This article first appeared in our Earth Day issue of My Green Pod Magazine, published 22 April 2024. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
My lifestyle wasn’t healthy and it took its toll; at the end of 1989 I became ill.
After spending two years on steroids I was contacted by a herbalist called Gerald Green, who taught me about wellness and guided me towards a healthy lifestyle.
I was open-minded to the change because I already had doubts about the food industry.
Someone told me that the sector is fully aware of what additives and chemicals do to the body, and that the big players are usually connected to a pharmaceutical company so that when people get ill a drug is conveniently available to ‘fix’ you.
On the advice of Gerald I went organic; not one to do things by halves, I started to grow my own vegetables and searched for organic food everywhere I went.
Thankfully organic food is extremely popular now and available for everyone, but back then it took a bit more effort.
Despite the challenges I turned my health around with a detox and a fully organic diet.
The switch to organic improved my mind, my mood and my general outlook on life. I learnt that health comes not only from what you eat but also what you put on your skin.
After years of looking for beautiful organic brands, in 2003 I started my own company – Jo Wood Organics – and we launched in 2005.
With the help of friends and family I found the right people to help me; Colette Hayden is a fantastic formulator and she understood exactly where I wanted to go with my products.
I take several different root powders and my son formulates and makes supplements from mushrooms.
We often experiment and read about herbs, roots and mushrooms together, and decided to develop a longevity supplement.
We chose to take three roots I use every day – maca root, he shou wu root and astragalus – and add three mushrooms: lion’s mane, turkey tail and reishi.
This combination boosts the whole body – and our formulation is all pure, with no fillers.
I have always loved nature and when I became an organic girl in the ‘90s I realised that, by looking after ourselves with an organic diet and organic products, we in turn create a demand for farmers to grow organically, which has the broader impact of helping to clean up our planet.
I’m proud to see this care for the environment extend inside my family, too.
My son Tyrone runs a charity called Project Zero, which cleans up our oceans, and my eldest son Jamie makes and formulates organic supplements. My daughter Leah is an ambassador to many charities that help the planet, and she frequently talks on many of the different issues surrounding sustainability.
There are lots of easy lifestyle hacks that will improve your health; as well as eating and using as much organic produce as you can, it’s important to stop eating all processed food and using manmade oils for cooking.
Buying local and from farmers’ markets will support smaller farms as well as filling your kitchen with fresh, seasonal and in many cases organic produce.
Cook as much as you can from scratch – it doesn’t need to be complicated! The fresher and more natural the ingredients, the less you need to do to them. They’ll be full of flavour and colour before you’ve even started.
When it comes to natural and organic beauty tips, coconut oil is a great makeup remover and castor oil works wonders as an anti-wrinkle moisturiser.
A final message from me? It’s simple: love our planet – be organic!
Jo Wood and Luisa Zissman swap their gas-guzzlers for a Tesla Model S – here’s what they thought.
Jo Wood and Jarvis Smith discuss what it takes to be a truly transformational leader.
’Regenerative’ is the new buzz word in food and farming – but what does it mean, and how is it different from organic?
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