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Healthy Supplies: Frequently-Asked Questions

What is Healthy Supplies all about?

Healthy Supplies is an online retailer supplying health food and health products by post. You can order online using your credit card, and we will ship the products to you by post or courier. Healthy Supplies was set up by us, Brendan and Caroline Fernandes. We like interesting, unusual food and also like to eat healthily; however, we could not always find the foods that we wanted in our local supermarkets.

We are very health-focused, and try to research and understand our products as much as we can. Of course, this is very time-consuming, but we feel uncomfortable selling products that we don't know much about. We feel that we can personally endorse each and every product on this website.

Can I order from you with confidence?

We are experienced in online retail, and for many years we ran a successful online retailer that was renowned for its high standard of customer service. We will always keep you informed about your order, and your credit card details are secure. See how to order for more about this.

I've found an error on the site, or a broken link. What should I do?

Please contact us and we will fix it.

Can I have a better price on a particular product?

If you see a product that you feel is over-priced, please let us know. We will always try to match competitors' prices. Note that we do have a really good discounting structure, which we apply fairly and to everybody. We also feel that this results in better discounts than is possible with any voucher code schemes.

Why does the site not contain (Product X)?

If you feel that we have omitted a good product, please tell us about it. We love to discover new products. We are discerning, though, and will only list a product if it's really very good, tasty and healthy.

What's your opinion on organic/fairtrade/global warming etc?

At Healthy Supplies, we concentrate on the health aspects of food. These are independent of the politics of food, which we try to steer clear of. We don't feel that it's right to tell people how they should feel politically, because these are sensitive topics. We don't believe that we know the answers ourselves.

Some movements, such as the organic food movement and the growing trend towards vegetarianism, do have some positive implications for health. For example, it's healthy to avoid unnecessary processing, additives and pesticides where you can help it, and excessive consumption of meat has been linked to poor health. Nonetheless, there's no clear line on the topic, and some things are up for debate. For example, it's debatable as to whether organically-grown food has a higher nutrient content than food farmed using modern methods; it's also arguable that meat is an important part of our diet. Though there is a debate to be had, it's highly informed by the science.

Therefore, whilst we do promote many organic foods on our site, and offer many vegetarian options, we remain neutral on the more highly political topics such as fairtrade, food miles and environmentalism.

Why don't you sell fresh food on your site?

Because we are a mail-order company, we only sell foods that will survive the postal system. Unfortunately, this means that we cannot supply perishable or chilled goods. We hope that one day, this will change, because fresh food is really good. Of course, fresh fruit and vegetables are commonly available on the high street, and we hope that you continue to eat these healthy ingredients. However, we hope that you will, in addition, find interesting foods at Healthy Supplies that will make your meals more tasty, and more nutritious. We specialise in the more unusual foods such as herbs, spices, snacks and condiments, that help to make your diet more varied.

You sell herbal wellbeing products on your website: isn't this a bit hippy?

Many people are highly sceptical of the idea of herbal products, particularly those that are claimed to have some type of health benefit.

We at Healthy Supplies are very careful about which products we sell. We have a no-nonsense approach, and only list products where there is a good case to support their efficacy. We do not make claims that cannot be backed up. In particular, we look to the MHRA - the body that oversees healthcare the UK - for guidance.

Many herbal products are tricky to run clinical trials against, particularly in cases where the active ingredients have not been isolated from the plant. As well as this, there are few financial incentives to run trials on herbal medicines. Such trials cost tens of millions to run, and there is no financial incentive to do so because herbal medicines cannot be patented. Of course, it's easy to use this argument as an excuse for everything, but it does happen to be true!

Whilst some will always remain resolutely sceptical of anything remotely herbal, it's worth noting that many of the drugs that we use today, including aspirin and penicillin, are made from compounds isolated from plants that were used as traditional herbal remedies, and that both of these were initially controversial.

At Healthy Supplies, we'll certainly reject anything that we feel is quackery, and we're certainly outspoken about things that we think just don't work, including detox foot pads and copper bracelets. But equally we feel that the wholesale rejection of promising treatments is somewhat premature. There is a balance to be struck, and the best that anybody can do is to consider things on a case-by-case basis.

Ordering-related questions

For answers to do with delivery, please visit our Delivery Options page.

For answers to do with ordering, please visit our Ordering page.


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