If you've been around here for any amount of time, you know that I enjoy skincare quite a bit.KORRES Wild Rose Vitamin C Petal Peel has made its way into my skincare rotation and I'm pleased to share my thoughts with you all. This is a 2 step Brightening and Resurfacing System that uses alpha-hydroxy acids and natural fruit enzymes to get rid of rough, dead skin cells. The result is smoother, softer, more radiant skin. Step 1 is the Wild Rose Activating Peel Gel, a thin consistency, aloe-based gel that cleanses the skin and opens the pores to help Step 2 work better. You apply a thin layer onto a clean, dry face. Wait 30 seconds for it to dry then apply Step 2.
Step 2 is the Wild Rose Brightening & Resurfacing Peel Mask, a medium consistency mask with 10% alpha-hydroxy acids, natural fruit enzymes, Wild Rose oil and pure Vitamin C working together to peel away the dead skin cells and brighten the skin. Aloe Vera and Hyaluronic Acid are also involved to hydrate and plump skin. You apply a thick layer of Step 2 on your face right on top of Step 1. You can leave it on for 3 to 10 minutes depending on how sensitive you skin may be. I started with 3 minutes and have went all the way t0 7 minutes on occasion. I did not feel any odd sensations while waiting the 3 to 7 minutes. Rinse well and you're done!
What I first loved is the ease of using KORRES Wild Rose Vitamin C Petal Peel. The second thing is the beautiful, fresh rose fragrance from Step 2. The scent is just like a real rose garden, not overwhelming, just lovely. Third, I absolutely adore the look and feel of my skin after this peel! It is the best thing for my skin when it starts to look dull or feel rough. I try to use it once a week so that I can reap the benefits more often.
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Product received from PR for editorial consideration, all opinions expressed are my own.
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Vitamin B is a crucial resource in your body, yet many people don't consume enough vitamin B with diet alone. Vitamin B vitamins are necessary for both men and women, especially older adults and those with certain medical conditions. Because vitamin B comes in many forms, it can be confusing to figure out exactly how to take for the most health benefits.
Types of Vitamin B Supplements
Vitamin B complex is a supplement that contains a combination of essential B vitamins so you don't have to take multiple pills each day. Some of the most effective vitamin brands include other vitamins as well, such as biotin, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin E. If you only want to take certain B vitamins, look for individual B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and B12 supplements. If you're pregnant or obese, you need more of these vitamins, but it's good to check with your doctor for specific requirements.
Kidney Health
B Complex is one of the best vitamins for kidney health because each vitamin it contains has an important job. Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid help prevent anemia, and the other B vitamins, such as riboflavin, thiamine and niacin, turn the food you eat into energy. If you have kidney disease, your vitamin requirements are different than someone who doesn't have it. Vitamin B6 works to make protein and red blood cells, vitamin B12 makes red blood cells and folate maintains nerve cells and assists in making new cells.
Anxiety and Depression
Vitamin B complex vitamins help with depression and anxiety. It's believed that when you're not getting enough B vitamins in your diet, it causes an imbalance in the brain neurotransmitters that create a signal to your brain, leading to depression. Vitamins B3 and B6 added with some folic acid can help improve your mood and reduce anxiety. You can visit your local natural vitamin shop to see what they have, but if you have questions, you should speak to a physician first or do some research to make sure you're taking the right supplements.
Other Conditions
Trials using vitamins B2, B9 and B12 have shown to benefit conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The reason these B vitamins are the best vitamins for arthritis is because they help reduce inflammation and improve joint mobility. Vitamin B12 is one of the best vitamins for fibromyalgia because low levels of the vitamin in your body can increase symptoms, making your pain and discomfort worse and causing muscle weakness, pins and needles, and unexplained aches and pains. B vitamins are some of the best vitamins to help tinnitus, or ringing in the ear. Many patients who have chronic ringing in their ears are deficient in B12. B vitamins are also the best vitamins for older men and heart health.
