Best Sunscreen is an Organic Sunscreen

Best Sunscreen - Organic Sunscreen

There are thousands of sunscreens and sunblocks out there.  The vast majority of them are loaded with carcinogenic chemicals (cause cancer) – kind of defeats the purpose of protecting skin from skin cancer doesn’t it?  Aside from some of these chemicals causing cancer, some are hormonal disruptors, cause liver damage, kidney damage, skin damage, birth defects, dermatitis, breast cancer, clogs pores and genetic mutation – attacks your DNA!  Obviously the best sunscreen contains none of these chemicals.

Organic sunscreens / natural sunscreens (also known as biodegradable sunscreen).  Do not contain these nasty chemicals.  As in natural nutrition, the closer you stay to nature, the better.  So read the labels on any suntan lotion, sunscreen lotion or sunblock lotion and stay away from chemicals that are detrimental to your health.  Sun protection by using a sun screen or sun block is vital so if you are in the direct sun for an extended period of time, wear sunscreen.

Avoid These Ingredients in your Sunscreen:

• Parabens – Endocrine disruptors
• Octyl salicyclate
• Sodium laurel, lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate – becomes nitrosamine
• Avobenzone
• Mineral oil – clogs pores, disrupts hormonal function
• Oxybenzone
• Propylene glycol – Dermatitis, kidney and liver abnormalities
• Cinoxate
• Padimate O  (PABA) – attacks DNA, causes genetic mutation
• Octyl-dimethyl (PABA) – same as above, different name
• Octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC) – kills skin cells
• Dioxybenzone
• Phenylbenzimidazole
• Homosalate
• Toluene – liver and kidney damage, birth defects
• Acrylamide – breast cancer
• Sulisobenzone
• Menthyl anthranilate
• Phenol carbolic acid – Circulatory collapse, paralysis, convulsions, coma, death from respiratory failure
• Trolamine salicyclate
• Octocrylene

The Sun is Good for You

If you listen to the TV, radio, print media, medical journals, you would swear sunlight is your worst enemy!  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Think about it.  The promotion and use of sunscreen over the last 30 years has been universal.  During this same time, the most common skin cancers, basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma have also risen.  Why would they rise if more and more people are “protecting” their skin with sunscreen lotions and sunblock lotions?

Unless you have been living in a cave, you could not have avoided all the press about the health benefits of vitamin D.  D3, the natural form is best.  The best way to obtain vitamin D is to expose your skin to 10 to 20 minutes of direct sun, without suntan lotion or sun block.  THEN use an organic sunscreen (which is also a biodegradable sunscreen) to prevent sun burn and skin damage.  The sun is only strong enough during the summer to produce vitamin D through your skin (converts cholesterol to vitamin D).  Vitamin D is a powerful cancer fighter and preventer also.  So by blocking the sun, you are blocking the production of vitamin D.  During all other seasons, supplement with vitamin D3.

The sun’s rays are many but as far as sunburn goes, UVA and UVB (ultraviolet radiation A & B) are the culprits.  The sun protection factor – SPF is the rating of the blocking of UVA and UVB rays.  If you burn in 10 minutes without sun screen, an SPF 30 sunscreen will give you a sun protection of a factor of 30 or 30 times longer before you burn (instead of 10 minutes, you would not burn for 10 x 30 = 300 minutes or 5 hours).

We have established the benefits of tanning and vitamin D production.  One must be conscious of their exposure so not to burn their skin.  Go a short time working on your suntan without using sunblock, then apply an organic sunscreen with the appropriate SPF for:

• How sensitive to the sun your skin is
• The time of day (sun’s strength)
• Length of time in the sun

As important as sunscreens are to protect your skin from skin cancer, skin damage, wrinkles and aging – moisturizers, skin conditioners , nutrition and antioxidants will protect and rejuvenate your skin.  Certain nutrients like coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10 and resveratrol have a repairing effect and anti aging properties.  If you spend a lot of time in the sun or want radiant, glowing skin, consider adding these nutrients to your nutritional regimen.

Skin Care, Anti Aging and Anti-Wrinkle Creams

Health Tips

Health Tips for 2010 and Beyond

It is another new year and time to make some New Years Resolutions.  One of the most important and within everyone’s control is health and wellness.  Very attainable and easy to implement.  Depending upon your current state of health, genetics, age and physical status will determine what you need to do and how aggressively you need to pursue it.

What You Need to Be Healthy:

• Nutrition
• Rest/Sleep
• Exercise
• Detoxification
• Stress Management

Nutrition is the fuel and building blocks for repair and growth of the body.  Your body is a symphony of chemical actions and reactions.  Like a recipe, one missing ingredient and the result is not as good as intended.  One missing or deficient vitamin or mineral can interfere with bodily functions and processes.

Food should be the primary source of nutrition for the body.  Supplementation helps fill in the gaps as our food today is not as nutritious as in the past – depleted soils, chemical fertilizers, mega-farming, food processing stripping out nutrients…  Animals loaded with hormones, antibiotics, toxins such as pesticides, herbicides, fungicides are all detrimental to human health.  Water polluted with chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hormones – all of which adversely affect bodily processes.

Nutition Plan

• Drink filtered water
• Eat organic when possible – grass fed/free range animals
• Take a food based multivitamin daily
• Supplement according to your body’s needs
• Additional supplementation of:
• vitamin D3 (5000iu)
• vitamin C 2000mg+

By taking 5000iu of Vitamin D3 and 2+ grams of vitamin c daily, I have not been sick at all.  My family and my coworkers all have been sick a couple of times this winter alone – colds, flu, swine flu (H1N1)…  If I feel a tickle in my throat, I take a couple extra grams of vitamin C, an allicin (garlic) immune booster and beat it before I get sick.  I have not used a sick day at work in years!

Sleep/Rest

Everyone is a little different in their sleep requirements but generally need 8 hours of quality sleep.  The majority of bodily repairs and growth occurs during sleep.  It is a “recharging” of the body.

Sleep Tips

• Do not eat anything 2+ hours before bedtime
• Train yourself to stop thoughts while laying down
• Eliminate noises and distractions
• Go to bed the same time every night

Exercise

The human body is meant to move and several bodily processes are assisted by moving:

• Digestion/Elimination
• Lymph movement
• Circulation
• Detoxification…

It does not take hours a day to achieve the benefits of exercise.  If done correctly, 10 to 15 minutes a day is enough to become fit and healthy.

Quick Fitness Tips

• Build your heart and lungs with oxygen deprivation exercises
• Sprinting, sprinting up stairs or a hill
• Short intense bursts of up to 2 minutes until you are breathing heavy
• Any heavy weight lifting that makes you breathe hard

The key here is to push yourself to oxygen deprivation (to the point of breathing hard).  This forces your heart and lungs to improve efficiency and capacity.  With a strong heart and lungs you will feel almost invincible.

Detoxification

In our polluted world (especially indoor air pollution) and contaminated food and water supplies make detoxing important.  There are several methods to do this but 2 of the best are sweating/sauna and chlorophyll (algae – chlorella, grasses – wheatgrass, Kamut…)

Consume a chlorophyl green drink or tablets
Sit in a sauna or exercise in the heat and sweat out toxins

Stress Management / Stress Relief

Long term stress is accumulative and interferes with hormonal levels.  Cortisone being the main stress hormone but other hormones are involved as well.  Much of how we handle stress is determined by our mindsets and beliefs.  How one chooses to allow external factors affect one self is very powerful.  Generally, if it is outside of your control – let it be.  Do not focus on anything negative, try to see a positive for every situation or tell yourself – this will pass.

Tools for Stress Reduction

• Deep controlled breathing
• Meditation
• Bio-feedback
• hypnotism
• exercise

Notice how exercise covers, physical fitness, detoxing and stress (and more)?  That is 3 major benefits in one!  Find a way to incorporate this in your daily routine.  Entire books are written on each of these areas so for brevity I am passing along the main points of wellness.

To recap – Give your body:

• The nutrition it requires
• The rest/sleep it requires
• The exercise/movement it requires
• The detoxification it requires
• The stress management / stress relief it requires

What to Avoid

Just as important as what to provide your body for good health is what to avoid.  Here are some of the biggest health threat offenders:

• Sugar & HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) – diabetes, obesity…
• Artificial sweeteners (excitotoxins – kills brain cells)
• Highly processed foods (nutritionally empty calories)
• Junk foods (high calorie, low nutrition, bad for gut bacteria…)
• Sodas, fruit drinks (empty calories and HFCS or artificial sweeteners)
• Fake fats – trans fats – margarine, vegetable oil, canola oil, hydrogenated oils…
• Chlorinated water, fluoridated water

Do this and you will be healthier than 99% of the world.  Be the top 1 percent, feel great, accomplish much and be happier!

Emotional Eating When You Feel Down

Apologies for the super-short newsletter today but I just saw this and had to share it with you.

Fitness author Jon Benson sent this out and I thought it was both hilarious and powerful.

Ready?

“A study in Psychosomatic Medicine has confirmed that people tend to consume food in order to self-medicate their feelings of stress or anxiety.

They call it “emotional eating.”

I know… it’s a real shocker. ; )

But this isn’t meant to be cute or light about this diet-wrecker.

This is the number one reason diet- plans fail… I’ve seen it way too many times.

In case you missed it, here’s Jon’s short story about overcoming emotional eating and getting in touch with a better way to make food work for you… not against you…

http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/go/vitallywel/emotional-eating

More in a few days,

Tony

P.S.  Jon is continuing his fund-raising efforts for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. One week was not long enough.

Ten percent of all book proceeds will go to St. Jude.

Thanks to all of you who have participated!