In a time when Jamaicans have appealed for a healthier approach to living longer as well as more food options for persons with special dietary needs, The Life Store has risen to the challenge.

Founder and certified health coach Natalie Murray in an interview with BUZZ noted that The Life Store, while an online portal just now, offers much more than your typical health food shop.

More than just a health food store…

“You’re probably familiar with the concept of a health food store. When you walk into some stores, you pretty much need to go in knowing what you’re buying. With The Life Store, you’re coming in for solutions,” Murray posited.

“Whether you have special dietary needs, have allergies or low on energy, we’re run by a health coach. The Life Store seeks to provide you with the elements you need to live a healthier life,” she told BUZZ.

The primary offerings by The Life Store range from nutraceuticals; products for mother and baby; gluten, grain-free snack options; organic condiments; low-carb noodles and rice; organic mushrooms, dairy-free collagen mixes; skin and hair products; as well as amazing green teas and shakes.

Check out our gallery below:

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Quality products for a wholesome life

“I’ve spent a lot of time curating the collection. What I’ve done, instead of focusing on breadth of brands, I’ve focused on quality. I try to pick the cleanest products, minimal packaging, being non-GMO – organic where possible – I believe [these] products are best for your body,” Murray said.

The confident and insightful St. Andrew native told BUZZ that she was inspired to launch her business to better meet the needs of her clients. Murray said that she has introduced a new way of pinpointing the individual needs of her customers based on their genetics and current lifestyles.

More from The Life Store in the BUZZ gallery below:

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“In my practice as a health coach, I was finding that I was constantly making recommendations to people and sending them out into the world to go find them. So, I started this so I could say, ‘This is what you need, and this is the one I think is best’,” Murray contended.

Epigenetic testing — to the future!

“You may read an article that says Vitamin D is good for you and buy it, but it’s good for you if you need it. The question now is how do you know you need it? In my practice, I offer epigenetic testing, which allows me to ascertain, based on your genetics blueprint and the way you live your life,” she asserted.

“It’s not a blood test, but a hair test of your DNA and it gives us a report of what you need more of – dietary as well as supplementary,” the Jamaican health coach added.

As food intolerances among Jamaicans continue

to trend upwards, Murray argued that making a choice to cut certain ingredients

is good, but not everyone has the option of choice.

“More people are recognising that they have intolerances to certain foods. There are people may have decided they just don’t want to have soy, gluten or dairy in their diet, but some people can’t eat them. When you can’t eat an entire ingredient that’s common, it makes food choices really difficult,” she began.

“One of the things we want to address is the availability of food for persons with special dietary needs,” Murray noted.

‘Let us help you filter through this stressful world’ — The Life Store

“Life is stressful and that places additional nutritional demands on your body. Our soil is depleted of nutrients, so our food is not as nutritious as it was before,” The Life Store founder told BUZZ.

“Generally, food is more processed, convenience-oriented and not always the best for you. We’re providing support for your body in this stressful world we live in, as well as support to heal from the chemicals our bodies are bombarded [by],” Murray added.

“It doesn’t make sense you take a multi-vitamin if that multi-vitamin is loaded with other sorts of irradiated ingredients, fillers or binders that cause other problems for you – or make the nutrients in the vitamin not be absorbed by your body,” she argued further.

Our health is our responsibility

Jamaicans and the wider Caribbean are starting to embrace a holistically healthier mindset, which Murray told BUZZ bodes well for the future of our people.

“The conversation is happening on so many levels. I think more and more, people are waking up to the fact that their health is really in their control. There a whole field of study dedicated to the fact that lifestyle influences disease more than genes,” the health coach remarked.

“Health and wellness are at the forefront. What we want to do is take away the pain and uncertainty when you’re not sure what to do. My purpose as a health coach is to guide people towards a better lifestyle,” Murray noted.

“The food you eat, the air you breathe, the thoughts you think become the antecedents of your genes. You can have something run in your family and not get it because you lived your life in a way that supported your body,” she told BUZZ.

Not just about profit

There’s lots more to come from The Life Store, Murray explained, as once the physical store is in place, demos, classes, and workshops geared at educating those who need help, will become a mainstay.

“The online store is just phase one. The vision is that The Life Store will be brick and mortar soon, hopefully in Q4 of this year. We’re just waiting on the physical location to be available,” Murray said.

“We believe The Life Store is not just you ‘walking in and buying something’. While we are profit-driven, we want to be a centre for learning – a community-based organisation that gives back, inspires, teaches and motivates. We’re sticking to our mandate of providing the avenues for a holistic and healthier life,” The Life Store founder added.