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Tag Archives: Natural Beauty
IG TV Episode 2: 5 Reasons You May Have Acne
Are you vegan, gluten-free, only drink rain water, and can still not figure out why in the heck you still have acne? This one’s for you boo. Welcome to Health Bytes!
There are many reasons why acne can happen, but most people focus on acne as an external issue and don’t think of acne as a warning sign. Acne usually points to a underlying issue with your digestion, elimination, your diet, hormones, and sometimes the balance of microorganisms in your gut. You may have what in your mind is the PERFECT diet, but still can’t beat the blackheads. Here’s a few reasons why:
- You eat a lot of processed or packaged foods, or fried foods. Consuming foods with dead oils and high in trans fats that are processed can cause breakouts for some of us, because everyone has different levels of sensitivities to food. Even if your bff can wolf down fries and maintain her blemish free skin, it may not last for long and could lead to a much more serious health condition. If you are sensitive, consider it a blessing and stay away from foods with excess oils, stabilizers, chemicals, high fructose corn syrup, and other fillers.
- You have some underlying elimination issues. The colon is literally our bodies’ sewage system. In order to keep our skin clear we need to have regular bowel movements. the colon needs to be clear enough to process waste and toxins out of the body. If you are only having one bowel movement over the course of a few days — it’s a sign that you are constipated and need to drink a lot of additional water. To calculate how much water you need, a good general rule of thumb is to divide your body weight in half and drink that amount in fluid ounces, not to exceed 125 fluid ounces.
- You May Have…Parasites! A lot of people don’t know this, but some acne or skin breakouts can be caused by parasites. Parasitic infection is usually a sign of an underlying root cause or health issue sometimes related to leaky gut, for example mercury poisoning, candida overgrowth. DO you have fatigue, or a visible white coating on your tongue? It may be time to figure out what’s really going on and get the buggers or candida out of your system.
- Last but not least: Stress and hormonal imbalance can cause acne. Remember when you were a teenager and everyone said not to worry about your acne because your raging hormones caused them? Well when we get older and still have acne, that’s no longer an acceptable answer. SO now what? Well if we are stressed out, and our cortisol levels are consistently high, our body stays in fight or flight mode, and we can eventually wear out our adrenals, and throw off the balance of progesterone and estrogen in our body. If estrogen levels get high, we also may breakout, or have an imbalance that manifests itself in other ways such as fibroids, endometriosis etc. in women. Moral of the story is that acne can be affected by more than diet alone. If you do the work to figure out what your acne is trying to tell you about your body; you’ll be able to stay blemish-free and keep that natural glow! -XO Esosa E, MS AKA Raw Girl
Podcast Episode 1: The Ageless Woman
If you haven’t checked out Episode 1 of Healthy Living in a Toxic World, you are missing out! It was such a pleasure to interview Ageless superstar Annette Larkins. I learned a lot from her. One of my favorite gems is highlighted in the clip above, after she explained that her family has a genetic history of serious chronic conditions but that her lifestyle has kept her youthful, happy, and healthy!
As we have just entered into a New Year, ask yourself if there’s anything in your own family history or even personality that you are using as an excuse to not achieve optimal health. Now, I want you to turn that on it’s head and list all the lifestyle changes you can make to ensure that those excuses don’t become your reality.
To listen to the full conversation, subscribe to the podcast on Itunes, Spotify, or Google Play. Links below 🙂 -XO Esosa E, MS AKA Raw Girl
5 Reasons to Think Twice Before Taking Collagen
To collagen, or not to collagen? That seems to be the latest question in the natural beauty and health world as natural food stores and conventional grocery stores alike now have shelves full of collagen supplements that promise better skin, accelerated wound healing, reduction of inflammation, and tighter pores, all from a daily dose of powdered animal bones. At the Wellness Market I recently attended, all of us panelists were asked our personal take on these supplements, and I had to give a long answer. Below is my progressive thought process on collagen supplements, and why you won’t see me lining up to add it to my cart in the checkout line. Until the research is more definitive, I personally will be over here side-eyeing the collagen fanatics, eating my fruits and veg, reducing sugar intake, and taking my vitamin C and silica while waiting for this health fad to pass and the next new fix-it-all to emerge on the marketplace. If you are heaven bent on trying them, keep in mind that supplements are not heavily regulated by the FDA. I recommend you do your research to make sure the supplement you take has been tested by a third party to verify its claims. -XoXo Raw Girl
- The Science is Fishy. There is no science to justify that when collagen (mostly from animal bones/ sources) is ingested it translates directly to building the collagen in our own skin. In fact it seems a bit nonsensical as collagen is simply an amino acid or protein, which is not complete as it’s missing tryptophan. When we ingest collagen the body breaks it down like any other protein.
