Favorite Brand Spotlight (and Sale!): Natural Factors

This month I wanted to write about one of our favorite companies. They don’t have fancy labels, but they do have great products at a good price- Natural Factors. They’re a family owned business that really cares about their products and ingredients- they have their own farms where they grow and harvest herbs and supplement ingredients for their products using heirloom, non-GMO seeds. When they aren’t able to source their own ingredients from their own farm, they have partners where environmental sustainability and purity are paramount. The company also supports a number of philanthropic environmental causes and are founding patrons of the Plant A Seed & See What Grows Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to create opportunities for children to personally experience and be inspired by the natural world around them, that includes funding for school gardens, healthy school breakfast programs, farm visits, and reading programs.

Quite a few of their items are our top recommended products for different categories, often because they’re such a great deal. They have “buy one, get one free” two packs of CoQ10, ubiquinol (the active form of CoQ10), Vitamin D3, and more. They also have the best quercetin (a supplement for respiratory health and the immune system) on the market currently- a liposomal quercetin that’s significantly better absorbed than regular quercetin. I take the Natural Factors vitamin D, CoQ10, and liposomal quercetin every day.

We’re also featuring them this month because we have a limited amount of “Immunity Kits” that we’re offering at a great price as a thank you to our customers. It’s a one month kit that has 30 count bottles of their liposomal quercetin, vitamin D3, zinc, and a time release vitamin C that we’ve put on sale for just $19.99- it’s an amazing deal, since the regular price of a month’s supply of the liposomal quercetin alone is almost $30.

We wanted to offer it to our customers so it’s easier (and more affordable!) for everyone to stay healthy through this winter. Quercetin, vitamin D, vitamin C, and zinc are really the top supplements needed to stay healthy. We also thought it might be a nice gift for friends and family to help them stay healthy without having to spend a fortune.

Stop by to pick up one of our new Natural Factors Immunity Kits while supplies last, and stay healthy!

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

28th Anniversary Sale on January 7th - 28% off all Supplements!

2023 marks our 28th year in Palos Heights! We are so grateful for the amazing community and people who continue to support us- we’re so incredibly thankful for each of you. 28 years as a small business is no small feat, and the only reason we're still here is because of each of you. 

To celebrate and say thank you, we'll be having a celebration sale on Saturday, January 7th of 28% off all supplements in the store!

It'll be on in stock items only (we won't be able to do a raincheck at that sale price for out of stock items), though we’ve ordered extra to make sure we have enough stock for the sale. This is the largest sale we've ever had, so don't miss it! 

Also during the entire month of January, we'll be having raffles every week (some pretty nice gift baskets)! So be sure to stop in.

Organic Wine Tasting January 7th

We’re sampling 4 great new organic wines on during our Anniversary Sale on January 7th from 11-2 sourced from organic vineyards in Spain and Italy!

Come by to try our new: 

Organic Tempranillo Rosé by Mesta in Spain

 A delicious rosé with rich strawberry flavors and a hint of sweetness.  It pairs well with vegetables, spicy foods, seafood, and white meats.

Organic Montepulciano by Vigna Madre in Italy

Montepulciano is a smooth, full-bodied red with good acidity that’s great for pairing with pizza, pasta, and grilled meats.

Organic Garnacha by Mesta in Spain

A fruit-forward, off-dry, juicy red wine with notes of ripe fruits. It pairs well with spicy meats, spicy veggie curries and stews.

Organic Verdejo by Mesta in Spain

Verdejo is a clean and refreshing dry white wine, similar to pinot grigio but even more crisp.  It pairs well with seafood and spicy foods.

Starting the New Year by Burning Sage

Many people burn sage as a cleansing and purifying practice, helping to cleanse a space of negative energy. Some feel that sage helps them to feel grounded and more connected to the spiritual realm, while others feel that burning sage helps to reduce "bad vibes".

Even if you don't really believe in sage’s ability to cleanse a space of negative energy, I do think there is value in continuing historical traditions that connect us to the past.

People have burned sage and other herbs in many different cultures around the world for at least 4,000 years. Native Americans and other Indigenous Peoples have used burning sage to clear negative energy and restore harmony, and also as a sacred practice.

This is an interesting article by the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, The Sacred Art of Smudging, that also has information about burning different herbs:

"There are three primary herbs used in the Native American tradition for smudging: sage, cedar and sweetgrass.

Sage is used to dispel negative energy.

Cedar is used for an overall blessing or to cleanse where there has been illness.

Sweetgrass draws in positive energy"

We have all three of the above varieties at the store.

