The Origins of Nutrition World

Ed Jones (00:00)
My dad was a ⁓ chain smoker. He would drink ⁓ about five cups of coffee at breakfast, supper and lunch and put four tablespoons of sugar in each one of those cups. And a Shackley salesman came to our house that he had requested. She sits out there and she talks about the reason we are not healthy is because of foods and lack of nutrition. Keep in mind, 1969, absolutely no one spoke that language back then.

Food was to fill you up and whatever was in it didn’t matter. But there was a small tiny group that knew better and it resonated with me to a very, very deep point.

Clint Powell (00:40)
you

How you doing Ed Jones?

Ed Jones (00:48)
I’m good enough, well enough, and pretty dang good.

Clint Powell (00:51)
Wow. Again, I’ve asked that question of you for years. It’s never been the same answer. So that’s why I ask it every time. It’s like a box of chocolate. You don’t know what you’re going to get. So my name is Clint Powell, everybody. This is the new version of Nutrition World Podcast. And that’s what we’re going to call it, the Nutrition World Podcast. Again, I’m a new face, a new voice, and I am a, I handle podcasts a little differently. I’m very casual and I don’t promise, again, do not promise that we will not go down rabbit holes from time to time.

but they’ll kind of be shorter, 15 to 25 minutes, and I’m gonna be bringing in people like you, the founder of Nutrition World, which we’re gonna talk about, and other people from Nutrition World, and we’re just gonna talk stories. Now, we’re gonna be talking products and supplements and topics, because this is an educational component of what we’re gonna do, but people love stories, and they, I think especially as we get more connected through social media apps now, and we all know everybody else’s business, we like knowing stories of the people we do business with. Would you agree with that?

Ed Jones (01:48)
I used to not agree with that. totally agree with that now.

Clint Powell (01:52)
Well, you’ve seen the efforts of it on your social media. Excuse me. How many people ⁓ get engaged with that? They may not have shopped with you before, but they love the things you do in the stores or they love the things that your marketing team does up in the floor. And they’re like, Hey, well,

Ed Jones (02:06)
I

trust them. We’re hitting a million and a half views per week when you add up all the platforms.

Clint Powell (02:11)
All right, so I thought what we’d do for our first initial episode is for you to revisit the origins of Nutrition World, why you started it, when you started it. We’ll talk about a little how it’s kind of evolved and changed. And then before we leave, everybody stick around because we’re all going to talk about maybe one or two new things you’re trying because you are a guinea pig via supplements or treatments or therapies. So we’re going to add some education into it. But let’s just start foundationally. When did you start Nutrition World and why did you start Nutrition World?

Ed Jones (02:40)
The why, if there’s one moment, was in 1969. Yes. And I was born in 57. So we’re talking 10 or about 12 years old. Lived on Midland Pike here in Chattanooga. Had gone to Woodmore, gone to Dalewood, went to Brainerd as I got older. ⁓ And my dad was a ⁓ chain smoker. He would drink ⁓ about five cups of coffee at breakfast, supper, and lunch and put four tablespoons of sugar in each one of those cups.

and a shackly salesman came to our house that he had requested. She sits out there and she talks about the reason we are not healthy is because of foods and lack of nutrition. Keep in mind, 1969, absolutely no one spoke that language back then. Food was to fill you up and whatever was in it didn’t matter. But there was a small tiny group that knew better. And it resonated with me to a very, very deep point.

because I had questioned, remember questioning, why do people die early? Dad, why did this person have lung cancer? Why did this happen? Well, I don’t know. We don’t know. They just did. Well, I just felt like there were answers. And that connection between the power of food, the power of nutrients ⁓ clicked in me. And at that moment, we used to eat at Morrison’s cafeteria in East Cape Mall. It was just my dad and I. He raised me. And every single Sunday, I’d go to Eckerd’s on the very far end.

He had to go do his business, number two business. He always had to in Eckert’s. I still remember the bathroom was about this big and your face was at the door and it would take him 30 minutes. No, they don’t. And what would I do? I wore the pharmacist out. I picked up as many bottles and said, what does vitamin B6 do? Why is it called by pyrodoxine? Tell me more. And they were very nice to me. And that’s how it all started.

