Focus on Health: Wellness Day at the Co-op

Focus on Health: Wellness Day at the Co-op's Downtown Store

Free, everyone welcome

The Co-op wishes you a happy and healthy New Year, and to give you a head start on your best health we invite you to join us for Wellness Day.

In the Downtown Store—

• Samples and information from local vendors including Booda Organics, Country Life Vitamins, Garden of Life, Andalou, and Nordic Naturals.
• Tasty treats (like smoothies) from various Co-op departments.
• Chair massage by Dora Keating, ND/LMT, from The Shanti Center.
• Information from Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement (WAHA) regarding health care, open enrollment, and general health education.
• Chat with Jim Ehmke, popular Co-op Healthy Connections wellness class instructor.

In the Co-op Connections Classroom—

(across the street from the Downtown store)

Co-op Wellness Talks featuring Co-op Healthy Connection class instructors and local health practitioners. Attend one session, or join us for the entire series!

1 pm Brain Health with Jim Ehmke, clinical nutritionist. Learn proactive ways to enhance memory and prevent Alzheimer’s.

1:20 pm Current Trends in Health Care with Michael A. Gregory, advanced registered nurse practitioner. Michael believes in a proactive approach to health and fitness. He encourages patients to make healthy food choices that complement an active lifestyle.

1:40 pm Tips for a Deliciously Balanced Plant-Based Diet with Michelle Smith, registered dietitian nutritionist and nutrition coach. Learn simple ways to adopt a more plant-based way of eating with simple and practical steps.

2 pm Hemp and Wellness with Christy King, Cordata wellness team. Learn about the health benefits of hempseed oil and CBD oil, a non-psychoactive cannabis extract, and the body’s endocannabinoid system, cannabinoid receptors, and more.

2:20 pm Stress & Digestion with Isabel Castro, certified ayurvedic practitioner. Learn simple stress-relieving tips to enhance digestion and feel more nourished after meals.

2:40 pm Rapid Relaxation with Hypnosis with Erika Flint, board certified hypnotist and accredited certified professional hypnotherapy instructor. Learn to reduce the sensation of anxiety, and stay in control and think clearly in stressful situations.

Supplement sale! 20% off!

One day only supplement sale.

20% all vitamins, herbs, minerals, probiotics, and more.

All day at both stores.

RSVP on our Facebook event to get a sale reminder! Don't miss this once a year event.

Choose Health with Jim Ehmke

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team
January 2019

Jim Ehmke has been in the nutrition and health field since the 1970s, when knowledge that we now take for granted—like the health benefits of dietary fiber—was considered unsubstantiated and even controversial. Fiber! Really, 1970s?!

As a young adult, he developed an interest in natural foods and pursued a degree in nutrition.

photo of Jim Ehmke — Attend a 20-minute session about "Brain Health" with Jim Ehmke at 1 pm Saturday, January 12, during Wellness Day in the Co-op's Healthy Connections classroom.

Ehmke served on the first Board of Directors at Outpost Natural Food Co-op in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when board directors were selected by drawing straws … spaghetti straws! He was also involved in the formative days of the Wisconsin Natural Food Associates, an early champion of organic growers.

That was when he met his mentor, Victor Earl Irons, and to this day Ehmke still abides by Irons’ basic philosophy: “Eat only those foods that will spoil or rot, but eat them before they do.”

he founded the first integrative health practice in Wisconsin

In partnership with his wife, Karen Walker Ehmke, a registered dietitian, he founded the first integrative health practice in Wisconsin, originally named Wholistic Services. That’s “wholistic” with a “w”—not the customary “holistic”— because Ehmke believes in an integrative health philosophy encompassing the whole. The business grew into a health detective practice, serving clients with challenging health conditions that didn’t respond to conventional therapy and expanded to employ a wide range of innovative health practitioners.

Class Series: Take Control of Your Health

Ehmke’s Healthy Connections class series, Take Control of Your Health, has consistently been among the most popular at the Co-op since he started offering classes in 2009. The series has a theme of empowerment—understanding how your body works and how you can confidently take responsibility for your own health choices.

Rather than a static lecture format for his classes, class content develops organically based on the interest and knowledge base of the people attending. That is likely one reason people often repeat his classes two or more times and learn something new at each session. “The classes are also fun! We have a lot of laughs. It’s entertaining,” said Ehmke.

A few of Ehmke’s class participants have become diligent researchers and experts in their own rights and are invited to share their newfound expertise during class. Ehmke is also tutoring and mentoring some aspiring nutritionists and naturopaths.

