Hello Saturday, hello to each of you and as I welcome you to the Weekend Read, we are following through from last weekend with another celebration, because after celebrating the second birthday of DoSe skincare last weekend, this weekend we are celebrating DoSe supplementation. Our curation of supplements is extraordinarily tight with just twenty-six formulations in the range and, aligning with DoSe skincare, each formulation in the range has been formulated with purpose determined by the ongoing research and clinical evaluation which is core to our philosophy.

Writing similar words last weekend about skincare, the market is totally saturated with supplementation, the navigation of which is confusing, if not overwhelming, aided and abetted by unsubstantiated claims and misinformation. In all of this, there can be no doubt that there is an enormous difference between mass market supplementation and pioneering and cutting-edge formulations. Mass market products frequently use single-ingredient synthetic profiles, starkly contrasting with pioneering formulations which combine botanicals, minerals and other compounds to maximise efficacy.

Scientific rigour is paramount and the divide is growing ever wider between products with ‘perceived’ benefits and those utilising clinically validated, evidence-based compounds which offer transparency and proven efficacy. With all of that said, I think most of you will know where I am going with this, so confirming the obvious, I am throwing a 15% discount across each of the products in the DoSe supplement range, albeit that I wrote about our bestselling supplement, HA, last weekend. 

Throughout this Weekend Read, I will be writing about some of the DoSe supplements by way of specific health concerns, but at this point I will tell you that our top five supplements, in no particular order, are HA, Superior Joints, Collagen Tripeptide Complex, NAD+ Generator and Mega Probio. No real surprises there, and aligning with ethos, it is relatively unsurprising that we haven’t launched a supplement on the DoSe branding since February last year, that product being Collagen Tripeptide Complex. And having had another podium moment, in a long line of podium moments, I am holding this offer until midnight GMT, Monday 16 March.
DoSe Supplements (offer ends at midnight GMT, Monday 16 March)

And so the health concerns and we begin by talking about high cholesterol levels, which are of course linked to cardiovascular disease, the risk factor here being that high cholesterol operates silently. For this reason, it is important to have blood tested regularly to detect high levels of cholesterol before significant damage occurs and although high cholesterol medications (statins) are increasingly being prescribed to help lower cholesterol, they are not without side effects, the most common of which have been extensively documented.

Given a choice, many choose natural remedies and CholestSafe combines the actions of extensively researched herbs including Red Yeast Rice, Policosanols, Phytosterols, Artichoke Leaf extract, together with nutrients such as Coenzyme Q10, Chromium Polynicotinate and EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) which is particularly beneficial for helping to reduce inflammation in the body. We will take a look at Red Yeast Rice in a moment, but Artichoke Leaf extract is included in this formulation as it helps to support the liver, the liver being the primary gland that manufactures and destroys cholesterol.

So, Red Yeast Rice and Red Yeast Rice contains a small amount of lovastatin together with numerous other compounds that have been clinically evaluated and shown to reduce elevated cholesterol levels by approximately 30% within eight weeks and without any side effects. As ever, I will caveat this by saying that I am reporting on clinical studies and of course outcome will vary, but notwithstanding that, Red Yeast Rice also contains Monaclin K which naturally helps to balance the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol by inhibiting the action of HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme responsible for cholesterol synthesis in the liver.

Linking Shabir’s article below where he takes an in-depth look at cardiovascular health and the two types of cholesterol, LDL and HDL, it is also important to say that peak cholesterol production occurs between the hours of 4am and 6am. We therefore recommend taking one capsule of CholestSafe in the morning, two capsules before you go to bed and staying on subject, we move on to talk about the benefits of oats for cardiovascular health.
VH Editorial: How To Lower Cholesterol Naturally; DoSe CholestSafe (discounted by 15% until midnight GMT, Monday 16 March)

Oats contain more soluble fibre than most other grains, in particular oat beta glucans, with more than one hundred scientific studies proving the positive benefits of oat beta glucans as a natural cholesterol reducing remedy. CardiOat® is a high strength oat beta glucan based cereal which provides 3 grams of natural oat beta glucans per serving of 4.5 grams, the clinically studied amount to help lower blood cholesterol and maintain normal cholesterol within a healthy range. We recommend CardiOat® as an adjunct to CholestSafe, although it can be taken as a stand-alone and it drops in price from £21.49 to £18.50 for the interim.
CardiOat® High Strength Oat Beta Glucan Powder by LifePlan £18.50 for 126 grams

Acknowledging the choice between allopathic medicine and complementary medicine, it is well established that statins deplete CoQ10 levels in the body and we have long recommended supplementing with CoQ10. Numerous studies have indicated that 200 mg per day of CoQ10 significantly improves cardiovascular health, helping to protect against a number of heart conditions and at a cellular level, ubiquinone converts to ubiquinol, and vice versa, several times per second.

