Millet Extract: Consumed or Applied Topically in Skincare Is a Potent Therapeutic Ingredient for Soothing, Purifying and Beautifying Skincare

Millet extract works to restructure skin and improve the skin barrier that protects skin from environmental insults. It lends radiance to skin and prevents trans-epidermal water loss.

Millet extract is a principal ingredient in many of PHYTO5’s Earth element line which is formulated to balance the Earth condition of toxicity, blemishes, acne, psoriasis, enlarged pores, and sluggish lymph circulation.

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The millet seed is known for providing many fundamental benefits to the skin:

• softening

• soothing

• nourishing

• stimulating

• revitalizing

Nutrient rich millet contains a high proportion of essential vitamins and is close to 90% unsaturated fatty acids.

Though millet is not actually a grain, it is considered one of very few alkaline grains. In truth, it’s a power packed starchy seed native to South America. Gluten-free millet is extremely nutritious and has a very rich protein and amino acid profile. At approximately 15% protein, millet contains lecithin and the essential amino acid methionine.

Millet is also high in silica which is quite beneficial for bones and connective tissue. Millet’s rich silicon content helps to rebuild connective tissue.

Read our blogs on the topic of silica: Probably the Most Underappreciated Nutrient for Skin’s Radiance and the Body’s Vitality: Silica and Silica Rich Horsetail: Very Beneficial for Anti-Aging Skin and Hair Care.

Millet is rich in vitamins E, B complex, niacin, thiamin and riboflavin. In addition, phenolic compounds in millet provide potent antioxidant activity and thus benefits such as slowing signs of aging.

Physiologically, millet is a digestive dynamo. It supports the digestive organs, in particular, the stomach and spleen, your energy battery, so to speak. Easily digestible, millet strengthens weak digestion and helps improve nutrient uptake. It removes unwanted excess acid and aggressively helps to inhibit the growth of fungus and yeasts such as Candida.

Millet is quite resilient being able to thrive even with a lack of water and can produce seed in conditions where other plants cannot grow. Millet is the seed which bears the highest mineral content some of which are iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.

Though history shows that millet was known for making hair, skin and nails beautiful, its positive beauty attributes have only been rediscovered relatively recently. With all of its nutritive attributes, millet actually motivates the skin to perform better. 

Millet extract is known to:

• support the skin’s natural functions

• beautify and smoothe the skin

• improve the structure of the skin

• contribute to radiant skin tone

Specific to skin, millet extract may also:

• Help reduce acne: Lipoic acid, an antioxidant found in millet, increases cell metabolism and blood circulation and is an anti-inflammatory, two actions which, when combined, help reduce acne.

• Improve elasticity and fight wrinkles: Amino acids L-lysine and L-proline help create collagen which provides structure skin tissue.

• Combat aging of the skin: The antioxidants in millet neutralize free radicals which cause aging. Millet assists to rejuvenate skin cells. The ubiquinone content in millet is a known wrinkle-reducer.

• Improve overall complexion: Millet is rich in complexion enhancing and antioxidant vitamin E which penetrates the skin’s layers and aids in natural wound healing. Millet forms a protective layer in the skin which can keep free radicals away from wounds. Millet also serves as a lubricant to the skin.

• Bring youthfulness to the skin: By consuming millet in the diet, we can assist the protection and strengthening of our cells and skin from the ravages of free radical damage thereby creating younger looking, more supple skin.

• Act as a moisturizing agent: Consuming millet assists us to retain the natural moisture content in our skin thereby reversing dull and dry looking skin to vibrant and healthier looking skin. Because of its ability to moisturize, it’s also beneficial for chapped lips.

• Reduce scarring: The antioxidant alium found in millet increases blood flow to scar tissue assisting the growth of new skin and minimizing scarring. Millet helps the skin to repair itself more quickly, and it protects and firms the skin.

• Protect the skin from sun damage: Millet’s selenium and vitamin C and E content are effective protectants against sun damage and skin cancer amplifying healthy fresh growth of new cells that bring youth to the skin and make it appear more radiant. It can assist to combat hyperpigmentation.

• Strengthen hair follicles: Protein rich millet is highly recommended for hair loss. Lack of protein is one factor which contributes to hair loss.

• Serve as therapeutic for scalp conditions: The magnesium in millet reduces scalp inflammation and is beneficial for treating eczema, psoriasis and dandruff. Consuming millet may help in pacifying metabolic syndrome, a health condition which causes premature balding.

• Stimulate the growth of hair: Millet promotes the circulation of blood circulation in the scalp and thus promotes hair growth.

• Reduce hair loss: Increased cortisol levels in the body may lead to significant hair loss however the magnesium in millet has been found to counteract it.

• Help prevent premature graying of the hair: The antioxidant content in millet effectively prevents tissue oxidation and may assist with premature graying.

…

Endnotes:

McKeith, Gillian. Dr. Gillian McKeith's Living Food for Health: 12 Natural Superfoods to Transform Your Health. United Kingdom, Piatkus, 2000.

Underkoffler, Renee Loux. Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods. United Kingdom, Penguin Publishing Group, 2004.

Simple Effective Preventives for Fall Colds and Viruses: Wear A Scarf, Get Cupped, and Seek Out a Good Acupuncture Physici

The connection between weather, especially Wind, and human health has been very seriously explored in many of the world’s most scholarly traditional medical systems such as traditional Chinese medicine.(1) There exists today a growing number of progressive medical doctors, especially in Europe who, convinced that the weather is much more important to our health than mere thermal comfort, have named an emerging discipline dedicated to this study. It’s called biometeorology. Whether you follow formal or folk medicine, many practitioners of both will readily tell you this: When it's windy, especially during energetic Fall and Winter, if you want to prevent the dreaded colds and flu of the seasons, cover your nose, mouth, neck and shoulders before going outside. But how is the simple habit of wrapping yourself up in a scarf able to keep you healthier during the cold weather seasons? Traditional Chinese medicine, for one, explains how.

“According to Chinese medical theory, cold and flu viruses are ever present in the air we breathe, and it is the Wind blowing into our faces that drives the virus into the body at the most common points of entry: the nose and the mouth. Protecting these portals is considered so important in China that instead of wrapping a scarf around the neck, people usually wear it across the face, covering the nose and mouth.”

— Ilkay Zihni Chirali in Traditional Chinese Medicine: Cupping Therapy.

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The five elements of traditional Chinese medicine are five aspects of the energy that regulates the material dimension of our lives, our bodies included. They are sometimes referred to as the “energy of earth” in contrast to the “energy of heaven” or cosmos.(2)

There are six components to this cosmic energy called the Six Excesses or Evils. Traditional Chinese medicine finds Wind to be one of the six environmentally related external causes (Excess or Evil) of imbalance which leads to diseases, conditions and disorders of the body. These six climatic excesses can attack the body, enter the body’s energy meridian pathways, and cause external diseases.

Wind is one of five climates that characterize the five seasons of traditional Chinese medicine and it is considered to be the backbone of many diseases by traditional Chinese medicine.

Wind is Yang Energy
Traditional Chinese medicine finds Wind to be a yang pathogenic factor that causes symptoms in the physical body that wander and change. Wind in the body resembles the Wind in nature. It generates not only movement but movement in parts of the body that would otherwise remain motionless.

This yang characteristic of Wind means it’s ‘elevated,’ mostly affecting the uppermost yang regions of the body—head and thorax. And it means it attacks the outermost levels of the body, too—skin pores, muscles and tendons, before penetrating the lungs, the most external and uppermost of all the internal organs. It is no coincidence that lung is the organ of the Fall season’s Metal element, the time of year when wind, colds and flu all ramp up in earnest.

Roots of this Knowledge In Ancient Chinese Medicine
In the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (the Nei Jing Suwen), the medical mentor and Taoist monk Qi Bo tells his student:

“Pathogenic Wind is the root of all evil.”

A digitized copy of a page of the Nei Jing Suwen

In Shigehisa Kuriyama’s Chapter, Wind and Self, in his book, The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine, he aptly writes that ancient people were completely convinced that Wind had a diabolical influence on their health. He also points out the fact that in today’s times we rarely link Wind with illness.

Common Conditions Exacerbated or Caused by Wind
Many who suffer from heightened rheumatic pain when the weather changes don’t often connect the dots when they’ve also experienced very recent exposure to cold or hot Wind.

Many people affected with Bell’s (facial) palsy have often been exposed to Windy conditions just days before onset of the palsy.

School teachers will often notice a negative change in behavior in their students on Windy days.

People who work in highly air-conditioned settings will often report headaches and tight or painful necks and shoulders.

Wind in the Body
Traditional Chinese medicine indicates that a case of Wind invasion in the body includes symptoms of sneezing, headache, and congestion.

Wind makes it easier for other illnesses to invade your body because if you are already feeling a little sick and your immune system is compromised, you are more likely to be vulnerable to other problems. In other words, the presence of nefarious Wind helps other influences to invade and wreak havoc on the body.

Traditional Chinese medicine indicates that colds and flu can enter the body through the skin. Cold Winds pushing against the skin force cold into the body. If you have ingested a virus carried by the Wind, this virus will remain just beneath the skin for a short time before advancing deeper into the body and entering the lungs.

In order to maintain stasis, the body is forced to work against the cold, the Wind, and the actual virus, but a person may not have enough energy to fight them off. When this occurs, symptoms of cold and flu take hold.

Traditional Chinese medicine also identifies acupuncture meridians that travel through the body from the most superficial layer of the body–the skin–to the deepest, most interior parts of the body.

Colds and flu originate at the superficial layers of the body but when we are unable to fight off a Wind attack, it moves deeper into the body causing more serious illness. This could explain, in part, why some people whose immune systems are compromised, die as a result of complications from the flu or a corona virus.

Among the more superficial channels of the body providing the most common routes of cold and Wind entering the body are:

1. the bladder channel which travels vertically passing through the neck and back, and;

2. the small intestine channel which travels horizontally across the neck and shoulder.

When cold and Wind attack through these channels, we may experience a stiff neck, headaches especially at the back of the neck, an aversion to Wind, a lack of sweating, chills, listlessness, fatigue, and a stuffed up nose or head.

“Located on the neck and shoulders, the Wind points are considered both entry points for Wind and areas you can stimulate to expel the Wind and prevent further penetration of the body’s kingdom.”

— Ilkay Zihni Chirali

Author Chirali (whose quote is mentioned just above) writes how his teacher, a Vietnamese Buddhist wandering monk in the medical tradition, explained to him why a Wind attack to the body can be very painful:

“Wind allowed to pass through a narrow opening is ‘poisonous’ because it is compressed and pierces the flesh like a dagger. Its impact is funneled and focused, as if adjusting the nozzle of a hose to concentrate its intensity.”

Wind and Cancer Metastasis in Traditional Chinese Medicine
The scholarly article, The Concept of Wind in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Journal of Pharmacopuncture, December 2016, says this about how Wind may affect the metastasis of cancer in the body:

“Cancer metastasis is the spread of cancer cells to tissues and organs beyond where the tumor originated, resulting in the formation of new tumors. The formation of metastases is a major problem in clinical oncology because it is one of the main causes of death in most cancer patients. Classical Chinese medicine has no specific concept of cancer; however, experts in traditional Chinese medicine are studying the causes and treatments of metastasis. Traditional Chinese medicine doctors believe the causes of cancer are multiple, including toxins and other environmental factors, called ‘external causes,’ as well as ‘internal causes’ such as Blood and Qi stagnation, emotional stress, bad eating habits, wastes accumulated from food, and damaged organs. They also believe that Internal Wind of hepatic origin is not only one of the causes of malignant tumors but also the main cause for the formation of metastases. An analysis of the causes of internal Wind in patients with malignant tumors suggests that removing Wind is the fundamental method of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of patients with malignant tumors and metastases; thus, drugs that eliminate Wind are important prescriptions for treating patients with such tumors.”

Cupping as Therapy for Wind in the Body
The holistic healing modality of ‘cupping,’ known in traditional Chinese medicine as the ‘capturing of the Winds’ is believed to offer positive and healing actions.

Cupping is a Chinese therapy in which heated glass cups are applied to the skin along the meridians of the body, creating suction as a way of stimulating the flow of vital energy. (Skincare professionals reading this article may be interested to learn that the Biorhythmic Drainer, proprietary equipment offered by PHYTO5 and pictured just above, is a very safe, painless and effective way to easily and elegantly provide a state-of-the-art cupping therapy to clients.)

In Western and Eastern Europe and in Asia, cupping is considered a form of very effective folk medicine where mothers and healers improvise with glass cups, cotton cloth, olive oil, a bronze coin and a flame to create a system of induction efficient enough to remove Wind from the body.

Family lineages of skilled cuppers have been highly respected as healers for generations. Preferring to deal with the possibility rather than the outcome, they apply cupping either as a preventive or at the first sign of discomfort.

“Vietnamese people understand that getting a diagnosis of gio (Wind) means you are better off inside the home, otherwise to go outside means you are liable to be struck by Wind again and get far worse”

— The Buddhist Abbot the Venerable Thich Phuoch Tan

Famed canonized saint and eleventh century polymath, Hildegard von Bingen, also recommended cupping to relieve the effects of certain humoral (fluid) imbalances caused by Wind. She saw the body as microcosm permeable to the outside macrocosmic world. She understood how Wind is an elemental life force that normally circulated throughout the physiology of the body but she also was aware that Wind could be a exogenous pathological factor, too. She understood how Wind entered the body’s orifices right down to the body’s tiny skin pores thereby tipping the delicate balance of health with sickness the result.

