Hello, another Saturday, another Weekend Read and there would appear to be a lot of viral infections flying around at the moment.  I suppose at any given time, there will always be those who are more than susceptible to infection than others, yet these current strains seem to linger on, so before we do anything else, I want to talk about Daily Immunity.

I am not sure that I have ever written about Daily Immunity at this time of the year because essentially we have always recommended that Daily Immunity should be taken from the first day of Autumn to the first day of Spring, but prevailing circumstances dictate and necessitate a change in that thinking. Daily Immunity plays a key role in helping to protect against infection, whatever the season, and as such we have changed the status of Daily Immunity from being a fundamental core seasonal supplement to a fundamental core supplement.  Full stop.

There are many factors which contribute to a weakened immune system, sleep disturbances, stress and high sugar diets being just three of those factors, which Shabir talks about in his article, linked below. Daily Immunity has been formulated using a comprehensive curation of cutting-edge ingredients to achieve optimal immunity, including Astragalus, Elderberry, Oregano, Garlic, Olive Leaf and Zinc, all of which have been scientifically studied and researched extensively.

Demonstrating efficacy, Maitake and Shitake mushrooms, which are also included in this formulation, contain powerful beta-glucans and scientific studies have indicated that these compounds have been found to activate the immune system through a variety of mechanisms, one of which is to bind to white blood cells activating their ability to scavenge invading organisms. Additionally, the active compound of Olive Leaf, Oleuropein, has powerful antibacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, helping to inhibit a variety of organisms. 

So, that’s the lowdown on Daily Immunity and with its change in status, I am dropping the price from £29 to £26 to acknowledge its importance as a core supplement.  I would also like to acknowledge the importance of Triple Flu Defense+, which helps to combat infective viruses and this can be used as an adjunct to Daily Immunity, or as a stand-alone to help relieve the symptoms of colds and infections.  Formulated to combat specific seasonal strains, given that strains change each year, I am also dropping the price of Triple Flu Defense+ from £30 to £27 to cover all eventualities.
VH Editorial: A Daily Supplement That Supercharges Your Immunity; Daily Immunity £26 for 60 Capsules; Triple Flu Defense+ (2023-2024) £27 for 30 ml (offers end at midnight BST, Sunday 12 May)

With all of that said, Mental Health Awareness Week begins on Monday and mental trauma is something which is very close to my heart, so some words here.  However aware we are, there is still a stigma attached to mental health, which is why I write about this subject throughout the year because it is important to talk about the difficulties so many of us face, which are often accompanied by the struggle to be understood, which can be daunting in and of itself.

The latest statistics show that one in six of us suffer from emotional anxiety and that one in ten adults in the UK experience the symptoms of severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, with 93% of those experiencing mental illness believing that there is not enough awareness and understanding about what it means to be severely affected by mental trauma. A shocking statistic with far-reaching and overwhelming implications, with a mention here that online abuse is an appalling indictment of the societal changes we are witnessing, and it is beyond shameful. 

In all of this, there is a need to acknowledge that specialist help should be sought for severe mental trauma, but with one in six of us suffering from varying forms of anxiety, Magnolia Rhodiola Complex plays a significant role in helping to alleviate symptoms associated with stress, anxiety and low mood.  It may be a temporary phase, in which case we would recommend taking Magnolia Rhodiola Complex for three months, or if you are experiencing ongoing anxiety, it is perfectly safe to take as part of a supplement regimen, provided you are not taking prescribed anti-depressants, because it contra-indicates with anti-depressants.

So, a few things here.  Magnolia Rhodiola Complex is our bestselling product for anxiety, it has been for many years and it now carries the DoSe branding. The second thing is that Shabir’s article, linked below, takes an in-depth look at stress and anxiety, where he throws the focus on the attributes of Magnolia Rhodiola Complex, which now drops in price from £28 to £25.  And finally, if you are taking mood-elevating medication, we recommend Florassist Mood Improve which includes a standardised saffron extract to help support emotional wellbeing, and that drops in price too, from £26 to £23.
VH Editorial: How To Combat Stress Effectively; DoSe Magnolia Rhodiola Complex £25 for 60 Capsules; Florassist Mood Improve £23 for 30 Capsules (offers end at midnight BST, Friday 17 May)

I just want to stay on the subject of stress for a moment, because stress does of course have an impact on the health of our skin, so another article for you to read where Magnolia Rhodiola Complex is recommended once again, as it helps to take down the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in our bodies, which of course translates rather well for our skin as does DoSe Peptide Rescue Serum, which has been formulated with Wild Indigo (Neurophroline), clinically proven to reduce cortisol production by almost 70% in stressed skin.  It is in my skincare wardrobe, and if you want it in yours then the price drops from £22 to £19.  Across the weekend.
VH Editorial: Do You Have Stressed Skin; DoSe Peptide Rescue Serum £19 for 30 ml (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 12 May)

Bamboo Extract also carries the DoSe branding now, so let's take a look. Bamboo Extract contains high strengths of Silica and Biotin, but I want to throw the focus on Silica because Bamboo Extract is the richest known source of Silica, which has a restorative effect on many of the body’s tissues, as well as being an essential mineral for the health and integrity of the scalp follicles, binding with other nutrients to support hair growth.

