WHY IS YOUR SKIN LIKE A SPONGE? - by Dr John Tickell
What can we see from the moon? Oceans define our planet - they cover most of the Earth’s surface.
What can we see when we spot a human being on the beach, in the distance? Skin - it covers almost all our body! What does it do?
Our skin is a flexible covering , a barrier, a temperature control, it’s for water preservation and water proofing, it helps synthesise Vitamin D for us, and it is a protector from injury, as well as a defender against harmful bugs and chemicals.
BUT,
Skin varies in thickness, and especially the thinner regions are absorbent - skin is porous, allowing substances good and bad to go through the layers, into our body tissues and vital organs.
Lots of us smarter people consider what we consume in terms of food and drink, the calories, the k joules, the added sugars we swallow, as these are absorbed through our intestines into our systems, the healthier foods and drinks keeping us healthy, energetic, and increasing our ability to help “heal” our bodies and minds.
Some of us are also very aware of not breathing polluted air, inhaling toxic gases, plus the cancer causing chemicals in cigarette smoke, personally, and the smoke from other persons in the area.
So, our biggest body organ, is our skin covering. These days, some vital medications come in the form of Patches, such as Nicotine, to help smoking cessation, such as hormones, and these are absorbed readily into our bodies, but be aware. Our skin cannot differentiate between helpful chemicals and harmful chemicals - they ALL go inside you, via the skin.
Many may not realise that personal decisions come into play when deciding whether we allow doubtful creams and lotions to be applied to our skin, which of course, can act just like a sponge?
Advertising is a clever medium, with labels suggesting “Natural”, “Fragrances” and promoting a celebrity “Beauty” formula. Our labelling laws can be thought to be rather loose, and not tell us which toxic chemicals are actually in your special, youthful skin product.
Life is full of choices.
Take care of your skin, and take care about what can be absorbed through your skin - health promoting skin moisturising products, sanitisers, and also toxic products as well. And the younger the person, the more vulnerable they are.
What we know for sure is this. The label which is guaranteed to be truthful always includes the Australian Certified Organic (ACO) logo.
The World Health Organisation, the American Chemical Society, and the OECD Environment, Health and Safety Publications are specific -
“Pesticides are potentially toxic to humans”
“They may induce adverse health effects including cancer, effects on reproduction, immune or nervous systems”.
"the routes by which the exposure occurs - ingestion, inhalation, dermal absorption"
