Hypnosis For Weight Loss - Changing Habits

In my office in NYC I use Hypnosis to help people take back control over their habits and behaviors. I help them eliminate old unhealthy habits by teaching them how to replace those old habits with new healthier behaviors and then I work with them so that these new behaviors then become their conditioned habitual responses. And when this takes place losing weight becomes the natural response to healthier behaviors

You see, it is our habits, our unthinking, unconscious patterns, that get us into the most trouble. If we condition ourselves to walk into our home everyday at the end of the workday, and drop our packages on the floor, and run into the kitchen for a "treat" of some kind of non-essential food (unhealthy food) and then plop ourselves on the couch in front of the TV, then every day we will feel compelled to do this same unhealthy activity. In fact, if we omit this activity, from our normal everyday list of things to do, we will initially feel out of sorts. We will feel off balance. Things will not seem right. We can replace this unhealthy activity with a more healthy one. If we complete our day of work with a trip to the gym, or the yoga class, or the meditation circle, we can create this same kind of conditioned response with a healthier behavior. And when we don't follow through with this new healthier behavior, we will get those same feelings of being out of sorts, off balance, or not feeling right. And those uncomfortable feelings will propel us to stay on track with a healthier behavior rather than an unhealthy behavior.

How can hypnosis help me with developing good habits?

Hypnotic trance is a state where we become more suggestible. We tend to believe and accept whatever suggestions are placed into the subconscious mind when we are in hypnotic trance. In my office, I suggest to my clients that they will start to behave differently. I suggest that they will start to behave in the way that they have agreed to behave during our brief pre-session interview. I link the old behaviors to an extremely unpleasant feeling or experience so they will be motivated to stop doing that unhealthy behavior. Then I have my clients practice the new behavior and link it to an extremely pleasant feeling or experience so they are motivated to follow through with the new healthier behavior.

Why does this hypnosis process work?

Now the reason this works, is that we tend to move away from things that feel bad and move toward things that make us feel good. You've heard of the metaphor of the donkey being coaxed in two ways. With a carrot and a stick. Basically this is providing my clients with their own carrot and stick. Nudging them along a path that will lead them to the healthier choices that are required for them to lower their current weight and keep them able to maintain that weight for as long as they want to maintain that healthy lifestyle. This is a lifestyle change, not a remedial quick fix like a short term diet that, because it is so restrictive, is impossible to maintain. When you change your lifestyle and it becomes habitual, its becomes as easy as brushing your teeth every morning, or washing your hands at specific times. And because habits are so very powerful, we make them our powerful allies in our program of weight loss.

In Summary

This then becomes one of the very powerful ways that hypnosis is effective at helping my clients become thinner, healthier and happier. Hypnosis is also a very pleasant experience for people so they have fun, and feel extremely relaxed and more capable. Just a by product of this rewarding way of making changes permanently.

How To get Started Now With Hypnosis For weight loss

You can get started by doing self hypnosis. An easy a quick way to learn self hypnosis is with my free 5 day self hypnosis course. You can sign up for it by clicking on the link below and following the instructions. You will find a sign up box in the upper right hand corner. Just fill in your name and email, and you will get delivered to your email box the best information on self hypnosis you can find anywhere. It is similar to the self hypnosis instructions that I provided as the contributing author of the new book, "Real World Hypnosis: Insider tips from Leading Hypnotists", and you get it for free.

And I invite you to get the free self hypnosis mini course by going here:
http://www.hypnoticstate.com/weight-loss/self-hypnosis.html

The Best Diet Plan - How to Find Yours

Looking for the best diet plan? Convinced it doesn't exist? In a way, you are right. There is no perfect diet plan that is going to allow you to shed weight -- without you having to change a thing about your lifestyle. Sorry, Virginia, but there is no Santa Claus and there is no magic weight loss pill

On the other hand, there are literally hundreds of successful diet plans that can assist you on your journey to Thinsville. But, fair warning, they all require a bit of effort and a ton of commitment on your part. The commitment is actually more important than the effort. You'll find that once you have made the decision to do whatever it takes to shed the weight, the actions themselves become much easier. This is because you know, in your heart of hearts, that each action is bringing you closer to your goal weight, so it's actually easy to make the choices that are aligned with your desire.

