Be Wise-Health Wise

By guest author Zach Smith

Did you know that those brown spots can be caused by the aging process? Those are brown age spots. Their appearance can be precipitated by cumulative exposure to ultraviolet rays. The sun’s ultraviolet rays tend to stress out collagen and elastin fibers.

Our integument is not completely defenseless against the sun. It usually produces melanin to counteract the negative effects of ultraviolet rays. But as we get older, the excessive production of melanin becomes unreliable. This leads to the appearance of brown spots and uneven skin tone.

You can still get rid of brown age spots. But aside from lightening those spots up, you should also improve the health of your dermis. Spots appear faster because of weak and aging skin condition. Let me tell you a couple of tips that can work for you:

1. I suggest mixing the juices of different plant extracts. I am such a huge fan of plant extracts simply because they provide remarkable benefits and they do not cost a lot of money. They might not be the most convenient treatments but they really work in improving the condition of the skin.

You can try mixing papaya juice and licorice extract. They have skin whitening properties recognized by experts. You can find a number of whitening products incorporated with these natural ingredients. Combine the juices of these plants and apply it all over your skin or the areas affected. Let it stay there for about an hour before washing it off. Use this treatment twice a day for best results.

2. If your skin does not easily get irritated, you can try using natural AHA peelers. They come in the form of acids. They work in inhibiting the production of melanin, sloughing off dead skin cells and facilitating the renewal of dermis tissues.

One of the best forms of AHA is lemon juice. Apply the juice of lemon religiously on the affected areas. Let it stay there for about an hour before washing it off.

3. You can also find several moisturizing products that contain whitening ingredients. Choose Extrapone Nutgrass, CynergyTK and Phytessence Wakame. Extrapone Nutgrass is an ingredient that has lightening benefits. It can inhibit melanin by up to 45% during the first two weeks of use. It can continuously work on your skin to lighten up spots. It also has anti-irritant properties so you can heal inflamed skin.

CynergyTK is an ingredient that has been extracted from the wool of sheep. It is one of the best sources of keratin, the complex protein needed by the body for the production of collagen. It can maintain the youthful functions of the dermis. Phytessence Wakame is a kind of Japanese sea weed that can get rid of the harmful enzymes that attack hyaluronic acid. This acid is vital for collagen lubrication.

Natural remedies work. But make sure you give them time to lighten up those brown age spots. You also have to use them properly so you can see best results.

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I am sure there are a lot more anti aging tips you would like to learn. I am inviting you to check out http://www.goodhealthyskin.com to find out more about common tips and techniques in making skin firmer and more resilient.

Dr. Jo’s comment:

Fascinating use of food to help our skin. Let me know how they work for you.

 

Filed under: Skin Care on September 28th, 2011 | No Comments »

In our quest to explore sweeteners and how they affect the body, let’s take a look at sugar alcohols.

Sugar alcohols are neither sugar nor alcohol

So how did they get that misnomer? Basically their chemical structures look similar to alcohol and sugar, so someone coined the name sugar alcohol. As another type of carbohydrate they contain calories, but only about half of the calories of table sugar which contains 4 kcal/gram.

And now on to another misnomer – any food containing sugar alcohols can be labeled sugar-free since they replace full-calorie sugar sweeteners. Are you beginning to get confused? Me too. Somehow sweeteners need some clear definitions. So, sugar-free food is not really free of sweeteners or calories derived from sweeteners. And manufacturers rely on that confusion to sell their products.

But the sugar alcohols do come with some benefits over full calorie sugar sweeteners since they lower caloric intake, decrease the glycemic response (how rapidly a food increases the blood glucose level) and decrease dental cavities.

Some dentists and dental hygienists recommend chewing gum containing sugar alcohols after meals, especially if you cannot brush your teeth right after a meal. Or suck on a sugar-alcohol containing mint. The decay-inducing bacteria ingest the sugar alcohol but cannot digest it. The sugar alcohol attracts water causing the bacteria to swell up and die.

But will the sugar alcohols have the same effect on the good bacteria in your gut? I have not seen any research that answers that question. So, currently I recommend using sugar alcohols sparingly.

Fruits and vegetables naturally contain sugar alcohols, but they are probably ingested the most in “sugar-free” and reduced-sugar foods.

Some sugar alcohols are only 25% as sweet as table sugar (sucrose) but can be up to 100% as sweet. Xylitol is the one most commonly used in gums and mints. Others are used in other processed food.

