Growing up, my generation understood the message of moderation because we lived it. Friday night was the only time I stayed up past 10 p.m.  We were permitted one Coke a week, and that was on Saturday. Likewise, sandwiches came with one chip—one single chip, not a bag of them. Balance, therefore, had a simpler meaning, one we associated with the physical attributes we relied upon to jump rope, bounce on a pogo stick, practice ballet or perform gymnastics. 

Of course, I grew up with far fewer distractions than children today with all they have on their schedules. Even so, the discipline we now grapple to instill in order to achieve balance was something my peers took for granted. 

Now that life has grown far more complex, our searches for better health, more harmony and greater beauty have become frantic. When the best answer might be a little discipline that allows for simplification and moderation, many of us get stuck on trying to make everything just right.  And what is just right? A world of balance to one may look like mayhem to another.  Also, let’s face it: even when we simplify and find a happy balance, there is no guarantee that all things will be equal at any given time.

In an interview for a corporate video presentation, I was asked if I thought women had it easier in today’s work environment.  Maybe so. Some aspects of balancing family are better accommodated with changes in attitudes and technology that permit working away from the office. Still, I’m sure many moms feel just as frazzled as my mom—especially after her role changed to single parent.  

Today, we  say “sandwich generation” to describe those who care for elderly parents while raising children. In my family, caring for young and old was normal. We didn’t give it a second thought, except for the one time I asked my mother why I had to be the person she always called on for help.  She responded, “Because there is no one else who will help me.”  I never felt compelled to ask such a question again; that moment gets me in the heart every time.

History also repeats itself with grandparents caring for their grandsons and granddaughters while moms and dads work. Like previous generations, too, more folks are employed through their 60s, and either by choice or necessity, many are working into their 70s and 80s.  

As these lifestyle patterns reemerge, I’m paused to ponder the fact that the practice of medicine now refers to itself as “chronic healthcare.”  All the research, all the articles and all the coaching haven’t seemed to make life balance out just right.  If anything, today’s lifestyles and healthcare options remind me of the old English nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty.  Lacking real balance, everything eventually comes crashing down.

Like you, I want to do it all.  What’s more, I believe that when we are particular and intentional, we can successfully take on and accomplish more than we ever thought possible.  Nevertheless, no one can juggle endlessly. Our lives require the essential element of balance—that happy medium—to achieve and maintain health, harmony and beauty in life. 

We say we desire balance, so let’s not go looking for it in the latest fad diet with a minimal amount of sleep and lack of focus.  Balance cannot survive for long in the extremes of hot and cold; instead, it thrives on a degree of discipline necessary to simplify and moderate. In time, the health, harmony and beauty we achieve will be just right.

Let’s keep in mind, however, that attaining health, harmony and beauty is a work in progress for being just right.

I rest in both the tranquility and energy of the four seasons. While nature may look quiet on a brisk day of winter, the antics of a snowy wonderland remind me that life is in constant motion and forever changing.

In the disguise of being dormant, the gardens and woodlands are preparing for us the new sense of springtime.  Subtle hints of microorganisms feeding the root systems of plant life will be found in the fresh green of hyacinth popping through the ground, as well as in a profusion of new leaves on rose bushes.  From the kitchen window, the green of the Chrysanthemum x morifolium — best known in our garden as Ryan’s Pink— announces its presence through the stubble of last year’s growing season.   

Like the Ryan’s Pink (a Ryan Gainey discovery for Goodness Grows Nursery) dormant appearance, all things are made new and whole.  With so much written about skin care, the newest and best wrinkle eraser, and the latest technology for making one’s appearance younger, is it not curious that since ancient time we still are looking for the next best moisturizer?  

The skin is a wonder to me in how it reflects unique individuality yet is treated as usual and ordinary.  What is even more surprising is the fear of looking too closely for the new layers that want to be uncovered. Instead, we hide behind products, like makeup, that can cause the complexion to appear aged, dull and lifeless.  Like winter may appear. 

Although there is a plethora of off-the-shelf, readily available information regarding younger looking skin, there are truly two places to be looking closely: from the inside out and the outside in.  The skin tells.  As a barometer is to weather, your skin is an indicator of the condition of your whole being.  From unhealthy food consumption to the toxins that invade our environment, the skin is forever soaking it in and changing—not necessarily the way we would like. 

How, then, can we ensure that our skin mirrors good health rather than poor habits?  My advice, as always, is to follow your natural instincts and stick to naturally organic foods and products. At the same time,  incorporate the natural world in your everyday life.  Naturally healthy, quite simply, cannot be manufactured.

I write Nature’s Secrets to Every Season for you with hopes that you, too, will fall in love with caring for your skin, naturally.

1. Be the cheerful friend. The grouches pull everyone down.
 
2. Keep learning. Learn more about what interest you: software, crafts, gardening, people. Never leave the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer.
 
3. Enjoy the simple things..
 
4. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
 
5. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. Although it may feel that the only person with us our entire life is ourselves, we are truly never alone.  Be ALIVE.

6. Surround yourself with all you love whether that is family, pets, memories, music, plants or hobbies.  Create your home to be a respite.
 
7. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
 
8. Bypass the guilt trips. Instead, take a trip next door, across town and out-of-town to visit with friends  and family.  Lend a hand to a community in need.  Partake of the gentle breezes, warm sun and blue waters of a shoreline.  

