An Update from Jo

Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend and for some of us a rare sleep in on a Monday. We will also be closed in celebration of Matariki on Friday 20th June. 

We wanted to let you know we are on the lookout for a new person to join our team as I plan to spend more time in the clinic going forward. We're in need of an extra pair of hands from time to time, so we're looking for someone with previous experience in retail natural health or a qualification in Naturopathy or Herbal Medicine. Due to the busy nature of our shop and the high standard of professional advice we offer, we're unfortunately unable to train someone without this kind of background. The position is part time, 5 hours on both Monday and a Wednesday plus one Saturday a month. It would suit someone who is flexible, as the hours may occasionally extend or shift to other days. If this sounds like you - or someone you know, please get in touch by emailing bethlehemhealthshop@gmail.com. We are also working behind the scenes on setting up an additional counter and second computer at the front to help reduce waiting times. All going well, we hope to have everything in place by the end of the month.

You will see below in our "New in Store" list that we now have a small selection of Boody Baby items. We used to have Boody Baby many years ago but it was discontinued. It was recently relaunched in more neutral colours and we have started with some of the most popular items. We can order other things in the range in for you and try our best to do a Boody order each month. Look forward to seeing you again soon.

Our Vision

At Bethlehem Health Shop, we support ethical suppliers and sell quality, researched products. We offer sincere advice from our team of caring, trained staff.

Thank you so much for supporting your locally owned Community Health Store.

• Nuzest - purchase the Good Green Stuff 300g tub and get a free 300g pouch of Protein Greens and Berries (in cocoa or vanilla caramel)
• Buy a 1kg Nuzest Clean Lean Protein Powder and get a FREE Nuzest Shaker, with a single serve sachet of Good Green Vitality, and Clean Lean Protein Vanilla - and at a great price of $99 
• Buy any TWO Hanami Nail products and get a FREE 9ml Rescue Me Nail Oil
• Spend $69 or more on Living Nature and get a FREE Nourishing Day Cream or a FREE Aqua Gel Mask 
• Buy a Harker Herbals Kids Gut Biome and get a FREE star gummy mold
• Buy any TWO full size Giovanni products and get a FREE Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture 60ml Shampoo, 60ml Conditioner and a 60ml Styling Gel - valued at over $21
• Weleda - 20% off selected Body Care products
• Gutsi - 15% off the Gusti Range
• Nutra Organics Bone Broths Powders and Concentrate - 10% off
• Tru2U Sleep Support Range of liquids and capsules - 10% off
• Nuzest Kids Good Stuff Chocolate 250g - 25% off
• The Herb Farm Men's Gel Cleanser and Mens Regenerating Moisturiser - 30% off 

All of the above specials and offers are only valid while stocks last.

• Seleno Tocosh Gut Support Capsules - 100 caps
• Be Pure Calm Now - 60 capsules
• Nature Body Remineralising Tooth Powder - Cinnamon & Clove and Mint & Licorice
• Holistica - Beautiful Baby Bottom Balm, Luxurious Matcha Body Butter and Magical Matcha Face Mask
• Herbal Remedy Kidney Cleanse loose leaf tea
• Zylanica Earl Grey tea Bags
• Tulsi Raspberry peach teabags
• The Herbal Astrology Pocket Oracle
• The Good Tarot Deck - By Collette Baron-Reid
• Now Sports Creatine Monohydrate - 120 caps
• RN Labs Creatine Monohydrate Powder (this product is practitioner only so we need to chat to you about it before you can purchase it).
• First Light Essences - Detox Support and Weight Support
• Bonvit Instant Chicory 100g jars - Orginal, Cocoa, Caramel, Hazelnut, Vanilla
• Banjo Bears now available in Orange flavour
• Mamazing range of Mushroom blends are back in stock with the addition of Hearty Health Potion
• Go Good Organic Plant Protein Powder in Chocolate 500g and Coffee 500g
• Go Good Organic Whey Protein Powder in Strawberry 500g (Banana to come and vanilla and chocolate also available to order)
• Boody Bikini Briefs in the Limited Edition of Rust (small and medium) and Full Briefs Rust (medium)
• Boody Baby Body Suit Natural White and Long Sleeve Body Suit - 0-3 and 3-6months, Long Sleeve Romper Sage 0-3 and 3-6 months, Socks 3 pack and jersey wraps in Sage and Storm

New products will be added to our website as soon as we can. If you want to purchase these online before we get a chance to do this, please call us to order over the phone instead on 07 576 9442

The Gutsi Range

The Gusti range includes the SporeBiotic, Gut Food, Good Guts and Gut Digest.  One way of very simply looking at these supplements would be, Gut Food is the prebiotic, SporeBiotic the Probiotic, Good Guts the Postbiotic and Gut Digest to help you break down and digest your food ensuring you get the most from every meal. A complete package for a healthy gut biome.  The Gutsi range also has a Mood Biotic to help manage stress via the gut-brain axis helping calm and relax the nervous system.

Gut Food: This specialised blend of Smart fibres selectively feed only beneficial gut bacteria creating a probiotic-friendly environment in the gut. Gut Food prebiotics support microbial diversity, gut barrier function and a healthy microbiome for optimal digestive and immune health.  Feed your microbiome with probiotics and this perfect partner.

