Toxic Moisturisers

Most of the beauty industry moisturisers contain chemicals that are toxic to your skin and actually leave your pores clogged. Some of the misnomers include:

• "For Professional Use Only" -- This phrase allows cosmetic companies to remove harmful chemicals from their labels.

• "Hypoallergenic" -- No actual testing is necessary to claim that a product is "hypoallergenic", "allergy-free" or "safe for sensitive skin".

• Harmful Chemicals -- Unless they are intentionally placed in the product, harmful chemicals are not required to be listed.

• Some ingredients to avoid:
  

• Ingredient	Use	Dangers
  Parabens	Heavily used preservatives in the cosmetic industry; used in an estimated 13,200 cosmetic and skin care products.	Studies implicate their connection with cancer because their hormone-disrupting qualities mimic estrogen and could disrupt your body’s endocrine system.
  Mineral Oil, Paraffin, and Petrolatum		These petroleum products coat the skin like plastic – clogging pores and creating a build-up of toxins. They can slow cellular development, creating earlier signs of aging. They’re implicated as a suspected cause of cancer. Plus, they can disrupt hormonal activity. When you think about black oil pumped from deep underground, ask yourself why you’d want to put that kind of stuff on your skin…
  Sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)	Found in over 90% of personal care products! They break down your skin’s moisture barrier, potentially leading to dry skin with premature aging. And because they easily penetrate your skin, they can allow other chemicals easy access.	SLS combined with other chemicals may become a "nitrosamine" – a potent carcinogen.
  Acrylamide	Found in many facial creams.	Linked to mammary tumors.
  Propylene glycol	Common cosmetic moisturizer and carrier for fragrance oils.	May cause dermatitis and skin irritation. May inhibit skin cell growth. Linked to kidney and liver problems.
  Phenol carbolic acid	Found in many lotions and skin creams.	Can cause circulatory collapse, paralysis, convulsions, coma, and even death from respiratory failure.
  Dioxane	Hidden in ingredients such as PEG, polysorbates, laureth, ethoxylated alcohols. Very common in personal care products.	These chemicals are often contaminated with high concentrations of highly volatile 1,4-dioxane that’s easily absorbed through the skin. Its carcinogenicity was first reported in 1965, and later confirmed in studies including one from the National Cancer Institute in 1978. Nasal passages are considered extremely vulnerable, making it, in my opinion, a really bad idea to use these things on your face.
  Toluene	May be very poisonous! Made from petroleum and coal tar… found in most synthetic fragrances.	Chronic exposure linked to anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver or kidney damage…May affect a developing fetus.

4 tips for healthy clear youthful skin:

1. Hydrate your entire system with lots of water.
   
2. Eat a healthy diet of mostly raw foods (salads, vegetables, fruit) foods high in omega-3 fatty acids which produce a hydrating effect from the inside out, and antioxidants which help fight signs of aging.
   
3. Take a revitalizing bath – in warm water, not hot! Himalayan salt baths are rejuvenating, and help dry skin to slough off. Hot water is damaging to your skin, so stick with warm water.
4. Moisturize daily and every evening with non-clogging organic moisturizers. There are many brands available now eg. Akin, Dr Hauschka, jojoba oil, coconut oil. These nourish your skin instead of clogging it, as many toxin-impaired moisturizers do.

Study Links Voltaren and Neurofen to Strokes

Commonly sold as Voltaren, but available in a number of brands, it is one of a class of drugs all found to increase the risk of stroke, an extensive Danish study found.

Diclofenac, the key ingredient in Voltaren, is as dangerous as the arthritis drug Vioxx, said an international expert. Vioxx was withdrawn in Australia in 2004 because it was found to increase the risk of heart attack.

A spokeswoman from Novartis Australia, which makes Voltaren, said it should be used at the lowest possible dose for the shortest duration of time.

Last financial year almost 656,000 prescriptions for higher strength Voltaren and 246,000 prescriptions of high-dose Ibuprofen were covered under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. The study co-author and senior cardiologist at Gentofte University Hospital, Gunnar Gislason, told the Herald ibuprofen should be prescription-only and diclofenac should be banned.

Ric Day, a professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of NSW and St Vincent's Hospital, said that while the study analysed healthy people it was particularly relevant for people at risk of heart attack and stroke, such as those with diabetes or high blood pressure.
Source: SMH, September 14, 2010

Detox Heavy Metals with Chlorella

Chlorella, a single-celled fresh water algae, is perhaps most well known for its ability to detox your body by binding to toxins, such as mercury and carrying them out of your system.

Chlorella is about 60 % protein, and is considered to be a "complete protein" source because it contains all the essential amino acids.

Spirulina is another algae that is frequently confused with chlorella, as it has many of the same characteristics. One major difference is that spirulina does not have the ability to draw out heavy metal toxins like chlorella does.

Type 2 Diabetics have a 65% Higher Risk of Alzheimer's

Insulin resistant people with type 2 diabetes are more likely to develop plaques in their brains which are associated with Alzheimer's disease.

