And here we are, well and truly into the new term as we roll our way through the winter months, holding hands and staying warm, and today I am dedicating the opening section of the Weekend Read to under-the-radar products. These are the products which really do help so many of us with specific health concerns and I think it is fair to say that not every single product receives as much acknowledgement as perhaps it should, but hero products must always be determined by efficacy and must always receive the recognition they deserve, so let’s take a look at some of those under-the-radar heroes.

We begin with Sage Complex, which may seem an unusual place to start bearing in mind it carries the DoSe branding, but I take full responsibility for not writing about it as often as I should, and there is a reason why. It is of course our bestselling hormonal balancing supplement, yet over the past few years I have watched the ever-increasing commercialism of ‘menopause’ and it totally horrifies me, I’m sorry, but it does, and because I consider rather a lot of the marketing of menopause to be exploitative, I rarely write about this subject because I have an extreme aversion to bandwagon health and beauty, so I distance myself.

I fully appreciate that it is perhaps a chink in my brain which I need to get over, but the advent of menopausal skincare which, by design, plays on our insecurities and vulnerabilities, tipped me over the edge, but anyway, I think you get the gist of this conversation. So let me end this by saying that menopause is every woman’s rite of passage, it affects each of us differently and dancing hormones aren’t just attributable to perimenopause and menopause, because they continue to dance around when we are post-menopausal too, so let me drop the price of Sage Complex from £29 to £26, across the weekend and move on.
VH Editorial: Sage Complex: Plant Oestrogens For Menopause Support; DoSe Sage Complex £26 for 90 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 12 January)

And as we move onto Vitamin K, it is perhaps interesting to note that it is often labelled as the ‘forgotten vitamin’, and even though I have written about vitamin K before, it is worth mentioning again because it is a really important vitamin, contributing to normal blood clotting and the maintenance of normal bones. There are three forms of vitamin K, K1, K2 and K3, with K3 being the menadione synthetic variant which should be avoided.

Most of the research has been centred on K2, which has been approved in Japan since 1995 for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, illustrating the importance of taking the correct form of vitamin K. Vitamin K2 helps to carry calcium into the bones, but more than that, most of us are K2 deficient and in this circumstance a deficiency allows calcium to be deposited onto the arteries and soft tissues of the body which can lead to the hardening of the arteries and other cardiovascular concerns, termed as calcification of the tissues.

So as we take K2 out from underneath the radar, I am linking Shabir’s article below where he takes a look at the causes of a vitamin K deficiency and the best sources of K2, recommending Super K to help correct deficiencies. And with that said, I am dropping the price of Super K from £23 to £20 across the weekend, with a word of caution that this supplement can contra-indicate if you are taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications, or have a bleeding disorder. Safety first.
VH Editorial: Vitamin K2: Benefits, Food Sources & Side Effects; Super K by Life Extension £20 for 90 Softgels (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 12 January)

Across the years, there have been many compounds which have been under the radar, and to a certain extent many of them still are, despite the fact that their efficacy has been determined by extensive clinical evaluation. I have always considered that it is our duty and responsibility to discuss and recommend the compounds that make a difference and in making that difference, they supersede all that has gone before. One of those compounds is ubiquinone, which supersedes ubiquinol, and I have some rather important words to write here.

I recently read a shocking report about the increase in cardiovascular disease and, as many of you know, CoEnzyme Q10 has been extensively researched for its role in cardiovascular health, with numerous studies suggesting that CoQ10 supplementation can significantly reduce cardiovascular mortality and improve cardiac function. These benefits are crucial, and interestingly, in a reversal of long-held beliefs, emerging evidence challenges the conventional use of CoQ10 as ubiquinol, with the most recent research indicating that CoQ10, as ubiquinone, is more effective for cardiovascular health than its reduced form, ubiquinol.¹

This is a significant shift, not least because ubiquinol has been the chosen form of CoQ10 for many years, and in recognition of that shift we launched Liposomal CoQ10, as ubiquinone, towards the end of last year. I have referenced the relevant study above, but the report on the increase in cardiovascular disease is not in the wider public domain, and I am therefore unable to share it with you. I think the best I can do here is to ask you to read between the lines, and I can only apologise for the cryptic message, but notwithstanding that, I am dropping the price of Liposomal CoQ10 from £48 to £43 across the weekend.
VH Editorial: Choosing The Right CoEnzyme Q10; DoSe Liposomal CoQ10 £43 for 240 ml (48 days’ supply) (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 12 January)

I am slightly diversifying, but staying with Liposomal supplementation, Glutathione is an antioxidant which is required in each and every cell of our bodies and it is often termed ‘the master antioxidant’ because of its ability to mop up damaging free radicals. Also known as GSH, Glutathione is made from three amino acids, glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine. Levels of Glutathione decline with age and of all the nutrients that display antioxidant activity, Glutathione is the most powerful donor of electrons, which help neutralise free radicals, helping to prevent oxidative stress.