"You can choose to take control of your health." -Jim Ehmke

His basic philosophy: “You have a choice. How you think. What you feel. You can choose to take control of your health and your thinking process. If you don’t choose, then you’ve chosen not to,” said Ehmke.

“We learn so little—next to nothing—about our bodies in K–12 education. There is no fundamental basic education on the body. How can we go through all this education and still know nothing about how our bodies function? People come back to my classes to get the 8th grade education that they never got before.”

Ready to Learn More?

Get educated and take control of your health! Start by attending one of Jim Ehmke’s Healthy Connections classes or attend one or more of the Co-op Wellness Talks hosted by Ehmke and a variety of other health and wellness experts during Focus on Health: Wellness Day at the Downtown Co-op on January 12 from 1 to 3 pm.

Jim Ehmke is a licensed clinical nutritionist and health counselor in Bellingham. Learn more at goodtothelastdrop.com.

Wellness Day at Cordata

Enjoy an afternoon at the Cordata store dedicated to your health and wellness.

Chat with Healthy Connections wellness instructor Jim Ehmke
Meet our suppliers and get product samples
Relax with a free chair massage, courtesy of The Shanti Center
Enjoy healthy samples from the Co-op kitchens
Enter to win a rad Mammut Trion Pro 50 + 7 alpine pack

CBD 101

by Christy King, Cordata Wellness Staff

October 2018

CBD is made from 100 percent authentic outdoor-grown certified agricultural hemp, not marijuana.

Federal law defines hemp as Cannabis sativa plants that contain no more than 0.3% THC. Cannabis sativa plants above 0.3% THC are classified as marijuana. The +CBDoil products we sell are derived from agricultural hemp that contains no more than 0.3% THC and are non-intoxicating.

Photos courtesy of CV Sciences.

Have you heard people talking about CBD?

Do you know what it is, where to find it, and what the buzz is all about?

Hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) has rapidly become a very popular herbal supplement at the Co-op. CBD is a cannabinoid found in the leaves and stalks of the cannabis plant. The plant oil is made into sprays, drops, lotions, balms, and capsules, and used either orally or topically.

CBD oil should not be confused with hemp seed oil, a pressed oil rich in omega fatty acids similar to flax oil and with different benefits from the oils found in the non-seed plant parts.

Historians trace cannabis use back millennia

Historians trace cannabis use back millennia for textiles, food, and herbal remedies. Hemp and marijuana extracts were included in the United States Pharmacopeia for almost 50 years, from the late 1800s to the 1940s, before the lines between hemp and marijuana were blurred.

Scientists and doctors still have a lot to learn about the potential health benefits
of cannabis.

Researchers have discovered a regulatory system called the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) that may be an important system involved in establishing and maintaining human health. CBD supplements may support the ECS in optimizing balance and enhancing quality of life. Researchers are also investigating potential benefits cannabinoids may offer for anxiety, pain management, and supporting the immune system.

customers share countless stories

Our customers share countless stories of how adding a CBD supplement to their routine helps them find relief, balance, and well-being in their journey to healthful living. Many are now repeat shoppers because of CBD!

adding a CBD supplement helps them find relief, balance, and well-being

+CBDoil

At the Co-op, we choose all of our supplements carefully and strive to abide by the highest standards.

Our most popular line of CBD products, +CBDoil manufactured by CV Sciences, fits the bill by setting the bar high for quality and transparency.

+CBDoil offers seed-to-shelf traceability with its raw material and labels the milligram amount of CBD per serving. Available as sprays, drops, lotions, balms, and capsules.

CV Sciences has exclusive contracts with a co-op of farmers in Europe that grow 100 percent authentic outdoor-grown certified agricultural hemp. After harvest, hemp oil is extracted from the leaves and stalks using a CO2 extraction method preserving fragile compounds that may not survive other chemical extraction methods used in the industry.

This full spectrum oil is imported directly to a state-of-the-art laboratory where it is tested for cannabinoid content, pesticides, contaminants, heavy metals, and solvents. It is then tested again by a third-party laboratory to verify purity, potency, and quality. Finally, the extracted oil is converted into CBD through a chemical-free process and formulated into the products sold on our shelves.

I encourage readers to explore the benefits of supplementing with hemp-derived CBD oil products. CBD supplementation varies for each individual, and our wellness department staff is available to show you some products that may become an asset to your wellness regime.

Two Ways to Learn More

Attend Christy’s class:
Hemp and Wellness
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 6:30–8:30 pm
Learn about the health benefits of hempseed oil, famously rich in essential fatty acids; and CBD oil, a non-psychoactive extract of cannabis that is sought for its health benefits. We will also discuss the body’s endocannabinoid system, cannabinoid receptors, and more. Christy King works in the Wellness Department of Community Food Co-op’s Cordata store and has ordered hemp and CBD oil products for the Co-op for years.
At the Cordata store • $5
Register online or at the service desk.

