What makes a health hero?

We all need to push boundaries and ask questions in order to make a difference.

I’ll never forget the first time I went to a Natural Products Expo, the trade show that unites food, supplements, and health and beauty brands through a common goal to create better-for-people and better-for-the-planet products (the show is put on by New Hope Natural Media, the company that publishes Delicious Living). There was a certain buzz in the air, an undeniable energy. Something, dare I say, supernatural? I had never really believed in superheroes or superpowers before …

I have now been to more than a dozen of these trade shows, and the inspiration I get there, and through my work here at Delicious Living and New Hope Natural Media, continues to grow. I consider myself extremely fortunate to work in an industry that brings together so many passionate people—whether it’s a passion for health, the environment, social issues, or the concept of “conscious business” (and, in most cases, some combination).

The people who I encounter daily inspire questions: How do we define sustainability? What makes a product healthier, better, higher quality? How can we bring healthier products to more people in a more affordable way? What are some of the ways in which brands can prove to us that they’re actually walking the walk not just hopping on the bandwagon?  

But for as many answers as I get, there is also an endless stream of questions. And that, to me, is one of the most magnetic aspects of the health and natural products space. No one is ready to settle for one answer; it’s that restlessness and endless curiosity that sparks change.

Everyday heroism and inspiration

We recently asked some of those very people who inspire us to come in to the New Hope Natural Media office and talk to us about why they do what they do. The result is something raw and authentic: a video that captures why these people are committed to bringing more health to more people through school gardens, organic granola, nontoxic sunscreens, and everything in between.

We asked each of them to tell us how they are fighting their #HealthVillain and who their #HealthHero is. (I also love their candid responses in this short clip where they share their #HealthHero name.) 

Erin Stokes, a naturopathic doctor who works with MegaFood, said her #HealthVillain was inaction. TJ McIntyre of Boulder Brands said his #HealthVillain was consumer complacency. In a recent Twitter post, a Delicious Living reader and health coach shared that her #HealthHero was each of her hard-working clients.

All of these responses point to one important takeaway: We all need to push boundaries and ask questions in order to make a difference.

Since launching this video, I’ve thought even more about who my #HealthHero and #HealthVillain are—and I ask you to do the same. Please take one short minute to do one small thing: share our videos and call attention to your #HealthHero and #HealthVillain using these hashtags on Facebook and Twitter. (We will be donating $0.25 cents for each view to the Growe Foundation, which teaches kids about healthy choices from the ground up.)

So, who’s my #HealthHero? At each Expo, I've realized that not only am I seeing hundreds of #HealthHeroes taking action, but that each of those heroes represents thousands of us who are pushing for change in our own small ways. And yes, that is something superpowerful. 

"When we all do one thing together, we can change the entire system." 

            —Chef Ann Cooper, aka “The Renegade Lunch Lady”