Here’s a table from Medicinenet.com detailing the sugar alcohols:

 

http://www.medicinenet.com/artificial_sweeteners/page3.htm#sugar

 

Side Effects of sugar alcohols:

Because people cannot fully digest and absorb these sweeteners folks may experience abdominal  gas and diarrhea if they ingest too much. And they do still have calories. So if you eat any sugar alcohols keep them to a minimal amount.

Another big precaution about sugar alcohols:

Your liver rapidly converts sorbitol (in those “sugar-free” candies and confections) to fructose. And now we have another problem. Overwhelming the liver with fructose can silently lead to non-alcoholic liver disease that causes cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver until it’s too late to salvage the liver.

That’s the next sweetener problem that we will explore.

So, let’s remember:

• “Sugar Free” does not necessarily mean sweetener-free nor calorie-free.
• Get knowledge and get wise so you won’t be duped.
• We need to change our way of thinking about sweets. There are no substitutes that are totally healthy.

Let’s get over our sweet addictions and enjoy healthy food and enjoy vibrant living.

Blessings,

Dr. Jo

Filed under: Nutrition, Sweeteners on September 26th, 2011 | 3 Comments »

The older we get, the greater the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD). But we’re not helpless victims of this condition. We can take preventative steps. Let’s ask some experts in the field what they would recommend to prevent AMD.

Dr. John Paul SanGiovanni, a Harvard graduate, leads the Clinical Trials Branch at the National Eye Institute. Just this year he was awarded the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Award.

Dr. SanGiovanni has a passion to combat age-related macular degeneration (AMD). His recent comprehensive study demonstrates that two specific nutrients are vital to eye protection.

“People reporting higher intake of [the nutrients] from foods have a reduced likelihood of having AMD,” he says.
Dr. Paul Bernstein concurs with this research. Also a graduate of Harvard Medical School and director of research for the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, he thinks that these two nutrients are central to prevention of AMD.

Another eye expert even says these nutrients can reduce AMD risk by 43 percent.

“[The nutrients] are concentrated in the macula,” he says, “and are derived exclusively from diet.”

Hmm… Here we are again, back to diet as a key to preventing another degenerative condition. Are we seeing a pattern here? What we eat can make a difference in our health.

But what is the macula anyway?

The macula, a specialized area of the retina, provides what we experience as our central area of vision. It absorbs the blue and UV light waves that enter the eye. Since the blue light contains so much more high energy than the red light, it presents a huge threat to damaging the macula with its potential for free radical damage.

That’s where these 2 nutrients come into play.

Dr. Brandon Lewis, Senior Scientist at Kemin Health, a graduate of the University of Florida with a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition and researcher in the actions of lutein and zeaxanthin says:

“Lutein and zeaxanthin have been shown to filter high-energy wavelengths of visible light and act as antioxidants to protect against the formation of reactive oxygen species and subsequent free radicals.”

In other words, lutein and zeaxanthin protect the retina from free radical damage and help prevent the deterioration that leads to AMD.

Classified as carotenoids, zeaxanthin concentrates in the macula and lutein resides in the rest of the retina. Chemically they look like twins, but they have different 3 dimensional structures that give them slightly different mechanisms of action on the tissues.
With those tongue-twisting names you might wonder where in the world you would find them. Fortunately they reside in common foods that we would do well to consume regularly.

Carotenoids lend color to food and lutein and zeaxanthin give yellow hues to the tissues. You’ll find them in the greatest concentration in green vegetables like spinach and kale. You only need to eat ½ cup of cooked kale to ingest 10.3 mg of lutein. Half a cup of spinach contains 6.3 mg.

That’s great news because Dr. Johanna Seddon studied AMD for 20 years as a pioneer of nutritional research in AMD. Her research shows that eating 6 mg of lutein per day leads to a 43 percent lower risk of AMD.

If you eat your green veggies raw, you receive even greater benefits. And you can make your meals eye appealing and varied with these other foods high in lutein and zeaxanthin: egg yolk, broccoli, corn, lettuce (cos or romaine), peas and a host of other vegetables and fruit contain lower amounts that will add up to what you need to protect your macula.

