Trick Or Treat
Making sense of skincare and nutrition labels can be very complicated and scary especially when you can hardly pronounce the ingredient names. Figuring it all out is no easy task when life gets in the way and all we want is to look and feel good. So what's the answer? You can become an educated consumer and make a shift in your lifestyle. I will briefly explain definitions of types of skincare ingredients and rules to follow to bust the label ghosts that trick and fool you everyday and help you make and educated decision on your next trip to the market or cosmetic counter.
Skin Ingredient Rules
Chiral:
Can be derived from natural or synthetic ingredients; causes the least amount of irritation and less chance for adverse reactions. Chirally correct products are never artificial and always recognizable by receptors. This is beyond organic and even more active.
Natural/Organic:
Is created by nature however, contrary to popular belief, natural ingredients can cause irritation. In fact, anything can cause irritation. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the term natural, so keep in mind that any and every company can claim its products are just that. Not all organic skincare or foods are created equal.
Artificial:
Fake and foreign; may contain artificial fragrance and colors; may look or smell similar to natural ingredients but is not recognizable by the skin or body.
One of biggest misconception when reading skin care labels is that you can tell how good a product is from the ingredient deck alone. While it is important to know what’s in every product it's the formulation that counts the most. Slight variances in the processing, concentrations and percentages can make all the difference. The list of ingredients does not tell you how labor intensive the product is to make—whether or not it was cold processed or cooked by an automatic cooker; mixed by hand or in a 500 gallon vat; or made fresh to order or pre-made and stored in drums. This will also decide the cost; bottom line a great product is not easy or cheap to produce. Wouldn't you rather pay for labor and know your getting a good product and not be tricked by advertising and marketing scams or be spending your dollar for packaging alone? If you have a question about an ingredient or product you need to contact a professional, the manufacturer or search the definition of ingredients on a reputable website such as: ewg.org. Furthermore, I learned this myself not to long ago if a company chooses to abide by INCI regulations, The International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients, they must use the chemical name for their ingredients. This is a system of names for waxes, oils, pigments, chemicals and other ingredients found in cosmetics, based on scientific names and other Latin words so you may not recognize the name of a popular ingredient.
Food Rules
The USDA’s Dietary Guidelines are due for another overhaul. The current version, called MyPyramid, is what the USDA thinks a healthy diet should look like, and every five years the government reevaluates what being healthy means. Unfortunately lobbyists have traditionally had a hand in what the USDA decides to promote in its healthy dietary formula. Shouldn't you stop letting someone else or the government for that matter decide what you should be eating and be proactive about your health. Most people don’t think of inflammation as a catalyst for making food choices, but perhaps it should be. In today’s fast paced world, we often substitute health for convenience. By picking processed or ‘fast’ foods over natural, more nourishing choices, we create an acidic internal environment more prone to outward signs of inflammation. Inflammation is how our immune system responds to injury if you keep this in mind and refrain from eating inflammatory foods this is a good first food rule. I've taken 4 other rules to follow from Michael Pollan author of The Ominvore's Dilemma (a must read for everyone) FOOD RULES an Eater's Manual.
#1 Eat foods high in anti-inflammatory properties
Fruits and Vegetables: Eat at least nine one-half cup servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The antioxidants found in green leafy vegetables and colored fruits help prevent free radical oxidation that contributes to inflammation. It’s best to eat these foods raw, as cooking destroys some of their beneficial enzymes and antioxidants.
Healthy Proteins: Cell, muscle and tissue health depend on protein, and the best sources of proteins for an anti-inflammatory diet are omega-3 rich cold water fish, free-range poultry and plant-based proteins such as beans, nuts and grains. Red meat contains pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid, and thus, should be consumed in moderation. Poaching and stewing methods are healthier ways to cook meat than frying and barbecuing, and replacing meat or fish with peanut butter or hummus once in a while creates a healthy change of pace.
Healthy Fats: The fats found in olive oil, pumpkin and flax seeds, walnuts, almonds and macadamia nuts are sources of essential fatty acids that have anti-inflammatory properties. Avoid saturated and trans fats, as well as cottonseed, corn, peanut and soy oils, which contain omega-6 fatty acids that can compromise the beneficial effects of the omega-3 fatty acids.
Super Foods/Greens: Superfood is a term sometimes used to describe food with high phytonutrient content. Raw plant foods are simple and contain thousands of health-giving nutrients, and conform to the biological design of the human digestive system. Super greens can help reduce acidity and restore internal equilibrium.
#2 Eat Food
"Easier said than done, when thousands of new products show up in the supermarket each year, all vying for your food dollar. But most of these items don't deserve to be called food-I call them edible food like substances. They are highly processed concoctions designed by food scientists. Choose real food and avoid these industrial novelties."
#3 Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup
"Not because HFCS is any worse for you than sugar, but because it is, like many unfamiliar ingredients in packaged foods, a reliable marker for a food product that has been highly processed. Don't fall for the food industry's latest scam: products reformulated to contain "no HFCS" or "real can sugar." These claims imply these foods are somehow healthier, but they are not. Sugar is sugar."
#4 Avoid foods you see advertised on television
"Just like cosmetics marketers food marketers are ingenious at turning criticisms of their products-and rules like these-into new ways to sell slightly different versions of the same processed foods. If you avoid products with big ad budgets, you'll automatically be avoiding edible food like substances-Food Rule #2."
#5 Get out of the supermarket whenever you can
"You won't find any high-fructose corn syrup or anything microwaveable at the farmer's market. What you will find is whole, fresh foods harvested at the peak of their taste and nutritional quality. "Halloween can sometimes start the trend to giving in to the urge for sugar filled foods which can last all the way through the New Year. Breaking the rules once in a while is fine because it's about everyday practices that will govern your quality of life and happiness. Your skin, body and pocket will agree and you can achieve effortless health & beauty for a lifetime.”
Happy Halloween,
Claudia