With summer just around the corner, sunshine filled days will beckon us outside for summer-time fun.  Protecting your skin is a major concern given the potential hazards of too much sun exposure. Many sunscreens on the market today contain hazardous chemicals that penetrate the skin and go directly into the bloodstream. By choosing a natural sunscreen made from mineral and plant-based ingredients rather than chemicals, you can protect your skin and avoid harmful chemicals.

Natural sunscreens contain zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as active ingredients. These active ingredients offer broad-spectrum effectiveness, do not disrupt our body’s natural hormones, don’t break down easily in the sun, and cause few allergic reactions.

Though the FDA monitors the ingredients in sunscreens, health watchdogs have found many of the ingredients approved by the FDA have unwanted and harmful side-effects. The Environmental Protection Agency (EWG) evaluated US-approved sunscreen chemicals for both their ability to block UV radiation and for toxicity. Following are just a few examples of what is lurking in traditional sunscreens:

• A study conducted by The Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, found that many widely used sunscreen chemicals mimic the effects of estrogen and trigger developmental abnormalities in rats. In lab tests, the chemical  ingredients benzophenone-3, momosalte, 4-methyl-benzylidene camphor (4-MBC), octyl-methoxycinnamate and octyl-dimethyl-PABA, behaved like estrogen and made cancer cells grow more rapidly. 4-MBC  also causes a doubling of the rate of uterine growth well before puberty. “That was scary,” said Margaret Schlumpf, lead researcher, “because we used concentrations that are in the range allowed in sunscreens.”
• Concerns over the most common chemical ingredient Benzophenone-3 (Oxybenzone) peaked when a study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2008 revealed that oxybenzone readily absorbs into the body and is present in 97% of Americans tested. This chemical was detected in the urine of nearly every study participant and is shown to cause hormone disruption, cell damage, and allergic skin reactions. A companion study published just one day earlier revealed that this chemical is linked to low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. The EWG calculated that the majority of sunscreens and at least 567 other personal care products sold in the US contain this chemical. Sadly, the last safety review for oxybenzone was done in the 1970’s, and does not reflect a wealth of information developed since that time indicating increased toxicity concerns and widespread human exposure.

This summer, be sure to check your sunscreen labels. To find a list of chemical ingredients to avoid and the top rated natural sunscreens available, check out the EWG Sunscreen Guide.

We live in a polluted environment and are exposed to hundreds of toxic chemicals on a daily basis.  These toxins come from air and water pollution, agricultural and industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, synthetic hormones and even poor nutrition and lifestyle choices. Over time, our bodies become overloaded and the toxins become trapped in our body’s organs and tissues.  This overload, in addition to a stressful and sedentary lifestyle, can negatively impact health, reduce vitality and contribute to the development of disease. The paths of elimination need to be free flowing to help restore balance in the body.  A key to restoring balance is opening all of the pathways of detoxification. The six pathways to health are the liver, digestive system, kidneys, skin, lungs and lymphatic system.

You can jump start the detoxification systems of the body by incorporating food and specific nutrients that support the body’s natural ability to cleanse itself. Some potential benefits of detoxification include:

• Increased energy and vitality
• Improved long-term health
• Improved mood, concentration and sleep
• Improved digestive system and immune system
• Weight loss
• Healthier skin

We believe that a detoxification program should be safe, effective and easy.  Included in the 14 Day Detoxification Program are:

• A Meal Guide
• Metabolic Detox Meal Replacement shake that includes a balanced combination of vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, and other beneficial nutrient cofactors to support both Phase I and Phase II detoxification
• Nutrients formulated to support the liver and digestive system
• Menu and Shake Recipe Ideas
• Additional Tips for Enhancing Detoxification

This detox program is self-directed, with support from our doctors as needed, beginning today through the end of June 2012.  The total cost for the program is $175 and includes all supplements, materials and support.

We look forward to helping you create a happier and healthier you! Put yourself on a path to better health and contact Arlene or Denise at 650-323-7345 to get started.

