The Hut Group, one of the world’s largest online health and beauty retailers recently announced the addition of the cosmetic brand Illamasqua to its extensive list of brands. Known for housing many other popular health, beauty, and lifestyle companies, The Hut Group picked up Illamasqua at a crucial time in the brand’s identity development.

Illamasqua

Illamasqua is a brand best known for their dedication to creativity, passion for diversity, and self-expression. The brand is a portmanteau of the words illusion and masquerade. Just a couple of months ago, Illamasqua was in the limelight for hiring transgender model Munroe Bergdorf after L’Oreal fired her for an unrelated disagreement over racism. With a history in theatrical stage makeup, they have quickly become a global face for diversity with a large following including makeup artists, celebrities, and trans* consumers.

Their philosophy is simple and intentional: “You Are Beauty”, as they encourage anyone and everyone to feel confident expressing their individuality in a society growing more tolerant of less-than-usual forms of beauty.

The Hut Group and Inclusion

Whether it was intentional or not, The Hut Group just became a lot more inclusive. By acquiring Illamasqua, they also acquired their same diverse customer base. An important value for millennials, inclusion in marketing is a fairly recent concept.

A decade or two ago, there was almost no representation of the LGBTQ community. We have come a long way since and while we now see more marketing towards gay, lesbian, and bisexual consumers, marketing to trans* people is still developing.

Online retailers, like The Hut Group, have an advantage over the classic brick and mortar stores with privacy and accessibility. Whereas most people are comfortable shopping in person, many are still not, especially if they are buying products considered to be outside of their “norm” (for example, trans* consumers and makeup products).

Given the current greater acceptance of mixed gender or gender-neutral people, this may prove to be a smart move on behalf of both companies. The Hut Group and Illamasqua both have high hopes and positive expectations for the future.

The Founder and CEO of The Hut Group, Matthew Moulding had this to say: “I am delighted we are adding Illamasqua to The Hut Group’s growing portfolio of beauty brands. In Illamasqua’s unwavering commitment to professional, high-quality products and creativity, not to mention its strong identity, we saw a business with a unique proposition and an opportunity to take a strong and dynamic brand to the next level. We are confident that, with our world-class e-commerce platform and large marketing infrastructure, we will deliver significant growth and further extend Illamasqua’s global customer base. This investment is another step in our ambition of becoming the world’s largest online retailer of Health & Beauty products by 2018.”

But are consumers ready for lab-grown meats? This is the question faced by Memphis Meats and other companies leading the way in the creation of meat made from animal cells in a laboratory. After receiving a large donation from investors that include Bill Gates and Richard Branson, Memphis Meats is only one of the companies that is trying to take the meat industry toward ‘clean-meats’ and it has already produced beef, chicken and duck directly from animal cells.

As the population increases, so does the need for food. Meat demands are increasing consistently (it’s estimated to grow another 8% between 2011-2020 in North America alone) and another option is needed to be able to keep up with consumer demand. An added bonus is that more animals can be saved in the process.

The stem cells are taken from real animals and cultured in a lab to create the meat.  Lab-grown meats will also limit the need for factory farming, in which the animals are often kept in poor conditions.

Lab-grown meats for consumers seems promising and it’s getting harder for meat processors to meet demand at a reasonable price. It is expected that lab-grown meat will not replace farmed meat, but can be another option that may appeal to a specialized market of consumers put off by added hormones, antibiotics, and traditional meat processing and already preferring to purchase meat that is organically-produced and sustainable.

There are several perceived health benefits with ‘clean-meats’ that may appeal to this group of consumers. Since the meat is created and grown in a controlled lab environment, this allows for certain things to be added or left out of the mix. Things like saturated fat, antibiotics, and animal-borne pathogens can be avoided or at least controlled. Extending the health benefits to the environment, the making of clean-meat compared to regular meat uses less energy, land, and water, and produces less greenhouse emissions.

As great as the perceived benefits to lab-grown meats are, it is still too early to be able to discern the real environmental and health impacts regardless of the studies already performed.

