Healthy Living

London is great for shopping, any kind of shopping but living in the West Midlands, it doesn't happen that often that I would go to London for pleasure. Luckily, this weekend I had an opportunity to go to London as it was my friend's birthday and this time I wanted to shop for natural and organic products. After a bit of research I found Whole Foods Market in Kensington which has also natural health and beauty section, which I was really interested in visiting. At first I thought I am visiting some big whole foods market in London, which I imagined there would be plenty of. Then I learnt Whole Foods Market is a company! Who are Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market is the world's leader in natural and organic foods with more than 360 stores in North America and UK. Their mission is to "seek out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture." In London you can find 6 Whole Foods Market stores with the one in Kensington the biggest in the UK, but not only in the UK, it's also the largest Whole Foods Market in the world! So definitely worth a visit! In the UK you can find Whole Foods Market also in Glasgow and Gloucestershire. @BIHYHFO Our stores vary in size. Have you visited #wfmkensington? It's the largest WFM in the world - you'd love it ;p — Whole Foods London (@WFMLondon) March 30, 2014 My shopping experience at the Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market High Street Kensington was very easy to find located only a short walk from High St Kensington tube station. Upon entering I quickly realised the place is huge with different sections on different floors. The health and beauty section which I was interested in was easily found on the lower ground floor. As soon as I entered the section I was overwhelmed with the choice of products and brands. I've never been to a health store before which would stock so many natural and health products. I could find all kind of natural supplements and a wide variety of shampoos, conditioners, creams and cosmetics. However, looking at a make up section left me a bit disappointed. They didn't have a mineral foundation which I was after, which shows that online shopping may be still better for this kind of products. If you don't know what brand you are after, then you could be there for hours reading labels, trying to decide which product would be the best. Even finding a particular type of a product such as toner could be a challenge if you haven't been there before. Luckily, there are always friendly sales staff hovering around and offering to help. I spoke to one of them as I was after a higher dose natural vitamin C supplement. She quickly pointed out the options I had and I quickly learnt she had some nutrition qualification. She was very helpful giving me advice on some other supplements as well. At the end I decided to go for Pukka's Natural Vitamin C which was also on sale - normally it cost around £13 but I bought it for £10. What's worth pointing out is that they also have an information point where you can search for information you need yourself. One of the things which was on my list of things to buy was a natural deodorant. There was a big choice of natural deodorants and it took me a bit of time to consider them all, smelling them and reading ingredients. There was lots of scent free deodorants but I wanted a bit of fragrance. At the end I decided to go for Lavera Organic Body Spa Orange Feeling Gentle Deodorant Roll-On which had a lovely smell of oranges. I also bought a bottle of my favourite conditioner Faith in Nature - Ginkgo Biloba, which is great for naturally blonde hair as it slightly lightens them. While browsing different sections, I came across Epsom salts which I've heard of before but never tried, so I decided to put that in my basket as well. As I injured my knee recently I thought I would give it a try and see if it helps to help my knee heal faster. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to stay in the store much longer, so I just quickly checked the food section, mainly interested in the organic green teas they sell. I found a good deal: 25 bags of organic green tea for £1.09 so I stocked up on these. There were other sections to explore such as bakery and fruits & veg but I had to find my way to checkouts. With no time to eat in the food hall upstairs I just had a quick green tea with friends and then started my journey back to West Midlands. The verdict Overall, I had a very pleasant shopping experience, but it could help if there was a notice on the lower ground floor to say that all the checkouts were upstairs. Or maybe I just missed it! I was very impressed with the range of products they offer and I look forward to coming back and do more shopping, but also I want to explore the food hall and experience some food they offer. It's a great place to shop and I highly recommend it. Have you been to any health stores which you recommend?

Whole Foods Market – A must go health store