Green Health Spot

Natural, Healthy Skin

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If you've been a frequent reader many of you have read about the strong concerns I've had about the toxicity of many skin care products and cosmetics.  This year, I'm going to dedicate myself to finding and endorsing products that you should feel generally good about using and trying on yourself and your family.  So in that spirit I've decided to track down products that I really like and can get behind in order to have you readers get a sense of comfort that not all things out there are toxic or damaging to your body.  So, I'm starting here, on the outside of your body to talk about skin care products and how you should think of beauty and aging skin.  

We've all been taught to avoid excessive sun exposure and to find makeup with sunscreen to avoid premature aging.  I've spoken about the other side of the coin on the excessive use of sunscreen and the importance of sunshine, vitamin D and cancer prevention....not to mention support for your immune and nervous system.  I've found some skin care products that can help reverse the signs of tired and aging skin.  Arbonne is the company that produces these products and their line is quite extensive.  So far, I've personally evaluated the skin detox products as well as the RE9 products developed for anti-aging.  These products have helped my skin improve in its appearance, tone, texture and elasticity.  I have to say that my parents and genes have a lot to do with my skin appearance and my knowledge in detox and environmental medicine has gotten me a jump on the aging skin situation.  That having been said, I do see a noticeable difference in the tiny starts of lines and uneven color since using the RE9 products.  

To date, I've noticed no discernible allergy reactions (a miracle by itself, since my skin loves to react to everything) and the feel of softer and, well, bouncier skin.  Of course, I don't need to tell you about drinking plenty of water and avoiding excessive sun exposure.  A general rule on water intake is about half your body weight in ounces of water.  For instance, if you are 150 pounds,  you should take in about 75 ounces of purified water throughout the day.  Give these products a try and see what you think.  

I'm still looking for a make up line that I love so, stay tuned!

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Healthier Peanut Choices

The continuing saga of food safety has been kept in the limelight lately due to the focus of the poisoned peanuts.  In December, scientists isolated Salmonella, a particularly nasty bacteria in a plant that processes peanuts into our favored snack of all times, peanut butter.  So a nationwide recall commenced to remove the tainted peanuts off the shelf of our grocery stores and out of our homes.  The FDA has gone to such lengths to maintain the safety of our food sources that they've resorted to the use of mail carriers bringing the news to people in Kentucky not privy to the internet or television that their peanut butter and foods containing peanuts are possibly tainted with this bacteria.  As it turns out, this problem has become so large that over 1500 products that were possibly tainted were put on a recall list.  The problem, so far, stems from a peanut processing plant in Blakely, GA owned by the Peanut Corp of America.  As you can imagine, they supply the peanut butter that is sent to over a thousand OTHER manufacturers that then make the peanut butter into your favorite foods and snacks. So we are not just talking about your PBJ sandwiches, but also your pet's treats, candy bars, ice cream, crackers, cookies it's overwhelming when you think of it.  Here is a list of the recalled products to date.

This brings us to the point of choosing healthier choices for the future.  Historically, peanuts are a great favorite for many people since most of us grew up on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  One great problem with peanuts, however is that they tend to harbor a very bad mold called aspergillus flavus which is extremely cancer causing in high amounts and allergenic.  This is part of what makes peanuts quite allergic to some people.  The mold aspergillus creates a toxin called aflatoxin which causes liver cancer.  Aflatoxin is one of THE most cancer causing substances known to man.  So care should go into choosing your peanuts.  

One healthier choice are Valencia peanuts.  These are a variety of peanuts that are grown almost exclusively in New Mexico and have no contamination of Aspergillus or aflatoxin.  Because the growing environment is in a sandier soil, the likelihood of a mold developing is decreased.  I found an organic source of peanut products made from Valencia peanuts.  These peanuts have a more intense flavor than traditional peanuts and tend to be sweeter than the ordinary peanut.  Give these a try for both your health and your sanity.

 

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