Improve your mood with exercise

This information comes from InStyle magazine (April 2007, ‘5 ways to improve your mood’, by Robin Powell, pp.184–186)

There are plenty of reasons why you need to keep moving:

• Physical activity is a proven and reliable cure for negative feelings. When you exercise it immediately affects your brain by stimulating the production of serotonin – the same neurotransmitter that is boosted by antidepressants such as Prozac.
• Exercise releases a heady hit of endorphins (happy hormones). It makes you feel better.
• It doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you do – walk, run, swim, dance – it moves the muscles, eases tension, and increases the heart rate, all of which makes us feel better.
• You can increase the positive impact of exercise by adding a challenge or setting a goal, such as taking part in an organised run or booking an adventure holiday.
• Make sure your goals are realistic. Achieving goals, even little ones – cutting the time you take to walk a particular track, improving your tennis serve, nailing a tricky dance move – all increase feeling of achievement and competency, and they make  you feel good.

See related topics:

Count your blessing

Be daring

Find a scent

Keep smiling

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Lucie

www.familyhealthbeautyinfo.com

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The power of water

This information comes from www.thewellofpositivity.com and waterkoolah

Did you know…

1. Water contains no calories.
2. Water protects your joints and organs.
3. Lack of water is a major cause of daytime fatigue.
4. The normal adult’s body weight is between 50 and 60% water.
5. A 2% drop in body water can cause fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic maths, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or a printed page.
6. Drinking plenty of water may protect against health problems including headache, kidney stones, constipation and some cancers.

Start and end your day with water. Your body loses water while you sleep, so top up before bed and again when you wake up. This helps keep your skin hydrated, so it looks vibrant and younger …  a little H2O can go a long way. So now go and drink a glass of this elixir.

See related blogs

Water: the beauty elixir or watch video

Water and our bodies

Drinking too much water

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Lucie

www.familyhealthbeautyinfo.com

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Is your beauty routine harming your health?

This topic was posted by Dr Mercola in October 2009.

Sources:

Organic Consumers Association October 1, 2009

FoodMatters 

Do you enjoy a shampoo with a rich bubbles? A shaving cream that really foams? Relaxing in a tub full of bubbles?

SLS stays in the body up to five days. Other studies show it easily penetrates the skin and enters and maintains residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain. Yet SLS is found in most cleansing, foaming products – and even in some toothpastes.

See safe certified organic products

See related blog ‘Why are there toxins in everyday products

See more ‘About organics’

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Lucie

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Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), and their cousins like ammonium lauryl sulfate and sodium myreth sulfate produce a lot of foam very inexpensively. But SLS is so strong that it’s also used to scrub garage floors. And it has been proven to cause cancer in the long run.

Eczema’s link to asthma uncovered

I read interesting article about a connection between eczema and asthma (link is below). I remember when I was having trouble with allergies, eczema and asthma, I was very weak and got sick every 3 months. It was not a pleasant time.

My doctor gave me strong cortisol medication to stop itchiness, and an inhaler for the asthma. He basically ignored the cause of my trouble and suppressed it with drugs. So my health continued to suffer.

Then I started seeing a naturopath, to heal and educate myself (he’s a man who can fix anything- I love him). Interestingly all my troubles were interconnected.

After a blood test he found that I had an allergy to the animals I spent so much time with. He talked to me about how to change my lifestyle and I started to feel a positive change. It took two years to get better only because I did not want to give up my animals.

Now I’m healed and understand my own body needs.

Read this BBC article: Eczema’s link to asthma uncovered **

Scientists discover what appears to trigger many children with eczema to go on to develop asthma.

See more ‘Health topics’

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Lucie

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Women risk feet in fashion’s name

A poll has shown that nearly four in 10 women buy shoes knowing they do not fit.

I have studied foot care. We dealt with problems such as corns, ingrowing nails, fungus etc. These conditions can be very painful, but often those suffering are wearing shoes that are fashionable, rather than comfortable. When they took them off you could hear ‘Ohh, that’s better’ and after treatments they could walk without pain.

I remember when I was removing a corn from my lovely aunt’s foot. This corn was caused by wearing fashionable shoes. She said, ‘I’ve been in pain for more than six months, but I don’t want to remove the corn because it hurts and I’ll not give up my shoes.’

I removed her corn (after hours of drama and persuasion). It was not painful at all – she was surprised. My funny little aunty was happily jumping and walking after I did it.

We make our own choices based on what is important to us.

Read this BBC article about fashionable shoes and let me know what do you think.

** Women risk feet in fashion’s name **

Nearly four in 10 women buy shoes knowing they do not fit, a poll reveals.

See more ‘Health topics’

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Lucie

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Are the chemicals in personal care/beauty products harmful?

A scientist’s view

I asked this question of one of my clients, a scientist working in cancer research.

He said that the chemicals in beauty products are not harmful. Of course, if a child ate a lot of toothpaste (which has fluoride added) they could be harmed, but it’s also dangerous to eat massive amounts of organic carrots.

He pointed out that in nature, we only take the amount that we need. For example, to function properly our bodies actually need a little arsenic, yet this is poisonous in larger doses. So, he believed that chemicals in products are only harmful when used in large amounts.

ONEgroup responds

It’s quite incorrect to say that chemicals in products are harmful only when you use them in bigger amounts. Exposure to a small amount of mercury can kill or cause damage for example, so that already disputes that theory. Yes, we produce a natural amount of arsenic ourselves but that it is released as needed and in doses that our bodies can handle. The danger is in accumulation of additional toxins. The point of using organic skincare is to reduce the amount of chemicals that we absorb and that we pour down the sink and into our environment. – http://www.ewg.org/ 

See organic products

See related blog ‘Why are there toxins in everyday products?’