- Opt For Whole Food Sources. IF (and this is definitely hypothetical) I were to buy into this idea of consuming collagen to get more collagen, it would make a lot more sense to source it from bone broth which contains around 6 grams of collagen per cup. I would opt for this because I believe a whole food source is always better than a supplement in a shiny bottle from a company that may or may not properly oversee the production and sourcing of it’s product. Bone broth can be made from the comfort of your home or purchased. I will add the precautionary statement as I do with most meat products to do proper research on your sources, because even broth made from organic ingredients can contain harmful chemicals and toxins. One study found that bone broth sourced from organic chickens had ten times the amount of lead than the water used to boil it with once finished. Not so YUM.
- Lack of Unbiased Research Studies. Most of the minimal research conducted on collagen supplements is not very in depth, does not show long term consequences, and is also paid for by companies that could stand to benefit from favorable results. I won’t be able to trust that I can try these supplements or recommend them without someone showing me valid unbiased research that also shows the long term implications of taking them over time. There are findings that are promising:
- In 2014, a study of 69 women ages 35 to 55 found that those who took 2.5 or 5 grams of collagen daily for 8 weeks showed that those who took collagen had improvement in skin elasticity, compared with the control group.
- A study conducted in 2015 found that protein supplementation in combination with resistance training may increase muscle mass and muscle strength in elderly subjects. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of post-exercise protein supplementation with collagen peptides v. placebo on muscle mass and muscle function following resistance training in elderly subjects with sarcopenia. A total of 53 elderly men with sarcopenia, a loss of muscle caused by aging, found that those who took 15 grams of collagen daily, in addition to lifting weights three times per week for 12 weeks in a guided resistance training program, gained significantly more muscle and lost more fat than those who only lifted weights.
- In 2006 a study of 89 long-term care residents compared Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) scores at 8 weeks in long-term-care residents with pressure ulcers who were given standard care plus a concentrated, fortified, collagen protein hydrolysate supplement vs. residents who were given standard care plus placebo. By week 8, PUSH tool scores showed approximately twice the rate of pressure ulcer healing in the treatment group that took the collagen supplement compared with the control group.
- The Magical Pill Effect. We all want to stay youthful, maintain healthy weight, and live disease-free but most of us do not want to do the work. The danger here is that products, such as these collage supplements can flood the market and in a wave everyone is rushing to use them and relieved that the one answer to solve all of their health woes has finally arrived. Except, there is no answer beyond the daily hard work of exercise, a healthy balanced diet, and long term stress management. I know, I know, it’s not what any of us want to hear but it’s important to check ourselves so we don’t get caught in health fads that can possibly do more harm than good to our long term health.
- Misguided Focus. Rather than trying to ingest collagen, a more productive focus is to supplement and boost intake of things that will increase collagen production and reduce foods that can lead to it’s speedier breakdown or accelerate aging overall. Vitamin C is essential for the production of collagen and you can easily take up to 16,000 mg of vitamin C without adverse effects. In addition to or instead of a regular old supplement, I would focus on increasing vitamin C rich foods and super foods like camu camu which has 30-50 times the vitamin C of oranges. Fruits and vegetables in general which are high in phytonutrients, antioxidants and also include vitamin C are winners when it comes to boosting collagen production. After boosting vitamin C intake, and intake of nutrient dense plant foods, I would focus on eliminating refined sugar and salt intake. The process of breakdown or destruction of collagen and elastin can be accelerated with excess consumption of sugar, and consumption of high protein or high fat foods that also have high sugar content. The other supplement I personally would opt for over collagen, is a high quality plant based silica supplement which can help boost skin, hair, and nail health. Silica is another nutrient that is required for the formation of collagen and decreases naturally as we age.