“One of the chief reasons why cupping continues to remain popular as a folk practice and attracts modern day therapists is because it effectively withdraws climatic pathogenic factors from both the superficial and deeper layers of the body.”

— Ilkay Zihni Chirali

Wind In Another Form
• It should also be noted that  covering the neck and shoulders also applies to any type of Wind generation including cold breezes generated by air-conditioning and fans.
• Keep the air-conditioning in your home down to a minimum to maintain your healthful balance.
• If you sleep in cold weather with your Window open, open the window just a crack and be sure you’re bundled up in bed.
• Maintain a body that’s closed to Wind.

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Keep Your Pores Small and Protected
Additionally, if your skin pores are more open, they should have no contact with the cold and Wind. The pores’ natural capacity is to protect against any invasive climatic influences.

If you normally have enlarged pores, you may want to use PHYTO5’s Earth element Yogi Body Gel for the body and the Earth line of facial products. These are formulated to help reduce enlarged pores.

Conclusion
Reduce your chance of catching the common cold or contracting a flu virus simply by covering your neck, shoulders, nose and mouth in windy and/or cold conditions. 

You may also want to seek out an integrity holistic cupping therapist for prevention and especially if you feel the onset signs of a cold or flu.

Understanding the meticulous observations of the effect of Wind on health in ancient Chinese medicine is actually applicable for today’s public health specialists, traditional and complementary medicine practitioners. In addition to the practices of wearing a scarf or receiving cupping therapy, herbs and acupuncture are also commonly administered by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine to eliminate Wind in order to treat various diseases.

#####

Endnotes:

(1)This connection has also been studied in Ayurvedic(a), Unani,(b) Gaelic/Celtic(c) and Islamic(d) medicines.

(a) In Ayurvedic medicine, various changes in our natural environment such as Wind direction can create numerous issues connected with aggravating our dosha, one of three bodily “bio-elements” that make up one's constitution and govern physiological activity.

(b) Unani is a system of medicine practiced in parts of India, thought to be derived via medieval Muslim physicians from Byzantine Greece. It is sometimes contrasted with the Ayurvedic system.

(c) Today it is challenging to objectively evaluate Celtic medical lore since its records are faded and fragmented. These include Farquhar Leech, the healer, the Druids and St. Columba among many others. Many believe the 12 Celtic directional Winds tend to correspond with those of American Indian medicine wheels.

(d) Islamic medicine is the science of medicine developed in the Islamic Golden Age (eighth to 14th century). Islamic medicine preserved, systematized and developed the medical knowledge of classical antiquity, including the major traditions of Hippocrates, Galen* and Dioscorides.**

*Hippocrates (c. 460–377 bc), was a Greek physician and is traditionally regarded as the father of medicine. His name is associated with the medical profession's Hippocratic oath because of his attachment to a body of ancient Greek medical writings widely believed to not even having been written by him.

**Galen was a Greek physician (129–199), who while attempting to systematize medicine, made important discoveries in anatomy and physiology.

***Pedanius Dioscorides, c. 40–90 AD, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of De materia medica (On Medical Material)—a five-volume Greek pharmacopeia of herbal medicine and related medicinal substances that was widely read for more than 1,500 years.

(2) This explains why traditional Chinese medicine tells us we live “between heaven and earth.”

#####

Sources:

Photo of lady in blue scarf courtesy of Omid Bonyadian at pexels.

Photo of Chinese apothecary courtesy of freestocks.org via pexels

Photo of man being cupped courtesy of Antoni Shkraba at pexels

Image of the Nei Jing Suwen File:The Su Wen of the Huangdi Neijing.djvu courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Elias, Jason, and Katherine Ketcham. Chinese Medicine for Maximum Immunity: Understanding the Five Elemental Types for Health and Well-being. New York: Three Rivers, 1998. Print.

Chirali, Ilkay Zihni. Traditional Chinese Medicine: Cupping Therapy. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1999. Print.

Sage Journals: Your Gateway to World-Class Research Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/.

Joiner, Thomas Richard. Chinese Herbal Medicine Made Easy: Natural and Effective Remedies for Common Illnesses. United States, Hunter House, 2001.

Kuriyama, Shigehisa. The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine. Zone Books, 2011.

Dashtdar M, Dashtdar MR, Dashtdar B, Kardi K, Shirazi MK. The Concept of Wind in Traditional Chinese Medicine. J Pharmacopuncture. 2016 Dec;19(4):293-302. doi: 10.3831/KPI.2016.19.030. PMID: 28097039; PMCID: PMC5234349.

This blog was originally published on October 10, 2016 and is extensively updated here for freshness and comprehensiveness.

Sweet Almond Oil: Soothing, Softening, Anti-Aging Skincare Miracle of Nature

In skincare, sweet almond oil is used both for its properties and as a carrier oil.(1) Sweet almond oil, found in Metal element Sweet Almond Oil Shampoo and also in Ageless La Cure by PHYTO5’s soothing pink Clay Mask, is obtained from the kernel of the almond. Not only does it have a wonderfully pleasant aroma, it has a very soft texture and is slowly absorbed into the skin. Sweet almond oil is derived exclusively from edible almonds and is the kind used in skincare. External application of the oil can prevent dehydration by reducing moisture loss from the skin, scalp and hair.

Sweet almond oil, which can be used by itself, is a mild hypoallergenic oil which relieves itching and inflammation as it nourishes the skin with its oleic acid content (unsaturated fatty acids). It is well known for its ability to promote a more youthful complexion and overall skin health.

Sweet almond oil is rich in vitamins E and A, monounsaturated fatty acids, protein, potassium, and zinc.

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The vitamin E in sweet almond oil promotes suppleness of the skin, smoothing of fine lines and overall skin softness. Any almond oil that adds more vitamin E to a skincare product formulation would probably be utilizing synthetic almond oil since quality natural sweet almond oil already contains an abundance of the vitamin.

Vitamin E in almond oil also protects the skin from ultraviolet radiation. Most importantly, it is a powerful antioxidant which helps maintain your skin’s collagen layer.

Collagen lies under the skin in an even layer providing a kind of padding that keeps the skin taut and supple. When our skin begins to thin as we age, the collagen layer underneath the skin becomes uneven. This is when we also begin to notice the forming of fine lines. Almond oil is shown to play an important role in the delay of signs of aging, especially premature aging.

Because almond oil contains vitamin E in abundance, it can help repair some of the damage done to the collagen layer which is caused by oxidative stress.(2) The oil can also provide amino acids required for the formation of collagen because it is so rich in protein.

Vitamin A easily penetrates the skin working to cleanse it from embedded dirt and oil in the pores preventing blackheads and possibly acne from developing.

If your skin is oily, sweet almond oil is noncomedogenic meaning it is very unlikely to block your pores and it is excellent in the treatment of acne.

Sweet almond oil is also wonderful for hair and scalp to cleanse hair follicles because of its antibacterial and anti-fungal properties It softens hair, providing it the moisture it requires. It strengthens hair because of its biotin content. Sweet almond oil protects hair from sun damage. And together with zinc, it is also abundant in minerals magnesium and calcium which makes almond oil effective in controlling dandruff and loss of hair thus promoting hair growth.

Sweet almond oil helps hair develop a natural sheen.

The fatty acids in sweet almond oil work to heal chapped and irritated skin. Redness of the skin and inflammation can be calmed with sweet almond oil.

Because the oil is rich in zinc, it can be effective in the treatment of skin rashes and chafed skin.

…

Endnotes:

(1) A carrier oil is used to dilute essential oils and absolutes before they are applied to the skin in massage and aromatherapy. They carry the essential oil onto the skin. Diluting essential oils is a critical safety practice when using essential oils because of the very high potency of quality essential oils. Essential oils used alone are volatile because they begin to dissipate as soon as they are applied. The carrier oil slows the rate of dispersion which varies based on how light or heavy the carrier oil is. Carrier oils often do not contain a concentrated aroma and they do not evaporate like essential oil. Excellent skincare products will use carrier oils that are completely natural and free from adulteration.

(2)Oxidative stress happens when the amount of destructive mutating cells or free radicals in our system exceeds the amount of antioxidants (a substance that removes potentially damaging oxidizing agents). This is when oxidation damages our cells, proteins and our DNA.

…

Sources:

Worwood, Valerie Ann. The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: over 800 Natural, Nontoxic, and Fragrant Recipes to Create Health, Beauty, and Safe Home and Work Environments. New World Library, 2016.

A Natural Treatment for Age Spot

‘Age spots’ on the skin (also colloquially called brown spots or liver spots) are associated with aging, exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation, inflammation, skin injuries and a number of other potential causes discussed below. Age spots are characterized as hyperpigmentation of the skin. Hyperpigmentation is the darkening of an area of skin or nails caused by increased melanin.(1)

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PHYTO5, the maker of Ageless La Cure skincare, utilizes the essential oil of the alpine flower edelweiss, wakame, a Japanese brown algae, and natural phytic acid in Perfection Cream to effectively lighten brown spots:

• Edelweiss essential oil offers a high antioxidant content more potent than vitamin C to attenuate dark spots. It is clinically proven to reduce brown spots and decrease melanin. You will also find edelweiss essential oil in PHYTO5’s Swiss line product, Face Gel.

• Wakame is Japanese brown algae and is proven to lighten skin and smooth out age spots as it simultaneously inhibits the formation of new spots. Wakame is also a unique ingredient in the Swiss line Face Exfoliation, a mineralizing, stimulating and skin brightening product.

• Natural phytic acid is extracted from wheat and prevents brown spots by decreasing the synthesis of melanin. Phytic acid contributes to wakame’s potency.

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Age spots tend to develop in people with fair complexions, but people with darker skin can also get them. Many people who develop brown spots on the skin are hereditarily predisposed to them.

Hyperpigmented skin spots are generally associated with aging because from approximately age 40 onward our skin tends to be less able to regenerate itself as a result of exposure to the sun. The spots range in color from light brown to red or black and pop up in areas most often exposed to the sun, particularly the hands, face, neck, arms, and bald scalp.

Age spots were once believed to be caused by liver problems, but in actuality, they are most frequently unrelated to the liver. In addition to excessive sun exposure, possible causes also include:

• poor diet

• lack of exercise

• smoking

• poor liver function

• consumption of oxidized oils

• alcohol consumption

• hormonal changes

• metabolic disorders.

People who live in sunny climates are especially prone to age spots.

Brown spots are the result of a buildup of wastes called lipofuscin accumulation, a byproduct of free radical damage in skin cells. The presence of these spots is a sign that free radical intoxication of the body is occurring. Lipofuscin accumulation is caused by a deficiency of several key nutrients:

• vitamin E

• selenium

• glutathione

• chromium and

• dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE).

Using poor quality or old cold creams, cleansing creams or solid moisturizing creams can also lead to the formation of brown spots on the skin because they contain hardened saturated fats that become rancid very rapidly thus creating free radicals.

Not only do these free radicals cause brown spots, they can cause premature wrinkles. This is why it is important to be very selective about the types of skincare creams you use. The Ageless La Cure all Swiss-made line of products takes the guesswork out of it for you since they are organic certified, natural and manufactured under exacting Swiss practices and regulations. 

The use of plants to treat skin conditions such as age spots is as old as humankind. Alphahydroxy acids found in certain fruits, for example, increase cell turnover and their enzymes lighten the skin. Alphahydroxy acids (AHAs) from fresh peeled banana, mango and Amazonian mombin plum in PHYTO Peel are naturally derived fruit acids also known for their ability to firm and tighten the skin as well as reduce the appearance of facial lines.The antioxidants in these fruits help to ward off ultraviolet rays to prevent new spots from forming.

Perfection Cream mentioned at the outset of this article also contains the following natural ingredients with wonderful skin enhancing properties:

• Shea butter from West Africa: Very moisturizing with healing and anti-inflammatory properties, it softens and smoothes skin and stimulates the synthesis of collagen. Shea butter is recommended for the prevention of wrinkles and aging of the skin while protecting it from harsh weather conditions.

• Verbena flower water: Verbena flower cools, softens, firms, heals and soothes the skin. (It is recommended for cases of psoriasis of nervous origin.)

• Damask rose essential oil: The prized damask rose soothes irritation and redness and offers toning and regeneration to skin. Enjoy soothing damask rose essential oil and extract in many Ageless La Cure products.

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Endnotes:

(1) Melanin is a class of pigment responsible for producing color in the body in places such as the eyes, skin, and hair.

Balch, Phyllis A. Prescription for Nutritional Healing: a Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements. Penguin, 2011.

The Miracle of Myrrh for Radiant More Youthful Ski

Myrrh maintains healthy skin and tissues. A natural outcome of that action is myrrh’s ability to help mitigate visible signs of aging in the skin. For this reason, it's commonly added to many skincare products today, especially those that treat more mature skin. The botanical name for myrrh is Commiphora mukul and its extract is formulated in the facial serum inside PHYTO5’s Ageless La Cure Facial Serum and Cream kit for a 3-week cure.

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Antioxidant rich, myrrh is a natural choice for anti-aging, facial acne, redness, irritation, skin rejuvenation, and wound healing products. It encourages new cell growth and is effective in the prevention and treatment of facial lines. Myrrh offers skin nourishing benefits in hot dry climates.

Myrrh has been shown to improve circulation so vital for combatting signs of aging. Improved circulation creates an overall improved complexion with a healthy glow.

