Rolling through January, let us continue talking about the things that are really important to us.  Following through on my words from last weekend, we do what we do for many different reasons, and we do so with a strong sense of purpose and protection.  Protection is a big one, and although we are all susceptible to the vagaries of life, I think there is a real comfort in talking about the uncomfortable, without glossing over issues or pretending that they don’t exist.  Because they do.

Being as we are, and if we are to trust, then surely our fundamental purpose is one of belonging and understanding in all that we are and all that we do.  In 1860 the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: ‘the first wealth is health’, which speaks volumes about the very real need to protect our health and wellbeing at a time when we are increasingly vulnerable to many different issues, not least mental health issues. In the UK’s largest ever stress survey, carried out by Mental Health UK, 74% of people said stress has made them feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. And within, mental cruelty.  Another fast-rising statistic.  Which I will not ignore. 

So, on the premise that wealth is health, we will now take a look at some of the products that can help protect our health.  Prevention is always better than cure, and that’s the underlying purpose of recommending and endorsing the products we believe to be best-in-class.  It would be totally unethical to state that a supplement can cure an illness, but supplementation can go a very long way in helping to protect and enhance our health and wellbeing.  That much is proven in any number of clinicals and studies, based upon ongoing research and development.  Pioneering is key.  It always has been.

I suppose that given what I have just written, many of you would have expected me to begin the product section by writing about Magnolia Rhodiola Complex, which is our bestselling supplement for stress and anxiety. But I’m not going to do that right now because I want to talk about Mega Probiotic ND, which is another bestselling supplement, and has been since its inception.  Formulated by Shabir, Mega Probiotic is a broad-spectrum natural probiotic and although there are of course specifically targeted probiotics, Mega Probiotic is an acid-resistant probiotic with eight species of micro-organisms to help ensure optimum digestive tract health and function.

I think most of us are aware that an imbalance of beneficial bacteria can result in fungal infections as well as urinary tract infections, but alongside that probiotics support healthy colon cell growth, immune function and the optimisation of intestinal motility.  And with twelve existing articles about Mega Probiotic listed on the product page, Shabir has written yet another article featuring Mega Probiotic, linked below.  To accompany that new article, I will drop the price of Mega Probiotic from £22 to £18 across the weekend.  And I’m not quite finished yet.
VH Editorial: How To Stop Nausea After Eating; Mega Probiotic ND £18 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 22 January)

I will now revert and talk about Magnolia Rhodiola Complex because it also features on Shabir’s new article.  In this context it relates to stress and digestion because nausea after eating may in fact be stress related.  Our digestive system is directly in communication with our brain, which is why stress can result in the shutdown of the digestive system as our body enters fight or flight mode.  It is theorised that chronic exposure to stress may be linked to the development of numerous Gastro Intestinal disorders, which is where Magnolia Rhodiola Complex can play a role because it is one of the fastest acting supplements to help reduce the stress hormones.

There are a few other products mentioned in Shabir’s article, so please do take a moment to read about them because I think you will find the thought process quite interesting.  I specifically pulled out Magnolia Rhodiola Complex because of my opening words, and although I am very aware that I took the price down of Magnolia Rhodiola just two weeks ago, the ongoing implications of stress are very real so I choose to share once again as I drop the price of Magnolia Rhodiola Complex from £28 to £24. 
Magnolia Rhodiola Complex £24 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Friday 27 January) (Caution: Please do not take if you are on prescribed anti-depressants)

Just one more thing to say here.  Last Monday was supposedly the most depressing day of the year.  Labelled Blue Monday, I refused to write about it because it was created as a marketing ploy, which makes it totally unscientific.  As above, I will write about stress and anxiety as and when I feel it is appropriate to do so, but I will not participate in nonsense and Blue Monday is utter nonsense.  So, well done to the Samaritans who promote Brew Monday as their counter-campaign.  It encourages people to brew a cup of tea or coffee and catch-up with those who are close.  And it doesn’t have to be on a Monday either.  Any day of the year will do.  Myths and labels are not required.  To extend empathy.  And understanding.

