It’s January Sale time again, and we are offering
10% off ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING when you get to the till! (Or in the case of website orders, in the space for your comments please ask for your 10% off, and we will deduct it manually when we process your order.)
And how long will this be going on for, you might ask? THE WHOLE OF JANUARY! WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN THAT!

We hope you all had a great Christmas. Thank you for the cards. We wish you all a very happy and healthy new year.

PURE FOCUS™ - Lutein, Zeaxanthin and L-Lysine sublingual Spray has 800% more benefit than tablets or capsules, as it is immediately absorbed into the blood stream under the tongue. It is difficult for digestive systems to absorb capsules or tablets, especially if digestive problems exist.
Also containing Vinpocetine, it is the best product for the delivery of these specific nutrients to the eye. Eye Doctors in the USA have used this formula to help patients improve vision and prevent loss due to Macular Degeneration.
Lutein and Zeaxanthin filter light and serve as potent free radical scavengers for the Retina. L-Lysine helps maintain healthy blood vessels, Vinpocetine improves blood flow to the blood vessels in the eye as well as improving the utilisation of glucose and oxygenation, increasing ATP production and prevention of vasoconstriction to the brain and retina (and improving memory).
The main benefits from using Pure Focus™ are:
* Reduced glare
* Reduced visual fatigue
* Improved night vision
* Improved contrast
* Improved acuity
* Brighter colours
* A clearer view

Recommended dosage: 5 sprays per day for the first two months then 3 sprays per day for the next two months and lastly 1 spray per day as a preventative.

Price £24.95

On-Nutrition have repackaged their Collagen Capsules and produced some great new products. The capsules are now called proto-Col Skin, Hair & Nails Formulation and proto-Col Joint and Muscle Formulation. They cost £29.95 each for 90 capsules.

The proto-Col Silk Firming Serum is a luxurious plant-based firming serum which acts to nourish and firm the skin and may reduce the appearance of fine lines and open pores. Your skin will be left with a beautiful satin sheen as the product acts to tighten and firm the face and neck, evening our skin tone and discolouration. proto-Col’s silk firming serum is a progressive treatment which makes a fantastic daily moisturising treat. The gentle fruit acids in this silk serum work to help with the removal of dead skin cells whilst the papaya intensifies the lifting process which can last all day. To benefit from the maximum firming action of this product, apply to face, neck and décolleté morning and night working upwards from the base of the neck. The serum is the ideal product to follow proto-Col’s rejuvenating facemask for maximum effect. Price £39.95.

Proto-Col’s rejuvenating facemask may also help reduce fine lines and wrinkles, help to firm and tone the face and neck, improve circulation, nourish the skin boost healing, and boost the body’s own collagen production. It costs £39.95 for 15-20 facemasks.

Proto-Col have now introduced a unique moisturiser. The fantastically light collagen & coral moisturiser is a new concept in anti-ageing skin care. This fine textured vitamin-rich gel is a natural plant-based formula of collagen, aloe vera, royal jelly, coral seaweed and hydrolysed silk.
The coral seaweed helps to give natural protection to UV light as well as being a detoxifying agent. It is combined with plant collagen for its nourishing and anti-wrinkle properties and hydrolysed silk protein, which helps hold in the natural moisture of the skin. Rich in vitamins and minerals, this excellent natural skin food is a must have for anyone wanting to look after their skin.
Perfect as a daily facial moisturiser or make-up base for even the most sensitive skin, this luxury formula retails at just £19.95 for 50ml.

Also new to the range is the Instant Manicure offering super smooth hands in 60 seconds. You’re just 60 seconds away from super smooth hands with this fabulous and unique blend of dead sea salts and luxurious essential oils. This quick fix offers long-lasting results as your hands are exfoliated and moisturised in one easy step. The pot contains 80+ applications and retails at £24.95. This fantastic Dead Sea salt scrub is a natural product that will transform even the most reluctant feet to super smooth condition in just 60 seconds. You simply give it a stir, scoop a small amount of the mixture out and rub it into your hands for 60 seconds. Then you rinse it off with warm water and the transformation is amazing!

Treat your feet with the new Instant Pedicure! Formulated with Swiss Alps Lavender and Capsicum essential oils to ease those aches and pains, this product also includes Tea Tree Oil, a mild antiseptic, which helps keep feet fragrant. Lemongrass – sourced from the African Congo and Seychelles – has been included to counteract perspiration and act against mild foot infections including Athlete’s Foot.
This amazing exfoliating and moisturising scrub will leave your feet glowing. Just massage a small amount of the product into clean feet, using a very gentle action on the soft instep area and being firmer on the sole. Rinse feet in warm water and pat dry for super smooth, ache-free feet. Each 250ml foil-sealed pot of pedicure contains over 50 applications. The product retails at £24.95.

