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by Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

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About: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

Recent Posts by Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

The Magic of Apple Cider Vinegar

By: Wednesday, November 3, 2010 Diet and Foods, Healthy Baby, Healthy Eating, Holistic Health, Nutrition, Organic Beauty, Product Reviews, Wellness , , , , Permalink 0

By: Natasha Uspensky, CHHC

Get this… what common ingredient in your kitchen cupboard can accomplish all of the following:

  • Relieve gastrointestinal discomfort
  • Help with weight loss
  • Stabilize blood sugar
  • Cure acid reflux and indigestion
  • Prevent and heal acne, eczema and dermatitis
  • Cure allergies
  • Get rid of warts
  • Improve overall immunity
  • Detoxify the body
  • Slow the aging process
  • Make hair shiny and full
  • Relieve seasonal allergies
  • Cure a sore throat

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar!!  Amazing, right?  How does it manage to be such a miraculous cure-all?  Well, the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar helps your body metabolize fat and stabilize blood sugar.  Its high content of over 50 vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, and minerals in very specific combination do wonders for your body, while its antiseptic, anti-fungal and antimicrobial qualities help heal skin problems and ward off illness.

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Ladies, Lay off the Fries and Chips!

By: Wednesday, November 3, 2010 Diet and Foods, Healthy Eating , , , , Permalink 0

A new study in the British Journal of Cancer found that acrylamide, the chemical that is released when starchy foods (particularly potatoes) are fried at high temperatures, is associated with an average of 40% greater risk of breast cancer among pre-menopausal women.  So not only do fried foods pile on the pounds, make your skin breakout, and increase your risk of heart disease, they now officially cause cancer as well…  Think about it… are those Fritos really worth that much risk?

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Find a Farmer’s Market Near You!

By: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 Healthy Cooking, Healthy Eating, Lifestyle, Wellness , , , , Permalink 0

Find a Farmer's Market Near You | The Organic Beauty Blog

A BIG part of the Organic Beauty philosophy of looking and feeling great is the quality of the food we put in our bodies.  I’ll go into this in more detail in my forthcoming installation of the 5 Steps series, but suffice it to say that eating organic food is of great importance to the health of our bodies.  Eliminating pesticides, hormones and chemicals from the meat and produce we eat is paramount to maintaining great health (and beauty!), and the best way to do this is to limit our intake to foods that are certified organic.

I understand that cost of organic food can be prohibitive to many people.  When faced with the choice of purchasing a 5 conventional avocados for $3, versus one organic avocado for 99 cents, it can be difficult to justify the cost.  BUT, you’ll be happy to know that there is a way around this issue!  A way to eat healthy, unprocessed, locally grown food that comes from small, often family owned farms.  This food may not be certified organic (due to the hoops the USDA makes small farms jump through to get certification), but it is almost always grown without pesticides, hormones, and additives.  And the best part?  Someone from the farm is right there in front of you, available to answer whatever questions you may have about their growing or feeding practices!

Where is this magical, wondrous place, you might ask?  Your local farmer’s market!  If you don’t live in New York City, California, or Madison, Wisconsin, where farmer’s markets can be found wherever you look, you can use the search function on Local Harvest‘s site to find farmer’s markets, CSAs, farms, co-ops, and retailers that sell local, organic produce near you.  Stuck in Skokie, Illinois?  Boom.  Find all the details for the Skokie Farmer’s Market.  Road-tripping through Denton, Texas?  There may not be a farmer’s market, but there are two great co-ops that sell local, organic food.

Nearly wherever you are in the country, you have options for eating well beyond the crazy price tags of Whole Foods.  Farmer’s markets have amazing bargains on organic and local foods, and you always have the option of negotiating with the purveyor!  Try getting away with that at Whole Foods!

The bottom line is that cost is no longer a reason to not eat healthy.  Your longevity, health, and physique are worth finding where and how to put the right things into your body.  Make it happen!

