OUR BELIEFS DRIVE EVERYTHING WE DO

How Health Nut started

Welcome to our site. I founded Health Nut in 2016, in the years when South Africa was talking about banting and low-carb eating. Alongside that conversation, people were starting to add gelatin to their diets, for joints, for skin, for gut health, long before "collagen" became the word everyone used. The research coming out of Europe and the United States on hydrolysed collagen was promising: proper controlled trials, not testimonials. Yet in South Africa you couldn't find it in a health shop.

At the time I was running a successful marketing agency, but I have always had a passion for health and wellness, with a habit of reading the studies before taking anything. I sourced Restore, a pure hydrolysed collagen, as our first product. As far as we know, we were the first to bring it to the South African market, and in the early days we were still calling it gelatin. Restore is still the product most of our customers start with.

Why we trust it

Before Health Nut stocked collagen, people who were already taking it were describing thicker hair, stronger nails and less joint discomfort. My own experience was the same, in that order: hair grew faster, nails stopped breaking, and the knee pain I'd carried from years of sport went away. I have taken it every day since.

That kind of experience is why we started, but it isn't why we make claims. Collagen peptides are one of the few supplements with a reasonable body of human trials behind them, for skin, nails, activity-related joint discomfort, bone density and muscle when combined with training. They are also one of the most over-claimed products on the market. We read the studies so you don't have to, and we say plainly what collagen does not do. Our 3 collagen powders, Vibrance, Restore and Active, are bioactive collagen peptides produced in Germany to pharmaceutical manufacturing standards, each with a different peptide profile for a different purpose. Which one is for you is explained in plain language.

How the range grew

Every product since has arrived the same way: a question about health, a search through the research, a hunt for the purest version we could find, and personal use before it reaches you.

Bicarbonate of soda came next. There was growing research into the acid load our bodies carry from modern food, stress, alcohol and too much red meat, and we wanted the cleanest form available, which is why ours is pharmaceutical grade, imported from Spain, not the baking aisle version. My own reason for staying with it is personal: a stressful period brought on acid reflux, and I was told I would need daily medication for life, with a long list of side effects. I chose to try bicarb to settle stomach acidity first. It worked for me, and I haven't needed the medication since. That is my experience, not a promise; reflux has many causes, and if you have it, talk to your doctor.

Cold-pressed castor oil, Celtic sea salt, Dr Bronner's castile soaps and our plant-based collagen builder followed the same path. What you won't find here is every passing craze. People are bombarded with what they should and shouldn't take, eat and avoid; we'd rather stock a short list we've tested and can explain, than a long one we can't.

What we believe

We have 1 body and it must last a lifetime. Most people worry more about what goes into their cars than what goes into, or onto, themselves. Health is our most valuable asset, and ignoring it carries a heavy penalty. Our approach is to do the best you can for your health naturally, with products as close to nature as possible, and to prevent rather than cure.

That is not a rejection of medicine. There is a clear place for it, and I am alive today because of hospital care and a strong course of antibiotics in an emergency. The point is to keep medicine for when it's needed, rather than reaching for a prescription to fight every small infection the body could handle with a little support. Our family doctors know we try natural first; they are there for advice, and we listen to them.

A few things we believe make the biggest difference, and none of them is complicated:

• Move every day: walk or run for 30 minutes or more, stretch, and keep your muscles strong. Strength is what prevents injury as we get older.
• Breathe deeply and make quiet time, whether that's meditating, writing, or sitting in the garden.
• Be present. Be kind, to other people and to yourself.
• Keep it simple. Anything that improves health must fit easily into a normal, busy day. Complicated regimes get abandoned, and then we feel we've failed.

I am especially interested in women's health, and in women in their 40s and beyond: that is where I am, and where I look hardest for honest ways to age gracefully and keep body and mind as healthy as possible. In an ideal world we'd all grow our own vegetables and eat farm-fresh food. Most of us can't. So take it easy, be kind to yourself, and love your body by putting in what is as close to nature as you can get.

About the author of this site

The articles on Health Nut are written by our founder, Candy Hamilton, who holds a Certificate in Human Nutrition from Health Academy Australia (2020). She is not a doctor or a dietitian and doesn't pretend to be. Every article links the studies it relies on so you can read them yourself, says where the evidence is thin, and labels personal experience as personal experience. We don't claim that any product treats, cures or prevents a disease; if you have a medical condition, speak to your doctor.

Get in touch

We're a small, owner-run company in Johannesburg that distributes from Cape Town, and since 2016 our products have gone from a kitchen table to health shops across South Africa and this online store, which ships nationwide. Questions about a product, a dose, or something you've read here? Contact us or use the chat. If there's something you can't find, tell us. Much of what we stock started as a customer suggestion.