What to Buy
What to buy depends on what your body needs. It's helpful to determine your vitamin requirements based on age and sex before increasing your vitamin intake with your diet. Take time to learn about the top 10 vitamin brands and search vitamin company ratings to find something that works best for you. Vitamin E is good as an antioxidant, which protects the cells, so it's another vitamin that is worth considering. Vitamin G is good for improving healing capabilities and reducing inflammation. Vitamin D3 is used for treating and preventing bone disorders by assisting the body in absorbing calcium.
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Hepatitis is a condition that causes inflammation of your liver. Currently, there are an estimated 6 million people living with hepatitis in the United States, and more than 50,000 people are diagnosed with this disease every year. There are three primary types of hepatitis, and while their symptoms can be similar, they vary largely in the ways they're transmitted. Learning more about each type of hepatitis can help you better understand the condition as a whole.
Hepatitis A is the most easily transmitted of the three viruses. It affects approximately 2,500 people every year in the United States. It typically spreads through feces-contaminated food or water and is found in the feces of people who have the virus. Hepatitis A causes a short-term, acute sickness that most people heal from without treatment. However, it can cause serious illness in some people. This virus is more common in places with underdeveloped sanitation systems.
While doctors can't treat hepatitis A with medication, people who get this virus can manage its symptoms with fluids, rest and good nutrition. There's also a safe and effective vaccine available to protect you against hepatitis A.
What Is Hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B can occur both acutely (meaning it develops quickly and lasts a short time) and chronically (meaning it develops slowly over time and worsens over months or years). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 2 million people in the United States are chronically affected with hepatitis B. Hepatitis B can be transmitted through sexual activity and exposure to infected blood. It can also be passed from a parent to their newborn child during birth.
Hepatitis B usually causes short-term discomfort that many people recover from completely after about four to eight weeks. However, it can turn into a chronic condition that lasts for years; this is more likely in older adults. Doctors can treat severe chronic hepatitis B with antiviral medications. However, in most cases, treatments focus on proper hydration and nutrition. There's a safe vaccine available to protect you against hepatitis B, too.
What Is Hepatitis C?
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Approximately 4 million people in the United States are affected with hepatitis C. This form of hepatitis causes a chronic illness in over 50% of people who get this type of the virus. It's the least transmissible of the three viruses and can spread through contact with infected blood.
Hepatitis C occurs more commonly in people who engage in intravenous drug use. If you received a blood transfusion before 1992, you should also get tested for hepatitis C if you haven't previously. Hepatitis C can spread through unprotected sexual intercourse, but this is a less common way to transmit it. While there's no vaccine for chronic hepatitis C, treatments that are available today offer a 95% cure rate.
Chronic hepatitis C can significantly affect how your liver works. It can cause cirrhosis, which means that your normal liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue. It can also cause liver cancer. However, there are medications that can help keep this disease in check. Making lifestyle changes, such as reducing or eliminating alcohol from your diet, can also decrease your chances of experiencing complications. In severe cases, hepatitis C may require a liver transplant.
The varying forms of viral hepatitis affect millions of people in the United States. Chronic hepatitis often has few symptoms in its early stages, so recognizing the associated dangers and getting tested if you've been exposed may save your life. Although there are five types of viral hepatitis, only A, B and C are the forms commonly found in the United States.
Resource Links:
"Hepatitis A, B, and C: Learn the Differences," Immunization Action Coalition
"What's the Difference Between Hepatitis A, B and C?," UNC Health Talk
"The ABCs of Hepatitis," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"What's the Difference: Hepatitis B vs Hepatitis C?," Hepatitis B Foundation
Whether in the form of a fizzy drink or flavored lozenges, cold and flu preventative supplements almost always highlight vitamin C as one of their key ingredients. So, what's so magical about vitamin C? Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is critical to living healthily. Since the human body cannot spontaneously generate this nutrient, vitamin C must instead be absorbed from outside sources, such as vitamin supplements or foods that are naturally rich in it.
