The "C" Monster

Lots of personal care & skin care products tout having vitamin C in them.

Here's the good news about C: it slows the break-down of collagen in the skin.

What's collegen? It's like the frame for your skin. It makes your skin fit so that it doesn't sag & wrinkle. In other words, vitamin C can help slow down accelerated aging of the skin, so your skin stays smooth and wrinkle-free. It's an anti-aging vitamin. So, having C in skin care & personal care products makes sense. Right? Products like hand & body lotion, face cleansing products, day & night creams, etc.

Here's what you want to know:

Look at the ingredients label of a product that says it has vitamin C in it. Does it list water as an ingredient? If it does, there's little or no vitamin C in the product. They're basically "C" monsters. It may (or may not) have been put in the product when it was made, but by the time it reaches you, it won't be there, or it will be there is such tiny amounts as to make no difference.

Why is that?

Because Vitamin C is water soluble. We learned that in 7th grade science class, right? Exposed to water, it immediately begins to break down. "But oranges, which have a lot of vitamin C (if they're organic) have water in them!", you say. Yes, but when vitamin C is in it's natural tissue - like the tissue of an orange - it doesn't break down as long as the orange is whole & intact. "But don't companies that make those products know that?", you ask. Maybe. Maybe not.

Take home message: Read labels, and understand what you're reading. Look for a skin care product that has no water in the formula. Yes, they're out there. And in my book, pretty packaging isn't a good substitute for a good product, either.

Be well - be informed!

Nancy

3 Things We Can Do 4 Earth Day

I was thinking about Earth Day coming up (April 22), and wondering what kinds of things I can do that will have a cumulative impact on the planet. And also, of course, on all of us people who live on this wonderful, blue planet.

3 Things We Can Do For Earth Day

• 1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Well, that's 3 right there - but I'm counting it as one for this post. We already do these 3 things in our home, but I'm thinking we could do them MORE. I use concentrated home cleaners & laundry products that reduce packaging waste in landfills - and they work just great! I'm thinking I can further reduce waste - like turning off the water faucet when I'm brushing my teeth.

• 2. Locate One 'Green' Business. Then give them YOUR business. I found a great dry-cleaners near us that does 'green' dry-cleaning. They don't use all those chemicals that give you a headache & make your clothes smell nasty for days. And their service is great! I give them my dry-cleaning business. This past week, I found a salon that uses non-toxic hair coloring products, and gave them my business.

• 3. Read Labels. I was thinking I did pretty good on that one - however, I recently discovered that there's a lot more to people's understanding of reading labels than I thought. Here's what happened: The grocery store where I shop always gives out tidbits of food & drink to shoppers. A young woman with a small boy was taking a sample of an apple juice drink, & offered me one. I declined, explaining that it wasn't organic so it would have pesticides in it. She grabbed a bottle of the juice & said, "NO it doesn't - LOOK! It says on the label, 'water, apple juice, lemon juice, & sugar - it doesn't say pesticides!" I explained that apples are a heavily sprayed fruit and the juice would have pesticides in it. She exclaimed again, "NO! It's not on the label! It doesn't have any!"

YIKES! I watched the young woman and her toddler walk away each drinking their apple juice drinks.

Planting trees is a good thing to do, if you have the space. I discovered that it takes 10 trees to support the oxygen needs of one person, over their lifetime. We're short on trees in the world.

If you don't have space to plant one, here are the websites for American Forests, and for The Green Belt Movement. You can donnate for trees to be planted. How cool is that??

http://www.americanforests.org/

http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/

I thought of 3 things (well - 4 really) - and I'll bet you can think of WAY more. Please share your ideas with everyone, below - just click on comments.

No one can do everything - but everyone can do something!

Nancy

Making Bones

Greetings!

After 2 1/2 years and nearly 300 posts, I'm starting MyHealthBytes out with a new format and new look!

Let me know what you think... :)

Here's a head-scratcher for almost all of us at one time or another: Calcium.

Am I getting too much? Not enough?

I used to think I got a lot of calcium from the food I eat - then I found out - it wasn't true! Calcium in milk is bound by the pasteurization process. In other words - what's done to milk that makes it safe to drink makes it NOT a good source of calcium. Same with processed cheeses.

Bummer!

There are also lots of foods that don't normally contain much or any calcium that the thoughtful food industry has added calcium to - like orange juice. HUH?

If you're a pre-menopausal woman age 25 to 50, you need to supplement your calcium intake with about 1,000 mg./day. For men 25 to 65, the same. Post-menopausal women need more - about 1,200 - 1,500/day. Here's the kicker: Calcium alone in NOT ENOUGH. To actually abosorb calcium into your bones, you need a supplement that provides the 'mortar' for the 'bricks' (calcium). Your supplement needs to also contain vitamin D, magnesium, and a little zinc, copper, manganese & boron.

So don't count on an ant-acid to supply you with adequate dietary calcium. And if your doc told you to use one for your calcium supplement, your doctor is a knucklehead. (Guess what? They don't teach nutrition in medical school, except as an elective, unless they went to UNC in the last 15 years.)

BTW - kids need calcium too. About 800 - 1,200 mg./day, with the supporting nutrients for absorption. And contrary to popular opinion, calcium does not cause kidney stones and/or bone spurs. Actually, a lack of adequate dietary calcium is the culprit. The body has this cool thing it does to maintain your heart rhythm, cellular integrity & other stuff it uses calcium for: It will pull calcium out of your bones to put it into your blood stream, and the resulting oxylates can settle in joints causing bone spurs, or result in kidney stones.

Take Home Message for wanting an adequate calcium intake:

• Helps retain normal blood pressure


• Helps prevent osteroporosis


• Helps reduce PMS symptoms like bloating, water retention, cramps, irritability, & mood swings.

If you're using a calcium supplement, drop one in ordinary tap water. It should dissolve completely without being shaken or stirred, in 30 minutes or less. That's the pharmaceutical industry standard for dissolution for uncoated tablets. If it doesn't, you can be sure it's not dissolving in your body either. And - you cannot get 1,000 mg. or even 500 mg of calcium into a single tablet. If the tablet has been pressed hard enough to contain that much, you can bet it will never dissolve! And - check the label; does it have those supporting nutrients in the formula?

Some people swear that adequate calcium also helps prevent cravings. I don't know about the scicnce behind that, but hey - it wouldn't hurt to try. Right?

Have a good one!

Nancy