Earth Day Greetings

Earth Day, 2010
40 years on and I remember the first one!

I said at the end of the last newsletter that I wanted to talk about skin, sun and health. Since it is Earth Day it seems appropriate that as we celebrate the earth we celebrate the sun’s life giving forces on our jewel of a planet. The ancients worshipped the sun under names like Helios, Apollo, Ra, Hathor, Surya, in world mythologies. Shrines and temples were built to honor and welcome the Sun’s rays back to earth after the darkened winter period.

The sun is what allows all life on the Earth, plant, animal and human. The power of sunlight in the process of photosynthesis for plant growth and the production of Vitamin D in the human body are Nature forces at the top of their game, so much out of so little. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient created by the sun’s rays in the skin in the presence of oils. It is a necessary part of a healthy functioning body including the immune system, bones, teeth and skin. It helps prevent autoimmune conditions and functions as an antibiotic in the body. Low levels of this basic nutrient are found in patients suffering a variety of chronic diseases; indicating not cause but possible involvement of deficiency conditions. Its comprehensive application in the body could render it the Beauty Vitamin since health is what allows our natural beauty to shine.

And then mid Twentieth Century modern sunscreen was invented and immortalized in the Coppertone ad of 1959. The iconographic marketing campaign showing a little girl with a distinct tan line where her puppy is tugging at her bathing suit set us up to first use sun screens occasionally when spending hours in the sun then, over time upping the recommendation to be covered anytime the sun was shining. In our modern era the sun has been linked to ageing and cancers thus our collective retreat from exposure of any kind. But along with this repudiation of the sun has been a rise in many more diseases and conditions that are increasingly becoming linked to Vitamin D deficiencies. The incidence of skin cancer has actually grown since the introduction of sunscreens and rickets, a Vitamin D deficiency disease of a past era, is on the rise again.

What has occurred in our culture since the 1950’s is the significant increase in synthetically created chemicals in our food, air, and water and most specifically, our products for use on the body. Could it be that the culprit in our sun-associated conditions is not the sun after all, but the laboratory concocting un-natural chemical compounds that are not in the body’s naturally occurring dictionary of usable foods and skin care substances?

Well, it so happens that the earth has our interests at heart, as it produces compounds in plants that protect us from excess sun where the sun is highest and hottest. In Africa shea butter is used for everything from cooking to sun protection. In the Pacific coconut oil and cocoa butter are the locally produced oils. In India Sesame oil is the predominant oil and it has been tested at an SPF rating of fifteen. Where the sun is highest and hottest the plants produce compounds that provide the skin with protection from excess sun! How brilliant is that? And just putting good quality oil on our skin while in the sun helps produce Vitamin D in the skin.

Those of you who have used our products for a long time know that we only use the purest and the best oils, organic, unrefined, and authentic and what your ancestral body cells would recognize even in the 21st Century! All of our products are earth and plant based so that your body is in tune with the rhythms of the earth and its beautiful cycle of life!

Happy Earth Day! Love her!