So here's the secret. The best diet plan is the one that you will actually follow. Not the one that looked good on TV but ends up requiring sacrifices you are not willing to make. Or the one that worked great for you friend, but doesn't fit you own lifestyle. Nope, it's the one that resonates with you, your weight loss goal and your lifestyle.

Once again, there are hundreds of different ways to reduce your calorie intake and lose weight. And let's be honest, it all comes down to calories in vs. calories burned. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter so much where those calories came from as it does how many "net" calories you consumed. Whether you control carbs and gorge on fats, or control fat and gorge on carbs, the net caloric intake is the determining factor in your weight loss success (or failure).

So pick the diet plan that speaks to you. Do you like to cook? Then Weight Watchers may be a great choice because it allows a great deal of flexibility in your eating choices. Hate to cook? Then you may be a good candidate for a plan like Bistro MD, where healthy gourmet meals are delivered to your door -- prepared in the exact caloric portions that assist you in losing weight.

Whatever eating plan you choose, it's important to back it up with accountability. Studies have shown that the most successful dieters are the ones who write down every calorie consumed. This forces the dieter to acknowledge every calorie and causes them to reconsider calories they might otherwise have unconsciously consumed.

There are even some great software programs today that take the accountability factor one step further. These programs, such as DietPower, help the dieter set a weight goal by a certain target date, and then it recommends a daily calorie budget. The dieter then enters information throughout the day, tracking calories, exercise, water consumption and the nutritional intake of all food consumed.

So whichever diet plan you choose, make sure it fits your lifestyle, and make sure you have a method of accountability. It won't always be easy, but you'll know that each choice you make is bringing you closer to the day when you can claim "I did it!"

South Beach Diet and Diet Pills

Numerous weight loss methods are available in the market, but to lose weight the healthy way is our priority. Good health is a boon and to uphold it forever is our liability, your personality reflexes the quality of food that you intake. A slight change in your eating habits can do wonders for us.

Obesity is gradually becoming an epidemic, and people are fed up of trying those entire fruitless diet plans, we desperately need something fresh.

The south beach diet is the end of your everlasting search for an effectual diet plan, it redefines the perception of losing weight, and it allows you to live contently without eating the bad carbohydrates and fats, now you can enjoy your food and shed 8 to 13 pounds of weight within 2 too 3 weeks.

Dr. Arthur Agatston is the father of south beach diet plan, a fantabulous and extremely esteemed cardiologist.

Now you don’t need to be calorie cautious, you don’t need to starve yourself, and you don’t need to keep yourself away from appetizing food, this plan provides you with three normal sizes meal along with two snacks each day. The best part of the plan is that, it isn’t monotonous; it keeps on changing, providing you with a variety of voluptuous options.

The plan is categorized in three phases, phase one is tough, it does not allows you to intake any carbohydrate, and you rely upon lean meats, the second phase is bit reluctant wherein you get to eat some of the banned stuff. The third phase is the continuation phase which is never-ending.

The results provided are astounding; you lose about 8 to 13 pounds in the first phase and one to two pounds per week in the second phase, there is an amazing change in your hip and thigh size, they look more slender and sexier.

How does the south beach diet plan take an edge over diet pills??

The FDA approved prescription Diet Pills like Phentermine, Xenical, and Bontril etc are effective as well as fast ways to lose weight, but they transmit a lot of adverse effects. They can also be responsible for serious heart and lung problems. The other vital problem with diet pills is that it loses its influence in the long run. As soon as you stop taking them you restore the lost weight.

If you opt for diet pills you are nearly starved, you diet is restricted and you are totally divorced from fat and cholesterol where as the south beach diet plan is neither low- carb nor low- fat.

Instead, it teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats--the good ones--so you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, and get rid of cravings without feeling hungry.

Tips for a Successful Open House

You’re having the jitters. Your open house is tomorrow. And first impressions count!

Help your Tampa Bay Florida real estate agent make it a smashing open house. Help him clinch that sale. The rule of thumb is to prepare well in advance, and not 24 hours before. Twenty-four hours will not be sufficient time for the nitty-gritty that will make or break a public showing. You remember how it was during school. If we crammed, we most likely failed the exam the next day. But when we studied weeks in advance, we felt we knew the subject matter by heart. The same principle applies to open houses. The harder and longer you prepare, the better the results will be. It may even put a few extra thousand dollars in your pocket!