While there are many effective household cleaning products available in your local supermarket, you might be surprised to find ingredients that are considered hazardous when checking the labels. Many commercial cleaning products contain harmful chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, petrochemicals, and VOC’s. Breathing the fumes of toxic chemicals, especially over time, can be damaging to your health. In addition, small amounts of residual product can be left on surfaces or in the air following cleaning, adversely affecting your home’s air quality. Following are some important facts that may inspire you to switch to nontoxic cleaners this Spring Cleaning season:

• According to a five-year EPA study, the air in an average American home has chemical contamination levels 70 times greater than outdoor air. The EPA maintains that half of all illnesses occurring in the US can be attributed to chemical contamination of indoor air. In fact, a 1985 EPA report states that household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor pollution.
• The Consumer Product Safety Commission states that more than 150 chemicals found in ordinary household products are directly responsible for producing cancer, allergies, birth defects and numerous psychological disorders.
• 90% of all accidental poisonings occur in the home. In 1990 alone, more than 4000 children under the age of four were treated in the ER for household cleaner poisoning.
• The EPA states that the typical American household is “the number one violator of chemical waste per capita” with nearly 168 tons of household cleaners being released into kitchen and bathroom drains every year, potentially polluting our water supply.

Clearly, the benefits of removing toxic household cleaners from your home are many. It is easy to make your own all-purpose cleaners for just a few dollars. It’s as simple as filling a spray bottle with vinegar, water and a few drops of lavender essential oil! Lavender oil contains antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties and white distilled vinegar is effective for killing most mold, bacteria, and germs, due to its level of acidity. With just a few store bought items, you can clean every room in your home, stay healthy and improve the environment.

CLICK HERE for a shopping list and natural cleaning recipes you can make at home.

There are many benefits to growing your own herb, vegetable and fruit garden. Growing your own fresh food is great for your health and offers fresh, better tasting produce than what is found in grocery stores. Homegrown produce is vine-ripened, higher in vitamin and mineral content, and inspire families to eat more amounts of fresh, healthy food when it is readily available out your back door! A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that preschool children that were often served homegrown produce were more than twice as likely to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day—and to like them more—than kids who rarely or never ate homegrown produce. Add these health and lifestyle benefits to the fact it is smarter both environmentally and economically, it’s easy to see why more and more people today are growing their own food. Fortunately, you don’t need a big yard or large open space to grow a productive garden. Container gardens are very popular, as are small patio and urban gardens.  We don’t have access to open soil or large space here at the clinic, so we have recently started growing fruits and vegetables with a vertical aeroponic Tower Garden. The Tower Garden is a self-contained growing system that takes up very little space and easily grows up to 20 plants, without the need for soil, using aeroponic technology. We are very excited about our new organic garden and will be documenting our venture over the summer right here on our blog. If you are feeling inspired to grow your own healthy food, Click Here to learn more about the Tower Garden and how it might benefit you and your family or contact the clinic front desk for more information. Happy Growing!

Warmer temperatures have led to earlier springs and longer allergy seasons, while higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have led to more potent and allergenic pollen.

The good news is foods rich in vitamin C and folic acid help reduce the inflammation associated with allergic reactions, and studies are finding that some herbs are just as effective as expensive drugs.

It’s as simple as visiting your local farmers market and loading up on the following items:
1. Broccoli
2. Citrus fruits
3. Kale
4. Collard Greens
5. Stinging Nettle
6. Butterbur
7. Elderberries
8. Onions and Garlic
9. Parsley
10. Anti-Allergy Soup

CLICK HERE to read the full article at Yahoo Health for recipes and to find out how these simple natural remedies can help.

Remember hearing as a child at the dinner table, “finish eating your vegetables, they’re good for you” or “have a piece of fruit instead” when you really wanted a cookie as a snack? Why didn’t we ever hear, “eat your toxic chemical contaminated vegetables,” or “have a piece of fruit sprayed by 37 different types of pesticides instead” when you asked for that cookie? Strangely, that cookie is now looking like the healthier choice!

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) compiles a list of fruits and vegetables that contain the highest amounts of pesticides and fungicides to help consumers make informed decisions. This list is compiled annually and the research has found that many of the items on the list contain multiple pesticides, some as high as 60 different types!

Pesticides and fungicides are sprayed on crops and inserted into the soil to protect our food supply from bugs and pests. Unfortunately, water and produce wash won’t rid the produce of this toxic residue. The multiple amounts of pesticides and fungicides penetrate our foods, and as we eat these foods, we also ingest the harmful chemicals.

The easiest way to avoid this toxic residue is to choose organic fruits and vegetables. By avoiding the following “Dirty Dozen” list when buying conventional, you can limit the amount of exposure and reduce the many hazardous health risks posed by these chemicals.

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Imported nectarines
7. Imported grapes
8. Sweet bell pepper
9. Potatoes
10. Domestic blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens

Click Here to download your own shopping guide or mobile phone app directly from the EWG website.

