Shawna Page has been a believer in organics and natural supplements for over 20 years. She buys milk in glass bottles, eats organic food, and uses natural beauty products, right down to her deodorant. “I was into organics before it was fashionable … I was taking vitamins when people thought people who took vitamins wore Birkenstocks and were into [going] naked,” says Shawna, founder and CEO of femMED, a line of all-natural supplement...

One late summer my husband came back from Tokyo snuffling and complaining. His seat mate on the plane had been deathly ill and he’d picked up something that felt like nothing he’d had before. Thom was tall and thin and rarely fell sick, but when he did it was like a tree falling in the forest — he’d crash at my feet, I’d drag him to the bedroom, heave him up on the bed, and start to fetch, carry, and comfort, which never lasted long. This time, however, he was very ill for three weeks....