What does it mean to live a Radiant Life? I sat down with company owners Norman and Kathy, and asked them to talk about their experiences with whole foods, a primal lifestyle and the creation of what has become one of the most trusted resources for ancestral living in the marketplace today. What I discovered was more than a conventional company mission or philosophy- but rather a deeply personal story about health, family and returning to the simple things in life that truly matter most. Today, I have asked them to share that story with you.
Our Story
We met many years ago while in high school. After graduating, Kathy pursued her goal of completing her Registered Nurse training in 3 years while Norman completed college with a degree is chemistry. We married the summer after graduating and eventually had two wonderful children and have lived happily together since.
Norman would go on to complete his MBA and pursue a successful executive career in corporate finance within both the automotive and high tech industries and eventually self-employment and entrepreneurship. After working as a nurse, Kathy took on the most important job as a stay at home Mom raising our two beautiful children, Kaitlin and Greg.
We always took care of our health or at least tried to do our best by limiting bad habits, eating what we were told was healthy while staying strong, fit and trim. Norman coached across multiple sports for many years from youth football and little league baseball to high school varsity soccer. Kathy was involved in our community with PTA and organizing cultural enrichment pursuits for the children of our town. Life was good.
And then one frightful day, Kathy almost didn’t make it out of the hospital alive. She was misdiagnosed with asthma and prescribed theophylline, a powerful respiratory medication. She had a strong reaction to the drug and battled for her life throughout the night in an emergency room with Norman at her side while two very young ones remained innocently unaware at home in the loving care of their grandmother. This near tragic event further raised our level of conscious awareness regarding health and wellness. We learned not to rely on prescription drugs and Western medicine, and to no longer let the prevailing wisdom influence our knowledge and dictate how we thought and what we did. Instead, we vowed to use good common sense and draw from traditional practices.
"From fresh produce, wild-caught seafood, and meats from 100% grass-fed and pastured animals, we believe in eating real foods and supporting the local farmers and fisherman who bring those to us."
Our passion and belief in personal responsibility and self-empowerment for health, wellness and nearly all areas of our life, now begins with nutrient dense food prepared in our kitchen from the best organic and all natural products. From fresh produce, wild-caught seafood, and meats from 100% grass-fed and pastured animals, we believe in eating real foods and supporting the local farmers and fisherman who bring those to us. Instead of relying on the food pyramid, government agencies and industry leaders about what we should eat, we have set out on our own quest to determine what was best for us.
"Our passion for health, wellness and nearly all areas of our life, begins with nutrient dense food prepared in our kitchen from the best organic and all natural products."
Our Philosophy
What began as a family pursuit of health maintenance evolved into a way of life and a desire to share a passion with others who also wanted to chart a new course. Eventually this led to the discovery of the findings of Dr. Weston Price, the evolution of Radiant Life Company and the unveiling of what we refer to as the Keys to Radiant Wellness as incorporated in our Radiant Wellness Pyramid.
"We strive to live in harmony with nature, connected to the cycles of the sun, moon and seasons."
At its foundation our pyramid of health includes the following essential ingredients:
1. Connecting with Nature
- Contact with the earth’s energy through either walking barefoot or swimming in its oceans, lakes, rivers and streams. The benefits are now well documented
- Living in harmony with nature - the cycles of the sun, moon and the seasons<
- Properly hydrating our bodies with pure water (we can live weeks without food but only a few days without water!)
- Breathing clean air (The essential nature of the air we breathe requires no further explanation)
2. Fueling the body with good and delicious, nutrient dense, real foods… no exceptions
3. Incorporating key supplements and remedies supported by solid science showing life extension and health benefits
4. Avoiding whenever possible and eliminating toxins including pharmaceuticals, processed foods, dangerous electromagnetic frequencies and other stressors
5. Being active while incorporating proper fitness, speed and strength training
6. Ensuring proper sleep, rest and recovery
7. Maintaining a Positive Attitude and being a lifelong learner...be not what you were yesterday, live a purposeful life, strive for economic stability, give back, express one’s creativity, become spiritually enlightened, laugh and enjoy the good company of friends and family
When drawn out, it looks something like this:
"Ancient wisdom for modern health"
For a printable download of the Radiant Wellness Pyramid click here
Our Products & Core Principles
At Radiant Life, we use the phrase “ancient wisdom for modern health.” This concept is woven throughout our product research and selection process. All Radiant Life products are subject to a rigorous set of testing and selection criteria before being introduced and/or represented in our catalog or website.
"All Radiant Life products are subject to a rigorous set of testing and selection criteria before being introduced to our catalog."
In particular, any and all products meant to be ingested, meet the following standards whenever possible:
- Unyielding commitment to product quality and consistency
- Fair trade practices
- Purity (higher standards than organic)
- No excipients including: fillers, lubricants, binders, coatings, flowing agents, etc.
- No preservatives
- No synthetic processes
- No Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
- No gluten
- Minimal refinement – no solvents or high temps, no bleaching, no deodorizers, no incidental production of MSG by-products
- Packaged ecologically, safely (dark bottles when necessary, opaque/dark plastic bottles are avoided)
- Can be ground shipped without physical damage or compromising quality in transit
- Can handle variations in temperature (hot and cold)
- Has adequate shelf life
- Whole food (superfood) based
- Fits into theme of native nutrition and overall wellness
Our Family
The themes expressed in our Wellness Pyramid are paramount to our core principles as a company, but perhaps more importantly, in the ways we live our day-to-day lives as individuals and as a family. We are dedicated to staying well for our own sake but also in order to maintain our deep commitment in keeping Radiant Life healthy, thriving and built to last for our customers. We prepare meals together, share new and interesting recipes, attend health conferences, sleep grounded (or earthed), walk barefoot when it is practical on the grass and beaches, have water and air purifiers in our homes, stay fit and recreate outdoors as often as possible. Our goal is to truly live a radiant life!
"We urge you to join our family as well!"
If you see us at conferences, we are there as a family as well. Our son Greg will be the one discussing a wide range of topics while helping with technical matters and customer transactions. Kaitlin, our daughter, is particularly passionate about our kit for homemade baby formula while her husband Michael is our resident expert in the area of Earthing. Kayla, Greg’s fiancée is highly knowledgeable and a gifted blogger and researcher who integrates many of our food offerings into creative, nutrient-dense and mouth watering recipes. Supporting this team are our mission critical Santa Rosa people lead by Mike and Dave who provide the important day-to-day work to ensure products get to you, our highly valued customer, in both a safe and timely manner. Our west coast operations people are a critical component of the growing Radiant Life family! We urge you to join us as well!