Isn’t summer wonderful? I love the sun and have loved it a bit too much over the years, not paying enough attention to what it was doing to my skin!

I have become increasingly interested in an environmental working group that takes a very close look at products on the market today with respect to their potential hazard to our bodies.

One such area that this group has researched quite intensely is sunscreens!

The topic of sun and how much sun we need to support our Vitamin D levels in our bodies, in order to stay well and help prevent a host of medical problems, including cancer is a subject becoming quite popular.

I want to make sure my patients and others have the best possible up-to-date advice they can get about this and other topics that might dispute what the medical community may have recommended in the past. I personally really try not to do the typical “knee-jerk” decision that we often do in medicine and just completely dismiss something when we find out that maybe it’s not as good for us as we originally thought; because down the road, it turns out there is more to the story???

Take sunscreens for example…

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) www.ewg.com has looked at over 500 name brands of sunscreens. They were looking at these brands to make sure that they actually contained the stated amount of sunscreen protectant and did indeed provide adequate protection, but also looked at the possibility of these sunscreens containing harmful chemical or additives that would be immediately absorbed into our system after applying them to our skin (skin being a very absorbent organ of our body.)

Here are the brands that they are recommending that will provide protection without the harmful chemicals:

California Baby – any sunscreen

Mustela – “Sun Cream” or “Sun Lotion, Bebe”

Mission Skincare – “Face Stick”

Neutrogena – “Pure & Free” or “Sensitive Skin”

Blue Lizard – “Face”, “Baby”, or “Sensitive”

Jason Natural or Earth’s Best – “Mineral Based”

Solar Sense – “Clear Zinc Sport Stick”

CVS – “Sport Sunstick”

Coppertone Water BABIES – “Pure & Simple”

I also want to leave you with a few tips they have provided on their website for consumers that I feel is excellent advice on taking care of your skin…

Avoid mid-day sun (at its peak) 10am – 4pm

Consider your own shade; bring a hat, wear clothes that can cover you up if necessary, and wear protective glasses!

Purchase sunscreen with at least SPF of 30 or higher

Purchase sunscreen with at least 7% zinc oxide or titanium dioxide for broad spectrum protection.

Avoid Oxybenzone or benzophenone-3; as these chemicals can cause hormone disruption, skin allergies and are heavily absorbed through the skin

Do not use spray or powder sunscreens as these can be inhaled and pose additional risks to your health.

Avoid sunscreen with bug repellent: this will cause you to get too much pesticide into your body; which is harmful to your system.

Avoid fragrance added to sunscreens: which can cause reproductive changes and interference.

Reapply sunscreen often!

Wear a moisturizer under the sunscreen for added protection to your skin.

Wear an SPF lip balm to protect against lip cancer

Have fun in the sun… you deserve it!

Blessings and Light,

Nisha

My memory is horrible! I sometimes walk into the bathroom and forget why I am there… What’s wrong with me?

Oh, if I had a dime for every time I heard this from a woman; or even for the times I’ve wondered it myself!

The point is… if you’ve been worrying about your memory lately, you’re NOT alone!

So many of us stress junkies, just have too much “stuff” on our plates today to even think straight anymore. I truly believe that we were NOT designed to have this much information going in and out of our brains as we do every day. It’s no wonder; we all get a bit brain-jumbled at times.

The reality is… that most of us ARE NOT willing to change our lifestyle of “busyness” or put off the zillions of things we have on our to-do lists to put a stop to this craziness… SO if that sounds like you, then listen up and learn how to best equip yourself with the “brain amour” needed to get to the top of your game mentally and quit looking like such a dork every time you forget where you laid those dang keys!

Here is your brain game plan…

B-complex –start it now and don’t stop taking it. Take a super B-complex (the one on my site used under the tongue is excellent!) The manufacturing of most brain chemical are dependent on adequate B-vitamins in your system. Folic acid also helps to reduce homocysteine levels which is a toxic amino acid linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Remove the crud in your diet that is causing brain fade… All foods that cause inflammation, will cause you to have foggy thinking… sugars, processed foods, sugary drinks, food additives, preservatives, basically you should be eating foods that are not ‘man-made’ but rather, foods that are whole, natural and from the ground; or untouched by a factory.

Take Ginkgo. This supplement has been shown to increase blood flow to the brain, reduce the effects of dementia and slow the progression of early Alzheimer’s.

Consider Acetyl – L-Carnitine for the brain! This amino acid supplement works great to give you brain a re-boot! It works fast and is extremely effective for re-call and brain energy! After the age of 40, this supplement should be used regularly!

Phosphatidyl Serine or PS- this supplement is considered brain cell nourishment! Taking this supplement not only helps memory and concentration, but it has been shown to slow the negative age-related effects of the brain.

Get your hormones checked, loss of estrogen, testosterone, and thyroid hormones can have a devastating effect on memory and concentration. Make sure you see someone that can adequately evaluate your levels and get you back on the right track.

Don’t let your brain-fog get out of control! Take action and get back into the groove… it’s never too late!

Blessings and Light!

Nish

The question came from a patient who was scheduled to see a gynecological surgeon later that week. She was due to have a hysterectomy in order to resolve years of irregular bleeding, along with the development of fibroids, and ovarian cysts. However, this particular patient had never received any hormone testing or a history of hormone balancing provided for her prior to the scheduling of this radical surgical procedure.

The question came at a unique time, and although I would not change my answer today from what I’ve told women for years about the removal of the ovaries; we now have a recent study that backs up my recommendation.

A study in the May 2009 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, made a strong argument against the advice often given to women facing this same prognosis in favor of removing the ovaries was made.

Most physicians have taken the route that removing the ovaries at the time of hysterectomy will help to save the woman from having ovarian cancer later in life. This advice of course is typically well received by women, as ovarian cancer is one of the most feared cancers by women today. But the reality is that ovarian cancer accounts for only 3% of all cancers and only 1% of all deaths by women. It is a rare cancer.

The study recently released showed that women who had a hysterectomy with ovaries removed before the age of 50 nearly doubled their risk for heart disease and stroke. In addition, the women who choose to have a hysterectomy and ovaries removed before age 50 increased their risk of premature death by 40%!

My answer to this does not always work; but if we can help balance hormones, when problems arise, and reverse hormonally imbalanced women who are suffering from estrogen dominant problems such as fibroids, fibrocystic breasts, PCOS, irregular bleeding, endometriosis, etc, then the need to remove the ovaries at some point should be less of a concern and ultimately reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and premature death!

Women need to be tested and have options! Getting hormonally balanced before a hysterectomy can be a very positive option for women often resolving their symptoms.

Blessings and Light!

Nisha