Step Three: Revolutionize Your Beauty Routine

By: Monday, September 20, 2010 Healthy Beauty, Healthy Home, Holistic Health, Lifestyle, Organic Beauty, Product Reviews , , , , Permalink 0

Step 3: Revolutionize Your Beauty Routine | The Organic Beauty Blog

Tossing all your old, chemical-laden makeup, skin- and haircare supplies can be incredibly scarring.  Some women use the same mascara for decades… the very prospect of switching brands can be like betraying an old friend.  But with all the recent popularity of all things green and organic, there has never been a better time to switch to organic and/or natural products.  There are great products for problem skin, aging skin, great makeup, even sunscreen!  All without harmful chemicals and carcinogenic additives.  Want to browse the options?  Future Natural is a great site for organic skin- and haircare, featuring great brands such as Juice Beauty, Mod.Skin Labs, John Masters, and Farmaesthetics.  Those of us who are incurable Sephora addicts can get a fix with Sephora’s Natural and Organic section, where you can stock up on all the best organic brands, like Boscia, Bare Escentuals, Josie Maran, Pangea, Korres, and Tarte.

Natural vs. Organic

In selecting your new beauty products, keep the following in mind:  “Natural” and “Organic” are not the same thing.  Though using products labeled natural is still preferable to the pharmacy-bought, chemical brands, you may still be using products that have dangerous pesticides and repellents in them.  Organic ingredients are grown or processed in accordance with strict regulations, without the use of these carcinogenic chemicals. In an ideal world, we would all only put organic products in and on our bodies.  However, affordability and availability are issues for some people, but that shouldn’t prevent every one of us from making better choices.  Start by eliminating the most dangerous elements (see Step One) and go from there!  Or, if you’re ready to dive in 100%, check out The Coming Clean Campaign for a list of USDA certified organic brands.

Great Organic and All-Natural Products to Try:

Hair:

Intelligent Nutrients Haircare is a really great line of products, certified organic by the UK Organic Soil Association.  I particularly like the Harmony line, featuring great anti-aging, revitalizing, volumizing shampoos and conditioners chock full of antioxidants. Another good line, though not all organic (despite the name!), is John Masters Organics.  My favorite of their products are the Sea Salt and Lavender Hair Mist and Dry Hair Nourishment and Defrizzer, and both happen to be USDA certified organic!
Desert Essence Organics also features mostly certified organic ingredients in a bunch of really great haircare products for all types of hair.  I particularly like the Organic Coconut Oil Shampoo and Conditioner.. perfect for dry hair.

 

Face:

Simply Divine Botanicals has an amazing line of natural skincare products, with some certified organic ingredients.  My absolute favorite face wash is called Black Velvet, and it is perfect for all skin types, from acne prone to dry and sensitive.  Of the 100% organic brands, Miessence is one of my absolute favorites.  I particularly like their Purifying skincare line, which is great for problem skin, and uses ingredients such as organic echinacea and thyme.  They also have an organic glycolic peel!

One of my all-time favorite moisturizers is the Sweet Black Tea and Rice Facial Moisterizer from Juara, a natural, Indonesian skincare company.  They use great ingredients like Kombucha, avocado, and rice bran oil that make for radiant, amazing skin.

Makeup:

Bare Escentuals makes a great line of pure mineral makeup, that is actually pretty healthy for your skin.  I like the mineral foundation (with SPF 15!) and the mineral veil.  For slightly heavier coverage, I love Juice Beauty Tinted Moisturizer with SPF.  It provides a lovely glow and blended color with tons of nutrients that prevent aging and promote skin health.

There are actually quite a few new organic mascaras coming on the market, and it’s about time!  The delicate skin around your eyes is a really easy way for harmful chemicals to get into your bloodstream, so its really important to use quality ingredients on those peepers.  One of my favorite mascaras is Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara from Physician’s Formula.  Its a really thick formula with a finely bristled brush that gives a super voluminous look, and the ingredients are mostly organic, and almost ALL natural.   Miessence also makes a great mascara, and is 87% organic.