Commonly found in cold and flu preventative supplements, vitamin C strengthens and speeds up immune system functionality. Though research does not indicate that vitamin C intake alone can prevent the onset of cold or flu, adequate daily intake may shorten the duration of an infection or lessen the severity of symptoms.
Vitamin C is crucial for the maintenance of well being. For example, it plays a role in wound healing and helps maintain many essential body tissues. It also acts as a potent antioxidant and can repair damage from free radicals, which are linked to aging effects, and disease vulnerability. Additionally, vitamin C can also prevent anemia, since it helps the body increase absorption of dietary iron, another vital mineral that the body cannot spontaneously create.
Foods that contain high concentrations of vitamin C have been linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, like heart attack and stroke. Vitamin C can also increase levels of nitric oxide, a compound that widens blood vessels and, in turn, lowers blood pressure. In addition, regular intake of vitamin C, along with other vitamins, has been linked to a decreased risk for developing age-related cataracts, a leading cause of visual impairment in the United States.
Common Sources of Vitamin C
Vitamin C can be easily obtained through the many different foods, including:
Citrus fruits and juices (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime and tangerine)
Berries
Melons
Mangoes
Kiwi
Tomato
Broccoli
Red peppers
Spinach
Squash
Potatoes
Cooking these foods may result in the loss of some of the vitamin content, so it is ideal to ingest them raw, either whole or juiced. Nowadays, there are also numerous packaged food products, like cereals, that have been enriched and fortified with vitamin C, so that the nutrient can be easily obtained.
Vitamin C may also be labeled as "L-ascorbic acid" in supplement form, and most over-the-counter multivitamins contain the recommended daily amount of the vitamin. While it is a good source when an individual is in need of a vitamin C boost, supplements are not meant to replace a diet rich in naturally derived vitamin C.
What Happens When You Have Too Much — or Too Little — Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that can be easily flushed out of the body via urination when it is not needed. Therefore, if the main source of vitamin C is from naturally occurring foods, it is near-impossible for excess vitamin C to produce side effects. However, taking excessive concentrated vitamin C supplements may lead to diarrhea or stomach upset.
Since vitamin C-rich foods are so readily available nowadays, symptoms of inadequate vitamin C intake are also rare in the United States. However, malnourished individuals can experience symptoms of vitamin C deficiency over time, including:
Weakness
Fatigue
Anemia
Easy bruising
Joint pain
Skin breakdown
Weakened tooth enamel
Gum inflammation
Severe vitamin C deficiency is referred to as scurvy. Scurvy can be easily treated with increased dietary or supplemental vitamin C. Since vitamin C is crucial in the detoxification of the body, a lack of vitamin C can compromise the immune system and make an individual more susceptible to diseases and infections. Individuals with insufficient vitamin C may find that it takes longer than usual to recover from a cold or a physical wound.
Daily Dosage Recommendations:
The daily dosage recommendation for vitamin C is different for everyone, depending on factors such as gender, age, lifestyle and current health condition. The recommended daily dosage for vitamin C is at least 75 mg daily for women and 90 mg for men. Since people who are pregnant, breast feeding, smoking or using oral contraceptives have a lower blood level of vitamin C than others, larger doses of vitamin C may be needed to achieve optimal results in these individuals. Those who have prior or current medical conditions may also require bigger or smaller dosage levels, as recommended by their healthcare providers.
Resource Links:
"Vitamin C" via MedlinePlus
"Vitamin C and Infections" via MDPI
"Extra Dose of Vitamin C Based on a Daily Supplementation Shortens the Common Cold: A Meta-Analysis of 9 Randomized Controlled Trials" via Hindawi, BioMed Research International
"Vitamin C" via National Institutes of Health
"Scurvy" via U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health
"Dietary intake and blood concentrations of antioxidants and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer, and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies" via The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
"Dietary vitamin and carotenoid intake and risk of age-related cataract" via The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
"Cardiovascular System" via Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University College of Medicine (via Springer)
For 70 years Vitamin C has been one of the biggest weapons in the skin care industry. It's used to make cleansers, moisturizers, lotions, masks, and serums. So what is this powerful vitamin? How can it benefit you? Why should you use serums that contain Vitamin C? We're here to answer all of those burning questions in this complete guide and reveal the many benefits Vitamin C serums offer for your skin.