Myrrh essential oil, when added properly to a carrier oil and applied topically, can help ease muscle aches when experiencing a cold or flu or for aching joints not associated with these conditions. When used in a diffuser, it can help break up mucus associated with colds. 

Myrrh resin is a natural gum which seeps from the bark of the Commiphora tree once it is cut.

The word myrrh comes from the Arabic word "murr" which translates to “bitter.” Myrrh is actually one of many bitters that offers all kinds of health benefits from curbing sugar cravings to supporting liver function to encouraging healthy, radiant skin.

Myrrh essential oil is a safe essential oil overall but should be avoided during pregnancy because of its potency.

Myrrh as an essential oil is very powerful, its use dating back many centuries having been traded in the Middle East and North Africa for more than 5,000 years. Myrrh has a long history of medical use along the Silk Road from Arabia into China.

Myrrh essential oil has been part of medical practice in traditional therapies for millennia. It has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. It was so valuable in ancient times that it was, at times, equal in weight value to gold.

Throughout time myrrh has been known to offer all manner of healing benefits for conditions like asthma, athlete’s foot, cough, candida, ringworm, eczema, gingivitis, gum infections, hemorrhoids, mouth ulcers, ringworm, wounds, wrinkles, and chapped or cracked skin.

• The enormously gifted Benedictine abbess and polymath Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) included myrrh as a healing tool in her book of medicines.

• The Vedas, the large body of knowledge texts originating in the ancient Indian subcontinent from 1500 to 400 BC, prescribed myrrh for healing.

• The ancient Egyptians procured huge boat shipments of myrrh resin from the Phoenicians and used it in incense, insect repellent, salves for wounds and sores, and as a key ingredient in the embalming process. History indicates they also used it to treat hay fever and herpes. Even back then, Egyptian women abhorred wrinkles and aging skin and used myrrh oil as a rejuvenating facial treatment in their cosmetic preparations.

• An ointment of myrrh was carried by Greek soldiers into battle to counter infections.

Alain Touwaide, the Smithsonian’s scientific director of the Institute for the Preservation of Medical Traditions, tells us the Greek physician Hippocrates known for revolutionizing the practice of medicine (c.460–377 BC), wrote about myrrh for healing more than any other plant substance. He relates that myrrh was also used as an antiseptic, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory agent and calls myrrh one of the “antibiotics of history.”

Today myrrh is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda and aromatherapy. Many natural toothpastes contain myrrh and there’s a reason for that: myrrh benefits dental and gum health and helps keep the mouth clean and gums free of infection. Many Egyptian skeletons have been found with teeth completely intact and archeologists and historians often point to the use of myrrh as a key factor.

Myrrh contains a high content of sesquiterpenes, a class of compounds that have a direct effect on the pituitary,(1) hypothalamus,(2)and amygdala in the brain.(3) Research has shown that sesquiterpenes have the ability to surpass the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain tissue. Research from the Universities of Berlin and Vienna show increased oxygenation around the pineal and pituitary glands when myrrh is used.

(Read more about terpenes and sesquiterpenes in our blog, The Terpene: Most Fundamental Fragrance, Flavor and Healing Component of Essential Oils.)

Myrrh is purifying, restorative, revitalizing, and uplifting and can be a supportive component used in meditation.

The properties of warm and spicy myrrh resin helps to calm stress and help bring us back to our center. 

Myrrh as an extract or essential oil is excellent to use in daily skin and dental care. It rejuvenates damaged skin, soothes skin irritation, supports clear breathing, and promotes emotional peace and tranquility.

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Endnotes:

(1)Pituitary: receptor of intuition and vision and the master gland of the body

(2)Hypothalamus: region of the forebrain that coordinates both the autonomic nervous system and the activity of the pituitary, homeostatic systems, and involved in sleep and emotional activity

(3)Amygdala: a roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere involved with the experiencing of emotions

• Young, Kac. The Healing Art of Essential Oils: A Guide to 50 Oils for Remedy, Ritual, and Everyday Use. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2017. Print.

• Jacknin, Jeanette. Smart Medicine for Your Skin: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Conventional and Alternative Therapies to Heal Common Skin Problems. New York: Avery, 2001. Print.

• Butje, Andrea. The Heart of Aromatherapy: An Easy-to-Use Guide for Essential Oils. United States, Hay House, Incorporated, 2017.

• Photo courtesy of Madeleine Steinbach at Getty Images via Canva Pro

The Heart Energy of the Fire Element: How It Oversees Not Just Physical but Emotional Functions As Wel

We instinctively place our hands on our Hearts when we feel love and appreciation. We instinctively know when our Hearts are open and generous. And we have observed that while our Hearts carry out an incredibly vital physical function, there is far more to the function of Heart than this and it involves the emotions of love, peace and equanimity.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the Fire element governs the heart, small intestine, circulatory system, autonomic nervous system (including parasympathetic and sympathetic branches), the small intestine and the triple heater meridian.

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The Heart is considered the home of Shen—the higher consciousness which descends from ‘heaven' and resides within us. The Shen is the universal consciousness that exists in every person.

Chinese medicine believes the various functions of the Fire element exist to protect Heart from injury especially on the levels of mind and spirit.

For example, the master of the Heart which is the pericardium together with the sympathetic nervous system works to protect us against hurts resulting from emotional vulnerability especially in relationships. They work to provide us the circulation of love and consciousness from the heart throughout the entire body and to other people as well.

The element of Fire relates to our desires and passions in life and also to the emotion of joy. If we become overly driven by any of these we may find ourselves with a clumsy Heart/Fire-based emotional issue.

Conversely, expressing heartfelt caring and developing deep connections with others from our humble quiet Heart demonstrates what Chinese medicine calls the art of the Heart.

The quantum energetic Fire element line of skin and hair care by PHYTO5 does more than work at the level of skin. It is also capable of bringing balance to an emotional state of out-of-balance joy. It is formulated in such a way that it penetrates the deepest core of the mind-body system where healing begins—the point where consciousness actually starts to have an effect.

Medical research appears to confirm that the health of our physical Hearts depends on good diet, exercise and a  connection not only to our spirit but with good social interactions. Studies show that the incidence of heart disease increases in situations of social isolation, difficult marital status and depression.

We see that heart attack victims who live alone experience twice the mortality of those who don't.

Depression doubles the mortality rate after bypass surgery.

Coronary atheroscleros is worse the more strained a relationship is.

In a study of 11,000 heart attack patients, those living with high stress levels were more common among that number.

A research team discovered that simply by asking patients with acute heart problems to discuss what and who they loved most in life led to less arrhythmias and lower blood pressure.

The art of the Heart involves quieting, peacefulness and an embracing of relationships. The Small Intestine energy does similarly as it quiets the mind by disallowing excessive or irrelevant thoughts or distractions to overwhelm the heart.

For the Heart to remain strong and healthy or to return to that state, the Heart must be able to maintain this calm and quiet. This is how we become able to adapt to the stresses of life and live long lives of substance and quality.

By being able to live strong with peaceful well functioning Hearts, we are, in turn, able to use these abilities to assist others in need of them.

Discrimination, prioritization, judgment, and simplification come from the Small Intestine in balance.

But confusion, hesitation, anxiety, and insomnia commonly result when the energy of the Small Intestine is out of balance. Shyness, moodiness, and fatigue can also occur when Small Intestine energy is not strong.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the triple heater meridian is responsible for encouraging the circulation of chi (vital energy), blood, fluids, and hormones throughout the body. It is also extremely encouraging as we maneuver our way through our many social and emotional relationships.

The triple heater meridian provides an appropriate milieu for the optimum transformation of food to energy which is needed to support the function of the Heart. When it is obstructed, fatigue and erratic behavior commonly result.

Traditional Chinese medicine calls the Heart the Emperor—the King who serves and reigns over the body with wisdom and equanimity. When people say with conviction, "I am coming from my heart," they are actually expressing an authenticity of belief and knowing that come from the Emperor one heartbeat at a time.

When the Heart chi energy is healthy and free flowing, this chi creates a rhythm in the body that is universal and available to all people whose hearts and triple warmer meridians are in balance.

Symptoms arising when Heart chi is out of balance include insomnia, anxiety and experiencing life as chaotic. This is because a Heart that’s not in control causes the Heart to beat irregularly, blood pressure to fluctuate, and even sometimes causes a loss of consciousness. Ultimately, we experience chaos both within the body and in our external lives.

Essentially, any situation that overstimulates the mind or emotions whether it’s a trauma or we feel overburdened with responsibilities and stress, may create too much Fire in the Heart potentially leading to emotional conditions such as nervousness, anxiety, and in extreme cases, mania.

When Heart energy is weak, holding to our beliefs can be difficult. When Heart is well adapted it grandly reigns with purpose and integrity. Grounding and a sense of self-assured sovereignty are ours.

“The Heart holds the office of lord and sovereign. The radiance of the spirit stems from it.”

— from Chapter 8 of the Neijing Suwen, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Chinese Medicine

The Heart is the supreme controller. It is partly human physical and partly divine spirit. Heart, residing in its palace, the protective pericardium, houses the spirit and keeps us in contact with love, peace and all that is of spiritual essence.

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Endnotes:

Anderson, Sandra K. The Practice of Shiatsu. Malawi, Mosby Elsevier, 2007.

Hicks, Angela, et al. Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture. United Kingdom, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2010.

Moss, Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. United States, North Atlantic Books, 2011.

Photo courtesy of Monica Turlui at pexels (pexels-monica-turlui-8218377.jpg)

The Fire Element and Its Organs—Heart and Small Intestine—And How They Influence Our Joy and Vitality In Lif

Traditional Chinese medicine describes each of the five seasons in the Five Element (or Five Phase) Theory as ‘energetic’ to connote an additional aspect to the seasons—one of energy, vibration and frequency. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is not enough to call a season by its mundane name. It must be qualified as energetic because each season brings with it a host of attributes and conditions that result from energy frequencies coming from both the “heavens and the earth” (meaning the cosmic and telluric energies). In this article, we discuss the element of Fire which traditional Chinese medicine ascribes to energetic Summer (May 5 until July 19).

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A yin and yang* energy pair of organs align with each of the five elements and these are driven by the energy of its element. This organ pairing is required for balance and vitality according to the extensive observations registered by traditional Chinese medicine over time. Energetic Summer’s and the fire element’s pair of organs is heart and small intestine.

Heart

The yang energy heart is an almost obvious organ for Fire since it pumps blood, the very substance representative of life, vitality and joy which we instinctively associate with the Summer season of explosive life and growth (the peak of yang energy).

In traditional Chinese medicine, blood represents far more than the actual physical substance. To this ancient medical discipline, blood is a liquid form of yin energy with blood following chi or vital energy flow. The Yellow Emporer’s Classic of Internal Medicine** says that chi is the leader of blood and blood is the mother of that chi or vital energy.

Louise Hay’s seminal book on holistic self-healing, You Can Heal Your Life, says that blood represents joy and flow. Hay says that heart represents the center of love and security and that a heart attack is a metaphor for “squeezing all the joy out of the heart in favor of money or position.” Hay associates heart problems with "longstanding emotional problems and lack of joy and hardening of the heart.”

Traditional Chinese medicine tells us that the well adapted emotion for the Fire element is joy-in-balance. By joy-in-balance we mean that if someone is always laughing or giggling, especially at inappropriate times, this indicates joy out-of-balance—an indication of a Fire imbalance. Conversely, if a person almost never laughs, this, too indicates a potential Fire imbalance.

Blood and the heart embody not just physical but emotional and spiritual aspects as well. Joy, the heart and blood flow are a symbiotic trio. Each begets the other. A heart of vitality and balanced flow of blood support a healthy expression of joy and consequently, greater health, love and spiritual strength. If we’re joyful in a balanced way, our hearts will be healthier and our flow of blood encouraged to be healthy, too, showing up as glowing complexion and skin and body that are slower to age.

The condition of the heart and manner of blood flow is very much manifested in our complexion. Our complexion should have a healthy pinkness with eyes that are bright and expressive. This is a sign that blood is indeed nourishing our body tissues and organs. It is cooling, soothing and hydrating the skin and body. If our complexion is either overly red or too pale, this could indicate a Fire imbalance.

Small Intestine

The yin small intestine oversees and controls assimilation of nutrients. Again, the organ applies to concepts and emotions as well as its physical makeup and activity.

In order to learn something new or to be able to process an event that has taken place, we must assimilate what is before us to learn. We must be able to come to a place where we are able to integrate the new information or feeling into our being.

In our blog of December 25, 2020, entitled Cyclical Living Is the Key to a Vitality Filled Life and Our Producing the Frequency of Love, we write that people who lived on this planet from 1 A.D. to 2000 A.D. approximately:

“didn’t just observe these cycles [of the earth and the heavens] with their eyes, they felt the significance of the cycles in their bellies–what some people call today the ‘other brain.’"

Today, the ‘other brain’ or gut/small intestine is called the second brain since scientists have realized there is an enormous number of neurologic connections and neuro-regulatory bodies in the gut microbiome—the largest macro membrane in the body with a surface area of two tennis courts.

For example, 90% of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which modulates everything from mood to focus to creative capacity, is actually produced in the lining of the small intestine. The small intestine makes everything the brain needs and signals all this information to the brain making the brain secondary to the small intestine in so many ways.

Small intestine actually helps us to process information and feelings even long after a traumatic event. So when we are unable to process our traumas or take in new information, it might mean that the health and vitality of our small intestine needs addressing.

Speech impediments like stuttering may indicate a heart imbalance because Fire is associated with communication and the speaking of truth. Fire brings out the courage in us as well as the will to explore deeper issues for clarity and understanding.