For eyeshadow, blush, and everything else fabulous, I have a few go-to lines.  Bare Escentuals, Korres, and Josie Maran are all good places to start.  Tarte also makes some amazing natural (though not organic) products; my faves are the Natural Cheek Stain (so good for more dramatic fall looks) and the Lipsurgence Natural Lip Stain, both formulated with plant-based ingredients that are rich with antioxidants, and both are paraben, SLS, pthalate, and mineral oil free!  For 100% certified organic ingredients, my favorite lines are Vapour Organics (try their awesome, antioxidant rich Siren Lipstick), with color derived from natural fruit pigments), and Nvey Organics, whose line of vitamin-infused eyeshadows in 24 different colors are formulated with sensitive skin around the eyes in mind.

Nails:

The products we use on our nails are perhaps the most toxic aspects of our beauty regiments.  Almost all commercial nail polish brands have heaping amounts of terrifying chemicals in them (formaldehyde, toluene, DBP) which cause a whole mess of health problems, including (but not limited to!) respiratory problems, reproductive complications, liver and kidney toxicity, headaches, fatigue, and yes, even cancer.  There’s a reason why manicurists wear surgical masks!  The good news is that we now have options… Priti NYC is my absolute favorite.  They have pretty much every color under the sun, have NONE of the carcinogenic toxins listed above, and even have some organic ingredients! They even make a completely non-toxic, soy based nail polish remover, which actually works (believe it or not!).

See??  No need to panic about throwing away your trusted Maybelline’s and Neutrogena’s, there are much better, healthier, and even more effective products out there that won’t harm your body!  If you have some favorite organic or natural products, feel free to comment and share them!

Click here for Step Four to learn how to clean up and detoxify your eating!

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Make your own DIY natural cleaning products!

By: Monday, August 23, 2010 Healthy Baby, Healthy Home, Healthy Pets, Lifestyle , , , , Permalink 0

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/417zfSZGl-L._SY355_.jpg

We’ve gone over some of the more natural and non-toxic cleaning products to use instead of the silent killers (extreme?  I think not…) currently hanging out in our broom closets, but there is actually one further step hardcore Organic Beauties can take in naturalizing their homes… Make your own cleaning solutions, that are so safe you could eat them (well, maybe not ALL of them…)!  Naturally!  From ingredients you probably already have in your home!  This is some super exciting stuff….

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The Organic Beauty Book List 2010

By: Friday, August 20, 2010 Diet and Foods, Healthy Beauty, Healthy Home, Product Reviews , , , , Permalink 0

There is a whole lot of information out there about health, beauty, and food, some of it a little more contradictory that we would like.  Some advocate local over organic produce, some the other way around; some say there is no way to be healthy and keep meat in your diet, others say the only an omnivore can be truly healthy; some push a hard line DIY lifestyle as the only way to keep your body and home safe and toxin free, others say everything in moderation.  So how do we figure out which advice to follow?

My philosophy has always been to soak up as much knowledge as possible, and use common sense and a knowledge of one’s self and one’s own habits to figure out what works best.  There is no universal cure-all or answer that will work for everyone.  That said, there have definitely been some books that have been instrumental in my figuring out where to be strict and where to let things slide, as well as helping to create a general knowledge base that informs my decisions of what to put in, on, and around my body.  Check out a few of these titles, or go the distance and read ’em all to make yourself a fabulously educated Organic Beauty!

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2010 Fall Beauty Guide

By: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Healthy Beauty, Product Reviews , , , Permalink 0

We’re halfway through August and our healthy glows are still in full bloom, but as the balmy, sweltering nights start to get just a hint of that pre-autumnal crispness, there’s no denying fall is on its way.  Yes, the thought of packing away the beach towels and itsy-bitsy bikinis is more than a little depressing, but fall brings a whole host of great things to look forward to… think scarves, rosy cheeks, shiny hair that will finally get rehabbed from a summer of sun, saltwater, and wind.  Read on to find the best organic and natural products that will help you welcome fall with your most beautiful face!

