An Update from Jo

April feels busy already and it's only just started! With 3 short weeks this month, as well as school holidays next week, for many of us there is a lot going on. We are always here to support you with all your health and well-being needs. This may include support for your nervous system, to help manage stress and all those balls we are often juggling. Or, now that the weather is cooling down the immune and respiratory system might require some extra attention. A reminder we offer appointments in our clinic room for Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Neuro Integration, Theratest, Acupressure Foot Massage, Bach Flowers, Homeobotanicals and our most recent addition - PEMF Frequency Healing.

Melissa at Aligned Frequencies is available on Fridays for Nature-Informed Frequency Sessions. "Nature-Informed means we honour the deep, biological relationship between the human body and the living Earth.  Just as water responds to frequency and the moon guides the tides, your body responds to subtle energetic inputs.  This session is designed to restore that dialogue between you and the natural world — to help you remember your innate coherence. At the heart of the session is the P90+, a cutting-edge wellness device that combines PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields) and Terahertz frequencies". For more information or to book, get in touch with Melissa on melissa@alignedfrequencies.me

We hope you all manage to have some downtime over the long weekend, or at least get an extra hour sleep when the clocks go back on Sunday. Our team is looking forward to a break as we will be closed Friday 3rd and Monday 6th, though will be open our usual hours on Saturday this week from 9-3pm.

At the end of the month we have Anzac day. This year it falls on a Saturday and as we are required to close until 1pm, we will take the opportunity to give everyone a break for the whole day. And although the public holiday carries over to the Monday, I will be opening the shop on Monday 27th from 9-3pm as other shops in our block are also choosing to be open.

Happy Easter everyone, we 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.

• Kiss the Earth products - 10% off across the range we have instore
• Nordic Naturals range - 10% off
• Harbourside Macadamia range - 10% off
• Weleda Arnica products - 15% off
• Weleda Body Care - selected products 20% off
• Solimara Sunscreen 37% off - 150g tube now $29.90, 88g tube now $21.90
• Buy any Nutra Organics Children's Gutsy Gummies and get a free Easter mould
• Buy any Harker Herbals Children's Product and get a FREE Children's Throat Spray
• Buy 2 Wotnot Natural Baby Sunscreens and get a FREE 45g Wotnot SPF50 Zinc stick
• Buy any 2 products from the Kooshoo Hair Accessory range and get a 2 pack of plastic free hair scrunchies FREE
• Buy any TWO full size Giovanni products and get a FREE pack containing a Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture 60ml Shampoo, 60ml Conditioner and a 60ml Styling Gel - valued at over $21
• Spend $59 or more on Herb Farm products and get a FREE Uplifting May Chang Body Lotion valued at $36 OR spend $45 and get a FREE Lip Balm valued at $18.90 (this stock will arrive next week)
• Spend $69 or more on Living Nature and get a FREE Daily Protect Facial Lotion SPF20 valued at $62 OR a Rewind and Repair serum valued at $69 (this stock will arrive next week)
• Buy any TWO Holistic Hair products and get a FREE trial size Herbal Finishing Rinse Concentrate 

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

• Seedy Crackers now BACK IN STOCK
• Flow State range of functional mushroom caps - Lions Mane, Cordyceps or Complete
• Giovanni Hydrating Hemp range - Shampoo and Conditioner available
• New Health Lab Protein Supertreats including Pistachio & Rose and Blue Vanilla
• New from Weleda - Arnica Sports Body Butter, Cold Time Bath, Skin Food Serum and Shower cream
• Nutra Naturals Super Gut - Strawberry & Kiwi fibre, pre- & pro-biotic blend
• Indie & Mae Body Butters 120g - Sweet Orange and Warm Vanilla 
• Sonnet cleaning products - Toilet Cleaner & All Purpose Cleanser
• Snap Nitric Oxide Booster caps & Organic Beet chews
• Nutra Organics Collagen Hot Chocolate
• Whipped Tallow Cream - Sandalwood fragrance
• Nut Baby 72% dark chocolate minis bag
• BioGaia Prodentis support for healthy teeth and gums
• Solomons Gold Velvet Coffee nib 75% cacao 85g
• Solomons Gold Dark Velvet 90% cacao 85g
• Good Health Viralex Kids Vitamin C Plus 100 chewable tabs - same great formulation as the previous product for adults - now at a children's dose

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

Kiss the Earth Products

Blue Lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) is a tropical water lily with a long history of use across different cultures. In Ancient Egypt, it was linked to the sun, rebirth, and higher awareness, and often used in rituals and depicted in temple art. In Eastern traditions, the lotus is a symbol of awakening, purity, and personal growth.

Blue Lotus is widely celebrated for its calming properties—supporting, emotional balance, clarity of mind, restful sleep, and heightened awareness. Many people turn to it as a gentle way to unwind, support a healthy stress response, and ease into restful sleep. Blue Lotus can gently uplift the mood and promote a sense of calm. It contains natural alkaloids that may interact with serotonin and dopamine, supporting mood balance, mental clarity, relaxation, and sleep.

Blue Lotus is a gentle yet powerful plant, inviting us to slow down, reconnect, and find moments of calm within the rhythm of everyday life.

We also stock the Dea Hair Growth Oil - a luxurious, 100% natural blend of Ayurvedic herbs, Ancient Egyptian ritual oils, and sacred lotus extracts designed to support hair growth, strengthen roots, repair damage, and bring your hair back to life — naturally. 

