When I was growing up, I drank either fizzy drinks or beverages made from cordial with every meal. The kitchen always had crates of aerated water lining one wall. We never drank plain water. At best, we would drink sweet tea heaped with sugar, the way our mom liked it.

My family was well-to-do, so we indulged in anything we liked. The dining table groaned with meat dishes, the larder was well-stocked with snacks, chocolates and other confectionery – you get the picture. As for personal care and household care products, we had all the well-known brands. Nothing but the “best” for us. What ingredients went into those products? Who knew and who cared? We were washed and powdered, and we smelled nice. That’s all that mattered.

From my teens, I bought lots of beauty products. They were a mix of unknown brands as well as famous brands. Skin care, hair products, cosmetics, I had the works. All I cared about was whether they made me look and smell good. In those days, what did anybody know about harmful and even carcinogenic ingredients in personal care products? We believed that well-known brands would only be made of the best ingredients, certainly nothing questionable or damaging to health. We never realised that the personal care and beauty products which we used daily could potentially harm us and make us sick.

We’ve come a long way, baby. Consumers today are better-informed about the dangers of common beauty and personal care ingredients such as:

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
Propylene Glycol
Ethanol / alcohol
Fluoride
Mineral Oil
Petrolatum
Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA)
Retinoic Acid
Avobenzone
Homosalate
Benzophenone
Formaldehyde
PEGs
Parabens
Ceteareth-20
Diethanolamine (DEA)

There are many more toxic chemicals and harmful ingredients we are exposed to at home which can cause illnesses like cancer, respiratory problems, eye problems like cataracts, liver and kidney ailments, Alzheimer’s Disease, and allergic reactions. Many of these harmful ingredients are in products we love to slather on our skin, apply on our eyes, put in our hair and clean our mouths with.

Had I known years ago what I know today, I probably would have avoided using most kinds of commercial skin care, hair and other beauty products, and gone natural as far as possible (safe personal care products were virtually unheard of until recent years). Had my parents known what many people know today, I’m sure they would have made better dietary choices.

Today, half my siblings – including myself – have been afflicted with cancer. One lost the battle. My other siblings grapple with a variety of health problems. My father spent the last 30 years of his life fighting a host of medical conditions. My mother has been in poor health for many years and her memory comes and goes. Sheer coincidence?

Prevention is obviously better than cure. We cannot undo the damage that has already been done, but we can do our best from now on to protect ourselves and our loved ones. This is particularly essential for those who are already dealing with health conditions like cancer. Boycott personal care and household products which use inferior and potentially harmful ingredients. Choose brands which avoid using questionable ingredients. Safety-conscious Neways International avoids using more than 3,000 questionable ingredients, and counting. What about the brands you use? What poison are you putting on your skin today?

Posted: March 11th, 2010 under Beauty Tips, Cancer, Enemies To Health, Health Basics 101, Safe Homes, Toxins & Pollutants.
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Is there anybody here who doesn’t enjoy trying out luxurious skincare products? Who doesn’t like being pampered with beauty products which leave your skin looking and feeling smooth, silky and youthful? Sadly, it’s been years since I’ve allowed any sales assistants at beauty counters to apply strange creams and lotions on my skin. I even avoid beauty workshops. Why? Well, have you seen what goes into common skincare products and cosmetics, even the expensive brands?

Propylene glycol, parabens, PEGs, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulphate, alcohol, petrolatum and talc are some widely-used ingredients which are potentially harmful and even carcinogenic. These are just a few of thousands of questionable ingredients which are used in bath products, skincare, make-up and other personal care products. You may not know it, but what you apply daily on your face and body may be making you sick and aging you prematurely.

Before I buy any personal care or beauty products, I read the ingredients on the label thoroughly. Nine out of 10 times, I end up putting the item back on the shelf. Even so-called “natural” or “organic” personal care products often contain questionable ingredients. When your family has a history of cancer as bad as mine does, you learn to get picky about what you expose yourself to, whether in food, the environment or personal care and household products. Any guest who stays in my home for a while will probably leave in better health than if they had stayed at a six-star hotel, because my family is so fussy about the safety and quality of the products we use.

This weekend brought happy news to me and many other safety-conscious consumers. My favorite safety-conscious health and wellness company, Neways International, launched a new skincare and beauty line which is comprehensive and effective while avoiding the use of at least 3,000 questionable ingredients, like toxins, dioxins, irritants, carcinogens, and contaminants. Can you think of any brand which has achieved this? Three cheers for Neways!

Ingredients and technologies used by Neways are typically safer and superior in quality than those typically used by many commercial brands. What’s got me even more excited is that Neways’ new True Touch skincare and cosmetics range uses a dizzying array of newly-discovered or little-known botanical ingredients. I pride myself in being well-informed, but Neways is now using healthy ingredients and technologies which are totally new even to me. Neways is also using more environmentally-friendly ingredients, such as bamboo, an environmentally-sustainable agricultural product (it’s the world’s fastest-growing plant) in the True Touch skin exfoliator called Clarifier.

After one beauty workshop yesterday, where I got to try many of the skincare products from Neways’ new True Touch line, my body was left tingling. Not just because the products had refreshed and invigorated my skin, but because I was excited to get the whole range home for my family to use. The products are so good they’re like vitamins and antioxidants for the skin, almost good enough to eat. No wonder they leave the skin looking and feeling great.

If you know of any other beauty brand which avoids using at least 3,000 questionable ingredients, while providing a range of skincare and make-up products as wide, comprehensive, effective and luxurious as Neways’ True Touch line, please write about it here. The more beauty options we have which are safe and healthy– and, preferably, even nourishing and healing – the better. Why put up with inferior and harmful personal care products anymore? Hallelujah!

Posted: March 9th, 2010 under Beauty Tips, Cancer, Enemies To Health, Health Basics 101, Safe Homes, Toxins & Pollutants.
Comments: 1

It’s Friday. Time to start unwinding and perhaps enjoy a treat or two. I’m reading an article now on the benefits of dark chocolate, yet another reminder that I haven’t had any of this delicious antioxidant in the past week. I made a mental note recently to consume dark chocolate regularly, but I keep forgetting to do so. Fortunately, my antioxidant supplement, Neways Revenol, now includes cocoa bean extract in the formula, so I’m not totally missing out on the health benefits of dark chocolate.

Recent research on chocolate and stroke risk includes two large studies which suggest that dark chocolate helps lower the risk of stroke. In the first study, 44,489 people ate one serving of dark chocolate per week. Tough work, but somebody had to do it. Anyway, the researchers found that these people were 22% less likely to have a stroke than people who did not eat chocolate.

The second study covered 1,169 people who ate 50g of chocolate once a week. The chocolate-eaters were found to be 46% less likely to die after a stroke compared to people who did not consume chocolate.

Other studies have shown that consuming a small portion of dark chocolate every day can reduce blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. Chocolate is also said to reduce LDL cholesterol. This dark confection contains serotonin too, which acts as an anti-depressant.

Before you celebrate this good news by wolfing down a whole box of chocolates, here’s a cautionary word from researcher Sarah Sahib of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario: “More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others.”

If dark chocolate isn’t your thing or if you’re concerned about putting on weight, an antioxidant supplement containing cocoa bean extract, like Neways Revenol, might suit you better.

Posted: March 5th, 2010 under Antioxidants, Diet, Health Supplements.
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