How do you protect your hair?

Having healthy hair and scalp is very important. Besides eliminating potential and proven harmful substances (e.g. parabens, SLS, mineral oil, MCI/MI, DMDM hydantoin) in shampoo and conditioner, we should feed our scalp and hair with nutrients scientific ingredients and essential oils that have been proven to be beneficial to our scalp and hair.

Here are some of them:

Essential fatty acids

• Good fats that moisturize the scalp and strengthen hair shaft

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Amino acids

• Building blocks of hair that improve hair texture and health

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Sodium PCA

• Makes hair shine and bouncy

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Metha Arvensis

• Balances oil production

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Rosemarinus officinalis

• Promotes hair growth by improving circulation

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Our clinical team recommends PureFresh Shampoo and Conditioner as your daily hair and scalp cleanser and ‘food’. It combines raw and active plant extracts, pure certified organic essential oils and nutraceuticals at therapeutic strength that cleanse and refresh the hair and scalp.

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Have you ever thought about the personal care products you apply can slowly ‘kill’ you?

All the products you put on your skin is no difference that what you eat! Ingredients including toxic substances (e.g. some chemical preservatives) can be absorbed directly into bloodstream. It’s like chronic ingestion of toxins into our body. What are the ingredients that we should be cautious about? Here is a list of substances you should watch out for in your skin care and personal care products.

Toxic chemical preservatives:

• Parabens are chemical preservatives that are found in breast cancer tumor
• Formaldehyde has been shown to cause irritation of eyes and skin. It increases cancer risk
• Triclosan disrupts the body natural hormone system
• DMDM hydantoin and imidazolidinylurea are formaldehyde releasing agents. They can cause allergic reactions, affect lungs, heart rate, chronic fatigue and adversely affect sleep
• DEA, MEA, TEA disrupts our hormonal system
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone or Methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI) can cause dermatitis and eczema

Petroleum and mineral oil block pores and affect natural cellular metabolism

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Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a solvent that wipes out skin natural oil, affects the immune function of skin and scalp
Propylene glycol irritates skin and eyes

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Artificial colors have been shown to cause tumors in animal studies

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Synthetic fragrances affect brain and nerves and cause allergic reaction

Get started to read the labels on your personal care products. Avoid using products containing any of these ingredients. Choose brands and products that are clean, safe and effective: PureFresh body and hair care and Reviive personal care. BioZkin is a brand that is safe and effective skincare for the whole family. BiosenseClinical specialty skincare is also an effective and safe clinical line for your skin. Love your body and skin from outside in. Your body and the future you will thank you a lot.

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Why do we need supplementation?

Nutritional supplementation has been in trend. Some people use it to improve health. Some take the supplement as they don’t get enough nutrients from the daily diet. Some don’t use as they eat healthily.

Do we need supplementation these days?

About the quality of the food we eat, the nutritional value (e.g. vegetables and fruits) has significantly reduced as compared to 30 to 40 years or more ago. The use of chemical fertilizers to increase the crop production, pesticides, transportation, and storage all contribute to the decrease in nutritional value of the food we eat. It’s impossible to obtain optimized levels of nutrients to help us prevent degenerative diseases.
Our body has the ability to heal itself if we provide enough ‘tools’ (i.e. vitamins, minerals and antioxidants) to protect and repair at the cellular level (cellular nutrition). When our basic unit, the cell, is healthy, our overall health is improved as we are made of trillions of cells. With the deterioration of food quality, we are not able to obtain enough from daily diet. In addition, daily life stressors put our body under chronic stress (oxidative stress).
Oxidative stress is the root cause of many chronic degenerative diseases.

What is oxidative stress?

Oxidative stress is the rusting process going on inside our body. It’s like you cut open an apple and it turns brown after exposed to air. Our body does not have enough antioxidants to neutralize the free radicals that causing the rusting process.
Long term, our body is under chronic inflammation and will lead to different chronic illnesses such as:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer’s…

Nutritional supplementation come into place where we should optimize the antioxidants levels to help protect and repair our cells and our body.
Using a high quality supplement formulated based on constantly updated research can provide our bodies with an adequate supply of essential nutrients to maintain health at cellular level and to combat oxidative stress. Nutrifii Opitmals is a good choice to help us building a good foundation of health.
Nutrifii Opitmals is a good choice to help us building a good foundation of health.

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Omega 3 fatty acids are also essential for optimal health as it involves in many different functions: protect our nerve, heart, brain, eye and joint health.

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Grapeseed extract and vitamin C can be added as they are powerful water soluble antioxidants that help to enhance the immune system.

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Highly absorbable form of calcium and magnesium are important for bone and heart health.

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There are many evidence in supporting nutritional science and the use of high quality supplement to optimize health and prevent chronic illnesses.

Be proactive in taking control of your health：

• Having a wholesome balanced diet
• Regularly exercise
• Using high quality supplementation

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Toxins can affect our weight? Is this true?

Do you know how much toxins our body absorbs every day? From the air, the food we eat, and water we drink. Toxins accumulate in our body to a point that they overload our liver. Do you know that toxins and overweight are related? In 2007, a report revealed that chronic exposure to a large number of chemical toxins can lead to obesity.

Where can we find these toxic chemicals in our daily lives?

