All things well

I love my Miessence hair care system!  At the age of 43 I have finally come to terms with my curly locks.  I have given up trying to change the look, the straightening irons are gone and the curly, often dry with a tendency to frizziness, brown (with more than a hint of grey now!) mop is here to stay.  I have actually grown to really love my hair and have let it grow as a result of this.  It is longer than it has ever been and I am loving that experience too.  Definitely reflective of a more accepting attitude to self.  One of the blessings of moving into middle age - and there are many, I’m discovering =)

The beautiful, chemical free shampoos and conditioner that Miessence produce keep my hair clean and healthy.  It was interesting - when I first went chemical free and started using these shampoos it took a little while for me to get used to the fact that there is less lather than with SLS packed off the shelf shampoos.  My scalp also had an adjustment period.  I suppose it had been used to the heavy duty chemicals in “normal” shampoos and needed time to adjust to a kinder environment.  It is amazing what we subject our bodies to without even knowing we’re doing it.  If you are looking for a chemical free shampoo/conditioner or gel/hair repair product - look carefully at the labels, unscrupulous producers often slip in some real nasties and still label it “organic”.  If you want to check any of the ingredients of your shampoo - take a look at the toxic chemical list at http://karendlowe.mionegroup.com/en/toxic and see what they do to us.

As well as the desert flower shampoo (which is the one I use and love) and the lemon myrtle shampoo, the Miessence conditioner is fabulous.  (http://karendlowe.mionegroup.com/en/category/2)  Really thick and creamy and yummy.  Because my hair is curly and prone to dryness I also use the Hair Repair B5 spray, just spraying it on whenver it feels it needs it.  The real star of the show for me is the “Hair styling gel”.  I adore this product.  I pop it on after washing my hair and scrunch it all up to accentuate the curls.  Then I just leave it to dry…which can be a little chilly right now in this Melbourne winter - I must find a diffuser so I have the drying option as well!  It holds it’s shape as it dries and then I scrunch it again to break it up a bit and Voila - beautiful curly, conditioned and fabulous locks =)

Take a look at http://karendlowe.mionegroup.com/en/category/2

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With a mother who has Alzheimers (and her mother before her) I know that I have a higher than average chance of developing the disease in later years. But genes are only a part (perhaps a small part) of the overall risk factors. Here are ten things anyone can do to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimers: (more…)

Last week, when I wrote about what I love about my certified organic skincare products and routine, I realised that there is a lot more that I absolutely love about the Miessence range of products.  So, here is another blog entry!

I absolutely love the Miessence makeup range.  When my Bodyshop foundation ran out, I went looking for something that was natural.  It was quite a hunt, as so many products are not what they say they are.  One atom of carbon allows something to be called “organic”  Can you believe it!  It can be full of carcinogenic parabens and other nasties and still be labeled “organic”  My internet research yielded the Miessence cream foundation, certified organic to food standards and with absolutely no nasties.  I was really excited.  I use the foundation in conjunction with Miessence’s powder, the two work together as both are semi-luscent.  It just evens out that English, slightly “ruddy” complexion of mine and I wear it most days, sometimes along with the eye-liner and mascara which are also gorgeous and completely CHEMICAL FREE!   Nobody knows I have makeup on - it is all very natural looking.

I have recently got quite into their lipies too.  Did you know that women consume most of what goes on their lips?  So, who would want to walk around with carcinogens ready to be licked off?  I absolutley love the fact that I can wear makeup, enhance my confidence, revel in my femininity and be completely safe and healthy.  LOVE IT!

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I was recently asked “what do you love about your Miessence products?”  That got me thinking - what is it I really love about these products.  I love the fact that they really are what they say they are.  I love that they are made of natural ingredients and that there are absolutely no nasty chemicals in them.  I love the fact that, as a company, ONE group is modeling ethical business practice, running carbon neutral and giving back to nature in their support of the David Suzuki Foundation.  This all feels in alignment with my prayers for this planet.  And this enables me to enjoy using the products even more.

I particularly love the skincare range.  I had never used skincare products before - not consistently anyway.   It was the appearance of wrinkles, shortly after turning 40,  that alerted me to the fact that time was marching on and perhaps my skin needed a little support now.  I was appalled when I looked at the ingredients of other products out there and I was also shocked to see how easy it is to call a product “natural” or “organic” here - the regulations in Oz around the use of these words are so loose it is hard to believe.  So, my mission was to find something I could put on my skin and know was healthy and safe.  Something I could trust.