See related blog ‘Deodorants and breast cancer’ or watch the video

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Lucie

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Long-term effects of toxins

It seems that usually the amount of harmful chemicals and toxins in products and foods is very limited, so people don’t feel they can be affected immediately. But it’s hard to know the long-term effects of choosing a non-organic lifestyle.

The amount of toxins and chemicals added is not large enough to do immediate harm, but it is the accumulative effect that you need to consider. On average, people use nine personal-care products every single day. This adds up when you are exposed from babyhood. Add to this the increased number of pesticides used to produce our foods, the introduction of GMO foods, environmental and air pollution, and our bodies are soon in toxic overload.

Choosing an organic lifestyle means you buy into a philosophy that will contribute to better health, is kinder to the environment, safeguards the welfare of animals and enhances the working conditions of the people who make their living in agriculture.

See ‘Organic products’

See related blog ‘Deodorants and breast cancer’ or watch the video

See more ‘About organics’

See more ‘Toxins and chemicals’

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Lucie

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Why are there toxins in everyday products?

If personal care products and nutrition with chemicals, toxins and preservative can harm humans and the planet, why would governments and industries produce it, when the scientists know it’s poison?

The reason is simple: profit. Natural ingredients can’t be patented so companies make chemical versions, patent them and then market them. They also use these synthetic versions because they are cheaper to mass-produce. Most people assume that beauty products have been thoroughly tested for safety well before they appear in stores.

You would also think that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be watching the cosmetic industry to ensure the health and safety of consumers. Unfortunately, the FDA has little power to regulate beauty products. In fact, the only people ensuring the safety of personal care products are the very people who govern the industry: the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA)

Scientists paid by the CTFA make up the Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel (CIR) . They regulate the safety of the industry’s products. In 2004, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) released findings, comparing about 10,000 ingredients in 7,500 different products against known and suspected chemical health hazards.

• Only 28 had been evaluated for safety by the CIR.
• One in every 120 products contained ingredients certified by the government as known or probable carcinogens.
• Nearly one-third of the products contained ingredients classified as possible carcinogens.
• 54 products violated recommendations for safe use that the CIR had put in place.

These products are still available for sale today. The worst offenders were those containing the cancer-causing ingredients coal tar (found in hair dyes), alpha and beta hydroxy acids (commonly used in products advertised to remove wrinkles, blemishes, blotches and acne scars), and those containing the hormone-disrupting ingredient, phthalate (nail care products).

From website http://www.naturalnews. com/016898.html

See related blog ‘Deodorants and breast cancer’ or watch the video

See more ‘About organics’

See more ‘Toxins and chemicals’

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Lucie

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Safety fears over nanocosmetics

One of my client asked me if we use nanotechnology in our Miessence range (we don’t). She was concerned about her family’s health.

Nanotechnology is the science of using atoms and molecules on the nanoscale – 80,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

The beauty industry uses nanotechnology to make products like sun creams and anti-aging products with tiny particles that penetrate deeper into the skin surface, to provide better results.

Some experts are concerned about their possible long-term effects on the body.

We know that everything we put on our skin penetrates into the blood stream. We as consumers must get informed about which products use nanomaterials, so we can make a choice.

Read a BBC report: Safety fears over nanocosmetics.

See safe products with no nanomaterials

See more ‘Health topics’

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Lucie

www.familyhealthbeautyinfo.com

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Eczema and dry, itchy skin  

Erica asks, ‘I have really dry hands and I have eczema as well. What shall I do?’

As eczema is an inflammatory reaction, it’s important to find out the cause. You could talk to an accredited naturopath, or doctor.

I had bad eczema and asthma, and I used a strong cortisol (steroid) cream. My naturopath and doctor did tests and found I have strong allergy to horses, which was the cause of my trouble.

They both said, ‘Don’t go near your horses, and you’ll be healthy and not have to spend your time and money on treatments.‘ They were right.  Once I was away from all animals my wellbeing improved – even though I did miss my animals.

Can you see how important it is to find the cause?

It may be something you eat, something in your environment, or sometimes it’s emotional.

My naturopath also quickly found out the foods that were creating itchiness and respiratory trouble, and listed those that would not.

Each person is different, so you need individual guidelines for your diet. Here are some of the foods that cause skin and breathing problems for me:

• Refined carbohydrates (cakes, biscuits, chocolates and pastries generally.
• 100% wheat products (wholemeal/wholegrain bread, white bread, wholemeal/white pasta)
• Fruits and juices (coconut, kiwi, grapefruit, oranges, tomato concentrates such as tomato sauce, paste, puree
• Vegetables (eggplant, English spinach)
• Dairy products in large quantities – butter, cheese, cream, full cream milk, ice cream
• Soft drinks (a preservative used in sports and soft drinks called sodium benzoate)
• Artificial food colourings
• Sodium 5’Ribonucleotide (instant soups, flavoured snack foods, etc.)

 Foods my naturopath recommended (all preferably organic):

• Bread rye, soy, linseed
• Rey biscuits
• Porridge
• Fruits (apricot, green apples, mango, peach, pear, blackcurrant, guava
• Soy milk, yogurt
• Tofu
• Dairy-free ice cream
• Cheese (any 93% fat reduced)
• Fish (fresh tuna, snapper, whiting)
• Meat (lean lamb, beef, pork, chicken)
• Organic eggs.

 I hope this will inspire you to find out ‘your cause’.

In the meantime, try a warm oil mask for dry skin. Watch the video ‘Thermo coconut oil mask’

See related article ‘Cleansing diet for body and skin’ or watch the video

What did you think of this article? I welcome your feedback

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Lucie

www.familyhealthbeautyinfo.com

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