Caring for your Pet - Natural Supplements

We humans often spend more money on the health of our pets than on our own; especially the British...despite high vet costs. Pooch or Felix comfort and love us unconditionally in a way that's hard to beat.

So at Elixir we recognise that fact and stock a range of products to help our feline and canine friends.

Many products cross over, of course, but it's always wise to seek professional help if in doubt. For joints there's MSM, Glucosamine and the fishy-tasting Green Lipped Mussel Extract. Denes, the well known Pet Company have their Greenleaf tablets for eczema and dermatitis and relieving the symptoms of stiffness and arthritis, bladder and kidney problems. Provet produce a great range of animal products for healthy coats, joints and hearts but don't forget good old Cod Liver Oil. ProDen's highly popular PlaqueOff deals with healthy teeth and gums and bad breath. (Check out the one for humans as well!). A Vogel's series of flower remedies for different pet temperaments continue to sell well - classified as "Emergency", "Highly Strung", "Over-Dominant" and "Timid" (I'm sure my wife's putting all these in my tea!). And finally there's the special Seagreens. The manufacturer tells us, "that these easily digested seaweed granules help balance the animal's nutritional profile, regulate metabolism, strengthen immunity and vitality and support the mineral balance in performance." I have never tried them (on my cat) but repeat sales do occur.

To view all these products click here.

Higher Nature Citricidal Liquid - A Genii in a Bottle

When you stop and think about it - going away on holiday should be well-earned, well-deserved and well-done. But so many times, time isn't on our side -packing the night before; and unpacking the night before returning to work. Sounds familiar?

Then, there's acclimatising to different climates, water, food and sanitary conditions. Well, there's one product Randi and I never leave at home: a bottle of Citricidal liquid . Here's why...

Citricidal liquid (Grapefruit Seed Extract - GSE) is an amazing product with varied uses. One of our best sellers. Use Grapefruit seed extract as a mouthwash, facial and nail cleanser, skin rinse and household cleanser. GSE is known for having anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic properties.

Taken internally Citricidal liquid is beneficial for digestive health benefits, including candida, However, it can also be used for colds, flus, sore throat gargle and allergies. As a broad disinfectant and cleanser it can be used on the face for acne and shaving injuries, on the ear and on minor skin irritations, warts and athlete's foot, as well as an anti-dandruff solution.

It is also useful for combating genital conditions such as vaginal yeast infections and parasitic diseases in the male genital area. It's a remarkable extract as a household cleaner. A solution can be left next to your basin in order to sanitise your toothbrush every night. It can also be used to wash vegetables, fruit, meat and poultry as well as chopping boards. It's a great all-round natural disinfectant and anti-bacterial. I believe it was taken on board the Space Shuttle!

Citricidal is not for citrus allergy sufferers and always read the instructions carefully about dilution. And keep away from the eyes due to the high acidity of Grapefruit Seed Extract.

Jason, Elixir Health Foods

The Miracle of MSM Tablets and Powder - Joints, Cartilage And Much, Much More

When you work in a health food store generally you're under the magnifying glass, so to speak! Not to sound paranoid, you're not allowed ever to get sick or look off colour. You so much as sneeze on the shop floor and the customer comments fly thick and fast. "Can't you sell yourself something for that cold?" "What, work in a health shop and getting ill!"

The girls, of course, have it worse. Naturally, their skin must always glow, look smooth and be free of blemishes! Then, there's the encounter in the grocery stores and the furtive glance at what's in your trolley...Booze is out, ice cream - never! Chocolate a no-no. So many health food store owners, you'll understand, find it less bothersome if they shop in the next town.

Occasionally, a customer will challenge you as to your favourite product in the whole shop. Okay, you try to refine the question - but no, "your favourite product." "I have a few," just won't do.

"Well..." you say, "...it has to be MSM." Most customers are thrown by the word and frown a bit. They think it's related to some kind of kinky experience or a high street chain of a similar sounding name. . "It stands for methyl sulphonyl methane," you continue.

Some Uses of MSM
There's a great book called the "Miracle of MSM" and the title says it all. In fact, MSM is one of the most abundant minerals in the body (or should be!); a naturally occurring sulphur compound found in every plant and animal tissue. It really is an utter gem in improving your health in so, so, many ways.  It helps create collagen and form cartilage - which flexible joints require. It's good for bone formation, ligaments, tendons and skin. It good for hair and nails, all of which need colllagen, helping hair to strengthen and nails to grow and thicken. It's got so many other uses - but don't take my word for it - do some research of your own...then come and visit us!

To buy MSM tablets: click here or on any of the coloured links above.  If you wish to speak to a customer advisor, telephone us on 01208 814500. We're always there to help.

The Salt Pipe Inhaler - Strengthening The Lungs

On the way to work I spotted a motorist wearing a face mask of the sort normally associated with the polluted atmosphere of large cities, the recent swine flu epidemic or hospital surgeons. Since I live in a small rural Cornish town in the South West of England, I was dumbstruck what catastrophe had occurred, what was up?

