Hi from Jack's wife.

Hi all -

Angelina did such a great job with the blog, but now it looks like it is up to me to continue. This is my first attempt at a blog - so bare with me as I get use to it all! I am Jack's wife - you know Jack from Jack's Health Food Country. I'm a social worker by profession, so my information on Jack's products is more from a mom's prospective. You see, we have three children, ages 5, 8, and 11. Sure, we use many things from Jack's store and maybe I can help everyone by talking about things my kids like. They are typical kids - you know the kind that like candy, cookies, and fun. They eat many things from Jack's store and throughout this blog, I'll point out their favorites (and mine). But with the threat of flu and illnesses this winter, I figure it would be good to start with vitamins. What do they take? Oh - probably be good for me to point out that they are also picky!



So here is our current list of vitamins. My gang takes two Animal Parade chewable vitamins a day (brand is Nature's Plus). The fruity pack comes with three flavors - grape, orange, and cherry. Our daughter only eats the grape and cherry, the boys will eat any. According to Jack this supplement is made with all natural ingredients, is hypo-allergenic, and vegetarian (and gluten free!). Many vitamins found in the grocery store are made with synthetic products. At Jack's Health Food Country the goal is to have vitamins made with natural/organic ingredients.



Along with the multi-vitamin, my gang has begun to add omega 3 to their daily intake. Again - jack is the expert - I'm just the mom. But the benefits I have read recently about omega 3's are fabulous. Omega 3 fatty acids are known to increase brain function. Some studies have shown that children that had omega 3 in their diets increased their short term memory, attention level, and reading skills. Omega 3's also have anti-inflammatory properties that help protect children's bones, joints, and muscles. Of course - the best way to get omega 3's is to eat fish. But, my three won't do that. Jack wants them to drink cod liver oil, which they have done. Jack has a few different flavors in his store and our three have taken some of them. But, for convenience sake (and also for taste) they prefer the Rainbow Light "Gummy Omegalicious". These come in a box of 30 individual self-serve packets. In each packet is a daily dose- 4 candy-like chewies. Our five year old begs for his vitamins daily! I know that Jack is disappointed that they don't drink the liquid cod liver oil as its benefits are significantly better, but I feel this way they are at least getting some of the benefits. Maybe we'll improve in the near future!



And the last part of our daily supplement ritual this winter is elderberry. I have to say - this was my idea! I read a lot about elderberry on the Internet and on my quest to avoid the H1N1 and the flu, I found this to be a positive help. So here is what I discovered - Elderberry is an antioxidant and is used to boost the immune system. It is said to help with colds, flu, coughs, bacterial and viral infections, and aids heart health. The juice in elderberry contains high levels of bioflavanoids and other proteins that can destroy the ability of a cold or flu virus to infect a cell. With all the hype about the H1N1 flu - I know most moms would agree that our kids need this! I also read that in 1995, Elderberry was used to treat a flu epidemic in Panama. Anything we can do to keep away the flu is good news for us moms!!! So - you wonder - how does this stuff taste? My gang takes 1 teaspoon of Nature's Way Sambucus (a technical name for black elderberry) every night. If they are fighting a cold, I will boost up to two times a day. The bottle says they can have up to four times a day for a more intense treatment. So - back to the taste - it is the consistency of cough syrup and tastes really good. All three of my picky eaters drink it up without a second thought. So - a win win situation! I'll keep you updated on our health this winter too!

Well that's all for my first attempt. How did I do? Do you have a favorite product from Jack's Health Food Country? I'd love to hear your stories too!! I'll be back to share more!!!!!