click here to purchase the fabulous new collagen products

When we first opened, we weren’t sure what would sell. We’ve still got quite a bit of gardening bits and pieces, but as the Health Shop side of things is doing the best now, we’ll gradually phase out the gardening bits, except for plants through the Spring and Summer.
Anyway, on the 8th of December I had a phone call from a lady in Scotland asking me if we do mail order, because she’d like to buy a widger. She said, “I expect you’ve had lots of phone calls for them, haven’t you?” I said, “Sorry, but what is a widger?”
Well, it’s a small stainless steel tool for transplanting seedlings, and Sean Hignett, seasoned gardener of The Scotsman, the Scottish National newspaper, wrote a whole article called “On the trail of the elusive widger”. Widgers are apparently hard to find, and he did a search on the Internet and found it on our website. He quoted our website address and phone number, and we did have several calls. I sent an SAE with one lady’s order and she sent me back the article! We’ve only got one widger left now!

A Detox Diet is a way of cleansing the body of unwanted toxins with the additional benefit of losing weight. 1 day will help remove accumulated toxins; 1 to 4 weeks will have the additional benefits of a more complete detox and a loss of unwanted pounds.
Why Detox and Diet? It makes you feel (after the initial “healing crisis” some people get) like a million dollars, gives you the energy to get up at dawn with the kids, be more awake, lively and physically alert.
How to Detox and Diet.
1. Eat mainly fruit and vegetables.
As little Cooking as possible preserves the natural benefits.
Fresh fruit juices and soups are a tasty way to get the benefit.
2. Avoid red meat, processed foods and ready-made meals.
Red meat is harder for the body to digest and results in more toxins.
Freshness is the key, the vital ingredients in all foods are easily destroyed.
3. Restrict sugar, salt, dairy products and wheat-based foods.
This includes milk, butter, cheese, wheat pasta, bread, cakes and biscuits.
4. Drink at least 2 litres of water a day.
Ideally at room temperature. This flushes the toxins out.
5. Eat high fibre foods.
For example pulses, porridge and brown rice to keep the bowel moving.
6. Avoid tea, coffee and alcohol.
An occasional lapse will not destroy the effect, but keep to a minimum.
7. Drink herbal teas.
These offer a pleasant alternative to water and can have cleansing properties.
8. Brush your whole body with a firm dry brush twice a day.
Brushing towards the heart stimulates the lymphatic system which is essential for a healthy immune system and for purifying the blood.
9. Take regular exercise.
This can mean simply walking to the shops instead of taking the car, or using the stairs for a couple of floors rather than taking the lift.
Be sensible, if you are not used to exercise, take advice and build up gradually.
10. Support your detox organs and general metabolism with supplements.
Milk Thistle is thought to actively remove toxins from liver cells and prevent the entrance of fresh ones. It has also been shown to help damaged liver cells recover.
Multivitamins and minerals are essential for processing foods and removal of toxins.
Kelp is a concentrated source of minerals, including iodine. This is required to make the thyroid hormones which are essential in the regulation of metabolism.
Omega 3, 6 and 9 Essential Fatty Acids have many properties that are useful. They are anti-inflammatory and keep the skin and immune system healthy. Udo’s Choice Blend of oils is the best. It contains all three and costs £16.43 for 500ml.
Go on, go for it! You know you’ll feel better afterwards

Generally, I am a healthy person, apart from the fact that I enjoy a few real ales or red wine, and at the moment I don’t get enough exercise.
During the 14 years I have worked in health shops I have tried all sorts of supplements for various reasons.
The one that I would carry on taking if I couldn’t afford to take any others would be vitamin E.
When I was 13 I had Chilblains on my fingers, toes, heals and the backs of my legs. How I came to get such poor circulation so young beats me, but that’s what I had, and the Chilblains came back year after year. When I started working for H & B I went through everything available for poor circulation, and after about a year of taking 400iu of Vitamin E daily, I finally had a winter free of the horrible itchy, painful things, and haven’t had any since!
I do still get cold hands and feet, so I take Ginkgo biloba, too, as it helps to get the blood flowing to the extremities, and also Vitamin C with Bioflananoids to strengthen the capillaries and improve circulation.
Keep well and warm, from Juliet.

Guess who came to pay us a visit Christmas morning? The female Great Spotted Woodpecker again, pecking up and down the Willow tree! Stephen saw it, too this time!

One of our customers who hadn’t received the last newsletter came in and told me she had seen a Grey Wagtail in her garden, and she lives just around the corner to us, so that sighting was confirmed, too!

I bought from the RSPB one of those clear plastic feeders with suckers on for our kitchen window. It took about five weeks before the Sparrow family started to use it, and over Christmas we’ve had two Blue Tits coming for the peanuts, too. It’s nice to see them so close up.

Talking of Sparrows, they are becoming quite scarce in London, so we really must do our best to help maintain the thriving population we have here.

Keep putting out those scraps!

Happy New Year to you all!