According to the University of Michigan, dementia strikes about 50% of people who reach the age of 85. Of those, about 60% go on to develop Alzheimer's disease.

The major culprits causing Alzheimer's or nerve damage in the brain:
1. Insulin resistance/diabetes
2. Insufficient omega-3 fats
3. Aluminum toxicity
4. Mercury toxicity
5. Lack of mental/brain stimulation
6. Anticholinergic drugs

Anticholinergic drugs is one class of drugs that have been linded to increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Available both over-the-counter and by prescription, anticholinergic drugs include night-time pain relievers, antihistamines, and other sleep aids.

Anticholinergic drugs block a nervous system neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. Those suffering from Alzheimer's disease typically have a marked shortage of acetylcholine.
Source: Reuters, August 25, 2010
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, June 11, 2010

Music Makes You Excerise Harder

In a recent study, researchers asked students to ride stationary bicycles while listening to music. They were given a selection of six songs with a range of tempos.

When the tempo was slowed, their pedaling diminished in rate, their heart rates fell, and their mileage dropped. When the tempo was increased, they produced more power with each pedal stroke and increased their pedaling rate, and their heart rates rose.

Just how music impacts the body during exercise, however, is only slowly being teased out by scientists.
Souces: New York Times, August 25, 2010
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, August 2010

Mould Allergies Prevented With Vitamin D

Research has discovered that vitamin D may be an effective therapeutic agent to treat or prevent allergy to a common mould.

Aspergillus fumigatus, is one of the most prevalent fungal organisms inhaled by people. In asthmatics and in patients with Cystic Fibrosis, it can cause significant allergic symptoms.
Source: Journal of Clinical Investigation, August 16, 2010

Researchers Link Low Vitamin D to Schizophrenia

Babies born with low vitamin D levels are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia later in life, researchers from the Queensland Brain Institute have found. But the reserachers say the good news from the study is that it suggests it may be possible to prevent schizophrenia, which affects almost 200,000 Australians.

Vitamin B Could Delay Onset of Alzheimer's

Large daily doses of B vitamins could delay, or even halt, the onset of Alzheimer's disease, a study suggests. The study found supplementing the diet with B vitamins: folate, B6 and B12 could halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with warning signs of the disease.
Source: ABC News, Thursday, November 9, 2010

Advantages of Interval Cardio Exercise

There is increasing amounts of evidence supporting the notion that you can cut your workout time significantly while reaping better benefits with interval training.

• You burn extra calories for up to 8 hours after your interval session. With jogging you stop burning extra calories when you stop exercising.
  
• Your heart and lungs become bigger, stronger & able to take on sudden intense challenges more easily and recover quickly.
  
• Your body changes the way you store your carbohydrates in the future. To help fuel future intense interval challenges your body will become more efficient at converting carbs into glucose and glycogen.
  
• Glucose and glycogen is anabolic. It burns energy just sitting there. Fat does not.
  
• With low-intensity jogging-type cardio your body becomes more efficient at converting carbs to body fat in order to get ready for future low intensity long/endurance jogging sessions. Fat is your body's preferred source of fuel for jogging, whereas glycogen is the preferred source of fuel for interval-type cardio, e. g. 60 second power walk followed by a 30 second jog, & then a 15 second sprint.
  

Plastics, Fertility, Pregnancy, Babies

Bisphenos A is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones and may lead to negative health effects. The negative health effects of BPA are seen in many body systems and include: increased breast cancer risk; reproductive and fertility problems, increased miscarriage risk; neurological issues; thyroid disturbance; heart disease and diabetes.

People wishing to lower their exposure to bisphenol A should avoid canned food and polycarbonate plastic containers #7. The other dangerous plastic is PET #2. Disposable coffee cups are a common - and daily - source of BPA for many people. The danger is increased due to leaching of the compoud from the heat of the coffee.

Heating and cooling of these plastics magnify the harmful effects. The National Toxicology Panel recommends avoiding microwaving food in plastics containers, putting plastics in the dishwaher, or using harsh detergents, to avoid leaching. Using BPA free water bottels and coffee cups is an easy (and environmentally friendly) way to reduce you and your children's daily BPA exposure.
Source: Life Sci. 2009 Now 18;85(21-22):742-52. Epub 2009 Oct 21.

Probiotics Are Better Than Sit Ups

It has been found that toxins from the gut contribute to obesity risk. These endotoxins are known to block insulin signaling in cells, causing insulin resistance and contributing to Metabolic Syndrome, cardiovascular (heart disease) risk and fatty liver. This shows the importance of having good digestion and if neccessary, taking a probiotic to rebalance the beneficial bacteria in the gut.

India Halts HPV Vaccine Trial After 6 Girls Die

Merck & Co.'s Gardasil vaccine and GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Cervarix vaccine continue to be pushed in Australia as 6 young girls recently died from the shots during in India. The two human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have been implicated in at least 67 deaths in the U.S., prompting no response from U.S. officials other than to keep issuing it to the public. However, the 6 deaths in India have prompted the government there to immediately stop all trials of the vaccines. These vaccines only guard against 2 strains of the HPV virus, although there are over 20 known strains.