suitable for people with dietary restrictions.

Please stop by the store so we can help you to find the supplement that’s right for you! We’re located at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.

Vitamin D and Coronavirus Research

Vitamin D is a supplement that is well known for being beneficial to the immune system, and some scientists have even speculated that part of the dramatic increase in cold and flu during the winter is as a result of lower vitamin D levels (since generally vitamin D is made in the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight).

Interesting new research has come out concerning coronavirus and Vitamin D, linking lower vitamin D levels to increased mortality risk from Covid-19. One researcher on coronavirus and Vitamin D is quoted as saying, "Our analysis shows that it might be as high as cutting the mortality rate in half," in regards to vitamin D supplementation.

It’s also been reported that countries with higher death rates from Covid-19 had larger numbers of people with lower vitamin D levels, and also that the sickest patients often had low vitamin D levels.

The thinking for many years was that low vitamin D levels were only something to be concerned with in the winter or in northern latitudes, but newer research is finding vitamin D deficiency to be prevalent even in sunny locales.

In regards to dosages, for people who have been found to be severely deficient in vitamin D from a blood test, their doctors will often give a prescription of a 50,000 IU dose to be taken once a week, which equals out to a little over 7,000 IUs per day. We wouldn’t recommend anything that high without a doctor’s recommendation, so for most people we’d recommend a 2,000 IU daily dose. That’s also the amount that well known natural physician Dr. Andrew Weil recommends to be used daily.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, so it will be best absorbed when taken with food.

Vitamin D is made in our bodies when our skin when exposed to sunlight, but sunscreen reduces that efficiency. Also, people with darker skin tones make less vitamin D from the sun, often leading to vitamin D deficiency. One study on vitamin D levels in African Americans found sub-optimal levels of vitamin D all year long due to reduced vitamin D production in the skin.

Vitamin D is an inexpensive supplement with many benefits, including benefits for bone health. We have a great selection of natural vitamin D supplements at the store in a variety of dosages, so stop by to find one that’s right for you! We will be open to the public from 10-4, Monday through Saturday, beginning June 1st, though we also offer curbside pickup as well, call us at 708-448-9114 if you would like to place an order.

We're Reopening on June 1st!

We are excited to announce that beginning June 1st, Pass Health Foods will be reopening to the public with extended modified hours- we will be open from 10-4 Monday through Saturday.

Face masks that cover the nose and mouth will be required to shop in the store, though we will also have inexpensive face masks for purchase. We will have a basket of individual $1 face masks outside of our door. If you do not have a face mask, please take one to put on before entering the store, and you can pay for it with your other purchases.

Maintaining social distancing while shopping is also very important, and we ask for everyone’s help in ensuring that everyone stays safe. This is a new experience for all of us, so we appreciate your patience in navigating these uncharted waters.

We will have hand sanitizer at our entrance and at both registers that we encourage everyone to use as they enter the store and during check out.

The health of our staff and customers is of our utmost importance, and we will be doing everything we can to ensure that everyone stays healthy and that our store is a safe place to be, including regular cleaning and sanitizing practices, plexiglass counter guards, and social distancing. Even with those measures, however, we do recommend that at-risk groups like the elderly or those with compromised immune systems continue to choose our curb side pickup option.

We will continue to offer curb side pickup for the foreseeable future, so to place an order for pick up, please call the store at 708-448-9114 or email us at passhealthfoods@gmail.com and we will bring your order our to your car when you arrive.

Also, while we’ve been closed, we’ve been trying to make improvements to the store, so this terrible time isn’t a complete waste- we have switched all the lighting in the store to environmentally friendly LED lights and are working on installing new flooring. This is not how we anticipated out 25th Anniversary Year to go, but we are very grateful to have such wonderful customers who continue to support us during this crazy time.

Regarding face masks, we do have a supply of surgical masks available at the store if you need to purchase a mask. Additionally, we have ordered masks for our personal use from a woman on a website called Etsy and have been very pleased with them. They have straps that go behind the head which I believe are more comfortable that those that go behind the ears. We aren’t in any way affiliated with her store, I just wanted to share a link to the ones we ordered since they are well made and fit better than others I’ve tried (here’s the link to the masks).