You can find a handy chart of lutein and zeaxanthin containing foods here:

http://www.macular.org/nutrition/lutein.html
And here’s another handy list:

http://www.eyeassociates.com/ranking_of_foods_containing_lute.htm

So, preventing macular degeneration sounds like just one more great reason to eat a colorful variety of vegetables every day just like we teach in Dr. Jo’s Natural Healing Cookbook.

http://www.naturalhealingcookbook.com/

Filed under: Disease and How to Stop It on September 20th, 2011 | No Comments »

Excitotoxins – Part 4

Catch the beginning of this story here:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-1/

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-2/

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-3/

And hidden sources of MSG here:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/hidden-sources-of-msg/

 

Is it worth it to ingest these excitotoxins?

Hardly!

Now that you know, will you keep feeding processed food and diet drinks to your children?

Will you keep eating it yourself?

Remember if you eat any kind of packaged, processed food or eat out at restaurants, you will be eating MSG. That’s another reason that I advocate eating whole foods, meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds and whole grains. Especially if you prepare it yourself, you will avoid eating toxins, brain killers.

Even if you ask the restaurant personnel if there is MSG in their food and they say no, you probably will still be eating it. They are not lying to you, they just do not know about all of the hidden sources of MSG in food. See this list for other names or sources of MSG in food.

Diet drinks contain aspartate. In the liquid form this excitotoxin enters the blood stream more rapidly. “Sugar-free” mints usually contain aspartate. Try substituting mints made with xylitol which helps prevent tooth decay.

Try substituting stevia, an herb, as a sweetener in tea or other drink. Mix fruit juice and sparkling water for a drink refreshment occasionally, maybe for special holidays or celebrations. Fruit juice is still a concentrated sweet that is hard on the body’s metabolism and sparkling water like any carbonated beverage upsets mineral balance in the body. Mostly drink pure water.

Congratulations on taking charge of your health. Continue to look for hidden toxins in your food. Take charge and keep your family healthy for all of your lives.

If you want to know a whole lot more about excitotoxins, read Dr. Blaylock’s book, Excitotoxins, the Taste that Kills, copyright 1997 with an update at the end. Although fairly technical writing in parts of the book, the information on the normal functioning and development of the nervous system is fascinating. And the research and information about excitotoxins is eye opening.

Published by:

Health Press

PO Box Drawer 1388

Santa Fe, NM 87504

… and that’s the end of the Excitotoxin story for now.

Blessings,

Dr. Jo

Filed under: Food toxins, Nutrition on September 16th, 2011 | No Comments »

According to the Macular Degeneration Foundation, the incidence of macular degeneration in Australia for people over the age of 50 is 1 in 7. The disease is sometimes knows as ‘age related macular degeneration’ (AMD) because the incidence has been found to increase with age.

 

What Is Macular Degeneration?

Macular Degeneration is a condition that affects the macula part of the retina of the eye resulting in a disturbance to central vision. Although the exact etiology of the disease is unknown, it is believed that deterioration of the retina leads to a breakdown in the transmission of signals to the brain from the nerves and receptors of the eye. When the signals are unclear, the brain cannot correctly interpret the information it receives and there is a loss of the detail that allows us to read, recognize people, perform manual work or manage fine tasks such as threading a needle. A person with macular degeneration may experience blurred or decreased central vision, blind spots, wavy lines instead of straight and size distortion.

 

There are two types of macular degeneration, wet and dry.

The onset of wet macular degeneration occurs when abnormal blood vessels, which have grown under the centre of the retina, bleed or leak and scar the retina. Macula damage may occur rapidly. It is not uncommon for wet macular degeneration to start in one eye and affect the other at a later time.

 

Dry macular degeneration, which is the most common form, results from a gradual breakdown of cells in the macula leading to blurring of central vision. The onset of dry macular degeneration can be detected early by an optometrist because of the presence of small, yellowish spots, called drusen, at the back of the eye. However, people who have drusen may not have visual impairment or related symptoms. When dry macular degeneration advances due to damage to the retina and nerves, vision loss will occur.

 

Macular degeneration is treated by laser surgery, photodynamic therapy where a drug is injected that destroys newly formed, abnormal blood vessels or injections, however, none of these treatments can restore the vision that has already been lost.

 

Risk factors

There are a number of identified risk factors associated with AMD. Family history and age are thought to be the most common risk factors. People with outdoor occupations and continuous exposure to sunlight may also be at risk, particularly if their skin is lightly pigmented. Women seem to be at a greater risk than men. There are also environmental and behavioral factors such as smoking and obesity. Research cited below shows that a buildup of toxic heavy metals can damage eye health.

