Sanitarium Apothecarian

Over the summer at the Fire Company, my friends and I were giving each other theme songs. We figured out the theme songs by changing the lyrics and making them fit the person. My ex-boyfriend's was Notorious by Biggie Smalls. Instead of "Notorious," we sang "Impervious." Basically, we were making fun of the fact that he's kind of a dick.

My song was "Apothecarian," sung to the tune of Metallica's "Sanitarium." Listen to the song. You can hear it: A-poth-a-carian!

The song came to me because that's what I did all last summer. I was an apothecarian at the greatest health food store in the world - Kimberton Whole Foods.

KWF is not connected with the Whole Foods chain in any way. The store began as a local dairy attached to the Kimberton Waldorf school, back in the seventies. In a short time, the store became the purveyor of local organic food. Today, they have opened four stores in southeastern PA. They have the BEST selection of organic allergy-free local food in the area.



The home base, the Kimberton Kimberton Whole Foods, is 2 minutes from my parents' house. The store sells all local produce, as well as goods from my favorite local raw cafe, Oasis. There's a cafe that makes the best hummus I've ever had, raw vegan lasagna, and a variety of green smoothies.

Chef Dave... who thinks my brother Matthew's name is Jason... but makes up for it with his amazing Portuguese fish chowder!

In the apothecary is a crew of bio majors, certified nutritionists, and moms who really know their shit. They can find the right supplement for almost any ailment. AND in the same breath, they will suggest an organic allergen-free shampoo to make your hair silky and shiny!


Simply put - KWF kicks Whole Foods ass around the goddamn corner and back again.


Already a dork for them, I worried that working for KWF would change my feelings. Not so. The job did not disappoint. By not disappoint - I mean it was MY FAVORITE JOB EVERRRRR!


With that - I give you what I learned working in the apothecary... or as my pal Matt and I came to call it, when we were facing the aisles and speaking in cheeky British accents, the apothy. This is the innards of the little red book that I carried with me to and from work every day...

that I filled with scribbles and notes...

... about whatever nutritional info I learned that day.

This is one messy list... good luck navigating it!











Ashwaganda - fun to spell, fun to say. It's an ayurvedic herb that's amazing for fighting chronic fatigue and menopause. Other great uppers for energy? B vitamins!










Co-Q10 - Coenzyme-10 or Ubiquinone. This transforms food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy on which the body runs... great for heart problems, migraines, and gum disease. I've personally nommed on some chewable probiotics that contained Co-Q10 and FELT the up of my energy kick in immediately.

Vitamin D2 is synthetic animal-free D, for vegetarians and vegans. Most nutritionists will agree that D3, which is usually not vegetarian, is best - next to sunlight of course. Once past infancy, the dosage is 600 IUs a day. However, most nutritionists currently suggest double or triple that. Thirty minutes of sunlight three times a week will do the trick as well.

Megafood and New Chapter are two of the only companies to make whole food supplements - vitamins and minerals that come from food and herbs. And believe me, you can feel the difference. Go whole food. The pills taste better anyway.

Every pregnant lady is told to take folic acid. In actuality, folate is what they should be taking. Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate, and not as accessible by the body. It is incredibly hard to find folate in supplements. Brands like Megafood sell it. But typically, the only place to find folate is in foods - leafy greens and beans. Basically, if you are eating healthy, you are getting the folate you need. Why is folate so great? It helps drive red blood cells and repairs DNA.











Best kid flu fighter? Oscillococcinum. All the apothies gave their kiddos this during flu season. Elderberry syrup is another good one.











Dr. Oz! Oh you! You had us watching your show - just so we could stay on top of all the orders coming in. Thanks to Dr. Oz, women flooded the apothy, wanting Konjak root, sea buckthorn juice, and white kidney bean extract to lose weight. At first, I floundered through their orders, because I couldn't find this stuff on the shelf. Then I found out we had it all - just under different names. Konjak root is also called glucomannan. White kidney bean extract can be found in most carb blockers.

Want to lose weight? Add protein to your diet. Not protein powder. Apothecarian Amy says hemp seeds. Get the complete whole food. I did. Check out the results in this post.
More protein helps you lose weight.








Don't bother taking selenium pills. The daily dosage of selenium can be found in TWO brazil nuts. No joke. Isn't that crazy?

Looking for a good pain reliever? Xylaflamend is amazing.

Working in the apothy helped me supplement myself too. Now, I take a host of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes to heal all sorts of crap wrong with my body. What am I into? More importantly, what are the other apothecarians taking?

Check back next week and I'll tell ya!!!