Founded in 1969, Swanson Health Products is the realization of one man’s dream of bringing wellness to the world. Today, Swanson Health Products carries on that dream, reaching millions of health-conscious people in the United States and around the world. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries millions of immigrants from around the world set sail for America and the hope of a better life. Germans, Italians, Irish and Russians headed for New York, Boston, Chicago and other large cities, while many Scandinavians settled in North Dakota and Minnesota on land that closely resembled their homesteads in Sweden and Norway. August Swanson left his home in Sweden and headed to North Dakota in the mid-1890s, making his new home in Fargo. He met and married Selma Nelson and in 1915 their son Leland was born. Raised on the plains of North Dakota, Leland grew to appreciate nature and the beauty of wheat and barley fields waving in the summer breeze. An idyllic lifestyle in North Dakota in the 1930s was interrupted in the ‘40s. Like millions of other young American men, Leland answered his country’s call to serve in World War II. Just before he left for duty in the South Pacific, Leland married Verna Nelson and looked forward to the day he would return. Leland made it through the war safely and was discharged from service in 1945. He returned to Fargo and took up life as a stockbroker, helping others invest in the new, booming future of America. Life couldn’t get much better. He and Verna started a family with sons Jay, born in 1948, and Leland, Jr. (Lee), born in 1951. Golf was a passion for Leland Swanson. He enjoyed playing the game and, more importantly, he enjoyed the people he met on the course. But in the late 1950s Leland noticed it was becoming more difficult to play golf. Arthritis was setting in and Leland began looking for help. While local doctors were treating him, Leland wasn’t getting much relief and his focus turned to the study of health. Leland began reading everything he could get his hands on that had anything to do with arthritis and health in general. He immersed himself in the writings of Paul Bragg and Adelle Davis, early pioneers in the natural health movement. Paul Bragg is often called the “father of the health movement.” A dynamic crusader for worldwide health and fitness, Bragg created the first health foods and products; opened the first health food store and spa in America; pioneered health lectures across the country; introduced juice therapy in America and much more. He changed the lives of millions worldwide in all walks of life with his Bragg Health Crusades, books, radio and TV appearances. Referred to as the “first lady of nutrition,” Adelle Davis was one of the country’s best-known nutritionists. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and took postgraduate work at Columbia University and the University of California at Los Angeles before receiving her Master of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of Southern California Medical School. She later worked as a consulting nutritionist with physicians at the Alameda County Health Clinic and the William E. Branch Clinic in Hollywood as well as seeing patients referred to her by numerous specialists. After planning individual diets for more than 20,000 people suffering from almost every known disease, Adelle Davis gave up consulting work to devote her time to her family, lecturing and writing. She was the author of four best-selling books, Let’s Cook it Right, Let’s Have Healthy Children, Let’s Get Well and Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit. Leland read books, attended health lectures and loved to talk about health with anyone who would listen. He began taking nutritional supplements, beginning with vitamin E that he ordered from Sturdees, one of the first health supplement outlets in the country. As his knowledge of nutrition expanded, Leland took more and varied nutritional supplements, seeking to focus on overall health. By 1968 he was ordering quite a variety and he began to think about ordering by bulk to keep up his supply of supplements. He also thought it would be great if he could share his newfound support system with others. He ordered 5,000 vitamin E capsules from a manufacturer in Ohio, purchased an advertisement in Capper’s Weekly Magazine and began selling supplements through the mail. It didn’t take long before Leland ordered other nutritional supplements for resale and put together a small catalog that he mailed to potential customers. Swanson Health Products was born.

Address: P.O. Box 2803 Fargo, ND 58108-2803
Telephone: 1-800-824-4491
Fax: 1-800-726-7691
Website: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/