My mission was successful and I found the Miessence range.  I really love using these products and saw a change in my skin in a fairly short period of time.  The life has returned to it and it no longer looks old and tired, so I am delighted with the results.  It is more than that though.  I love the whole routine of putting it on!  I am the sole representative of the fairer sex in this household - testosterone everywhere you look.  I love treating myself to time in my own space in the evening, honouring the feminine in me.  I love giving myself this time to nurture my skin and enjoy the experience.  Not something that is easily understood by my sons!  It has become quite a ritual, a meditation, part of the winding down and going to bed routine.  And it feels doubly honouring as I know that in using this range I am also honouring the environment.

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My wife Karen went to a women’s conference over the weekend and heard a disgusting story. A women who had been a police officer was taken to the morgue as part of her police training. An autopsy was being carried out on a woman in her early 30s, apparently in good health, who had died suddenly of a stroke. Questions were asked why. Her abdominal cavity was opened, then her guts. In her intestines was a large amount of foul-smelling heavy grey sludge. The pathologist explained that it was made up of undigested white flour - perhaps years old - which the body could not process because it was full of preservatives. The probiotic bacteria which normally help digest this stuff were killed by the preservatives.

I was reminded of this when I saw this video about McDonalds:

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It has been a while since my last post. The reason is a broken arm, which made it hard to touch-type. And then I had to play catch up with my real work!

It happened as I was walking fast on my way back from work to catch a train. I tripped and fell badly. I had my laptop in a back-pack and was probably subconsciously trying to protect it, rather than protect myself. Needless to say, the laptop escaped unscathed. But I fractured the end of my radius where it goes into my elbow.

Anyway, the good news is that my arm has made great progress. In fact I saw the physiotherapist last Thursday and she said she had never seen anyone recover so fast from a broken elbow. When I tell people that they ask ‘what is your secret’. So here is my answer: probably a combination of factors:

• I didn’t stress or fight the pain, but thanked my arm for letting me know it was hurting and tried to relax the muscles when I found a position that didn’t hurt too much
• I looked at any emotional factors around my injury so as not to hold onto them
• My in-laws in Canada have been doing some work with Quantum Touch, and they sent me some healing energy
• I have been praying, visualizing my arm as healed and sending it thanks and love
• With the rest of my family, I recently did some tests with a naturopath to find which foods I am intolerant too, and have been only eating foods which I’m OK with.
• I have given up drinking coffee, which inhibits the bodies ability to absorb calcium
• I have been eating lots of almond nuts, as they are high in calcium (I don’t eat dairy)
• I sleep on a Nikken magnetic matress, which helps reduce inflamation

Anyway, it is now a month since the accident and I am 95% there with pretty well a full range of movement and gradually increasing strength.

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An update on my post of April 9. The UK’s Food Safety Agency has recommended that the six artificial food colourings implicated in a recent study should be removed from food products.

The six chemicals involved are: sunset yellow (E110), quinoline yellow (E104), carmoisine (E122), allura red (E129), tartrazine (E102) and ponceau 4R (E124)

For people in Australia, the numbers to look out for are: 102 (tartrazine), 104 (quinoline yellow) 110 (sunset yellow FCF), 122 (Azorubine or carmoisine), 124 (Ponceau 4R) and 129 (Allura red AC).

Note, that Australia/NZ numbers are the same as the European E-numbers.

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The Independent is running a story that scientists are warning the British government that food additives are as dangerous to children’s brain development as lead fumes from petrol was.

Professor Stevenson and three colleagues wrote: “The position in relation to AFCs [Artificial Food Colours] is analogous to the state of knowledge about lead and IQ that was being evaluated in the early 1980s … Needleman [a researcher] found the difference in IQ between high and low lead groups was 5.5 IQ points … This is very close to the sizes obtained in our study of food additives.”

This is the same team of researchers from Southampton University who carried out an official study into seven common food additives funded by the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA). Back in September I reported on the governments inadequate response to the study. The FSA merely warned parents to avoid these additives if their children were showing signs of hyperactivity or ADHD.

Clearly the Southampton Univerisity group, led by Professor Stevenson, felt this was not enough, so they wrote again to the FSA linking the current state of knowledge about the effects of food additives to what was known about the effects of lead fumes before leaded petrol was banned.

The FSA is now likely to recommend that the government acts to ban these food additives.

A list of more than 900 products containing the additives is published on the UK Food Commission’s website actiononadditives.com.

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The dangers of mobile phone use are becoming better known and, thank God, more and more mainstream media are reporting it. The latest has Melbourne’s The Age reporting on a 15-month critical review by one of Australia’s top neurosurgeons who says that the widespread use of mobile phones could turn out to be a bigger threat to public health than asbestos or even smoking. (more…)

One of the advantages of living in Australia is that we get to experience days before most of the rest of the world. So here it is the end of Good Friday while family in Europe and North America are just starting.

It’s been quite a day here. Both kids off school (and for another two weeks) and my wife and I exhausted after a late night last night. And there have been a few emotional explosions and meltdowns leaving all of us feeling a bit bruised. (more…)