I'm pretty sure I've already reviewed this place, but perhaps that was in a former life? Anyway,…read moreNapiers is a bit of an institution and has been here for what seems like forever. I mostly visit just to buy stuff like vitamins and herbal toothpaste in the shop, but there is also a dispensary side to the business, where their extremely qualified herbalists will fix you up with a suitable herbal remedy for whatever ailment you are suffering from. It's also surprisingly good for little gift boxes and other goodies, especially around the festive season. But overall, it's just a really nice friendly place to pop in for a browse and a chat, the staff are always helpful and approachable.

I well love this little place. Not one of my usual haunts (a pint of cider counts as one of your…read morefive a day, right?) but on occasion a place I'll pop into for a nosey. Or to kick start a week long (and only week long) health binge. It looks slightly dilapidated (just up my street) and surprisingly has quite a bit of character even though it does look like a Holland and Barret's reject. And, with me being a H & B reject is a good sign. Needless to say, they stock similar health food, supplement and remedy stuff in here. Though, it's got a more homely, relaxed feel about it. This is heightened by warm, friendly staff who could easily have you walking out of here with armfuls of stuff that you seemed to really need at the time. I don't know if it's just me but when entering a place like this the usual 'How are you?' question can take on a whole new meaning. For instance: "Hello and how are you?" "Oh good thanks. Well, a little tired what would you recommend?" "blah blah blah (hands over pills)" "Great. (pause) Oh and what about for healthy hair, skin and teeth..?" You can see how it goes. I suddenly turn into the walking dead and convince myself that something must be done about it. Anyhoo, this is a lovely, local little place which completely tops H & B. So if you're looking to get healthy or maintain your health with all sorts of herbal remedies give this place a go.

The West End's answer to Holland and Barret, Natural Balance offers an independent alternative for…read moreall your health foods and natural remedies etc. As far as these type of shops go this one is pretty half decent, with a full range of all your healthy type stuff, reasonably priced and a bunch of pretty helpful staff. Its location is pretty good as well if you live in the West End and don't fancy the trek into town to H & B's. A full bloodied bean sprouted st.john wortian thumbs up from me.

My go to for those little healthy bits and pieces you just can't find in mainstream grocery stores…read more Theres a good selection of just about any health food you can think of for a reasonable price. I know some of my fellow reviewers might note it's pricey, but I think you pay for what you get. High end and (usually) organic healthy food. Also good for herbs and spices, some fresh foods and buying in bulk. I love the layout of the store and whilst it's quite small, it's easy to navigate by section and I could spend hours going up and down discovering new foods to cook with. Helpful and friendly service too.

A review a long time in the making! Sorry Real Foods; I've been so busy meandering through your…read moreaisles and going home and making healthy delights, that I haven't had time to write a review! This place is an absolute Aladdin's cave of healthy ingredients. Yes, INGREDIENTS! Many health food stores sell healthy food products (and there are those here as well), but Real Foods has all the raw ingredients you could ever need to make healthy foods at home. That means you can tailor the recipes to fit your eating needs - without having to read labels and pay a premium for someone else to prepare and package the foods. So, if you've bought that healthy 'Raw, Vegan or the lastest Superfood cookbook and need to 'google' half the ingredients - don't worry; they'll be here! You may need to do some searching up and down the narrow aisles; sucking in your tummy as you squeeze past other shoppers - but it's all part of the fun - and if that's not your thing - go online and place an order - they even deliver! Some of my top tips: -most ingredients (such as nuts, seeds, dried fruit) have a regular or organic option - organic labels are green -The Real Food packaged goods come in small, medium an large packs. The price per kilo usually is less for the bigger packs - so if you know you'll use it up - go for the bigger bags -If you love coconut oil - look out for their 2 for £10 special on organic coconut oil! -Missed the Saturday market at Castle Terrace? Real Foods gets their organic veg from the same farmers - available all week long! -also great place to get herbal tea, healthy toiletries, eco friendly cleaning products, supplements, organic wine and beer. There is also a smaller Real Foods near Tollcross.

What an amazing little shop!…read more I've never noticed this shop and had never heard of it until recently. Nipped in today on my lunch break to check if they had nutritional yeast and ended up leaving with a bag full of goodies. They stock things you wouldn't normally see in other health shops, things you would have to buy online normally. The prices are pretty reasonable considering. I've never seen such a massive selection of vegan chocolate and sweets. Impressive! Also managed to pick up some vegan chipotle mayo and vegan garlic mayo. Delighted! There's a shelf with some great offers on at the moment; organic beans, peanut butter, chickpeas. Good selection of meat and milk alternatives in the fridge, as well as dairy free milk alternatives, natural energy juices and other cool stuff. Hair products, bath and shower products, vitamins and loads of other beauty and personal care items on offer too. They have freshly made giant samosas (vegan friendly) at the till for 99p. Bought one to try and it was so delicious. The folk serving really couldn't have been any nicer, they even gave me a handful of free tea samples. How lovely! Can see me being a regular customer in here. Best customer service and shopping experience I've had in a long time.