Scientifically Researched Antiviral Supplements

These past couple months have been a time that none of us could have imagined. As we look ahead to the coming weeks and months, where our governments are looking into easing quarantine restrictions, we can feel uncertain. Dealing with a virus like this is something none of us have dealt with in our lifetimes, and it can be very frightening.

Recommendations on how to stay healthy remain the same: take care to wash hands regularly, don’t touch your face, and keep distance between other people. Something else that I believe can be beneficial are immune boosting supplements. Let me be clear, there are no natural products that are a miracle “cure” for coronavirus, but there are several supplements that have been scientifically researched to help with boosting immune system functioning, as well as supplements that can be helpful against viruses.

One of our favorites continues to be elderberry, also known as sambucus. Elderberry syrup has shown in scientific research to help with fighting off viruses. Much of the early research on elderberry was done on the flu virus, with positive results, though new studies have found it to be effective on a wide variety of viral illnesses (though as of yet there have been no studies on elderberry and coronavirus). It works in part by helping to prevent viral replication so we can fight off viruses easier. Research has found it to be helpful preventatively, but also in reducing the duration and severity of a variety of viral illnesses. Elderberry is nice since it’s safe for both children and adults.

I also wanted to mention another, lesser known supplement that may be helpful against viruses, a supplement derived from coconut oil known as monolaurin. ABC News recently recommended monolaurin in an article titled, Coronavirus: Experts say these supplements, foods may help keep immune system humming.

Another article was published by two physician researchers at the end of January recommending monolaurin as a possible antiviral treatment against the novel coronavirus (you can read the abstract here). The doctors wrote about the potent antiviral properties of monolaurin, as well as its mechanism that appeared to help to break down a virus’s outside “envelope” which then prevented the virus from being able to replicate. Another study the article cited mentioned research on a virus similar in structure to the coronavirus, and how monolaurin was able to inhibit that virus’s maturation and replication.

Monolaurin was also mentioned as a potent antiviral in yet another scientific article published in the journal Evidence Based Complementary Alternative Medicine, which mentioned its antiviral activity. Like the scientific article mentioned above, it also attributed monolaurin’s antiviral action to its ability to help with disintegrating the outside membrane of a virus, and by doing so, stopping that virus from replicating.

Again, I want to say that as of now, there is no cure for coronavirus, either natural or pharmaceutical. In the absence of a vaccine, the only thing we can do to stay healthy is to reduce our exposure and to do everything we can to make sure our bodies and immune systems are functioning properly. I would also say that preventative use of supplements like monolaurin or elderberry, that have shown benefit against viruses, are also a good idea.

Quarantine and social distancing are only meant to “flatten the curve”, to help our medical providers across the country to be able to keep cases at a manageable level for hospitals. It is likely that many of us will come in contact with the virus before a vaccine is readily available, so I’d say that supplements like monolaurin are worth using in this uncertain time, with the hopes that they might help us to fight off any infections easier or with less severe symptoms.

I hope everyone reading this is staying healthy. At this time, our store, Pass Health Foods in Palos Heights is still open for phone orders and advice Monday through Saturday from 10-2. We take orders over the phone and then will bring them out to your car when you get there. You can call the store at 708-448-9114. This is a scary time, but I know we’ll get through it.

Supporting Small Businesses in Palos Heights

Just as we’re continuing as best as we can during this uncertain time (see this post on our website for our modified hours and curb side pickup), there are many other small businesses that we’d recommend that are continuing to offer curb side or modified hours or services.

First, I’d like to mention our friends at Revival Yoga. Their studios are closed, but they are posting free yoga and fitness videos (of all types and for all ages) every day on their facebook page. We love them and would really recommend checking them out, especially since they are doing this just to be wonderful, and aren’t making any money from doing it. Here is a link directly to their video page.
 
