Weekend Read 24 July 2021

Weekend Read 24 July 2021

Let’s talk.  And this week I am giving a few of you a platform in order to share.  So I want to lead with a comment we received in response to our ongoing work with the Cabinet Office, which I wrote about last week.  I totally relate because it is, in part, my story and it could be your story too.  THIS: ‘Thank you for continuing to tackle the issues of bullying, corporate bullying and just being marginalised and side-lined.  I think Covid made it easier, social media, Zoom, hiding behind technology, you soon learn who your friends and true colleagues are and I sadly speak from experience.  Men over-promoted for failure, women who take down women …. I let it roll for too long because I was scared it would impact on my career.  When I did speak up I was marginalised, treated as a problem …. now …. well I don’t know what comes next, but I’m relieved you are talking about it’.

And I will continue to talk about it because I know how it is to be marginalised.  This would of course be because of all that I have written about the health and beauty industry, which would include several issues, not least the paid-for awards circus.  On from that, I am a living expert on women taking down women.  With a couple of notable exceptions, it is women who have attempted to destroy both me and VH.  And it is still happening.  For legal reasons I can say no more, other than I have an entire dossier of evidence, which I hope to present to the Cabinet Office in the fullness of time. 

I am sure that many of you are aware, but just to say here that if you are being abused, you can refer to the Online Harms White Paper and on from that the draft Online Safety Bill, which was published in May of this year in the hope of establishing a new regulatory framework to tackle harmful content online.  Enough is enough.  And silence is no longer an option.  But exposure and prosecution have to be an option if the scales of justice are to be balanced.  And one more thing, bullies will often attempt to gain power by weakening others.  With some using money as their chosen currency.  Noted.   

So let’s continue to share, but having said what I needed to say, we will now turn to products and another comment that I received last Saturday morning.  So for balance, this actually made me laugh all day and it came in response to my words about the Ashwagandha Gummies.  ‘I’m s**t scared to order the Ashwagandha Gummies because I know I will eat the entire jar in one sitting’ stated a customer.  And on from that she told me that she demolished the Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies in five days.  I shrieked.  And you can all guess what happened next, I sent her the Ashwagandha Gummies as a gift.  And I’m still laughing.  At that.
Ashwagandha Gummies by Goli Nutrition £18.95 for 60 Gummies; Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies by Goli Nutrition £18.95 for 60 Gummies

Anyway, the next thing I wish to report is that I am in big trouble with Shabir.  It’s not like he is actually shouting at me, because seriously he never has, but I think he is displeased.  In fact I know he is displeased because we are on the verge of running out of Magnolia Rhodiola Complex, which, as so many of you know, is our bestselling supplement for mood elevation, stress and anxiety.  And the reason we are running out is because I took the price of it down a couple of weeks ago because I was increasingly aware of the ongoing issues so many are experiencing and I wanted to help as many of you as I could.  And now we have an issue because it all went a bit mad and we are not expecting another delivery for about six weeks.  It is of course because of the continuing raw ingredient problems, but it is not cute and I need to help resolve this.  As best I can.

In fact, I hope to resolve several issues and health concerns by referring you to Shabir’s article, What Can’t Probiotics Do, which I have linked below.  So I will begin by telling you that there are many communication pathways between the gut and the brain, so it follows that the gut can influence our emotions.  And as Shabir writes, the vagus nerve passes through the chest and abdomen connecting the nerves from key organs to the stem of the brain and is thought to be one of the pathways.  Another pathway for altering mood is the ability of these probiotics to produce neuroactive compounds that communicate with the cells in the brain, which produce the mood elevating and nerve calming serotonin.

The probiotic Shabir recommends in this article is Florassist Mood Improve, which, when used in human studies showed a 50% plus decrease in low mood scores and a 55% improvement in anxiety scores.  So if you don’t have a stash of Magnolia Rhodiola Complex, you may wish to try Florassist Mood in the interim.  And although I wrote that we are on the verge of running out of Magnolia Rhodiola, it hasn’t fallen off the cliff quite yet, but I guess it will after an hour or so.  At which time yet another wait list will come into being.

So this is what I’m about to do, and you will need to read this carefully.  The price of Florassist Mood drops from £25 to £22 across the weekend only, but I’ll balance that shortened offer period by also taking down the price of our bestselling probiotic, Mega Probiotic ND.  So the price of Mega Probiotic now becomes £18 from £21, and I’ll extend that offer until Friday 30 July at midnight BST.  Knowing we have enough stock to do this.  Small mercies.  Fall upon us.  Sometimes.
VH Editorial: What Can’t Probiotics Do; Magnolia Rhodiola Complex £28 for 60 Capsules; Florassist Mood by Life Extension £22 for 30 Capsules (offer ends tomorrow, Sunday 25 July at midnight BST); Mega Probiotic ND £18 for 60 Capsules (offer ends Friday 30 July at midnight BST)

I will continue to write about other products from the same article, but before I do that I want to interject with a few words.  I have been writing about varying incidences between Shabir and myself for over twenty years.  Some are hilarious, such as the time I smashed a mung bean sandwich on his head because he was annoying me and also, over the recent past, how his eyes will often roll up to heaven when he reads how many treats I include in the Weekend Read.  And that’s ongoing.  On both counts. 