CBS News 60 Minutes Reports Sugar is a Toxin

For this broadcast, CBS News asked Dr. Sanjay Gupta to interview scientists from some of America’s most respected institutions. The consensus was that sugar consumption is strongly linked to diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension, obesity and heart attack.

One of the scientists interviewed was particularly startled by how quickly sugar consumption causes the liver to produce dangerous small-dense LDL particles that accelerate atherosclerosis.

60 Minutes also explained the pathway showing how sugar ingestion promotes cancer by stimulating excess insulin secretion. Certain cancer cells thrive in the presence of surplus insulin, which is why taking steps to suppress glucose and insulin blood levels has long been a cornerstone of a scientific disease-prevention program.

View the broadcast here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n

Discover simple ways to support daily health for you and your family at the Prevention Plus Luncheon featuring Dr. Destia Skinner, ND.  Dr. Destia will be sharing timely health information and tips on how to live with increased vitality and triumph over the daily health challenges and stresses that life can bring.

Learn easy ways to:

~Feel and look better, have more energy and live longer

~Take simple steps each day for vibrant health

~How to focus on Prevention vs. Treatment

~Obtain optimal health and beauty for the entire familly.

Join us on Friday, March 30th from 12:00-1:00 pm at the Zephyr Grill located at 1730 First St. in Livermore. Regular or vegan meal options are available for $21.00 and registration is required.  Call 650-323-7345 to register soon as seating is limited!

If you want to learn how to take better care of yourself and discover a deeper sense of ease and peace of mind—and if you are willing to actively engage in your own health and well being, we welcome your participation in our eight-week MBSR program.

MBSR is based on a form of meditation known as mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a basic human quality, a way of learning to pay wise attention to whatever is happening in your life that allows you a greater sense of connection to your life inwardly and outwardly.  Mindfulness is also a practice, a systematic method aimed at cultivating clarity, insight, and understanding.  In the context of your health, mindfulness is a way for you to experientially learn to take better care of yourself by exploring and understanding the interplay of mind and body and mobilizing your own inner resources for coping, growing and healing.  Mindfulness is not something you have to “get” or acquire.  It is already within you—a deep internal resource available and patiently waiting to be reawakened.

Jon Kabat-Zinn started MBSR at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979.  Nearly three decades of scientific research at UMASS and at medical centers all over the world suggest that training in mindfulness and MBSR can positively and often profoundly affect participants’ ability to reduce medical symptoms and psychological distress while learning to live more fully.

The Stress Reduction Program has benefited people reporting a variety of conditions and concerns:

Stress—with work, school, family, financial, illness, aging, grief, uncertainty about the future, and feeling “out of control”.

Medical conditions—chronic illness or pain, hypertension, cardiovascular disorders, allergies and asthma, skin disorders, GI distress and many other conditions.

Psychological distress—anxiety, panic, depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbances.

Prevention and Wellness—health enhancement and wellness focused on prevention and learning the “how” of taking good care of yourself and feeling a greater sense of balance.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is meant to work synergistically as a compliment with medical and psychological treatments.  Studies over the last three decades suggests that doing what you can for yourself, coupled with what your healthcare provider can do for you, can be far more effective than either approach on its own.

Dates

The program consists of eight weekly 2 hour classes and one day long practice (on a weekend) between sessions six and seven.  Classes will include meditation practices, mindful movements such as yoga and qi gong, and group discussions.

Our first class will be a free introduction to MBSR held on Thursday, March 1.

Classes will be held from 6-8pm on Thursday evenings starting on March 8.

Cost

$295 for the module (8 sessions plus the day long practice) + $20 materials fee (includes MBSR workbook)

Teachers

Christopher Gunst, MFTI

Dr. Jennifer Gunst, DAOM, L.Ac

Links

For additional information please visit www.cnmhealth.com and www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress/index.aspx.

Please contact the front desk at 650-323-7345 or email info@cnmhealth.com to sign up.

The team at Cypress Natural Medicine wishes to thank you for the opportunity of serving you this past year. We wish you a very Happy Holiday Season and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Thank you to all that donated to our “One Warm Coat” drive . We received over 55 coat donations and are so thrilled with the number of people we are able to help this year! We could not have done that without our supporters and are very grateful for your generosity!

We will be closed for the Holiday’s from Friday, December 23rd through Wednesday, January 4th. We will reopen on Thursday, January 5th at 9:30 am.

We look forward to partnering with you in 2012 to help create health and wellness in your life!

In Health,

The Cypress Natural Medicine Team