What You Don't Know Can Harm You: Know Your Cleaners Before You BuyWritten by Vincent Platania
The next time you visit your supermarket or neighborhood retailer, take a quick walk down household cleaning isle. Take just a few seconds to notice smell, then move on. If you've already noticed smell, have you ever wondered if breathing that in might be harmful to your health? Well, that "clean-smelling" odor you detect all way down cleaner isle is caused by something industry experts have termed "out gassing." Out gassing is process by which those chemical vapors escape from containers as they sit store shelves. And, just breathing them can be extremely hazardous. As you may know, inhalation (or breathing) is one of three major ways that harmful chemicals can enter your body. The other two ways include ingestion (or swallowing) and absorption through skin. Inhalation is even more dangerous than actually ingesting a chemical, because harmful agents go directly into blood stream to affect lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys. It happens almost instantly. These chemically-based cleaners may get cleaning job done, but vapors can enter your system and start doing their damage before you even realize what's happening. Now let's talk about absorption. One square centimeter of your skin contains millions of cells and nerve endings. This is why we're seeing advertisements for anti-smoking or weight-loss patches. They work because ingredients enter your body easily through skin. Unfortunately, same applies to chemicals. Every time a cleaning product or other chemical touches your skin, it gets absorbed. Washing your hands after using such cleaners cannot prevent some level of absorption. In fact, even days after you've cleaned a surface, touching it, preparing food on it, or even walking across it can result in harmful chemicals being absorbed into your body. The third way harmful agents can enter your body is most obvious: ingestion. If you swallow something, it will eventually get into your blood stream and affect your internal organs.
| | Accutane without the ouchWritten by Naweko San-Joyz
Since 1982 Accutane has been a reliable, if not controversial, drug for treating severe acne. Now with FDA representative David J. Graham’s statement that Accutane should be taken off market, and pharmaceutical manufacturer La Roche’s defense of Accutane’s safety in a Florida courtroom, access to Accutane faces mounting restrictions.Accutane provokes five acne-fighting actions that anyone can replicate using nutrition and self-care. Reduce excess oil secretion: Accutane is a derivative of vitamin A and reduces secretion of oil by oil glands. Foods that supply body with Vitamin A and beta-carotene (which is converted to vitamin A by body) include: Liver, oily fish, whole eggs, carrots, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. Encourage extreme shedding of skin: Using a peel is easiest method to promote shedding of skin. Exfoliation releases build-up of dead skin cells, oils and bacteria trapped in pores, which could lead to formation of blemishes. Extreme peels Peels come in varying degrees, from mild to harsh. The trichloroacetic acid (TCA) peel is an extreme peel that can cost from $100 to $1000 depending on degree of treatment. It is only performed in a doctor’s office. The TCA is not a save all however. The peel can make skin sensitive to sun cause hyper-pigmentation. Home use peels: Several over-the-counter peels contain papaya enzymes or glycolic acid. These peels lightly exfoliate skin and are safe for weekly use.
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