The fact that your house is located in Tampa Bay or in Pinellas County is already half the battle won, because these locations have a lot to offer people looking for a place to live in Florida. Think of the commercial and cultural diversity and other attractions that Tampa Bay and Pinellas County are famous for.

Make a Lasting First Impression – most real estate agents agree: a clean house is the # 1 priority. The word “clean”, however, does not only mean a house that has been tidied up a few hours earlier, a walkway that was swept and hosed over, or windows that were cleared of dust and dirt. “Clean” means a lot more than that.

Studies have shown that dwellings painted in neutral colors convey a more pleasant and warmer welcome to visitors; they are able to visualize better about how their own personal effects can blend with the colors. Imagine having a wall that’s painted fire engine red or bedrooms that look more like an artist’s mural because too many psychedelic colors are flooding the eye. Re-painting your house may become a must, but do it a few weeks before, that way the fumes don’t linger.

The clutter, please – if you don’t want your potential buyers to trip just as they’re entering the house, eliminate unnecessary furniture and house accessories to allow for more breathing room. If visitors can’t move about freely because there are obstructions along the way, chances are they’re likely to go somewhere else.

Buyers will want to see the size of the closets, so eliminate the clutter. Leave the clothes and shoes neatly hung, but remove your grandmother’s old sewing machine. Remember, closets that look like storage rooms are unattractive. Don’t make your guests feel that there are real skeletons in the closet!

Be considerate – while dogs and other pets are adorable creatures, they have no place in an open house. One or two of your buyers might not be animal lovers or are allergic to animal hair. Some buyers also know of the damage and dirt these creatures leave on their tracks, so keep them out of the house (leave them with your mother-in-law if she agrees to baby sit them) until the open house is over.

Speaking of your mother-in-law who loves to cook exotic dishes that spew out strange smells, postpone the cooking until the prospective buyers have left. She’ll need to be out of the house and so do you. Leave your real estate agent to do what he does best. Potential buyers feel more comfortable when you are not there initially -- they are not ready to meet you yet!

And oh yes, how about some nice, delicate flowers that don’t give off a strong smell? This simple gesture will do wonders to liven up your home. Choose different pastel colors to serve as a contrast to the neutral background.

You can find additional info at the following links:

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Weight Loss: The All Natural way without Gimmicks

If you type up weight loss in a keyword tracker tool or in a search engine like Google, you will be alarmed to see how many searches in a day are being done on this subject alone. Take www.submitexpress.com for example, put ‘weight loss’ in their word tracking device; you will see that on a daily basis, more than 5000 searches are being done on how to lose weight.

However, this shouldn’t be alarming, I mean the average person does have the desire to be liked, sought after and popular. This might explain why we are so captivated with celebrities and perhaps why we at times blindly follow whatever fad or trend they might propagate in the quest to lose weight and be slimmer, sometimes at the cost of our own health.

An observation of Nature will show that no animal free of captivity is upholstered with excess weight and are oft times very fit, agile and sharp. This is because unlike man, all animals adhere to the simple laws of nature to maintain health which include eating the right foods for your type and getting adequate exercise. Well these are the basic laws, others might include getting sufficient rest, getting sunshine, interacting with others.

There are so many myths and fads that promise to aid you in losing weight that when they are intelligently dissected will make you wonder what ever made you think to give them a shot, which is part of the reasons why I am writing this to inform you that as the slogan of my site on drugless healing says: “if one way is true, it is the way of nature”.

Moreover, Nature bows at no alter, seeks neither praise nor applause, she only asks for a hearing, my friends.

For weight loss, your best bet will be to embrace the three limbs of Naturopathy:

-Proper Exercise

-Proper Diet

-Positive Thinking.

Now I will explain each one in brief detail:

PROPER EXERCISE:

Now, there was a time, like almost everyone, that I assumed big and inflated muscles meant fitness and health. Wrong. Maybe it might depict strength-to a degree and that, for only a while, but you ask anybody about one of the greatest martial artists of all time, Bruce Lee, here was a guy who was said to do a thousand (1000) push-ups and other feats of strength and any picture of him shows he was not a blown up mass of muscle waiting to atrophy and deflate as is the case with most fitness experts and body-builders using artificial supplements, I mean look at the agedness depicted across their faces most of the time.

This leads one to conclude that for exercise, basic Aerobic-with oxygen-exercises (such as walking, jogging, and dancing) and Anaerobic-without oxygen-exercises (such as push ups, pull-ups, dips, using the ab-wheel and weight lifting for body builders) can be sufficient without the use of synthetic products. For those who want an exercise for the mind as well as the body, Yoga definitely is unmatched.

