Healthy Product News

Miessence Certified Organic Skin Care and Cosmetics

Review by Susannah Kent

If you are female, odds are you use cosmetics, skin care and hair care products regularly. In fact, our purchases for personal care products amounts to over $35 billion annually. We all want our hair to be shiny, and our skin to smell nice, feel soft and glow with health. But the next time you reach for your moisturizer, shampoo or mascara, take a moment to read the ingredients. Certainly you will be surprised, and possibly horrified.

After assessing 7500 personal care products, the Environmental Working Group (a nonprofit environmental research organization based in Washington, DC) found that, “One of every 120 products on the market contains ingredients certified by government authorities as known or probable human carcinogens, including shampoos, lotions, make-up foundations, and lip balms.” For more details see www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/.

Perhaps even more disturbing are the big commercial manufacturers that claim to use natural ingredients, leading the consumer to believe she is getting a better, safer product. If you read the labels of these ‘natural’ products, you will find that some contain things like methylparaben, phenoxyethanol, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, and cetyl palmitate, all clearly unnatural substances.

Our skin does require nourishment so when choosing our personal care products we should ideally be looking for those whose ingredients provide antioxidants and phytonutrients to feed and protect the skin. Certified organic beauty products are an optimal choice. And now an Australian company, The ONE Group, has created Miessence, the world’s first certified organic line of skin care products that makes this choice possible.

When I agreed to try the Miessence Body Intensive Cream ($30.95/8.5oz), I decided to quickly compare some of the ingredients to those in a hand lotion that I have used frequently over the years. Here is what I found:

The Body Intensive Cream contains:
1. Organic Aloe Vera; 2. Organic Safflower Oil; 3. Purified Water; 4. Organic Avocado Oil; 5. Organic Shea Butter; 6. Non-GMO Lecithin

My hand lotion contains:
1. Water; 2. Aloe Vera; 3. Propylene Glycol; 4. Stearate SE; 5. Proplyparaben; 6.Methylparaben

With the Body Intensive, I only had trouble with item 6, which turned out to be a non-genetically modified soybean oil, a natural moisturizer. Conversely, my hand lotion has a whole host of chemicals known to irritate the skin, create barriers that can clog pores and disrupt elimination of toxins, and possibly be contaminated with known carcinogens. So you could say it’s a no-brainer that I should stop using that hand lotion and switch permanently to Miessence’s Body Intensive Cream.

And it isn’t only the ingredient comparison; I have to admit that I really liked the product itself. It went on lightly and smoothly, left my skin soft, and there was no oily residue. While the scent (supposed to be amber and vanilla) did not linger, I did not really care for it. However, I also tried the Sunflower Body Wash ($12.95/8.5oz) and loved the scent and found an amazing difference as compared to my normal body soap. I felt moisturized, refreshed and my pores felt totally unclogged. I am looking forward to trying the lip balm and mascara, as I would like to be able to get on my party face during the holiday season without having to worry about the petroleum byproducts that most commercial makeup is based on.

Other Miessence users seem equally smitten with the line. One customer states that “they are simply beautiful to apply and the feel of my skin changed in a few days. I am really thrilled with the quality and am definitely hooked”. And who wouldn’t be? Miessence is an excellent alternative to the chemically based products we have been exposing our skin to for decades. There is no reason for cosmetic firms to continue to seek out newer and supposedly better, safer chemicals for their products. Nature has always offered healthier solutions for our skin and for our planet. With Miessence, The ONE Group has made them accessible to us.

The complete line of Miessence Certified Organic skincare products is available online at www.fordage.mionegroup.com. Or you can order directly through Erin Ford, the ONE Group Independent Representative, by calling (416) 548 4201, or emailing her at erindesigner@gmail.com

Strengthen Your Digestion and Alleviate Fatigue with Organic Codonopsis

Report by Julia Woodford

As any devotee of Traditional Chinese Medicine will tell you, Codonopsis is one of the most famous and widely used Chinese tonic herbs. It is thought of as a major tonic, in the same class with heavyweights Ginseng and Astragalus. It is very mild and without side effects, yet it is a superb Qi tonic. According to Chinese herbal texts, Codonopsis invigorates the Spleen and Lung functions so that Qi is replenished and it promotes the production of body fluids. Codonopsis is also an excellent blood tonic.

For centuries, Codonopsis has been one of China’s favourite tonic herbs. It is believed to have an action similar to that of Ginseng, but milder. It is often used in place of Ginseng in formulas that actually call for Ginseng to be used as a main Qi tonic, especially when the purpose of the formula is to invigorate the Spleen and Lung functions.

Although high quality Codonopsis is a relatively expensive herb, it is still called “poor man’s Ginseng” because it is less expensive than Ginseng and serves the same primary role in a Ginseng-based Qi tonic formula. However, recent studies have shown that Ginseng and Codonopsis do not share the same chemical basis for their Qi building activity. They both can be used in an herbal program to build Qi. However, Ginseng possesses a very different type of adaptogenic activity. Ginseng’s action in formulations associated with its powerful Yang power cannot be substituted for by Codonopsis. Codonopsis does, however, possess mild Yang energy suited well to women and men who possess excessive Yang energy already.

Codonopsis can always be used as the main Qi tonic in a person’s program when Ginseng is not desired but a Qi tonic is desired. Its blood building quality makes it especially good for people who are weakened due to illness, and Codonopsis is extremely effective at relieving chronic fatigue. Many women use it to build blood and the Chinese consider Codonopsis to be an herb specifically suited to pregnant women and nursing mothers, holding that Codonopsis helps produce milk and that the nutrients in Codonposis are especially nourishing to babies.

Codonopsis is also useful for those who wish to strengthen their digestive and respiratory functions. It is especially useful for people who tend to become short winded or cough easily due to deficient lung energy and for people who become congested after a meal or who digest inefficiently.

Codonopsis is an excellent herb for children. It is mild yet has powerful strengthening effects, especially on the digestive and respiratory systems and upon the immune system. It builds strong muscle in children. Babies can start chewing on clean Codonopsis roots as soon as they have teeth to know how to hold the root to their mouth. It is an excellent teething herb.

When I stopped by the Big Carrot Dispensary one day, Master Herbalist Francis Ashwagandha suggested I try a new Codonopsis product they have in stock, because he knows I tend to work too hard and have weak digestion after years of eating on the run. The product, called Organic Codonopsis by Health Matters, has the texture of granola and a mildly nutty taste. So I’ve started sprinkling it on meals at dinnertime or eating it by the handfuls as a snack, and am already noticing a mild invigoration of my energy levels which is quite pleasant. Since the autumn season is our busiest time of year and I need all the help I can get to boost my stamina, I plan to make this Codonopsis product a regular part of my diet. And who knows, maybe once my digestive fire gets a little stronger, I’ll even start to lose some weight. Francis, by the way, combines this product with astragalus and schizandra to create a lung tonic for his patients, something that’s appropriate at this time of year when colds and flus are swirling around. ($18.89/ 454 gram package)

This product is distributed by Advantage Health Matters. Available at the Big Carrot Dispensary (348 Danforth Ave, Toronto. Tel: 416-466-8432.)