Natures Way

From SourceWatch
(Redirected from Nature's Way)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

"Nature’s Way originated from a circumstance we can all understand—a family's desperate need to overcome a personal health crisis. Back in the late 1960s, Tom Murdock, the founder of what is now Nature's Way, needed a solution to help his gravely ill wife. After trying conventional medicine without success, Tom and his wife turned to the traditional Native American knowledge of “medicinal plants” growing in the Arizona desert. As a result, she recovered and lived an additional 25 years.

"Tom Murdock’s pioneering spirit did more than save a life—it led to the renaissance of herbal medicine in America. As word spread about his wife’s recovery, Tom set out to find other healthy treasures growing in the Arizona desert. By 1969, Tom and his family had eight new herbal remedies to share with others and thus began the legacy of Nature’s Way." [1]

"Convinced of the healing powers of herbs, Murdock began hawking his horse-pill-size chaparral pills to health food stores in Utah and the West. He called his company "Nature's Way," and the folksy tale of Lavoli and the medicine man became part of the company's official history...

"Utah is the heart of the nation's dietary supplement industry, and these are sunny times for companies like Nature's Way, Nature's Herbs, Nature's Sunshine, Solaray, Nuskin and Weider Nutrition...

"In turn, the state's members of Congress, particularly Utah's Republican senior senator, Orrin G. Hatch, have served as a powerful shield for the industry against what it sees as excessive government regulation. Hatch personally uses dietary supplements and has invested in a company that sells herbal products...

"How Utah came to be the "Silicon Valley of herbs" is not exactly clear. Observers here cite a variety of factors... Another influence, though, has been the culture of the state's dominant Mormon population... Another early influence on the state's natural products industry was a colorful and controversial herbalist named John Christopher, who ran a natural healing school near Salt Lake City in the late 1960s. "Dr. Christopher's" herbal formulas were used in some of the earliest products marketed by such companies as Nature's Way and are still sold under that name, although Nature's Way dropped its line of "Dr. Christopher's" products last year." [2]

Contact

Web: http://www.naturesway.com

Resources and articles

Related Sourcewatch

References

  1. Nature’s Way About, organizational web page, accessed February 23, 2013.
  2. LA Times Herbal Medicine Business Sets Firm Roots in Utah, organizational web page, accessed February 23, 2013.