>From my experience, if you were to do the Sun Salutations (hailed in Yoga, Martial Arts and African Wrestling as the ‘best exercise for humans’) which have been passed down from centuries with a proper and sensible diet, which I will be explaining soon, you are well on your way to weight loss and strength.

Some Indians perform about a 100 plus rounds of this marvelous exercise on a daily basis and have immense fitness, strength, agility and virility. Add some other poses like the inversions (Shoulder-Stand), Forward Bends (Head to Knee Pose), Backward bends, Balancing Poses (arguably the best exercises to tone the arms, abdomen and restore a sense of balance and self confidence in humans who practice them) and you are bound to see the immense results. Speaking of emulating celebrities, well did you know Sting, Madonna, Russell Simmons, Beyonce and Prince all practice some form of Yoga and need I mention how fit and good they look?

I could go on and on about Abdominal exercises and Breathing Exercises of the Yoga genre (which in the case of the latter is also EXTREMELY effective for weight loss) but that will be another subject in itself, the bottom line is: in my opinion, exercises that use the body’s weight for resistance such as Yoga, Calisthenics and Pilates are arguably the best for the human body.

Have you ever seen a chimpanzee lifting rocks repeatedly? Yet that distant cousin of humans can rip a door off a car and is easily 8 times stronger than an average modern day human. Still, if we share about 98% DNA with this primate (as well as other apes), its evidence to make one wonder how much healthier and fit we would be by adhering and living as close as possible to Nature’s laws of diet and exercise.

PROPER DIET

-“You are what you eat” (Anonymous)

-“Let your foods be your medicine and your medicine your food” (Hippocrates, the father of medicine)

-“Every herb bearing seed and every tree bearing fruit with seed in it shall be yours for food” (Gen 1:29)

From these radical quotes above, it should be plain to see that most modern day meals and mixtures are totally against Nature’s intent for us as humans for fitness, agility and strength. It will be safe to say that if you want to lose weight, re-read these three quotes and the proper diet will stare you right in the face: Fruits and Vegetables.

Admittedly, and you can take this from a guy who was a raw vegan for several months,(Now, I mostly fast and eat mono meals of fruit and raw or cooked vegetables every other day) that might be kind of hard to accomplish or adhere to. Well, if you approach it the wrong way, being radical in nature and as with all things that don’t have a strong foundation, you may be bound to fail.

The good news is there are several books on the subject of this kind of a diet and though adequately addressed in the core e-book of my site, you can type up Vegan Diets, Raw Vegan Diets, Vegetarianism in any search engine to be educated-to a degree- on the subject. I have experimented with each of the three kinds of diets and have been on the Standard American diet and am now of the firm belief that the first two and maybe the third if done sensibly and wisely are the best for humans, period!

I touched on the subjects of internal cleanliness and non-animal product diets in my article available in my blog and some article directories under the title “Is a Low-Carb, High Protein diet the best for weight loss?” but I will briefly state again that based on the quotes above, and the facts that this diet has been proven countless times to be the best (Ask Bill Pearlman-four times Mr. Universe winner!), without the need for much of an argument, a diet free of animal products is simply the best for humans.

For an idea of a daily menu, you can look for my article “How to Cure Acne in 10 days” in some of the major article directories online, last time Google did its spider crawl, it came up in most of them but I also put in my blog for my readers just in case.

I’ll leave you with this factor to consider though on the subject of proper diet, based on the anthropological approach of several authors of Naturopathy, and from simple observations, we as primates, just like our distant cousins, the great apes, are frugivores, eaters of mainly fruits and green leaves and it cannot be a co-incidence that these substances make up the mucus-less or alkaline forming foods that even science has proven to be the best for human life and of course, weight loss.

POSITIVE THINKING:

Some quotes from perhaps the most rugged book ever put together, that being the Bible, bring to mind just how important it is to think positively-and wisely so-in any endeavor one is undertaking. “As a man thinks in his heart; so is heÂ…” and “Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life”. That stated, what you constantly think over and over is eventually what comes to pass.