References:
Lee SK, Posthauer ME, Dorner B, Redovian V, Maloney MJ. Pressure ulcer healing
with a concentrated, fortified, collagen protein hydrolysate supplement: a
randomized controlled trial. Adv Skin Wound Care. 2006 Mar;19(2):92-6. PubMed
PMID: 16557055.
Kassel, G. (2018, May 25). Will Collagen Supplements Really Make You Any Healthier? Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19995031/collagen-supplements/
Marshall, L. (2018, March 08). Collagen: ‘Fountain of Youth’ or Edible Hoax? Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/news/20180308/collagen-supplements-what-the-research-shows
Monro JA, Leon R, Puri BK. The risk of lead contamination in bone broth diets.
Med Hypotheses. 2013 Apr;80(4):389-90. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2012.12.026. Epub 2013
Jan 31. PubMed PMID: 23375414.
Moyad, M. A., & Lee, J. (2014). The supplement handbook: A trusted experts guide to what works & whats worthless for more than 100 conditions. Emmaus, PA: Rodale.
Zdzieblik D, Oesser S, Baumstark MW, Gollhofer A, König D. Collagen peptide
supplementation in combination with resistance training improves body composition
and increases muscle strength in elderly sarcopenic men: a randomised controlled
trial. Br J Nutr. 2015 Oct 28;114(8):1237-45. doi: 10.1017/S0007114515002810.
Epub 2015 Sep 10. PubMed PMID: 26353786; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4594048.
10 Ways to Use Coconut Oil for Beauty
My major skincare awakening happened about a year ago, when I fell asleep with Keihl’s cleanser on my face and woke up with a burn! That was not a great morning. What I learned from that experience, is how important it is to utilize products on your skin from reliable companies, that are almost if not actually EDIBLE. When you have a skincare awakening (hopefully yours will not involve burns), one of the first thing you realize is that you don’t necessarily need all of the beauty products you have. Keep it simple is my new motto. In the last three months I wash my face with a coconut cleanser that is basically coconut water, and I have started the habit of making a coconut oil mask every night that has left my skin much more hydrated and supple come morning. In the spirit of utilizing our food as medicine, there are many kitchen staples that can easily be used in the bathroom. Coconut oil is one of them! A truly versatile oil, coconut oil can replace several toiletry projects you may already use religiously. Below is a list of ten legitimate beauty uses for coconut oil. After all is said and done, don’t forget that you also can eat it! The recommended daily intake is around two to four tablespoons. You can eat it straight, blend it into smoothies, or even salad dressings and desserts. -XO Raw Girl
1. Face & Under Eye Cream
It has been established that lauric acid, a medium chain fatty acid that is abundant in coconut oil, improves acne, making it a good option for some with oily and combination skin. For dark under eye circles, you can increase circulation in the area by using a small amount of coconut oil to massage under the eyes and keep the skin from wrinkling.
2. Make-up Remover
Coconut oil is an effective makeup remover and a great natural moisturizer! Simple dip a cotton ball in coconut oil and generously apply to face until makeup is removed. Be sure to cleanse your skin and moisturize afterwards.
3. Face Mask
Add a bit of honey (a natural antibacterial and moisturizer) to coconut oil and apply to your face. Leave the mask on for 10 minutes, then rinse. There are numerous DIY mask recipes you can find on the internet that have coconut oil as a featured ingredient. Experiment and find the mask that works for you.
4. Lip Balm
Coconut oil can be applied directly to chapped lips. You also can transfer a small amount to a container for lip moisture on the go, but be careful in the summer. Hot temperatures liquefy the oil, and you don’t want coconut oil dripping from your bag when you are on-the-go.
5. Body Moisturizer
Keep your skin soft and supple by applying coconut oil after a bath or shower to lock in moisture.
6. Bath Soak
Pour a little coconut oil into your bath with other oils and bath salts and enjoy a relaxing soak.
