Summer Camp Survival!

This blog post was written by Mary, the newest addition to our team! Mary recently graduated from UVM Burlington with a degree in Nutrition & Food Science, and is a major camping enthusiast. She has fond childhood memories of packing up her trunk for several weeks in the woods!

It's that time of year again. Time to pack a bag, or if you're like me pack a trunk, and GO CAMPING! Summer camp is one of my fondest memories from my childhood and I'm happy to see the tradition of overnight camp still holding strong. We've had so many visits from parents anxious to collect all of the products required to keep campers happy that we decided it was time to share our favorites. Whether you're looking for the right sunscreen or sunburn relief, Cambridge Naturals has you covered.

RegActiv Probiotics: Immune, Heart and Liver Wellness through Antioxidant Support

This post was originally published back in December of last year. We have RegActiv probiotics on sale in the month of July - save 20% off!!

By Miles Sarill
Supplements Buyer and M.S. Candidate - Experimental Medicine

In the last thirty years, the market for probiotics has evolved and grown greatly. No longer is the sole capsule of Lactobacillus acidophilus the only option; rather, the aisles are populated with a multitude of products each touting “more than 10 bacterial strains” with anywhere between 5 and 150 billion cells per capsule. This boom in the probiotic market is partially fueled by both consumer interest as well as novel research into the microbiome.

Read more in the original post: http://www.cambridgenaturals.com/blog/regactiv-probiotics

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DIY Natural Whitening Toothpaste by Jenn

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This blog post was written by Jenn, who is a Customer Service Specialist at the store by day and an Industrial Design student by night! She also designs and handcrafts some beautiful wooden necklaces that we carry. She has a passion for herbs and DIY body care. Read her tips for making your own natural and effective toothpaste below!

Natural & Whitening?! What kind of witchcraft is this?! For most of us, when we think of a whitening toothpaste, our first thought isn’t necessarily "natural" - but with a little help from an unlikely source it can be! Like most of you, I am a huge proponent of all things natural, and if I can make it myself - well, that's even better!

Herb of the Month: Chamomile

CHAMOMILE: Matricaria recutita and Chamaemelum nobile (Anthemis nobilis) Asteraceae

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

The Greeks call it earth apple, Germans call it mother’s herb, and in Mexico it is known as manzanilla, or little apple. No matter the name, no matter the language, chamomile is a culturally important plant known and loved around the world.

Featuring: Holy Sponge!

This blog post was written by Caitlin, our Assistant Body Care Lead and an intrepid product tester! Read below to learn more about Holy Sponge! and what a Menstruation Activist is. 

I remember the first time I tried using a tampon - it was terrifying. I felt like I was taking a foreign object and entering a foreign place. Over a short period of time (no pun intended), I got used to using tampons, and they easily found a way into my monthly routine. To me, there was nothing friendly about a tampon, and pads just simply were not appealing. Now that I have grown well into my womanhood and learned to love my body and my monthly cycle, I have also learned to love the power of choice as a female consumer! Enter: the Holy Sponge!

Mugwort: A Wild Beauty in Urban Places

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

When I first moved to Boston a decade ago I felt like a country girl in the big city. I’d traveled and lived in several places before, but had never before set down roots in an urban environment. I was used to living amongst trees and woods, and wide-open spaces. Although I loved my new city home, I greatly missed natural open spaces, and forests, and wild places.

So I found consolation in a different sort of wildness: in untamed, weedy plants that sprout up in the neglected areas of town. Of all of these – the dandelions, chickweeds, shepherd’s purses and burdocks that I came to know and love – mugwort was the one to capture me the most.

When I first made acquaintances with this lovely creature I knew nothing of the plant, not even its name. I just loved the beautiful shape, tall stature, silvery leaves, and gracefulness as I observed mugwort swaying in the wind, or in the passing rumble of a train.

Chickweed: Stellaria media

By Steph Zabel
Herbalist, Ethnobotanist and Educator

You probably already know this if you have attended one of my herbal classes, but I love weeds! Yes, I have a great fondness for the plants that everyone tries to get rid of and “keep under control” especially the tenacious ones that keep on growing where nothing else could…. the crack of a sidewalk, compacted and poor soil, the top of a bridge, along railroad tracks, etc.

I love weeds because they are spunky and resourceful, and in some cases they are beneficial to the local ecosystem. These plants will hold down eroding soil, remove heavy metals, and/or provide greater soil fertility and organic matter.  They grow in niches where more delicate plants cannot.

Partners in Wellness: Vitality Works

You've probably seen our Cambridge Naturals Brand herbal tinctures around the store - we carry a wide selection of affordable, high quality single herb and herbal blend CN tinctures, as well as some dried herb capsules and over 30 essential oils, to meet our customers' growing need and passion for herbal remedies. These herbal tinctures are manufactured for us for us by Vitality Works in Alberquerque, New Mexico, led by founder and award winning herbalist Mitch Coven.  For over three decades, Vitality Works has striven to provide leading edge medicinal supplements of the highest quality, purity and potency. They offer an unmatched expertise in direct sourcing of botanicals, and their meticulous attention to detail and consistency of the manufacturing process has given them an impeccable reputation for quality. We are proud to work with Vitality Works on our Cambridge Naturals Brand herbal products! Below is our interview with Craig from VW:

Partners in Wellness: Interview with Cristina Ciccone from Gaia

Gaia Herbs is one of our top herbal supplements suppliers - and we've worked with them for decades. They manufacture high quality liquid tinctures and liquid phytocaps as well as dried herb extract capsules. Much of the raw material comes from their amazingly gorgeous organic farm in Brevard, NC - as well as organic farms in Italy and Costa Rica. Their "Meet Your Herbs" platform puts transparency right at your finger tips - just use the QR code on the bottle to discover exactly where and how the extracted herbs in your bottle were grown and processed.

Cristina Ciccone, our Gaia representative, is one of our favorite reps to work with! She is incredibly dedicated to her work and a self proclaimed "herbal nerd" - we've come to her with many complex questions about herbal medicine over the years and she always responds with a thoughtful, detailed answer. In honor of Partners in Wellness week, we've asked Cristina to answer a few questions about her work with Gaia:

Partners in Wellness: Reliance Vitamins

For our Partners In Wellness Week we are going to be publishing some short interviews and vendor profiles to give more insight into our vendors - because it’s not just what we carry that’s important to us, it’s who we carry as well.  We use three top manufacturers for our Cambridge Naturals brand supplements: Reliance, Vitality Works, and Vitamer Labs.  All three offer the highest quality sourcing and manufacturing and each one offers something unique for us and our customers.  The first in our series of profiles is Reliance, written by Zach, our supplements manager.