Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Food for Thought

Just to give you an idea of what your body absorbs in a day and also what it tries to filter and eliminate using your precious organs, here is a short and basic list of (unnatural) ingredients in SIX everyday products that you use regularly.

A bar of soap:  Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Cocoate, Glycerin, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Titanium Dioxide, Etidronic Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA.

Toothpaste:  Calcium Carbonate, Sorbitol, Arginine, Bicarbonate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Monofluorophosphate, Flavour, Sodium Silicate, Carmellose Sodium, Sodium Bicarbonate, Titanium Dioxide, Acesulfame Potassium, Xanthan Gum, Sucralose (artificial sweetener) and Limonene.

Mouthwash:  Alcohol, Sorbitol, Flavours, Poloxamer 407, Benzoic Acid, Cineole, Sucralose, Zinc Chloride, Methyl Salicylate, Thymol, Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Flouride, Menthol, FD&C Red 40 and FD&C Blue 1.

Deodorant:  Butane, Isobutane, Propane, Cyclomethicone, Aluminium Chlorohydrate, Isopropyl, Palmitate, Parfum, Bisabolol, Persea Gratissima Oil, Ocyldodecanol, Glycine Soja Oil, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone, Propylene Carbonate, Dimethiconol, BHT, Linalool, Geraniol, Citronellol.

Hand Wash:  Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Cocamide MEA, Frangrance, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Salicylate, Sodium Benzoate, Polyquaternium-7, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Benzophenone-4, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Chamilla Recutita Flower Extract.

Body Lotion:  Isopropylpalmitate, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Bisdiglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Caprylic/capric Triglyceride, Ceteareth-12, Tocopherol, Cetyl Alcohol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbic Acid, Carbomer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Glycine Soja, Beta Carotene, Wheat.

That is just SIX everyday products that we all use.

Consider, on top of this list, all the other products that you use eg hair conditioner, clothes washing detergent, dishwashing liquid, face toners/cleansers/moisturisers, make-up like foundation/mascara/eyeliner/blush/lipstick,  hair products like hairspray/styling gels/mousse, perfumes/after shave lotions, hair removal creams, nail polish/polish remover, eye drops, indigestion tablets, panadol/paracetamol/aspirin/ibuprofen/nurofen, and then there are all the cleaning products .. go and count how many bottles you have for cleaning your home!

Either your skin is absorbing, or you are inhaling the fumes of all, or some of these products, every single day of your life.

You also have to include what you eat and drink.  Coffee, alcohol, sugars, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, additives, herbicides, pesticides, chemicals, food dyes just to name a few.

Your kidneys, liver, small and large intestines, skin, lungs and lymphatic systems all filter the unwanted/unhealthy toxins that you introduce.

Just from these few products that I have mentioned .. your body is working overtime to keep you healthy, but as you get older, your organs just can't cope and health issues like heartburn, arthritis, allergies, blood pressure, back pain, gout, kidney stones, headaches, ulcers and angina, just to name a few, become common problems.

Now .. the point of me telling you all of this is because your body needs water to do all of this detoxing every day.

For every 60kg of weight, you need at least 2.5 litres of water each day, just to function at a normal level and stop those health issues from occurring.

***If you already have any of these health issues, it will take rehydration over a prolonged period, before your body will feel the positive effects.***

If, when you drink this amount of water, you find that you are spending much more time on the toilet, it's not because you are drinking too much water, it's because this is your body's way of removing unwanted toxins.

When the body doesn't receive a constant reliable supply of water, it has to ration what is available and it cuts back on certain functions to make the supply go round.  Essential systems like the brain are prioritised while others are impaired or cut back until the brain decides that it has enough water.

If you're not drinking enough water and your body becomes chronically dehydrated, the body's rationing system also turns off the signal of thirst, and dehydration continues unabated.

It's a vicious cycle.

So, just because you don't feel thirsty, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are drinking enough water, it may mean that you are chronically dehydrated.

You need water for brain, bone, nerve, cell and digestive functions.  The body will even go so far as to extract water from your fecal matter and send it to other parts of your body .. and as you can imagine, this is not good!

Those issues that we deal with, believing it's just a sign of 'old age', like arthritis, heartburn, diverticulitis, kidney stones, gout, blood pressure etc can all, at the very least, be eased, by drinking the right amount of good, clean, filtered water every day.

So I hope that I've summarised this into a short enough version to hold your interest and to help you understand a little bit more about your body.

The fascination, for me, continues.

Nite all.

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