Exhibit 99.1

Press Release                                Source: Natural Health Trends Corp.

Natural Health Trends Corp. Raises Approximately $17 Million in Private
Placement
Friday October 8, 8:30 am ET

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 2004--Natural Health Trends Corp. (OTC BB: NHLC
- News), an international direct-selling company, announced today that it has
sold to institutional and accredited investors units of its common stock and
common stock purchase warrants at a price of $12.595 per unit. Each unit
includes one share of common stock and one warrant exercisable for a period of 5
years at an exercise price of $12.47 per share. The net proceeds of
approximately $16 million will be used to fund the continued expansion of the
Company's multi-national operations.

Avondale Partners, LLC and Sprott Securities (USA) Limited acted as placement
agents for the offering. The Company has agreed to file a registration statement
with the Securities and Exchange Commission registering the resale of the shares
of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants, and the shares of
common stock included in the units.

Mark Woodburn, President of Natural Health Trends Corp., stated "The proceeds
from this private placement will be used to open new markets in China, Japan and
Mexico and to further our expansion in Korea and the United States. With
operations in over 30 countries, we are experienced in identifying and opening
new markets. Since we operate in only three of the top ten direct-selling
markets in the world, we intend to actively pursue several of these top selling
markets. Now that we have readily available capital, we look forward to focusing
our efforts on growth and we are very optimistic about the Company's future."

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of
an offer to buy, any of the Company's securities.

Natural Health Trends Corp. is an international direct-selling company operating
in more than 30 markets throughout Asia, North America and Eastern Europe. The
Company markets premium quality personal care products under the Lexxus brand
and markets its nutritional supplement products under the Kaire brand.
Additional information can be found on the Company's website,
www.naturalhealthtrendscorp.com, and management encourages interested parties to
register for corporate updates via e-mail on the Company's homepage.

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or
current fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other unknown
factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially
different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements which
explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider
statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends,"
"anticipates," "will," or "plans" to be uncertain and forward-looking. The
forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other
risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's
reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.



Contact:
     Natural Health Trends Corp.
     Mark Woodburn, 972-241-4080
     or
     Porter, LeVay & Rose, Inc.
     Michael Porter, President - Investor Relations
     Linda Decker, VP - Investor Relations
     Jeff Myhre, VP - Editorial
     212-564-4700



Source: Natural Health Trends Corp.