It always used to bother me that the man who worked here looked so unwell. I would not usually…read morecomment unfavourably on someone's appearance, especially when it looks medical, but it bothers me in a health food shop. Perhaps that is petty. Mostly, I pick up fancy teas from here. I am not quite brave enough to dive too deeply into herbal cures without a guide, so I miss the rows of various health-promising mixtures, opting for herbal teas and the odd aromatherapy oil. They stock the wonderful Celestial Seasonings range, so this used to be a regular stop on the way home from work.

Having grown up with a hippy mother and thus being no stranger to what is referred to as…read morealternative remedies i have been a customer of this place for a number of years now. Offering herbal remedies for everything ranging from a bruised leg to flu, this place is a welcome tonic to the "take this pill and it'll all be fine" approach of your local GP. In addition to the herbal stuff, you can also get a wide range of massages in this place, from relaxing and calming treatments to deep tissue sports orientated ones. Got one of Dem sports massages a few years ago after caputing my shoulder via a combination of roof work and mountain bike madness. The results were nothing short of amazing. This place also does some interesting herbal and natural products ranging from lip bam to toothpaste and deodorants. It also does candles and other nice smelling type items. A visit here always leaves you feeling a little more refreshed than you were when you walked in. Add this to the friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff and you have an ideal experience awaiting you

I was in pain again. My darn shoulder & neck playing up and giving me gip (as my Mum would say). I…read moreknow when it gets to this stage rather than swally a load of painkillers all the time what I really need is a GOOD massage. The kind that makes you go 'Ah yeeeaaaaaaaah....' I usually go to Karada Massage in High Street but I fear they may have closed down :( I could not access their website or phone them. *sob* So I needed a back up fast. I read on this here Yelp that WH were pretty good & also a friend of mine recommended them. I was so in need of relief (steady!) I phoned & made an appointment for that day. Got one luckily no bother. Brilliant. I wasn't sure exactly what type of massage to get (as they really do so many various kinds) so I explained to the nice lady on the phone & she said I could discuss my requirements on arrival with my therapist. My therapist was Isabel and she was very nice indeed. I explained to her my pain & she asked a few (relevant) questions & then said she would cater the massage to my needs ~ this being a back, shoulder, neck & face/head massage. Lovely job. I could not wait. My massage was for an hour and it was so so good. A wee bit sore at times but it was necessary as I was really knotted up & as tense as a very tense thing (apparently). She was very thorough and she did indeed massage all parts necessary, including my face which was so nice BUT as I didn't know I was getting a facial I had on my usual make-up which by the end of the massage, of course, ended up smudged all over my face! Ha ha! Oh dear...luckily they have a wee bathroom (with lovely smelling hand soap!) you can 'fix' yourself in after or else I would've scared the people of Woodlands with my mental clown face. Again. Doh. My particular massage treatment was £40 which you might think is a bit steep but for how much it helped me & how well it was catered to my needs I thought it was fair. Their website has a handy price-list so you can check how much your treatment should be before you go and check at what days/times they are available. Isabel recommended I come again in 2 weeks time (Yes, it was THAT bad!) and I did and again it was brilliant. She suggested monthly massages to me & I am actually really up for it as I am one of these people that really needs a good massage regularly. If only I was richer! Another really good thing about WH is that they stay open late on a Wednesday (and other evenings too), until 8pm I believe. This is great if you work 9-5pm. I also like the wee shop they have in here ~ lots of vitamins & herbal treatments/goodies, food/snack things & other stuffs. I just love the smell of this place as soon as you walk in...Mmmm! Herbs!

Fantastic waitstaff! Vegan breakfast was great! Loved the sausages and beans and sourdough. The…read morehuevos rancheros were good too.