I am extraordinarily transparent about these happenings and I do not make these things up.  Ever.  My last few words are in answer to another comment received.  And it came from a woman who accused me of making all my Shabir stories up for commercial reasons because I was, after all, running a ‘slick business’.  In other words she was inferring I was a liar.  And then she called me ridiculous.  Actually, I think I will wear ‘The Ridiculous Gill Sinclair’ as a badge of honour.  I would hate to be boring.  Let’s do another treat.

And this time it is about helping to prevent gum disease, which is a very common health concern.  One such concern is Gingivitis which is inflammation of the gums without tooth loss or periodontal disease.  Receding gums can lead to tooth loss, but the main issue with gum disease is that the infecting bacteria can move to other parts of the body causing inflammation.  It is for this reason that gum disease is often linked to heart disease and numerous other concerns, and for this Shabir recommends Florassist Oral Hygiene as it contains specific probiotic strains to help compete against the pathogenic bacteria that reside in the pockets of gum tissue.

Florassist Oral Hygiene is not the treat, but what is the treat is Clinisept+ Mouthwash.  This is the mouthwash which we launched to the consumer market a few months ago and your feedback has been amazing, with many of you saying that it is the only mouthwash that doesn’t sting or cause irritation when using, which so many mouthwashes do.  And that would be because it is a hypochlorous mouthwash and it doesn’t contain Chlorhexidine, alcohol or peroxide, known irritants.  Furthermore, it is not subject to antimicrobial resistance and as such it effectively and efficiently kills and inhibits the growth of bacteria.

If you have ongoing gum issues, we do recommend that you use both Florassist Oral Hygiene and Clinisept+, but mostly I would recommend using Clinisept+ for regular oral hygiene on a daily basis.  I’m actually not sure how many bottles of this I have gone through since launch, but quite honestly I wouldn’t dream of using anything else because I don’t believe any other mouthwash can touch this for efficacy.  And that has been endorsed by an ever-increasing number of dental professionals.  And with that said, I am taking the price down from £6.49 to £5 across the weekend.  Which I may live to regret.  By Monday morning.
Florassist Oral Hygiene by Life Extension £16 for 30 Lozenges; Clinisept+ Mouthwash £5 for 400 ml (offer ends tomorrow, Sunday 25 July at midnight BST)

Right, having knocked the living daylights out of that article, I shall proceed onto another one of Shabir’s articles.  The article is Inflammaging and it is not really about the article per se, but about one of the products mentioned on that article.  And that product is Cytokine Suppress, which went out of stock immediately after I wrote about it.  I’m not surprised because it is a brilliant supplement.  And it’s brilliant because it has been shown to be highly effective in shutting down low grade inflammation and chronic inflammation, both of which accelerate the ageing process, often resulting in several health concerns.

Anyway, just to tell you that Cytokine Suppress is now back in stock and I’m trying to keep a straight face as I’m writing this because one of the natural compounds used in this formulation is mung bean seed coat.  The other is EGCG from green tea.  So that’s the supplement side of inflammation and the topical side is of course the ever-so-powerful Neurophroline which has been proven to reduce inflammation in the skin by breaking down cortisol production.  In other words it takes the stress out of our skin.  It is probably my favourite GoW serum, so Shabir overfilled it for me (and you) which means you get 45 ml of Neurophroline for the same price as 30 ml.  Result.
VH Editorial: Inflammaging; Cytokine Suppress With EGCG by Life Extension £26 for 30 Capsules; Neurophroline Serum by Garden of Wisdom for VH £18 for 45 ml (whilst stock lasts)

Moving on and I now want to talk about Fulvic Acid Conditioner.  And I want to talk about it because I rarely say anything about it as it resides in the shadow of Fulvic Acid Shampoo, which is of course our bestselling shampoo for hair health, throwing its focus on hair loss and hair thinning.  I have often toyed with the idea of creating a Fulvic Acid hair mask, but seriously I don’t need to (as Shabir sighs with relief) because I use the conditioner as a hair mask, often leaving it on for about two hours.  And because it is also ideal for chemically damaged hair, it has wonderful restorative properties.  Behold.  Another treat as Fulvic Acid Conditioner drops from £25 to £20 and it would be remiss of me not to do the same with Fulvic Acid Shampoo.  Making a statement.  About hair.
Fulvic Acid Shampoo £20 for 240 ml; Fulvic Acid Conditioner £20 for 240 ml (offer ends Friday 30 July at midnight BST)

Back to the sharing platform we go with this from a customer, which needs no further words from me, other than to thank him for taking the time to review the Healing Patches. ‘These patches are miraculous.  They significantly reduced my knee pain within 24 hours and it was not necessary to re-apply for another two days or so.  These patches achieved results where Ibuprofen, Naproxen and Voltarol Gel failed.  Also helped with arthritic thumb and tendonitis in elbow’.  The End. 
Healing Patches by Ross J Barr £15 for Five Patches