Memphis Meats and its competitors forecast their lab-grown meats will be hitting grocery stores and restaurants within the next few years.

In an astonishing announcement this week, a 7-year-old boy’s life was saved by skin grafts over 80% of his body—using skin grown in a laboratory with experimental gene therapy.

As reported in the science journal Nature, doctors had tried the stem cell therapy before, but never in a patient where this much skin needed replacement. His parents permitted the risky procedure due to the boy’s declining health and the series of surgeries were performed in Germany in 2015. His recovery has been so successful that the boy (referred to as ‘Hassan’ to hide his identity), now aged 9, has returned to school and is playing sports, free of all symptoms of the disease, known as Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Epidermolysis Bullosa is a group of skin diseases with Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa (JEB) accounting for about 5% of all cases. JEB is caused by mutations in genes encoding the basement membrane component laminin-332. The skin is so fragile in sufferers that they are often referred to as ‘butterfly children’ (a reference to the fragility of butterfly wings) and most will have impairment in eating, walking and even breathing.

Patients with JEB have a very poor quality of life with chronic blistering of the skin and mucosa, often from even slight abrasions, which may lead to skin cancer, and at worst JEB is fatal. Most kids affected will die before the age of five and few survive into adulthood.

Doctors grew the grafted skin from the boy’s own healthy epidermal cells, while tweaking some genetic code to ensure the JEB mutation was not present. The new skin was attached to the affected areas, mostly the limbs and back of the child’s body, over three surgeries and several months.  Eventually, the new, healthy skin replicated itself regenerating a complete healthy epidermis, and greatly improving the boy’s health.

Researchers are eager to put the therapy under clinical trials as it offers great hope to those suffering from debilitating skin disease or injury. It’s thought that the stem cell therapy was greatly successful as only the epidermis needed replacing; many skin issues such as severe burns involve the dermis (below the epidermis and containing hair follicles and sweat glands) and the deeper skin tissue called the hypodermis.

It is estimated that about 5,000 Canadians and 50,000 Americans have a form of Epidermolysis Bullosa, with few successful treatments available. The disease may affect over 500,000 worldwide.

It’s the day before your big holiday party or your family reunion and the inevitable happens—you develop a painful and unattractive cold sore. Most cold sores appear on the mouth or lips, but they can also appear on your nose, fingers, chin or cheek.

Cold sores are highly contagious blisters caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and can be contracted by kissing, sharing utensils, glasses or towels or having close contact with an infected person. Once infected, a person may experience recurring cold sores, or some people may develop antibodies that prevent further cold sore outbreaks. If cold sores do recur, outbreaks can be brought on by many factors, including stress, fevers, colds, sun, allergies, menstruation or eating certain foods.

Anyone who suffers from cold sores knows that there is no cure and finding a reliable treatment can be like searching for the holy grail, but there are ways to minimize outbreaks before they occur, or to treat cold sores to shorten their duration and severity. It’s best to treat cold sores early on when you first start to feel the burning or tingling sensation that precedes an outbreak as many remedies lose their efficacy once a cold sore is fully formed.

The best way to treat cold sores is to avoid triggers that bring them on, like stress, illness or sun exposure. Obviously, this isn’t always possible but the following remedies can help to ease pain and reduce cold sore symptoms when outbreaks do occur.

There are many over the counter or prescription remedies for cold sores, antiseptic balms, prescription anesthetic gel or antiviral oral medications. If you’re looking for a more natural approach, there are many alternatives. These include:

• zinc supplements to support your immune system and your body’s ability to fight the virus;
• lemon balm or lemon tea compresses applied to the cold sore, which can reduce and soothe inflammation;
• witch hazel or tea tree oil, which both have antiseptic and antibacterial properties will dry the skin around the cold sore, speeding up healing;
• peppermint oil has been shown to attack the virus and reduce its effects;
• oregano oil to reduce the size of the cold sore, treat inflammation and accelerate recovery;
• honey, particularly raw, unprocessed honey, which helps to kill the virus and shorten the duration of the outbreak;
• L-lysine, an amino acid, can be used to shorten outbreaks and decrease their frequency; and
• light technology, when placed on the cold sore, activates your immune system to focus on the particular area and promote recovery.