 

Research

The National Institute of Health and the National Eye Institute in the US, published the results of a random study of people with moderate and advanced AMD in the Archives of Ophthalmology in 2001, entitled the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. The study reported that a significant slowing of disease progression and preservation of sight could be achieved by taking dietary supplements containing high-dose antioxidants and zinc.

 

Research published by Erie et al in 2005 in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, measured the concentration of toxic heavy metals in the fluids and tissues of human eyes. Concentrations of lead, cadmium, mercury, and thallium in ocular tissues, ocular fluids, and blood were found in the autopsy of 30 eyes from 16 subjects. The study concluded the presence of lead and cadmium which had accumulated in the tissues and retinal pigment epithelium and choroid. Further study into the toxicity of these heavy metals and their possible role in eye disease was recommended.

 

What Can We Do?

In addition to the medical treatments mentioned above, there are a number of common sense things we can do to help prevent the onset of macular degeneration.

 

In order for high-dose antioxidants and zinc to be effectively absorbed into the body and to protect the eyes from heavy metals, it is firstly essential to detoxify the body. Published clinical trials have shown that when removing heavy metals and toxins, including pesticides and herbicides from the body safely and effectively, supplements will be more readily absorbed, the immune system may function more efficiently and normal blood pressure may be more easily maintained.

 

Eating a healthy diet, including green leafy vegetables and fish, is also essential to good eye health. A healthy diet will help with weight control as will some regular exercise. Giving up smoking is critical for eye health.

 

Some people also believe in the benefit of eye exercises to increase eye health. Firstly move the eye slowly from side to side, then from top to bottom a few times. Move the eyes in a circular motion, then reverse a few times. Finally, raise your finger level with your nose and focus there for a time, then focus on something in the distance.

 

Remember the most important step, take a daily detoxifying shower on the inside to give your eyes the maximum chance for sustained health. Your body will love you!

 

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Jannette has researched health and well being issues for the past 20 years and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Health Promotion. Healthy eating, regular meditation, moderation in everything and taking the correct supplements can make an enormous improvement to the quality of our lives. Claim your free Aussie eBook “The Truth Revealed – Activated Liquid Zeolite” at http://www.CleansingZeolite.com or email Jannette at janobarr@gmail.com

 

Filed under: Disease and How to Stop It on September 13th, 2011 | No Comments »

Excitotoxins – Part 3

Review the previous articles here:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-1/

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-2/

And hidden sources of MSG here:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/hidden-sources-of-msg/

How much processed food and diet drinks or candies or mints are you eating on a daily basis?

If that’s your main diet, you are ingesting a heavy load of excitotoxins. You will have trouble finding prepared foods without MSG. It may not say MSG on the package label because there are a lot of other tricky names for MSG or substances containing MSG. So beware, check out this page for the other names for MSG.

Those diet drinks contain aspartame – known as NutraSweet or Equal. Those liquid forms zap that excitotoxin to your brain. How many brain cells have you killed today?

Also, some of us are more sensitive to the effects of ingested toxins than others. I call us the “canaries”, since we exhibit the adverse effects of these toxins more quickly than others do. So we can warn the rest of society to avoid these poisons. Miners took canaries into the mines to warn them of toxic fumes because canaries succumbed to the toxins before the miners could detect them. But if the miners stayed too long they would also die from the fumes. Take your lessons from the miners. Avoid excitotoxins like the plague even if you do not feel the adverse effects immediately after ingestion.

Dr. Blaylock presents evidence that some individuals may be more susceptible to the brain cell damaging effects of excitotoxins than others. Some may not have as much capacity to pump the excess glutamate out of the brain cell. Others may have some defect in part of the blood brain barrier. The damage to neurons progresses over many years before people start to show the signs of Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, Parkinson’s, etc. The problem lies in how to know if you are susceptible to brain damage from excitotoxins. At this point there is no way to know, so why expose yourself to unnecessary substances that could cause such devastating consequences?

In summary,

Excitotoxins over stimulate the brain cell neurons, causing them to die. (They are stimulated to death.)

The most common excitotoxins in our diet are MSG (mono sodium glutamate) and aspartate (aspartame, Brand name NutraSweet or Equal)

Almost all processed (canned, packaged) food contains some form of MSG even if MSG is not mentioned in the list of ingredients. MSG goes by many other names.