Treadfit in Palos Heights is also offering free short strengthening fitness videos on their facebook page here.  Like us and Revival, they’re also a female owned business, and the people there are very nice.
 
Also, Running for Kicks in Palos Heights is open for curb side pickup of orders. They are extremely knowledgeable and amazing, so if you need any new shoes for running, walking, or exercise, we’d really recommend giving them a call at 708-448-9200 or 708-421-9200.
 
Lots of delicious restaurants are open in Palos for curb side pickup:

Tuay Thai, an amazing Thai restaurant in our mall is open for curb side pickup, and their phone number is 708-923-6467.

Prime Choice Market is open for curb side pickup or delivery. You can call them at 708-388-5918.

Harvest Room is also still open for open for curb side pickup, and are even offering “Family Style Meals”. You can call them at 708-671-8905.

The Breadsmith is also open in Palos Heights for curb side pickup, and are offering gluten free baked goods for pickup on Wednesdays. You can call them at 708-923-0755.

Highlander House is an amazing Polish restaurant open for curb side pickup; their phone number is 708-924-3688.

Lucano's Pizza & Catering is also open for pickup or delivery. They can be reached at 708-361-3330.

Jullianni’s Pizza is open every day from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. for online, pick-up, and deliveries. You can call them at 708-361-4222.
 
This is not an exhaustive list of businesses still open, just a few of our favorites. Supporting small businesses during this difficult time is really important, and we are so grateful for our customers. This is an unprecedented time, and we appreciate your support. Supporting small businesses now helps to ensure that they will still be around when things get back to normal.

Call us during our modified hours of 10-2 Monday through Saturday if you have any supplement questions or to place an order at 708-448-9114. We’re located at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.

Curb Side Pickup & Delivery Available

We have extended our hours for Curb Side Pickup- we will be at the store from 10-2 for Curb Side Pickup Mondays through Saturdays.

To place an order, you can call the store at any time and leave a message, email the store with an order, or else call from 10-2 when we’re at the store. Our email address is passhealthfoods@gmail.com and our phone number is 708-448-9114. When placing an order through email or leaving a message on our answering machine, please be sure to leave your name and a call back number so we can confirm your order and alert you to any out of stock issues and to help you to find the right products for your specific needs.

We will only be taking credit card payments over the phone after your order has been confirmed. We will not be taking cash or checks at this time, and we apologize for that inconvenience.

We would especially recommend emailing your order and if at all possible.  When placing an order through email or leaving a message on our answering machine, please be sure to leave your name and a call back number so we can confirm your order and alert you to any out of stock issues and to help you to find the right products for your specific needs.

We do have an online catalog of some of our top products on our website (some prices may be slightly different than those posted). View our searchable catalog here (it's better viewed on a desktop computer vs. a phone): https://www.passhealthfoods.com/productcatalog

We have a good selection of immune products in stock and especially recommend elderberry syrup. See the article on our website: Elderberry- A Potent Antiviral. Elderberry syrup has shown in research to help with fighting off viruses. It works in part by helping to prevent viral replication so we can fight off viruses easier. Research has found it to be helpful preventatively, but also in reducing the duration and severity of viral illnesses. 

Please call us at the store for supplement advice or if you have any questions.

DELIVERY

We are also going to be offering delivery for people living near the health food store. Our Local Delivery Boundaries surrounding the store are:

NORTH: 103rd Street

SOUTH: 135th Street

EAST: Cicero Avenue

WEST: LaGrange Road

See this page on our website for more information on delivery boundaries and a map: https://www.passhealthfoods.com/localdelivery

For deliveries, there is a $5 delivery fee, and orders will be delivered on Friday. To place an order for delivery this Friday afternoon, it must be placed before noon on Thursday, March 26th. Delivery orders will be left on the doorstep without person to person contact. We will take payment ahead of time over the phone with a credit card. We will, unfortunately, be unable to bring orders inside or upstairs to people living on upper stories of condominiums or apartment buildings.

See this link for a product catalog of our top products.