Learn more at pluscbdoil.com and at pubmed.gov, which is a great resource to find peer-reviewed scientific studies on all dietary supplements including specific studies on CBD.

Wellness Day at the Co-op

The Co-op wishes you a happy and healthy New Year, and to give you a head start on your best health we invite you to join us for Wellness Day at the Co-op.

In both stores—
• 20% off all supplements (all day, while supplies last)!
• Demos and samples from local vendors and tasty treats (like smoothies) from various Co-op departments.
• Enter to win wellness products.

In the Downtown store—
• Live music by Hawthorn Creek. Smoky, sultry, swamp music with amazing male-female vocal harmonies and dirty slide guitar.
• Chair massage by Dora Keating, ND/LMT, from The Shanti Center.
• Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement (WAHA) answers questions regarding health care, open enrollment, and general health education.

Co-op Talks in the Co-op Connections classroom (across the street from the Downtown store)—
Co-op Wellness Talks feature knowledgeable local health practitioners. Attend one session, or join us for the entire series!
(approximately 15 minutes each)
• 1 pm Brain Health with Jim Ehmke, clinical nutritionist. Learn proactive ways to enhance memory and prevent Alzheimer’s.
• 1:20 pm What Your Face and Tongue Say About Your Health with Katrina Svoboda Johnson, certified ayurvedic practitioner, owner of Ayurvedic Health Center & Wellness Shop. Like a reflexology map, the health of the body can be read in both the face and tongue.
• 1:40 pm DIY Health with Mystique Grobe, naturopathic doctor. Discover ways to help yourself medicinally and preventively in a world where real health has to be our priority.
• 2 pm Joyful Self-care & Resilient Well-being with Deborah Zucker, naturopathic doctor and author of The Vitality Map: A Guide to Deep Health, Joyful Self-Care, and Resilient Well-Being. Free yourself from the trap of being too serious about health and self-care. Learn to be flexible, curious, and playful on your health journey to sustain it for the long run.
• 2:20 pm Carbohydrates: How Low Can You Go? with Selva Wohlgemuth, registered dietitian nutritionist. Join in the discussion on carbohydrates and their role in health and disease. Be prepared for some solid evidence-based nutrition information.
• 2:40 pm Tai Chi and Qigong with Kelly Hong-Williams, certified tai chi and qigong instructor, owner of Powered by Qi. Improve energy flow and balance. Learn some quick techniques to melt stress, improve posture, and clear the mind.
• 3 pm Tips for a Deliciously Balanced Plant-Based Diet with Michelle Smith, registered dietitian nutritionist and nutrition coach. Learn simple ways to adopt a more plant-based way of eating with simple and practical steps.
• 3:20 pm Rapid Relaxation with Hypnosis with Erika Flint, board certified hypnotist and accredited certified professional hypnotherapy instructor. Utilize the power of your mind to achieve near instantaneous relaxation with hypnosis. Feel lighter, reduce stress, sleep better, and enjoy your life more than ever before.
• 3:40 pm Ten Ways to Nourish Yourself Today with Kate MacKenzie, health coach. Start the New Year with simple and nourishing ideas for your body and mind.

Local Vendor Profile: Moon Valley Organics

by Sarah Schermer, Cordata Wellness Manager

Photos by Matt Curtis

October 2017

Aaron (left) and Kim Otto pose on their Whatcom County farm while welcoming Co-op staff for a tour.

Honeybees drone in a field of chamomile. Nearby, calendula is blossoming in tidy rows—glowing with a bright orange of fresh tangerines.

Nestled near the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Nooksack River, just off the Valley Highway in Deming, Moon Valley Organics is a handmade haven of quiet and quality, carefully cultivated by Kim and Aaron Otto.

From seed to salve, their mission is to create high-quality, organic personal care products that promote a healthy way of caring for our bodies and the world.

No small task, but they’ve been doing it with grace and style since 1999.

The farm’s old silo is ringed by fields of herbal ingredients, busy workshops, and a cozy
micro-village of trailers and tents for itinerant WWOOFers. (WWOOFers volunteer on organic farms around the world in exchange for a hands-on learning experience, plus room and board.)

If the relaxed, smiling faces of Moon Valley staff don’t tip you off, we are assured through their certified B Corp status that both seasonal and long-term workers enjoy the Moon Valley ethic and environment.