Definitely one of my favourite place to go in the west end, also because it was right in front of…read morewhere I lived. I really enjoyed their food, always fresh, warm and tasty. By I mean tasty, they put some twists into the dishes, they would add some different species. However, I was never disappointed, not even once. I sometimes go to buy bread from them, also quite good, always fresh too. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars: depending who's behind the counter, the service highly varies. Sometimes it's the really nice and courteous girl who brights up my day, but sometimes I get unlucky with some person without a smile :(

Even stepping foot into this place makes me feel healthy enough to justify cake for supper…read more I'm not going to lie - i'm not a healthy eater. But hailing from the city of all things organic (Vancouver), I like to play the part that I am. Somehow, having an open bag of chia seeds in the house, that I occasionally remember to throw into smoothies when I occasionally remember to MAKE smoothies, makes me feel less guilty about eating Corn Flakes for dinner while I'm slogging through emails. This makes me an adult right? That doesn't mean that the act of buying a meal that doesn't look like it was constructed by a five year old, doesn't tickle my fancy - I love nothing more then following up a Corn Flakeian dinner with a good ol' fashioned organic almond yogurt. Life is about the balance. I also have a deep seeded belief in only using biodegradable and clean house hold products. So when i'm not doing the best in my personal well being - at least i'm looking after the planet as a whole. This place ticks off a few major factors in my strange collaborative idea of "healthy living". First off, it stocks an impressive array of house hold items and is one of the first places i've found that carries multiple lines of personal care items - from Burts Bees to good for ya toothpaste - it was a one stop shop for both my washroom & under the sink. Secondly - it stocks pretty much everything you need to justify future unhealthy meals. From organic quinoa to virgin, cold pressed coconut oil, it's simply screaming: look how healthy you are?! Why yes, you can eat ice cream for dinner! But as many a person as said - living healthy (or in my case, buying excuses) can be pricey. What I will note, is as a newly landed expat, this place IS cheaper than the haunts back home and for that i'm thankful, but compared to the digs you can pick up elsewhere - yes, it's going to cost you an extra dollar. My tip if you fear the price tag? This funky little blue and green ball we're living on needs all the help it can get. If you can't stomach the whole nine yards of good food organic, pare it down. Spend the extra £1 for your dish soap, laundry & shampoo and keep the nasty stuff out of the drains. Then stock up on the hard to find items, or the ones you use frequently and leave the bits & bobs for a cheaper place. Nothing is better than proper, virgin, organic, cold pressed olive oil. Nothing. Will definitely be popping in here time to time to stock up on the must haves. If I could track down a spot to buy E3Live in town, i'd have all my cake justifying staples back in place.

Real Foods is a fab store to shop at if you want to eat natural and ethically sourced products…read more They sell everything under the one roof - absolutely amazing! Situated just off from the busy Lothian Road, Real Foods is just a short walk from the city centre so it is a convenient place to reach. The quality of the food is always top notch and the fruit and veg are always fresh - there is no out of date food sold here. Real Foods sell lots of health foods such as a huge range of different dried fruits and pulses. There is also a vitamin area in the shop which sells every vitamin and mineral required to cure any ailment , as well as a range of herbal remedies. The staff are incredibly friendly and are knowledgeable about the stores products so you feel quite at ease with them over asking which remedy does what. Real foods also has a section in its shop selling natural beauty products, soaps, shampoos etc. I love the mascara which they sell here as it is nice and cheap at around four pounds and makes my eyelashes look super long. Real Foods is a fantastic shop which sells a vast range of amazing tasting food, and best of all the food is healthy! What more could you want?!!

I woke up at 6.30am in Dublin with a killer hangover after a night of excess and burgers, and I…read moreknew I needed to get my diet back on track when I returned to Glasgow. I emailed The Yoga Kitchen with an email along the lines of "SAVE ME!" and waited for their reply. So what is The Yoga Kitchen? As Lucy B has explained, they do home cooked meals delivered to your door on a Monday night. For one person it's £50 (depending on where you live, you might have to pay a delivery fee, and you pay a £5 deposit for the tupperware containers) and that gets you around 3-4 days worth of meals. The food is vegan/vegetarian and they will also take into account any dietary requirements you have, like gluten free. The menu arrives by email on the Monday with all preparation instructions (everything I've had has been super basic, like reheating on the stove/microwave or in the oven for less than 15 minutes) and they will text you to let you know what time they'll be at your door. I've found their communication to be amazing, especially when I've asked questions about the food ("what is this magical bar of deliciousness?" - re: a protein bar they included in my first order!). But the real question is, what's the food like? I'm not a super-fussy eater but of course there are things I don't like. Black beans, chickpeas, squash ... just to name a few. Last week I had black bean and mushroom burgers for dinner on the first night and they were amazing - seriously meaty tasting and delicious. There goes my theory I didn't like black beans. Last night I had a veggie curry with chickpeas and squash, and again, I really loved it. The food lasts well in the fridge and I find it really handy having delicious, fresh, nutritious food on hand to eat when I'm a bit short on time (and motivation) to cook for myself. I've also found the meals can actually feed two people, so the cost isn't really too bad. I've tended to split the dishes up for lunches and dinner and found that each portion is really generous, and if you can be bothered adding in your own sides (like rice) then it'll go even further. I love that The Yoga Kitchen exists, and really appreciate how good it is to get delicious food delivered to my door. It's like takeaway, but guilt-free! Amazing.