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Top 5 Beauty Foods

By: Friday, August 13, 2010 Diet and Foods, Healthy Beauty, Healthy Cooking, Healthy Eating, Nutrition , , , , Permalink 0

Top 5 Beauty Foods | The Organic Beauty Blog
We all know that what we put in our bodies has a direct effect on how we look (did you really think that huge pimple you woke up with had NOTHING to do with the Cheetos and chocolate binge the night before?), but did you know that you can custom tailor your diet to maximize your beauty and combat your problem areas? Incorporate the following foods into your diet, and you will find yourself with shinier hair, clearer, radiant skin, strong nails, and a trim mid-section… All without setting foot in the beauty aisle!  As always, shoot for organic whenever possible…

So hit your greenmarket and start eating your way to a more beautiful you!

Asparagus

This lovely green powerhouse is loaded with Vitamin E, which is an absolute beauty must.  High doses of Vitamin E have been shows to increase cell reproduction and slow the aging process.  Stave off premature wrinkles and age spots, keep your skin moist and supple, prevent dandruff and hair loss, and heal scars faster… all with this delicious summer veggie.  Try adding grilled asparagus to soups and salads, or just add a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt for a super easy side dish!

Berries

Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, oh my!  Not only are these little guys super high in Vitamin C, which regulates sebaceous glands to keep skin, hair, and nails moist and strong, and helps to produce collagen which strengthens the capillaries that feed your skin, but they ALSO have a super high antioxidant capacity, which protects your skin from free radicals and sun damage, and can prevent and reverse aging.  Phew!  How’s that for multi-tasking!  Throw some berries into your cereal or oatmeal every morning to keep them working for you all day long.  Or incorporate berries into your desserts, smoothies, and salads.  I love adding a handful of blueberries to a spinach salad!

Garlic

The amazing effects garlic has on cholesterol, immunity, cancer prevention, blood sugar, AND blood pressure have been lauded for decades.  What is a lesser known benefit is garlic’s effects on your skin and hair.  Garlic contains high levels of sulfur, which has long been used topically to treat acne.  Eating sulfur-rich garlic can have similar effects on your skin from within, clearing up acne and skin infections.  The high sulfur levels are also great for preventing hair loss, and keeping hair strong and shiny.  Basically, garlic is the single best thing for your body, inside and out!  Add garlic to everything you cook, from pastas and stews, to salads and stir fries.

Green Tea

A super potent antioxidant, green tea can stave off signs of aging, curb hunger, and keep you skinny.  But a lesser known benefit is its anti-inflammatory qualities, which protect your cell membranes, reduce sun damage, prevent all kinds of cancer, and keeps bacteria at bay.  And contrary to some (mis)information out there, a good quality green tea will not dehydrate you, and the caffeine levels are not so high that you can’t enjoy a few cups a day.  In the summer, I like to make a big pitcher of iced Genmaicha, which is green tea with roasted brown rice, which also helps regulate blood sugar and cholesterol levels!

Salmon

With all the coverage its been getting in the media, we all know that Omega-3 fatty acids are vital for our overall health, keeping our hearts strong, combating depression, and staving off a slew of diseases and ailments.  But the Omega-3’s and potent levels of Vitamin D in salmon are also imperative for keeping our skin, hair, and nails strong, moist, supple, and young.  Vitamin D is also great for your pearly whites, and prevents dental decay.  As if all this weren’t enough to evidence to give salmon a permanent slot on your shopping list, it also contains astaxanthin, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that fight wrinkles and premature aging. Eat a 3 ounce portion of salmon at least once a week, but make sure it is wild-caught Alaskan salmon, which has the lowest concentrations of mercury.  I like to prepare salmon en papillote, by tucking it into two pieces of parchment paper, garnished with slices of onion, parsley, olive oil and lemon, and baking it at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.  So yummy!