Fire relates to connection, both with oneself and others. Connection to and love of oneself is most closely associated with the heart and the blood.

Heart and small intestine are connected to the shen and chi, respectively, thereby linking the spirit with the physical processes of the body.

• Shen is the spirit energy of Fire in the heart, the higher consciousness that descends from ‘heaven’ and dwells within us.

• Chi, as indicated earlier in this article, is another term for the vital energy that flows through our bodies unseen but which is fundamentally essential to have in balanced flow for health and vitality to exist. The purpose of chi is expansive yang. It warms the body and causes the body to move.

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Endnotes:

* Yang is active, bold energy, brightly and outwardly expressing. Yin is characterized as inward moving energy, dark, mysterious and quiet.

** Also known as the Neijing Suwen, The Yellow Emporer’s Classic of Internal Medicine is an ancient Chinese medical text or group of texts that has been treated as a fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for more than two millennia.

Anderson, Sandra K. The Practice of Shiatsu. Malawi, Mosby Elsevier, 2007.

Mayer, Emeran. The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health. Germany, Harper Wave, 2018.

Tucker, Tammy. The Belly Brain Solution: Gut-Brain Axis Connection to Health. N.p., CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.

Hay, Louise. You Can Heal Your Life. Hay House. 2004.

Image courtesy of Svetlana at pexels. (pexels-svetlanaõ-10457233.jpg)

Describing the Fire Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicin

Traditional Chinese medicine embraces a fivefold concept known as the Five Element or Five Phase Theory to explain a wide variety of phenomena from cosmic cycles to the interaction between the body’s internal organs to personality types. We all tend to be one predominant ‘type’ from among the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, however no one is one hundred percent one type alone. In this article we discuss both the in-balance and out-of-balance or maladapted Fire type personality.

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Describing this or any other type is not all black and white. Sometimes we are out of balance in our type which will often stem from childhood occurrences that marked us in an indelible way. But if we find ourselves out-of-balance in our type, we can bring ourselves back into balance simply by understanding our element and adapting ourselves to live harmoniously with it. To understand each of the five element archetypes is to understand the element and appreciate it as metaphor. 

Your Predominant Element Type

This article offers keys for bringing yourself back into balance with Fire if it’s your predominant element.

The outward manifestation of your skin is often a good first indicator of your element type. Our website offers a key to assist you with the five groups of skin condition for the face here.

If you are a Fire type, your skin will tend to redness, sensitivity, irritation, overheating, excessive perspiration, blotchiness and allergic reactions. These conditions are generally related to an active arterial (red blood) circulation due to a rising yang energy.

The Fire Energy

Fire energy in the body is all about expanding and engaging. It corresponds to the peak of yang energy of energetic Summer, high noon, heat, sultriness and freedom. Laughter is Fire’s voice quality, joy-in-balance is the emotion and scorched its smell. 

The capacity for both interpersonal and divine love comes from the Fire element. The Fire energy in traditional Chinese medicine is considered the source of joy, happiness, and emotional protection for the heart.  

Expressiveness and aliveness point to a balanced Fire type person. Concern for the welfare of all is the essence of the loving generosity and wisdom of the well adapted Fire type. On the other hand, a flat aspect, apathy, and lack of enthusiasm point to an out-of-balance Fire type lacking yang energy.

When Fire is in balance within you:

“… this energy leads to open-heartedness, intimacy, generosity of spirit, optimism, joy, and the heartfelt expression of love. These qualities might seem easily accessed by other types but for the Fire type they are a major theme in maintaining adaptation and health.”

— Charles A. Moss, MD in Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance

Conversely, when Fire types are out-of balance, calm, happiness, joy and open-heartedness can be elusive.

The archetypes of Fire are the Lover and the Protector of the Heart. If you are a Fire type you probably can identify with these archetypes. You probably find them alive and well within yourself.

These archetypes embody the immense capacity of the Fire type to develop profoundly deep and intimate connections with others. These archetypes are also the root of erotic love.

Balanced Fire types can be very open-hearted and are willing to take risks with love without fear of being hurt or betrayed by the other. It is this very willingness to dive into love that creates very deep and long lasting relationships for the Fire type whether it’s with friends or lovers. But when Fire is out-of-balance, emotional vulnerability can be a major issue.

Enjoying calling attention to themselves, Fire types can be flamboyant in their appearance or behavior. They are generally excited, flirtatious and enthusiastic people. They can either be the life of the party when feeling their power or terribly shy when feeling emotionally vulnerable.

Out-of-balance (maladapted) Fire types can exhibit manic expressions of over-the-top joy which sometimes swing wildly to its exact opposite—no joy at all and sullenness.

Maladapted Fire types must learn to balance excitement and enthusiasm and their need for intimacy and love by connecting with the spirit energy of Fire in the heart which traditional Chinese medicine calls the shen. Shen is the higher consciousness that descends from ‘heaven’ and dwells within us. The shen, or spirit, it is believed, will only dwell in a heart that is calm and generously in service to others.

Fire types tend to be emotionally fickle with commitments. They lose interest quickly after having initiated a commitment with great enthusiasm. They also can become confused in love and other aspects of life and may have difficulty processing their emotions. While some Fire types can recoil from emotional vulnerability and social engagement with others, other Fire types can be domineering, overpowering and intimidating. These are all signs of a maladapted Fire type.

Personality patterns can vary greatly with all the five element types, however only a very few core issues underly these fluctuations in behavior patterns.

For Fire, a principal issue is the ability to maintain open-heartedness when another shows a lack of interest. Another of Fire’s potential issues and thus, downfalls, can be the inability to draw from the power of their spiritual shen (spirit) as well as the ability to discipline mind chatter so that he or she may become focused, creative, alluring, and engaging. When Fire types are unable to tap into their shen as well as to focus the mind, they can feel confused and victims of chaos, insomnia and anxiety.

From the balanced shen and Fire element stem expressions of love and affection not just for others but also for the Self. Very well adapted Fire types are able to love themselves—not superficially as in admiring themselves when they look good in the mirror—but profoundly, on levels that are subtly revealed to themselves and to others.

Knowing they are lovable can often be a challenge for the Fire type. Many Fire types are lovingly expressive but are challenged to accept that they themselves are lovable. They are often challenged to feel that love for themselves. This is an important practice for such Fire types to engage in—the most fundamental practice of learning to love and appreciate themselves.

Fire types like getting “fired up.” They like taking control and if they feel restrained they do not do very well. Fire types have a perspective that comes from the grandeur of the heart energy and so they expect the best from their efforts. They are optimistic and natural leaders. People love and want to be around their positive and sunny energy because they exude power and energy.

Integral to action and excitement, for Fire types to be in balance, they must find the calm needed to somewhat contain their enthusiasm. Without this two-sided balance, enthusiasm turns into over-the-top expressions of joy which are not healthy.

Being able to modulate Fire energy within them is key for Fire types in order to prevent potential burnout or consuming themselves by their own passion.

When maladapted, the Fire type experiences physical and emotional conditions such as:

• overheated expressing as anxiety, rapid heart rate and mania, and

• burnout expressing as physical coldness, confusion, flatness, aloofness and indifference.

Madapted Fire types are often challenged to be open-hearted and generous with expressions of love because of fear of vulnerability to others or the possibility of being hurt by others in relationship. Fire types want so much to experience intimacy with others but when out-of-balance Fire holds back with hesitation this results in confusion and limitation in the relationship when it is the very opposite they desire.

Fire types typically are all about action. They like getting fired up. They like taking control and if they feel restrained they do not do very well. Fire types have a perspective that comes from the grandeur of the heart energy and so they expect the best from their efforts. They are optimistic and natural leaders. People love and want to be around their positive and sunny energy because they exude power and energy.

Keys for Returning to Fire Balance

• The Fire line of skin and hair care by PHYTO5 can actually assist you to regain balance. It is It is rich in natural essential oils elevated to the quantum energetic level which means that the line is able to begin to penetrate the deepest core of the mind-body system, therefore it has the capability to help balance your emotional state as well as your skin condition. (Read our blog on the quantum energetic breakthrough by PHYTO5 here.)

The antidote for maladaptive five element behaviors is often found in the virtues for each element and type.

• For Fire types the virtues of surrender and open-heartedness are key to balance. This practice begins with honoring and listening to the higher wisdom received from shen. Also embrace that you are both an emotive and a feeling person. Focus on opening your heart without fear and engage with others. It is the act of open-heartedness and recognizing the other in oneself that actually leads to Fire type balance or adaptation, vitality, happiness and joy-in-balance.

• Remember to laugh and smile for balance in Fire energy. Laughter improves oxygen utilization, circulation and relaxes the facial muscles.

• Know that you are lovable. Your first love is to yourself. This is a process of realization but it is not only possible for you, the Fire type, but probable that you will achieve it.

• Keep your life simple. Many out-of-balance Fire types become confused in many aspects of their lives. Keeping it simple will assist your balance.

• Take care of your physical heart and stay fit. Imbalance is never only caused by only one aspect of ourselves (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual).

• When Fire is out-of-balance with stress, chaos and struggle, they can and must consciously tap into and utilize the connection with shen to rise above, create balance, calm and authority of Self.

• By also engaging with other people in a cipher of generosity, love and selflessness, this, too, can assist maladapted Fire to deal with the stress and imbalance they feel in their element.

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Endnotes:

Photo courtesy of Евгений Горман at pixels.com (pexels-евгений-горман-10040245.jgp)

Hicks, Angela, et al. Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture. United Kingdom, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2010.

Moss, Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. United States, North Atlantic Books, 2011.

The Virtue of the Five Elements With Specific Exploration Into The Virtue of Wood

While the five elements of traditional Chinese medicine—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—exist as a harmonious collection of energies governing the functions of the human body, they are also manifested in action in the human psyche through what are known as the five Virtues of traditional Chinese medicine.

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The physicians of ancient China treated patients with acupuncture but they also very much examined their patients’ lifestyles and psychological states to assist them to determine the various changes the patient would need to make in order to achieve balance.

They saw embracing the Virtues of the five elements as a way for people to fulfill the potential of their five element ‘type’ and ultimately, achieve emotional health leading to holistic balance and well-being of not just emotions, but mind and body as well.*

Not only does each of the five elements in traditional Chinese medicine embody a Virtue, there exists within the element's energy the potential for its negative emotion, also called a poison.

These five element Virtues and their poisons are:

Wood
Virtue: patience, forgiveness, kindness [poison: anger, frustration, anxiety]

Fire
Virtue: politeness [poison: overbearing exuberance]

Earth
Virtue: integrity [poison: blame, overwhelm or over care-taking]

Metal
Virtue: innate ability to know right from wrong while not passing judgment [poison: grief, sadness, agitation]

Water
Virtue: wisdom and inner peace [poison: annoyance, worry]

Traditional Chinese medicine believes it very valuable to contemplate the presence or absence of these Virtues in our lives, but it’s particularly valuable to first examine our relationship with the Virtue of our constitutional element. Traditional Chinese medicine points out that we all tend to be one predominant constitutional ‘type’ from among the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, though no one is one hundred percent one constitutional type alone.

As any given Virtue erodes, an habitually occurring behavior arises depending on the presence of an excessive negatively expressed emotion. Put simply, the Virtues of our constitutional element most exalt us if we cultivate them or they can cause us to be very out of balance and ill if we do not.

According to the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine (the Nei Jing Suwen), if you are ‘sick’ you are not living according to the laws of nature which are the basis of the five elements and types. And if you live with Virtue—correct and authentic conduct—you will be less susceptible, illness will be lessened and you will live a long life of quality.

Virtue and knowing how to live according to your well adapted element type definition include the Virtues of compassion, responsibility, honesty and integrity, among others. The five Virtues can be avenues for personal growth and the unfolding of one’s unique path in life. A Virtue for your type is usually one which seems most difficult to accomplish yet what is very much needed in order to move beyond certain key limitations in your behavior, personality and character. In fact, when persons are maladapted or out-of-balance with their dominant element, the antidote for their maladaptive behavior can often be found in the Virtue for their element and type.

Virtues for Wood

Patience and forgiveness are virtues for the Wood type. These come from the innate and natural vision and insight of the Wood energy. These virtues of patience and forgiveness can neutralize the toxic emotions of the out-of-balance Wood type: frustration, anger, impatience and hostility.

The Wood Virtues can help create a path back to balance so the Wood type may more clearly see how to make necessary life and character changes and adjustments and how to create new plans and more realistic goals.

The practice of forgiveness, especially for the Wood type, can help resolve feelings of anger, resentment, frustration, and hostility. It allows a more positive experience of life by accepting responsibility for one’s perceptions and actions. By doing so, Wood becomes less of a victim of circumstances and the actions of others, because he takes responsibility for the manner in which he has responded to those events. The Virtue of forgiveness can ultimately lead to Wood’s feeling like she has a greater sense of control—the very thing Wood strives for most in life.

The Virtue of patience may actually assist the Wood type to prevent cortisol dysregulation when Woods allow patience to bring balance to their sense of time pressure and competitiveness that is common with this type.

Wood types should practice having patience with themselves first, breathing deeply when feeling any tension of time contraints, stress and resulting impatience. They should adopt an attitude of non-attachment to outcomes and they will tend to find that patience comes more easily. Wood types should be wary of projecting their own needs for things to change or to materialize quickly onto others, always aiming to simply give others a break in the spirit of non-judgment.