The Yoga Kitchen do all sorts of cool things. Yoga being the obvious one, but this review is for…read morethe vegetarian and vegan catering service. The really unique service they provide is a weekly home meal delivery service. They deliver awesome, super healthy, and delicious food straight to your door. Normally, there's at least 5 or 6 different items, designed to provide around 3 - 4 days worth of healthy dinners. For example, this week I have received a spinach and asparagus soup, a fennell and coconut tart, a sweet potato and pepper dal, a cannelllini bean salad and a pea, mint, almond and chilli dip. Oh and a wee extra of sweet chilli jam, because they know I love it! The dishes are really inventive, and I would never ever bother going to this much effort if I was making things myself. They even make salad amazing, which in my opinion, is quite a feat. So i'm getting much more variety in my diet and eating more veg and salad that I normally would. They've been great about my dietary requirements too which are primarily vegan and wheat free, but there's other bits and bobs I can't eat, and they've never made a fuss about this. The ingredients are from ethically and organically sourced ingredients where possible, which I also really appreciate, as this is the sort of thing I consider when cooking for myself, and there hasn't been a single dish that I haven't enjoyed. They also catered for my 40th birthday - just a small family gathering, and everyone loved the food. Even if it was super healthy and not your usual birthday party fare! It went down really well with everyone. I'm so glad I discovered the Yoga Kitchen. Being able to rely on them to deliver food that's good for me has really freed me up from being in the kitchen so much, and I would highly recommend them.

This place is on my walk to and from uni. At both these times I'm hungry. At both these times my…read moremouth waters when I walk by the New Leaf. You see, ripe fruit's kinda hard to find in Edinburgh. I'm from Brazil. Fruit in Brazil looks like it does in photos. Big, bright and juicy. It is not the same in Scotland. Not by far. But the New Leaf sells only organic produce. And it seems that this reflects on having ripe fruit. Really delicious ripe fruit. The New Leaf doesn't only sell food, though. They also sell a range of eco-friendly detergents and cleaning supplies such as Ecoleaf. You can buy yourself some Ecoleaf washing up liquid and then go back when you've gone through it and get it re-filled for cheaper. You might even feel like you're being a good person. The possibilities are infinite. But on their food front: they get fresh bread delivered most days. They get delectable baked goods delivered from the Engine Shed on Wednesdays and Fridays, too. I got kind of addicted to this parmesan-herb-bread-twirl thing once upon a time, so I know when the deliveries happen. They also sell sun-dried tomatoes that aren't marinated and are much cheaper than buying the marinated ones. Here's a secret: marinating your own sun-dried tomatoes is dead easy. And you'll also save yourself a lotta moolah. So yeah, if you're veggie, or feel like you kind of care about the environment, stop by the New Leaf. They're always really helpful in there. Downside, of course, is that it's really pricey. But it's just as pricey as any other shop that sells organic produce.

If you have specific dietary requirements then this place is worth four stars, but if you don't…read morethen it's probably only worth three in my view. Virtually all the food is very expensive and a lot of it isn't even specialist stuff. For example, why would you buy a packet of porridge oats from here when you can buy them from somewhere else two minutes away for half the price? However, this is missing the point as all their fruit and vegetables are organic, fresh and ripe. Further, if you're lactose, wheat, gluten or anything else intolerant then it sells great, healthy alternatives to many foods for you to enjoy. If you've got specific dietary needs then this is the place. Unfortunately, it comes at a price.

Expensive but excellent quality food items. I really enjoyed the coconut milk kefir. Store man…read morewelcoming, helpful.

One thing that Edinburgh has no shortage off is health food/vitamin shops and Hanover Health Foods…read morehas rivals such as Napiers, Holland & Barratt, Jan De Vries, Julian Graves, Real Foods and countless other shops that have healthy products at top of their agenda. What makes Hanover stand out are the friendly staff who are very knowledgeable about all the products and very approachable too. So whether it's herbal teas, remedies, beauty products of organic foods you're looking for, you're in good company here.