Herbs, raw foods, supplements and more at Vancouver Health Show
By Marilyn Zink
Many people are interested in learning more about how herbs and spices can help them in their daily life. Herbs, along with other nutritional ingredients, form the basis for many health supplements people take in their daily lives.
The Vancouver Total Health Show, held at the Vancouver Convention Centre Oct. 17-18, was an opportunity for those attending to find out what they wanted to know and get their questions answered.
Dubbed as “Vancouver’s largest try before you buy health event,” the health show had over 100 displays and continuous seminars all weekend.
There were several booths where businesses used essential oils to make healthcare products. Our booth was next to one that featured products such as creams, rubs, soaps and lip balm made with a variety of essential oils.
There were also a few booths that sold spice and herb blends as well as the booths that had supplements made from herbs.
There were a variety of ‘green’ drinks made from ingredients like spirulina, kelp, algae, etc.
One of the newest products was smoked tofu, which had quite a delicious, unique taste. I admit, it’s not for everyone, but vegetarians will probably like it.
Another new item was several new bread types made by Silver Hills. This booth was very popular, as they handed out slices of bread for people to try. The new varieties are Hemptations, which naturally uses hemp as one of its ingredients, another is Steady Eddie, made with sprouted wheat and rye and sweetened with organic apples. A third one is made with chia seeds and was also quite popular.
In addition to the booths, health shows have a continuous line-up of speakers. One of the talks I attended was a popular one featuring raw foods expert Vesanto Melina, who was hosted by Earthsave, which had a mini-show within the main show.
Melina talked about how people can ensure they get enough nutrition on a raw foods diet and how children would be impacted by raw foods.
You will be able to read more about Melina and the nutritional aspects of raw food that she addresses in the NovDec,’09 issue of the Herbal Collective.
Marilyn Zink is the publisher.editor of the Herbal Collective magazine.