7. Body Scrub
Add a tablespoon of brown sugar or raw sugar to three tablespoons of coconut oil for a delicious body scrub.
8. Foot Treatment
If you have calluses or rough heels, exfoliate with a pumice stone right before bed. Slather coconut oil on your feet and put on a pair of socks to lock in moisture overnight.
9. Cuticle Cream
Apply to cuticles, then push them back with an orange stick.
10. Deep Conditioner
Massage warmed coconut oil to your scalp and hair. Wait 15 minutes, then rinse. For a leave in conditioner, simply melt coconut oil, apply to scalp and leave hair in a shower cap overnight. This is also an effective treatment for those with dandruff.
Practicing Contentment
Want to enroll or find out more about our class: Yoga for Radiance & Beauty? Visit rawbeautyinabox.com. -Xo Raw Girl
New Online Course! Staying Ageless 30+
Hi gang! I am beyoooond excited to share that Khaleeqa, Fonder of Paparoxi.com and I have come together to collaborate on an online course called Staying Ageless 30+ hosted on my brand spanking new course site Raw Beauty in a Box, which combines our passion for creating a lifestyle that encourages optimal health. We both noticed a marked changed in our bodies when we turned thirty and want to help others successfully navigate that change.
In this course you will learn about Diet Basics, Lifestyle Factors, and elements of Longevity that promote an ageless way of life. Over the course of three modules you learn what to eliminate from your diet, how to ensure your body is receiving adequate nutrition, powerful detox rituals, how to exercise effectively and get results and more. In addition you will hear firsthand from renowned longevity and health experts who walk the talk. More info to come, but you can sign up or preview the curriculum starting today on rawbeautyinabox.com or click the course tab in the Raw Girl Store!
We also have FREE webinar you can sign up for now, 7 Tips That Will Boost Your Beauty in 30 Days or Less! Will happen next week on June 29th at 1pm EST or 11 AM PST. Reserve your seat here: https://therawgirl.lpages.co/webinar-reg-june-2017/
The Amazing Power of MSM for Beauty & Healing
MSM, also know by science geeks the world over as methylsulfonylmethane, is an organic sulfur compound made during the earth’s rain cycle. This miracle supplement when taken in the powder form really should be called “Botox in a bottle,” as it does wonders for anti-aging by boosting collagen production especially when paired with vitamin C. MSM is great for acceleration of healing of skin, joints, or connective tissues. Taking it as a supplement can be useful to those suffering from arthritis, leaky gut (helps heal lining of colon) and those looking to speed recovery from injury. Here’s an additional perk that comes with adding MSM to your life: it lays a coat over intestinal areas making it virtually impossible for parasites to attach themselves. When the parasites are unable to make their home in your body, they are flushed out of your system through the process of elimination.
Time and time again I have come back to MSM whenever dealing with an injury I want to heal. Most recently when my face was burned, I made sure to include MSM twice a day into my healing protocol along with my Heal & Glow Face Mask to accelerate the process. If you find your hair is breaking or nails are brittle, this is great supplement that will solve those issues and have you whipping your hair back and forth.
How to take it:
For best results using the MSM powder, added it to your water along with a source of vitamin C like lemon juice. Start with one teaspoon of MSM powder in 16 ounces of water, and gradually work your way up to 2 to 3 tablespoons per day to see some really impressive results.
-XO Raw Girl
Going Green! Take a Second Look in Your Makeup Bag
Last Friday, the photo shoot for my forthcoming book was indeed epic! Can’t wait to share with you all. For the shoot I worked with a Sephora makeup artist who gave me a completely all-natural look using makeup that was vegan friendly, paraben-free, talc free, and cruelty-free. I was super excited to finally get rid of the last remaining makeup products I use often that contain questionable chemicals.
It was very refreshing to learn from the makeup artist I worked with how many vegan, paraben-free, and cruelty options are now specifically at Sephora. My two favorite vegan-friendly lines were Hourglass, which has a range of tinted moisturizers, foundation, powders etc. and Bite Beauty which has an awesome line of lip glosses and lipsticks in fun colors that are made from fruit and resveratrol. The Hourglass line is not entirely vegan, but they have a large number of options so if you go to purchase inquire with the sales rep.
