Let’s talk, and today I want to begin this Weekend Read by taking a look at Limitless Plus which has been specifically formulated to protect brain tissues and improve memory, but it also focuses on the ability to recall information in times of stress. Brain fog is a very common concern and Limitless Plus is categorised as a nootropic, which are compounds that help enhance brain function, supporting memory loss and sharper brain focus.

Much has been written about nootropics across the years, but by definition a true nootropic must be able to enhance memory, together with the ability to assimilate and process information, protect the brain tissues from chemicals and toxins, support brain function, even at times of extreme stress such as exams and work deadlines. Most importantly it must not display any side effects, so perhaps it is more relevant, if not appropriate, to categorise nootropics in terms of synthetic and natural nootropics, and there is a difference, a huge difference, which is so often overlooked, or ignored, in the marketing and discussion of nootropics.

If we are to understand the importance of efficacy, and efficacy is of vital importance, then we cannot ignore the fact that synthetic Nootropics are synthesised in a laboratory and are not without side effects. Conversely, Limitless Plus combines two of the safest herbal extracts, Numatoes™and Neumentix™, both of which have been extensively researched, which Shabir discusses further in his article linked below.

Limitless Plus is a safe, non-pharmaceutical solution for supporting cognitive function providing both short and long-term benefits for brain. Its effects are cumulative, so the longer you take this supplement, the more effective the benefits, so with that said, I am dropping the price of Limitless Plus down from £32 to £29 across the weekend, but it should also be noted here that nootropics are not smart drugs, which are prescription-only medications, although nootropics are often referred to as such, and that’s for the record.
VH Editorial: Nootropics For Sharper Brain Function; DoSe Limitless Plus £29 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 26 January)

Following through from our recent conversations about cardiovascular health, it is interesting to note that ongoing research has acknowledged the important role of ginger for many health benefits, including cardiovascular health. Scientists believe that these benefits may be associated with one of a group of active compounds in ginger root called gingerols. Gingerol has been found to help prevent nausea, decrease joint pain, improve digestion, maintain healthy sugar levels and burn fat for those who have experienced weight gain.

Various studies have focused on people who are overweight or may have metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions which increase the risk factors for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. It is known that excess weight, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low levels of good cholesterol and high blood sugar levels are the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease and ginger has been shown to reduce enzymes that break down carbohydrates into sugar, which helps with sugar metabolism and, in turn, improved blood sugar metabolism helps with weight loss too, as less insulin, the fat depositing hormone, is required to burn sugar for energy.

In his article, linked below, Shabir references a study where it was found that ginger supplementation decreased levels of triglycerides, a type of fat found in the blood, and total cholesterol levels, including bad cholesterol which is known as LDL (low-density lipoproteins). With that covered, the other point of interest here is that ginger also displays powerful antioxidant and pain relief properties and in a double-blind clinical trial patients with moderate osteoarthritis in the knee, ginger displayed great promise in helping to alleviate knee pain.

So, let’s bring this all together with two product recommendations, the first being Absolute Ginger Tea, which contains 100% pure ginger root sweetened with a small amount of monk fruit, which is a zero-calorie natural sweetener. The second recommendation, Ginger Capsules, includes a concentrated ginger extract from fresh ginger root containing high levels of gingerols, providing the above-mentioned benefits, with a cautionary note here that ginger supplementation may interact with blood thinning medications, so Absolute Ginger Tea would be a safer approach.
VH Editorial: Ginger’s Benefits & Side Effects; Absolute Ginger Tea by Bravo Tea £7.50 For 20 Tea Bags; Ginger Capsules by Lamberts £10.95 for 60 Capsules

Continuing this conversation, ginger can of course be taken as a stand-alone, but more often than not we recommend ginger to be taken as an adjunct to specific supplementation, so the first thing here is that it sits very comfortably alongside CholestSafe and Liposomal CoQ10 for additional support and here I am referencing the many words I have written about these two supplements both last weekend and the weekend before, with links here and here for ease.
DoSe CholestSafe £27 for 90 Capsules; DoSe Liposomal CoQ10 £48 for 240 ml (48 days’ supply)

The second comment here references joint pain and of course the clinicals on ginger are impressive, but so are the clinicals on Superior Joints, so the recommendation would most certainly be to take Ginger Capsules as an adjunct to Superior Joints if you feel you need further support. For the purposes of clarification, Natural Eggshell Membrane (NEM) has been clinically proven to reduce pain and stiffness and in a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial published in Clinical Rheumatology, more than 50% of patients noticed an improvement within ten days.

