TIBER RIVER

Parabens...

Good afternoon all!  Boy, I've been having a bit of blog withdrawl lately.  I have been spending my days hunched over my computer, analyzing numbers and trying to creatively say the same thing in different ways.  I am working on two business plans, in addition to all the other business things on my plate and finding that my ability to put words together into a cohesive sentence is diminishing by the day.  Isn't it supposed to work the other way - the more I write, the more words I have?  Not happening for me.

Anyway, in my writings, I've been going on about the difference between Tiber River products and other products.  One distinguishing component of our products, as compared with many other body care products, are the preservatives we use.  Since I started selling my products way back in 1999, I have used Potassium sorbate instead of the parabens more commonly found in lotions, body washes, shampoos, etc.  

Parabens are a concern in products for two reasons: 1) so many people tend to react to them and 2) the uncertainty surrounding its cause/effect with breast cancer. Studies have shown parabens to be present in very low does in breast cancer tumors and while this may be the case, it has yet to be proven conclusively that they are a cause of the cancer.  According to Wikipedia, "average levels of 20 nanograms/gram of parabens have been detected in a small sample of 20 breast tumors. These findings, along with the demonstrated ability of some parabens to partially mimic estrogen, a hormone known to play a role in the development of breast cancers, have led some scientists to conclude that the presence of parabens may be associated with the occurrence of breast cancer, and to call for investigation into whether or not a causal link exists. The lead researcher of the UK study, molecular biologist Philippa Darbre, reported that the ester-bearing form of the parabens found in the tumors indicate that they came from something applied to the skin, such as an underarm deodorant, cream or body spray, and stated that the results helped to explain why up to 60% of all breast tumors are found in just one-fifth of the breast - the upper-outer quadrant, nearest the underarm. "From this research it is not possible to say whether parabens actually caused these tumors, but they may certainly be associated with the overall rise in breast cancer cases. Given that breast cancer is a large killer of women and a very high percentage of young women use underarm deodorants, I think we should be carrying out properly funded, further investigations into parabens and where they are found in the body," says Philip Harvey, an editor of the Journal of Applied Toxicology which published the research."

As I'm sure many of you know, I'm not one to jump on the "it causes cancer" bandwagon.  However, after having reviewed the studies mentioned, I can tell you I'm going to be looking VERY closely at any products I have at home to see if they contain any parabens.  Knowing so many women with breast cancer, especially younger women with no history of it in their families, I want to do my best to stay away from products that contain them.  

I think more information is needed regarding this link.  It seems to be a substantial one and hopefully, some of the money that has been raised for breast cancer will go towards narrowing down some causes of it.  I, for one, would love to know how to better protect myself.  

The good news is that companies like Tiber River are offering us all products that do not contain these types of ingredients.  You can find alumninum free deodorants, paraben free hair and body products, and even home cleaning products that reduce the amount of harmful chemicals we are exposed to.  

I wish you all a healthy week!

Three weeks in.

Good morning!  I'm back with my last picture of my beautiful nails.  It's now been three weeks and I'm off to get my nails done again by Tabitha.  I'm very excited to get a new color but must say, I have never been so enamored of my nails, ever.  As you can see, they are still wonderfully shiny, smooth and have NO chips!  You can see the growth that's happened but from far away, it's difficult to see.  With a lighter color, it's even more difficult to notice.

I will post another picture next week of my new nails, but that will be the end of my nail pictures.  I'm sure you're very disappointed but its on to bigger and better.

We had our monthly staff meeting last week and the purpose of it was to grill me on different products and ingredients.  Lanora asked the first question, one I loved and thought I'd share here.  It was - What are your top three ingredients?  I loved it because it wasn't something I'd ever considered before.

So, what are they?

1 - (and by far my all time go-to ingredient) Green Tea

I could go on and on about this ingredient but to sum it all up, it's my favourite because of its versatility.  It can do so many things, and do them well, that its an ingredient I add to many many of our products.

2 - Canola Oil

I'll let you in on a little secret - canola oil ROCKS!!  Many people do not know this, but we'll just keep it between us, right? ;o)  Canola oil contains only 7% saturated fatty acids (the ones we want to stay away from) - half the present levels in olive, soy and corn oils.  It is also characterized by a relatively high level of monounsaturated fatty acids (the good kinds that can lower cholesterol levels) and has a good balance of the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids.  While these are usually used in dietary terms, they also apply to the skin.  It is also a lighter oil and absorbs more readily into the skin, which is great for lotions because it doesn't stay on the top of the skin, making it feel greasy.  And, its produced right here in Manitoba!

