Update..... and my newest product, Pearl Powder...

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a Chinese herb, He Shou Wu. I told you that one of the benefits of this supplement was that it slows down the hair graying process. I will have to say that I do believe it really works. I normally get my hair colored once every 4 weeks. And that is because by the 3rd week after going to my salon I am pretty gray. Not just my roots but my eyebrows. I actually called my salon and changed my appointment because I clearly don't need to go next week. So if you are like me and visit your salon quite often, you might want to try out this herb. I couldn't believe it worked so fast and so well. I don't know if it works on everyone, but it is definitely worth a purchase. I also think it would be a great preventative if you are younger and not experiencing graying yet. But if you want to go naturally gray, I would say don't take it  because it will delay the process.

So Pearl Powder....who would have ever thought that you can grind up pearls and they are so beneficial for you and your skin.

Here are a few things to know about Pearl Powder.

Pearl Powder is an ancient Chinese beauty secret that has been used for over 3000 years to promote lustrous, pure beautiful skin. It is renown for fighting wrinkles and the signs of aging.

It has very high concentrations of calcium and minerals as well as anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. It has been found to promote cell regeneration. It helps clarify the complexion and treat acne. It is good for lightening hyper pigmentation.

It is made from ground pure freshwater pearls. Once the pearls are chosen they are disinfected and then ground into powder. They contain 18 amino acids and over a dozen minerals. These essential building blocks of collagen and protein each have a specific function. If your skin lacks any of these amino acids the result is dry skin and wrinkles. When taken internally, it strengthens bones, muscles and nerves. It reduces skin blemishes and and helps remove pigmentation. the powder enhances the activity of super-oxide dismutase (SOD), this helps eliminate free radicals, skin aging and wrinkles.
It has special attributes for removing skin ulcers, melasma (cause of freckles, age spots and dark spots on the skin.  It nourishes the skin and makes it smooth, elastic, healthy and naturally beautiful. It also contains natural sunscreens.

A few thoughts, it's been taken internally for over 3000 years....
Helps clarify complexion and treat acne...
Strengthens bones and muscles....
Helps reduce skin blemishes, skin aging and wrinkles...
Smooth healthy skin....
Natural sunscreen...

Yes, I bought mine from Dragon Herbs and in a short time notice tighter skin and it seems to helping reduce small wrinkles. Read about it and add it to your Real Raw Beauty skin care line.

Which by the way we are having a special Labor Day Sale through Monday September 1, 2014.
10% off all products and FREE SHIPPING. Don't miss out. www.realrawbeauty.com

Until next time,
Jan

He Shou Wu

I have just recently come across this Chinese herb that is considered the most amazing longevity herb of all the 10,000 herbs. This article written in Natural News explained it's benefits so well, there was no need for me to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I love this herb, but I haven't been taking it long enough to know if it will reverse the graying of my hair, as it claims that it does for some people that take it. But everything else it claims to do I am experiencing. But trust me, I will let everyone know, especially my hair dresser if my hair begins to reverse and stop graying!!
So just take a few minutes and read about this incredible Chinese herb. It's worth the read.

Out of about 10,000 Chinese medicinal plants only about 60 belong to the class of Superior Tonic Herbs. Out of these 60 herbs He Shou Wu is the most amazing longevity tonic of all. It is widely used in Chinese herbal medicine as a tonic to prevent premature aging by tonifying the Kidney and Liver functions. It also is known to bring up Jing (vital essence), nourishing the blood, and fortifying the muscles, tendons and bones. It strengthens and stabilizes the lower back and knees. He Shou Wu is also used to enhance sexual drive and fertility in men and women. It can increase sperm count in men and help build more semen even in old age. It helps build ova in women as well. It is also widely used in Asia to maintain the youthful condition and color of the hair. This is, for some reason, its most popular attribute but it does so much more than this! There are countless legends of people that have lived well past the century mark taking this herb, including Li Qing Yeun who lived to be 197 years old!

Many people (Including the author) have claimed He Shou Wu has made all the difference in the world as far as stopping pain in the knees and lower back.

He Shou Wu (Called "Foti" by some) is the "Prepared" root of Polygonum multiform - a large vining plant. It is prepared by slicing the root shortly after harvesting and then cooking it in black bean soup (in a proportion of 10 parts He Shou Wu to 1 part black beans) until the soup is exhausted. The "prepared" roots are then dried. This is what makes He Shou Wu a tonic worthy of taking for the rest of one's life. This process has been done in this way for around 1,500 years. If the herb is not prepared in this way it will not have the same tonic energy. However raw He Shou Wu is often used to stop acne and can have a strong laxative effect.