Clint Powell (04:19)
This is not the rabbit hole people wanted.

And so fast forward, what year, excuse me, what year did you decide to start?

Ed Jones (04:42)
1979, it opened on four squares mall 1200 Mountain Creek Road. It had doomed itself because of the location. There was no hope because it was not in the flow of everything in Chattanooga. was no drive-by traffic. wasn’t any. And we would go an hour to two with and before we would see a customer. And I always remember being at Eckerd’s when my manager only had one employee called her the manager, Anita Davis. And she ⁓

We had called in, in. didn’t have cell phones, of course, not even beepers. And called and she was so excited because we finally broke $200 one day. you know, well, the ones that were the most popular were Weeder, Weeder athletic proteins.

Clint Powell (05:15)
So you owned it and were calling in to check it.

were first products you carried? I’ve never asked you that before.

Joe Weider from the bodybuilding world.

Ed Jones (05:30)
I’ve always been involved in working out. No one carried it at the time.

Clint Powell (05:35)
Not only are you off the beaten path, you’re carrying a product that not every, most people didn’t. Yeah. Well, most people don’t need them at the back in the day. ⁓ They weren’t buying bodybuilding products unless you were very, that’s a niche thing. So how long were you at that location?

Ed Jones (05:39)
No, GNC did not carry it.

there

for three years and actually opened in Highland Plaza and then opened in Brainerd Village. So I had two stores for several years, Highland Plaza. Brainerd Village got so busy, we finally just closed Highland Plaza.

Clint Powell (06:01)
So that’s where I kind of started shopping with you in the late, mid to late 80s, Brainerd Village. And that’s where you were at for a long, long time. And that’s where I met, when I started to meet, I bought products from you as a customer for a while. And then I started becoming your sales rep when I met you through some media stuff. You started carrying things like Penta Water and all of these other things, excuse me, that were, fringe. They were. But that’s okay. When did you move to this location?

Ed Jones (06:27)
about 14 years ago.

Clint Powell (06:29)
That’s a good move wasn’t it? ⁓

Ed Jones (06:30)
was the game changer move because I was paying so much of our profits to rent. And we actually had to pay commission during that time. So if we did really well, we got punished. And so the business across the street where Bud’s is now used to be Christopher’s restaurant used to long time ago was Staken ale, Staken ale. It went up for auction. And I remember being at the courthouse with my good friend, Brian Connell, and I had gotten a line of credit from Regions for

A million, I think. Well, we’re on the courthouse and it took about 30 seconds for that million to pass by. And I was so dejected. I was so sad because I knew I can never really be successful paying rent in that brand new village. And I was worried that if Office Depot leaves, I’m doomed because it was the big draw. And so I went back to the store. Three hours later, this guy calls and said, Hey, are you Ed Jones? I saw you at the auction today and I have a building for sale on Lee Highway.

Clint Powell (07:18)
foreshadowing what was going to happen.

Ed Jones (07:30)
went down the next day and looked at it. It was a Peter Drew computer place. It was so dark and dismal with ceilings. swear it was six foot high. all they were. It’s like my head almost touched it. It was like a ⁓ dungeon. And we bought it and we remodeled it. It’s been a lot of money. It’s been the best thing I ever did.

Clint Powell (07:49)
So let me ask you about that real quick. said you used to check in and you’d have a couple of customers a day. Now how many customers are you averaging a day in nutrition? That’s on an average day. Some days it goes to 450, some days you little less.

Ed Jones (07:57)
400.

But

even 10 years ago, we were only averaging 200.

Clint Powell (08:06)
Did COVID, and we won’t spend much time on this, did COVID, was it a game changer for nutritional stores, especially ones that are found foundationally involved in real science and health and doing the best to provide, not just trying to sell stuff, but actually educate the community? Was it a game changer?

Ed Jones (08:22)
I

love the word, your word foundational because there were stores and first off, you had to have courage to be in business during COVID, many businesses, but especially ours, because people who are into the knowledge and experience of the power of nutrition realize that this could be a lifesaver for them just raising vitamin D levels, using quercetin, using these things that we know help the body not over respond to COVID because the first COVID was certainly far more toxic than any other one.

And that’s just the nature of all viruses. It’s the way it develops. But yes, it was a game changer.