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Endnotes:

*We have published an article on the following five element types:
Wood Type Personality
Earth Type Personality
Metal Type Personality
Water Type Personality

Kirkwood, John. The Way of the Five Seasons: Living with the Five Elements for Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Harmony. United Kingdom, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2016.

Po-tuan, Chang. The Inner Teachings of Taoism. United Kingdom, Shambhala, 2001.

Image courtesy of Thirdman at Pexels (pexels-thirdman-6599730.jpg)

Scent, Flavor and Healing Are Found In All Plants Because of Terpenes

If you’ve ever cleaned paint brushes from oil-based paints using turpentine, the strong fragrance of the solvent is because of turpentine’s terpene content derived from the sap of pine trees. Terpenes are aromatic metabolites found in the oils of all plants. In fact, scientists originally developed the name terpene from turpentine.

Almost without exception, when a plant produces a scent, that odor comes from the terpenes present in the plant. And terpenes can exist anywhere in the plant: leaves, stems, bark, roots, and flowers, most especially.

Similar to fauna, flora utilizes scent to attract mates or ward off predators which is why some terpenes can sometimes be so potently or almost aggressively pungent.

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Terpenes aren’t only responsible for scent. They create flavor, too. The fragrance and flavor carrying terpene is carried in plant structures called trichomes—tiny scent=bearing hairs, outgrowths or appendages on aromatic plants. Glandular trichomes store and secrete terpenes on the plant’s surface as a first line of defense agains insects, pathogens and herbivores.

Any substance containing plants in any form will contain terpenes. In our previous blog, The Terpene: Most Fundamental Fragrance, Flavor and Healing Component of Essential Oils, we discussed how terpenes abound in essential oils. And by virtue of that fact, terpenes are plentiful in all PHYTO5 skin and hair care.

Our seven chakra oil blends are also rich in terpenes. Each one of these blends are composed of several essential oils which lend qualities and actions specific to the chakra for which it is formulated. (Read more about chakras in our article, 13 Tips for Balancing Your Chakras.)

Since March is the month of Spring and all things green and because the heart chakra (energy center/vortex) emits green light, let’s look at the terpenes found in our Heart Chakra Balancing Essential Oil Blend. Each terpene noted below is responsible for many health benefits however since the chakra oils are synergistically formulated more for etheric/spiritual upliftment, there is no point in listing the physical health benefits in this article. Nevertheless, we have indicated some very interesting facts about many of the oils’ terpenes in the paragraphs below. (Health benefits can be easily found online.)

Heart Chakra Oil

• Rose essential oil: citronellal, geraniol, and nerol. (Geraniol lends a fresh, natural scent.)

• Neroli essential oil: linalool, limonene, farnesol, geraniol and citral. (Farnesol is believed to provide an anti-aging effect. Read about the related topic of Nutrigenomics and Xenohormesis here to understand how this might be possible.)

• Melissa essential oil: citronellal, citral, and geraniol. (Citral is a main component of citrus fruit's peel oil. It is especially found in orange peel and is actually a mixture of neral and geranial.)

• Lavender essential oil: linalool, also found in birch and jasmine, linalool is responsible for lavender’s sedative effect.

• Blue Tansy essential oil (aka Moroccan blue chamomile): pinene, chamzulene (responsible for dark blue pigment)

Terpene Tips

• You can mentally escape to the woods with a whiff of borneol. Borneol has a pine woody camphor balsamic fragrance with a slightly sharp, earthy-peppery note. It is often used in perfumery.

• If you have a citrus craving, you might satisfy it with a whiff of linalool. Linalool has complex odor and flavor properties. Its odor is similar to floral, spicy wood and somewhat resembles French lavender plants, bergamot oil or lily of the valley. It has a light, citrus-like flavor, sweet with a spicy tropical accent.

• You can refresh your tastebuds with a tiny hit of pulegone. Pulegone is a clear colorless oily liquid with a pleasant odor similar to pennyroyal, peppermint and camphor. It’s used in flavoring agents, in perfumery, and in aromatherapy.

• Terpenes and THC* (tetrahydrocannabinol) are complements to each other. Terpenes affect our endocannabinoid system just as much as THC and CBD (cannabidiol). In fact, terpenes interact synergistically with THC to affect the psychoactive area of the brain as well as the blood-brain barrier that moderates chemical outputs.

• Find a plant strain with high levels of caryophyllene for anti-inflammatory and arthritis relief.

• Consider taking in the fragrance of linalool if your skin is breaking out.

• Reach for limonene if you're feeling blue.

• More than 30,000 terpenes are believed to exist on this planet.

• The Terpene Wheel—a multi-colored infographic—allows us to reference which terpenes are contributing to the unique aroma and/or flavor of our edibles or essential oil. The graphic wheel lists:

  • every common terpene;

  • in what plants each terpene can be found;

  • whether the terpene is herbal, flowery or fruity; and

  • whether the terpene is spicy, sweet, earthy or sour.

• Pinene is probably the most utilized terpene in traditional Chinese medicine because of its anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anticancer and “antibiotic” abilities.

• Alpha-pinene, abundant in pine needles, is alerting.

• Limonene found in lemons is, of course, sunshiney.

• Beta-myrcene, found in hops (cumulus) is sedating.

…

Endnotes:

* THC (tetrahydrocannabinol): a crystalline compound that is the main active ingredient of cannabis

Sources:

Wilson, Cathy. Terpenes, The Healing Connection Between Essential Oils and Cannabis. N.p., CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.

Image courtesy of Maksym Golovinov from Getty Images via Canva

How the Liver is Directly Involved in Energy Flow, Emotional Balance and Life Planning According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

In traditional Chinese medicine one of the principal roles of the liver, the organ associated with the Wood element and energetic Spring, is to help chi (vital energy) and emotions flow smoothly throughout body and mind. Its physiological function is to dynamically bring smoothness to the flow of chi. If it doesn’t, liver stagnates causing mental, emotional and physical problems.

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In additional to controlling free flow of vital energy, its functions include storing nutrients, governing detoxification and regulating the blood. It is related to vision (both literally and figuratively), the eyes, tendons, energetic and emotional ups and downs as well as the ability to make major decisions.

The liver is our body’s unsung hero. It works very hard to keep us healthy by getting rid of what we don’t need. It’s tasked with filtering everything we eat and drink including any pharmaceuticals we take.

“Liver symbolically represents choice and the execution of one’s life plan, vision, planning and action. In traditional Chinese medicine it gives the capacity for being goal oriented and resolute…” —Sandra K. Anderson in The Practice of Shiatsu

“Because the Wood element is associated with self-expression, assertiveness is a key aspect of healthy Wood. A person who is timid and shy is not able to engage in self-expression. Someone who is overly assertive, to the point of being aggressive, is out of balance to the other extreme.” —Sandra K. Anderson in The Practice of Shiatsu

Liver stores the blood giving us the fortitude to make decisions and feel supported. Liver blood deficiency will often show up as stagnancy in the form of eye problems, fatigue and lack of luster and color in the hair and nails.

Liver’s mission to elegantly flow chi energy throughout the body is actually characteristic of Wood’s tendency to grow and flourish. Wood represents new life and in the body the Wood element is responsible for action and expression of self as well as the smooth flow of chi.

Anger, frustration, anxiety and restlessness are the emotions associated with Wood and an out-of-balance Wood type.

“The color green correlates significantly to the Wood element’s emotional relationship with its main organs, the liver and gallbladder. You may have heard people say, ‘He’s “green with envy,” or ‘She’s “green” with anger!’” —Susan Levy, D.C. in Your Body Can Talk: How to Use Simple Muscle Testing for Health and Well Being

Traditional Chinese Medicine tells us when emotions remain unexpressed, repressed, prolonged and not brought to balance this toxicity of emotion has the very real potential to damage our health.

Excessive irritability, restlessness and anger can negatively impact the liver resulting in conditions like menstrual pain, headache, redness of face and eyes, dizziness, and dry mouth. An out-of-balance liver may also result in stormy moods.

Liver chi stagnation may also lead to overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, elevated cortisol levels and higher stress levels, and these, in turn, compromise the immune system.

Learn how to keep your vital energy balanced. Your vital energy always come first. It’s the fundamental generator of the body and of all your body’s other functions. Read how Wood is the energy of the energy in our blog, “Describing the Wood Type Personality…” here.

Ways to help keep Wood energy, emotions and liver balanced:

• Use the Wood line of skin and hair care by PHYTO5; it’s quantum energetic and works on the level of not just skin, but vital energy and emotions. If you can choose only one product of the line, begin with Wood Phyt’Ether serum which is the most potent in the line. Learn more about Wood Phyt’Ether here.

• Understand traditional Chinese medicine’s Wood element and its characteristics. It can help you to make balanced choices in your life and to live in harmony with Wood.

• Work to keep your chakras balanced. They are powerhouses of vital energy. Balancing the seven chakras is essential to beautiful wellness and vitality.

• Stay active through exercise. Balanced Wood enjoys being physically active.

• To support and respect the liver, refrain from eating two to three hours before sleep. Late night eating causes the liver to stagnate preventing it from doing its detoxifying work and preventing our bodies from repairing themselves at night. 

• Keep in mind that overeating puts undue pressure on both liver and gallbladder. Do your best to stop eating when you feel 80% full.

• You can support the liver by consuming whole grains like brown rice, barley, millet, quinoa, spelt, kamut, oats and wheat berries. Since crackers, bread, bagels, and cereals are baked and dry, they are not conducive to optimum liver function.

• Eat leafy greens,* fresh herbs and berries which help to build liver blood.

• Journal to get your angry emotions out.

• Practice meditation which helps to keep emotions balanced, especially emotions of anger and restlessness.

• Learn to let go, forgive and accept what is. Practice appreciation.

• Learn to be assertive, not angry. Learn to be flexible, not rigid.

“The liver function is considered to be the grand architect for our vision of the future. The liver is the center of strategic planning. The gallbladder is thought to be the center of our ability to make decisions and judge wisely. From the functions of the liver and the gallbladder, we can plan and choose–we combine new future possibilities with the wisdom of the past and, as a result, are able to see the clear and appropriate course to take.” —Jennifer Dubowsky, LAc.

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Endnotes:

* bok choy, carrot tops, collards, daikon tops, dandelion greens, kale, leek, lettuces, mustard greens, nappa cabbage, radish greens, turnip tops, watercress

Press, Tsinghua University. Traditional Chinese Medicine: Theory and Principles. Germany, De Gruyter, 2015.Levy, Susan, and Lehr, Carol.

Levy, D.C. Susan. Your Body Can Talk: How to Use Simple Muscle Testing for Health and Well Being. United States, Kalindi Press, 2013.

Anderson, Sandra K. The Practice of Shiatsu. Malawi, Mosby Elsevier, 2007.

Stiles, Kg. Chinese Medicine Guidebook Essential Oils to Balance the Wood Element and Organ Meridians. N.p., Draft2Digital, 2020.

Image courtesy of Dziana Hazanbekeva at Pexels

Why You Should Use the Wood Line of Skincare During Energetic Spring Even If You Don’t Have the Wood Skin Conditi

All five energies according to traditional Chinese medicine—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water—are synergistically at work in the proper function of cells and healthy tissues. In traditional Chinese medicine, Wood is one of the five aspects of vital energy and is fundamental to the optimal function of the other four.

The body is not just matter made up of solids and fluids but unseen energy known as vital energy also courses through it. This vital energy is called prana in yoga and Ayurvedic medicine and chi in traditional Chinese medicine and by practitioners of Asian martial arts. This ancient concept is also a modern one as it is now demonstrated by quantum physics.

The skin is actually a vital organ possessing reflexive properties which correlate to the body’s organs. This is because vital energy connects all parts of the body to each other. PHYTO5 utilizes the reflexiveness of skin to practice facial reflexology demonstrated by the Five Clay Mask quantum energetic facial. 

A Wood imbalance usually manifests as:

• oily skin, blackheads, and hyperpigmentation

• oily scalp and hair

• issues of vital energy circulation meaning the flow of vital energy is either impeded or overactive

• emotions of anger and/or anxiety.*

If you have any of these Wood imbalances, this means your body might be out of balance with its vital energy flow.

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Any skin condition, for that matter, likely has a root cause in vital energy imbalance or blockage of vital energy flow. And your skin condition can actually help to pinpoint where you have that imbalance or blockage.

Traditional Chinese medicine tells us that in addition to five seasons, five elements, five basic emotions and five sets of skin conditions, the body is host to five major fluids, four of which are clearly matter:

• the Fire element’s red blood

• the Metal element’s blue blood

• the Earth element’s lymph, and

• the Water element’s water.

The other fluid of the Wood element is simply energy—vital energy.

You could say it is the energy of the energy because without Wood energy nothing else happens. This is why, in any series of esthetic treatments which follow the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, the Wood treatment is always the first one we do. It ensures that the initiating energy is balanced because it must be before we go on to balancing the other four fluids.

By stimulating vital energy flow we give energy to the cells. If cells aren’t properly nourished, including being nourished with vital energy, the body begins breaking down.

A burst of yang energy occurs during energetic Spring, the season of the Wood element, and it’s important to encourage this expanding and rising of yang whatever element ‘type’** we may be. During energetic Spring the burst of yang energy drives the growth and vitality of the body.

For these reasons, youth is associated with the vital energy of Wood.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the Wood element’s color is green—the color associated with Spring, new life, vitality and growth. PHYTO5’s Wood line labeling features this color. And green is prominent in our naturally colored quantum energetic Wood element green Clay Mask itself.