It’s recommended that non-native people call the practice of burning sage smoke cleansing rather than smudging, since the word "smudging" is associated with practices of the Native American people, though burning sage or other herbs has been used in many cultures, including the ancient Egyptians and Celts.

Burning sage or smoke cleansing seems like a nice thing to do to start the New Year on a positive note.

To light a stick of sage or other herbs, hold it at a 45 degree angle and light one end. Let the stick burn for roughly 30 seconds before gently blowing out. The sage bundle will continue to smolder similar to how an incense stick would. Many people use the same sage stick multiple times, though others recommend using a new stick if safe each time you do a purification ritual.

A small bowl of sand or dirt can help to extinguish a sage stick after a cleansing, but it should also extinguish itself after a time. You can also stamp the sage stick out in a ceramic bowl to extinguish it.

When cleansing a home, it should be done in a thoughtful, respectful, and meditative way, walking clockwise beginning at the front door around the indoor perimeter of the home, allowing the sage smoke to penetrate dark corners and closets. 

Burning sage can be a nice way to begin the New Year in a positive way.

Stop by and see us at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.  

A Great New Product for Coughs

Coughing is the worst, especially since it can linger for weeks after having a respiratory infection.

We have a new product by Terry Naturally that I've really been impressed with for coughs, called Bronchial Clear-it's a combination of thyme and ivy extract, both of which have impressive benefits for respiratory health.

Its main ingredient is ivy leaf, which is not very well known as a supplement in the US, but has some really impressive benefits for respiratory health. Even though it is not very well known in America as a supplement, it has been used medicinally for thousands of years safely.

Ivy extract is great for respiratory health because studies have shown that it can help to reduce inflammation in the lungs and also help to dissolve excess mucus.

When I was doing research into the benefits of ivy leaf for respiratory infections, I found research comparing ivy leaf's effectiveness to a prescription, saying it was "as effective as the prescription Ambroxol for chronic bronchitis". That really piqued my interest because I am a person who often seems to get a cough whenever I get sick, so I'm defiantly familiar with every prescription for coughs and respiratory infections, but I'd never heard of Ambroxol. It turns out that Ambroxol is a medication for respiratory infections that usually prescribed in Europe, but apparently isn't FDA-approved.

After reading about that, I went down a rabbit hole of why that prescription for lung infections wasn't FDA approved (since often Europe has a lot more stringent regulations than the US), but it seems it's not because it isn't an effective treatment, but that the patent had expired and it wouldn't be worth it financially for an American company to pay for the costly FDA approval process.

All of this to say that ivy extract has benefits shown to be equal to European medications for respiratory infections for coughing, helping the body to clear excess mucus, easing coughs and improving lung function.

In addition to ivy extract, the Bronchial Clear product also has thyme extract, an herb that’s fantastic for respiratory health since it can help clear mucus from the lungs and reduce lung inflammation. It’s even shown benefit for people suffering from COPD, an irreversible lung disorder where people experience problems breathing due to inflammation in the airways. The active ingredients in thyme extract also show benefits for having natural anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

I've taken Bronchial Clear by Terry Naturally and really thought it helped. I definitely won't be without it from now on in the winter. We also have a kid’s cough syrup with ivy extract at the store from Garden of Life that we'd recommend, since a lingering cough can be an awful thing for anyone to deal with, at any age.

Stop by the store if you have any questions, we’d be happy to help you further. We’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.

New Every Day Sales: Garden of Life’s “My Kind” Organic Line, and More

We know how difficult things can be and how prices have gone up everywhere, but we really believe that supplements and natural foods are important, so we're trying to make things more affordable for everyone.

I'm not sure if you checked out our food prices lately, but they're pretty great, especially our sales- I've gone to other grocery stores to compare and would definitely say ours are better on an item by item basis (which was definitely not always the case- especially a few years ago).

We also have two new big everyday sales to announce for 2023, Garden of Life's "My Kind" line, along with an assortment of other Garden of Life products that we especially recommend, that will now be on everyday sale for 20% off. I do really like Garden of life, but they are pricey (if they're reading this, I apologize, but it's true), we've been working with them for a while and have been able to secure a discount for our customers that we're passing along.

Also, Country Life's is a brand we really like, that has quite a few unique products that we’d recommend. We've been working with them to be able to get a discount to be able to pass on to customers for a number of their best-selling products, including their Core One multivitamins that are a big customer favorite starting in January, so be on the lookout for that.

