Local independent retailer, The Healthy Life Co Devizes, has some exciting news! Justina Pettifer, eco-warrior and owner of The Healthy Life Co is always on the look out for new ways to reduce her impact on the planet’s resources. Much of this work involves finding ways to reduce plastic waste. So it’s with pride, that Justina and her team can announce that The Healthy Life Co have embarked on a plastic free journey. They’ve made the decision to remove single-use plastics from their shelves and have installed a refill system in their shop. The refill system covers household products including washing up liquid, fabric softener, toilet cleaner, multipurpose household cleaners and hand soap. It also includes foods too, including seeds, nuts, dried fruit, flour and porridge oats. Justina and her team plan to add more to their refill service, so these products are just the tip of the iceberg! Customers can bring their own containers and buy as much or as little of each item as they like. Not only have they taken this fabulous step towards being plastic free, they’ve also launched a new online store, offering 14,000 healthy life products. (Which they’re led to believe is more than Amazon stocks.) They’ve embraced technology to offer their customers a unique service for such a small independent retailer. They’ve made it easy for customers to filter the products – filters include gluten free, dairy free, vegan, organic, British made and more. They’re also now offering a click and collect service to help engage the local community and a courier service for those further afield. Justina says that by making such a large range of products available online, on an easy to navigate website, she hopes that people make a choice to support a small, independent business. For more information visit www.yourhealthylifeshop.co.uk or email us on enquiries@thehealthylife.co.uk
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The Town Crier Magazine | MARCH 2019
What is Functional Medicine and why should we care? by Helen Adams of Oakmead Clinic Too often we have conditions which are hard to treat we often visit the GP, but there’s no real answer for us. That’s why we should care and take notice of Functional Medicine. Functional Medicine is all about you – it’s your story and how a myriad of causes throughout life can contribute to the set of symptoms we know as illness. It started in America nearly 30 years ago and is now practised by doctors and nutritionists worldwide. To date there are only about 25 fully qualified practitioners in the UK and only 16 of those are nutritionists. Functional medicine uses food as the first line of treatment before medication. This doesn’t mean you should stop taking medications - it means you should see them as a “pill for an ill” – prescribed in order to manage symptoms. If changes to your diet and lifestyle reduce your symptoms, then a conversation with your doctor should take place to ensure you are taking only as much as you need. This can reduce the problem of ‘poly-pharmacy’ where one drug is prescribed to manage the side-effects of another drug. Lifestyle is incredibly relevant – from the amount of daily movement to the ability to cope with stress, and ‘me-time’ for better resilience to deal with the knocks of daily life. Impacts on the immune system can result in all sorts of chronic health conditions, from auto-immune diseases to type 2 diabetes. What would you expect from my consultation? I will ask a lot of questions and then join the pieces together to get to the root cause of your issues. We may need some more detailed lab tests, and I will certainly want a food diary. I start from wherever you are right now, incorporating changes that are relatively easy and practical, and reviews are very important to see how your health is progressing.
To find out more visit www.oakmeadclinic.co.uk or call Wilf Adams on 07846 620453, or email: wilf@oakmeadclinic.co.uk