What Rachel Avalons seminar taught me about the beauty industry…

Whether its dipping into latest Sephora finds or scanning through celebrity looks, my heart has always fluttered just that much more when it comes to beauty. And with being an eco writer, I figured I pretty much knew all there was to about eco beauty.

Thats why when I heard about holistic nutritionist and eco expert, Rachel Avalons Lecture on Eco Beauty, I was curious to see what the green “it” girl would be discussing. Knowing there is at least one natural makeup product that meets my approval, and often putting pestle and mortar to use in my kitchen for new facial concoctions, I wondered what the eco industrys freshest face would have to say about beauty that I didnt already know.

I walked into the lecture room, paper and pen in hand and ready to soak up what I thought would be new beauty tips. I also got a chance to have a quick meet and greet with Rachel, who was absolutely charming and a natural host. With people pouring in, we quickly took our seats and the presentation set sail to what was going to be a revealing look at the beauty industry.

Moments in, I was capsized by own limited perceptions of beauty. Rachel began with where our beauty products are coming from, whats in them, and how detrimental they are to our health. The virtually self-regulated cosmetic industry is saturated by politics and hazards, even though one could argue the two were never really mutually exclusive anyway. Though we all know about lobby groups, Rachels knowledge of what exactly comprises the beauty industry which policies so easily saunter past the red-tape (and why), and how they affect us, is absolutely horrifying. In short, I learned that just like the IRS, we should never really trust the so-called “safety” regulations.

But to learn what was actually in all those lovely pressed powders, tubes and jars left me thoroughly disgusted. So whats in it exactly?

Think Gemma Artertons scene in Quantum of Solace, where shes covered head to toe in oil, and then youve got a very small picture of what youre actually spackling on yourself everyday. The trauma of what Gemmas character goes through varies disfiguringly with our own experience – after all, with that much toxic waste on her she inevitably died. On the other hand, we go about our day with ten fold more and think were glamorous. Put on, rinse, and repeat.

Considering we toss ourselves into a daily beauty gauntlet with questionable (and sometimes cancer-causing agents), you can only imagine how much damage were doing to ourselves in the long run.

If you consider the basics, (like shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, mouthwash, etc), its easy to see how the average American uses about 10 products a day – which exposes them to about 125 chemicals!

If you factor in that our skin absorbs 60% of what we put on it, and with the average girl wearing makeup at 14, by the time youre 85 youve been exposing your body to harsh chemicals and toxins for over 70 years! Its no wonder that we have such a high rate of cancer in society, with 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men now being diagnosed with it. The role of cancer in beauty was another interesting component of Rachels lecture, and got me questioning about how many chemicals I expose myself to daily without even thinking about it – all in the name of beauty.

And beauty isnt just for women. Conscious care is definitely something both men and women need to think about (because almost everyone uses shampoo, soap, deodorant, etc.). I brought my fiancÃ

As I was busily clipping pictures for my 2010 vision board this morning, I came across an article in the November 2009 issue of New Zealand Women’s Health. It stopped me dead in my clipping tracks.

On page 18 was an advertorial called Balancing Your Weight, with advice from nutritionist Nikki Hart. The subhead? “Nikki explains how low-calorie sweeteners like aspartame can help”. Say what? Were the words “nutritionist”, “aspartame” and “help” just used in the same sentence?

Is this same nutritionist also telling us readers to swap a muffin or chocolate for a diet drink with aspartame? I wouldn’t have believed it if it wasn’t in front of me in black and white. Where did Nikki get her degree? The University of Coca Cola?

If you don’t know about this man made chemical called aspartame, research has shown it is the cause of toxicity and disease and should not be marketed for human consumption.

A recent study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology in San Diego found that adult women who drink at least two diet sodas a day experience a 30 percent drop in kidney function over the course of a decade.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. According to a report from Natural News, those using aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc.) and suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss, probably have aspartame poisoning.

Here’s an excerpt from the same article:

Diet soda is not a diet product, but a chemically altered, multiple sodium (salt) and Aspartame-containing product that actually makes you crave for carbohydrates and gain weight. These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs; no wonder the American population is turning obese and/or suffering from cancers and diabetes [From FAT to Fit, Dr. Leo Rebello, (www.healthwisdom.org) ].

Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used mainly to preserve ’tissue specimens’ in laboratories. Formaldehyde poisoning symptoms include local irritation of eyes, nose, mouth, throat, respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, and central nervous system causing vertigo, stupor, convulsions, unconsciousness, renal damage.

Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. Physicians who thought they had a patient with retinopathy in fact had patients with symptoms caused by Aspartame. The latter drives the blood sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neurotoxic. With diabetics, Aspartame passes the blood-brain barrier, attacks the neurons of the brain causing various levels of brain damage, seizures, depression, panic attacks, uncontrollable anger and rage [Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, First Indian Edition, 1990] .

Ah yes folks, this little advertisement is indeed sponsored by one of the world’s leading soda companies. Go figure.

At the bottom of this intriguing article is teeny-tiny print that reads: *Phenylketonurics, aspartame contains phenylalanine. No really, say what? Are they speaking English? For all of us dummy readers here’s what this fine print translates into:

Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in the brain. Human testing has shown phenylalanine levels in the blood are increased significantly in those who chronically use aspartame. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the levels of serotonin to decrease, which can lead to depression, schizophrenia and make one more susceptible to seizures.

Studies conducted on rats by G.D. Searle found phenylalanine to be safe for humans. However, Louis J. Elsas, II, M.D., Director of Medical Genetics and Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine told the U.S. Senate in 1987 that, “Normal humans do not metabolize phenylalanine as efficiently as do lower species such as rodents and thus most of the previous studies on aspartame effects on rodents are irrelevant.” Unfortunately, this fell on deaf ears and failed to garner additional testing.

But the glaring question begs to be answered: why would someone who has dedicated their time to obtaining a degree in nutrition tell readers to up our intake of a chemical that can harm us?

To read more articles on the dangers of Aspartame, click here.

Be Your Own Expert & Don’t Always Believe What You Read by Vegan Girl.

Photo: Deesillustration.com

Editor’s Note: Nikki Hart, who received a Masters degree in Nutritional Science at Massey University, kindly responded to our questions about her relationship with the soda company that paid for her expertise, as well as why she chooses to promote aspartame. Here, we share her responses.

Yes my time and quotes were paid for – as any professional is for their intellectual expertise. I dont think a solicitor would €˜cough up information for a client without charging them – do you? However, I am never told what to say. Whether the client choose to use my information after I have supplied it is up to them – it is never biased.

I collate all my information from reputable peer reviewed medical journals not €˜popular media sources. As far as I am concerned there is no scientific proof that aspartame causes health problems. When someone asks me about aspartame usage I simply say that it is a matter of choice. You can select not to have products with this ingredient added to it but that if you do choose to consume this ingredient then there is no reputable information that says that it causes harm when consumed as per the recommendations.

Its not about €˜manmade chemicals benefiting the body as you have asked – its about this ingredient being tested for safety – which it has been many times and most recently independently by a board who were chosen to test all aspects of aspartame. See Bernadene Magnussons toxicological work. Considering that the methanol component of aspartame for example is 4-5 times higher in tomato juice than an equivalent amount of soft drink sweetened with aspartame then maybe people should do their homework about what is really in our food.