The mind has such powers that are beyond human comprehension at times, but according to the author of the “Power of Positive Thinking”, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, “You are what you are now based on your thoughts five years ago and will be in five years what you constantly think of yourself now.” Although one’s thoughts are very important, without taking the steps to act on them (of course when they are constructive and positive) they do end up being a waste, but your reading this article does depict a desire to want to improve yourself be it through weight loss or any other factor.

Like with any journey in life, of course, you will have times when you may want to give up, lose faith or focus and consequently get off the path to success, which may explain why most people fail at diets and fads in the quest of losing weight, well, my friend, you will have to literally tune your thinking to be positive so as to overcome the doubts and fears as you go about accomplishing your goals. It honestly will be easier applying the two other limbs of drugless healing above for weight loss as they do go hand-in-hand.

In conclusion, forget the fads and hypes. For a healing program to be successful at anything, especially weight loss, it must cover the three limbs of health: diet, exercise and positive thinking. It is my hope that this article will show you how to choose the best methods of attaining not only weight loss, but fitness and health on the inside and out.

Weight Loss: Easing Into Exercise

Okay, let's just accept the fact that if you want to lose weight, be healthy, or both, you need to get some sort of exercise program going. This has been proven over and over again. Yes, you CAN lose some weight without exercise, but your health will not improve, and you may find you have created some new problems if all you do is alter your diet in order to lose weight. Also, trying to lose weight without changing the way you have lived your life will prove the old adage to be true:

"Keep doing what you've been doing and you will keep getting what you have been getting."

So, to set about changing what "you have been getting" out of life, at least in terms of health, fitness, and weight loss, you will need to get into some sort of exercise program.

THE PROBLEMS

There are a few problems that people encounter when they start exercising...particularly if they have not been exercising for a while or even worse, are beginning an exercise program for the first time.

1. They have trouble finding the time to exercise.

2. They have difficulty making exercise a habit

3. They are dissatisfied with the results of their exercise program.

4. They injure themselves.

SOME SOLUTIONS

1. Many people find that until exercise becomes an integral part of their life, it is difficult to "find the time" to exercise. There are two points here.

Engage In Opportunistic Exercise

This is the sort of exercise that can be factored into each day's activities. While parking a few feet farther from the store can be a great way to introduce some physical activity into your daily life, one such event once in a while will not make a great difference. On the other hand, it IS a start, and one of the hardest hurdles to overcome is actually STARTING some sort of exercise program. Putting several of these events into your week, parking farther away, taking the stairs, carrying the groceries in from the car, standing up during phone calls, or walking in place while watching TV, for example can get you started on the road to feeling better, looking better, and better health.

Make A Commitment To Exercise

There is an old saying that work will expand to take up the resources committed to it. In other words, if a business is doing perfectly well with one phone and a combination fax/copier and then gets several multi-line phones and a high-speed copier, the employees will soon find they "cannot get along" without these additions. Our lives are similar. In our example, if the boss finds a need to cut costs, the employees will soon find that they CAN function without the high-speed copier, just like they did before.

In our lives, if we make a commitment to exercise, we will be able to "make" the time available, probably by changing something in our lives, but the bottom line will be how important the exercise is to us.

2. For most of us, one of the hardest aspects of this whole exercise thing is making it a habit. If it is not a habit, we will probably start "forgetting" or "having something else to do" and the exercise will eventually fade into the background and be forgotten.

It will be even harder to make something distasteful or time-consuming into a habit. A good tip here is to begin small and concentrate on getting used to the exercise as a regular part of your daily routine before you worry too much about all the other aspects. In other words, start with something simple that you can easily insert into your life, something that will be easy to remember to do regularly. Once the exercise IS a habit, you can expand it and you will soon find that you begin to get uncomfortable if you miss it.

A good point here is that the benefits of regular exercise express themselves in many ways, and if you move from being a non-exerciser to a regular exerciser, you will actually begin to enjoy your exercise experiences.

3. Unrealistic expectations plague many who try to begin an exercise program. The reality is that even the finest exercise program will take time to become fully effective and even then the intensity and breadth should increase and the weight decrease at a measured pace. Added to this is the fact most people do not really know how exercise works and what to expect. If you are starting slow as I advise and gradually increasing your effort, gains in fitness will be slow. weight loss will also be slow, but, over time, a good exercise program will help your weight loss program, your overall health, your mental outlook, and provide defense against many conditions and illnesses.