Frankly we need as many cruelty-free, vegan, toxic chemical free options as we can get, until the cosmetics industry has the epiphany that it is not okay to sell beauty with the added health risk of exposure to toxic substances daily. Just like we are what we eat, we are what we put on our faces. Did you know that the makeup industry is generally unregulated? So the only person who can truly look out for you when it comes to cosmetic products is YOU. Do your research. If you have not done so just yet, take a moment today and look through your makeup bag. Google any long fancy words you don’t understand, and really consider if using that product is worth the risk. Makeup is a wonderful thing, it can enhance naturally beauty and help us feel our best but in this toxic world we live in we have to be vigilant. If we can’t get access to toxin-free cosmetics, it may be best to just rock our natural vegan glow. -XoXo Raw Girl
The Art of Eating for Beauty
I’m sure you have at some point in your life heard the saying: “you are what you eat.” If you truly take that statement to heart you realize that with every meal you have the opportunity to reinvent yourself; the nourishment you choose can either fuel your body or leave you feeling and looking like you’re running on empty. When considering optimal health, we have to think about food for the mind, body, and spirit. We all want to feel beautiful or appreciated for the uniqueness that we are but beauty is much deeper than a pretty face. True beauty could be considered the fullest most energetic expression of one’s soul. Below are some simple ways you can step into your true beauty and fill yourself up with spiritual and physical nourishment. -XoXo Raw Girl
Eat Whole, Unprocessed Foods. If you are what you eat do you want to look like a stale bag of salt encrusted potato chips? Or would you prefer to radiate the energy from a fresh bowl of organic leafy greens? Sounds like an easy choice, but sometimes our taste buds get the better of us. Nowadays it is more important than ever to know that what you are eating is actually food, because the majority of packaged and to-go meals out there are full of chemicals, preservatives, harmful additives, or even hormones. Consuming these toxins does not only diminishes your outward appearance, it also has a direct effect on your emotional stability and joie de vivre.
Get Your Beauty Vitamins In. Food is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal to alter our physical body, increase our magnetism, and boost our overall sexy factor. As David Wolfe so eloquently sums up in his book “Eating for Beauty,” there are a number of nutrients that are essential for maintaining and cultivating an attractive appearance including vitamin A, C, E, silicon, sulfur, and zinc. In addition to these you’ll want to make sure you get enough magnesium, manganese, iron, and B vitamins which are all essential for the proper functioning of metabolic pathways that convert our food into energy.
Embrace Silence. Meditation, in whatever form you choose to practice, is the ultimate food for the soul. Not only is meditation a stress reliever, it can actually boost your mental performance. Research conducted at the University of California, Santa Barbara found that college students trained in mindfulness performed better on verbal reasoning sections on the GRE and also had improvements in retention of material. The outcome of the study suggests that mindfulness improves overall cognitive function. In addition meditation helps to balance out emotions and moodiness, and has been shown in numerous studies to reduce the risk of depression.
Do Yoga. Not only is yoga is healing modality that can help release bodily toxins, improve flexibility, boost your immune system, and improve blood circulation, it is another incredible way to give your soul the food it needs. On your mat as your learn to focus, breathe, and move through challenges without letting your mental chatter get in your way, you slowly but surely free yourself up to be the fiercest most beautiful version of you, outside in the real world.
Pursue Your Purpose. When someone contracts a serious illness or chronic disease, they expect their doctor to prescribe medication, and if their lucky some lifestyle changes. Often times in addition to those recommendations, the best prescription is to simply find what you love and do it daily. It is far too common to find ourselves living a life that is not our own and neglecting our true passions and calling. To be the best, healthiest version of you, find what it is that makes your heart sing and do it NOW. Not next week, ten years from now, when you have more money etc. When you love what you do and are walking in your purpose you will be happy, and a good dose of happy is an essential ingredient for optimal health.
Want to get your vegan glow on just in time for spring? The 7 Days of Raw challenge begins on March 1st! Like the Facebook Page for details and updates.