Homegrown herbal business receives national recognition

Halifax News Net
By Lindsay Jones, The Weekly News

There’s no magic bullet for perfect health, but organic health pioneer Nancy Smithers is making the next best thing just outside Halifax in Lawrencetown. Naturally Nova Scotia started out as a homegrown herbal remedy business in Smithers’ kitchen 17 years ago. Her sister, a physiotherapist, was looking for higher quality herbal remedies than what was on the market at the time. What began as a messy hobby chopping dried roots and herbs is now a thriving business that’s receiving national recognition. Smithers took home the Organic Achievement Award at the Canadian Health Food Association’s Expo East trade show this month. (Nature’s Path cereal received it last year.)“It’s very exciting,” she said. “It’s not something that you get easily. It’s like a lifetime achievement award.” Naturally Nova Scotia is a leading manufacturer and distributor of certified organic whole food vitamins and herbal capsules across the country. Everything is made at a 30,000-square-foot-manufacturing facility on her 250-acre organic farm that employs more than 30 people. Even though the company has grown immensely and the product line expanded considerably over the years, Smithers says her philosophy remains the same: using organic and whole foods and herbs. “It’s out there in nature and that’s the way we’re supposed to get it,” she says. “That’s why we freeze dry, so you can get all the nutrients that you need. I don’t believe in analyzing food to death. There is no magic bullet. It’s total lifestyle.” She says the closest thing to that magic bullet is Nova Greens, a green drink mix that contains algae, phytonutrients, Chinese mushrooms, herbs and greens that help the body detoxify. “It gives you the energy you need during the day and people like greens,” she said. “This is the first Canadian-made one and the first certified organic one, so it’s become a very, very big seller.”Her Vitamin D, made from an organic sweet potato base, also tops her list of magic bullets. “It gives you the energy, the nutrients, the Vitamin D for your immune system,” she said. Her philosophy is also about knowing exactly where the ingredients in her products come from. “You want to be able to trace back exactly where you got things, which we can do,” she said. For instance, her calcium vitamins are sourced from powdered eggshells, whereas other brands derive it from sea coral, which she says could contain heavy metals. Her popular Echinacea spray is made from Echinacea grown right on the farm. So what does she eat? Only organic food, of course. “I do break loose every once in a while,” laughs the 62-year-old. “I have tons of energy. I just know when I take products, you can tell when they’re working. I know what’s in them and I use myself as a guinea pig. If something’s wrong, I’ll feel it.”

ljones@hfxnews.ca


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