The director of Healing Rooms Ministries, in Spokane, says the organization has partnered with another nonprofit and nutritionists to create an herbal supplement they believe has its foundational roots in the diet God created for humankind.

Cal Pierce is the international director of Healing Rooms Ministries. Healing Rooms partnered with John and Cherie Calbom, who operate Post Falls nonprofit Trinity Retreat House Inc., to form for-profit Eden’s Best LLC to manufacture the supplement Genesis Superfood.

Jordin Rubin, a New York Times best-selling author, TV personality, organic farmer, and founder of several organic nutrition companies, then agreed to design the supplement after discussions with Pierce and other Healing Rooms representatives, Pierce says.

The supplement has been in production for about two months. Pierce says he’s been reaching out slowly to area and national ministries as well as groceries and supermarkets in search of retail outlets for the product.

“I believe that as spiritual leaders we have a responsibility to help people walk in good health,” says Pierce in the Healing Room Ministries offices at 112 E. First, just east of downtown Spokane.

From warehouse space Healing Rooms maintains at the building complex on First, the product is available for purchase online and shipped from that location, Pierce says.

The ingredients used in Genesis Superfood include acai, alfalfa, an herb called ashwagandha, ginger, turmeric, and watercress. The supplement is flavored with cinnamon, lavender, organic peppermint, spearmint, stevia, and thyme. A hint of chili pepper—which the makers say improves circulation—also is included in the supplement.

Studies suggest a combination of these ingredients can boost the immune system, increase energy levels, are high in antioxidants, and have the potential to improve digestion, says Cherie Calbom, a prominent nutritionist in Post Falls who is assisting Eden’s Best with marketing.

Known as ‘The Juice Lady,” Calbom appeared on infomercials in the 1990s as “The Juice Lady” and co-authored former heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman’s  “Knock-out-the-Fat Barbecue and Grilling Cookbook.” Calbom’s image appears on Genesis Superfood containers.

She’s also authored “The Juice Lady’s Turbo Diet,” “The Big Book of Juices and Green Smoothies,” “Sugar Knockout,” and her latest, “The Guide to Fasting,” released this month.

Her husband, John Calbom, is a Russian Orthodox priest with degrees in theology and psychology who also works as an inspirational speaker, and certified cardio-biofeedback trainer.

Healing Rooms ministers to those who are homeless and low-income here and its more than 3,200 locations in the U.S. and around the world. It currently employs 35 people here, full and part time, and has 110 trained volunteers.

“Healing Ministries occupies two buildings with a total of about 40,000 square feet of space at the address on First Avenue that include offices and meeting rooms, the warehouse, a thrift store, a book store, a café, and an auditorium, Pierce says.

Pierce and Calbom are negotiating with Rosauers Supermarkets Inc. about carrying Genesis Superfood in the Huckleberry’s Natural Market, which is located at 926 S. Monroe on the South Hill and is owned by Rosauers. The supermarket chain has nine Spokane-area stores, including Huckleberry’s.

Eden’s Best also is using its contacts in the ministry and in the nutrition industry to market the product nationally, Pierce says.

A powdered, eight-ounce container of Genesis Superfood good for 30 servings carries a suggested retail price of $49.95, and a month’s supply in capsule form lists for $44.95, says the company’s website.

Genesis Superfood is designed to provide users with additional nutrients and is intended to be taken as a supplement with regular meals. The premise of Genesis Superfood centers on Bible passage, Genesis 1:29, in which God says to Adam, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”

Based on that verse, Rubin contends that God’s diet for humans was to be based on perennial, seed-bearing plants. 

Pierce, 72, who operates Healing Rooms Ministries with his wife, Michelle Pierce, suffered a heart attack when he was 65 during a speaking engagement in the Netherlands. That experience, he says, transformed his lifestyle in a way he didn’t think was possible.

In the process of changing his diet and lifestyle, along the way, he says he had recurring dreams, which he believes were divine intervention, that he would one day become strong.

“I feel better now than at any point in my life. I sought out information from people like Jordin and Cherie to help me change my health,” Pierce says. “Part of my calling now is to help people improve their spiritual health through improved physical health.”