He Shou Wu is a tonic to the endocrine glands; it improves health, stamina and resistance to disease. It is used to reduce cholesterol due in part to its lecithin content. It is used for angina pectoris, bloody stools, hypoglycemia, diabetes, night sweating and has been found to be helpful in schizophrenia.

Science takes He Shou Wu very seriously:

Studies show that He Shou Wu extract improves the cardiovascular system, enhances immune functions, slows the degeneration of glands, increases antioxidant activity, and reduces the accumulation of lipid peroxidation. Such findings suggest that ho-shou-wu is helpful in combating some of the processes that lead to conditions characteristic of old age, thereby also reducing the risk of fatal diseases (e.g., cancer) and incidents (e.g., heart attack, stroke). He Shou Wu was shown to have effects on the antioxidant system superoxide dismutase (SOD), accumulation of lipid peroxidase, and enhancement of cell-mediated immune responses.

Pharmacological studies have shown that prepared He Shou Wu root extract can prolong the life cycle of somatic cells. Laboratory studies have shown that He Shou Wu can promote strong development and prolonged growing cycle in mammalian cells compared to cells in the control group, which demonstrated aging and degeneration.

He Shou Wu`s effect on protecting the liver:

In experiments on mice, prepared He Shou Wu reduces buildup of hepatic (liver) fat. He Shou Wu also lessens the enlargement of the liver caused by carbon tetrachloride poisoning.

He Shou Wu can significantly counter the liver damage in rats caused by peroxidized (spoiled) corn oil. The damage includes fatty liver, liver function damage and elevated levels of peroxidized lipids in the liver.

At a fundamental level in the liver`s cells, in vitro studies have demonstrated He Shou Wu`s ability to inhibit the lipid peroxidation of rat liver microsomes induced by ADP and NADPH.

These studies show that He Shou Wu`s liver protection mechanism relies largely in its ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation (LPO) and its damage to the liver cells.

Studies have also demonstrated that various laboratory animals fed He Shou Wu in their diets lived longer than control animals.

Study 1: A decoction with He Shou Wu as the main ingredient prolonged the lifespan of fruit flies. At 0.1% strength, the decoction could prolong the lifespan by 5.83%. At 0.5% strength, it could prolong the lifespan by 12.03%.

Study 2: He Shou Wu has been shown to slow down the aging of vital organs in aged animals, especially the reproductive organs, the ovary, the uterus and the testicle. The same formula also demonstrated significant results in open human clinical studies.

Study 3: In an attempt to prove Shou Wu`s legendary reputation as being able to reverse grey hair to black, Shou Wu liquor (dilute alcohol extract) was given to 36 people with gray hair. 24 completely recovered their dark hair and 8 more showed improvement. The total effective rate was of 88.9%.

Taking He Shou Wu:

Be sure to get it from a reliable source and be sure the roots are at least 4 years old and that it is traditionally prepared in black bean soup. 6-10 year old roots are available and can really show off the amazing powerful restorative energy of this Superior Chinese Tonic Herb.

Whether you plan on living to 200 years or you just want to preserve your vital essence and Qi to have the energy of a young person for the rest of your life, He Shou Wu should be tried by anyone. At least for the first 100 years of your life!

Written by Christopher Gussa, a formulator of Natural medicine. He is a Certified Master/Clinical Herbalist for 30 years. He is certified in both Western Herbal Therapy and Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine.

I purchase mine from Dragon Herbs on Amazon.

So  if you want to live longer, help protect your liver, increase your libido, improve your health and your immune system or possibly slow down the graying of your hair, give this herb your attention. 

Until next time,
Jan
www.realrawbeauty.com

Your Diet matters.....

Your diet matters....
 for the weight you gain or lose. It matters for the skin you want to have. It matters for your attitude and disposition. It matters for your energy level. It matters for your sleep. It pretty much matters for every aspect of your life.