3 - Orange Oil

 

Besides the fact that this oil always make me smile when I smell it, it is a powerful antibacterial agent and an amazing cleaner.  Next time you have gum residue from a price tag, try a little orange oil.  It will remove almost all stubborn sticky stuff.

I have to say that while the first two were right at the top of my head, the last one was more of a challenge.  There are so many great ingredients that I had trouble picking.  Stay tuned because as time goes on, I'll go into deeper depth about the different ingredients we use (and why).

Enjoy the day!

A word of warning....

It seems that almost every day, I receive a request for a product NOT containing a certain ingredient because someone has told someone else a horror story about it.  The latest concerns I dealt with were regarding Canola oil, cocoa butter and lavender - three fantastic, wonderful ingredients.  I really wanted to write this post to caution people about what they take at face value.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I understand how badly we all want to be healthy, make the right choices and if pregnant, do right by our unborn children.  However, every time I hear one of these stories, I'm reminded of my son who comes home from school in tears saying his friend's friend was bitten by a rabbit with rabies and had to spend the next year in the hospital.  Anyone can say anything but that doesn't make it true!

 

Today, I'm going to address the cocoa butter issue that came up last week.  A customer came into Tiber River looking for products that DID NOT contain cocoa butter because someone told her that cocoa butter could increase her child's heart rate (she's pregnant).  Naturally, she was desperate to make sure she didn't do this, however, she can rest easy.  There is an online warning that the caffeine in cocoa butter can cause the heart rate of an unborn child to increase dramatically, thereby causing an heart arrhythmia.  As I mentioned earlier, though, just because someone says its so, doesn't make it so.

Now, here are some caffeine levels of some very common food products, that are ingested orally, not via the skin, as cocoa butter would have to be.

Brewed Coffee: 120mg/cup

1 tablet analgesic (pain killer): 30 - 66mg each

Mountain Dew: 55mg/cup and a half

Brewed Tea: 48mg/cup

Chocolate Milk: 5mg/cup

In contrast, a 10g piece of pure cocoa butter will contain only 0.04g of caffeine!  And this has to be absorbed into the skin, through the placenta and to the baby.  No, of the hundreds of things you need to worry about when you are pregnant, cocoa butter is not one of them!

If I can leave you with anything, its this - PLEASE do a little research before getting too scared about things people may tell you.  And, don't just go online and read people's comments!  Remember, just because someone says it's true doesn't mean it is!!  (Have I repeated that enough,  ;o))  

Enjoy the day!

Canola Oil?

Yes!  Canola Oil.

As per your request, I will start explaining the different ingredients we use in our products.  This week, I thought I'd talk about Canola Oil.  We had a customer come in yesterday asking if we used GM (genetically modified) canola oil and it got me thinking about this wonderful oil and its many special qualities that people may not be aware of.

If you Google Canola Oil, you're likely to find many references to how bad this oil is, how it causes degenerative diseases, and so on.  You know, all the common horrifying references to supposedly bad ingredients.  However, as I have cautioned before, do not believe everything you read.

In fact, Canola oil is one of the healthiest oils available.  It is high in mono-unsaturated fats and omega 3's.  In clinical studies conducted over the past 20 years, Canola oil has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce clot formation, which in turn decreases the risk of heart disease and strokes.

We use Canola oil in almost all of our products.  Our lotions, scrubs, bar soaps and butters all contain it. It is grown and processed right here in Manitoba, thereby reducing energy costs associated with transportation.  

The question yesterday was "Do we use GM canola oil?"  The answer is yes, sort of.  You see, most of the Canola oil processed in Canada comes from GM plants.  However, that does not mean GM components can be found in the Canola oil itself.  It's kind of like our bar soaps.  We use Sodium Hydroxide to make our soaps (that's what make them a soap and not a detergent).  However, after the saponification process, no lye remains.  It is used up in the soap making process.  It is the ingredient that converts the oils and waters into soap.

To quote the Canola Council's own website, "Canola oil produced from GM plants is safe and healthy. And - canola oil itself does not contain any GM ingredients. The GM modification is made to one canola gene and it is a protein. All proteins are removed from canola oil during processing so canola oil made from GM plants is no different from conventional canola oil."