Here are some examples:

Phthalates

In cosmetics and personal care products and plastics
Most of the meats we eat contain hormones, antibiotics and other chemical substances that may affect our normal hormonal level

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Arsenic

Used to feed livestock (chicken and pig)

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BPA

In plastic bottles

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Therefore, regular detox is important, especially if you are on a healthy weight management program, adequate detox becomes even more vital. Here are some of the safe and effective detox ingredients that are recommended for you to use:

Zeolite – captures heavy metals

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Chlorella and spirulina

• nutrients-rich green foods that support body's natural cleansing proceses in key elimination systems such as the bowel, liver and blood
• wrap around the toxins and help to remove them from the body

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Probiotics – help to cleanse out the ‘gunk’ in our gut

Proper and effective detox helps to get rid of the toxins in our body. Our metabolic system can then function more efficiently. This helps to improve weight management results.

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Breast health and essential oils

Are essential oils smelling good only? Besides aromatherapy, there are other ways that essential oils are beneficial to our health. There have been lots of studies supporting their healing properties for both mind and body. These concentrated components of plants are mixed with carrier oils which are readily absorbed and are suitable for topical application. When inhaled, they can uplift our feelings and also cause positive physiological changes in our body. When applied topically, they are also lots of benefits in maintaining and improving health. The following essential oils are all beneficial to our breast health:
Cypress oil can detoxify lymphatic system and improve drainage of toxins and also improve firmness






Evening primrose oils rich in fatty acids that contribute to healthy breast tissue

Jasmine helps with the protective effect against breast tumor. It also helps to regain elasticity tone and firm breast

Gernaium and ylang ylang oils improve firmness of the breast

BioZkin Breast Booster consists of a blend of essential oils including those listed above that help to increase skin elasticity around breast, maintain suppleness of skin around breast area, tone and firm breast. It is also beneficial to breast health.

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What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal fatigue is characterized by chronic fatigue resulting from when the Aadrenal gland functions are off balance. Adrenal glands are the small glands sit on top of the kidney.
Adrenal glands easily secrete hormones including cortisol and adrenaline in response to acute stress. However, when we are under long-term stress, this can cause these glands to work so hard that they are not able to keep up with the demands of the body.

There are 4 stages of adrenal fatigue:

Stage 1: Over-stimulation of the adrenal glands

Overall cortisol hormone secretion has increased resulting in over stimulation of the body
Signs and symptoms:

• Sleeping problem
• Easily agitated
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Irritable bowel syndrome such as abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation
• Function normally but peak performance cannot be achieved

Stage 2: Exertion response

The disrupted cortisol, stress hormone, biological rhythm has become the new norm. Normal functions can still be carried out, but the sense of fatigue is pronounced at the end of each day as the body needs more rest that usual to recover
Signs and symptoms:

• Sleeping problem, restless sleep
• Tiredness
• Anxiety
• Irritable bowel syndrome such as abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation

Stage 3: Adrenal exhaustion

The adrenal glands are not able to keep up with the increasing demand for cortisol production needed to overcome the stress and they become exhausted.
Signs and symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Weakened immune system
• Brain fog, cognitive decline
• Decrease in blood pressure

Stage 4: Chronic fatigue syndrome

The adrenals fail to respond to stimulation and become totally exhausted. Burnout at cellular level in other organs
Signs and symptoms:

• Cognitive decline
• Constant exhaustion
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Muscle pain and weakness

How to deal with it?

Lifestyle changes

• Exercise regularly in the morning or afternoon 3 to 4 times weekly
• Establish good sleeping hygiene
• Go to bed and wake up at the same time
• Avoid napping more than 30-45 minutes long
• Keep the room dark
• Positive thinking
• Quit smoking cigarettes
• Reduce stress
• Practice yoga or meditation

Healthy diet is essential for overall welling to promote adrenal health

• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol
• Eat wholesome foods like greens, colored veggies
• Rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals like magnesium, selenium and zinc
• Avoid eating processed foods, fried foods and foods containing gluten or dairy (can trigger sensitivity)
• Healthy fats (e.g. fish, coconut oil) and good protein are beneficial to the adrenal glands
• Keep yourself well hydrated

In additional to healthy diet and changing lifestyle, supplementation can also help to support adrenal glands:

Achieving an optimal level of nutrients in our body will help with overall well being and also improving the adrenal health. Healthy gut also is essential. A comprehensive vitamins and minerals would be good choice to add on especially for those hard to eat a well balanced diet. Nutrifii Optimals is a good quality option.

Magnesium (Mg)

• Mg act as a relaxant in stage 1 and 2 when the adrenal glands are over stimulated
• Mg helps in the energy production process inside the cell during stage 4 (chronic fatigue syndrome)

B vitamins (B5, B6, B9, B12, B1, B3)

Can be added at stage 2 to 4 (exertion and exhaustion stages) where B5 and other b vitamins that help to restore body’s depleted energy, support the adrenal function and increase the body’s ability to cope with stress

Probiotics

• Helpful in adrenal fatigue when you experience poor digestion and gut health that can be common in adrenal fatigue syndrome

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Some herbal supplement is shown to help improving adrenal fatigue:

Ashwagandha, Cordiceps, Rhodiola

• Help to balance and support the adrenal glands
• Suitable for stage 1 and 2 when people function normally but peak performance cannot be achieved or the sense of fatigue is very obvious at the end of the day. They tonify and normalize the adrenal function
• E.g. VitaAid Adrenergyn, Dr Mercola Rhodiola

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Licorice root, Panax ginseng

• Helps to maintain energy levels and increase endurance
• Tonify the depleted adrenals and give the body a kick start to restore its physiological functions in stage 3 when the adrenal glands are exhausted and not able to keep up with to overcome the stress
• E.g VitaAid Adrenoforte DP

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Consult a practitioner like naturopath doctor is suggested to further assess and the need of management of adrenal fatigue especially in severe cases.

Be positive and proactive to cope with adrenal fatigue!

Reference:

www.vitaaid.com
www.drlam.com
www.webmd.com
www.mayoclinic.com

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