For the longest time ubiquinol has been advocated for cardiovascular health, however researched evidence now indicates that ubiquinone is far more effective, but of course it must be delivered in the correct therapeutic dosage for efficacy. The challenge is that tablets and capsules must pass through the highly acidic stomach environment, which breaks down most nutrients and at best, we absorb approximately 50% to 60% of the contents of capsules and tablets. And so Liposomal CoQ10.

Liposomal CoQ10, as ubiquinone, is a high-strength liposomal Coenzyme Q10 supplement and each 5 ml serving provides 200 mg, adhering to the therapeutic dose required to maintain adequate levels of CoQ10. Utilising liposomal technology, tiny fat particles protect CoQ10 from the harsh stomach environment and once in the bloodstream, CoQ10 is released directly into cells, providing energy production and antioxidant support.
VH Editorial: Choosing The Right CoEnzyme Q10 Supplement; DoSe Liposomal CoQ10 240 ml (48 days’ supply) (discounted by 15% until midnight GMT, Monday 16 March)

Staying with liposomal technology, last weekend I mentioned that glutathione was often termed as ‘the master antioxidant’ and it is an antioxidant which is required by each and every cell to help mop up damaging free radicals. Glutathione, also known as GSH, is made from three amino acids, glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine and with most of the body’s glutathione produced in the liver, it should be noted that our glutathione levels decline with age, as with many other compounds.

In his article, linked below, Shabir takes an in-depth look at the numerous health benefits of glutathione, referencing and citing several studies which determine the importance of this powerful antioxidant. Liposomal Glutathione contains Setria® Glutathione, a clinically studied form of glutathione which has been shown to raise our levels of glutathione. Manufactured using a fermentation process, Setria® Glutathione is pure and safe, with an assay value of between 99% and 101% and containing no additives, artificial flavours or preservatives, it is the only form of glutathione we recommend. 
VH Editorial: Liposomal Glutathione: Benefits & Side Effects; DoSe Liposomal Glutathione 150 ml (30 days’ supply) (discounted by 15% until midnight GMT, Monday 16 March)

I often write about the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, but today we are going to throw the focus on just one of those symptoms, hot flushes. Hot flushes often occur without any warning and usually last for several minutes, accompanied by a feeling of intense heat that suddenly invades the chest and neck, rising onto the face, often accompanied with redness and swelling.

In the vast majority of cases, hot flushes can be directly attributed to declining female hormones, particularly oestrogen, leading to an imbalance between the female sex hormones and whilst many women choose HRT, many are seeking natural supplementation. Sage Complex is a comprehensive formulation of phytoestrogens, phytoestrogens being herbs that mimic oestrogen in their chemical structure. Essentially because they are not actually oestrogen, they are generally free from any side effects and they help to alleviate night sweats, anxiety and low energy levels.

Topically, we recommend two products for hot flushes, although they work extraordinarily well if there is excess heat in the body. The first of those products is Physicool Rapid Cooling Mist which uses rapid evaporation technology to instantly draw heat away from skin helping to reduce the temperature of skin rapidly, thus the name of the product. The second product is the M-Club Hot & Cold Wrap, which you can keep chilled in the fridge, wrapping it around your neck as required, noting that the box states it is a body wrap, but as I wrote when we launched it, it is only a body wrap if you are a stick insect. And we are not stick insects.
VH Editorial: Banishing Hot Flushes; DoSe Sage Complex 90 Capsules (discounted by 15% until midnight GMT, Monday 16 March); Physicool Rapid Cooling Mist £12.99 for 125 ml; Hot & Cold Wrap by M-Club £12.50

And somehow that leads me to weight management, healthy weight management. Several weeks ago, I wrote about weight management stating that I recognised that rather a lot of people use weight loss drugs, which have become a central part of weight loss discussions. There can be no doubt that the pharmaceutical companies are fighting for market share and notably AstraZeneca has stepped up its investment in a fiercely competitive market for weight loss medications and has recently announced an investment of $4.7bn with a Chinese partner, stating that it will invest $15bn by 2030, challenging the duopoly currently held by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

In all of this there are some interesting advances in natural supplementation for healthy weight management driven by a blend of innovative, evidence-based natural compounds that aim to boost the body’s own production of GLP-1 (glucagon-like-peptide-1). GLP-1 activators are designed to boost satiety and appetite regulation naturally and whilst not providing the dramatic, rapid weight loss of pharmaceutical injections, these natural alternatives are emerging as foundational, sustainable solutions for healthy weight management and here we recommend Metabolic Weight Support.