So, for us, after doing all the research, we know that Canola oil is a wonderful, useful, healthy oil that brings many special properties to anything it is used in.  For more reading, see the following links:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/canola-oil/AN01281

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/canola.asp

http://www.canolacouncil.org/canola_oil_the_truth.aspx

Anti-antibacterial.

I loved reading the got-ya's from yesterday's post.  Clever, clever boys you've got, Arlene!  I get my husband and kids every single year - I learned well from my mother, who got us every year as we were growing up.  This year, I was at a total loss of how to get anyone.  Usually, I've planned out something a few days ahead but this year, my thoughts have been elsewhere.  So, I didn't have anything to say to get my kids BUT I did have an idea to get Tom.  I had Lucas call and tell Tom he had to come home right away.  Mommy's water had broken and she needed him to come home.  Tom's heart dropped through his stomach before Lucas said "April Fool's!"  Lucas then proceeded to use the same thing on his friend Jason and my sister, who then got my mom with it.  We laughed the hardest with my sister, because Lucas told her I was 'having birth'.  This kind of opportunity comes along once in a lifetime, and I had to take full advantage of it.  I think the best part of it was seeing how much fun Lucas had with it.  He practiced what he was going to say and how he was going to say it - like my mom said, he's got fun in his heart.

Today I was looking to write something incredibly witty and entertaining (all that laughing yesterday put me in the mood) but it was to no avail.  Unlike Michelle, who only recently has experienced what I like to call 'blog-block', I have struggled many times with the written word, specifically something that is of importance to Tiber River, because I could probably go on for days talking about myself, the kids and our doings.  But to consistently find interesting Tiber talk, well, that has been much more of a challenge.  So today, I decided to bite the bullet and discuss something I know a little bit about - our products.  (WARNING: this is a l-o-n-g post!) 

We have been asked (and told) many times that antibacterial lotions, soaps and other products something we need.  I've decided to clear up exactly why we DON'T have them, nor will we ever, at least not for mass consumption.

Ten years ago, there were only a dozen or so products with antibacterial agents that were sold for home use.  Today, there are thousands.  Their purpose is to protect those with weakened immune systems from getting bacterial infections.  The antibacterial ingredients that are added to diverse household cleaning products are similar to antibiotics in many ways. When used correctly, they inhibit bacterial growth.  Also like antibiotics, however, overuse in the home can increase the resistance of the bacteria to these agents. 

We hear so much about superbugs and deadly virus's that people are searching for any kind of antibacterial product because they think these products offer health protection for them and their families. These days, you can buy anything from antibacterial window cleaner to antibacterial chopsticks. Antibacterial agents are now in plastic food storage containers in England. In Italy, antibacterial products are touted in public laundries. In the USA, you can purchase a mattress completely impregnated with an antibacterial agent. Whole bathrooms and bedrooms can be outfitted with products containing triclosan (a common antibacterial agent), including pillows, sheets, towels, and slippers.

Of course, that's going to the extreme, but it shows the extent to which people will go to 'protect' themselves from bacteria.  The sad consequence of this, though, is that these superbugs will not disappear because of these agents.  The reverse is actually what is happening.  More and more strains of bacteria are becoming resistant to these antibacterial agents.  A study done by the CDC in 2000 showed that a resistant strain of Escherichia coli (e-coli) required 100 timesmore triclosan to show even a minimal inhibition of fatty acid biosynthesis (this is how triclosan works) than a wild strain. 

Also, to directly quote the CDC paper, "Scientists are concerned that the antibacterial agents will select bacteria resistant to them and cross-resistant to antibiotics.  Moreover, if they alter a person's micorflora, they may negatively affect the normal maturation of the T helper cell response of the immune system to commensal flora antigens; this change could lead to a greater chance of allergies in children." 

I could go on and on about the dangers of overloading ourselves on anything.  As the developer of all our products, I would never knowingly contribute to something that could cause harm to either the person or the environment  (click here for a past post on soap, triclosan and the environment), and that goes double for children.  As my Dad has always told me, everything in moderation.  If you want some good protection for your children, teach them to wash their hands for at least 30 seconds, with good ol' fashioned soap.  Also, let their immune systems learn to fight.  Have you ever noticed that people who are obsessed with keeping germs and bugs away from them are actually sicker than others? 