We want to make sure our vital energy is stimulated when it needs to be and kept in balance since it fundamentally supports the other four vital energies. An energetic deficiency left untreated for any length of time invites others, and problems will then accumulate exponentially.

For example, an imbalance of Wood vital energy causes sluggish Fire (both are part of strong yang with limited yin energies). Insufficient Wood and Fire allows Metal (growing yin energy) to be too strong, keeping Wood weak (since Metal is the break of Wood) while it augments Water which also maintains Fire weakness. But Water, being the peak yin energy, is not likely to strengthen the rising yang energy of Wood and so the original condition is maintained or even worsened.

The cure is a stimulation of yang vital energy and a diffusion of overbearing yin vital energy. And this is the reason why all esthetic treatments addressing a difficult situation should always start with a Wood treatment followed by a Fire treatment, then Earth, Metal and finally by a Water treatment, each treatment taking place two to three days after the previous one.

To support your balance at home of skin, vital energy and emotions, be sure to use the Wood line periodically and especially during the Spring energetic season which runs from February 5 to April 17 every year.

The entire Wood line is quantum energetic*** and will work to support your vital energy balanced flow, but if you have to choose only one product, choose Wood element Phyt’Ether serum, the most potent in the line.

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Endnotes:

* In traditional Chinese medicine, there is an ancestral knowledge that each major emotion has a seat within an organ. For example, anger is an emotion linked to liver. Chronically angry people will not, as a result, have healthy livers even if their diet is otherwise perfect. Consequently, they may display the physical symptoms of a Wood energetic imbalance as well as emotions of anger and/or anxiety.

**The five element ‘types’ are well described in a number of our blogs:

• Describing the Wood Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

• The Earth Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine: Understanding Your Archetype for Harmony and Balance

• The Metal Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

• The Water Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine: Understanding Your Archetype for Harmony and Balance

***In fact, all five element lines are quantum energetic.

How Plants Unlock Longevity: The Science Behind Plant-Based Skincare

What if the secret to a longer, healthier life and radiant skin lies in the plants we eat and apply to skin? Two cutting-edge concepts, nutrigenomics and xenohormesis, reveal how plant-based solutions can transform our bodies inside and out. At PHYTO5, we’ve woven this science into our Swiss-made skincare, proving that anti-aging skincare isn’t just about looking good — it’s about living better.

Nutrigenomics: Food as Medicine for Longevity

Nutrigenomics explores how nutrition interacts with our genes to prevent or treat disease.

It’s a game-changer for aging.

In the U.S., life expectancy hovers around 77 years — 73.6 for men, 79.4 for women — but scientists now say we can push past that. Discoveries in molecular biology show that longevity genes exist, and certain nutrients can switch them on, enhancing health and extending life.

Ronald Klatz, M.D., who coined anti-aging medicine, predicts baby boomers and beyond could reach 120–150 years.

How? By fortifying our diets with plants rich in bioactive molecules — compounds that go beyond fuel to tweak hormones, metabolism, and even cellular repair.

Hippocrates nailed it centuries ago:

Let food be your medicine.

Nutrigenomics just gives us the why and how.

Xenohormesis: Plants Pass On Their Survival Secrets

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Xenohormesis (from the Greek xenos for stranger and hormesis meaning mild stress benefits) explains how stressed plants — like those battered by drought or frost — produce compounds that boost our resilience when we consume them.

Think of it as plants sharing their evolutionary grit.

For eons, plants have adapted to harsh conditions, creating molecules that humans and animals can borrow for survival. These xenohormetic compounds don’t just nourish, they activate our cellular stress responses, potentially outdoing modern drugs for longevity.

And it’s not just about eating them. The skin, the body’s largest organ, absorbs over 60% of what you put on it. This makes plant-based skincare a direct line to these benefits.

PHYTO5: Plant-Based Skincare Meets Science

At PHYTO5, we’ve harnessed nutrigenomics and xenohormesis to craft anti-aging skincare that feeds your skin — and vitality. Our Swiss-made products use high-grade essential oils from plants that have thrived against the odds, passing their resilience to you:

• Lingonberry Seed Oil in Extreme Hydrating Cream: Sourced from Arctic berries surviving -50°C, it super-hydrates and protects skin in harsh winters.

• Edelweiss in Face Gel Mask and Perfection Cream: Grown on treacherous Alpine cliffs, it regenerates and fights hyperpigmentation with centuries of stress-hardened power.

• Ginkgo in Water Element Day and Night Creams: An ancient tree’s longevity secrets plump and firm mature skin.

These aren’t just ingredients — they’re living allies.

Like the “face” of a flower nourishing your own, as aromatherapy expert Erich Keller might say,¹ they deliver vital energy straight to your skin and bloodstream.

It’s plant-based skincare with a purpose:

longevity you can see and feel.

From Diet to Dermatology: A Growing Trend

Plants already shape medicine — 40% of Western drugs, including the top 20 U.S. prescriptions, come from them (USDA–Forest Service).

Meanwhile, over 9.7 million Americans now follow plant-based diets, up 9.4 million in 15 years (thebeet.com). Most don’t know xenohormesis, but they feel the health perks.

Why stop at food? Topical application amplifies the effect.

PHYTO5’s quantum-energy approach ensures every drop of our skincare communicates resilience to your cells, proving nutrigenomics isn’t just for your plate — it’s for your face too.

Rewrite Aging with Plants

Nutrigenomics and xenohormesis aren’t buzzwords. They’re blueprints for a longer, vibrant life.

Plants don’t just survive. They thrive under stress, and through PHYTO5’s plant-based skincare, they share that power with you.

From Lingonberry’s icy endurance to Edelweiss’s cliffside tenacity, our anti-aging skincare turns nature’s lessons into your glow.

Ready to let plants rewrite your aging story? With PHYTO5, quality longevity starts now.

…

Endnotes and Sources.

¹ Erich Keller reference here and link to other article

Hooper, Philip L et al. “Xenohormesis: health benefits from an eon of plant stress response evolution.” Cell stress & chaperones vol. 15,6 (2010): 761–70. doi:10.1007/s12192–010–0206-x

Konrad T. Howitz, David A. Sinclair, Xenohormesis: Sensing the Chemical Cues of Other Species, Cell, Volume 133, Issue 3, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2008.04.019.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867408005114)

Cayuela Sánchez JA, Elamrani A. Nutrigenomics of essential oils and their potential domestic use for improving health. Nat Prod Commun. 2014 Nov;9(11):1641–8. PMID: 25532301.

Dhanjal, Daljeet Singh et al. “Plant Fortification of the Diet for Anti-Ageing Effects: A Review.” Nutrients vol. 12,10 3008. 30 Sep. 2020, doi:10.3390/nu12103008

Phytochemicals of Nutraceutical Importance. United Kingdom, CABI, 2014.

Swann G. The skin is the body’s largest organ. J Vis Commun Med. 2010 Dec;33(4):148–9. doi: 10.3109/17453054.2010.525439. PMID: 21087182.

Describing the Wood Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medici

At the time of our birth, the prevailing cosmic and telluric energies have an important effect on our personality. It can be said that at the time of birth these energies give us our own individual rhythms that seem to transcend our genetic makeup and upbringing. Traditional Chinese medicine embraces a fivefold concept known as the Five Element or Five Phase Theory that help explain these rhythms. Traditional Chinese medicine points out that we all tend to be one predominant ‘type’ from among the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, though no one is one hundred percent one type alone. In this article we discuss both the in-balance and out-of-balance (maladapted) Wood type personality.

Wood-in-balance types derive an enormous amount of energy and vitality through maintaining a vision of their ideal future and what they can do to make that happen. They have a tendency to create independent lifestyles and to control their own futures.

They are pioneers and visionaries. These are their archetypes.

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Adapted or in-balance Wood type personalities are open to new ideas and trends and they recognize possibilities that others might never see. They make sure they are surrounded by a free environment that will foster their vision and creativity and support their breaking through to do things in their own way.

Balanced Wood type personalities know how to get around obstacles and part of their deft maneuvering includes establishing alternate plans and contingencies. Even when failures occur they usually and flexibly simply take another route or look for another direction—a tactic so supportive of change and transformation.

Balanced Woods know what works for them. They tend to be optimistic as they hold the vision of and hope for a future they’ve already seen.

Wood type personalities are self-directed and structured, organized and deliberate—qualities they find necessary to achieve their lofty goals. List and spreadsheet making are very often integral to their organization and planning although these can sometimes go too far with Wood where the need to plan and organize becomes excessive and annoying.

Seeing life as something to be conquered, instead of cooperating, Wood competes. But what Wood is really trying to do by competing is create a sense of control. Wood’s single most important ambition is to maintain a sense of control over life.

Out-of-balance Wood type personalities need direction and accountability to an authority figure. A mentor, teacher or leader who can provide maladapted Wood with a plan is often more than helpful as it provides this Wood type with much needed structure.

Frustration, anger, impatience, controlling behavior and combative conflicts are the toxic expressed emotions of the maladapted Wood type. Because Wood types are so hooked into their goals, they often abrasively confront or argue with anyone who they perceive is an obstacle on their path.

This personality aspect translates into Wood’s physical makeup which is often well muscled, strong and coordinated since Wood types cannot be swayed as they stand for what is right and just. Taken too far, Wood can be inflexible, sticking to a plan or belief no matter the cost. Trees may appear stiff and unbendable but they’re really quite flexible when they need to be and this is Wood’s challenge.

The Wood personality type is very often critical of everything but themselves. When Wood lacks this self-awareness, they cannot be honest with themselves. Should they feel they’ve been treated unfairly, they will neither forgive nor forget. They tend to hold grudges indefinitely. On the extreme end, this behavior describes a maladapted Wood type.

Wood types are often unable to tolerate injustice whether it is done to them or done to society as a whole. The Wood archetype is the Warrior which leads out-of-balance Wood away from angry outbursts and hostility into championing just causes. This helps Wood regain a sense of control in a world he views as uncertain and hostile. Warrior Wood works to right what is wrong and to forge changes that create hope for the future.

Wood’s virtues are forgiveness and patience. They stem from the innate vision and insight of the Wood type and they neutralize the negative angry emotions Wood can so easily feel.

The Warrior/Pioneer archetype is founded on the flourishing energy of the Wood element and the birth of yang energy in energetic Spring. Like well adapted Wood, yang energy is forceful and vigorous, warming and expansive.

From the new yang energy of Spring comes balanced Wood’s ability to initiate action, take decisive steps, express balanced emotion and to allow creativity to flow with new ideas, change, hope, vitality and optimism.

The Wood type personality is challenged to move from anger to insight and from frustration to patience. In order to do so, Wood must be flexible and honest with himself or herself.

Connect to the power of the Wood element this season of energetic Spring (February 5 to April 17) to rise above the chaos, reclaim your visionary self, see solutions where problems used to be and allow transformation to improve your life.

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Endnotes:

Moss, Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. United States, North Atlantic Books, 2011.

Image credit: pexels-ketut-subiyanto-4429136-2.jpg

The Ancient Ginkgo Tree Passes On Its Knowledge of Survival and Longevity To You: Ginkgo Biloba Extract for Skin and Bo

Native to China, Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species on earth. Since antiquity, the extract of its leaves has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of conditions. Ginkgo biloba extract is extremely beneficial for skin, especially skin in need of strengthening and moisturizing, and is therefore formulated in PHYTO5’s Water element Day Cream and Night Cream.

Ginkgo has a resilient ability to reduce inflammation, skin roughness and lines while increasing moisturization and smoothness of the skin.

Ginkgo biloba is very strengthening to skin because it stimulates collagen and elastin production in the skin by stimulating fibroblast cells(1).

Ginkgo biloba extract synthesizes the neurotransmitter dopamine in the skin.

“Dopamine is also involved in proper skin functioning and a healthy appearance as it supports an appropriate supply to the cells by increasing microcirculation through a noninflammatory mechanism(2) and improves recovery of the skin barrier.(3)” —Creating skin wellbeing by dopamine stimulation, Personal Care Magazine, September 2009

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As an anti-inflammatory, Gingko biloba is known to mitigate a couperose condition of the skin by exerting a protective effect on blood vessel walls.

Ginkgo is well known for its antioxidant properties as a free radical scavenger and is therefore a highly beneficial anti-aging ingredient in skincare.

As an effective blood vessel dilator, ginkgo acts as a tonic, supports overall body blood circulation, and stimulates oxygen consumption by the tissues.

Gingko’s neuroprotective properties leads to better memory and concentration, even reduced ringing in the ears of the elderly.

Though the gingko tree has existed for approximately three hundred million years, their fossils having been found all over the world, it is one species of the tree—Ginkgo biloba—that has survived the violent climate shifts on the planet at the end of the Paleozoic era.

This long living tree has no known parasites or diseases and it lives a thousand years or more even in polluted areas. It survived the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. It was the first tree to resurface on the barren inhospitable site less than a kilometer from ground zero.

Ginkgo is somewhat of a sexual curiosity.

“While some plants possess both male and female reproductive parts simultaneously, ginkgo do not – individuals are either male or female. The stinky seeds for which the tree is famous develop only on females, appearing in the fall and dousing the ground with offspring.” —Oak Spring Garden Foundation, November 7, 2017

Traditional Chinese medicine makes use of the female tree’s seeds to fight asthma and other respiratory conditions.

Compiled about 206 B.C. to 220 A.D., the Chinese book on agriculture and medicine plants, the Shen Nung Pen T’sao Ching was first to recognize Ginkgo biloba’s positive effect on blood flow.