Calendula is the farm’s signature herb and Kim’s personal favorite. This year’s harvest was so abundant that space in the drying racks in the barn loft was at a premium, so blossoms were pre-drying in the hot, sunny field. Calendula, long-valued for its soothing properties, is used in almost all of the lotions and lip balms made by hand on the Moon Valley Organics farm.

Lovingly and expertly crafted from ingredients mostly grown on their own sustainable permaculture farm, their soaps, lip balms, lotion bars, and salves need no preservatives because of the high-quality beeswax and infused oils. (Don’t try it at home, but Kim says you can practically eat the stuff!)

Like all of their products, every herbal lip balm is formulated and packaged by hand right on the farm.

If the silky feel doesn’t make you want to buy one for every pocket and bag, just know that 10 percent of net lip balm profit is donated to organizations dedicated to protecting pollinators. And, Moon Valley just turned half the farm into a pollinator garden, ensuring the health of our flying friends for generations to come.

Listening to Kim and Aaron talk about bees and dirt makes me proud to carry their products.

Their commitment to sustainability even extends to packaging, which is not only beautiful but also BPA-free, 100 percent recyclable, and made from the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled materials available. For those striving for a zero waste lifestyle, the Co-op is happy to announce the arrival of a new bulk option for their bar and liquid soaps.

We are proud to call ourselves partners, and together will continue using beautiful body care and cooperative business as a vehicle for social change.

moon valley organics farm tour attendees

Taking a break in the calendula field are Cordata wellness staff (above, from left) Ticker Ba-Aye, Jesi Van Leeuwen, Sarah Schermer, Christy King, and, seated, Christy’s son, Odin.

LEARN MORE

Learn more at moonvalleyorganics.com. You can even take a video tour of the farm.

September Staff Pick and New Items

Gaia SleepThru

"I love Gaia SleepThru. It helps me not wake in the middle of the night with a racing brain. 100% high-quality herbs with no grogginess, just a good night's sleep!"

—Sarah Schermer, Cordata Wellness

Good Culture Cottage Cheese Cups

$2.25 each (5.3 ounces)

Creamy organic cottage cheese with live, active cultures. Zesty flavors and made with the milk of happy grass-fed cows.

classic, pineapple, blueberry açaí chia, strawberry chia, kalamata olive

Yellowbird Hot Sauces

$5.99 each (9.8 ounces)

Spicy condiments with spunky character. Made with real ingredients deep in the ♥ of Texas.

sriracha, jalapeño, habanero, serrano

Bonafide Drinkable Veggies Bone Broth

$6.49 each (12 fluid ounces)

Organic farm-fresh vegetables plus handcrafted organic bone broth makes drinking veggies tasty and nourishing.

revitalize, glow, thrive

Harmless Harvest Coconut Probiotics

$5.75 each (32 fluid ounces)

Uses the whole edible coconut (not just the coconut water) for delicious organic on-the-go nourishment.

original, strawberry, blueberry & açaí, mango & acerola

So Good, We Put Our Name on It: Co-op Supplements

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

vitamins omega sunflower D3 E epa dha omega 3

Co-op brand supplements offer Co-op shoppers a great deal on high-quality products, manufactured to current Good Manufacturing Practices, by a company that is committed to environmental sustainability and social responsibility—just like the Co-op!

Walk down the aisles of the Co-op’s wellness departments and you’ll notice something new. Well, not exactly new but a newly redesigned label for our in-house supplements.

a newly redesigned label for our in-house supplements

Before we put our line of supplements on our store shelves, we searched for suppliers that could meet our high standards. Our supplement manufacturer has been owned and operated by the same family since 1924. Their 85-plus years of manufacturing experience results in consistent and safe products.

What's more, their facility is certified organic by Quality Assurance International, a leader in organic certification, as well as third-party certified by the Natural Product Association. All manufacturing procedures and standards for cleanliness are periodically audited by the FDA. They are also a member of the Organic Trade Association.

our confidence in our supplements is reflected in the clarity and completeness of our labeling

Full disclosure labels list the details of each product’s contents. Labels disclose information about artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives in addition to gluten and common allergens.

our manufacturer is dedicated to supporting green initiatives

In line with the Co-op’s commitment to environmental sustainability and social responsibility, our manufacturer is dedicated to supporting green initiatives. Supplements are shipped in boxes that use partially-recycled materials and recyclable crushed paper as packing material. The fully recyclable amber glass bottles are made from 35 percent recycled material, and the white plastic caps are also fully recyclable. All promotional materials also utilize post-consumer fibers.

