Is Your Morning Routine Causing Cancer?

SOVEREIGN LIVING | 08.09.2014 Time for a Shaving Cream Detox Dear Subscriber, I find "old-fashioned" often means "high quality." That's why my sleeves are rolled up, and why I want you to join me. I'm going to share an idea with you today. But it involves follow-through on your part. Specifically, you might need to do some old-fashioned work that most men gave up on a long time ago. Because a little extra effort at the start of your day can mean you won't suffer from organ failure a few years down the road. Basically, you have to change the way you shave. Sort of. Actually, your shaving doesn't have to change — just your shaving cream. So get those sleeves rolled up before your body becomes overwhelmed by the toxins lurking in your Barbasol can. Let me explain … A Cancer Threat That's Not 93 Million Miles Away The sun is 93 million miles away, but our doctors still tell us to protect ourselves from it. We regulate our time outdoors and apply sunscreen for the sole purpose of preventing skin cancer. Meanwhile, we are still inviting cancer into our bodies. Every day. Our skin is a large and porous organ. Anything absorbed through our skin goes directly into our blood stream. This includes our personal-care products, which, taken together, contain thousands of different chemicals with varying toxicity. The Environmental Working Group estimates about 20% of chemicals used in cosmetics could cause cancer. Yet these cancer-causing toxins are given a free pass. We're not just susceptible to skin irritation and infection. We risk wiping out vital defense mechanisms that keep our bodies functioning. The FDA doesn't regulate cosmetics. No surprise there. But it is surprising that we don't either. Companies producing personal-care products, seeking to increase margins, might as well be playing mad scientist with our toiletries. The cheaper the better, right? Wrong. Old is Better and Better is Good Baseball mitts. Computer technology. And fine wine. Some things keep improving as time goes by. Some things don't. The way we shave is one of them. When you take something as simple as shaving, and make it an inevitably toxic endeavor, something is seriously wrong. Gone are the days when a little cut was the biggest risk from shaving. Now, before we even pick up the razor, we run the risk of toxins penetrating our skin and making us sick. Barbasol may have led the charge in the shaving revolution: Their advertisements touted creams "for modern shaving" back when tubes sold for $0.25. But the results of that tagline are tragic and frightening. "Modern shaving" now means drowning in toxins. Today, shaving cream on drug-store shelves has a fistful of toxic ingredients, including phthalates, parfum and triethanolamine. (Remember those ingredients, because you'll find they show up in other products including soaps, shampoos, detergents and toothpastes.) What exactly does that mean for your health? Phthalates: Research revealed most phthalates are found in 80% of people. These bad boys can disrupt the functioning of hormones, which can harm important balances throughout the entire body, including those impacting the immune system and brain. Traces of phthalate metabolites found in human urine are associated with obesity and insulin resistance in men because they inhibit testosterone function. I don't know about you, but I prefer my testosterone functioning normally, thank you. Parfum (fragrance): Parfum is a potpourri of toxicity. As many as 3,000 different chemicals have been used to make fragrance, many of which haven't been tested in isolation — never mind in combination. Some that have been submitted to lab tests, however, have been associated with neurotoxicity and cancer. Smell good or live longer? Take your pick. Triethanolamine: This is what you get when you take two known toxins, create a reaction between them and put it in consumer products. Triethanolamine is a skin and respiratory toxicant. What's more, animal studies have also shown Triethanolamine to cause bladder and liver cancer, as well as cell mutation in testicles. No, thank you! Other offenders include parabens, which increase the risk of breast cancer in women and sodium lauryl sulfate, which is toxic to organs and can cause cell mutation that leads to cancer. The good news is that some of these toxins do not bioaccumulate. In other words: Your body is capable of flushing poisons out of your system under proper conditions that include eating right, drinking enough water and avoiding pharmaceuticals. Steady exposure to toxins, however, can mean your body has trouble keeping up the fight. Despite your body's natural efforts, you can become increasingly vulnerable as long as you continue applying poisons. Thankfully, there's a way around it all. Old-Fashioned Hard Work Can Preserve Your Quality of Life Frankly, we don't always know how and why our bodies react to certain toxins. Studies can tell us a lot, but they mostly just reveal the common dangers. Some people are more susceptible to certain dangers than