And the Dian Nan Ben Cao, the Materia Medica of Southern Yunnan, A. D. 1370, compiled by Lan Mao, seems to be the first to discuss the beneficial use of gingko leaves in skincare.

Since the discovery in 1932 of gingkolides, the biologically active terpenic lactones(4) present in Ginkgo biloba, gingko has been utilized in Western medicine—mainly for blood circulation support and memory stimulation—and the trees’ growth proliferated.

It’s no wonder that ginkgo is such a versatile and stalwart holistic ingredient in anti-aging skincare and remedies when you better understand the history and function of the tree. Gingko biloba passes on its eons-long records of survival and longevity information to your body and skin through its extract.

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(1) A fibroblast is a type of biological cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, produces the structural framework (stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing.[ Fibroblasts are the most common cells of connective tissue in animals.

(2) Shigetomi S., Fukuchi S. Recent aspect of the role of peripheral dopamine and its receptors in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Fukushima J Med Sci n° 40. 69-83, 1994.

(3) Fuziwara S., Suzuki A., Inoue K., Denda M. Dopamine D2-Like Receptor Agonists Accelerate Barrier Repair and Inhibit the Epidermal Hyperplasia Induced by Barrier Disruption. J Invest Dermatol n° 125. 783-789, 2005.

(4) Lactone: an organic compound containing an ester group —OCO— as part of a ring

T. K., Lim. Edible Medicinal And Non Medicinal Plants: Volume 3, Fruits. Netherlands, Springer Netherlands, 2012.

Tammaro A, Cavallotti C, Gaspari AA, Narcisi A, Parisella FR, Cavallotti C. Dopaminergic receptors in the human skin. J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2012 Oct-Dec;26(4):789-95. PMID: 23241131

DiNardo, Joseph C., and Michalun, M. Varinia. Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary. United States, Cengage Learning, 2014.

de Taillac, Victoire, and Touhami, Ramdane. An Atlas of Natural Beauty: Botanical Ingredients for Retaining and Enhancing Beauty. United States, Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Photo by Mieke Campbell at Unsplash

Natural High Tech Compound Easyliance: On Contact Skin Tightener and Smoothe

Easyliance is a smoothing, firming and tightening agent derived from acacia senegal gum(1) and hydrolyzed rhizobian gum. The two ingredients together create a synergistic skin firming action. It offers a smoothing and visible lifting effect within five minutes. For this reason, Easyliance is often used in products dedicated to skin tightening and smoothing like the Five Secrets Cream in PHYTO5’s serum and cream kit duo for a 3-week cure .

The Ageless line of skincare by PHYTO5 reveals the five secrets to Ageless beauty and younger looking skin, one of which is the action of filling lines from within. Easyliance in Ageless Eye Serum not only works to help boost skin’s elasticity, resulting in firmer, younger looking skin, it just as importantly helps tighten skin so that fine lines and wrinkles begin to fade within minutes.(2)

Easyliance is particularly effective around the eyes and mouth since the skin in these regions is thinner, more delicate and more sensitive and therefore tends to be prone to developing crow’s feet, wrinkles and marionette lines around the mouth.

Once the Easyliance powder product is formulated into the Serum, it works by creating an elastic film that covers the surface of the skin. As the product dries, it retracts and tightens the skin so that fine lines and wrinkles seem less noticeable after several minutes, in most cases, five. Its effect leads to a visible and immediate decrease of wrinkle depth, thus causing skin to appear smoother with a fading of fine lines.

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In clinical trials composed of a panel of twelve volunteers, Easyliance was proven to significantly decrease lines around the eyes for 96% of those who participated.(4) Their skin appeared firmer and younger with a noticeable and significant smoothing of the skin after one hour.

Located in Vernier, canton of Geneva, Switzerland, Easyliance’s manfacturer is Givaudan Active Beauty, a company dedicated to innovating sustainable solutions while showing its love for nature. The Easyliance product is created by means of a nature-respecting, innovative, proprietary and patented process.

Rhizobian gum
Rhizobian gum has elastic properties which produce a quickly perceivable lifting effect when applied in the eye contour area. It also improves the smoothness of skin. This hydrolyzed biopolymer is naturally produced by a microorganism living symbiotically in sunflower roots.

Acacia senegal gum
Acacia gum is a dried exudate(3) obtained from the stems and branches of the sub-Saharan African Acacia tree. It has always been sustainably utilized by the local population in a wide range of applications and is vital to the region’s economy. Acacia gum is harvested using good practices for sustainable production alongside educational programs reinforcing respect of the environment while harvesting.

Acacia gum used in Easyliance is naturally purified, preservative-free and is the same gum sustainably harvested from the region mentioned.

Acacia gum is also known as gum arabic, a gum exuded by some kinds of acacia, used in the food industry to thicken soft drinks, frozen desserts and candies. It is also a component in glue, watercolor paints and incense.

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Endnotes:

1. Genus Acacia, family Leguminosae: numerous species, including A. senegal, which yields gum arabic

2. Among other unique ingredients, beech tree bud extract is formulated in Ageless Eye Serum—a powerful extract formulated from naturally fallen beech tree buds which occur at a precise point in the more than 200 year old life of the tree; it's anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, moisturizing, revitalizing, firming, and protecting

3. A substance secreted by a plant

4. Clinical trial information detailed above is obtained by a .pdf fact sheet provided by the manufacturer.

Tormentil Extract for Skin and Body: Astringent, Antioxidant, Antibacteri

Tormentil extract, obtained from the root of the tormentil plant (Potentilla tormentilla), is a potent procyanidin considered to be an excellent herbal astringent and for this and other reasons is often used in cosmetic creams, lotions, hair tonics and facial clays. Tormentil extract is formulated in PHYTO5’s Eye Cream.

Procyanidins are polyphenols (plant compounds) and natural antioxidants abundant in fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and grains with a variety of chemopreventive biological effects in treating a variety of degenerative diseases. Within polyphenols, procyanidins are derived from proanthocyanidins, also known as condensed tannins. Procyanidins from tormentil possess potent antioxidant properties towards lipoperoxidation(2) and anti-elastase activity(3).

In other words, 1) tormentil’s procyanidins help prevent the process in which free radicals "steal" electrons from cell membrane lipids resulting in cell damage, and 2) they inhibit elastase activity in the dermis layer to maintain skin elasticity.

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The name tormentil is derived from the Latin tormentum meaning pain because it symbolized the plant’s potential for relieving stomach aches very long ago. But the plant is also known simply as potentilla, the four- and five-petaled golden yellow flowering plant that belongs to the rose family. (The first time it blooms each year have five petals and then four petals bloom thereafter.)

The yellowish-white rootstock of the plant, the rhizome, grows powerfully (the name Potentilla itself means ‘powerful’), irregularly and horizontally with long branching stems underground and the plant sprouts stems above ground in the Spring sunshine. When the rhizome is cut, its yellowish-white color turns to intense red and the fragrance released resembles that of the rose.

In tormentil’s rhizome are more tannins than can be found in almost any other plant and these tannins are very astringent (skin tightening). For this reason, tormentil is a potent anti-hemorrhagic (stops minor bleeding) and is also very smoothing to skin. Tannin rich tormentil also helps reduce enlarged pores. It can also help speed healing of wounds, burns and frostbite.

Because of tormentil’s mild antibacterial properties, its extract is used for dental or oral care.

Tormentil extract is also widely known for its ability to treat hemorrhoids and acute and chronic-inflammatory types of diarrhea like Colitis ulcerosa.

Tormentil was used as a cholera and plague remedy in the Middle Ages and later was very well regarded by the Elizabethans. But tormentil was known even before those times for its healing abilities. Polymath Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) prescribed tormentil quite frequently for healing purposes, writing the following in her renowned tome, Physica:

“Tormentil is cold. Its coldness is good and healthy and prevails against fevers which arise from noxious food. Take tormentil and cook it in wine, with a little honey added. Strain it through a cloth, and drink it frequently at night, on an empty stomach, and you will become well.”

Modern day polymath Alexander McCowan in “Plant of the Week: Common treatment for cholera and plague used for stomach problems” writes this about tormentil in his October 2020 article published by Cyprus Mail (see citation below):

“The plant forms a protective coating over the mucous membranes and has been used by herbalists for centuries to treat diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, enteric irritations, vaginal infections, piles, laryngitis, pharyngitis, bleeding gums, mouth ulcers, slow healing wounds and scrofula (swollen lymphatic gland of the neck).”

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Endnotes:

(1)Tannins (commonly referred to as tannic acid) are water-soluble polyphenols that are present in many plant foods. Tannins possess an anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic potentials of that may be related to their antioxidative property, which is important in protecting cellular oxidative damage, including lipid peroxidation(2).

(2) Lipid peroxidaton: the process in which free radicals "steal" electrons from the lipids in cell membranes, resulting in cell damage

(3) Elastase is a proteinase enzyme that can reduce elastin by dividing specific peptide bonds. Therefore, the inhibition of elastase activity in the dermis layer can be used to maintain skin elasticity. Materials that can inhibit elastase activity can be a cosmetic ingredient in dealing with skin aging. — N. S. S. Ambarwati et al in “Anti-elastase activity of methanolic and ethyl acetate extract from Garcinia latissima Miq.” (full citation below)

Bos, M A et al. “Procyanidins from tormentil: antioxidant properties towards lipoperoxidation and anti-elastase activity.” Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin vol. 19,1 (1996): 146-8. doi:10.1248/bpb.19.146

Ambarwati, N. S. S. et al. “Anti-elastase activity of methanolic and ethyl acetate extract from Garcinia latissima Miq.” Journal of Physics: Conference Series vol. 1402, issue 5, 055079; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1402/5/055079/meta

McCowan, Alexander. “Plant of the Week: Common treatment for cholera and plague used for stomach problems.” Cyprus Mail. October 16, 2020. https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/10/15/plant-of-the-week-common-treatment-for-cholera-and-plague-used-for-stomach-problems/

Michalun, M.Varinia, and DiNardo, Joseph C.. Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary. United States, Cengage Learning, 2014.

D'Amelio, Sr., Frank S.. Botanicals: A Phytocosmetic Desk Reference. United States, CRC Press, 1998.

Rue, Emily A et al. “Procyanidins: a comprehensive review encompassing structure elucidation via mass spectrometry.” Phytochemistry reviews : proceedings of the Phytochemical Society of Europe vol. 17,1 (2018): 1-16. doi:10.1007/s11101-017-9507-3

Chung, K T et al. “Tannins and human health: a review.” Critical reviews in food science and nutrition vol. 38,6 (1998): 421-64. doi:10.1080/10408699891274273

Von Bingen, Hildegard. Hildegard's Healing Plants: From Her Medieval Classic Physica. United States, Beacon Press, 2002.

Hildegard. Hildegard Von Bingen's Physica: The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing. United States, Inner Traditions/Bear, 1998.

Photo of tormentil by Ivonne Wierink through canva.com

Keep Yourself Healthy, Prevent Illness and Age Gracefully: Energetic Winter Is the Perfect Time to Replenish the Function of Your Adrenal Glands–Keys to Preserving Energy Reserves In The Body

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the Water element is associated with the kidneys, bladder and adrenal glands. Considered the source of all energy or qi (chi) found within the body, the kidneys, with the assistance of the adrenal glands, store reserves of qi energy in the body to use later during times of stress and change. It is this balance of chi energy in the body that helps us to heal our bodies, prevent illness and age gracefully.

During the Winter months, we should allow our bodies to follow the cues of nature. These include rest, restoration, storage, conservation, reflection and meditation. One way to support our more mindful restoration practices at this time and to help promote a quantum healing response is to enjoy PHYTO5’s Water element quantum energetic line of skincare. Synergistic formulations comprised of high grade essential oils, plant extracts, minerals and vitamins are all designed to support many aspects of the challenges we face during traditional Chinese medicine’s energetic Winter.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the kidneys serve as the root of health all throughout our lives. They are the foundation of all yin and yang qualities in the body. Each kidney houses millions of tiny filters which diligently work to maintain proper balance of blood, salt and water in the body. The kidneys also produce waste as a by-product of this filtering process which becomes the basis for urine.

The Adrenal Glands

Of utmost importance to the function of the body are the adrenal glands which rest just on top of the kidneys and are only about the size of grapes.When the adrenals are supported, they allow for 1) balanced hormone flow throughout the body, 2) proper utilization of the hormones without over-expenditure, and 3) consequent prevention of depleting the body’s energy reserves.

In response to brain activity, the adrenal glands promote appropriate stress responses when we need them through the hormones cortisol,(1) adrenaline(2) and aldosterone.(3)

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We might be depleting our stores of energy and exhausting our adrenal glands without even realizing it. We may find ourselves overreacting to negative occurrences in life, or we may often feel in overwhelm or paralyzed in response to life. Without an effective way to consciously and holistically respond to stress we leave the body on its own, unsupported, to deal with it purely physiologically. After many years of living in a constant state of stress this creates a persistent low-level release of these stress hormones into the body system and we can become exhausted and depleted.

To prevent this many years long activity of adrenal stress-response, it’s important that we periodically allow time for our adrenal glands to rest such as during energetic Winter. This season, of course, follows the many months preceding during which our bodies have had to deploy notable amounts of cortisol and adrenaline just to manage the daily stresses of life.

Women and Adrenal Fatigue

Especially for women who are mothers in the ‘modern age,’ women find they have to burn the candle at both ends to take care of their families. Not only do many women find they must pursue careers, they have to come home and make dinner, clean the house, wash clothes, and take care of children. It is safe to say that most women come in last on the list of who to take care of. There’s little time left for her to rest and restore.