Whenever I write about Superior Joints and the clinical evidence on NEM, I always caveat my words by saying that we are all different and it may take longer than ten days to experience the findings of the clinicals, but nevertheless Superior Joints is a comprehensive formulation and NEM is joined by turmeric, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, manganese and copper. Ginger is also present in the formulation, so if you feel you do need the extra support, it is perfectly safe to take the two supplements together, but notwithstanding that and celebrating Superior Joints as a powerful stand-alone supplement, I am dropping the price from £30 to £27 across the weekend.
VH Editorial: Painful Joints; DoSe Superior Joints £27 for 60 Capsules (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 26 January)

One more subject to write about and that’s weight loss. A few weeks ago I wrote that I had a chink in my brain because I had become extraordinarily uncomfortable writing about menopause because of the preposterous commercialism of this rite of passage, and the same applies to weight loss to some degree, the difference here being that I have never been comfortable writing about weight loss because it is so subjective, but nevertheless it is a concern for many, so once again I need to get over myself because there are two products which can be used as an adjunct to Ginger Capsules for weight loss, so let’s take a look.

The first product is Organic MCT Oil and whilst it is acknowledged that MCT Oil helps to enhance energy levels in the body, there has also been a body of research that indicates that MCT oil can help promote weight loss, with research showing that MCT Oil promotes calorie burning, known as thermogenesis. MCT Oil is also considered to be an appetite suppressant and because this whole subject is way out of my comfort zone, I’m just going to drop the price of MCT Oil down from £24.80 to £21.80 and refer you to Shabir’s article where he does an in-depth on MCT Oil together with the scientific evidence supporting the research.
VH Editorial: Science Based Benefits Of MCT Oil; Organic MCT Oil by Viridian Nutrition £21.80 for 200 ml (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 26 January)

And having abdicated the subject of weight loss to Shabir, who is far less emotional about these things, I will refer you to his article about Yacon Syrup which is thought to play a multi-faceted role in achieving weight loss results. Yacon is very low on the glycemic index scale and it can help lower the amount of sugar consumed in our diets. In one study, Yacon Syrup, when taken daily, was shown to have a significant effect in decreasing body weight, body mass index and waist circumference in perimenopausal women with excessive weight. Peak discomfort descends as perimenopause meets weight loss, but facts are facts and this section is now over. Amen.
VH Editorial: Can Yacon Syrup Help You Lose Weight; Organic Yacon Syrup by Yacon Viva £19.99 for 560 grams

Moving on, I often write about the health of our eyes, so I think some of you may find this next article rather interesting because it throws the focus on night driving, which is somewhat riskier than driving during the day. One of the most common reasons that drivers have trouble seeing at night is the glare from the lights of oncoming traffic, but of course our eyesight worsens with age and night time driving becomes hard because some of the specialised cells, called rods, are lost and it is these cells that distinguish between light and dark.

The difficulties of driving at night are often associated with age-related vision loss and according the AREDS 2 Study (Age-Related Eye Disorder Study), certain vitamins, carotenoids, minerals and Omega-3 essential fatty acid may help to protect our eyes against a wide range of eye health problems. Nutrof Total, contains the recommended vitamins used in the AREDS 2 Study and whilst aimed at protecting the eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration, this supplement also offers protection against age-related vision loss. So, as I drop the price of Nutrof Total from £16.99 to £15, I am also linking an article about Eye Floaters and Flashes, which is also relevant.
VH Editorials: Night Driving; Eye Floaters & Flashes; Nutrof Total by Spectrum Thea £15 for 30 Capsules. (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 26 January)

Staying on subject, Nutrof Total is of course a specifically targeted supplement, but I consider Hyaluronic Acid to be crucially important for eye health and I’m sure many of you will recall my ‘glory hallelujah’ moment last year when I was told that my eyes were extraordinarily healthy, which I attributed to the fact that I have taken HA for more than twenty years. So two articles to link here supporting the importance of HA, the first being an overview of HA and the second throws the focus on Dry Eyes Syndrome, also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, which affects nearly 30% of the adult population with the typical sufferer being female. Figures.
VH Editorials: Benefits Of Hyaluronic Acid Supplements; Tackling Dry Eyes Syndrome; DoSe Hyaluronic Acid High Strength Capsules £35 for 30 Capsules