So please, if you haven't been to the store in a while, stop by and check us out. We have tons of everyday sales on the majority of our most recommended products and we have great monthly food sales throughout the store. As a small business, it's sometimes hard to compete sometimes with huge companies like Walmart or Amazon, but we're doing our best trying to make things affordable for everyone, since we really do believe in the real benefits of natural supplements and natural foods.

Stop by and see us at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights. In January we’ll be celebrating 28 years in Palos Heights as a women owned small business!

Passionflower for Stress and Anxiety

Passionflower has always been an herb I liked for stress and anxiety, but in doing more research into how it actually worked, I’ve been really impressed with the findings. 

Passion flower is a part of many sleep blends, but it can also be used during the day for anxiety and stress. Keep in mind that higher doses may make you feel tired. Many people have reported a more positive mood as well after using passionflower. With herbs like passion flower it's good to look for an extract versus just the dried herb in a capsule, since that way you know you're getting enough of the beneficial active ingredients.

Mt. Sinai hospital reported that studies of people with generalized anxiety disorder show that passionflower extract is as effective as the drug oxazepam (a prescription sedative for anxiety) and produced less impairment on job performance than oxazepam.  

Scientists believe passionflower works by increasing levels of a chemical produced in the body called gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. GABA lowers the activity of some brain cells (it's thought to play a major role in controlling nerve cell overactivity associated with anxiety and stress), making you feel more relaxed.  GABA is actually available in supplement form, but it’s not very well absorbed, which is why taking supplements that boost the body’s own production of GABA- like passionflower- can be more effective.

Passionflower is safe to be combined with other supplements for mood and anxiety if needed- it's often a part of many stress and sleep blends that combine a number of different ingredients.

Passionflower dosage and use depends on what you're using it for. For occasional stress and anxiety it can be taken just when needed, but for more consistent anxiety, it's more effective when taken daily as a 200-300 mg of a standardized extract, twice a day.

Passionflower has been shown in many studies to be safe, but if you’re already taking prescriptions sedatives, combining them with passionflower may not be a good idea. It’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor about possible drug interactions.

Stop by and see us, our Solaray Passionflower Extract is a good potency product that’s on sale every day at Pass Health Foods.

Something else to note: even though the flowers look very tropical, there are varieties of passionflower that are hardy to our growing zone in the Chicago area. I’m planning my garden for next year and am hoping to grow some passionflower vines since they’re a host plant for fritillary butterflies, some of which are listed as threatened species in Illinois (their caterpillars are very interesting looking too!).

Help for waking up in the middle of the night

I wanted to write about a new product that we've just gotten in that's great for sleep- our new Liposomal Melatonin Spray by Solgar. Liposomal technology significantly increases absorption, so you don’t need huge doses to be effective (which in the case of melatonin is an especially good thing). Also, since it’s in a spray form (flavored with mint, so it’s reminiscent of mouthwash or toothpaste) it’s absorbed quickly and efficiently.

It’s great to take as you’re laying down to sleep, but the best thing about it is that it’s meant to be effective when used for waking up in the middle of the night. Night wakening is a real problem for a large group of people, especially women, who find they often don’t have trouble actually going to sleep at night, but rather staying asleep. This melatonin spray is perfect for that, and can be used during the night if you wake up to help you to get back to sleep.

The spray form is especially nice since even in the middle of the night it’s easy to grab off your nightstand to do a couple sprays to lull yourself back to sleep, and unlike a pill, no extra water is necessary. Solgar recommends that the spray can be used for night wakening as long as you have three hours left to go before the time you need to wake up.

I’d really recommend giving it a try, since it can only help. It can also be used before bed to help with sleep if needed. As an extra bonus, recent research has linked melatonin to better immune functioning, something I’m sure we could all use.

Also, this new melatonin spray, along with all of our Solgar products (and they have some really good ones) are on sale every day at Pass Health Foods, so stop by and see us! We’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.

Gluten Free Baking Contest - November 12th

Mark your calendars and dust off your cookbooks, because our Gluten Free Baking Contest is coming up on Saturday, November 12th! It's been on hold the past couple of years, and we're so excited to have it again!

The winning recipe will be published in The Regional News and the First Place Winner will also receive a $50 gift card to our store!

There will also be an Honorable Mention prize and "Kid's Choice" prize of a $25 gift card each, and of course the glory of being the best gluten free baker! The winning recipes will also be featured in our December newsletter. We also will special gift baskets and extra prizes for the winners!

All entries must be accompanied by full recipes and need to be entirely free of gluten.