Hair Care.

Good Morning and happy October everyone!!  I LOVE October, and not just because its my birthday month.  I love the changing season, the gorgeous colors out there, the last beautiful warm days before winter and the general feeling of nesting that I have every year at this time.  

I had to laugh when I read Michelle's post yesterday.  Honing in on my long, detailed post style, are you Michelle?!!  Ha ha!  You're right, you sounded like me with all the information you gave.

As I am working on creating our new products, I've been learning alot about hair care that I didn't know and thought I would share a few tidbits on keeping your hair healthy and strong.  Before I get into that, though, I have a quick question.  It's regarding our Rise N Shine shampoo.  It is similar to a salt scrub, but its for your hair, not your body.  It's for normal or fine hair.  We make it with seaweed and fruit juices and tons of salt.  The fruit juices make your hair shine.  The salt gives it incredible body.  (See now why we called it Rise N Shine?)  The seaweed feeds your hair, making it stronger and more resilient.  However, it does take a little getting used to.  You are, in essence, putting salt on your head (so definitely don't use this if you have sores scalp - OUCH!) and rubbing it all over your hair.

This is my question for those of you who use this shampoo - do you only use it in the summer or do you use it all year round?  We are trying to determine if we should make this a seasonal product or keep it throughout the year.  The reason we ask is because we've found it sells much more in the summer than in the winter, probably because the hair follicle can become more greasy than usual in the summer and the ingredients in this shampoo work to help erase the grease.  Let us know what you think!

Now, hair care!  We all know hair is dead, but we still work every day to make sure it looks as good as it possibly can.  In trying to figure out what makes a great shampoo, I've learned much about our hair, its composition and what is required for great hair.  

Each hair strand is made up of between 70 and 85% protein, mostly keratin.   Moisture is also an essential component of each hair strand, binding to this protein structure.  A normal, healthy hair fiber can hold up to 16% of its weight in moisture.  The amount depends on the relative humidity. The higher the relative humidity, the more water the hair is able to hold. With these things in mind, we see that much of the behaviour of the hair is determined by the relative amounts of protein and moisture thus, partially explaining why the hair may sometimes appear either dried out and brittle or soft and limp - not enough (or too much) moisture and/or not enough protein!!

Each individual strand is composed of three distinct layers which all have different functions. The cuticleor the outermost layer of the hair is made up of colorless, hard over-lapping dead cells. It acts as a protective barrier for the softer inner structure and is said to be hydrophobic or water resistant. The cuticle is the first line of defense against all forms of damage.

When the cuticle is damaged, the hair appears dull, tangles easily, and has a rough texture. The more dehydrated and heat damaged the hair cuticle, the duller and frizzier our hair looks. Hair with cuticle damage will wet easily, which means that it absorbs liquids very fast— humidity and moisture cause the hair to frizz. This can lead to further damage of the interior layers of the hair.

Moreover, as the hair gets older and longer, the cuticle layers wear away leaving hair susceptible to damage. The cuticle is extremely important to the cosmetic condition of hair not only because of its protective functions, but because it determines how the hair reflects light—its sheen or luster. It is also the only layer that we normally see or touch.

What this tells me, from a product formulation standpoint, is that I need to ensure that our shampoos, while cleaning, do not damage the cuticle, causing it to flare open at the bottom, thereby exposing the interior of the hair strand to the elements as well as causing that dull, frizzy appearance.  All our products should be made so that they will NOT damage the cuticle.  Since its dead, we cannot bring it back to life, however, we can make sure we do not alter how it lies on the hair so as to ensure hair that appears shiny, thick and full of 'life'!  In our conditioners, masks and treatments, if I make sure there is the right amount of moisture and protein for the type of hair each product is being designed for, we'll have products that will do what they are supposed to do.  Yeah!!

This was just a little aside into the goings on in product formulation.  It's a long process that involves many different stages, the first, and most important, being research!  I believe that's what makes our products stand out - we go to the 'root' (pun intended) of the topic and work our way back so that we have a complete understanding of exactly what we are trying to accomplish with our products.

Enjoy your weekend!

Misinformation

Good Monday, everyone!!  I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.  I took inventory at the store in anticipation for this morning's switch to a new POS system that will actually give us some much needed information!!  I'm SO excited to start learning more about our business and what products our customers like (and which ones they don't!).  It's very exciting!!! I also spent over 6 hours (eck, that's kinda scary!) on Saturday doing research and generally enjoying myself immensely.  I know, I know, I'm a little warped.  What can I say.....it's fun for me!! 

Anyway, my point in telling you this is that during my explorations, I came across SO much information that looked quite credible but after some digging, I saw that it wasn't.  (If you plan on reading this entire post, make sure you have a few minutes or 10 because I went on a bit here :)!)  I want to send a message out there to EVERYONE that if you are going to take information from the internet, make sure it comes from a credible source.  Case in point:

I was researching an ingredient called Cocamide DEA.  It's an ingredient that's derived from coconut oil that is useful for formulating shampoos, body wash, household cleaners etc.  Years ago, I read about some environmental damage it could do and I wanted to look up any new research.  So, I found a few links and started surfing.  I was lead to a site called Skin Deep and it's one that I normally do not check because it never had any references associated with the information it provided.  I consider this not worth my time - if I cannot check out what you are saying, I won't even consider it.  This time, however, they had some references so I perused what it had to say.  This is the link to the page I read - pretty scary isn't it.  Cancer, Known human immune system toxicant, skin irritant, etc.  This was all news to me - I have never read anything about this ingredient being shown to be an immune system toxicant or a cancer-causing agent.  Skin irritant, well, almost anything can irritate the skin, and it's important to understand concentration and application.  For instance, cinnamon is a very strong skin irritant but if it's used properly and formulated at low concentrations and in products that are rinsed off your skin instead of leave-on products, such as lotions, it does not cause irritations.  It's all in the usage type and levels.

So, when I read that something is an irritant, I don't think much about it until I'm able to look at the usage levels and product applications.  Getting back to Skin Deep, as I'm going over the page, I'm thinking this is a very dangerous ingredient and one I'm going to stay away from.  Of course, I know better, right?  I know not to trust what I see on the page without exploring so I start checking out the references they have listed.  Now this is where it gets interesting......

This is the link to the first site referenced - the National Library of Medicine HazMap.  Now, on this page, it doesn't say anything about cancer.  It does show that it could cause contact dermatitis but when you follow that link and read a bit further, it says that exposure levels are at least 4 days and may take years - you need to be in continued contact with this ingredient for at least 4 days, possibly years.  That's something to consider, but certainly not nearly as scary as what I read on the Skin Deep site.  They've extrapolated quite a bit from this little information, I think.

If you follow a few more links, you can find a page that has a few cases that mention tumors and carcinomas but it gives very scant details.  One thing I did notice is that it mentions applying up to 200mg/kg of body weight onto mice 5 times a week for 104 weeks.  It doesn't mention the concentration levels (which they should because everything, from water to salt, can be toxic to your body if you have too much of it) or how long it was left on the body.  Because a mouse only weighs around 20g, the amount they'd be applying to it's body doesn't sound like alot (it's only 4mg) however, if we translate the quantity to a 180lb human, that would mean they would be applying OVER 16kg, 5 x per week, for 104 weeks!!!  HOLY S@*#!!!

This is what I mean about usage levels - do I even have to ask if you'd use that much of one ingredient at one time??  And was it pure or diluted?  Was it rinsed off or left on?  If it was left on, for how long?  What other factors were involved?

Sites like Skin Deep, and their related references, look like they are scientific.  They look like they know what they are talking about.  However, when you go a bit further, what they are saying doesn't stand up.  I'm not saying it's not true, I'm saying they aren't showing me enough information for me to make an informed decision.

My reason for writing this is to encourage everyone NOT react to information until you know it's true.  It's far too easy for anyone to write whatever they'd like, without having to be held responsible for it's truth and veracity.  A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing and with our desire to make the correct choices, sometimes, if we take a surface glance at things, without exploring them more closely, we make end us frustrating ourselves and doing exactly what we didn't want to do in the first place - make an incorrect choice.

Misinformation abounds on the internet and it can be overwhelming and scary.  I know I've talked about this before but it comes up so much at the store, that I thought I should mention it again.  If you are interested in learning more about the ingredients that go into the products you are using, I'd look at the foods you consume, first.  While it's true that over 60% of the things your skin comes in contact with are absorbed into the body, 100% of the food ingested is absorbed into the body!  After that, if you are still going to research the different ingredients, you have an obligation to yourself to make sure the time you spend researching produces you correct information. 

(Sorry for the rambling but I'm finding I have to explain this more and more at the store and I needed to put it all out there!)

Ok, rant done.  Have a great week, everyone!!

Go Green and Phosphate Free!

Good Thursday to everyone!!

First, I have to give a great big THANK YOU to our extremely talented designer Kal who gave this blog a spring makeover last week.  We love it and it's very fitting, don't you think?

In keeping with the green theme, I briefly outlined this morning's post last week.  I knew I'd be busy this morning so I was trying to be extra efficient and get it done when I had some free time.  Well, I did that and then was so focused on my work this morning, that I forgot all about the blog!  Too much of a good thing, I think.  Ahh, balance......

Ok, on to the post!  This week I thought I'd talk about some things that have been coming up at the store and in conversations lately.  As consumers, we tend to hear alot of words and maybe understand that these words are bad but not fully understand what they are or why they are bad.  For instance, PHOSPHATES.  What do you actually know about these things?  Do you know WHY so many products and companies are touting their products as being Phosphate free?  I realized after talking with Colleen, one of our team members, that just saying "Phosphate Free" doesn't mean a whole lot if people don't get the importance of it.  So, today I'm going to give you a little (well, maybe not quite so little :o)!) lesson on phosphates.

·         Phosphorous is a naturally occurring, vital nutrient for all living things. 

·         There are many types and chemical structures of phosphates – some are beneficial, others are harmful. Phosphates are important substances in the human body, because they are a part of DNA materials and they take part in energy distribution. Phosphates can also commonly be found in plants.

·         It is the phosphates that are found in lawn fertilizers and cleaning products that we, as consumers, can affectively help regulate by purchasing products that do not contain them.

·         Manitoba and Quebec have announced plans to restrict phosphates in dishwasher detergents to 0.5%, however, national and international attention needs to be paid to this because dish soap used in Edmonton makes its way, via water, to Manitoba.

·         Phosphates, as discussed here, are concentrated phosphoric acids – phosphorous that has been acidified.  In the natural world, phosphorous is never encountered in its pure form, but only as phosphates, which consists of a phosphorous atom bonded to four oxygen atoms.

·         They are damaging because the constant addition of phosphates by humans is causing the natural concentrations to raise sharply, thereby disrupting the phosphor cycle.  The increasing phosphor concentrations in waterways raise the growth of phosphate-dependent organisms, such as algae and duckweed. These organisms use great amounts of oxygen and prevent sunlight from entering the water. This makes the water fairly unlivable for other organisms. Phosphates effectively suffocate the fish and other plants, choking the life from that body of water.

·         Phosphates enter waterways from human and animal waste, laundry, cleaning products, fertilizer run-off and other sources (such as industrial waste and phosphorous mining).  In addition to the above consequence, excess phosphates cause plants to die more quickly than they can decompose and dead plant matter builds up and together with sediment entering the water, fills in the bed, making it shallower. Normally this process takes thousands of years.  What is happening because of our addition of phosphates, nitrogen, and sediment to the water is that this natural process is speeding up, causing bodies of water to age at much faster rates than geological forces can create new ones, killing many fish and aquatic organisms.   

·         During water purification, phosphates are often not removed properly, so that they can spread over large distances. 

·         Words to look for on a label:

Ø  Anything that says – phosphate

§  Ex. Calcium phosphate

§  TSP or Trisodium Phosphate

§  Potassium Phosphate, etc.

Ø  Phosphated polyol

Ø  Quarternium 52

I hope this has clarified what phosphates are and why we are so actively trying to get rid of the use of them in our soaps and fertilizers.  While the majority of the problems come from fertilizers, as consumers, we will not add to the problem if we choose phosphate free alternatives - of both dish soap and fertilizers!

Our skin.....

Good morning to you!  I wanted to continue on from Carly's great post yesterday by talking about our skin.  It's something I think most of us take for granted, unless its expressing its frustration by showing off how well it can create raised red welts!  For the most part, we wash it, maybe lotion it and we forget about it.  What we don't much think about is that our skin is an organ.  It takes in and it gets rid of much more than we realized.

On average, our skin weighs around 6 lbs and covers an area of two square meters.  It works with the kidney's, liver and bowels and is responsible for eliminating one fourth of the toxins in our bodies every day.  Other than our mouth and nose, it is through our skin that our bodies absorb these toxins and chemicals that are present in our lives.  When you walk outside, not only are you breathing in chemicals, your skin is absorbing them, as well as ultraviolet light from the sun and free radicals - both of which do not harm just the top layer of your skin, but whose effects are felt much much deeper than that. 

I don't mean to scare you with this but it is something we should all be aware of as we go about our lives because there are lots of things we can do - we aren't helpless.

First, eat well!!  How much have we heard this lately?!  We need to eat foods that are whole, unprocessed and fresh - and we need to make sure our children eat like this too!  In addition, we need to make sure we eat enough anti-oxidants so that they will attack and reverse the effects of the free radicals.  Remember, free radicals can cause both skin and internal cancers, aging, high blood pressure and a host of other diseases and ailments because they attach and alter healthy cells.

Second, we need to take care of ourselves and our skin.  This means understanding that as an organ, our skin takes in over 60% of everything it comes in contact with.  If it's getting vitamins, minerals, herbs and other goodness, those beneficial properties are also helping internally.  However, if its getting chemicals and harmful ingredients, that too is going internal but they aren't helping, they are hurting.  Do not use deodorant with aluminum in it. 

Third, exercise!  I don't really need to go on about the benefits of this, do I?  And remember, it doesn't need to be exhaustive, intensive workouts.  A nice walk will get the heart pumping.  I know our weather doesn't allow for much outdoor walking at this time of year, but, like me, you can head over to the Pan Am pool and walk around their track.  With a good friend or good music, it's time well spent!

Fourth, wear natural fibers.  Synthetics do not allow the skin to breath as it needs to.

Fifth, and odd as it sound, brush your skin.  I know, it's weird but check back on Monday, I'll explain more.

As always, I don't relay all this information to freak you out and send you into a panic (as I used to do everytime I learned something new about the damage I was causing myself and the environment).  I simply want us to be aware and make changes when we can.  Simple, right?

Enjoy your week and weekend!!

Tea Time

Good Morning!!  I am SO thankful it's warmed up a bit out there (maybe just the absence of that nasty wind) but whatever the reason, I'm hoping that I'll be able to actually feel warm today.  I've been shivering for the last three days and the only time I feel warm is in the shower/bath.  Wonder what our water bill will look like next month!  Thinking about how cold I am also got me thinking about how warm so many other people are going to be when they get away for their wonderful HOT vacations!  Obviously, I'm not one of the lucky travelers.  Hopefully next year, but I've been saying that for the last 10 years.  Maybe I need something new to say - like I WILL TRAVEL TO WARM PLACES NEXT YEAR! Oh yeah, definitely like that one better!!

Whenever I hear of someone traveling to warm countries, I like to tell them about our Green Tea Tonic - an absolute MUST for everyone!!  If perhaps you happen to spend a little too much time outdoors, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and come to regret it later that night, all you need to do is spray the Green Tea Tonic on all parts of your body that are feeling a little tight.  Green Tea has some amazing properties, as I'm sure you all know, but did you know that Green tea has actually been shown to be more effective applied topically than if taken internally for things such as aging of the skin and skin cancer? 

Green tea is full of polyphenols, which have antioxidant properties that have shown to be anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic.  When you are sitting outside in the sun, your body is being bombarded by UVA and UVB rays, which create free radicals.  As I'm sure you've heard me and many others say many times, free radicals are the nasty little critters that cause oxidation in and on your body.  Oxidation is the process of normal cells becoming abnormal cells, by adding or taking away molecules to/from those normal cells.  So, when Green tea is applied directly to where those cells are - ie, the skin - the polyphenols have direct access to the cells they are going to help.  They don't have to travel around, searching out damaged cells.  When you apply green tea topically, you are putting it exactly where it needs to be.  Then, it does it's job but binding those free radicals with other molecules to create normal, not abnormal cells. 

Yikes - hope I didn't put anyone to sleep there!  I get caught up in the science of it all - it fascinates me!!  Anyway, the short of it all is that green tea, when you apply it to your skin, can help reduce the redness, the irritation, the peeling and blistering and the discoloration of a sun burn.  Even if you haven't burnt your skin, it's still beneficial to put on because the sun can damage your skin, even if it's not red and raw.  So, if you happen to be one of the lucky people who gets to get away this winter, don't forget your Green Tea Tonic!!

Enjoy your day!  I know I WILL!