Healthy INSIDER Podcast

ToddCast Vol. XXVII: From Tonalin CLA to 5-Loxin, Aker krill to MenaQ7 vitamin K2, Eric Anderson has been at the forefront of marketing evidence-based, IP-protected ingredients to quality-forward responsible brands. Tune in as Anderson sits down with Insider senior editor Todd Runestad as they discuss:

• How to navigate a market with brands pirating ingredients and stifling innovation on one end and those that care about quality and evidence on the other.
• How to communicate all aspects of quality, from sustainable sourcing and clinically validated ingredients to lab test results.
• What the surge in immune products post-COVID looks like for consumers looking to support general wellness.

Market leaders are leading the market through diligence, innovation and new ways of thinking. You would expect anything less from the hemp biz? 

The last 10 months have changed our lives dramatically. Supply chains are being rewritten and remapped due to the pandemic. This is another opportunity to bring manufacturing to the agriculture center of production in this country because supply chains will require domestic supply because nobody wants supply disruption. How do we make sure we take care of the climate and take care of the sustainable story for the next 20 years? Senior editor Todd Runestad sits down with Simon Liegel, co-founder of Driftless Extracts, and Josh Hendrix, an established leader in the hemp industry sitting on major boards and managing BestBall CBD and Hendrix Holdings. They discuss: 

• How brands can qualify a supplier—what to look for, what questions to ask. 
• What kept the green rush from coming to fruition for many hemp farmers—and the opportunities that remain. 
• How Wisconsin is looking past cannabinoids and driving hemp usage toward the grain and fiber angle—packaging, textiles, paper and other industrial applications. 
• Traceabiliity. Sustainability. Verification. And other significant considerations.

ToddCast, Vol. XXV: Known in the trade as The Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham travels the world over and really digs in with indigenous cultures to discover herbal remedies for the Western world—kava and maca being two preeminent herbs that Kilham was there at the start of both. During the COVID downtime, we caught up with Kilham resting comfortably just five miles from North America’s largest organic schisandra farm. Listen in to this podcast with senior editor Todd Runestad as Kilham discusses:

• As one of the world’s great longevity botanicals, why schisandra berry “really needs its day.”
• Differentiation among the three great adaptogenic superstars today—ashwagandha, rhodiola, Schisandra—and why an adaptogen virtually unheard-of outside the West may be the “king of kings.”
• Why the herb with a well-built commercial infrastructure but was beaten down by a questionable safety study a decade ago is nevertheless poised for a return.
• Is he going to talk about cannabis and CBD? You know he is!

While being careful to not pick winners and losers, ABC founder—and now anointed as one of the luminaries gracing the Mount Rushmore of the Natural Products Industry—identifies botanicals vital for vitality and immune health. But really, though, that's not even close to the half of it. Listen in as they dive into the deep end of the pond and talk about:

• Evolutionary biology and the kindom—no typo—that links plants and animals on this fair planet.
• The conflict between vitalism and reductionism in how herbalists think about health care.
• The List. Immunomodulators, sure, but also herbs for vitality.

The right people leading a supplement or functional food company can take the company to the next stage of success, or can mean the brand stays in business at all. But as Angela Marturano, president, Orchid Holistic Search, said, “Working for a company, you're dedicating the majority your life to that business. In return, what is a company willing to do for you to make you feel valued?” It’s a good question. And thankfully, Marturano provided insight into what the top candidates are after when it comes to choosing their employer.

Consumers are clamoring for supplements that support a healthy immune system. Innovative supplements company NB Pure wanted to create a zinc supplement in an innovative spray delivery format. Listen in as senior editor Todd Runestad sat down with Gene Tracy, director of quality assurance / quality control at NB Pure as they dig into:

• What kind of zinc, and at what dose, would work best in a spray delivery format.
• Formulation challenges around potency, contamination, flavor and shelf-stability.
• Microbial challenges, stability testing, and taste issues.

Countries and regions around the world use hemp differently. Listen for details around the differences between Canada, Europe, and Asia. 

Yes, there was massive overproduction of hemp in 2019 in America. But hemp CBD is a worldwide sensation, and there are opportunities for hemp farmers around the world. Perhaps the largest vertically integrated hemp firm in the U.S. was formed in 2020 when CPG brand Kadenwood acquired Colorado-based supplier EcoGen. Garrett Bain is president of EcoGen and a veteran of the hemp supply business. Natural Products Insider senior editor Todd Runestad sat down with Bain to discuss:

• The evolving Asian markets, and how Australia is a stepping stone to Asia. 
• Specifics around the “complicated” regulatory environment in Canada. 
• How the European market improves the quality of U.S.-grown hemp. 

To help increase awareness of the importance of vitamin D supplementation about minority populations, The Organic and Natural Health Association launched the “Get On My Level” campaign in partnership with Dr. Ken Redcross, author of “Bond: The 4 Cornerstones of a Lasting and Caring Relationship with Your Doctor.” The campaign highlights the proven health benefits of vitamin D and encourages people in communities most at risk to know their vitamin D level by either asking their doctor or measuring and monitoring their own levels at home using a test kit and vitamin D calculator from Organic & Natural Health research partner, GrassrootsHealth.

In this podcast, Dr. Redcross speaks with Sandy Almendarez, content director, Informa Markets, about the important of vitamin D for minority populations. They cover:

• The need for the medical community to foster and support the patient-doctor relationship.
• How Black and Latinx communities generally view supplements as part of their healthy lifestyles.
• How supplement brands can promote their vitamin D supplement to ethnic minority populations. 

CBD researcher Alex Capano, Ph.D., studies at the Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Her groundbreaking work was on CBD for opioid addiction—which also found, not surprisingly, quality of life improvements around pain, sleep and anxiety. Natural Products Insider senior editor Todd Runestad sat at the bench with Capano to discuss the frontiers of CBD research. Listen in as they discuss

• Safety concerns around liver toxicity, drug interactions and whether drowsiness is a side effect or an effect.
• The best way to take hemp CBD—a loading dose, or start low and go slow?
• What the science says around possible maximum upper intake dosages.

The fountain of youth has been sought for centuries. In the last two decades some ingredients—namely resveratrol and NAD+—have gained notoriety for an ability to lengthen the time study organisms live. The question is always whether the natural bioactives work in humans. It’s all but impossible to conduct a 40- or 50-year human clinical trial, so what now? In this Healthy Insider Podcast, senior editor Todd Runestad sits down with veteran anti-aging researcher Brian Kennedy, director of the Center for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore, to discuss:

• The difference between lifespan and healthspan—and how the latter may be more important. 
• Biomarkers that can be regulated and which contribute to what is known as the biological clock. 
• What alpha-ketoglutarate (LifeAKG) did in study results in a landmark study published Sept. 1in Cell Metabolism.