others. Since it depends on so many variables, we should simply reduce our exposure to as many potential risks as we can. Tossing your shaving cream in the trash can, for instance, will eliminate your exposure to toxins — no doubt. But it won't help you get hair off your face (or legs). So when it comes time to shave, consider these four alternatives to chemical-laced creams: Natural shave gels: Dr. Bronner's Shaving Gel is an honest choice. I don't prefer gels, so I haven't personally tried it. But my experience with other Dr. Bronner's products has been great. (I use their Castile Bar Soap for pretty much everything.) Classic shave cream: Like shave gels, classic-style shaving cream doesn't require much elbow grease. You can work it into lather directly on your face, using your fingers or a brush, just as you would with any aerosol-canned product. There are many choices and any decent barber shop should carry some for you to try. Be sure to double-check the ingredients, though, because plenty of "old-fashioned" brands use fragrance. Pacific Shaving Company makes a classic shave cream you can feel good about using. Or try Hal's Deluxe. It was highly recommended to me by a friend. Classic shave soap, brush and mug: If you're truly ready to enjoy the high quality that comes with going old-fashioned, then a bar of shave soap is what you want. A shop across the street from me sells a shave soap produced by a local farm. It surprisingly uses goat milk, and works well for me. You may luck out and find something similar at a farmers or artisans market near you. If not, try Badger or Imperial Glycerin. The latter won't even require a mug. Speaking of mugs, that is of course where you put the shave soap when you create a nice, thick lather. Any standard-size coffee mug will do the trick. And you're going to need a brush too. Drop the soap in the mug. Add a little water. Swirl the brush over the soap steadily. And voila! Not too much to ask, huh? Homemade shaving cream for the do-it-yourselfers: Some of us are simply more ambitious than others. If that's you, and you want total control over your shaving cream, than make it yourself. Try this simple method. Add cedarwood oil for a nice manly, woodsy scent. (Ladies might choose lavender oil, I guess.) Plus, if you're looking for additional health benefits, cedarwood oil acts as an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and it helps with so many other things that plague folks on a an everyday basis. If you spend an afternoon cooking up a batch of your own shaving cream, or if you find a natural shave soap that works well for you, I'd love to hear about it. You can reach me at sovliving@gmail.com. Wherever and whoever you are, ditch the toxic foam. Try the natural stuff. And remember: Embrace the process. Let the extra effort be a reminder you're choosing quality and resisting a failing system. To quality living, JR Crooks Editor, Sovereign Living Privacy Policy The Sovereign Society's Sovereign Living| 55 NE 5th Avenue, Suite 200 | Delray Beach, FL 33483 The mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so please do not reply. Your feedback is very important to us so if you would like to contact us with a question or comment, please click here: http://thesovereigninvestor.com/ Legal Notice: This work is based on what we've learned as financial journalists. It may contain errors and should not be considered personalized investment advice. Therefore, you should not base investment decisions solely on what you read here. It's your money and your responsibility. Certain investments such as futures, options, and currency trading carry large potential rewards but also large potential risk. Don't trade in these markets with money you can't afford to lose. CFTC Rule 4.41 - These results are based on simulated or hypothetical performance results that have certain inherent limitations. Unlike the results shown in an actual performance record, these results do not represent actual trading and may have under-or over-compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated or hypothetical trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. Past results of any individual or trading strategy published by the Sovereign Society are not indicative of future returns by that individual or strategy, and are not indicative of future returns which could be realized by you. (c) 2014 Sovereign Offshore Services LLC expressly forbids its writers from having a financial interest in their own securities or commodities recommendations to readers. Such recommendations may be traded, however, by other editors, Sovereign Offshore Services LLC, its affiliated entities, employees, and agents, but only after waiting 24 hours after an internet broad cast or 72 hours after a publication only circulated through the mail. Also, please note that due to our commercial relationship with EverBank, we may receive compensation if you choose to invest in any of their offerings. To unsubscribe fromThe Sovereign Society's Sovereign Living and any associated external offers, click here.