Check out my recipe for Total Beauty Salad, that incorporates all of these powerhouse ingredients!

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Organic Makeup: Wave of the Future or Marketing Ploy?

By: Saturday, December 26, 2009 Healthy Beauty, Organic Beauty, Product Reviews , , , Permalink 0
The organic craze has long since reached the world of beauty, with all-natural and organic skin- and hair-care lines being touted by celebrities and naturalists alike as the next big thing. There is no doubt that plant extracts and natural bases are far healthier for the body–as well as the environment–than chemicals and artificial additives, but can organic really do the trick with makeup? Will all-natural foundations, eye shadows and lipsticks ever be able to compete with industry standbys such as L’Oreal and M.A.C.? And are they really all that different?

Mineral makeup brands such as Bare Escentuals and Sheer Cover have become omnipresent as alternatives to pore-clogging foundations, and it was only a matter of time before mainstream drugstore brands such as Neutrogena and Almay came out with their own takes on the concept. But is their mineral makeup really natural? Whereas the ingredients of Bare Escentuals mineral makeup are simple and legitimately all-natural (Mica, Bismuth Oxychloride, Iron Oxide), a close look at the contents of Neutrogena’s mineral powder reveals a slew of chemical and synthetic ingredients (including, but unfortunately not limited to, Titanium Dioxide, Polymethyl Methacrylate, and Methylparaben) that have been linked to various cancers. In fact, comparing Neutrogena’s mineral powder with its regular powder makeup reveals that the products are really not that different at all.

As is the case with all products claiming to be organic or all-natural, one must proceed with caution. Always look for the words “Certified Organic,” and if all else fails, examine the list of ingredients. Anything that sounds like a chemical most likely is; a great rule of thumb is the shorter the ingredient list, the better. Take for example Boots Botanics, a British-based company that recently hit the shelves of Target and other box stores. Despite their name and their claim of using “90% Organic Ingredients,” a look at what goes into their makeup makes even Neutrogena’s ingredients seem natural.

Despite their potentially harmful long-term effects, chemical and synthetic ingredients are added to makeup for a reason. Synthetic products have a longer shelf life, can eliminate the need for frequent reapplication, and can have brighter, shinier colors. But at what cost? It comes down to a choice everyone must make for themselves. Organic makeup is still more expensive and less long-lasting than its chemical counterpart. Until big cosmetic companies allocate as much research and funding into organic and all-natural products as they do their chemical ones, there will remain some conveniences that organic makeup just won’t be able to supply. On the other hand, organic makeup might give us healthier skin and a healthier body. Once the demand for all-natural makeup is as great as the demand for, say, “All-Day Lip Color,” we can expect the market to deliver products that rival the convenience of chemicals and synthetics without the harm to ourselves and our environment.

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Some organic makeups to try:  Physician’s Formula Organic Wear (stay tuned for a review of their makeup), Miessence Makeup, and Burts Bees.

{Photo: Pinterest}

Step One to Naturalize Your Life: Read Your Ingredients!

By: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 Healthy Beauty, Healthy Home, Lifestyle , , , , Permalink 0

Step 1: Read Your Ingredients | The Organic Beauty Blog

With the effects of the somewhat recent trend toward all things natural and organic (not to mention local, seasonal, Greenmarket, etc., etc.), most of us have gotten used to reading the ingredients on the things we put in our bodies.  Most of us know to avoid high fructose corn syrup, bleached and refined sugars and flours, trans fats, and artificial colors and flavors.  But do you know that there are equally (if not more) harmful ingredients in your beauty and cleaning products?  Just as we read the labels of what we put in our pantries, we also have to read the ingredients of what we put in our medicine cabinets.

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