What Are Vitamin C Serums?
There are many variations of Vitamin C, but the most popular is ascorbic acid, a common ingredient in skincare products. However, all the variations of Vitamin C have anti-inflammatory benefits.
Vitamin C Serums are products that contain a high level of Vitamin C. They're used to treat wrinkles, sagging skin, lighten dark or red spots, prevent breakouts and even your skin tone. Basically, they battle all of those annoying skin issues. There are loads of products out there that claim they'll save your skin, but some can cause damage. Vitamin C is one of the most revered ingredients and conclusive research has shown how effective it can be.
How Are Vitamin C Serums Made?
Well so far we've talked about how incredible Vitamin C is and it sounds like a dream come true doesn't it? It's not all good. In fact, the mighty vitamin is unstable when it's exposed to air and light. Other ingredients need to be used to stabilize it and allow it to deliver amazing results. The serums are combined with ferulic acid and Vitamin E. According to researchers the perfect mixture is 15% Vitamin C with 1% Vitamin E and 0.5% ferulic acid. This makes Vitamin C perform to the best of its abilities, without damaging your skin.
What Does Vitamin C Serum Do for Your Face?
Boosts Collagen Production: Collagen keeps your skin firm and prevents sagging. Environmental factors such as lifestyle choices and pollution can increase the elasticity of your skin, so it's important you try to increase your collagen production.
Hydrates Your Skin: Dry skin is a common issue, but Vitamin C can help to give your skin that much-needed moisture boost. Remember, it doesn't work immediately so you need to keep applying the serum to see results.
Brightens Your Complexion: Dark spots on your skin are caused by the overproduction of melanin. Vitamin C decreases the production and lightens the dark spots to even out your complexion.
Reduces Redness and Inflammation: Conditions such as Rosacea leave many people searching for a magic cure. Vitamin C helps facial redness and inflammation by reducing the appearance of broken capillaries.
Why Should You Be Using Vitamin C Serum?
Don't think Vitamin C serums are just beneficial for your face. They can also shield you from sun damage and reduce stretch marks.
Saves You From The Sun: Prolonged exposure to UV rays can cause long-term damage to your skin. Luckily, Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that reduces red sports and prevents sunburn from spreading.
Fades Acne Scars: Acne plagues most of us at some point and we look forward to being free. Most of us get stuck with some scars but Vitamin C helps to fade scars and even out any discoloration.
Reduces Stretch Marks: Yes, Vitamin C serum can even help prevent those unsightly stretch marks by tightening your skin.
Are you ready to change your skin? Add a Vitamin C serum to your beauty regimen and enjoy a glowing complexion.
Vitamin E is a compound that plays many important roles in your body and provides multiple health benefits. In order to maintain healthy levels of vitamin E, you need to ingest it through food or consume it as an oral supplement. Read on to find out which foods are recommended sources of this essential nutrient, along with other basics to know about vitamin E.
Vitamin E is classified as an antioxidant. This means that vitamin E helps to destroy harmful compounds called free radicals that can build up in your body. Free radicals cause damage to cells through oxidative stress, and they've been linked to aging and health problems such as cancer and heart disease. Getting enough vitamin E on a daily basis may help to combat these conditions by protecting the outer membranes of your cells from free radical damage.
Photo Courtesy: Leren Lu/Photodisc/Getty Images
Vitamin E also plays an important role in your immune system and your body's ability to fight infection. At certain doses, vitamin E has been shown to stimulate the function of T cells — a type of cell that responds to pathogens that cause disease. Recent studies have shown that increasing your vitamin E intake may correlate with a stronger immune response and greater resistance to infection.