To be in to win, enter your answer to the following question in the subject line of a return email.

In what ancient country was Blue Lotus often used in rituals and depicted in temple art?

Congratulations to last month's lucky winners of our range of Southern Glow Whipped Tallow Creams.  We had a range of fragrances to give away - Karen Oscroft & Christine Cecil both win the Lychee & Guava; Vivienne Wood takes home the Sandalwood; Sam Paki and Andrea Bailey both get a Manuka Honey & Beeswax each; Alison Adams wins a Vanilla pot; and a pot of Unscented tallow goes to Barbara Roth.

As we age, we may begin to notice that our brain is not as sharp as it once was.  Or perhaps, this is one of the worries of what lies ahead of us as we age.  People experience mild cognitive decline in different ways - reduced memory, slower processing, poor balance, less focus, or hard to find words or remember names.  

There can be a number of influences acting upon the brain when we experience a reduction in function, including an exaggerated immune response causing low-grade inflammation, poor blood flow, dysregulated glucose metabolism or high oxidative stress.  For women, a reduction in the protective effects of oestrogen during peri- and menopause can also impact on the ability of the brain to rebuild and repair, and support a healthy blood supply - hence why cognitive changes can occur around menopause.

While traditional views would have us believe this is “part of growing older”, there is research into ways that we can reduce these processes to support a healthy brain throughout our life.  And (spoiler alert) they are not about ‘brain training’!

While brain training type apps or games may see our performance improve in those particular activities, research has shown that does not necessarily transfer to an improvement in everyday life.  On the other hand, giving our brain a workout through learning a new language or skill, dancing, playing chess or getting creative have all been shown as useful ways to use your downtime to support better brain function.

The brain-gut connection and our gut microbiome get plenty of attention these days - and for good reason!  This strong connection is not just about mood regulation and stress response regulation through the gut, but our learning processes and memory have also been found to be regulated through our gut microbiome.  The microbiome in our mouth also has a strong influence on mental function, and interestingly - chewing gum has shown a positive effect on both the microbiome and memory function in a number of studies.

We can also support the brain through what we eat.  A balanced, fresh diet such as Mediterranean, DASH or MIND diets are great approaches to a whole way of eating.  But you can also just tweak what you currently eat, such as adding more fruit or vegetables, reducing saturated fat from meat and dairy, and increasing omega-3 fats from fish. The brain loves getting protein, and particularly those from plant sources.  

Keeping to a regular eating schedule can also help the brain, which thrives on a routine.  The same goes for our sleep patterns.  By maintaining a regular sleep-wake cycle, the brain can better prepare for and support sleep.  While we sleep, new brain connections are made, memories consolidated, and repairs are made.  A specialised detoxification system in the brain also clears out waste three times faster while we sleep.  Combined, this makes sleep a wonderful tonic for the brain.

As you can probably guess, daily physical activity paired with purposeful regular exercise will also benefit the brain as it acts on all those influences on our brain health - reducing inflammation, improving glucose regulation and blood flow.  While deciding to exercise is one approach, deciding to break your relationship with sitting could also be a great place to start for your brain.  Studies have shown that the memory section of the brain reduces relative to the time spent sitting each day.  And no amount of other exercise can reverse this effect from sitting throughout the day.  Making sure you get up for 10 minutes out of every hour in the chair can help your brain to stay sharp!

Article supplied by Claire George, one of our staff practitioners.  Claire is available for Naturopathic and NIS appointments at our shop clinic on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Reference: Supercharge your Brain (2022).  Prof. James Goodwin. 

Kumara & Red Lentil Curry 

Serves 4-6   Preparation 15 min   Cooking 60 min

Instructions:

• Rinse split red lentils several times really well, until the water runs clear. If your stomach is sensitive to pulses, you may want to cook them separately in about 3 cups of water, skimming the foam that comes up to the surface during cooking. Simmer until they can be squashed between your fingers, about 10 minutes.

• Heat up oil on a medium heat, in a heavy bottom pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and wait until they start popping, stirring from time to time.

• Next add in cumin seeds and dry curry leaves. Fry gently for a minute or so – until the cumin releases its fragrance.

• Add chopped onion, sauté it gently, stirring from time to time until it gets soft and lightly caramelised in places.

• Add garlic, ginger and chopped coriander stalks. Cook for about 2 minutes stirring frequently so that ginger does not stick to the pan.

• Reduce the heat to low and add all the ground spices (apart from garam masala). Coat everything in the pot in the spices. Stir frequently, cook for 1-2 minutes until all spices are fragrant.

• Add chopped tomatoes and 240ml of water. Cover and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes soften and fall apart.

• Add rinsed lentils (if not cooking them separately), kumara and about 500ml of water.

• Let everything come to a gentle boil, simmer covered until sweet potato is tender and the curry thickens – add a splash of water of it is getting too dry.

• Add salt, coconut milk and cooked lentils if you cooked them separately. Cook for a further 5 minutes to allow the curry to thicken.

• Season with garam masala and lime juice. Adjust seasoning and spiciness if needed.

• Serve on top of cooked rice and/or with naan bread with chopped coriander leaves and toasted cashews on top.

NOTES *You can use either raw or pre-cooked red lentils here. Do not add the salt until the lentils have cooked as salt makes them tough.

Recipe Credit https://www.lazycatkitchen.com/sweet-potato-red-lentil-curry/