SporeBiotic: This revolutionary and highly effective probiotic is designed for everyone. First time users need to lower the recommended dose, speak to our friendly staff for advice on this. SporeBiotic is a Microbiologist formulated 100% spore based broad spectrum probiotic formula that reconditions the gut by increasing microbial diversity and encouraging the growth of key gut bacteria and antioxidants to support a healthy microbiome.

Good Guts: Key amino acids and polyphenolic extracts provide the building blocks for a balanced microbiome.  Good Guts delivers postbiotic-producing nutrition needed for a healthy gut mucosal barrier system which in turn supports optimal digestive function, immune heath and overall wellbeing.  

Gut Digest: A well-functioning digestive system is vital for a balanced microbiome. Age, lifestyle or genetics can reduce natural enzyme production causing GI discomfort. Whether you struggle with occasional intestinal discomfort, have food intolerances or want to optimise nutrient absorption Gut Digest delivers the results you need.

Serving up good sleep

We see many customers who are seeking help to improve their sleep – both falling asleep and staying asleep. Alongside supplements and herbal support, dietary choices on what and when you eat could be another tool to support better sleep. 

Regularly getting a great night’s sleep can do so much for your health; improving your immunity, healing time and memory, along with regulating pain, mood, appetite, blood pressure, blood sugars, and energy levels.  

The body’s circadian rhythm helps set the clock for the release of hormones that help with sleep and wakefulness.  When we eat at irregular times throughout the day, this can disrupt our natural rhythm.  Most importantly, eating later into the evening activates metabolism and digestive processes that can set us up for a bad night’s sleep. 

When our circadian rhythm is working correctly, it stimulates melatonin production which peaks in the middle of the night to keep us asleep.  As well as encouraging a natural circadian rhythm by when we eat, we can support natural melatonin production through a number of dietary pathways.

The old wives’ tale of a glass of hot milk before bed may have some truth to it. Milk, along with cheese, meat, soy beans, oat bran, seafood, pumpkin seeds and nuts all contain the amino acid tryptophan which can be converted to melatonin.  However, the key to getting tryptophan into the brain for conversion is to consume it with carbohydrates.  Studies have shown a glass of milk with some honey in it improve tryptophan availability.

In order to convert tryptophan to serotonin, and then melatonin, the body also needs magnesium and B6 and B5 vitamins.  Both B6 and magnesium are commonly depleted through stress, alcohol and medication use, and may therefore need supplement support to aid this conversion.

Alternatively, eating foods rich in melatonin bypasses the need for some conversion.   Tart cherry is a well-researched food high in melatonin, that has shown to improve sleep quality and quantity.  Strawberries, beefsteak tomatoes, corn, rice, almonds and walnuts also have high levels of melatonin, but it is unclear whether they are effective at improving sleep.

Like all nutritional approaches to good health, it will rarely be one food that will be the secret answer, but a whole dietary approach which includes these foods.  Including plenty of vegetables in your diet will also provide fibre to support gut health that aids serotonin production which can then convert to melatonin.  Avoiding certain foods such as stimulating sugars and caffeine, or high GI foods can also be helpful.  Any unmanaged food allergies or intolerances can also stimulate adrenaline, which can interfere with sleep.

A DIY sleep improvement programme through targeted dietary intake and routine could be a low-cost, uncomplicated intervention to help improve your overall health.

Article Supplied by Claire George, Naturopath - our newest member of the team who is also available for consultations.

Congratulations to Nancy Evans, Daryl Silcock, Margaret Nicol, Navneet Chohan and Peta Black who each won a jar of The Keepers Apothecary Honey featured in last month's newsletter.

Spiral Sweet Potato Bake

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Brush skillet base and sides with a little olive oil.

Slice potatoes: Slice potatoes 3-4mm thick. A mandoline will make short work of this.
Toss: Place in large bowl, pour in all butter plus 1 tbsp olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. Toss well with hands, separating the slices so they are all coated with oil.

Layer in skillet: Layer potato in skillet in a circular pattern, overlapping the slices.

Bake covered 30 minutes: Cover with foil, bake for 30 minutes until potato is quite soft (almost fully cooked).

Brush with oil: Remove from oven, turn up to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan). Remove foil, brush potato with remaining 1 tbsp oil.

Bake uncovered 20 minutes: Bake until tops are golden and slightly crisp, and potato is cooked through (check with a knife or skewer).

Serve: Scatter with more rosemary leaves, a whole sprig of rosemary and pinch of sea salt flakes if desired. Serve immediately! Sweet potato loses crispiness as it cools.

Recipe Notes:
1. Sweet potatoes – To fill a 26cm cast iron skillet as pictured, you will need 1kg of potato slices. Recipe calls for 1.25kg to factor in peeling and trimming. For a neat spiral, we want to use rounds that are as similar size as possible.
2. Storage – Best made and eaten fresh when you have lovely little crispy edges. Leftovers won’t have those crispy edges, but are still tasty!

Credit:  www.recipetineats.com/spiral-sweet-potato-bake