NOTE: If you are beginning an exercise program as part of a weight loss program, don't be surprised if you gain weight for a while. This is normal. Ignore your scale and concentrate on how you feel and how your clothes fit. Even though you may be gaining weight, you might actually be shrinking as lean tissue replaces fat.

4. Related to the item above is the potential for injury. Unrealistic expectations occur because of ignorance and lack of experience. The same is true for injuries. People either try to do too much too soon, or simply perform exercises improperly or with the wrong equipment. A good brisk walk can feel good from the first day of your new exercise program, but not if you walk too far, too fast, too soon, or wear the wrong kind of shoes.

Remember, how much you CAN do is not necessarily how much you SHOULD do.

I have a friend who has started exercise programs several times since I have known her. Every time, she tries to start out doing as much as she can. Later she begins to feel sick because she is in poor condition, and then feels washed out and experiences pain over the next few days. That's the end of her exercise program until the bug hits her again a few months later.

Start slow, build up slowly, but keep on doing it and you will reap the rewards of a regular exercise program.

The 5 Hidden Dangers In Toothpaste

A Must Read if You Have Children

Would you allow your family to brush their teeth with engine degreaser or rat poison? The fact is, they probably are and you don’t even know it. See http://toothpastewarning.here.ws for specific list.

Dental hygiene products that you and your children use every day may contain toxins that have been linked to cancer, blindness, and even death. Have you checked out the ingredients in your toothpaste or mouthwash lately?

Many name-brand toothpastes and mouthwashes contain potentially harmful ingredients, which are made up of very small molecules that may penetrate through the tissue of your mouth, enter the blood stream, and build up in the liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, and tissues.

Did you ever wonder why manufacturers are required to put the following warning label on toothpastes?

Just read the label on any major brand toothpaste or mouthwash. You'll see they are loaded with dangerous toxins and chemicals such as sodium fluoride, triclosan, FD&C Blue Dye #1 and 2, sodium lauryl sulfate, and hydrated silica. All of these common ingredients have been found to be harmful to humans. (From the Safe Shoppers Bible)

Sodium Fluoride: One of the main ingredients in rat poison and toothpaste

Many people are probably aware that most toothpaste and many mouth rinses contain fluoride because that's what dentists have recommended for years to prevent cavities. But did you know that most popular toothpastes contain enough fluoride in four ounces to kill a small child within 2 to 4 hours? (From "Fluoride Retained From Mouth Rinses and Dentifrices in Preschool Children."

In children and youth, minimal ingestion of sodium fluoride causes salivation, nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, and diarrhea. Large doses of the carcinogen may cause paralysis, muscular weakness and clonic convulsions, followed by respiratory and cardiac failure. (From “Commercial Toothpaste - Natural or Poison?”)

It’s no wonder that fluoride can cause death in humans! In addition to being one of the main ingredients in toothpaste as well as rat and cockroach poisons, sodium fluoride is also a key component in anesthetic, hypnotic, and psychiatric drugs and SARIN NERVE GAS! (From "Neurotoxicity of Sodium Fluoride in Rats" & "Dental Conditions in Workers Chronically Exposed to Dilute and Anhydrous Hydrofluoric Acid")

Fluorides have been used throughout history to alter the behavior and mood of human beings. It is a little known fact that fluoride compounds were added to the drinking water of prisoners to keep them quiet and to hamper noncompliance with authority, both in Nazi prison camps during World War II and in the Soviet gulags in Siberia. (From The Cold War and the University)

Surprisingly, fluoride has NEVER been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Additionally, a 1990 study stated that fluoride has been shown to NOT reduce cavities and scientists are now linking fluoride to dental deformity, arthritis, allergic reactions and about 10,000 unnecessary deaths each year from cancer. (From “Fluoride an equivocal carcinogen. National Cancer Institute)

FD&C Blue Dye # 1 & 2: Are you eating crude oil for breakfast?

These dyes are artificial colorings often found in familiar toothpaste brands and a wide variety of other products. Recent studies indicate that FD & C Blue Dyes 1 & 2 can trigger a wide number of behavioral, learning, and health problems. FD&C color dyes may also cause potentially severe allergic reactions, asthma attacks, headaches, nausea, fatigue, nervousness, lack of concentration, and cancer. (From “Formation of carcinogenic aromatic amine from an azo dye by human skin bacteria in vitro” & “Skin discoloration with blue food coloring”)

Using FD & C Blue Dyes 1 & 2 is just like ingesting crude oil as it too, is synthesized from petroleum. These dyes were originally made from coal tar oil, which is a black, sticky tar by-product of steel making and petroleum distillation, and is a source of numerous complex chemicals. Through repeated human exposure, some of these isolated coal tar components were classified as active carcinogens, ultimately leading to government regulations and restrictions.