A few more words about eye health, mostly because so many of us contracted eye infections last year, it was as if there was an epidemic, most specifically a stye epidemic, so it was somewhat fortuitous that we launched Hypochlorous Eyelid Spray in the midst of all of this. Formulated for optimal eye hygiene, Hypochlorous Eyelid Spray has a pH compatible with the ocular surface and tears and it helps calm and protect the eyelids, lashes, tear ducts and skin from inflammation, the latter of which can often lead to long-term dry eye symptoms.

Hypochlorous solutions help to eradicate bacteria and with many of us familiar with Clinisept+ Mouthwash which eradicates bacteria, calming inflamed gum tissues, Hypochlorous Eyelid Spray works on the same premise, helping to clear bacterial infection. Specifically referencing blepharitis, Hypochlorous Eyelid Spray will also help to unblock any tear glands and with daily use will help calm the redness of skin around the eyes. I consider this to be a hero product for optimal eye health, it resides in my bathroom and as I have mentioned styes above, we recommend Silver Eye Drops as an adjunct to Hypochlorous Eyelid Spray for the treatment of styes.
VH Editorial: Treatment For Blepharitis; Hypochlorous Eyelid Spray by The Eye Doctor £10 for 100 ml; Silver Eye Drops by Good Health Naturally £9 for 30 ml; Clinisept+ Mouthwash £7.95 for 400 ml

As we head towards the end of this Weekend Read, a few more things to say, so I will begin with Aduna, a brand we have supported and endorsed for many years. Aduna offer a range of sustainably sourced African superfoods, including Baobab, Cacao and Moringa and we are offering a 20% discount across the range for a month, so this offer will end at midnight GMT on Tuesday 25 February, which is all rather exciting because later that week we will be in the month of March, not that I’m wishing our lives away. Anyway, Aduna products linked below.
Aduna Products

Skin health, and after my words last weekend about Bakuchiol Serum, I want to follow through with some words about PHA Exfoliating Serum. We recognised the importance of PHA (polyhydroxy acids) several years ago and as I wrote at that time, PHA’s were the next-generation AHA’s (alpha hydroxy acids) and we believe they still are, so for background, AHA’s work to exfoliate the uppermost layers of skin and they act as chemical exfoliants, but they can often be quite harsh, often causing itching, burning and tingling sensations, which may also cause skin to dry out.

I have written many words about acids across the years, mostly because they are not recommended for sensitive skin, rosacea-prone skin and skin prone to inflammation and it infuriates me that skincare brands often indicate that AHA’s are suitable for all skin types, because they are not. On this subject, I was somewhat incredulous several months ago when some beauty brands began marketing products to heal the skin after excessive acid use, you honestly couldn’t make it up, but notwithstanding that, PHA’s are far gentler on the skin and cause far less irritation than AHA’s.

Some background here, PHA’s were discovered by the same two scientists who also discovered AHA’s, which resulted in the patenting of PHA’s, so initially the cost of including PHA’s in skincare formulations was prohibitively expensive, but those patents have now expired. The other thing to say here is that their gentleness should not be mistaken for efficacy, because PHA’s are highly efficacious and they are very effective for pigmentation issues and uneven skin tone. Shabir does the PHA lowdown in his article linked below, and I drop the price of PHA Exfoliating Serum from £22 to £19, across the weekend.
VH Editorial: What Are Polyhydroxy Acids; DoSe PHA Exfoliating Serum £19 for 30 ml (offer ends at midnight GMT, Sunday 26 January)

Right, into the Saturday only treat and it’s a somewhat nostalgic treat today, so with every order placed for £35 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically include a bar of the 4711 Eau De Cologne Cream Soap*. The history of the 4711 fragrance is on the product page, linked below, and I have always had a thing about soaps, they make me happy, so I hope this rather iconic soap makes you happy too.
4711 Eau De Cologne Cream Soap (offer ends at midnight GMT, Saturday 25 January)

And for balance, another touch of nostalgia with this song, which I have always loved. No explanation needed.
Just Like A Woman by Bob Dylan; The VH Playlist

With love

Gill x