Simple habits such as keeping the area clean, washing hands, using sunscreen on lips and not picking at sores will also help to prevent or treat cold sore outbreaks.

In a move that appears to signal their wish to be ready for marketing medical marijuana just ahead of legalization in early 2018, Canada’s largest drug store chain, Shoppers Drug Mart, recently posted a job opportunity for a Sr. Brand Manager, Medical Cannabis. The job posting is seen as optimistic, as current federal law only allows consumers mail order purchase of medical cannabis from licensed growers.

It is known that LCBO in Ontario will operate separate storefronts for dispensing recreational marijuana. Quebec and News Brunswick have made some announcements of similar plans, but it is yet to be announced if pharmacies and other retailers will be able to distribute medical or recreational marijuana.

Traditionally, Shoppers’ parent company, Loblaw Companies Ltd., often strategizes to “lead the charge” on new products, and they applied for licensing to distribute cannabis back in October 2016.

Shoppers Drug Mart advertised that the successful candidate will use their marketing and business background to “coordinate with cross functional teams, external vendors and consultants to help promote and execute the formulary, clinical guidelines, marketing plan, regulatory requirements, market access strategy, and physician outreach strategy” for the cannabis market.

Previous statements by Loblaw said they were only interested in medical marijuana, and it appears they expect licensing to include dispensation through pharmacies by prescription.

With the legalization of marijuana for recreational use just around the corner in Canada, it appears to have become a more mainstream substance in a short amount of time. Not only will Canadian consumers be able to purchase marijuana legally, they will also likely be allowed to purchase cannabis-infused foods, drinks and supplements. Not surprisingly, recent research has also shown a rise in sensitivity to cannabis.

For many users of medical marijuana, cannabis is more than just recreational—it is imperative to their health and well-being. If consistent exposure to marijuana can cause an allergic reaction in some people, then this could create other problems for users and those passively exposed.

Can one really be allergic to marijuana?

An allergy is basically an immune defence by the body trying to protect itself from outside invaders. Whereas the antibodies can be successful in eliminating a perceived toxin, the increased immune response is also what leaves you with the typical allergy symptoms. So, what could be contained in cannabis that the body is trying to keep out?

A study published in AAAI showed allergic sensitization to Can s3—a protein found in Cannabis sativa. However, what makes a cannabis allergy potentially harmful is that as a substance, cannabis can be inhaled and/or ingested. Therefore, not only can the smoke cause allergic reactions (whether through direct or indirect exposure), but so can the pollen spores from the growth and/or production of cannabis.

Research has also shown that cannabis-infused foods and drinks, and the mould that the herb can develop over time, are also linked to cannabis allergies.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of a cannabis allergy are typically characteristic of other allergies, but can also be dependent on the way a person was exposed. For example, touching cannabis could result in a contact dermatitis reaction, whereas inhaling it can affect the eyes, sinuses and respiration.

Some reported symptoms of allergic reactions to cannabis are:

• Asthma (mild / bronchial)
• Chest tightness
• Contact urticaria – skin rash
• Dry coughing
• Dyshidrotic hand eczema – skin blisters
• Headaches
• Nasal congestion
• Nose and eye itching
• Pharyngeal pruritus – sore or itchy throat
• Generalized pruritus – itchy skin
• Rhinoconjunctivitis (acute / intense)
• Rhinorrhea – runny nose
• Sneezing
• Watery eyes

What’s next?

In Canada, a typical skin allergy test for cannabis is not yet available. Since there is no standard way to currently test for marijuana allergy, one should also expect questions relating to lifestyle, history of use and exposure.

Traditional treatment options for those with mild allergic reaction to cannabis are available, but for those with a history of asthma or anaphylaxis, or the chronically-allergic cannabis user, abstinence and avoidance of the allergen is best. This will likely include avoiding the expected abundance of cannabis-laced products expected to be available across Canada in 2018.

