Linda Recommends… (US)

Jarrow Formulas: An advanced range of supplements, suitable for people with allergies and sensitivities. I love this company’s cutting edge approach and use several of their products for my own personal health.

Jarrow 1-3 Multivitamin Tablets: A well-designed, comprehensive multivitamin/mineral formulation

Jarrow E-Z Multivitamin Powder: Similar to the above, but powdered, allowing you to customise your dosing more easily.

Yogi Teas: Many of these teas are organic. There are some very tasty formulas which can make a substantial contribution to a nutrition programme, especially those with orange peel, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and other digestion-enhancing and yang-boosting spices.

Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice: Liquorice supplements are both soothing and healing for the digestive system, a good tonic for the adrenal glands, and in clinical trials have helped to reduce internal abdominal fat.

Organic Egyptian Licorice Tea: Liquorice is naturally sweet, good for the adrenal glands and soothing for the digestion. This tea could form a good base for adding some of the herbal tinctures mentioned on this page.

L-Tyrosine 500 mg: amino acid support for the thyroid gland. Tyrosine is not easily found in food and must be made by the body. Taking a supplement is an insurance policy in case this process is not fully efficient.

Raspberry Leaf Tea: medical herbalists recommend this tea for all pregnant women. It helps to tone the muscles of the uterus, aid delivery and promote milk production.

1. Women’s Support, 2. Healthy Menopause, 3. Black Cohosh Plus: No. 1 is a general women’s formula. Nos. 2 and 3 are more specifically for the menopause. No. 3 contains only three herbs, while No. 2 has smaller amounts of a wider variety of herbs. If you are having a difficult menopause I would suggest you experiment with Nos. 2 and 3. I would love to know how you get on with them.

Vision Support: a good and comprehensive eye health supplement.

Horsetail (alcohol-free tincture): In a study by Dr. Louis Kervran, rats with broken bones healed twice as fast when given silica compared with those given calcium. It’s well worth googling him and you may come to the same conclusion as I did: that silica (especially if taken with magnesium) is a better mineral to prevent osteoporosis than calcium. The herb horsetail is a very rich source of silica.

Goat Milk-Based Acidophilus: If you are sensitive to dairy products, you will be glad to know about this alternative Acidophilus supplement.

Cat’s Claw Liquid Extract: Cat’s Claw (Una de Gato) is an immune-boosting herb “par excellence”. Add a few drops to herbal tea.

Butcher’s Broom, Horse Chestnut and Rutin Complex: New research suggests these herbs help to support the health of small blood vessels and reduce the appearance of swollen legs.

Gotu Kola (alcohol-free tincture): This herb is also good for small blood vessels and has been shown to reduce the appearance of cellulite. Add a few drops to herbal tea.

Red Clover Tincture: rich in coumarin, which helps macrophages break down proteins in the tissue spaces. Add a few drops to herbal tea.

Jarrow Bromelain 1000: bromelain, an extract from pineapples, has been tested on injured athletes. Its helpful effects are thought to be due to its ability to break down proteins in the tissue spaces. Also used as a digestive aid.

Organic Classic India Spice Tea: a spice tea combination which helps to boost yang energy in the body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine yang tonics are said to drive away excess fluid.

Homeopathic thyroid support and Herbal Thyroid Activator: both these products have very good reviews from their users.

Corn Silk (alcohol-free tincture): Corn silk tea is made from the silky strands found inside the green outer sheath of a cob of Indian Corn. It has been traditionally used as a diuretic which is gentle enough to be drunk in pregnancy. Add a few drops of the tincture to hot water.

Freeze-Dried Cruciferous Sprouted Seeds: Rich in natural substances which help liver enzymes to break down excess estrogen.

Agnus Castus: Also known as “chaste tree” this herb helps the body to produce progesterone so can be a useful aid to prevent the condition known as “estrogen dominance”.

Cellulite Massage Cream: if you try this one, I’d be interested to know what results you get.