This way of life requires an enormous expenditure of energy and it taxes the adrenal glands. By the time women enter menopause, they’re wrung out. At a time when they should be able to utilize their adrenal glands to help produce that extra estrogen output needed for the remaining years of their lives, they have no extra hormones left to use. And it is this depletion of the adrenal glands that makes the transition from menses to menopause so challenging for so many women.

If you suspect you have adrenal fatigue,

“The first step in optimizing adrenal health is to get to the bottom of how your adrenal glands are currently functioning. The best way to start on this process is to evaluate your symptoms, and if they appear to be related to adrenal function, request that your doctor order tests to measure levels of key adrenal hormones.” —Kathryn Simpson in Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue: How to Restore Hormonal Balance and Feel Renewed, Energized, and Stress Free

In her book mentioned above, Simpson goes on to list some of the ways in which adrenal fatigue might physically and emotionally manifest:

• excessive fatigue, exhaustion, feeling run down, low stamina

• difficulty recovering from exercise, stress, injury or illness

• salty and sweet food cravings

• feeling more energy in the evening

• waking up tired after having slept well

• interruptions in sleep

• difficulty concentrating

• being more highly susceptible to colds, flus and infections

• extreme sensitivity to cold

• consistent low blood pressure

• more severe symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and highly problematic menopause

• feeling unable to cope with stress

• overwhelm

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Endnotes:

(1) a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex

(2) a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, especially in conditions of stress, increasing rates of blood circulation, breathing, and carbohydrate metabolism and preparing muscles for exertion; also called epinephrine

(3) a corticosteroid hormone which stimulates absorption of sodium by the kidneys and so regulates water and salt balance

…

Sources:

Counts, Mindi K. Everyday Chinese Medicine: Healing Remedies for Immunity, Vitality, and Optimal Health. United States, Shambhala, 2020.

Simpson, Kathryn. Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue: How to Restore Hormonal Balance and Feel Renewed, Energized, and Stress Free. United States, New Harbinger Publications, 2011.

Photo by Yan Krukov at Pexels

Super-Hydrator Aquaxyl Replenishes Skin with Necessary Moisture While Helping Skin Develop an Ability to Naturally Retain Moisture Over T

Mitigating signs of aging in the skin is an important goal to help us look and feel our best. In answer to this demand there are a plethora of products promising to help making it challenging to know what is best. You can always feel not only safest but really good about yourself when you take a holistic and natural approach to, as naturally as possible, address signs of aging. Today, there are many leading edge companies dedicated to creating natural high tech compounds that can be formulated into skin condition mitigating products especially those concerning aging. One such compound is Aquaxyl utilized in very many PHYTO5 products including Water Yogi Body Gel.

“Aquaxyl [is] another ingredient that helps cells maintain moisture and prevents the skin from becoming dehydrated and damaged. Researchers have found that Aquaxyl not only replenishes moisture but helps the body learn to naturally retain that moisture over time. Cell water loss was reduced after one month of using Aquaxyl on the skin.” —Neil Sadick et al in The New Natural: Your Ultimate Guide to Cutting-Edge Age Reversal.

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Aquaxyl is the trade name of a high tech natural super-hydrating compound composed of three plant-based sugars: xylitol, xylitolglucoside and anhydroxyxylitol. It’s developed by SEPPIC, a company out of Courbevoie, France. The compound is accepted as natural and authorized in organic certified skincare products (Bio).

Aquaxyl’s maker SEPPIC describes this carbohydrate derivate super-hydrator as optimizing skin's hydrous flow by helping to balance water circulation and control water reserves. This “anti-dehydration shield,” as they call it, reinforces the synthesis of essential lipids and proteins involved in the organization of the outermost layers of the epidermis.

Aquaxyl is proven to restructure and strengthen these skin layers known as the stratum corneum.*

Aquaxyl boosts all skin hydration elements including lipids, proteins, polysaccharides (naturally occurring dermal and epidermal hyaluronic acid), and very importantly the NMF of the skin—Natural Moisturizing Factor.

“Natural moisturizing factor (NMF) is essential for appropriate stratum corneum* hydration, barrier homeostasis, desquamation,** and plasticity.” —Marisa Robinson et al in Natural moisturizing factors (NMF) in the stratum corneum (SC)

Aquaxyl reinforces the skin’s natural barrier within 24 hours by limiting loss of water. Softer smoother skin with normal desquamation and smoothing of fine lines can be noticed within 28 days of its use.

Hydration regulator Aquaxyl also helps improve tone of the skin. It makes skin more visibly beautiful with noticeable results in eight hours according to SEPPIC. It also strengthens the beneficial action of glycerin while nullifying any of its negative effects.

Aquaxyl is the ideal moisturizing agent for hands and it’s found in PHYTO5’s Hand Cream. In a recent in vivo study on Aquaxyl’s use on hands, a positive 13.5% hydration effect was noticed after 24 hours and a negative 15.4% transepidermal water loss (TEWL) after eight days.

Xylitol, the most familiar component of the three that make up Aquaxyl, is a beneficial sugar alcohol which naturally occurs in many fruits, vegetables and even trees like birch and maple. Considered a healthy sweetener it has a prebiotic action and therefore can positively influence the gut microbiome if consumed as part of food.

But just as importantly, xylitol also offers proven skincare benefits. If you’ve ever applied moisturizer to your skin only to find it dry a couple hours later, this indicates your skin’s natural barrier isn’t functioning optimally. Xylitol helps replenish moisture in the skin and also helps to prevent it from evaporating by strengthening the skin barrier.

The other two components of Aquaxyl, anhydroxylitol and xylitylglucoside are natural, plant-derived humectants which, like xylitol, work to keep skin hydrated for longer.

Anhydroxylitol is a compound only relatively recently found to exist in the vegetal kingdom. It optimizes the skin’s natural stores of moisture by synthesizing glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)—substances such as chondroitin sulfate** which help naturally retain moisture in the skin. It supports synthesis of skin barrier ceramides*** and works to prevent loss of water through the skin.

Xylitylglucoside is made from two water-binding plant sugars, glucose and xylitol. This compound in itself also possesses a significant degree of skin moisturizing capability. It stimulates the formation of enzymes, proteins and ceramides*** necessary for a healthy skin barrier.

Aquaxyl enhances skin’s dermal water reservoirs making the skin better able to absorb more moisture and strengthen the skin barrier and its function so that water does not evaporate through the skin. It helps the body to produce its own hyaluronic acid, a key factor in skin’s hydration, elasticity, tone and firmness.

For all these reasons, PHYTO5 has chosen Aquaxyl to work in a number of its most hydrating and toning products. In addition to being formulated into Water element Yogi Body Gel and Hand Cream, super hydrator Aquaxyl can be found and enjoyed in PHYTO5’s Face Gel, Face Gel Mask, organic certified hydrating Body Milk and Ageless Extreme Hydrating Cream.

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Endnotes:

* stratum corneum: outermost layer of the epidermis

** in its negative sense, skin flakiness and scaling; in its positive sense, the absence of skin flakiness and scaling

*** an important structural component of cartilage; ceramides provide much of cartilage’s resistance to compression

Sadick, Neil, et al. The New Natural: Your Ultimate Guide to Cutting-Edge Age Reversal. United States, Harmony/Rodale, 2011.

Marshall, Samantha, et al. The New Natural: Your Ultimate Guide to Cutting-Edge Age Reversal. United States, Harmony/Rodale, 2011.

Rhode, Deborah L.. The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law. United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 2010.

Procedures in Cosmetic Dermatology Series: Cosmeceuticals E-Book. United Kingdom, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2008.

Robinson M, Visscher M, Laruffa A, Wickett R. Natural moisturizing factors (NMF) in the stratum corneum (SC). I. Effects of lipid extraction and soaking. J Cosmet Sci. 2010 Jan-Feb;61(1):13-22. PMID: 20211113.

Mohan, Narendra and Singh, Priyankia, Editors. Sugar and Sugar Derivatives: Changing Consumer Preferences. Germany, Springer Singapore, 2020.

Maibach, Howard I., and Lodén, Marie. Treatment of Dry Skin Syndrome: The Art and Science of Moisturizers. Germany, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels (pexels-karolina-grabowska-7321557.jpg)

Best Eating Practices and Tips for Eating During Energetic Winter According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

According to traditional Chinese medicine, in energetic Winter, the season of the Water element, our energy moves inward. Quieter more passive yin chi is highlighted and active yang chi is subdued. Even in today’s world, we should find ways to hibernate and withdraw during Winter. One way to practice this inward movement is through food. Traditional Chinese medicine is very good at prescribing the particular foods to eat that will warm, sustain and nurture us all season long. And just as important is the manner in which we prepare these Winter foods.

Winter is the perfect time to allow our blood sugar to regain homeostasis by reducing our simple carbohydrate intake (carbohydrate calories made of starchy and sugary foods). We don’t require these like we did in the Summer. Moreover, we simply don’t need sugar-rich foods.

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Winter is the season of storage. We want to look at buying more foods that store well in our homes for Winter like root vegetables, nuts and seeds. We have refrigerators and other methods for helping us to store and keep food from spoiling but this isn’t the whole reason for gathering foods that keep for longer periods of time. The reason is more so that these simply tend to be the foods we should be consuming more of during energetic Winter. 

These storage type foods don’t just keep well, they create energy that our bodies can also store well. 

In Winter, it’s beneficial to have a richer diet since cold temperatures and winds are very drying. The cold air and wind directly attack the skin and nose causing the lungs and your wei chi (immunity) to have to work harder. 

If we allow ourselves to become run down during the Winter and Water element season, our lungs can become inflamed and we can catch a cold. In traditional Chinese medicine, kidneys, the organ of the Water element, are the ‘children’ of the lungs. When the lungs become weak, so do the kidneys, and this makes us more susceptible to colds.

When coldness seeps into our bodies in Winter it causes contraction and limits our movement, and as a result, we become even colder than we were before. Internal cold manifests as poor circulation, aches and pains, asthma, colitis or asthma.

During the energetic Winter season, focus on fat, protein and complex carbohydrates which tend to be very stabilizing and nourishing. The body will draw energy from such foods for a long period of time.

Black turtle beans are the most warming legume and they are very yin-building. You can further increase black turtle beans’ warming energy by adding fresh rosemary when cooking them slowly.

Other foods that will help warm you up are pine nuts, walnuts, chestnuts, anchovies, mussels, and trout. Encourage circulation and thus, warming, with ginger, cloves, fennel, cinnamon and anise.

The following are food prep principles to observe during energetic Winter according to traditional Chinese medicine:

• Make all your food nutritious and warming. Cook everything.

• Cook slowly over long periods of time but on lower heat. Leave the food unmoved during the cooking process. This will bring a calming effect to your food when you eat it. It will also help properly combine food essences which takes a long time. Although living uncooked food can be extremely healthy to eat, sometimes the body needs the certain kind of assistance that combining food essences through slow cooking can provide.

  • If you need to concentrate for study or another task, eat warm simple two-ingredient meals.

  • To enhance your sociable nature during the holidays, eat light meals made of several ingredients.

• Incorporate salty foods into your diet.

• Ingest nothing cold. Everything you consume during this season should be warm.

• Avoid dairy foods.

• Make nutrient-dense broths and consume them daily. Tie some star anise, licorice root, cloves, fennel seeds and a mandarin peel in a muslin cloth and let it simmer in your next broth. This can pack a punch.

• Go no longer than four hours without eating. (Your sleep hours don’t count, of course.)

• Eat lots of kidney-shaped foods like beans and seeds.

• Enjoy lots of nuts at this time.

  • Just like the season, Winter foods like grains, dehydrated foods and seeds and nuts have inward-moving energy.

• Consume black and blue-black foods rich in anthocyanins like blueberries and black beans. For more info., read our comprehensive blogs on the topic, Black or Blue-Black Foods: Excellent Sources of Ultimate Black Food Nutrition During Winter Plus Bonus Cocktail Recipe and More Than A Dozen Oh So Nutritious Black Foods for Winter.

• Make the winter squash family a nurturing hearty addition to almost any meal: acorn, butternut, delicate, hubbard, kabocha and spaghetti squash.

• Bring lots of root vegetables into your Winter diet. They do well in slow cooked stews and soups. Root vegetables include beets, carrots, celery root, jicama, onions (yellow onions, green onions, leeks, shallots), parsnips, rutabagas, turnips, and sweet potatoes.

• Season food with warm pungent herbs and spices which remove inner cold in the Winter: basil, black pepper, garlic, horseradish, turmeric, cinnamon and cloves.

• Though alcohol is not generally recommended, it’s appropriate during energetic Winter to enjoy a small amount of spirits to warm your system up since they are ‘hot-warm’ in nature. They do promote circulation, stimulate the appetite and keep out the cold.

Winter is the season that plays host to holidays and celebrations for a number of cultures and traditions. Even celebrations can be more yin-like and subdued when they’re made cozy and intimate with low lights, soft music and plenty of warming, comforting foods served to the people you love.

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Endnotes:

Counts, Mindi K. Everyday Chinese Medicine: Healing Remedies for Immunity, Vitality, and Optimal Health. United States, Shambhala, 2020.

Wong, Lun, and Knapsey, Kath. Food for the Seasons: Eat Well and Stay Healthy the Traditional Chinese Way. Australia. Red Dog Books. 2012.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska at Pexels