If one were to ask me what the most important thing is to me, my store and the health food industry at large, there would be no hesitance in my reply: foundations. It all comes down to that. Foundations for integrity and foundations for fiscal responsibility. After all, there’s truly only two “pillars” when it comes to any skeptic’s investigation into the voracity of the things we claim for using “God’s pharmacy.” They are quality and money, or price. If either one is compromised (usually one for the other), then the naysayers have a right to throw darts at us.

When a prospective customer comes in and says, “I’m looking for so and so supplement because it’s good for you,” we then have a choice. Do we sell them said supplement without inquiry into the reasoning behind it and without seizing the moment to present a quick educational primer into the basis of taking the supplement? Or, do we properly redirect the thinking behind this? In my experience, most customers don’t realize the importance of building a proper foundation first, namely, minerals and then, of course, other nutrients. Because of our wide availability of supplements, customers sometimes buy something because it’s good for them, and based on that, I could send them out of the store with 200 bottles of supplements! The foundation for this reason is flawed, even if it comes from some doctor on the TV or the Internet.

The other rationale for foundations as a basis is that if I know someone is taking hawthorn, for example, for their heart health without taking magnesium (which is well-nigh impossible to obtain enough of through diet alone), then I am violating both pillars mentioned above. The body requires magnesium, not hawthorn.

Build with foundations first! It’s also often easier on the pocketbook. As I said before, it has to be a balance or we are guilty of the very things we claim that many do in the mainstream.

A house built without proper foundations will eventually end up looking quite crooked and an easy target for pests and naysayers. Integrity should be our first goal! If this is stirring something in you, then I suggest revisiting reading about the foundational needs of the body and the many deficiencies that are a hallmark of this modern age. WF

Jim Fallon is the owner of JC Health Foods, in Jefferson City, MO.

Posted 5/4/15