Cakes, cookies, pies, breads, brownies, bars, muffins, cupcakes, and more!

Entries should also be on disposable plates or platters and can be dropped off between 10:30-11:30 on the day of the contest, and the judging will take place at noon. Entries will be available to sample after the judging, so be sure to come by, it should be a wonderful (and delicious!) time!

We will also have lots of other raffles, prizes, and giveaways that day, so be sure to mark your calendars!

We're at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.

Feel free to call us at the store if you have any questions at 708-448-9114.

Men's Health Spotlight: Foods for Prostate Health

November is Men's Health Month, so I wanted to write about a number of foods (and a couple supplements) that are extremely beneficial for men's health, especially in regards to prostate cancer prevention. Nearly 300,000 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and the American Cancer Society estimates that one in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

Thankfully, Prostate cancer is one of the most curable cancers, but it's still something to be avoided if possible (and early detection is key, so don't forget your yearly checkup). There are quite a few delicious foods that have shown in research to help with lowering your cancer risk when eaten regularly as part of a healthy diet, though in general, a diet higher in fresh fruits and vegetables and lower in meat (especially processed meats) can help to reduce cancer risk.

Walnuts have been found to help reduce cancer risk when eaten regularly, and have also been shown in scientific studies to be able to both inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells as well as reduce the size of prostate tumors. In older men, walnut intake was associated with improved biomarkers related to both prostate and vascular health. Walnuts are a good source of healthy fats that are also linked to improved heart health, so eating a handful a day of unsalted walnuts is definitely a good idea.

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are wonderfully healthy for you when eaten regularly, and are especially beneficial for prostate cancer prevention. Men who ate high amounts of broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables were found to have a 40% lower risk of invasive prostate cancer as well as a reduced overall cancer risk. There are lots of great ways to eat broccoli and cauliflower, so making a point to add them as a regular part of your diet can go a long way to help not only with cancer prevention, but they’re also very nutrient-dense and can help with reducing inflammation in the body.

Tomatoes are the main dietary source of lycopene, a nutrient well known for prostate cancer prevention. Lycopene has been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells in scientific research, and higher levels of lycopene in the body are associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer. For the lycopene in tomatoes to be absorbed the best, tomatoes need to be cooked, so cooked tomatoes or tomato sauces are ideal ways of upping your lycopene from food, especially when cooked tomatoes are combined with a healthy fat like olive oil. Lycopene can also help with heart health and kidney function and is a fantastic antioxidant. Lycopene is also available in supplement form.

The antioxidants found in green tea, known as catechins, have been shown to have many different benefits, especially with cancer prevention. One clinical trial found that green tea catechins were 90% effective in preventing prostate cancer in men with pre-malignant lesions on their prostate. The people in the trial were given 200mg of green tea catechins three times a day. Research has also shown benefits for men with prostate cancer as a complementary therapy to conventional treatment, significantly improving outcomes. I’d particularly recommend using matcha green tea powder in a smoothie as the easiest way to get the benefits of green tea, especially if you aren’t a fan of drinking brewed green tea .

Vitamin D has had a lot of press in the past couple of years for its benefits to the immune system, but vitamin D has also been shown to help with a cancer risk prevention of up to 50% for people with higher levels of vitamin D. People with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood have also been found to have a much lower incidence of lethal prostate cancer. Vitamin D is made in our skin when it’s exposed to sunlight, but vitamin D levels usually drop significantly in the colder months when we’re stuck inside the majority of the day. Vitamin D is a small, inexpensive pill, so adding it to your daily regimen is a simple thing to do- vitamin D is also great for healthy bones.

The other main prostate issue men experience other than cancer is benign prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. Enlarged prostate is very common, especially as men age- it’s been estimated that 80% of men at age 80 have BPH. Common symptoms of untreated BPH are frequent urination, an inability to empty the bladder completely, and incontinence; though without treatment it may even damage kidney function.

The most recommended supplement for BPH is saw palmetto, which has been shown in research to be as effective as the prescription finasteride for symptoms of benign prostate enlargement. The dosage matters, however, with a total of 320mg per day as the recommended effective dose.

There are prostate supplement blends available, which usually combine saw palmetto with other herbs beneficial for prostate health, though it's important to look at what the recommended dose is on the back of the bottle, since usually a prostate blend will be several pills a day. There are saw palmetto products in a one a day formula available as well, which most men find more convenient (just make sure that it contains the recommended 320mg per pill).

Please stop by Pass Health Foods if you have any questions, we’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights.