Feeling Happy and Safe In Your Own Skin - Part 1

Of course I'm worth it and so are you!

Here's my first rant for the new year - I'm not at all reluctant to tell you that I am 52 years old.  That means that I have been being bombarded with skin care, make-up, and other youthful appearance enhancing regimen propoganda for many years.  I'll tell you, I like nothing better than settling in to watch a good episode of Law & Order UK or House Hunters and be confronted with a 25 year old model endorsing wrinkle reducing products.  Really?  Oh yeah, I want to look like that all right.  Will Oil of Olay's latest line do that for me?  Is that beautiful young woman going to make me run out and spend more of my hard earned money in search of the elusive "lotion" of youth?  In a word - no.

Or how about Andie MacDowell, Loreal's "because you're worth it" spokesperson?  Does she or doesn't she?  She's 50+ and her skin looks great.  She claims she hasn't had plastic surgery but I found several anti-aging links to a site featuring Botox and other treatments like retinol.  Plus in addition to Loreal, she uses Caudalie, a French skin line.  Their anti-aging product, "Premier Cru, The Ultimate Anti-ageing Cream" (sic) must really be good stuff - $150.00 bucks for 1.7 ounces.  No wonder she looks good.  Sort of gives new meaning to Loreal's slogan doesn't it?

Love Stacia's youthful 40+ look.

I'm worth it, absolutely, and so are you, but the reality is that most woman and men I know can't afford that kind of money for skin care.  More to the point, it's not necessary to pay that much for quality products.  And what the national brands don't focus on, but I will, is how your skin works, why it is important to take care of your skin and pay as much attention to what you put on it as any other supplement you take.


Think of your skin as your body's Homeland Defense agency.  Skin is the body’s largest and most vulnerable organ. Quite literally, it is the dividing line between you and the outside world. Your skin is the body’s primary line of defense against external injury, ultraviolet light, microorganisms, and environmental pollutants. Your skin also helps regulate body temperature and moisture loss.

In fact, skin is about 20% water. This moisture is critical to healthy skin. It helps keep surface cells supple, plump, firm, and youthful looking. The ability of skin cells to properly regulate the loss of moisture from the skin is a key indicator of skin health. Another essential for optimum skin health and youthful appearance is sebum — the blend of natural oils produced by the skin’s sebaceous glands.

Mom and Dad, the 70's never looked so good.

When natural skin moisture and sebum production are in healthy balance, a hydrolipid (water and oil) film is formed over the skin’s surface, helping to keep skin soft, smooth, and supple. This oil/moisture balance also maintains a slightly acidic pH, which helps discourage harmful bacterial growth.

The continuous shedding of the surface skin layer is the end result of healthy skin growth. As millions of new skin cells push up from the base of the epidermis every day, the outermost cells flake off. This continuous process of renewal is crucial to maintaining the skin’s protective barrier function. Exfoliation — which assists this natural shedding process — can also help keep skin healthier by reducing the amount of time skin cells damaged by ultraviolet light or free radicals linger on the skin’s surface.

Our brother Drew

When youthful skin is functioning at its best, healthy skin cells are created in the basal layer and rise through the epidermis to the surface (strateum corneum) rapidly — there’s a complete turnover about every 28 days. A cushion of fat above muscles pads the bony structure of the body to create rounded contours, while collagen and elastin fibers in the deeper layers of the skin provide firmness and resilience.

There's that word - youthful.   We all know that time doesn't stand still and along with our other organs, skin doesn't remain youthful as we age without help.  Our skin ages in two ways: through the accumulated physical changes that happen with the passage of time (chronological aging), and through the accumulated damage caused by exposure to environmental pollutants and UV radiation (accelerated aging).

The next generation - Sarah Davis and daughter Jaleena

In my next post I'll share information about the specific effects of chronological and accelerated aging and some tips for what you can do at any age to keep your skin functioning at it's best.  Does that mean you will look 25 when you are 55?  No and really feeling comfortable in your own skin at any age is more about inner beauty and spirit than outer appearances.  The most important reason to keep your skin healthy is to keep it working as efficiently as possible to protect your body from the environment and the same things that keep you healthy on the inside keep your skin healthy on the outside.

Stacia and I use Shaklee's Enfuselle line of skin care products.  We love them because they work, are economical, and safe for both our bodies and the planet.  And with Shaklee's guarantee, you have nothing to loose by trying out the products.

Echinacea - The latest topic in the science vs. chicken soup debate.

I find that most physicians and pharmacists rely on tested, studied, FDA approved medications rather than on herbal, homeopathic or traditional remedies.  It’s the old science vs. chicken soup debate.  For example, does the herb echinacea relieve the symptoms or shorten the duration of the common cold? You can “google” echinacea and in three seconds get a million answers.  I would be willing to bet that most sites on the first two or three pages of results will advise you to stick to “scientifically proven” remedies.

According to a story in USAToday on Monday, December 20, 2010, “Dr. Bruce Barrett and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin tackled the question again, using newspaper ads and posters to find volunteers with colds in the Madison, Wis., area.”  Dr. Bruce found that any benefits of taking echinacea were modest at best could have occurred by chance or be attributed to the placebo effect.  The article recommends rest, fluids, pain relievers and over-the-counter medications to relieve symptoms.  You can read the article here:  http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/alternative/2010-12-20-echinacea-cold-remedy_N.htm

The article says that the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health has spent $6.8 million testing echinacea since 2002.  So why do scientists keep testing echinacea?  Is it because when you buy it you aren’t buying pain relievers and over the counter cold and cough “medicines”?  We have known for generations that echinacea is safe to use so how about using that money to find a cure for, oh I don’t know, cancer, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, Parkinson’s disease . . .