I would now like to tell you about a new supplement, except it’s not that new as we have had it listed on our site for quite some time.  The ongoing issue has been that every time I want to write about it, our stock levels have been too low and it has been out of stock with the manufacturers.  I’m not really surprised, so please let me introduce you to Vollagen Complex, a vegan collagen boosting supplement featuring Vollagen, a bio-identical complex of amino acids and vegan collagen peptides, which are provided in the same proportion as those found in human collagen.

With potent plant compounds including, Rose Hips, Matcha Green Tea, Bilberry fruit and powerful antioxidant flavonoids included in the formulation, Vollagen offers high bioavailability and intestinal permeability, and as such far smaller doses are needed to achieve optimal results.  So, Vollagen Complex finally makes an appearance on a newsletter and because I am now comfortable with our stock levels, I will drop the price of Vollagen Complex from £16.95 to £13.95, but only across the weekend. I play safe.  Well, I try to.
Vollagen Complex by Terranova £13.95 for 50 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 22 January)

With temperatures plunging, I would just like to take a moment to talk about cold hands and feet.  I only need a moment because the products we are recommending are the same as the products we recommended last week for chilblains.  The only difference here is that I am going to reference a specific article on this subject, which I link below.  All remains the same otherwise, including the price drops I wrote about last week and just so that you know, Silversocks are now back in stock and off the wait list.  As I write this.
VH Editorial: Treating Cold Hands And Feet; Diosmin Plus £23 for 60 Capsules (drops from £28); Capsicum and Ginger Warming Cream by Napiers £17 for 100 ml (drops from £20); Silversocks Black (Size 3-7) £9.99; Silversocks Black (size 6-11) £9.99 (offers end at midnight GMT, Friday 27 January)

The Ingredient Focus.  And this week we are going to take a look at Black Garlic.  Historically Garlic has been used as a medicinal herb for many centuries with indications that it had been used as a diuretic, a digestive aid, an antibiotic, an anti-parasitic and for various other ailments, including colds and infections.  It is because of its multi-faceted health benefits that this ingredient has been extensively researched over the last two decades and scientists have discovered that each clove of Garlic has over 400 beneficial compounds found within the oil.  One of the key compounds is called allicin, which is the active ingredient and gives Garlic its distinctive odour.

The above words and findings relate to White Garlic, however from a nutritional viewpoint, Black Garlic also contains allicin and it imparts its benefits without the odour.  Additionally Black Garlic is rich in amino acids and has almost double the amount of antioxidants compared to White Garlic.  Black Garlic also contains a specific compound, S-Allycysteine (SAC) in very high concentrations and SAC has been shown to assist with the absorption of allicin, enhancing efficacy.  Shabir does the detail in his article linked below, but just to say that Black Garlic is well tolerated by the digestive system, minimising the onset of gastric distress, which is a very common concern.
VH Editorial: The Health Benefits Of Black Garlic; Black Garlic Capsules by HealthAid £9.99 for 30 Capsules

In the whole scheme of things, there are those products which have been amongst our bestselling products for the longest time.  These formulations have been tried and tested over the years, which means that they have stood the test of time in terms of efficacy.  One such product is Super Cleanse For Colon, which is a natural remedy to help alleviate constipation as well as aiding to cleanse the colon effectively, without resorting to the harshness of a laxative.

Created to jump-start sluggish colons, Super Cleanse is formulated with thirteen powerful cleansing and nutritive herbs.  We believe that colon cleansing is important for several reasons, but essentially when food mixes with digestive enzymes, mucoid plaque adheres to the walls of intestines which, in turn, harbours bad bacteria and fungi, thus preventing the absorption of nutrients and slowing the motility of the intestines, which can lead to fatigue and constipation.  That’s the lowdown on the product and we recommend doing a colon cleanse two or three times a year.  All that is left is for me to drop the price of Super Cleanse For Colon from £22 to £18.
Super Cleanse For Colon by Nature’s Secret £18 for 100 Tablets (offer ends at midnight GMT, Monday 23 January)

In another one of those short and sweet moments, I am dropping the price of Sage Complex from £26 to £22.  Sage Complex is a powerful female hormone balancing supplement formulated to help alleviate common peri-menopausal and menopausal concerns including hot flushes, night sweats and vaginal dryness.  It is of course our bestselling product in its genre and the reason why I am keeping this short and sweet is because Shabir has written reams on this subject matter, five articles to be precise, and I’ll link one below.  Staying cool. Neat.  And safe.
VH Editorial: Hormone Mimicking Supplements; Sage Complex £22 for 90 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Friday 27 January)