MSG adds flavor to dead, lifeless packaged food.

Even food in health food stores contains MSG or its equivalent. I have yet to find a bouillon cube that does not contain it. Read labels carefully and beware of other names for MSG.

Aspartate mixed with another amino acid, phenylalanine gives a sweet taste to food or drink without adding calories. Thus it’s found in almost all “diet” drinks and “diet” food.

Our precious babies’ and toddlers’ (future leaders, scientists, creators, artists, inventors, etc.) brains are much more susceptible to the toxic effects of excitotoxins than are adults.

Excitotoxin damage to a child’s brain may not show up until years later when they begin to talk or read exhibiting difficulty with speech or dyslexia or even behavior disorders. In late adulthood degenerative disease like ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disease or other degenerative neurological disease may manifest from excitotoxin damage done to neurons over a life time, beginning in childhood.

Pregnant women – Dr. Blaylock (and I agree) recommend totally avoiding aspartate, aspartame, NutraSweet, Equal during pregnancy. It’s a good idea to avoid all forms of MSG too.

And next in this series:

Is it worth it to keep eating these toxins?

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-4/

Blessings,

Dr. Jo

Filed under: Food toxins, Nutrition on September 8th, 2011 | 1 Comment »

By Guest Author David King

A lot has been written about the benefits of cardiovascular aerobic training. Until recently, however, little attention has been given to strength training which is an important component of a balanced fitness program. Part of the problem is that strength training has been equated with bodybuilding. However, you do not need to be a body builder to benefit from strength training.

A well designed strength-training program can provide the following benefits:

1. Strength of bones increases

2. Muscles and connective tissue strengthens, decreasing the risk of injury

3. Increased muscle mass. Most adults lose about one-half pound of muscle per year after the age of 20 due to decreased activity. Muscle tissue is partly responsible for the number of calories burned at rest (the basal metabolic rate or BMR). As muscle mass increases, BMR increases. This makes it easier to maintain a healthy body weight

4. Enhanced quality of life. As general strength increases, the effort required to perform daily routines such as carrying groceries or working in the garden will be less demanding.

 

Here are exercises to work all the major muscle groups.

If you neglect certain groups, it can lead to strength imbalances and poor posture. A fitness professional can help you to learn safe techniques to do each of these exercises, so you should consult one before beginning a strength training program.

One set of 8-12 repetitions, working the muscle to the point of fatigue, is usually sufficient. Breathe normally throughout the exercise. Lower the weight with a slow, controlled cadence throughout the full range of motion. Lifting the weight to a count of two and lowering it to a count of three or four is effective. When you are able to perform 12 repetitions of an exercise correctly (without cheating), increase the amount of resistance by 5 percent to 10 percent to continue safe progress.

Leg Press – quadriceps

Leg Curl – hamstrings

Chest Press – pectorals

Lat Pull Down – latissimus dorsi

Lateral Raise – deltoid

Triceps Press – triceps

Biceps Curl – biceps

Back Extension – erector spinae

 

Staying Motivated

An encouraging aspect of strength training is the fact that you’ll likely experience rapid improvements in strength and muscle tone right from the start of your program. Don’t be discouraged, however, if visible improvements begin to taper off after a few weeks. It’s only natural that, as your fitness level improves, improvements in strength and appearance will follow at a slightly slower pace. To help keep your motivation up, find a partner to train with you.

Aim to exercise each muscle group at least two times per week, with a minimum of two days of rest between workouts. Training more frequently or adding more sets may lead to slightly greater gains, but the small added benefit may not be worth the extra time and effort or the added risk of injury.

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Want to find out more about for strength training, then visit http://www.healthnfitnessforall.com/ on how to choose the best strength training programs for your needs.

 

 

Filed under: Exercise on September 3rd, 2011 | No Comments »

Excitotoxins – Part 2 MSG, Aspartame dangers uncovered.

You will find part 1 here:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-1/

And hidden sources of MSG here:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/hidden-sources-of-msg/

Turns out the original assumption that glutamate supplied energy to the brain was almost right. But rather than supplying energy to the brain glutamate, aspartate and several other amino acids carry nerve messages from one nerve to another and are thus known as neurotransmitters. With proper regulation and in the right concentration and balance these amino acids function as vital transmitters of information that regulates bodily functions.

