Archive for May, 2011
Documentary | “Food Matters”
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“You are what you eat”
We hear this time and time again, but what, if anything does it really mean to us.
Came across a documentary, Food Matters, which goes into some fair depth (it’s 77 minutes long!) and gives some insight into the relationship between nutrition, health and our relationship with food here in the western world.
Among other things, the documentary also looks at:
1. Our [western] society’s “Taking a pill to cure an ill” approach and it’s obsession with use of drugs.
2. Methods of cleansing the body and the concept that “Food can affect your mood”
3. Cancer and the war against it – how it works and the ability of the human body to fight it… or not.
4. “Education” vs. “Medication”
5. “Superfood” diets – The argument foroOrganic, plant based, and raw foods
I’ll admit, it does come across a bit “The Secret”-ish in the way it is presented, BUT it does highlight important points -
1. Why is it that most of us pay more attention to what we wear than what we eat and
2. That a healthy diet is an important component to us feeling our best and achieving happiness.
See direct link to documentary here.
What are your thoughts?
b Freakin’Fabulous
Photo: Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Springing Forward —–>
Spring time!
Well, with the temperatures that I’ve been experiencing over the past week in these parts, it feels more like summer but I know better than to say it too loud let alone BELIEVE temperatures may not dip again until September.
Still, gotta love Spring though.
It brings with it a sense of renewal, endless possibilities and just a general feeling of rebirth. And why not? The days are longer – extended by an easy 5 hours at least, the sun is out, the place is brighter and the great depression that is winter season is but a distant memory. Hell, I feel like I’ve moved cities. Winter blues what? Arguably, the best of all, there’s little [no] need to pop those ‘happy’ [Vitamin D] pills – Goodbye Seasonal Affective Disorder!
It’s like the ‘April showers’ washed away the proverbial death, darkness and gloom and have made way for the reawakening of the earth.
Just yesterday, I peered out my window – my view of the road below obscured by bare and barren sticks attached to branches on the grandfather tree that appeared to have called it quits after the winter had it’s way with it; All signs of life removed.
Only to wake up this morning and there is it – LIFE. Leaves a’ sproutin’, branches be swayin’ in the wind, and once again, there is abundant life. As harsh as the winter wants to be, with every spring hope returns. Without fail, there is renewal every year.
“Do you worst…”, said the tree, “.. for I have what I need to weather your fiercest storm”.
You see, though all of the auxiliaries may be lost – the flowers, the leaves, even some of the branches – the root… the core… the soul remains in tact, and therefore regeneration is always possible.
Likewise, in our trials, sometimes we may lose some stuff along the way – people, possessions, sometimes even family, but as long as we hold tight to our core self, we are possible. It is when we are stripped down to our bare selves, that we find there is opportunity to re-emerge – Fresher. Healthier. Happier, and with any hope, smarter.
After all, when we’ve hit rock bottom, and dug downward the furthest we can go till we hear the ‘klang ‘klang of metal against metal, there is really no other direction left to go but up. And on this trek back upward, with the help of the sun shining though, we can see clearly now, because guess what, we’ve past it all on the way down!
Only now, we’re armed with the knowledge of what is and isn’t for us this ’rounds. So it’s really up to us to choose not to pay that tuition twice.
Just now to pull out the microfiber and dust off our [vintage] glare blockers, aka hater mace, and, with a little a pep in our step, move smartly along with our determination to push on through.
b Freakin’Fabulous
Photo: razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Parabens and YOU
Parabens. Parabens. Parabens.
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I’ve just cursed you in skincare language – 3 times too. Ha!
Parabens have received a pretty bad rep in skincare recently, resulting in large part from a UK study back in 2004 that looked at paraben-containing deoderant and it’s relation to breast cancer.
But before we get into that…”I know they are bad but…”
What ARE Parabens?
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Parabens are preservatives that are commonly used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industry to guard against bacterial and fungal activity, and prevent the growth of other possible organisms such as mold and yeast. They are widely used because they have been found to have the least ability to sensitize (cause redness and irritation, among other reactions) the skin in preparations that are left on the skin.
Parabens are easily identifiable as they would normally contain the word ‘paraben’, as in methylparaben, ethylparaben, etc.
Why use preservatives cosmetics?
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Well… let’s think about it for a second.
Take your everyday skincare cosmetics – Your cleanser. Your toner. Your moisturizer. – Chances are water is listed somewhere on the ingredient list.
This would be the case unless of course you are using something that contains no water at all, like 100% of an oil based substance – 100% Shea Butter for example, or perhaps loose powder (or ‘baby’ powder) which is basically 100% talc – no water present. We’re not talking about these. No water means no disease carrying organisms to worry about.
Think about mixing a concoction of different (edible) ingredients from your kitchen with water in a container, covering it and putting it away on a shelf. Then think about opening this container 12-24 months later. Would you drink the mixture? If not why not?
Cause it will be wrenk that’s why. Eww.
Bacteria and fungi have a field day and multiply in water (with the presence of oxygen), unless there is something, in this case some ingredient present that inhibits it’s growth.
The same concept applies regarding water-based skincare cosmetics – basically different ingredients suspended in water.
Therefore, it is important to use a preservative(s) in these cosmetics when it is required that they remain safe for use after sitting on a shelf in a store, on your dresser or worse – under the face-basin in your bathroom for a year… or two.
Okay… But what’s the deal?
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So back to the initial sentance, the real jibber-jabber with parabens came around 2004 when a UK-based study looked at the use of parabens in deoderants, and it’s connection to the development of breast cancer.
The Issue: Parabens have been shown to have estrogen-like qualities and they’ve also been shown to be absorbed into the body when applied topically, hence begging the question – Are they somehow cancer causing?
Studies and tests have shown that:
1. The estrogenic effects of parabens are thousands times lower than the most estrogenic compound in the body and that
2. Once they enter the body, parabens are incapable of imitating estrogen. The U.S Food & Drug Administration [FDA] has also stated:
“FDA is aware that estrogen activity in the body is associated with certain forms of breast cancer. Although parabens can act similarly to estrogen, they have been shown to have must less estrogenic activity than the body’s naturally occuring estrogen.”
Moreover, the Milady’s Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredient’s Dictionary indicates that plant substances including but not limited to soybeans, strawberries, sage, dong quai, pumpkin, red clover and rosehips are considered to have natural estrogenic effects 1000 to 1,000,000 times stronger than parabens.
Righto. I type this as I inhale a bowl of fresh strawberries I just copped for 99c a carton.
So with no solid proof that parabens are related to [breast] cancer then…
Why the controversy?
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Who really knows?
There’s not nearly as much fuss over the use of tanning beds and its relation to skin cancer, and it can be argued that the case is much stronger for that link.
Perhaps, as with most other skin care myths, it’s just a marketing strategy, which means that the ‘controversy’ is being fueled by the skin care manufacturers – Those who have replaced the use of parabens in the skin care cosmetics with some other preservative, never mind they don’t state exactly what that preservative is, other than stating “Paraben Free” on the label.
Given that parabens were shown to be the least sensitizing, could it be that the replacement preservative(s) is/ are more sensitizing/ dangerous than the use of parabens?
Or perhaps, I don’t know, the replacement preservative used is less effective than parabens and therefore puts the user/ user’s skin at more risk if the product is either used past it’s safe-by date (which usually goes unchecked), or after having endured unfavourable conditions, like being out in the sun for example.
I can ponder forever.
Definitely something to think about while you sip your overpriced soy latte after making a trip to the local tanning salon.
Just sayin’.
b Freakin’Fabulous