Although the research is small and recent, cannabis allergies are on the rise. Currently, most cannabis allergies can be treated similarly to other allergies, but more research is needed to better understand which allergens are present in cannabis, and to establish better treatment options.

AUSTIN, Texas (October 31, 2017) — On November 1, 2017, the American Botanical Council (ABC) begins its 30th year of nonprofit service, providing reliable, science-based information on the responsible use of herbs, medicinal plants, other beneficial botanicals, essential oils, fungi, and related materials. The independent nonprofit has members in countries around the globe, has received numerous awards, and is recognized as a thought leader and innovator in the field of botanicals and herbal medicine. In 1988, Founder and Executive Director Mark Blumenthal established ABC with internationally esteemed ethnobotanist James A. Duke, PhD, and the late Norman R. Farnsworth, PhD, a renowned pharmacognosist and medicinal plant researcher. A few years later, another eminent pharmacognosist, the late Varro E. Tyler, PhD, also joined the Board of Trustees. They created the organization with the goal of providing accurate information to assist the public in making educated, responsible choices about herbal medicine in self-care and as an accepted part of health care. Thirty years later, their vision still drives the nonprofit’s mission and projects. ABC Board of Trustees member Peggy Brevoort, a former member of the herb industry, congratulated ABC on its “passionate commitment to serving the ever-expanding herbal community.” She added: “Having known Mark for longer than 30 years, I can truly say that his vision and hard work have been the driving force behind ABC. With a dedicated staff, devoted board members, and an enormous community of supportive members, ABC continues to stand at the forefront of bringing truthful information on the benefits and risks of herbs to the research community, health professionals, industry, the media, and consumers.” Blumenthal said: “I am profoundly grateful to the many dedicated people who have supported and helped build ABC to what it is today. Of course, this includes ABC’s amazingly dedicated staff — past and present — who have chosen the path of meaning, purpose, and service to others by working at ABC. I also extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the members of the Board of Trustees, our extensive Advisory Board, and friends and colleagues who support ABC by participating in the ABC Director’s Circle, as well as every member of ABC: All of them endorse ABC’s unique and essential nonprofit educational mission, publications, and programs.” Publication Milestones In the summer of 1983, Blumenthal published the first issue of HerbalGram, then an eight-page, black-and-white newsletter with brief updates on medicinal plant research, community events, and regulatory news. In August 2017, HerbalGrambegan its 35th year, and the 80-page, full-color, peer-reviewed journal has become a leading publication in its field. In 2013, ABC published the 100th issue of the magazine. Issue 116 will be available in early November. “I look forward to each issue of HerbalGram, filled with beautifully written and engaging articles and summaries of contemporary research on herbs, and learn something from reading each issue,” said ABC Board of Trustees member Michael Balick, PhD, a veteran ethnobotanist at the New York Botanical Garden. “ABC provides essential and unique services to the consumer, academic community, and industry, and I am proud to be a member of the Board of Trustees.” ABC celebrated a number of other publication milestones in 2017. In February, ABC’s monthly e-newsletter HerbalEGram began its 15th year. Since 2004, ABC has published more than 150 issues of this digital companion to HerbalGram. HerbClip, a twice-monthly publication that provides summaries and critical reviews of medicinal plant-related clinical research, began its 25th year in 2017. ABC has now published more than 6,900 HerbClips. ABC’s newest online publication, Herbal News & Events, entered its seventh year in June 2017. Launched in 2010, Herbal News & Events was created to keep ABC members and supporters up to date on relevant events, conferences, and news articles. New Digital Resources ABC has recently added numerous resources and member benefits to its website. Most recently, in October 2017, ABC added a digital version   of The Identification of Medicinal Plants: A Handbook of the Morphology of Botanicals in Commerce to its website. Originally co-published in 2006 by ABC and the Missouri Botanical Garden, the manual includes macroscopic assessments of 124 medicinal plants used in North America and Europe, and is a useful quality control resource for ABC members around the world. Also in October 2017, ABC saw the 35th publication of HerbalEGram’s Food as Medicine series, which explores the history, traditional uses, nutritional profile, and modern research of a different conventional food each month. The Food as Medicine series is based on work from interns in ABC’s dietetic internship program, led by ABC Education Coordinator Jenny Perez and ABC Special Projects Director Gayle Engels, and is produced in collaboration with HerbalGram Associate Editor Hannah Bauman and ABC Chief Science Officer Stefan Gafner, PhD. Last year, ABC added a complete digital archive of HerbalGram issues dating back to 1983. Previously, only issues 85 and later were available online as PDFs. ABC also added a new Herbal MediaWatch  feature to its website in 2016. Updated weekly, Herbal MediaWatch is a news feed that contains articles, press releases, and other online publications on a wide range of subjects of interest to ABC’s members and supporters. (casalola.com)