In simplistic terms, oxidative stress occurs when we don’t have sufficient antioxidants in the body and unstable free radicals begin to damage our organs and genetic material. It has been evidenced that a Glutathione deficiency and oxidative stress exist in many types of infections, including numerous viral infections and, as ever, there are various forms of GSH available, so it was important to use a clinically studied form of Glutathione in the DoSe formulation, that form being Setria. Shabir does the lowdown in his article linked below and I am dropping the price of Liposomal Glutathione from £49 to £43.
VH Editorial: Liposomal Glutathione: Benefits & Side Effects; DoSe Liposomal Glutathione £43 for 150 ml (30 days’ supply) (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 12 January)

I think I have written about Vitamin E for hair loss just once, but it is worth talking about because Vitamin E contains powerful antioxidants, known as tocotrienols and there is some scientific evidence relating to their ability to protect against hair loss. Interestingly in an eight-month human study, results demonstrated that those taking tocotrienols experienced a better than 34% average improved hair count compared to a placebo group, showing a significant increase in hair thickness and density.

It is important here to say that vitamin E is composed of eight different compounds, but more often than not the focus is thrown on the four vitamin E compounds called tocopherols. Tocotrienols are rarely discussed, yet they can be pivotal in addressing the mechanisms that lead to thinning hair, where it should also be noted that the adult scalp loses approximately one-hundred hairs every day. From the age of forty, hair follicles begin to shrink, often causing hair to grow back thinner, and in recommending Super Absorbable Tocotrienols, which drops in price from £26 to £23, it is important to say that this is not an overnight fix, that is not the intention here.
VH Editorial: Vitamin E For Hair Loss; Super Absorbable Tocotrienols £23 for 60 Softgels (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 12 January)

Let’s do one more on subject, and for approximately six months of the year, Daily Immunity is under the radar, yet quite honestly we should really be taking Daily Immunity throughout the year because of the increase in viral infections which can be as prevalent in the summer months as they are in the winter months. Supporting our immune system is a given for optimal health and wellbeing, so all I am going to do here is drop the price of Daily Immunity from £29 to £26, and in so doing, this section ends.
VH Editorial: A Daily Supplement That Supercharges Your Immunity; DoSe Daily Immunity £26 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 12 January)

We are now going to take a look at a very common health concern, ear infections, and I most specifically want to write about ear infections because the product we believe to be best-in-class, Wally’s Natural Organic Ear Oil, is back in stock after a rather long absence. These natural ear oil drops provide pain relief from earache, and containing Mullein Extract, Garlic Oil, Tea Tree Oil and Echinacea Extract, they help to soothe inflammation caused by ear infections. Ear infections are often treated with antibiotics, but in many instances ear infections may be viral and not bacterial in nature, so if you suffer from recurrent mild ear infections, these drops will really help.
VH Editorial: Ear Oil For Earaches & Infections; Organic Ear Oil by Wally’s Natural £16.95 for 30 ml

Oral health is a huge subject so here I want to share two articles with you, the first from Sarah and the second from Shabir. Extensive research shows the bacteria in our mouths are as important as those in the gut microbiome and dental TLC doesn’t just keep our teeth clean and our breath fresh, it can help prevent gum disease, which is linked to a host of other problems including heart attacks, stroke and Alzheimer’s. Sarah explains what’s going on and what to do in her article linked below.
Brush Up On Your Dental TLC And Keep Gum Disease At Bay by Sarah Stacey; Zymbion Q10 Toothpaste by PharmaNord £7.95 for 75 ml

Following through, Sarah mentions tongue scraping, which is a simple process of running a tool across the tongue which removes bacteria, food particles and any coating from the tongue. The art of tongue cleaning has existed for centuries and in Ayurveda medicine, the tongue reflects the health and wellbeing of the heart, kidneys, spleen, liver, lungs and stomach, so an article from Shabir where he recommends Urban Veda’s Copper Tongue Cleaner.
VH Editorial: The Benefits Of Tongue Scraping; Copper Tongue Cleaner by Urban Veda £12

Right, let’s do some straight talking about skin health, basically because I am so vocal about the importance of skin health and the DoSe skincare range was, as you know, formulated to support the health of our skin. In the last Weekend Read I shared two reviews referencing three products, Ergothioneine Serum, Multi-Peptide Anti-Ageing Serum and Peptide Rescue Serum, and today I want to write my own review about Hyaluronic Acid Serum, which now follows, essentially because I can’t afford to be complacent about any given product, which is why we often tweak formulations in line with ongoing research.