Clint Powell (08:55)
It changed, I think it changed the just the collective consciousness of us about our health. We were like, wait a minute, we are so much out of our control. We’re going to have to find things we can do. think vitamin D or these other things that seem simple and we’ve overlooked, you know, but we need to get back to them.

Ed Jones (09:05)
and the

And treating disease with band-aids do not work. They make you feel better, but they don’t really offer longevity.

Clint Powell (09:18)
Well, I know we’ve only got about six more minutes and I want to spend a couple of that on this on some new stuff you’re taking. But real quick, do you like being a business owner?

Ed Jones (09:26)
I think the two things that I was born to do was learn and empower others about their health from the naturopathic philosophy. And the second is entrepreneur. My dad was an entrepreneur and I used to go to all his business meetings. I love being an entrepreneur.

Clint Powell (09:43)
Well

good, because I’m going to ask you to share a failure in 60 seconds so we can get you out of here on time, 60 to 90 seconds before we move to the product side of it. ⁓ You tried to start, was it a yogurt place? And I think it’s good for people to know that everybody tries, not every, people see Nutritional World, the beautiful building, all the success, but they don’t understand that behind that success is somebody trying four other things that failed completely. Did you or did you not, Ed Jones, True or False, try to start a, was it a yogurt?

Ed Jones (10:09)
yogurt and custard express in.

Clint Powell (10:12)
See

you turn out to smile when you talk about this, how did it go?

Ed Jones (10:15)
⁓ Pretty pathetic, pretty pathetic. I worked many nights to 11 o’clock cleaning the yogurt machines. And you talking about sad, middle of winter in January and you’re trying to sell yogurt. The only reason I opened it was because TCBY had that epidemic of just everybody wanted it and they were lined up over there by the movie theaters. Well, that didn’t last very long. And I got in on going downside, which is not what you do in business.

Clint Powell (10:39)
It was a trend.

Ed Jones (10:44)
almost bankrupted me.

Clint Powell (10:46)
I’m imagining that lesson stuck in the back of your brain as you’ve made decisions moving forward, because you’re a risk taker. I am. But you look at some stuff like that and now you’ve got some metrics in the back of your head going, that’s not my lane. You stay in stuff, it’s okay to take risks inside your strengths. But when you step out of that because it’s trendy or something you think you can make work, it doesn’t always translate. Those strengths don’t translate.

Ed Jones (11:05)
My dad was great at the cemetery business and every single business he opened outside that, failed that.

Clint Powell (11:11)
All right, so let’s spend the last few minutes on this. I mentioned it and referenced it at the beginning of the podcast. You’re kind of a guinea pig. You’d always try new supplements, new therapies, new techniques from, you know, were one of the first people to talk cold plunges and infrared saunas, whether they work or not, or oxygen deprivation, whatever. Anything you’re trying now, it can be one or two products or one or two techniques or mindsets. What do you got going on right now with Ed Jones that you want people to

Ed Jones (11:37)
Well, I don’t think everybody needs to be the guinea pig. that’s why we have you. That’s why we have me. And I do it, everything I do is with an equation called risk against benefit. And I dig deep before I decide to do something. ⁓ I’m the Christopher Columbus of, you know, the green pharmacy kind of, and these kinds of lifestyles and these kind of fringe ideas that then sometimes disappear and other fringe ideas come to the mainstream.

Clint Powell (12:03)
Well, real quick, want to say this. One things I like about you, I had you and ⁓ Matt Davis and Josh Porter in on one of my personal podcasts. And I brought up some, we were talking, air quote, bio hacks at the time. And one of the reasons I asked you this question is because even then there were some things that I knew you had tried and I think even Matt and Josh had tried. But because y’all had tried them and y’all were all excited in the moment, then you came back and were like, I don’t know about that one. ⁓ The results I got were mixed.

So it’s not like you try everything and then recommend it to people. You tried and then go, you know what? It might work specifically for this type of person, but you don’t have to try it. It may not be for everybody. And I like that. So back to you, sir. What do you got going on now? Are there products or something you’re doing?