Vitamin E is present in the following whole foods:
As people age, their daily dosage recommendation for vitamin E increases. For these standard recommended daily doses, a healthy balanced diet is usually sufficient for getting the required amount of vitamin E:
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Birth to 6 months: 4 milligrams (mg)/day
1 to 12 months: 5 mg/day
1 to 3 years: 6mg/day
4 to 8 years: 7mg/day
9 to 13 years: 11mg/day
14+ years, including adults and seniors: 15mg/day
A person's age, gender and health conditions can help determine their recommended daily dose of vitamin E. Always consult a healthcare professional before altering your intake of vitamin E from the recommended daily dosage.
Taking Vitamin E Supplements
If it becomes necessary, such as if you become deficient in vitamin E, your doctor may advise you to start taking vitamin E supplements. Vitamin E supplements may come with some minor side effects if you take more than the recommended daily amount or if you combine these supplements with certain medications.
Photo Courtesy: Moyo Studio/E+/Getty Images
For example, vitamin E may increase the risk of bleeding if you take it with anticoagulants (also called blood thinners) like warfarin. Other medications, like chemotherapy drugs and cholesterol-lowering drugs, have potential harmful interactions when combined with vitamin E supplements. Talk to a healthcare professional before introducing daily vitamin E supplements, and be sure to discuss current medications you're taking.
Signs of a Vitamin E Deficiency
Because most people are able to get a sufficient amount of vitamin E through their normal daily diet, vitamin E deficiency is rare and typically related to an underlying health issue. For example, because vitamin E is a fat-soluble nutrient, there's a risk for vitamin E deficiency in people whose bodies are unable to absorb fat properly. Premature infants may also become deficient in vitamin E.
Photo Courtesy: LaylaBird/E+/Getty Images
When vitamin E deficiency does occur, these are some of its common symptoms:
Muscle weakness
Unsteady gait
Nerve pain or numbness
Impaired vision
Vitamin E deficiency can be detected with a blood test. It typically resolves with minor changes in your diet or the addition of vitamin E supplements. It's important to address any out-of-range vitamin E levels with your doctor. Chronic deficiencies may prevent your immune system from functioning normally.
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Important Updates
Dear CHM Patients-
I want to let you know that we have been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to stop making any statements about our treatment protocols of Vitamins A, C and D as well as nutritional IV's, iodine, ozone and nebulization to support the immune system with respect to Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19).
According to this letter:
"It is unlawful under the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C Sec. 41 et seq. to advertise that a product or service can prevent, treat, or cure human disease unless you possess competent and reliable scientific evidence, including, when appropriate, well-controlled human clinical studies, substantiating that the claims are true at the time they are made. For COVID-19, no such study is currently known to exist for the products or services identified above. Thus, any Coronavirus-related prevention or treatment claims regarding such products or services are not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. You must immediately cease making all such claims."
Read my blog to learn about my game plan as we take this time out to re-group. Just click on the blog link: 'There Is Still Hope Out There and We Are Taking Time Out To Re-Group"
To All Our Health! ~DrB
Natural Health Questions
What is a natural hormone?
A natural, bioidentical hormone is a hormone, generally made from a plant product that has the same structure as the hormones produced in the body. Examples of natural, bioidentical hormones include Natural Progesterone, Natural Testosterone, DHEA, Pregnenolone, Natural Estrogens, Melatonin, and Human Growth Hormone. Because natural, bioidentical hormones have the identical structure of our own endogenously produced hormones, these substances have very few adverse effects associated with them. This is contrasted with the high rate of serious adverse effects of synthetic hormones such as Premarin® and Provera®. I have been using Bioidentical, natural hormones in my practice for over 12 years with wonderful results. In fact, my first book,The Miracle of Natural Hormones, 3rd Edition, was written to describe the positive results I have witnessed with these items. It is my opinion that a synthetic hormone should never be used, for any condition, when there is a natural, bioidentical hormone available.
