Tag Archives: acne

Carrot Juice For Glowing Skin & Juice! Spicy Carrot

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Just in case you missed the memo, carrot juice is good for you. In the raw vegan world we spend a lot of time talking about green juices and keeping our bodies alkaline, but it’s good to have balance, and not neglect the benefits of juices like carrot and beet, although they are sweeter. This post was sparked by the fact that right now I have something like a 10 lb bag of organic carrots in my refrigerator that I am determined not to waste. Needless to say I’ll be getting my carrot juice fix in for the next week! After doing some more research to remind myself exactly why carrot juice is so good for me, I was not disappointed. Carrot juice is definitely packed with a lovely amount of vitamins and minerals. Beyond that, as I consider myself a life long acne-zapping samurai, I was pleased to learn that carrot juice can help one get that vegan glow and stay acne-free. Rather than give you a long rundown, I’ve picked my top five reasons why carrot juice rocks my world and will boost the beauty of your skin. If you have diabetes, you should stay away from carrots because of their high natural sugar content. Everyone else, if you’ve been ignoring carrot juice, I urge you to get some and get juicing. Remember healthy skin is the result of everything you eat, so make sure to get a wide variety of fruits and veg and not just rely on one magic smoothie, formula, or vegetable. Recipe for my spicy carrot juice below. -XoXo Raw Girl

  1. Vitamin A. Carrot juice has an insane amount of vitamin A which is in the form of beta carotene. If you wanted to O.D. on Vitamin A, this would be the vegetable of choice to get your fix. Vitamin A helps the body to maintain tissue growth, healthy vision, and healthy bones and teeth. All this said,  too much Vitamin A is also not a good thing and can cause problems for you liver and other health issues.
  2. Vitamin C.  Carrots contain a nice amount of this lovely vitamin in highly absorbable form which helps to boost your immunity. Even more importantly for those of us who are vain—(raising my hand)—vitamin C helps the body to produce collagen which is essential for skin elasticity, preventing wrinkles, and slowing signs of aging. Doesn’t drinking carrot juice sound so much better than a collagen injection? Sounds great to me!
  3. Potassium. The potassium in carrots will play a role in the growth of new skin cells, and helping the body maintain the proper electrolyte balance. Getting a regular dose of potassium will reduce acne/blemishes, prevent and cure scars or dark spots on the skin. FYI, If your body is in need of potassium and become deficient this can result in dry skin, acne, or muscle spasms.
  4. Carotenoids. I know it sounds like the name of some sort of carrot wielding alien, but it’s not. I promise. These friendly but powerful antioxidants available in carrot juice/carrots protect your body from free radical damage and boost your immune system. They can also increase your skins immunity to the sun by preventing sun-induced collagen breakdown. Essentially they help to protect the skin against sun damage and sunburn, like an internal sunblock. Beta carotene is one of these carotenoids that prevents cells from degenerating, helps to slow aging, and maintain a youthful appearance.
  5. Cleans Your Liver. When your liver is overworked or overloaded it has to find a way to get rid of toxins. One of the ways it does is through your skin, causing acne. Carrot juice is a great liver cleanser that will help keep things in balance and your skin blemish-free.

Juice! : Spicy Carrot

8-10 carrots, 1 apple, 1 cucumber, 1 big piece of ginger root, (add 1/2 lemon optional)

Juice all ingredients. Strain, serve, enjoy! 🙂

The Healing Wonders of Neem

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I was first astounded by the power of neem years ago when an Ayurvedic doctor told me that it can be used as an effective natural birth control. Last week I was reminded of neem again, when another holistic doctor friend posted about neem oil as an insecticide to help keep away mosquitoes and other bugs. These two benefits are just scratching the surface of the  uses and benefits of neem.

Neem is a flowering tropical tree native to India, Pakistan, and Malaysia, that can survive the worst of environmental conditions. All parts of the tree can be used for many benefits, and in East Africa, neem is referred to as Muarubaini which means “the tree of the 40” because it is known to be effective in treating at least forty diseases. Over 75% of Ayurvedic remedies contain neem because of its anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-fungal, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic properties. In addition to the uses I mentioned above, neem is very effective in treating acne, psoriasis, eczema, gum diseases, malaria, chicken pox, fever, parasites, arthritis, rheumatism, bronchitis and more. Neem helps to facilitate wound healing, so it can also be applied topically to combat fungus, warts, cold sores, bee stings, bug bites, poison ivy, athlete’s foot etc.

