An Update from Jo

We mentioned last month we were looking for someone new to join our team. This month we are excited to welcome Keren and Anna! Keren will soon be joining us on Mondays, Thursdays and some Saturdays, and Anna will be joining us on a Wednesday.  We have updated our "meet the team" page on our website so you can read about all of our staff here.

I am looking forward to getting back into the shop clinic on a more regular basis and offer Acupressure Foot Massage once again. For now these appointments will be available on Mondays and Thursdays from 10.00am until 4pm as well as some Saturdays from 10am till 2pm. This is a 45 minute appointment for $70 and can also include some time at the end to experience sound healing with crystal bowls if this interests you. I will continue with consults for more indepth discussions about Homeobotanicals and Bach Flower blends but a reminder that we offer free over the counter consults for these in the shop also. Our additional counter and second computer are all set up and this has created a space more practical for this purpose. Homeobotanicals are great for acutes like coughs and colds, digestive upsets and low energy and often a 10 minute chat in the shop is all that required for prescribing these. Bach flowers are perfect for short term mental emotional things that pop up and need support when feeling stuck or going through change. These can also be prescribed after a quick chat in the shop however if we feel you would benefit from a longer, more private consultation or a referral to a more specialised practitioner we will suggest this also. 

Our staff available for consultations in our clinic room includes Homeopath Karen on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Naturopath Beverley on Wednesdays, and Naturopath Claire on Mondays and Tuesdays. Due to us sharing the clinic space most days it's important to book in advance to get the appointment that suits you best. You can do this by contacting the practitioner directly and can read more about each of their specialites here. We also welcome Zsalea who is a Homeopath, Naturopath and Herbalist and will be offering consultations from our clinic room on a Friday, you can read more about her area of interest here on her website.

 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.

• Spend $40 or more on Boody Basics (excludes loungewear) and get a FREE pair of Boody underwear - limit 1 per customer and styles and sizes are limited to what Boody have sent us to giveaway
• Spend $60 on products from The Herb Farm and get a FREE Overnight Face Mask
• Purchase 2 or more Speick Mens products and get a FREE Body Lotion
• Buy any 2 Nutra Organics Bone Broth products and get a FREE brass measuring spoon
• Buy any 2 Holistic Hair products and get a free trial size Herbal Finishing Rinse Concentrate or Salt of the Earth Volumising and Texturing Spray
• 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 and at a great price of $99 
• Spend $69 or more on Living Nature and get a FREE Nourishing Day Cream (or a Advanced Renewal Night Serum arriving next week)
• 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
• Nutra Organics 10% off Bone Broth Concentrates
• Tui Balms - 10% off the whole range

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

• Mamaku Skin Range for Adults and Children - rapidly repairs damage to the skin's barrier function - great for the management of eczema
• Seleno Amaru Cacao drops now available in refill packs - loose drops and 1kg blocks are also back in stock
• Nose Fresh Nasal Brushes - use with the nose fresh nasal spray on the brush to clean the nasal cavity and remove pollen and other irritants
• Health Lab Gluten Free Protein Blondie - Cookies no cream 

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 Tui Balms Range

For the first few years, the balms were hand-made with voluntary effort by the community residents. With a massage therapist and a naturopath part of the team, new recipes were created and the range increased to include balms for specific uses as well as a range for all-over body massage.  

Since these humble beginnings Tui now employs 15 staff and donates 5% of sales to registered NZ charities. The legend of its effectiveness as a skin healer has grown to where Tūī Balms is now a NZ icon recognized for quality massage & natural skincare products and one of NZ’s favourite Baby Balms.

In store we stock a wide selection of Tui Balms including massage balm, bug balm, baby balm, bee balm, lip balm sticks, foot balm and their snuffler. Below is a little information about a product in this month’s giveaway.

Tui’s Throat & Chest Balm is an effective salve for the clearing of nasal, sinus and chest congestion.  It can be rubbed onto the chest, around the neck, throat and onto the back, especially before sleep or applied directly under the nose for faster nasal relief.  It is also effective when worked into the feet then left overnight.

Take care applying to young children under 2 years, as it will create a cooling sensation on the skin. You can make it milder by mixing it with a little Tui Bee Balm. For young babies under 4 months, apply to your chest and let baby inhale soothing oils that way, or apply on a tissue and place this under their pillow/sheet.

Although our winters are very mild in the Bay, it is at this time of year that we naturally find ourselves hunkering down and seeking out creature comforts through the cold months.  

This natural downturn in activity can provide a welcome time for rest and rejuvenation, preparing for the busy warmer months.  We can take this opportunity to become bored and daydream - a now rare and under-utilised pastime - which can help our brain to be creative and problem solve.  Boredom for the brain is like sleep for the body, providing relaxation and time to repair.

However, like all approaches to health and wellbeing, it is a balancing act between too much and too little.  With our brain health through the winter, it is just the same. Too little activity, social interaction and time outdoors can also have a detrimental effect on our wellness, affecting our weight, appetite and sometimes giving us the ‘winter blues’.

Our brain thrives on challenges, and can become sluggish when we continuously seek familiar comforts rather than novel experience.   When we undertake novel things, our brain evolves and adapts through neuroplasticity, while also stimulating the production of dopamine.  A low level of dopamine can lower our mood, cause forgetfulness, sleep disturbances and fatigue.  

As the middle of winter marks a move towards renewal, I challenge you to take on the winter brain reset…

Rather than always looking for warmth, seek out challenges through brief cold exposures.  This can, but doesn’t have to be, ice baths. It may be simply walking barefoot on wet grass in the morning, or doing your regular walk in a t-shirt rather than a jacket.

• Rather than eating when hungry, challenge your body and brain to mild hunger, with some intermittent fasting.  Intermittent fasting has been shown to balance energy production in the brain, and reduce oxidative stress.  
• Rather than filling spare time with trivial material or digital distraction, stimulate your curiosity and focus by learning new information… or simply sitting in your own boredom.
• Rather than staying inside, catch moments of winter sun on your skin, or go barefoot on the ground.  Move your body out in nature.

We don’t want these challenges to be too great that they add stress to the body.  These should be little challenges of deliberate discomfort that ignite our cognition, and improve our mental resilience, setting us up to face the year ahead.

Article Supplied by Claire George, Naturopath who is also available for consultations.

This month we have a Tui Baby Care pack to give away, this collection is a real treat for any new mum, dad and their baby. It contains three 40gm tins of Baby Balm, Throat & Chest Balm, and Bug Balm.

To go in the draw, send your answer to the following question in the subject line of a return email:

What are the three Tui Balmes in the Baby Pack?

Congratulations to Robyn Wilson who won the Gutsi Good Guts and Gutsi Gut Food featured in last month's newsletter.

Coconut and Lentil Soup