Women’s magazines are enough to put anyone on the psychiatrist’s couch for a spot of talking about how confused and lost we sort of thought we were, only had to have it confirmed by question 5 of the “Career and Relationships” test.
Flip open almost any glossy mag and you’ll be greeted with an inspirational story about how one woman learned to accept her cellulite or her thinning hair or her crow’s feet wrinkles, or even all three, before turning the page to discover the new must-have wonder cream that in just four applications can fix stiff knees, repair tooth cavities, add 10K to your salary, and make you 21 again. Mixed messages, anyone?
At least the hair thing is easy to sort out - see Volumizing Shampoo & Conditioner for your hair. But what about everything else? What is best to avoid? Let’s take a look.
Sugar (not so sweet, after all)
Sugar is amazing. The taste of sugar results in a dopamine hit that means an instant boost in a feeling of well-being and confidence. There’s also a widely held belief in the gym-going community that the mere presence of sugar in the mouth results in the body releasing stored up sugar reserves (freeing up storage space for the incoming sugar), meaning a boost in performance. Do with that information what you will.
The problem is that sugar also attaches to essential proteins that are needed for collagen production and other ‘repairing’ duties around the body. If we were going to speak in metaphorical terms about sugar, it’s not too far-fetched to think of the sweet stuff as a sort of sandpaper that scrapes at your body, inside and out, slowly destroying your organs and making previously smooth skin look like it’s been left in the sun.
Salt (the anti-moisture condiment you don’t need)
Sodium is a type of soft metal that doesn’t exist in a stable form in nature - basically, it’ll catch fire faster than a gasoline-soaked match thrown into a jet engine. Then, there’s chlorine. When used at a 5.25% dilution, chlorine creates a strong bleach. Up that dilution to a full 6% and you’re looking at an ultra-strong bleach - at just 6%! … why am I telling you this? Because …
If you add sodium to a form of chlorine you get sodium chloride. Better known as table salt. Now, you’d have to assume that when you make something edible out of two things that on their own would kill you, the results aren’t going to be great (although, pure hydrogen and pure oxygen would kill you just as fast, and we seem to be fine with H20).
Avoid processed sugar and salt - especially in the winter - to help give your skin a chance at remaining supple.
Really great post! Thanks for sharing :)
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