One use that I thought was super cool and is useful for all the gardeners out there is that neem can be used as a natural pesticide and is effective against 500 or more pests! To do this just search for neem pesticides. It doesn’t negatively affect humans or harm beneficial insects, and it makes plants bitter so that they won’t be eaten. The oil itself can also be used as a moisturizer and is high in vitamin E (if you can stand the smell). Based on all the wonderful uses of neem, it’s safe to say neem oil is a great thing to have on hand in your home. You can also find a plethora of neem products in stores from soaps to lotions, but take care to understand what the other ingredients are. Whether your fighting acne, dealing with parasites, healing wounds, or trying to keep your garden pest-free, neem is a one stop natural cure that will meet your needs. -XoXo Raw Girl

Minerals 4 Beauty: ZINC

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Check out my new web site: www.esosae.com

It’s Esosa E. here A.K.A. Raw Girl, and I’m back with another mineral to boost your beauty. If you missed the first post, I will be continuously highlighting minerals that enhance natural beauty. Most people on the S.A.D. Standard American Diet and even a great deal of vegans with good intentions, are lacking key minerals to keep their bodies functioning optimally and their skin glowing. What  key beauty mineral plays a role in twenty-five enzymatic systems involved in digestion and metabolism, and is required for skin beauty, cell and bodily growth, sexual development, fertility, night vision, and improving sense of taste & smell?

The answer is ZINC. That’s right, zinc is another mineral essential for beauty and for optimal health.  To start off zinc is a part of the enzymes that allow the body to produce collagen, which is essential for keeping our skin soft and supple. Zinc also supports the bodies’ immune system, joints and tissue repair, and cell growth. This beauty mineral has antioxidant properties that helps our bodies to heal scars and wounds, and repair DNA damage. In fact, zinc deficiency can actually cause damage to DNA, in addition to acne, loss of taste and smell, slow growth in children, hair loss, rashes, skin disorders, low sperm count, poor eyesight, and delayed wound healing. On the beauty front, zinc can also prevent wrinkling, stretch marks, and outward signs of aging. Sounds a little better than Botox, right?

Because of zinc’s healing and beautifying properties it is found in many beauty products. Zinc oxide is a common additive that is included in sunscreens (as zinc helps to deflect the amount of ultraviolet light absorbed by the skin), calamine lotion (for its ability to heal wounds), and mineral makeup.  Many brands of mineral makeup claim that the products also provide sun protection because of zinc’s use in sunscreens. Because of it’s anti-inflammatory properties zinc oxide in mineral makeup make these products more ideal for anyone suffering from acne or  any skin conditions. Conventional foundations and foundations mostly contain harmful mineral oils and parabens that can actually make an existing skin condition worse.

Now that you know how important zinc is to beauty, here’s a partial list from Nutrition Expert David Wolfe’s book, Eating for Beauty (available in the Raw Girl Shop) of the best plant sources that have good amounts of sulfur to get you started with incorporating a wider range of zinc-rich foods in your diet: coconuts, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, cashews, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and spinach. Now that your equipped with a little knowledge and veggie resources, check your diet and make sure to get your zinc-on! Until next time, stay natural, stay beautiful! -XoXo Raw Girl

Need a Natural Beauty Boost? Try Papaya!

acne

As they say you are what you eat! Well if you are what you eat you also are what you put on your skin.  Although it may seem a little quirky there are plenty of ways to boost your beauty naturally using and products you can find right in your kitchen! I was doing research and came across a fruit I didn’t even know could be used as a beauty remedy, PAPAYA. Yes, who knew but this amazing tropical fruit is not only great in a fruit salad, but it can help brighten your skin naturally, treat wrinkles, age spots, remove dead skin, and even treat ACNE.