Ed Jones (12:46)
I

think the three things, I’d actually say four, rapamycin, the anti-aging drug, is prescription, we don’t sell it. Two, and I’ve been on that off and on for about four years. It slows the aging process. It’s the only drug that has across every study done, every animal, every worm, every golden retriever, shows extended lifespan, if done properly. is ⁓ the dose is the poison or the dose is the miracle.

Clint Powell (12:56)
quick was that do if you got time?

So this is why you gotta have a professional because it’s not for everybody.

Ed Jones (13:16)
I everybody, I tell a lot of people the information so they can move forward with that if they choose to. Methylene blue, I mean, that’s been an off and on. I started Methylene Blue before anybody even knew the word. It’s the oldest drug that’s been invented, 1876 it was invented, but it functions in a mitochondrial dysfunction problem and that’s what causes aging and disease is mitochondria, the engine within the cell. I have wavered between, oh, I’m taking it, it’s gonna save me, my life and my health.

to has a place in where I want to use my supplements, but I’m not doing it all the time. And I just did a podcast on it and I’m happy to be honest with people. It has a place, but is individually.

Clint Powell (13:58)
Do

you take it, you say you don’t take it all the time, do you take it on scheduled intervals or is it as needed?

Ed Jones (14:04)
At this moment, it’s as needed. is it? Well, first off, it’s not a nutrient. It’s not something you’re deficient in. It’s something you take for a reason. So if a woman has chronic UTIs, if you’re aging as far as the energy system, if you’re brain fogged, sometimes it can be fantastic. If you’re on antidepressants, you shouldn’t take it because it makes more serotonin.

Clint Powell (14:07)
What does mean as needed?

Ed Jones (14:29)
So it has a plus and a minus and the purity of the products is very important. We sell the product that I trust at this moment.

Clint Powell (14:35)
And

I’m gonna let you keep talking, but also this is why I think it’s important for people to find your team. I don’t care where you’re living, and I hope it’s nutrition-wise, but if it’s not, go find somebody educated that you can ask those questions to, because there’s a lot of people that would not have said, oh, by the way, if you’re on these antidepressants, you should not take it. People who are methylene blue on the banner ads, they run out and buy it, and they’ve not been educated. They don’t have anybody they can walk into a store or a call and go, what do y’all think?

curious enough to ask questions from the consumer so they then can direct them. So that’s why I like

Ed Jones (15:07)
And I’ve seen hundreds of these fads come and go and a few dozen stick and the other ones go away.

Clint Powell (15:12)
All right, so what are the other one or two you got you’re doing? ⁓

Ed Jones (15:15)
And I’ve heard people I trust in the conversation of where do we put nicotine? Nicotine has a place for upping the quality of how we can act and how we feel and how we can think. It has also a poisonous effect. We certainly can’t do it and to combine it with tobacco and smoke it, it’s gonna kill us earlier probably. But in a pure form, which is the form of, you know, the little packets you put in, not vaping or a patch. ⁓

what nootropic means brain, ⁓ helping the brain to think better. It is amazing. It truly is. It’s addictive if you do it more than three to four times a week. But I can tell you when you lack sleep and you have to perform and you have to do a very important podcast or you have to think clearly, or maybe in the gym you want an extra, extra kick. It’s just one of those things you put in a toolbox.

Clint Powell (16:05)
So ⁓ back to the education part of this, it’s dose dependent, right? How long you keep the pouch in your mouth. Your tolerance, because not everybody’s going to accept it the same, so don’t just throw it in there, test it out. If you have certain conditions, health conditions, this is me throwing this in there. If you’ve got a heart condition, if there’s anything going on, don’t just pop one those in there. You always talk to your doctor on these type of things. ⁓

Ed Jones (16:31)
And I’m not saying do it, you’re asking me. So I’m experimenting with that right now. Does it have a place in Edward Jones’ almost 68 year old future? And I’m making that, no, and we don’t sell nicotine. I’m just doing it because I do a lot of things. I take about 62 supplements a day. My diet is dialed in and my exercise is dialed in.

Clint Powell (16:41)
That’s a decision you’re making.

People, that’s way down. He used to take 99 a day because I gave him grief over it. But you’re doing good. the other guy I always compare you to is the Brent Greenfield who is on a national level and he does the same thing to his body and to his mind and his family. And he gives honest reports on how it works, what does, how you should, how you shouldn’t. Anything else before we wrap it up? Because I got one more question for you. Anything else you’re doing?