Some of Us Are More Susceptible to the Adverse Effects of Excitotoxins

To protect the brain from toxins or toxic levels of nutrients the blood brain barrier keeps some substances from entering the brain and allows others to pass through. However, the blood brain barrier may malfunction in persons with a stroke, brain tumor, head injury, infection or degenerative disease. Some areas of the brain never develop a barrier system including the hypothalamus, pineal and a few other areas. Thus they are more vulnerable to the effects of excitotoxins. Damage to the hypothalamus causes malfunctioning in the hormonal system.

Since the developing brain of an infant or child gradually develops an effective blood brain barrier, their brains are more vulnerable to damage caused by ingested toxins.

Throughout our lives, but especially in the developmental years our amazing brains are always changing and repairing themselves, wiring and rewiring through trillions of nerve fiber pathways. This process, called plasticity, makes the brain infinitely more complex than a computer. What an amazing organ.

Of all the neurotransmitters glutamate plays the most important part in the brain development of the fetus and the plasticity in the adult. In experiments on animals too much glutamate can cause the brain to be miswired. If MSG and aspartate (NutraSweet) pass from what mama has eaten into the fetus in the womb, baby’s brain may be miswired.

Because the brain at birth is still going through an extensive rewiring process, newborns and toddlers who are fed these excitotoxins are at very high risk for abnormal brain wiring.

Also, the brain develops in a certain sequence of events with critical timing of each sequence. Over stimulation with excitotoxins “may severely interfere with this delicate process and possibly lead to learning disorders, emotional illness, or even major psychological disease later in life.”

The critical period of brain development occurs from the first week of conception to six or seven years old. Dr. Blaylock suggests that the effects of excitotoxin damage during this critical period may be subtle, manifesting as a slight dyslexia, or more obvious as outbursts of uncontrollable anger. More severe cases may result in autism, schizophrenia, seizures, and cerebral palsy or episodes of violence and criminal behavior in later years. There’s no proof that excitotoxins cause these conditions in humans, but these behavioral changes have been observed in animals exposed to excitotoxins.

In animal experiments the dose of MSG needed to damage the developing nervous system in baby animals is only one-fourth of the dose needed to damage the adult animal nervous system.

Pregnant women frequently eat large doses of MSG and other excitotoxins in their food. According to one study restaurants add as much as 9.9 grams of MSG to a single dish, enough to cause brain damage in experimental animals. In soups or other liquids, MSG is absorbed much faster and more completely, causing higher blood levels of MSG and greater toxicity to the brain. Maybe that’s why I stopped eating restaurant or canned soup. I just do not feel good after eating it.

And there’s more to this story:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-3/

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-4/

Chat with you later,

Dr. Jo

 

Filed under: Food toxins, Nutrition on September 1st, 2011 | No Comments »

By Guest Author Zach Smith

Dr. Jo’s comment: Let me know how these natural skin care products work for you if you give them a try. (I have no financial interest in anything mentioned on this page – just thought that it was interesting information).

Your face is vulnerable to skin aging. That is because it is made up of thinner skin layers. It is also exposed to the sun all the time.

When the skin is exposed to the sun, the collagen fibers in it get damaged. As a result, our integumentary system produces melanin to counteract the negative effects of UV rays.

Facial age spots do not have to be a permanent condition. You can still get rid of this skin problem easily with the help of the following natural treatments.

1. Use natural peelers

Peeling the damaged layers of the skin can help push the younger and healthier dermis layers to the surface. But this method has to be done circumspectly. You wouldn’t want to peel even the deeper layers of the skin. Peeling skin also tends to get itchy. If you have sensitive dermis to begin with, you should try milder treatments.

I can suggest using lactic acid found in sour milk and bilberry. Lactic acid is an AHA peeler. It can slough off dead skin cells and it can facilitate mild dermis regeneration. Lactic acid also has healing benefits. It contains Vitamin A that can bridge gaps between damaged dermis tissues. This will improve the youthful structure of your dermis.

2. Try applying pearl powder mask on the affected areas

If you like the smooth and fair skin of Chinese women, you can try emulating their skin care regimen. They use pearl powder to keep their dermis firm and fair. Pearl powder has whitening benefits that can inhibit the excessive production of melanin. This natural remedy also works in lessening the effects of the sun to the skin.

