Hair and Nail Health

Question: Why does your Hair, Skin & Nails product have a strong smell?

Thanks for posing this commonly asked question. Swanson Premium Brand Hair, Skin & Nails, one of our best-selling products, owes its powerful smell to the amino acid L-cysteine. Here’s why: this amino acid contains sulfur. This stinky ingredient plays an important role in supporting healthy hair, skin, and nails, by helping to produce collagen. Collagen is crucial for healthy skin texture and elasticity. To help counteract...Read More »

Question: Is this right? One bottle of my supplements has a strong odor, while the product in the other is not the same color as it was a few months ago. Why does this happen?

Smell, color, taste. All of these, as with everything in nature, affect supplements in some way. Oxidation, for instance, is one of the processes that can cause many different changes. In chemistry, the oxidation state is a measure of the degree of oxidation of an atom in a chemical compound. With regards to supplements, it...Read More »

Question: Do you have a place on your website to look up definitions of ingredients, for instance, silicon dioxide and others?

The glossary on our website provides definitions for many of the ingredients used in our supplements, and you can access it by clicking the “Health Library” tab, then select “glossary.”

The term silicon dioxide does not appear in the glossary, although the word silica does, which is simply another word for silicon dioxide (SiO2). It is a hard mineral that is often used...Read More »

Finding a multivitamin, to me, has almost literally been a lifelong process. As an industrious teenager, I began taking them to supplement the multitude of activities I participated in - dance, soccer, track, swimming - and this is the short list. Needless to say, eating well wasn't all that I needed; enter the necessity for a great multivitamin to support the need for energy and well-being. Several years later, this need hasn't changed all that much; I'm still involved in most of the same...Read More »

One of the many fun and exciting benefits of working at Swanson Health Products is our ability to try some of the newest products on the market. Not only does this include our cutting-edge Swanson brand items but also products from our national brand partners. Because I'm always on the lookout for new health products on our website, I jumped at the chance to try skin and hair health products from Tom's of Maine, Kirk's Natural and Aubrey Organics.

It's still winter up here in the northern Great...Read More »

Question: What is biotin and why should I take it?

Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin and a member of the B-complex group. Biotin, also known as Vitamin H, is essential for the normal metabolism of fat, protein and carbohydrates. Biotin works with your body to produce energy by helping to break down the proteins in your diet. Biotin also helps your body obtain energy from other foods that you eat. While this is a great reason to take biotin, this is surprisingly not the main reason people choose...Read More »

To showcase some of our newest health and nutrition products, we're doing 10 days of Holiday Giveaways. Each weekday for the last 2 weeks in December, we're giving away 10 new products to 1 lucky winner! To get entered to win, you'll have to answer one quick question, which will be found at the end of each day's post. There will also be a link that will take you to our Facebook page where you will need to post your answer to be entered into that day's contest. Winners will be chosen at random...Read More »

1.  When your package arrives, it feels like your birthday!
2.  The UPS guy is a hottie!
3.  There's only one parking spot - your chair. And it's always free.
4.  Only your credit card gets tired out.
5.  The block is so peaceful when everyone else is at the mall.
6.  With the money you'll save at Swanson's Health Products, you can buy cashmere socks for yourself.
7. Two words:  Promo Code.  Sign up for our emails and you'll be informed of all the upcoming holiday savings!

To help you get started,...Read More »

Something out of the ordinary for this foodie, but I thought I would like to chime in on a product that I have been researching for my own natural health:  Oregon Grape Root.

This product is also known as mahonia auguifolium (Barberry Family) and is used to fight bacterial infections, purify blood and liver and is very healing to the skin and mucous membranes.

Oregon grape is known to treat eczema, which is a condition that runs in my family. This condition is due to a hypersensitivity reaction...Read More »

Health Tips update for Thursday, July 29:  Biotin supplements are becoming more and more popular for their natural hair and nail health benefits. Biotin is one of the B vitamins (B7), and a deficiency is often seen in hair and nails—an example of how outward appearance can reflect the general health and wellness on the inside. A biotin deficiency can make hair brittle, unhealthy and cause breakage, which can eventually lead to loss. It can also cause brittle nails and skin rashes.

Biotin protects...Read More »