Health And Fitness News 

Making Your Own Natural Skin Care

Most of the skin care products we buy are full of synthetic chemicals and toxins that can actually accumulate in our bodies over a lifetime. It's no wonder that many people turn to natural skin care products as a result.

These can be expensive, however. An alternative is to make your own! This is not that difficult, and there are some great ingredients available at the health food shop that can bind ingredients together, but are non-toxic. Here is a recipe for a chamomile, honey and orange gel mask. It's from a book called Feeding Your Skin by Carla Oates.

This mask is for sensitive skin.

• 2 tsp chamomile infusion (strong - let the infusion sit fo a while)
• 2 tsp orange blosson water
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp pectin

Mix the herbal infusion with the orange water, and add the honey. Mix well. Sprinkle over pectin (or agar agar or xanthan gum), and whisk until the mixture creates a gel.

You're now ready to use it!

You can find more natural skin care recipes here. These use aromatherapy.

References: Australian Natural Health, Vol 6 No.3

Remedy For Earache Associated With Colds

The Swedes and Indians have known about this immune stimulating remedy for some time, but it looks like the rest of the world may be in on their secret now. Called andrographis, it's also been nicknamed 'Indian echinacea', though this is misleading as it is a different species to the echinacea plants, and has very different phytochemical properties.

Andrographis earned this nickname because it has proven itself in a number of clinical trials against the common cold. It has been found to reduce the severity of a cold; improve symptoms such as sore throat, runny nose, cough, expectoration, headaches, earaches, fatigue and sleep disturbances; and reduce the number of sick days taken. Employers will love that one!

In one study, it only took 2 to 4 days for an improvement to show. Generally, larger quantities of andrographis are taken when a person is actually sick with an acute infection like a cold. This is true of most herbs, including echinacea. The dose used in one of the studies was the equivalent of about 6g of the dry herb, or 1020mg per day of the extract.

I found the results for ear ache interesting. Given that they were studying people who had a cold, the ear ache that was relieved in those studies is probably the earache associated with colds and flu. However, given that andrographis is an immune stimulating herb, it may also be useful for cases of ear infection.

References: http://www.netriceuticals.com/ingredients.asp?id=23
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/411495
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=53307

Raisin The Possibility Of A Toothache Remedy

They may be sweet and tasty, but this little fruit is one thing your dentist may come to love. Or hate - depending on whether he has a yacht to pay off. For the humble raisin may just help reduce your visits to the dentist. They have been found to contain phytonutrients that could help reduce the levels of bacteria that cause gum disease and cavities.

A study conducted by the researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago have identified a compound in raisins, called oleanolic acid, that was particularly effective. It prevented the bacteria S. mutans from sticking to teeth. S. mutans needs to stick to our tooth enamel to release the acids that cause decay, resulting in toothache and holes in the teeth.

Oleanolic acid was not the only raisin compound to be effective in oral health. Oleanolic aldehyde and 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furfural, together with oleanolic acid, was effective against two other species of bacteria that cause problems with oral health - Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Given that cranberry extract has been added to some dental floss and related products, so we may just see some enriched with raisin extracts too. 

The collaborator of another study into raisins and tooth decay commented on the different types of sugars it has - fructose and glucose. She made the point that it is in fact sucrose - in regular sugar - that causes the problems with tooth decay. So, some sweets are good for you after all!