Silica is a relatively unknown mineral, also known as Silicon, it is a combination of Silicon and Oxygen, which are the two most abundant elements on our planet, so if we are referencing hair health, Silica is considered a vital mineral if you are shedding hair excessively.  Silica helps to achieve hormonal balance and an imbalance in the female sex hormones is one of the biggest causal factors for hair loss and the thinning of hair.  Bonding with many minerals in the body, Silica has the ability to take many nutrients to the peripherals of the body, so in this instance the hair follicles are supplied with vital nutrients for hair health and hair growth.

Silica is used by every single cell and every internal gland within our bodies, and alongside Collagen, the body produces large amounts of Silica, but as we age both Collagen and Silica levels decline, so here Silica helps Collagen sheets to glue together, and it also stimulates fibroblasts which produce Collagen Type-1, so as our levels of Silica and Collagen decline with age, it would seem appropriate to increase those levels with supplementation, but the correct form of supplementation.

I know I write about this subject rather a lot, well nearly every week, but I just don’t understand why anybody would want to take any form of supplementation that didn’t carry the correct therapeutic dosage of any given ingredient for efficacy.  The issue here is that in many instances, Horsetail extracts are used in Silica formulations, but Horsetail extracts only supply between 5-8% of organic Silica, whereas Bamboo Extract provides the richest source of Silica containing 70% of Silica, making it at a far more potent form.  And because it is important to take a potent form, I am dropping the price of Bamboo Extract down to £17 from £20.  To make a point of difference.
VH Editorial: Silica Supplements For Hair, Skin and Nails; DoSe Bamboo Extract £17 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 12 May)

And because I think it is incredibly important to make a point of difference, I absolutely know that the Fulvic haircare products make a point of difference to so many of us.  It is impossible for me to use or take every product that I write about, but I could write an entire book about Fulvic, with about seven chapters on the difference Fulvic has made to the health of my hair across the years.  I won’t do that, but what I will do is take the price down of the Fulvic Hair Trio from £75 to £55 and include a bottle of Fulvic Elixir (240 ml), which is worth £15, with the full-size Shampoo, Conditioner and Mist.  My trust in Fulvic is absolute. I’m having a moment.
VH Editorial: Fulvic – The Elixir Of Life; Fulvic Hair Trio £55 (Fulvic Shampoo 240 ml; Fulvic Conditioner 240 ml; Fulvic Mist 120 ml) + Fulvic Elixir (240 ml) Free (offer ends at midnight BST, Monday 13 May)

Let me continue that moment by saying that we also have the Fulvic Travel Trio, which means that you get 60 ml each of the Shampoo, Conditioner and Mist.  For those who haven’t used the Fulvic haircare products, this is a good introduction to the range, and for those who are travelling, you may wish to take these away with you, rather than the larger sizes, so I am dropping the price of The Fulvic Travel from £25 to £15.  And just perhaps you may want both.
Fulvic Travel Trio £15 (Fulvic Shampoo 60 ml; Fulvic Conditioner 60 ml; Fulvic Mist 60 ml) (offer ends at midnight BST, Monday 13 May)

Let’s do a common health concern, and fungal toenails are a really common infection.  Often starting on one toenail, they are contagious and can spread to several others, but conventional treatment often involves the use of powerful anti-fungal drugs, which can cause unpleasant side effects such as an upset stomach and skin eruptions. Some of the symptoms of fungal toenails include the discolouration of the toenail, irregular shaped nails and discharge from the nail bed and because toenails receive little blood supply, it follows that antibiotics and fungal nail treatments only reach the infected site in small quantities, making the treatment slow and difficult to eradicate.

Given that fungal infections are difficult to treat, we recommend using oral and topical products, with Clove & Oregano Complex being best-in-class for fungal infections. Clove buds contain volatile oils which display powerful anti-fungal properties and Oregano leaf contains Carvacrol and Thymol, both of which display antibacterial, anti-fungal and antimicrobial properties. Topically, Fulvic Nail Cream is a hero product for so many reasons, not least because it has potent anti-fungal compounds and it also contains Vitamin B7 (Biotin), which helps condition and strengthen nails.