Back into wait list territory we go and this wait list is courtesy of the dreadful weather in California, which held up several shipments for over a week.  All things being equal, by the time you read this we will be back in stock of Triple Flu Defense+, the remedy that helps combat infective viruses, reducing the severity of body aches, headaches, sore throat, cough, congestion and chills.  Triple Flu Defense+ is adjusted each season for new seasonal viruses because in each and every year viruses mutate, forming new strains.  Triple Flu is one of those stand-alone products that really is in a class of its own, in our opinion.  And I know that rather a lot of you would agree with that statement.
Triple Flu Defense+ (2022-2023) by Dr Nenninger £28 for 30 ml

I have always had a thing about soaps, I wrote that last weekend, but seriously one of my dreams was to have a dedicated soap emporium, but a few things got in the way.  Notwithstanding that, I can still write about soaps whenever I feel like it, which appeases me somewhat, so I was thrilled to introduce you to Magnesium Soap last weekend because I think it is wonderful.  I wasn’t so thrilled when demand exceeded supply, but it is now back in stock for those who need to know.  And perhaps you also need to know about Vitamin E Soap, which is loaded with pure Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant which will help keep skin soft and supple.  We like it that way.
Magnesium Soap by Life-Flo £5.25 for 121 grams; Vitamin E Soap by HealthAid £3.99 for 100 grams

Let’s do this week’s treats and I am going to begin this section with an offer from Ilapothecary.  And it’s a Beat The Blues offer, incorporating two of their bestselling products.  Those products are Beat The Blues Room Spray (50 ml), which is an uplifting and calming room fragrance and Beat The Blues Bath & Shower Oil (200 ml), which has been formulated with Clary Sage and Petitgrain to help balance equilibrium.  The two products have a value of £65, but whilst stock lasts we invite you to discover these products, if you haven’t already done so, for £45 which is of course a price drop of £20 across both products.
Beat The Blues Treat (Beat The Blues Room Spray 50 ml + Beat The Blues Shower & Bath Oil 200 ml) £45

Skincare next.  LixirSkin, which really doesn’t need a long introduction because this is the brand we launched for and on behalf of Dr Colette Haydon several years ago.  As such, many of you are long-term users of this capsule skincare collection and because I believe that loyalty must always be rewarded whenever we can, we will include a tube of Electrogel Cleanser (30 ml) with every LixirSkin order.  This is a limited offer and in order that we may share as widely as we can, there is only one gift per customer.  For clarity, if the Electrogel Cleanser does not go into your basket, this will mean that the offer has ended.
LixirSkin

I think most of you know the story about Fusswohl Foot Masks, so just to reiterate, this is the product which was not listed on our site, but because we were pretty impressed with the masks in testing, we bought a rather large volume and gave them away as a Saturday only treat.  The feedback was such that we went on to list the product and they have quite a large following now.  The masks are formulated with two intensive moisturising ingredients, Coconut Oil Milk Extracts and Hyaluronic Acid, to help alleviate dry and cracked skin.  And the treat, well they drop from £10.50 to £8.  Foot Nirvana.  Perhaps. 
Fusswohl Moisturising Foot Mask by Medosan £8 for One Pack (Two Pairs)

So, having just mentioned the Saturday only treat, let’s do it and with every order placed for £30 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically include a free Spacemask.  I know I do this treat quite often, but I don’t think you can ever have too many Spacemasks, most especially because they offer warmth and relaxation when we need it the most.  And just to also say that you will receive the original Spacemask, which is fragranced with Jasmine.  Further details across the Spacemasks range of products linked below.
Spacemasks

As we come to the end of another Weekend Read, all I am going to do here is leave you with a song and a further quote.  I have used this song before, but I think it is particularly relevant after my words at the end of the last weekend.  And although those words made reference to a particular incident involving a niche brand, I was of course writing from experience.  We learn through experience, and there is one thing that I absolutely know, and that is when faced with extreme adversity we really do need the moral support of each other.  As we raise each other up, so we can stand on mountains. 
You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban; The VH Playlist

The quote.  And it is another quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: ‘The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall’.  If we can.

Warmest love

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 (GMT) and Midnight (GMT) 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.