Papaya is  a fruit native to South and Central America. If you did not know papaya is a very nutrient dense fruit packed with beta carotene, vitamin A & C, iron, calcium, folate, potassium, fiber, and more. Just eating it will make your skin glow–but the coolest thing is that the nutrients in it are also very beneficial to maintaining flawless skin. A small papaya contains around three times the daily recommended value of vitamin C –which is essential for maintaining collagen and keeping our skin soft and youthful. The Vitamin A helps your body when forming new skin cells,  and it contains a beneficial enzyme that not only eases digestion but also exfoliates the skin and removes dead cells. Because of this papaya is a common ingredient in a lot of anti-aging and anti-acne skin lines and it’s conditioning abilities make it great to use in creams, shampoos, and conditioners. The skin of the papaya has been used to heal wounds and even get this–surgical incisions! It can also be used to ease swelling and to combat dry skin.

Here are a few papaya beauty remedies you can whip up at home. For acne: try making a papaya mask using one teaspoon of honey, one egg (for those who are not vegans), and one teaspoon of papaya oil. Mix the ingredients and apply to your skin. Also for deep cleansing apply a papaya mask followed by papaya vinegar heavily diluted in water afterwards. Leave the mask on for ten to twelve minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water. For age spots & acne you can use the fleshy side of green papaya skin from a mature green papaya on problem spots. For wrinkles use papaya to get rid of old skin cells, which can make wrinkles deeper. Use a papaya powder which you can find in health food stores to smooth out your skin. For a general natural beauty glow, I like to keep it simple and mash or blend some papaya and mix with honey or plain yogurt to make a mask and leave on for 10 minutes.  Make sure when using papaya to not leave on for extended periods of time or the acidity may irritate your skin. If the home remedies are too hippie-esque for you, don’t worry, you can always find some great natural products with papaya as a main ingredient. So, yes, papayas can be added to your beauty routine, but don’t forget that just eating them is good for beauty as well! -XoXo Raw Girl

P.S. When you eat papayas, you can use those seeds for something. Apparently the seeds when consumed in small amounts on empty stomach regularly can kill parasites!

P.S.S. For more natural beauty ideas check out this past post 9 Ways to Get More Bang for your Beauty Without Spending A Buck: http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2010/03/01/9-ways-to-get-more-bang-for-your-beauty-without-spending-a-buck/

Natural Cures: The Wonders of Bentonite Clay

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Years ago, my skin was horrible. Just before I started to really change my diet, a colleague of mine who was deep in the holistic lifestyle introduced me to bentonite clay to use on my skin. I was amazed at how it seemed to literally suck impurities out of my pores and left my skin feeling tight and firm.  Since then, I have kept a large container of bentonite in my bathroom amongst my beauty products, and every now and then I can be seen roaming around the house with my bentonite mask on.

Besides it’s ability to be used topically on the skin to heal acne, eczema, wounds, insect bites (worked for me with mosquito bites–shrunk them down in a day), bentonite can also be taken internally and can heal anything from heavy metal posioning, food allergies, food poisoning, mucus colitis, spastic colitis, digestive disorders, viral infections, stomach flu, ***parasites (apparently parasites cannot reproduce in the presence of clay), stomach ulcers, diarrhea, arthritis, anemia, and the list goes on.

This miraculous clay has been used by indigenous people since the dawn of time, and even animals in the wild have been observed eating the clay or rolling in it to heal wounds. It gets its name from Benton, Wyoming; although bentonite clay can be found throughout the world, the largest concentrations of it actually are in the Great Plains in the U.S.

So how exactly does it work?  Well, the clay itself has a negative electrical charge. When it absorbs water it expands and becomes like a porous sponge. Toxins and impurities have a positive charge, so they are drawn to the clay and bound. Not only is this clay amazing for intestinal health because of its ability to eliminate toxins, according to the Canadian Journal of Microbiology it also can absorb pathogenic viruses, herbicides, and pesticides. Want to make the clay more effective? Use apple cider vinegar to mix your mask instead of water.

You can find bentonite clay in powder, capsule, or gel form. Make sure if you are taking it internally, the kind you purchase specifies that the clay is safe for internal use.  To start you can take up to a tablespoon a day mixed with juice on an empty stomach or at least an hour before eating. Its very important if you take bentonite internally, that you drink sufficient amounts of water, to assist the body in flushing it out. Whether your looking for a beauty boost, or some internal healing, bentonite clay is a powerful natural remedy not to be overlooked! -XoXo Raw Girl