Metabolic Weight Support is a natural metabolism and weight support supplement to support healthy weight management and is designed to help manage appetite, staying in control of cravings. Metabolic Weight Support has been formulated with Metabolaid®, a blend of hibiscus, lemon verbena extracts and vitamin C, backed by over twenty years of research and multiple clinical trials and has been shown to help reduce feelings of hunger, supporting normal energy-yielding metabolism. Recommending Metabolic Weight Support to be taken alongside a calorie-controlled diet and exercise, it drops in price from £32.95 to £28 across the weekend.
Metabolic Weight Support by Lamberts £28 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 15 March)

Just one more DoSe supplement to write about and that supplement is Bamboo Extract. Bamboo Extract contains naturally sourced, high strength silica, an essential mineral for maintaining the integrity and health of the skin, ligaments, bones and nails, as well as working to bind with other nutrients, delivering those nutrients to the scalp follicles. Silica is a relatively unknown mineral, also known as silicon, it is a combination of silicon and oxygen and is absolutely essential to bone growth and here it is combined with Biotin to support hair growth, stronger nails and healthy collagen production within skin.

Linking Shabir’s article below, he explains the importance of silica and the role it plays in our bodies and as our silica levels decline with age, it makes interesting reading for those over the age of forty, but I’m not quite finished writing about Bamboo Extract. I am taking Bamboo Extract outside of the blanket 15% discount on the DoSe supplements because in full transparency our current stock levels of Bamboo Extract expire in July 2026, and so we are offering a duo pack for £21 whilst stock lasts. For clarity Bamboo Extract is normally £21 for 60 Capsules and there are five months left before expiry, well just under five months.
VH Editorial: Silica Supplements For Hair, Skin & Nails; DoSe Bamboo Extract £21 for 2 x Bamboo Extract (120 capsules)

Having stated last weekend that after almost twenty-five years I still believe iS Clinical to be the global leader for immaculate cosmeceutical formulations, I am going to end this Weekend Read with the rather fabulous iS Clinical Active Collection. The iS Clinical Active Collection offers an opportunity to experience the power of three award-winning clinical formulations. Expertly curated, it is suitable for all skin types combining the deep-purifying Cleansing Complex (60 ml), the potent Active Serum (15 ml) and the Active Peel System (3 x 2-step treatments).

Working in seamless synergy, Cleansing Complex deeply purifies skin and pores while maintaining essential moisture, Active Peel offers professional-grade exfoliation to resurface, smooth and enhance radiance and Active Serum rapidly acts to visibly smooth, brighten and refine the complexion. A few words here to say that Cleansing Complex is, and always has been, iS Clinical’s bestselling product and Active Serum was one of the very first products to launch in the range, and I’m smiling because when it launched, it was described as one of the most important formulations in the field of skincare, and that still stands.

There are always those products which really do stand the test of time and Active Serum is one such product, so keeping that smile on my face, Active Serum (15ml) is £88, yet the price of the entire iS Clinical Active Collection is £85, which does of course mean that the Cleansing Complex and Active Peel Systems are effectively included as gifts. As you would expect, this is a limited edition collection and it is available whilst stock lasts.
iS Clinical Active Collection £85

Into the Saturday only treat, with every order placed for £35 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically include Olverum Bath Oil (5ml)* a luxurious blend of selected essential oils. Olverum Bath Oil is renowned for its therapeutic qualities and exotic fragrance, so with the product linked below, I am also linking each of the Olverum products because they really are very special and if you are a VH Addict, they have just become even more special because of your dedicated discount.
Olverum Bath Oil; Olverum Products; Become A VH Addict

And finally, I have been in my happy place writing this Weekend Read, happy because more than anything else I love sharing, happy because I know that each and every product I have written about will help make a difference to so many of you and happy because writing about iS Clinical just makes me happy, it really is that simple. So happy weekend to each of you and happy everything.
Happy Place by SAINT PHNX; The VH Playlist

With love

Gill x