“As a scientist, when I need to have the latest background information on a plant, I go to the ABC website, which is loaded with excellent information,” Balick noted. “ABC has become the source for timely and reliable information on botanicals and their properties — from traditional uses and preparations to commercial products of so many different types.” Onsite Happenings In addition to its expanded digital offerings, ABC continues to add value for local visitors to its headquarters at the historic Case Mill Homestead in Austin, Texas. In March 2017, ABC hosted its 12th annual HerbDay celebration, which broke previous records for attendance and giving. In the past five years, ABC added two new features to its expansive, 2.5-acre grounds. In 2015, ABC completed work on a new garden space, which received official designation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, the largest wildlife conservation and education organization in the United States. Three years before that, in 2012, ABC introduced its Sacred Seeds garden, which is part of an international network of garden sanctuaries intended to protect locally important and traditionally used plants. Botanical Adulterants Program As ABC enters its 30th year in 2017, the nonprofit continues to expand the scope and reach of its Botanical Adulterants Program in collaboration with the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) and the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program is an international consortium of nonprofit professional organizations, analytical laboratories, research centers, industry trade associations, industry members, and other parties with interest in herbs and medicinal plants. The program advises industry, researchers, health professionals, government agencies, the media, and the public about the various challenges related to adulterated botanical ingredients sold in commerce. More than 200 US and international parties have financially supported or otherwise endorsed the program. To date, the Botanical Adulterants Program has released 34 extensively peer-reviewed publications including detailed articles featured in HerbalGram, Botanical Adulterants Bulletins, Laboratory Guidance Documents, and Botanical Adulterants Monitor e-newsletters, all of which are available for free to registered users on the program’s website. For more information about ABC, including the benefits of membership, visit www.herbalgram.org or call 512-926-4900.

About the American Botanical Council <http://abc.herbalgram.org/site/R?i=p7cn32OLMH4vTnCfqf0qOA> 

There are several antiviral drugs available to treat HPV and other viruses, but until now there were very few natural options. As reported in three medical journals:  Pharmacology and Pharmacy (1); Drug Design, Development and Therapy (2); and Clinical and Translational Medicine (3), a patented blend of natural ingredients is providing great promise in treating symptoms of viruses many people carry in their bodies for life. In fact, they state that the botanical performed better than the current, most commonly-prescribed drugs.

The reports state that the product is a safe and effective treatment for people infected with HPV, HSV, EBV, Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).  Further, the formula is a safe and effective treatment against genital herpes.  A fourth report in Drug Design, Development and Therapy showed that it cleared the latent infection of human papillomavirus (HPV) in 100% of the participants in the study over the course of a year.

Testing was conducted with patients having the most common symptoms of HPV and the herpesvirus family. This family includes herpes simplex viruses (HSV) which can manifest as cold sores and genital herpes, varicella-zoster virus (VZV) which causes chickenpox and shingles, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a cause of infectious mononucleosis, or “mono”. These viruses may remain dormant in the body for life, which is termed a “latent” infection, with or without noticeable symptoms. Collectively, these viruses contribute to a host of health issues which include skin outbreaks, fever, increased fatigue and a few other symptoms depending on the virus.

The product is herbal-based and contains quercetin, extracts of licorice, green tea, and cinnamon, and the mineral selenium all in a “patented botanical systemic treatment” formula. Sold under the brands Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin, Lily Corp’s web site for the new product states, “The difference between the two products is that Novirin has higher quality, more expensive ingredients.”