I for the most part am a pretty "clean" eater. I don't like to put labels on myself declaring I am this kind of eater or another. I follow my intuition and knowledge of food and health. But I honestly have been trying to lose some weight for the last few months, with not much success. I told myself, it's because you had 4 kids, it's because you are 58 and don't produce estrogen anymore, you don't exercise enough.....blah, blah,blah. Basically, it's the stories I was telling myself. And I believed them all. Every time I looked in the mirror I focused on what I didn't like about my body instead of what I did. You do that long enough and you will keep getting more of what you don't want.
So I decided to "clean" up my diet even more and start drinking live juices and smoothies during the day and a light healthy dinner at night.  Green smoothies and juices are not only extremely healthy for you, but they are delicious, and filling. I always make more than I need and keep them in the refrigerator so I can grab some if I get hungry. I have a cold pressed juicer so I can store them during the day and not worry about them losing their nutrients.

And I am here to tell you that it is working! After just one week of following that set up.  I FEEL great which makes me ACT great, sleep better, have more energy and get more accomplished, oh yes, and I actually lost weight!! But one of the best results of juicing and drinking smoothies is what is does for your skin because your body is detoxing and getting toxins out of your skin and organs. Adding more alkaline foods to your diet also balances the body's PH. Why is this important for your skin? Because if your PH is off, your skin will react with wrinkles, inflammation, and acne or breakouts.
I will put a link at the end of the blog and it will explain more about your body's PH and give you a chart that tells you what foods are alkaline and which are acidic.
It is pretty easy to notice if your PH is off. You will have inflammation, headaches, bloating, blemishes, low energy levels, along with increased amount of sickness to name a few. It will also effect the way you act.

You just have to start somewhere. Make one minor change and notice how you FEEL! Start with a orange, pineapple carrot juice in the morning and notice how your body feels when you are drinking it. Buy yourself a book on juicing and get some ideas or surf the Internet. It is full of information on juicing and making smoothies. The more healthy items you add to your diet make it very easy to start dropping the things you don't want in it. 
I actually had someone tell me today that they had seen all the pictures that I posted on Facebook last week of my smoothies and juices, and that it inspired them so much they ordered a blender and started making making smoothies this weekend!!!

Here is a great book to give you ideas and recipes.

Get started and Feel better, improve your skin, lose some weight, increase your energy levels and look better!!

Check out this PH chart and compare it to your diet   www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htmww

Until next time,
Jan
www.realrawbeauty.com

Save the Telomeres, don't be frayed....

You are probably saying.......what in the world???

If you are interested in aging gracefully or slowing down that process, here is some exciting news for you. Have you ever heard of telomeres?  If you haven't heard of them, here it is in a nutshell.

To start off with, a little 7th grade science.

Each of our cells has a nucleus. Inside the nucleus are our chromosomes, which contain our DNA. The ends of our chromosomes are called telomers. They are what cap off the ends of the chromosomes. Essential to the telomeres function is a special enzyme called telomerase, which replenishes the telomeres as cells divide.
But the body has a limited supply of telomerase, which restricts cells' ability to replenish their telomeres.

In this picture you can see the red caps at the end of the chromosomes, which are the telemeres.  Modern science has made a connection between telomeres and aging.
Whenever your cells replicate, (millions reproduce every day) your telomeres shrink and begin to fray and unravel like a shoestring. After so many replications the shortened stubby telomeres reach a critical place where they are no longer usable and that is an indicator to our body that life is over. So if we want to slow down the aging process, the telomeres need to be replenished with the enzyme telomerase.  Just think what this means for our skin and organs.
But where do we find something like that?

It's called Astragalus root! Astragalus causes the body to "turn on" the enzyme telomerase, this maintains and lengthen  the teleomeres. It also protects the telomeres in the same way a plastic cap protects shoestrings so they don't fray. This herb is in a class of herbs found in northern Asia and has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.

And that is not the only thing Astragalus does. It reduces the amount of nitric oxide released from cells, which reduces inflammation. It has been used to treat ulcers, wounds and reduce hemorrhaging. It stimulates the immune system and strengthens the digestive system and increases energy levels.

I don't like to take tons of supplements. I would rather eat really clean, juice and drink smoothies, but this is one herb I will take from here on out. I bought mine from Amazon, Astragalus Supreme,

 I know other people that purchase theirs from Dragon Herbs, www.dragonherbs.com

Not all brands are the same, I started out with another company's brand and switched over to Gaia. It makes you feel wonderful on top of all the health benefits you get. So my new catch phrase is " Save the telomeres, don't be frayed".

www.realrawbeauty.com


Until next time,
Jan