The manufacturing facility makes use of natural skylights to save energy and provide a pleasant work environment, and all unusable computer hardware and equipment is recycled.

Each year since 2006, our manufacturer participates in donating 11 million children’s multivitamins to Vitamin Angels—the only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to providing vital nutrition to those in need internationally and domestically. Through its “Operation 20/20” campaign, they plan to eradicate childhood blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency worldwide by the year 2020. Over 30 percent of the world’s population suffers from micronutrient deficiencies. The Co-op, along with Vitamin Angels and our manufacturer, believes every person has a right to basic nutrition.

Co-op brand supplements do not include extra costs for marketing and advertising, and we pass those savings directly to our shoppers.

Co-op member-owners can save an extra 25 percent when they place an advance order for three or more of any wellness item

When searching for natural, premium supplements to promote overall wellness and global sustainability—look no further than the Co-op’s own brand.

Essentially Great Essential Oils

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

Essential oils by Veriditas are 100% pure Ecocert certified and organic.

Ever passed by those rows of tiny bottles in the wellness department and wondered, what’s up with that? Well, what’s up is that those tiny bottles are filled with aromatic essential oils, and one of our favorite suppliers of essentials oils is Veriditas Botanicals.

Veriditas makes 100 percent pure Ecocert certified organic essential oils.

One thing Veriditas Botanicals is currently changing is its name: to Veriditas by Pranarom. What won’t change is the quality of its products and its sustainable practices.

Veriditas is committed to organic.

Organic plants provide the highest potency essential oils with strong anti-microbial properties lacking in chemically treated plants.

It takes a mind-boggling volume of 5.5 million freshly picked roses to produce one liter of organic rose essential oil. By sourcing organic plants for its products, Veriditas helps to preserve organic farmland and supports small, family farms that take great pride in their organic farming and distillation.

Veriditas is an intentionally small, Minnesota-based company that works exclusively with co-ops and independent retailers. The company does not work with essential oil brokers, but has direct relationships with farmers and distilleries to provide the freshest, highest-grade essential oils available in the U.S.

Veriditas is an exceptional company that is doing exceptional work.

Now, you may be wondering about the uses of essential oils.

The uses are many: aromatherapy, perfumes, topical treatments, cleaning products, and—since Veriditas sells only 100 percent pure organic essential oils—its essential oils can also be used in cooking, teas, tinctures, or other internal applications. If you Google “uses for essential oils,” you’ll find plenty of links with titles like “150 Ways to Use Essential Oils.”

Of course, we highly recommend you start gathering information from the experts. You’ll find ample information about how to use essential oils on “Melissa’s Educational Blog” at the Veriditas website. Melissa Farris, Veriditas founder, first leapt into the world of essential oils in 1996 when she started a very successful business called Simplers—selling the first line of certified organic essential oils in the United States—and has been immersed in the work and study of essential oils ever since. You’ll find a wealth of information on her blog and on the Veriditas website. Additionally, you can also chat with the Co-op’s wellness experts about how best to use essential oils.

when using essentials oils in any application, start with just a single drop

If nothing else, keep in mind Melissa’s recommendation that when using essentials oils in any application, start with just a single drop: smell, taste, and otherwise test before adding more. No point in squandering even one drop of these wonderful, aromatic oils that are carefully distilled from nature’s purest plants and flowers.

Free your inner chemist and find your favorite way to use essentials oils.

Focus on Health: Wellness Day at the Co-op

Focus on Health: Wellness Day at the Co-op's Downtown Store

In the Downtown Store—

In the Co-op Connections Classroom—

Supplement sale! 20% off!

One day only supplement sale.

20% all vitamins, herbs, minerals, probiotics, and more.

Choose Health with Jim Ehmke

Class Series: Take Control of Your Health

Ready to Learn More?

Wellness Day at Cordata

CBD 101

by Christy King, Cordata Wellness Staff

October 2018

+CBDoil

Two Ways to Learn More

Wellness Day at the Co-op

Local Vendor Profile: Moon Valley Organics

by Sarah Schermer, Cordata Wellness Manager

Photos by Matt Curtis

October 2017

LEARN MORE

September Staff Pick and New Items

Gaia SleepThru

Good Culture Cottage Cheese Cups

Yellowbird Hot Sauces

Bonafide Drinkable Veggies Bone Broth

Harmless Harvest Coconut Probiotics

So Good, We Put Our Name on It: Co-op Supplements

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

Essentially Great Essential Oils

by Laura Steiger, Outreach Team

January Staff Pick and New Items

Self-Care Resolutions for the New Year

Ask the Nutritionist: Gut Bacteria

enews-sign-up-image