Why are there so many problems with prescription drugs?
Adverse effects to prescription drugs are increasing and becoming more severe. This is because more people are taking more drugs. As I describe in Drugs That Don't Work and Natural Therapies That Do, prescription drugs are patentable items that are generally foreign substances to the body. Because our body has no receptors for these items, we have developed no methods to detoxify from them. Therefore, drugs stay in the body much longer as compared to natural substances. The most commonly prescribed drugs in use today primarily poison enzymes or block receptors in our body. I do not think you can poison an enzyme or block an important receptor for the long-term and expect a good result.
Should I eliminate salt in my diet?
The correct form of salt is an extremely important substance for our body. There is a big difference between refined salt and unrefined salt. As I discuss in Salt: Your Way To Health, refined salt is a toxic substance that needs to be avoided. Refined salt has no minerals and is contaminated with substances such as ferrocyanide. Unrefined salt has over 80 minerals in it. I have found unrefined salt a wonderful addition to a healthy holistic regimen.
Why do so many people have thyroid disorders? How come the blood tests may be inaccurate?
As I discuss in Overcoming Thyroid Disorders, up to 40% of the population may be suffering from a thyroid disorder. How can these numbers be so high? One of the main reasons is that our diet does not supply enough iodine. Furthermore, the toxic exposure to substances that inhibit thyroid function are increasing. The commonly used blood tests may be inaccurate to diagnose a thyroid disorder in a large segment of the population. I describe how to recognize a thyroid problem and how to implement a holistic treatment regimen to help you overcome/prevent a thyroid disorder.
What foods should I eat?
People don't know what to eat, how to shop and how to prepare food. The Guide to Healthy Eating will provide you with information on how to improve your health and your family's health by making better food choices. There is a lot of misinformation about food in the media. My experience has clearly shown that the number one way to improve your health is to clean up the diet and make better food choices. This book will supply you with resources show you where to get healthier food and recipes to help you get started.
Are there natural treatments for arthritis?
Yes. Overcoming Arthritis describes a holistic approach to arthritis. The commonly prescribed drug therapies do not treat an underlying cause of arthritis. If you don't know what the underlying cause of an illness is, then how can you implement a treatment regimen? Many arthritic disorders, especially autoimmune arthritic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, polymyositis, as well as Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome can be caused, in part, by an infection. I describe how to test for and treat the infection while improving the immune system functioning with a holistic approach.
About Dr Brownstein
Dr Brownstein has practiced holistic medicine for 12 years and is well respected by prominent health organisations across the United States and Australia. Dr Brownstein specializes in the use of vitamins, minerals, herbs and natural hormones, and also utilizes applied kinesiology, acupuncture and nutritional therapies in his practice.
He is a member of the American College for the Advancement in Medicine, is active in numerous holistic organizations, and he has lectured internationally about his success with using natural therapies.
He is the author of several books including The Miracle of Natural Hormones, Overcoming Arthritis, Overcoming Thyroid Disorders, and Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It.
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About Our Office
The Center for Holistic Medicine was established by three of the most progressive and prominent physicians in holistic medicine today. Dr. Brownstein, Dr. Ng, and Dr. Nusbaum are dedicated to promoting health, preventing disease and managing illness through holistic and complementary approaches. We believe that the body has a remarkable healing capacity when given the proper foundation, and we use natural methods of healing to return our patients to their natural, vibrant selves
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About Our Nutritionist
Sheryl Shenefelt is a Certified Nutritionist and the co-author of five nutrition books with David Brownstein, MD. As a nutritional consultant, Sheryl is dedicated to serving the nutritional, lifestyle and wellness needs of individuals and families. Sheryl is also an author, speaker and mother with a passion for studying and researching food and nutrition, and providing the best quality of care to her clients.