I would suggest to you that regardless of what the National Center of Complementary Alternative Medicine says, thousands of years of study and successful use by Native Americans can’t be chalked up to chance.  They used echinacea to lower fever, fight infection and even treat snake bites.  It’s probably no accident that echinacea or purple coneflower became a popular garden plant.  Today it is a staple herbal cold and flu treatment.   According to one of my favorite herb books, The Humorous Herbalist by Laurel Dewey, echinacea is known to boost the immune system by releasing virus fighting chemicals which increase the production of T-cells.  Dewey says, “In plain talk, echinacea is like having a big burly body guard who doesn’t let anyone hurt you.”

There are a few tricks to taking echinacea so that you get the most benefit from it.  The most important thing agreed on by a number of sources, is to start taking the herb the moment you feel the first tickle in your throat or the first sniffle catches your attention.  If you wait until you are sneezing your head off and blowing your nose until you look like Rudolph, you’ve waited too long.  Secondly, don’t take echinacea all the time.  It becomes less effective after being taken for 14 consecutive days.  Dewey says that she takes it for two to three days and then lets her body’s own defenses take over.  She warns that echinacea should not be given to children under two years old and that you should not take it if you have an autoimmune disease.  In Prescription for Nutritional Healing (Third Edition) by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC and James F. Balch, M.D., it is recommended that echinacea be taken in combination with goldenseal in a liquid extract form.  Dewey uses a tincture of echinacea. 

Here comes the disclaimer.  Neither of us sisters here at Sisters 4 Healthy Living are doctors so please do some research on your own.  We want to encourage and challenge you to take responsibility for your health care and consider using remedies that are not only safe and have few side effects but are going to be healthier for you in the long term.

In their book Why Do I Feel This Way Christine Gaber, RHN and Charlene Day, RDC recommend using Shaklee’s Defend and Resist Complex.  It contains a blend of Echinacea purpurea (168 mg), Black Elderberry Juice Blend (480 mg), Larch Tree (300 mg) and Zinc (15mg).  Is there scientific evidence to support the claims of effectiveness?

Recent studies have shown that cichoric acid and alkylamides found in the Echinacea plant have immunoactive properties. It has also been demonstrated that these phytonutrients occur in higher concentrations in the leafy parts of the plant than in the root. In laboratory tests, Echinacea boosts the production and activity of white blood cells. . . Black Elderberries are a rich source of antioxidant compounds called anthocyanidins and polyphenols. . .  There is evidence that echinacea’s benefits are enhanced by immunoactive arabinogalactans that are extracted from the heartwood of the Larch Tree. (Claims have not been evaluated by the FDA).

This information was compiled by Shaklee from a 1999 article in The Journal of Family Practice and a 1995 article in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

On our Facebook Page I told you I’d give you the “Sisters’” side of the story.  We’d suggest that you give Defend and Resist Complex a try.  The great thing about Defend and Resist Complex is that you can swallow it, chew it, or dissolve it in hot water and drink as a tea.  For adults take six tablets through out the day at the first sign of a cold for seven days.  We think you’ll be pleased with the results.  If not, you can always go back to the cold remedy isle.  As with all Shaklee products if you are not completely happy with Defend and Resist Complex you can return it for a full refund.

For more information and to purchase go to:  http://vicki.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sku=20613  or

http://stacia.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sku=20613

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Clutter As Poetry

"Clutter is the poetry of our homes.  It is an intimate view that is not always perfect - a few dishes in the sink, books piled next to the bed.  Everything in its place may give a certain satisfaction, but a lived-in room exudes comfort and warmth."  Mary Randolph Carter, A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life


I saw this quote in a copy of Country Living Magazine I was reading in bed this morning while I drank my second cup of coffee.  I looked around my room at the clothes in the chair, the stacks of books and magazines and the film of dust on my dresser.  Sigh.  And this is just my side of the room.  I don't even want to talk about Lee's side.  I had been excusing the state of my cluttered house all summer by telling people that I hardly spend anytime inside so I don't notice the dust that needs dusting or the rug that needs vacuuming.  And Clutter?  Can we talk?  Lee and I are both accumulators.  I rarely get rid of a book or something that might be useful in a craft project, Lee rarely throws out a catalog and we both love the little tsatskes we've gathered up over the years.  Don't worry, we're not hoarders but when you walk into our house you know right a way that we love nature, we have a dog, we read and we are very comfortable in our home.


Thinking about the state of my home as poetry has made me ridiculously happy today.  I actually enjoyed looking at the stack of canning jars in the kitchen waiting for ingredients and the recycling bin that needs to be emptied just makes me appreciate the door that hides it from sight.  I looked at Lee's desk with a new appreciation for the expression of, hmm, something that allows him to work away happily amidst stacks of catalogs, packing materials and flyers.  Poetry - I like it.

This afternoon I'm going to do some laundry and clean up the kitchen.  I'm not going to worry about the little things that won't get done - like cleaning the top of the fridge or dusting the chicken figurine collection - and I'm going to feel great about the stacks of clean clothes on the bed and my fresh kitchen ready for my next cooking foray.  But you know, if something comes up that I would rather do or that I need to do, it's not going to bother me if I don't get either the clothes washed or the kitchen cleaned up.  In fact, is that Pearl wanting to go outside?  Yes it is and, look, it's ten above zero and it's a sunny day and it will only be light for a short time - I better take Pearl for a walk.  Poetry.

Happy Weekend,
Vicki

Happy Thanksgiving

As you celebrate with your loved ones this Thanksgiving, please know that today and every day we are so grateful for everything that you do to spread the message that a healthier life and a better life is within everyone's reach. We give thanks to you for sharing the gift of Shaklee.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND HAPPY HEALTH TO YOU AND YOURS!
Vicki O. Penwell and Stacia O. Brethen

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