'Up', of course, is the operative word! The Icelandic volcano which has caused air traffic chaos in Europe and which is still erupting steadily may very well be at the root of the motorist's trouble. There hasn't been mass reports of people suffering respiratory ailments, which makes a media change; but those sufferers of asthma and other environmental allergies, such as viral or dust infections, perhaps are being suitably cautious.

An interesting device which may be helpful in respiratory problems is a gadget called The Salt Pipe Inhaler. We have had some positive feedback about the Salt Pipe. The manufacturers say that, "Its salty microclimate calms the cells of the respiratory system and induces their natural self-cleansing mechanism," and in a few minutes it helps you breathe more easily. Certainly the science behind The Salt Pipe Inhaler is sound enough and it's well worth watching the video below.

You can buy the Salt Pipe Inhaler from our online store, just click here.

Easy to Swallow - Solgar's Liquid B12

The vitamin company Solgar is always at the cutting edge of new vitamin development. They have recently introduced several new products in their line up. Their great tasting Liquid B12 with B-Complex vitamins is bound to prove popular, designed to provide an advantage over conventional B-complexes by offering an easy-to-use liquid formula for anyone who has difficulty in swallowing tablets or capsules.

If you need a daily dose of vitamin B12, and I would argue most of us do in this modern age of ours, then the liquid form is nice tasting (cherry flavour) and quickly absorbed.

No Panic Attacks - Ainsworth Recovery Spray

At Elixir we seem to have more people wanting natural products to help with panic attacks - symptomatic no doubt of our increasingly stressful world. With the Recovery Spray conveniently carried in a pocket or handbag, relief is just a spray away! I would recommend it to our contending politicians Gordon Brown and David Cameron - but not so far Nick Clegg. In the early days of the General Elections in the UK, he doesn't appear to be in need of it! He seems cool enough and taking his stress in his stride.

Come on Nick-knack, paddy whack,- you never know what the electorate might deliver - Gee up a bit.

A WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING

THE EFFECT OF THE FOOD SUPPLEMENTS DIRECTIVE

HELP TAKE ACTION NOW!

If you take vitamins and minerals in any shape or form as part of keeping yourself healthy and fit and live in the European Economic Community, please read this!

A lot of people don't know but there is a raft of legislation going through the EEC designed to have a major impact on your right to take natural medicine. One of them is called the Food Supplements Directive. It's designed to set maximum levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements. It will have a horrible effect on the natural supplement industry and not only those who choose to use effective nutritional supplements but also those who are against the erosion of personal choice generally. The so-called natural levels for vitamins is based on the quirky findings of scientists employed by the European union and not set against the wider knowledge bases of established research papers. The really interesting question is why are they disregarding so much scientific and nutritional evidence out in the public domain and setting supplemental levels way below levels already considered safe?

Does it seem cynical to smell a rat and wonder if, in all this, the influence of pharmaceutical companies to protect their trillion dollar market in conventional drugs might be having an influence in the corridors of European power?

Anyway, The Health Food Manufacturers' Association (HFMA) has recently produced an Impact Assessment which quantifies the potential impact of the proposed legislation in the UK market, and identifies the following key risks: (The same effect will also hit other European states.)

- Well over £100m of sales may be lost
- Heavy impact on suppliers resulting in business closures
- NAHS survey estimates that over 700 independent health food stores could close resulting in approximately 4000 job losses
- Imports of higher potency supplements notably from Guernsey and Jersey that remain outside UK and EU medicines and food legislative regimes will increase from their current levels significantly. This would expose UK consumers to the dangers of unregulated supply

As a result of this the HFMA is calling for the following outcomes in Europe:

- The highest possible permitted levels for vitamins and minerals to be set in Europe on the basis of safety
- Provision of appropriate information to consumers
- A further review by the European Food Safety Authority of the safe levels for selected nutrients to take account of major new scientific studies.
- MPs can be a powerful resource for putting pressure on Gillian Merron MR the Public Health Minister, to ensure that she stands up for British industry in Europe.

They can also raise the issue with John Dalli, the new European Commissioner, and their colleagues in the European Parliament.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

Please write to your local MP! We need to ensure that all MPs are made aware of the potential threat posed by the Food Supplements Directive and so we are asking you to help by writing to your local constituency MP setting out your concerns and encouraging them to raise the issue and take action on behalf of the British industry.

You can find your local MP by clicking on the link They Work For YOu and entering your postcode, or by calling the House of Commons information line on 0207 219 4272.

To help you, a draft letter is available for download at Information for members.

If you too have had enough of the sickening heavy-handed interference of Europe in the affairs of other states, please take the opportunity to join us in taking action. The more we can help European countries retain individual control over basic matters that relate to their own traditions and practices the more we can slow down the juggernaut of bureaucracy threatening ALL our sovereign rights.