Phyto Pro was founded on two principles, inherited from our medical origins: (1) First do no harm and (2) Food is Medicine. In this follow-on to my previous blog, “Food is Medicine,” I discuss what “First do no Harm” means to us.
In our functional medical clinic, we concentrated on maximising the benefit we could obtain from a patients diet to aid them in achieving their health goals. We always began with whole food interventions, using the best quality our patients could afford and access. But eventually we found ourselves having to supplement – either because the patient needed more of a particular nutrient than one could possibly eat in a meal or because the quality of the food available was not up to standard. We became more educated and aware of the ways in which foods are grown and how much of an impact this had on the quality and quantity of the healing and life-sustaining nutrients contained in these foods.
As we began to explore the supplement market for suitable products to recommend, we encountered what seemed like Pandora’s Box! Hundreds of manufacturers making all sorts of health claims, some legitimate but some using pseudo-science and creative word-play in their ingredient listings to hide the true content and value of their product offerings. Of course, there were a couple of good apples among the rotten. But if we as professionals, with years of education and experience, felt overwhelmed, we could only imagine how much confidence our patients had when they entered their local supermarket or health shop.
Part of the Hippocratic Oath all doctors have to take on completing their studies states that we have to abstain from “all intentional wrong-doing and harm” towards those under our care. In the 19th century, this was abbreviated to “First do no harm” and this code of ethics has guided healthcare practitioners through some challenging decisions.
Most manufacturers do not follow a similar code of ethics and look for any loophole to reduce cost, from processing with harsh chemicals to increase production (often with a chemical residue left in the final product) to only using a fraction of the healing ingredient and bulking up their products with harmful fillers or unnecessary but cheaper nutrients. How does it help anyone to use a product that heals in one corner of the body but harms in another?
When we found it a challenge to find products with the necessary nutrients of an appropriate quality and quantity, and without any sneaky contamination, we decided to start manufacturing them ourselves.
“First do no harm” continues to guide us at Phyto Pro, from every product we formulate for every ingredient we source and every production process we engage with. Phyto Pro is outcomes-based – we identify the impact we desire a product to have in the body, identify the key plant-based nutrients to effectively and optimally achieve this impact and source the best quality ingredients for the job from around the globe. Trust us to keep only your best health goals at heart.