Steuart’s Natural Health Began With Teat Heal

In May 1982, Gary Steuart started making a single product in an apartment in Owatonna. The product? Teat Heal. Steuart had a friend who was an inventor who came up with the formula. Teat Heal was intended to be used on cows with sore teats. A dairy farmer decided to try it on his own badly cracked heels. Word spread that the formula worked well on people as well; soon orders were coming in for human use.

Originally, Teat Heal was a yellow color. This color was unappealing to the customers so Steuart changed it to a lighter creamy color and packaged it as Wound Cream for humans.

Many other wound products are bactericidal and inhibit healing. Steuart’s actually stimulates healing according to Gary. An essential ingredient in Wound Cream is propolis. Propolis, also known as bee glue, is a mixture honeybees create from tree sap, botanical buds and their own discharges that they use to seal and repair hive cracks and protect the colony from bacteria and viruses. Propolis and comfrey work to promote healing of wounds and infections.

In 1996-1997 Gary’s Pain Formula became his biggest single seller. The Pain Formula uses Arnica to ease inflammation and comfrey to support healing.

Gary admits to a real struggle financially for years. “I didn’t realize until COVID the level of corruption in the medical field,” he commented. Medical doctors have been skeptical of his products because they are natural products. DOs (Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine) have been more accepting. DOs are trained in a holistic philosophy that emphasizes preventative care and whole body wellness.

Steuart shared that he has one DO who uses a lot of his products. The DO has chemo patients use the Wound Cream on necrotic breast lesions.

Gary shared “Cora’s Story.” Cora was a baby born with multiple heart defects who had undergone several heart surgeries. Her heart wound had reopened; a reconstructive surgery was done, but the wound again reopened. Her only hope was granulation with healing coming from the sides of the wound. Wound Cream was applied in intensive care and proved successful in healing the wound, although Cora later passed from other complications.

Steuart had thought this would break the ice for him, but the doctors would not talk to him and never used the product again.

Gary has dealt with veterinarians a lot. He noted that vets are a lot more intuitive and willing to accept his products.

Steuart’s Natural Health products have long shelf lives. In 2014 Gary traveled to Ukraine, hoping to help soldiers in the war by getting his products to them. He flew into Kiev where he saw an article written by the mayor asking businesses to come to Kiev. Gary walked to city hall and met Mayor Vitali Klitchko. In two weeks, he had his products in the war zone. He has since hooked up with a Christian group and his products come into Ukraine custom-free.

Gary has returned to Ukraine a dozen times. He has met soldiers who told him that his Wound Cream reduced recovery time by months. Gary hopes to get more done with amputees when he next returns.

Steuart originally called his company Steuart Labs; he since has changed the name to Steuart’s Natural Health to better reflect the goal of the company to provide natural health care. The company now operates out of two buildings in Mabel and produces 35 to 40 different products.

“The first thing you need in a town is jobs,” Steuart shared. By building his company in Mabel, he knew he was contributing to the town. Steuart’s sells products online, at local grocery stores and at his store in Mabel. He shared samples of his products such as lip balm and whipped tallow skin cream at the Steam Engine Days’ parade. “I like to give something useful,” Gary explained.

In 2012, Gary purchased the old grocery store across the street. He remodeled the building and rebuilt about ⅔ of it since then. The building is used for the manufacturing of products. A total of nine people are employed in Mabel.

Gary does sales and development for the company. One of the new products is a product that works on skin cancer which contains an extract of eggplant. a compound in the product attaches to abnormal cells and kills them, but does not attach to normal cells at the same rate.

Gary’s son Ben owns and operates Steuart Nutrition, with liquid packaging plants in LeRoy and Union, Kentucky, employing 60 people. This company packages nutritional products for other companies.