Life Choice Ltd. is an Alberta-based natural health product company founded in 1986 by Eldon Dahl ND, with a team of seven warehouse employees, 16 sales and three management personnel. Distributed directly to retailers, this July, Life Choice will be venturing into Quebec with the help of Quebec Contact Brokers.
Dahl started out in the industry as owner of Internal Health Ltd., a health-supplement store in Ambleside, West Vancouver, with four employees. In the spring of 1986, having almost completed his state-approved doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Clayton School of Natural Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama, he started producing the supplement L-tryptophan. This was the beginning of the line now known as Life Choice.
That was almost 30 years ago. Now, the company produces two main product lines, Life Choice and Doctor’s Choice; the first brand is used for over-the-counter sales, while the second is aimed at health care practitioners across Canada.
All Life Choice products are manufactured at pre-approved 3rd party GMP facilities for added quality control. While outsourcing like this could be seen as a disadvantage by some, it is not so for Life Choice. Rather, for this company, it keeps the manufacturing process at arm’s-length, allowing each uniquestage to have its own quality approval process.
Dahl’s philosophy is simple: educate and provide therapeutic medicines that work as well as allopathic drugs without the dangerous side effects.
“With the growing amount of diseases, mental health issues, hormonal imbalances and environmental issues,” he says. “We use what’s trending and bring that out to the public’s attention.”
The supplying companies for each of the Life Choice’s ingredients are thoroughly researched prior to becoming engaged with the company. Dahl’s experience has lead him to choose patented United States Pharmacopeia (USP) material from the European Union, United States and even Japan, ingredients that have been thoroughly tested to meet the company’s professional standards.
Life Choice® lays a strong emphasis on educating retailers and doctors who carry their product lines. Each month, consumers and retailers receive newsletters that carry information regarding lifestyle changes and products. Additionally, patrons and storeowners are invited to attend monthly webinars given by Dahl himself.
Dahl explains that doing this is crucial, as consumers make choices based on price tags and end up buying cheaper products that contain low-grade ingredients. With Life Choice, however, they get therapeutic results for the money they spend.
A simple example is found in the brand’s Melatonin, which contains only 100 per cent DMF (drug master file) patented pharmaceutical-grade raw material.
“We pay 700 per cent more for our raw material than can be purchased without a patent,” he explains. “Why? The reasons are two-fold: first, the material is clinically researched, and secondly, the quality is consistently high with each order.”
The health veteran says he receives lots of praise from his customers, and it’s humbling.
“Sometimes you feel your life is somewhat insignificant, but when you see you’ve changed someone’s life so dramatically, it makes you feel amazing.”
A popular group that seeks Life Choice products is that of students who suffer from anxiety during exams. Dahl says the L-Tyrosine and Neurotransmitter Support supplements have helped several students get through grueling examination periods.
Next in their line of manufacturing is an oral chelation product.
“It takes away the heavy metals from the body,” Dahl explains. “Because most people have heavy metal toxicity, it pushes them toward Alzheimer’s. Even ADHD and autism are linked to heavy metal toxicity.”
Another new product in the making is Total Gut Health.
“We have our probiotic, and it’s incredible. We also have the whole spectrum of digestive enzymes that go with the probiotic.”
Recently, Life Choice anti-aging cream was given recognition at Hollywood’s most prestigious event of the year – the Oscars.
The DMAE anti-aging cream, as well as HGH+ (an orally-administered product used for anti-aging) were part of the celebrity giveaway bags, each of which were valued at more than $100,000.
“It took us over a year to stabilize DMAE to this concentration,” says Dahl. “It exfoliates and then it makes the skin look like porcelain.”
Having come this far and still moving further ahead, Dahl says, “I am driven by my conscience to work in an ethical manner; to heal the nation, one person at a time.”