Nowadays, coal tar dyes are synthetically engineered rather than extracted from actual coal tar, thereby greatly reducing the possibility of being contaminated with carcinogenic residuals from the coal itself. However, the dyes still contain carcinogenic properties. Over several decades of use, some of these synthetic dyes have come under greater scientific and government scrutiny due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic activity. Because of this, they are still referred to in the industry as “coal tar dyes,” according to the FDA. (From U.S. Food & Drug Administration. “Color Additives Fact Sheet.”)

Even if toothpaste is never swallowed, these dyes can be absorbed within seconds through the skin on the lips, or through the mucous membrane in the mouth. According to the Physician's Desk Reference, the mucosal lining inside of the mouth has an absorption efficiency of over 90 percent. Because of this, these carcinogens get into your blood, your brain, and your cells in no time at all – especially when you consider most people use dental care products 2 to 3 times a day. (From U.S. Food & Drug Administration. “Color Additives Fact Sheet.”)

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): Used clinically to irritate skin

Perhaps the most dangerous ingredient in personal-care products is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS). Because SLS has a foaming property, it is added to toothpastes in order to generate foam and give the impression that the toothpaste is working. However, SLS has been found to be quite corrosive and harmful to skin tissue says a report by the American College of Toxicity.

In the cleaning industry, SLS is used in products such as garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers and car wash soaps. Elsewhere, SLS is used for clinical testing as a primary skin irritant. Laboratories use it to irritate skin on test animals and humans so that they may then test healing agents to see how effective they are on the irritated skin.

The journal of the American College of Toxicology reports that SLS can penetrate and be retained in the eye, brain, heart, and liver with potentially harmful long-term effects. Also found in most shampoos including "no tears" baby shampoos, SLS can keep children's eyes from developing properly, can cause cataracts in adults, can retard healing, and can impair hair growth.

Triclosan: A pesticide found in many types of toothpaste

Triclosan, a chemical used for its antibacterial properties, is an ingredient found in many detergents and toothpastes. However, the formulation and structure of this ingredient are similar to some of the most toxic chemicals on earth. Because of this fact, triclosan has been scrutinized in regards to human health and safety, according to Tufts University School of Medicine.

While the companies that manufacture products containing triclosan claim that it is safe, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered it as a dangerous pesticide. The EPA gives triclosan high scores both as a human health risk and as an environmental risk.

Triclosan is a chlorophenol, which is a class of chemicals that is suspected of causing cancer in humans. Externally, phenol can cause a variety of skin irritations, but since it can temporarily deactivate sensory nerve endings, contact with it may cause little or no pain. Taken internally, even in small amounts, phenol can lead to cold sweats, circulatory collapse, convulsions, coma, and death.

Additionally, chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides can be stored in body fat, sometimes accumulating to toxic levels. Long term exposure to repeated use of many pesticide products can damage the liver, kidneys, heart and lungs, suppress the immune system, and cause hormonal disruption, paralysis, sterility and brain hemorrhages. (From . “Recognition and Management of Pesticide Poisonings.” Environmental Protection Agency)

Hydrated Silica: A whitener that damages tooth enamel

Hydrated silica, which is primarily used as an abrasive in toothpaste, is made from a crystallized compound found in quartz, sand, and flint. (From “The Safe Shopper’s Bible”)

Tooth enamel re-mineralizes daily from the supply of ionic calcium and phosphorus in the saliva. Scratching the surface of the tooth with an abrasive such as hydrated silica harms the enamel and prevents re-mineralization, much like using sand to clean glass. Severe wear could eventually occur.

”The public is cautioned against excessive use of products containing 'dioforms,' which are abrasive substances that can cause the breakdown of tooth enamel. Products containing the ingredients silica and cellulose, in particular, should be avoided when gum disease, tooth decay, sensitivity and receding gums are present.

While these ingredients can remove tartar and make teeth whiter in appearance, they also may do harm to dental health by altering the acidic balance of the mouth, gums and tongue,” said Dr. Warren Scherer, New York University College of Dentistry, as reported by The Naples Daily News.

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