Giving Back to Humanity, Research, and Herbal Healing

By Donald Payne

Hello again, dear readers. If you follow my articles, you have read that I always encourage you to buy from companies in the natural-products industry that support the Earth and the companies that give back something extra to humanity. Well, I am happy to introduce Irwin Naturals supplements.

Irwin Naturals has been supporting Vitamin Angels for a long time. Vitamin Angels is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing vital nutrition to children and families in need. Vitamin Angels is working tirelessly to eliminate childhood blindness worldwide by the year 2020. Vitamin Angels believes that everyone has a right to basic nutrition and just in 2007 it gave supplements to 5.5 million children, nursing mothers, and babies in 18 countries! It has given supplements to tens of millions of children for years.

I love the fact that Irwin Naturals is such a big contributor to Vitamin Angels and that Irwin Naturals makes such great products. I have used its Power to Sleep PM, a great product for sleeping; its Prosta-Strong really did help my prostate gland enough that I didn’t have to get up at night and urinate (it took about two weeks); and Irwin Naturals’ Inflamma-Less Tissue Support is a great product for controlling chronic inflammation. Irwin Naturals has many great products—check out the video monitor in the S&S vitamin department cataloging its Vitamin Angels program.

Talking about inflammation reminds me immediately of the company New Chapter and its product Zyfamend, which I have used for years to help with my back and neck problems. Without realizing it I have been turning to anti-inflammatory products for years. To protect my lungs and to prevent lung cancers I have used New Chapter’s Supercritical Antioxidant formula (formerly called Smoke Shield) and at night to help me sleep I also use New Chapter’s Tranquil Nite. Sometimes I use a couple of Tranquil Nite capsules about an hour before bed with some of Country Life’s Cal-Mag with D to relax my muscles and then I’m off to a sound night’s sleep (I have found using different formulas at different times helps more, rather than using the same formula again and again without alternating). New Chapter’s supercritical herb extracts are so powerful and so clean (free of pesticides and other contaminants) that usually one or two capsules gives the effect you are seeking. For instance, New Chapter’s Zyflamend in small doses has shown such a positive effect on prostate cancer that the three drug companies that sponsored the California Prostate Cancer Coalition have chosen Zyflamend as a test-pilot product for their prostate-cancer members—with extremely positive results. Apparently the herbs in Zyflamend that inhibit the inflammation and swelling of tissue are also stopping the spread of aggressive prostate cancers! It’s an amazing addition to any protocol as an adjunct therapy for treating not only prostate cancer, but others as well. The research goes on.

Speaking of research, and education, all of the supplement-department staff at S&S recently attended a training seminar on Country Life’s new organic vitamin and mineral supplements. These formulas are alive! Country Life’s Real Food Organics are supplements derived almost entirely from organic fruits, vegetables, seeds, sprouts, legumes, and superfoods. Country Life developed this line after the press release from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention stated that the average American consumes fewer than four servings of fruits and vegetables per day (we should consume 6-10 servings per day). Knowing that it has been shown in epidemiological studies again and again that many of our chronic degenerative diseases may in large part be related to a deficiency of “many” essential vitamins, minerals, or other phytonutrients, I just began taking the Real Food Organics Ultimate Daily Nutrition supplement as my vitamin and mineral base—I’ll let you know what I feel and/or any difference next issue. I already use Country Life’s alpha lipoic acid for circulation and to continue repairing insulin receptor sites in my blood cells so I keep my blood sugar stabilized and don’t develop Type 2 diabetes. The great thing about Country Life’s Real Food Organics line is that in taking a real-food supplement you get hundreds of phytonutrients from the “food” part that you just won’t get from a USP nutrient supplement. They are more complete supplements. I hope you like them.

I love the educational seminars we attend through the natural-supplements companies here at S&S. Our crew attended another seminar this early spring given by Source Naturals and Planetary Herbals.

Planetary Herbals herbs have been formulated by Dr. Michael Tierra, a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Oriental medicine from the Santa Cruz area. Dr. Tierra created the formulas in his clinic for his patients, and because the herb formulas were so effective, he was approached by Source Naturals, which agreed to manufacture his formulas under the Planetary Herbals label so everyone would have access to these wonderful healing products.

Dr. Tierra created these products combining the wisdom and efficacy of ancient Chinese formulas and the best research and use of Western herbs. By blending Eastern and Western formulas he created herbal combinations that do more than Eastern or Western herbs do alone. They are wonderfully effective—Astragulas Jade Screen for deep strengthening of the immune system, Stone Free to help dissolve and prevent kidney stones and gallstones, Arjuna Cardio Comfort for toning the heart muscle and normalizing and helping with high cholesterol and high triglycerides, and Yellow Dock Skin Cleanse, which I began to use myself because in the past I have had bouts of so-called psoriasis (liver congestion and dirty blood). Anyway, yellow dock is an amazing root herb that acts as a natural iron in the blood and has been used for decades as a blood purifier and body cleanser. In this formula, Dr. Tierra also blended other domestic herbs and a traditional Chinese herb formula to boost the cleansing effect. This time of year I always use some kind of cleanser and this particular one just feels right.

Because Planetary Herbals and Source Naturals are sister companies Dr. Tierra’s influence seems to show up in many Source Naturals products. Source Naturals’ Wellness Formula is the natural-products champion year after year for cold and flu treatment and we all love Source Naturals’ multivitamin, Life Force—talk about a complete supplement!

So, dear readers, I pray you had a great summer solstice and are looking forward to the cool fall has to offer us. In our blessed environment on this great Mother Earth the best is always yet to come!

Blessings and light,

Donald Payne

S&S Produce & Natural Foods