We haven’t tweaked HA Serum, but I decided to put it to the test against a rather expensive HA serum and to put things into perspective I do this quite often, mostly to satisfy myself that I have not become delusional about the efficacy of our own products. Obviously I am not going to name the product, I am not here to call out brands and products, but what I will say is that it was sticky and horrid, so I washed it off and that was the end of that experiment and having satisfied myself, I did a happy dance in my bathroom clutching our own HA Serum, which I use every single day of my life. By way of conclusion, I am dropping the price of HA Serum from £15 to £13.
DoSe Hyaluronic Acid Serum £13 for 30 ml (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 12 January)

I want to return to supplementation and the subject of complacency, because there are many supplements where we just don’t appreciate the benefits of any given supplement until we stop taking it. Hyaluronic Acid most definitely falls into this category and this also applies to Digestive Enzyme Complex, I know this because I take both and I know what happens if I stop taking either of them. Although it is of course important to check efficacy on a regular basis, I honestly don’t feel the need to conduct any further experiments on either supplement, basically because I really do notice the difference if I stop taking them and I don’t like that difference.
DoSe Hyaluronic Acid Capsules High Strength £35 for 30 Capsules

Throwing the focus on Digestive Enzyme Complex, it is perhaps important to say that digestive enzymes don’t just have to be taken if you suffer from constipation or a sluggish bowel, although of course they help considerably with both concerns, and here I am referencing Shabir’s article, linked below. The other thing to say is that digestive enzymes enhance gut health, helping to calm inflammation in the gut, thereby increasing the availability of vitamins to the body. In mode, I am dropping the price of Digestive Enzyme Complex from £29 to £26 with a note to say that if you suffer from digestive issues, you may benefit from taking this supplement.
VH Editorial: Digestive Enzymes For Bloating, Gas Or Indigestion; DoSe Digestive Enzyme Complex £26 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 12 January)

Reverting to under-the-radar products, there are most definitely those products which aren’t under-the-radar to each of us, but in a general sense they are under-the-radar outside of our community, so let’s talk about two of those products. The first one is Zam-Buk Antiseptic Ointment which deserves so many accolades for its role in healing cuts, sores, sprains, burns, chilblains and insect bites and the second product is the Tweezy Facial Hair Remover, which had more than a moment during the dark lockdown days when this rather clever little tool dutifully removed each and every one of our sprouting hairs. And it still does.
Zam-Buk Antiseptic Ointment £3.99 for 20 grams; Tweezy Facial Hair Remover £10

Into the semi-final fling, 'semi' because the Saturday only treat is also a fling of sorts, but before we get there, let me say that whenever we do this offer, which is quite often, it always flies out the door and I promise you we always have high stock levels. The product is from Margaret Dabbs, it is her Intensive Anti-Ageing Hand Serum, an overnight treatment which has been specifically formulated to plump, firm and protect the skin and I honestly don’t know how long this offer will last because the price drops here from £30 to £15, so in a way it becomes one of those ‘stash’ products. And over is over.
Intensive Anti-Ageing Hand Serum by Margaret Dabbs London £15 for 35 ml

And so the Saturday only treat, and the second half of the fling, basically because I want to return to my thoughts about menopausal skincare. Some of you may remember my words about menopausal skincare from a few years ago and they were strong words, which culminated with an offer on Fulvic Face Cream accompanied by a  suggestion that if you felt the need, you could take a biro and write the words ‘for menopausal skin’ on the Fulvic Face Cream tube, which was my personal contribution to the menopausal skin discussion.

I think many of you will know where I am going with this and it is more than obvious that there are times when I write things to amuse myself, I can’t help it, we all need fun in our lives, so here is my dose of amusement for today. With every order placed for £35 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically include Fulvic Face Cream (30 ml)*, which is worth £15, together with a biro. Point made, case rested and product details below.
Fulvic Face Cream (offer ends at midnight GMT, Saturday 11 January)

I’m not sure where we go after that, so I think I will end this with a song, and this song because there are times when I really do think I am going slightly mad, although I don’t actually care. 
I’m Going Slightly Mad by Queen; The VH Playlist

With love

Gill x

1. Fladerer, JP., Grollitsch, S. Comparison of Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) and Reduced Coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinol) as Supplement to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Reduce Cardiovascular Mortality. Curr Cardiol Rep 25, 1759–1767 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-023-01992-6