So, that’s a wrap for fungal toenail treatment, although this applies to our fingernails too because fungal infections can be quite common with acrylic or gel nails, which is a whole different subject.  Anyway, we were wrapping and as we do so I am dropping the price of Clove & Oregano Complex from £23.10 to £20 and Fulvic Nail Cream drops from £14 to £12 in another one of those Fulvic moments. 
VH Editorial: Fungal Toenails Treatment; Clove & Oregano Complex by Viridian Nutrition £20 for 60 Capsules; Fulvic Nail Cream £12 for 30 ml (offers end at midnight BST, Sunday 12 May)

I want to talk about Olverum, but specifically I want to talk about Olverum’s Bath Oil, which was created in 1931 and is the hero product of the range. There are bath oils and then there are bath oils which are exceptional and Olverum Bath Oil is exceptional, so it is not really surprising that it is widely regarded as one of the best bath oils in the world.  As such it is a beauty classic and with efficacy being Olverum’s first priority, their ethos illustrates the transparency, quality and objectivity I would expect from a brand offering multiple therapeutic benefits.

With each of their products formulated in-house, Olverum painstakingly ensure that every ingredient serves the purpose and objectivity of the product and that the claims made are supported by verifiable evidence, so let’s take a closer look at the Bath Oil.  Blended with selected essential oils to offer a unique and relaxing experience, Olverum Bath Oil’s ingredients help to soothe aching muscles, relieve stress, whilst helping to induce restful sleep. A meditative and uplifting experience, the Bath Oil includes extracts of soothing Siberian Fir Needle and calming May Chang, which helps ease tension. And it delivers on promise.

For a product which has been revered for over nine decades, Olverum Bath Oil could be considered as a ritualistic experience of calm in a somewhat frenetic world.  The Bath Oil arrives in two different sizes, with the 125 ml size providing enough for twenty-five baths and the 60 ml size providing enough for twelve baths and with five products in the range listed, if you buy any Olverum product, we will automatically include a gift with your order and that gift is Olverum’s Firming Body Body Oil (30 ml), which is an intensive body-sculpting treatment.  Only one gift per customer, whilst stock lasts, and I don’t think the offer will last long because these are truly beautiful products.
Olverum Products

Onwards with This Works, and this is a very simple message to say that if you buy any two products from the This Works range, we will automatically include Perfect Hands Intense Moisture (75 ml) as a gift, which is worth £20.  You may also be interested to know that This Works have just released their Perfect Body Vit C Glow, which is loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin B12 and HA, so you may choose that or you may not, but there is only one gift per customer, whilst stock lasts, and as with all limited offers, if the gift fails to go into your basket, that will mean the offer is over.
This Works Products; Perfect Body Vit C Glow by This Works £38 for 150 ml

And what is a Weekend Read without a final fling, so let’s fling a 20% discount across each of the Ross J. Barr patches this weekend.  So that’s the Healing Patches, the Calm Patches, the Sleep Patches, the Period Patches and the Breathe Patches, which are all listed below.  And that’s that.
Healing Patches; Calm Patches; Sleep Patches; Period Patches; Breathe Patches (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 12 May)

Into the Saturday only treat we go and this one is easy, so with every order placed for £35 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically include a Spacemask (original)* because everybody loves a Spacemask, not least because the warmth of the Spacemask allows us to take a moment to unwind and relax at the end of the day.  Full product details below.
Spacemasks

As we come to the end of another Weekend Read and as we step into Mental Health Awareness Week, my emotions and my thoughts are with my beautiful friend, Sally Brampton, who walked into the sea eight years ago, 10 May 2016, and didn’t come back.  Sally was the poster-girl for mental health issues, and I remember the words I wrote on that day, as if it was yesterday: ‘Sally’s battle with depression is well documented and she shared her darkness in order to give light, fighting fiercely to try and obliterate the stigma of mental health’. 

I made a promise to uphold her mission and as such I have kept each of Sally’s profound articles about her own life and her own thoughts about depression on our site, which I invite you to explore below.  Some of you may not be able to relate to these articles, but they are there to share with those who are struggling to make sense of their lives in this fractured and difficult world, so please do share if you can. 

There will never be another Sally, there could never be another Sally, she was the very best and as she sits on her throne in the sky, I want to pay tribute to the memory of her unparalleled brilliance.  I often see Sally in my dreams, so this song seems appropriate.  Today.
Sally Brampton: The Articles; I’ll See You In My Dreams by Bruce Springsteen; The VH Playlist

With no more words, my love and thoughts are with each of you.

Gill x

 

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Prices and products advertised at times of sending and publishing are subject to change and availability.

*Free gifts will only be granted if the items purchased are physical products and your total basket value exceeds the required amount noted.  Saturday only treats are subject to change should the specified gift run out prior to your purchase and are only included in orders placed between 7.45am (BST) and Midnight (BST) on the Saturday the Weekend Read is sent.  VH Addicts membership is a digital product and therefore will be excluded from the basket value.  Some gifts are blocked from international shipping due to local limitations imposed based on the country destination.  If this is the case, we will replace the gift with one that is able to be shipped to your destination. One gift per customer, whilst stock lasts.