The medical journal reports conclude, “Gene-Eden-VIR/Novirin decreased the duration of genital herpes outbreaks, in both severe and mild cases, without any side effects” with the best results in those taking the product the longest. The clinical study (1) showed that Gene-Eden-VIR is a safe and effective treatment against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Therefore, health care practitioners should recommend Gene-Eden-VIR as a safe and effective antiviral treatment against these viruses.”

The product’s corporate web site cautions that once taken, discontinuation of the product may result in symptoms returning, possibly worse than before, which is an odd commentary as that could be considered a side-effect. However, if the product performs better than prescribed drugs in the millions of people affected by these viruses, this would truly be a real breakthrough in the natural health supplement industry, and proven by medical science

Online retail giant Amazon just announced they will be hiring 1000 tech, marketing and human resources professionals for a second downtown Vancouver location. This would bring their total workforce in the city to 2000 by the time the new office complex is completed in 2020. The news provided a fair bit of excitement in BC’s politicians as the province was one of the applicants to Amazon for building its promised second headquarters in Vancouver.

The company was careful to note that although they were building a new 4,500 square-metre second corporate office in Vancouver, this announcement was unrelated to their quest for their self-described HQ2. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and BC Premier John Hogan still expressed their hopes that this was an indication of interest in greater investment in Canada’s westernmost metropolitan city.

Back in September, Amazon invited North American cities to bid on building their new headquarters while promising to spend $50-billion US in construction, and create 50,000 jobs in the winning region. Their requirements from the cities included a population of over 1 million, proximity to mass transit and an international airport, and an attractive location with modern sustainable amenities where their top tech talent would feel at home.

The company closed bidding in late October but announced that it had received 238 proposals from 43 U.S. states (as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico), 3 Mexican states and 6 Canadian provinces. Amazon is expected to spend some time reviewing all bids before announcing their choice in 2018.

A recent article in The Telegraph has stated that Britain is flourishing despite fears over Brexit (a portmanteau of “Britain” and “exit” in reference to their leaving the European Union). In fact, the newspaper reported, “Profits and exports are both growing at the fastest pace since 2015 – well before the Brexit vote – and capital investment spending is also at a two-year high.”

This surprising and positive news is derived from a press release by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and information obtained from Ernst & Young.

Before and soon after the June 2016 referendum on Brexit when Britons decided to leave the European Union by a narrow vote of 51.9% there was a bit of hysteria due to the deep division between those voting to remain in the EU and those wanting to leave. At worst, the political move included the murder of a member of parliament, Jo Cox, 41, a week before the exit vote by a man with a history of mental illness. The police believe that Ms. Cox, who supported keeping Britain in the union, had been targeted for her political views.

A tad reminiscent of the hysteria that surrounded the Y2K problem in late 1999 and early 2000 the uncertainty of outcome appeared to prompt several fears. The Britons who voted to leave the EU feared they were losing their unique British culture in a European melting pot, while others felt it important that the UK decide UK policies, not the European Union. Those who wished to remain predicted that leaving the EU could harm the UK financially in the short term due to lack of trade and investment, followed by fears that a slowdown of productivity and economic growth would lead to a downturn in jobs.

Yet, according to the report by the ICAEW, Q4 2017 saw profits grow “from 3.4% in Q3 to 4.1% this quarter. This is expected to increase to 4.7% next year – consistent with rising sales and a slowdown in input price inflation.”

The report also noted that UK domestic sales growth remained stable, and export sales also improved slightly with more growth expected in 2018. According to the ICAEW, “Businesses expect continued job creation but salary increases remain steady indicating that a price-wage spiral is not a major risk.”

This news should bring about some optimism to the UK economy still suffering from the increased cost of importing fuel, clothing and food, which pushed inflation up to 2.9% in September. So far, despite the uncertainty, it appears the British economy is enduring better than forecast with the unemployment rate at a 42-year low, steadily declining since October 2016.