Music is one of the most powerful ways of bringing joy and calm to people with dementia or brain injury and in this week’s Health Notes, Sarah discovers m4dradio, a new free station from the wonderful charity, Music for Dementia.  I have always believed that music is tremendously therapeutic, which is the raison d'être for the VH Playlist.  So I invite you to read Sarah’s article and you may well wish to tune in yourself because the songs are split into decades and you can build your own playlist too.  We seldom forget the music we grew up with, so this is fabulous for those with memory problems.  And everybody else really.  Let’s swing.  Together.
Music And Memories by Sarah Stacey

Time for a new product.  And it’s a supplement.  Shabir often recommends Bare Biology’s powerful fish oils so the news is that Bare Biology is entering the plant-based market due to increasing demand from customers who want the Bare Biology quality, but can’t eat fish.  Vim & Vigour is a plant-based omega-3 made from a natural algae called Schizochytrium with the addition of the antioxidant, Astaxanthin.  Dedicated to those who are unable to get omega-3 from their diet.  And others.
Vim & Vigour Vegan Omega 3 & Astaxanthin Capsules by Bare Biology £35 for 60 Capsules

As I’m writing this, the heat is on, so I thought I should share this comment from a customer about Green People’s Thyme & Prebiotics Deodorant, verbatim: ‘This is the first aluminium free natural deodorant that works.  No pong for me or my husband, we will never use anything else’.  And just a note here about reviews.  For some unfathomable reason the product reviews are not yet showing through on our site, but the comments about us are.  I’m tempted to have an IT rant, but I think it’s best that I don’t.  They are not lost, so they will appear in the fullness of time.  Not so ‘slick’ after all.
Thyme & Prebiotics Deodorant by Green People £10.50 for 75 ml

An update.  With a great big sigh of relief, I can now tell you that all the Peep Club products are now back in stock.  The out of stock products were the Instant Eye Relief Spray and the Reusable Velvet Bamboo Pads, but with the wait lists finally conquered, the praise continues to come in for each of these products. The bestselling product is of course the rather magnificent Heated Eye Wand, which so many of you have.  We are waving our wands together and I’m so thrilled that it is helping to relieve Dry Eye Syndrome and Hay Fever eyes for so many of you.  And of course in its other role, it continues to take down eye puff.  Day by day.  I would like to give it an award.  Right now.  But I’ll wait.
Heated Eye Wand by Peep Club £60; Instant Eye Relief Spray by Peep Club £15 for 17 ml; Soothing Coconut Eye Balm by Peep Club £20 for 120 ml; Cleansing Lash Foam by Peep Club £20 for 50 ml; Reusable Velvet Bamboo Pads (Eight Pads + One Laundry Bag) by Peep Club £15

A mosquito update.  They are out in full force, so a gentle reminder to spray yourself and your home with Mrs White’s Unstung Hero. In the unfortunate event that you do get bitten, then Fulvic Acid Nail Cream will take that bite right down.  I know this not only from my own experience, but from yours too.  No need to write any more about it.  This week.
Mrs White’s Unstung Hero Mosquito Repellent £20 for 250 ml; Fulvic Acid Nail Cream £12 for 30 ml

Two more things.  The first is that I really don’t know where my brain was when I was writing the last Weekend Read.  I wrote a full-on piece about stress headaches and migraines and went on to recommend Neuro-Mag as a supplement.  What I forgot to do is to mention Sinol M, which is an all-natural nasal spray developed for headaches, migraines and sinus congestion.  So I’m doing it now and in a Shabir-approved treat (see, see), I am reducing the price to £13 from £16.  And the second thing is that I am so happy to welcome Spots and Stripes into the VH family.  A brand dedicated to teenage skin.  Do check it out.  Thank you.
Sinol M Nasal Spray £13 for 15 ml (offer ends Friday 30 July at midnight BST); Spots and Stripes

Into the Saturday only treat we go, and in full recognition of the stress so many of us are experiencing, I will include a sample pack of Ross J. Barr’s Calm Patches with every order placed for £30 and above, excluding p&p.  Containing two Calm Patches, it is recommended that you place them on your temples, or behind your ears.  So two Ross J. Barr mentions this week and just to say that when we launched the Calm Patches I wrote at the time that they had an unusual fragrance, but there is something about it that I love.  Rather a lot.  Let’s chill together and if two patches aren’t enough, I have linked the product below.  In consideration.
Calm Patches by Ross J. Barr £15 for Ten Patches

So as we come to the end of another Weekend Read, all I will do now is to link you to the Saturday song, which is No Regrets by the legendary Edith Piaf.  It speaks of finding strength and I believe it is one of those ‘anthem’ songs that commands you to stand when listening and singing. In so many different ways we stand together, so here it is both in French and English.  I prefer the French version.  If I had to choose.  And for those of you who are still in bed, I invite you to stand with me.  Without spilling your coffee.  Merci. 
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien by Edith Piaf; No Regrets by Edith Piaf; The VH Playlist

With love.

Gill x

 

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*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.