Hi, I'm Ruth, the owner of Health Defence Organics (the old 'Bushwacker'!!) a local independent 'Not-for-Profit' Health Store in Hammersmith. This site has housed an independent Health Food Shop for over 40 years!
Unfortunately, the cost of living, the energy crisis, and rising costs have seriously impacted our ability to meet our running costs, and although many customers depend on us to support their health needs and champion their health journey, sadly we may have to close, as we are no longer able to meet our financial commitments.
Can you help us????
We don't see ourselves as just a 'shop'. We see ourselves as a service for the community, here to support you and educate you on using whole and organic foods & herbs, and the prudent use of natural remedies and supplements so that you can take control of your health journey.
Because we want to help the community to extend their 'health-span' to fit their life-span, we've got some pretty serious goals too! We want to become a 'health-hub' in the heart of Hammersmith. We've conducted some fabulous events too:
- A Health expo where the residents of LBHF were invited to come and get their basic health checks done by qualified nurses (blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol), as well as some pampering (body massage and foot spa), face painting, and healthy cooking demonstrations!
- a 6-week Diabetes Management Course by a Senior Diabetes expert
- a 4-week Plant-based cookery course
- Seminar on the Psychology of Weight Loss by a trained therapist
- 4 week series of workshops on managing mental health issues by charity 'Mind Our Mental', so far.....
Still planned for September/October 2025:
- 'Splice, Dice & everything nice' Kimchi / Fermentation Workshop with Chef Mauro
- 'Reversing the Odds' - A true story of diabetes turnaround (type 2)
- 'Flavour from the Earth' easy Plant-based cooking demonstrations
- 'Reversing the Odds' pt2 - A true story of Prostate cancer turnaround
Our Plans for the Shop
We want to expand our community education offering, delivering a structured weekly programme of workshops, cookery demonstrations, and health seminars. These will focus on topics such as:
• Using food and herbs to manage health conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension).
• Understanding natural remedies and supplements.
• Cooking nutritious meals on a budget.
• Seasonal eating and healthy lifestyle habits.
We will also provide 1:1 individual health consultations, offering personalised guidance and practical support for people’s health journeys using food and natural remedies.
With our antiquated systems, we realise that we need to upgrade our systems and step into the 21st Century. So in parallel, we wish to develop our online presence, including e-commerce and delivery partnerships (e.g., Deliveroo), to make our products and advice more widely accessible.
We want to stick around for many years to come! But we're going to need a bit of help, and a show of love for your local health store.
As a 'not-for-profit' business, any funds you donate will go solely to keeping our business afloat by helping us to pay our bills/suppliers, but also support our redevelopment so we can meet the needs of a changing community.
Please help us to raise funds so that we can stick around, helping our community, for a lot longer!
God bless
Ruth
Organizer
Ruth Wallace
Organizer
England