Ed Jones (17:13)
⁓ As far as doing and preparing for the bodybuilding contest that is coming up that Sean is sponsoring in July. And so I’m working out harder and trying to always find that little piece of quality strategies in regard to lifestyle. I’ve recently read something and I want to call myself this when I do consultations, what do I do? I’m actually a cellular mechanic. I like that word because the

The foundation of health is at the cell level. It’s not at the big picture. It’s not the liver level. It’s not at the brain level. It’s not at the cholesterol level. It’s actually at the cell level. And to do that, you can’t be medically trained because they will not teach that kind of philosophy. Medically trained is when you have an accident or you have a heart attack. That’s where you want those heroes. But those people are not going to help you in setting up a plan for graceful aging and for strong existence in this life.

Clint Powell (18:12)
Well, I think it’s important to have team members that help you with your sickness and your wellness. Right, you know, I need hammers and screwdrivers in my toolbox. If only I have a hammer, then everything better be a nail, because that’s the only thing I can do. So that’s why I’m like, I’ve always liked your approach to this is like, don’t, you should have medical people in your world. They’re fantastic. Have these other people in your world. Do your own research, you know. So I love that part. Here’s my last question, Fred Jones. Do you still sell pinto water?

Ed Jones (18:15)
Bingo.

I sell it, I drink it, and I love it. It’s a water that, and you know the history. How long ago was this?

Clint Powell (18:45)
It’s got to be at least 30 or 25 years ago. Easy. Yeah, because you started carrying Penta Water because you’re a Brainerd village. And I was like, here’s just so everybody knows. And I was your sales rep. And I come back to the station. like, we’re going to start. I’ve got this new advertiser. He’s only spent money on cable. But he’s got this thing called Penta Water. And they’re like, what is this? I have no idea. None.

Ed Jones (18:49)
25 years, I’d say.

Clint Powell (19:08)
some sort of fancy magical water. And they’re like, it’s water? I’m like, yeah. And then I started researching it with you and realized that there’s some legitimacy to it. And here all these years later, you’re still carrying it.

Ed Jones (19:19)
And here I’m doing hydrogen water. Now it’s an experiment also, but penta water is a structured water where it actually, under a microscope, it would look different than a regular H2O. It’s actually slippery water. If you pour out penta on a table, it will be flat where a regular tap water will be a big bubble. That’s because it’s so slippery. What it does is gets into the cell. That’s the only reason it has an advantage. Exactly. And most water flows off like it would on a dam and it’s flowing over.

Clint Powell (19:40)
So you’re going to

Ed Jones (19:46)
We don’t want it to flow over, which is going down the toilet. We want it to get in the cells again. I remember many years ago, I had too much to drink one day at the convention, at one of the conventions in Orlando. And I told the guy at the Penta booth, who actually was the owner, I I said, I cannot, I don’t know if you know this, but I drank too much, which is rare. I don’t do that. But I did that night. And I said, I drank Penta water and I have.

And normally I’d feel bad the next day. said, I feel like a million dollars. He said, no, this the number one comment we get from Pinto Water because most things you feel bad has to do with dehydration.

Clint Powell (20:21)
eat

poorly, lack of sleep maybe because you’ve traveled, maybe you’re depleted from working out, something like that, stressed in life, all of a sudden you’ve got that extra tool in your toolbox.

Ed Jones (20:31)
And I think hydrogen might be able to do that. And the other thing is when I give blood at Bewell Labs, where we do blood testing here, if I drink that before, it makes my vein so easy for them to put that needle in. And I tell other customers who have tough times, you just drink a pint of water 30 minutes.

Clint Powell (20:47)
It’s

been a minute since I’ve had a pinto water. When I’ve got to come buy some supplements after we record this, I’m actually going to get a pinto water. I want to see how it works. I want to just maybe go get two or three of them because I haven’t had one in a while. All So these are going to be shorter podcasts with the Nutrition World label on it. And we’re to be doing stories from Nutrition World. So man, I appreciate you being on. I love the origin stories of the story of the store. And thank you, Ed Jones.

Ed Jones (21:09)
Thank you Clint Powell.