Try mixing pearl powder with papaya juice. Papaya is also a good whitening remedy as it contains Papaine extract. Apply the paste on the affected areas of your face. Let it stay there for about an hour.

3. Look for a whitening cream that can penetrate deeper into your dermis

There are numerous whitening products in the market today. Look for natural products that contain Extrapone Nutgrass, Phytessence Wakame and Maracuja.

Extrapone Nutgrass is a plant that has bleaching properties. Experts found out that it can gradually lighten up skin tone by up to 45% during the first two weeks of use. Phytessence Wakame is a type of sea kelp that can prevent the loss of hyaluronic acid. This acid is vital for the lubrication of collagen fibers. Maracuja can keep your skin hydrated. It can mimic the moisture-retaining functions of the skin.

Combine these treatments if you want to get rid of facial age spots. Use these treatments religiously for best results.

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I am sure there are a lot more anti aging tips you would like to learn. I am inviting you to check out http://www.goodhealthyskin.com to find out more about common tips and techniques in making skin firmer and more resilient.

Blessings,

Dr. Jo

 

 

 

Filed under: Anti-Aging, Skin Care on August 29th, 2011 | No Comments »

What would you do?

If you found out that your daily meals contain a chemical additive that could cause brain damage in your children?

If evidence indicates that this chemical could affect how your child’s brain forms and develops.

If the damage caused by this chemical might not show itself until your child was older, manifesting as learning or emotional difficulties.

If this chemical damaged the part of the brain that controls hormones, resulting in hormonal imbalances later in life.

If this chemical might aggravate or even precipitate degenerative diseases of the nervous system and brain such as Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s disease, ALS, and Alzheimer’s disease.

So begins the book Excitotoxins, the Taste That Kills, by Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, MD a practicing board-certified neurosurgeon with a profound understanding of the structure and function of the brain and nervous system.

What Dr. Blaylock discovered is too important to your health and the health of future generations for it to lie hidden. That’s why I feel you must know about it.

This article emphasizes the Excitotoxin MSG. But keep in mind that the very popular artificial sweetener aspartame (also known as Nutrasweet, Equal, and the new form Neotame) also acts in a similar manner to over-stimulate brain cells to death.

Why do food manufacturers add MSG to our processed food?

For the taste of it!,

You see, Japanese cooks discovered a sea weed, “sea tangle” or kombu that made their dishes of food taste delectable. Eventually the Japanese isolated this flavor enhancing ingredient as MSG – Mono Sodium Glutamate – and turned it into a worldwide multimillion dollar empire.

After World War II American food manufacturers discovered MSG and started adding it to processed food (which is often rather bland tasting without additives). Now it’s a huge lucrative industry in the United States. In 1972 262,000 metric tons of MSG was produced in America.

Until the 1960′s few people suspected that MSG could be harmful to our health. Most scientists assumed that glutamate supplied energy to the brain.

So MSG continued to be added to food in huge amounts and also to baby food. Then Dr. Olney, MD a neuroscientist at The Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis in 1967 discovered that specialized cells in a very critical area of the brain, the hypothalamus, were destroyed after a single dose of MSG. Despite a long fight with the FDA and food manufacturers Dr. Olney and others finally succeeded in banning MSG from infant food.

However, other food additives can have similar effects as MSG and still be found in infant and toddler’s food. These foods have been called excitotoxins by neuroscientists. Neurons (nerve cells) in the brain exposed to these substances initially become very excited, firing rapidly until they become completely exhausted. “Several hours later these neurons suddenly die, as if the cells were excited to death.” The name excitotoxins seems appropriate.

What is the basic composition of excitotoxins?

Excitotoxins found in nature are all amino acids including glutamate, aspartate and cysteine. Add a sodium molecule to the glutamate and you have mono sodium glutamate. But the toxic part is the glutamate, not the sodium.

You also ingest these amino acids when you eat a natural whole food protein source. However, in natural whole food these amino acids come in balanced proportions, so that none of them induce high blood levels of any individual amino acid. When MSG is added to processed food, glutamate is concentrated and induces high blood levels which can allow higher levels of glutamate to enter the brain.

Be wise – become familiar with the other names for MSG:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/hidden-sources-of-msg/

For more of this cover-up info read on:

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-2/

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-3/

http://dr-jo-md.com/bewise/excitotoxins-part-4/

Blessings,

Dr. Jo

Filed under: Food toxins, Nutrition on August 29th, 2011 | 3 Comments »