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| Health & Wellness |
 Women's
Health -
What it Takes to Look Like the "Girl Next Door"By Janet Rowe of Health & Natural Lifestyles Someone once told me that basic beauty begins with the wholesome glow, tone and color...the “girl next door” type of complexion. And they were right. Beautiful glows represent good health, mirroring what is going on inside. The skin is the largest organ of the human body as it excretes (through sweat, pimples, psoriasis, eczema, etc.) and absorbs everything it is subjected to. Its health largely depends on the functionality of the inside body. Most skin problems are usually caused from toxicity internally, as seen in the blood analysis. Skin problems can be caused from hormones, allergies, nutrition, dehydration, viruses, bacteria yeast, fungus and parasites, and abuse. Several varieties of effective herbal, internal cleansing agents are available to help detoxify the body, but the bottom line is that a clear complexion starts with proper nutrition, efficient digestion, assimilation, daily elimination and plenty of water, exercise and sleep, plus sensible stress management. What goes in must come out daily, on all levels. What you eat should be digested, assimilated and eliminated within 12 to 16 hours; want you drink should be eliminated throughout the day. This cycle is even more vital with all the chemicals we consume and absorb daily. With skin being our “tell all” of the condition of our internal, physical selves, it really does make sense for us to eat clean, natural foods and use products that don’t contain chemicals or toxins. I don’t believe that moderate amounts of exposure to the sun causes as much skin cancer as the chemicals used in mosquito repellent and sun screen. Chemicals in shampoo, skin cleaners, moisturizers, wrinkle reducers, cellulite creams, toothpaste and makeup usually include at least one of the following dangers to skin, and are absorbed into the skin easily: Isopropyl Alcohol - this is a solvent denaturant (poisonous substance that changes another substance’s natural qualities). Mineral Oil - Baby oil is 100 percent mineral oil. This commonly used petroleum ingredient coats the skin just like plastic wrap, causing premature ageing and problems with the skins natural elimination. PEG - This is an abbreviation for polyethylene glycol which is used in making cleansers to dissolve oil and grease as well as thicken products. This chemical is also a potential carcinogenic. Propylene Glycol (PG) - As a “surfactant” or wetting agent and solvent, this ingredient is actually the active component in antifreeze. There is no difference between the PG used in industry and the PG used in personal care products. In fact, it is used in industry to break down protein and cellular structure which is ironically what the skin is made of! Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) - These chemicals create the suds or foam in products and stays in the body for up to five days penetrating the liver, lungs, heart, etc. Chlorine - According to Doris J. Rapp, M.D., author of Is This Your Child’s World?, exposure to chlorine in tap water, showers, pools, laundry products, cleaning agents, food processing - to name a few - can effect health by contributing to diabetes, asthma, hay fever, anemia, bronchitis, circulatory collapse, mouth, nose, throat, lung, skin, stomach and heart disease, high blood pressure, and so on. It is also a possible cause of cancer. Even though you will not see Chlorine on personal care product labels, it is important for you to be aware of the need to protect your skin when bathing and washing your hair. DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (monoethanolamine) & TEA (triethanolamine) - DEA and MEA are usually listed on the ingredient label in conjunction with the compound being neutralized. Thus look for names like Cocamide DEA or MEA, Lauramide DEA, etc. These are hormone disrupting chemicals and are known to form cancer causing nitrates and nitrosamines. FD & C Color Pigments - Debra Lynn Dadd says in Home Safe Home, “Colors that can be used in foods, drugs and cosmetics are made from coal tar. There is a great deal of controversy about this because animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic.” Fragrance - Many of the compounds in fragrance are carcinogenic or otherwise toxic. Fragrance on a label can indicate the presence of up to 4000 separate ingredients; most - or all of them - are synthetic. Imidazolidinyl Urea & DMDM Hydantoin - These are just two of the many preservatives that release formaldehyde (formaldehyde-donors). For more information on these chemicals, please contact my clinic for a handout. What this list suggests is the above chemicals reside in 90 percent of the cleaners we use on our skin, teeth and hair, and are detrimental to our health. We need to read labels and make lifestyle changes to have a healthy body and consequently, healthy skin. Keep your exterior cleanliness simple. Dry brush, wash and moisturize with as natural a product as possible. Avoid using makeup, shampoos, and moisturizers with the above chemicals. This is still difficult when it comes to make-up, but more natural alternatives are showing up on the market everyday. Also, for your health now and the look of your skin in the future, do your research before doing unnatural things like botox, tattoos, chemical peels and piercing. Your skin is connected to the rest of your body through meridians and pressure points, so think twice. For the inside of your body, detoxify daily with a greens herbal drink, eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, essential fatty acids, fiber and water. And remember to stress relief and exercise. With a little knowledge and more conscious choices, you too can look like the “girl next door”...naturally! Janet Rowe, owner of Health & Natural Lifestyles Inc., offers Live & Dried Blood Analysis & a variety of therapies & therapeutic supplements. Call 403.212.6077 or visit www.healthy-option.com |