There are too many joyful happenings awaiting you to be stuck in the rear-view mirror of life.

9. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity.
 
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, rather by the moments that take our breath away.
 
We all need to live life to its fullest each day.  Worry about nothing, pray about everything. 

Do share.

WHFoods advice selecting a watermelon is to look for one that is heavy for its size with a rind that is relatively smooth and that is neither overly shiny nor overly dull.  The color and quality of the flesh should be a deep color and absent from white streaks.  One side of the melon should have an area that is distinct in color from the rest of the rind, displaying a yellowish or creamy tone.  This is the underbelly, the place that was resting on the ground during ripening, and if the fruit does not have this marking, it may have been harvested prematurely, which will negatively affect its taste, texture and juiciness.

Watermelon Fruit Water       

                     

Ingredients:                                          

Sugarbaby or Personal Watermelon (organic, of course)
Coconut water
Spritzer water

Into a blender combine:

1/2 of the watermelon meat
4 oz. 100% Coconut Water
4 oz. Spritzer water

After blending, top with additional water, if needed, and strain into glasses for serving.  
Serves 5 – 6 using Sugarbaby
Serves 4 – 5 using Personal

For a watermelon smoothie, pour directly into serving glasses.

Interestingly, certain antioxidant enzymes are produced in the body; other antioxidants are found in food—dark green vegetables, orange and red fruits.  When antioxidants exist in skin care products, they help to repair skin damage from the outside in.  (Meanwhile, improving upon our daily choices of lifestyle helps our bodies repair from the inside out.)

You’ve most likely been eating antioxidants without realizing it.  Walnuts, avocado, oranges and grapefruit, blueberries, papaya and carrots are forms of Vitamins E, C and Beta Carotene.  Some of these same nutrients you will find listed in skin care products. 

If only getting antioxidants rich foods were as simple as choosing what is most convenient and readily available.  However, many factors figure into which foods maintain nutritional value. The soil matrix, picking season, and the numerous stages of processing impact quality. 

Do I really know the nutritional content in a bunch of fresh (organic) spinach in my market?   Should I assume that a product that is packaged or canned is of less nutritional value than its fresh counterpart? 

Documented research shows that each time the food chain is processed, a little nutritional value is lost.  Likewise, when cooked beyond a certain point, both in time and temperature, the life is cooked out of food. However, if harvested and frozen in the height of season, a packaged organic option might contain more nutritional value than the “fresh” variety grown with pesticides and picked too soon.

While I grow most all the vegetables for my family, local farmers will soon begin supplying freshly picked vegetables and fruits of many varieties at the thousands of local farmers markets throughout the U.S.  By participating in local CSAs, you and your family can take advantage of this prime source for seasonally fresh produce. You can also talk with the growers about their methods in making your selections.

Likewise, news about antioxidants has gradually changed skin care from the run-of-the-mill lotions and potions, but there is far more to consider than the ingredients listed on a label.  Distinguishing between pure, natural, and organic is challenging, unless you are particular about the trade grade, medicinal grade, cosmeceutical or pharmaceutical grades. However, without understanding what defines each, those elements will add more confusion to your choice. 

Therefore, when is comes to antioxidants and skin care, it’s probably best to remember that less is more.  Look at a baby’s skin—soft, smooth (may be a dimple or two), cuddly, fresh and pure.  Your skin, as well, is meant to be translucent, touchable and smell good.  Consider how your skin will look, feel and smell when choosing an antioxidant treatment.  The product you buy should soothe and calm, provide deep hydration, be nutrient rich, deliver healing, and protect for anti-ageing.

Today, the healthiest foods and skin care products are affordable and available to the masses. We simply need to be informed consumers when making our selections.

Scientific studies indicate that antioxidants play a role not only in slowing the ageing process, but also in preventing the development of chronic disease.

Why antioxidants for the skin? 

The simple answer:  protection and prevention.  Antioxidants are a necessary component for good health—internally and externally. 

As complex as the skin is—comprised of separate layers, each responsible for certain functions—there are also nerves, glands and blood vessels that deliver oxygen.  (There’s that O word!) It comes from the Greek words oxys and genes, which combined mean “acid forming”. 

While a healthy amount of oxygen promotes cellular repair, too much is harmful.

For a visual depiction of antioxidants’ capabilities in counteracting the damaging, but normal effects of cell renewal, consider what happens when we cut an apple in half. The exposed apple fiber, having been protected by its outer skin, turns brown in seconds! However, if we squirt a little lemon juice on the sliced sections, the flesh remains white. Much as the acidic juice of the lemon protects the apple from turning brown, antioxidants neutralize an overabundance of oxygen.

How does this translate to skin care?

The skin, like the body, is comprised of cells that die off and are replaced by a new generation of cells.   Antioxidants in skin care products help to repair and heal damaged skin.  It might be cracked or cut skin or show other signs of environmental exposure. In any case, oxidation is occurring every second of the day.

We can take proactive steps as well to prevent skin damage:

• Consider the health benefits when choosing foods and beverages you consume.
• Maintain healthy digestion to help the body use nutrients.
•  Support a healthy liver.  This misunderstood organ processes everything consumed by the body, whether it’s something we eat, drink or put on our skin.

Skin protection cannot be accomplished or explained through one dimension. In addition to our proactive measures, the skin also puts natural defenses to work.

For instance, when exposed to UV light, squalene—a natural component of the skin’s oils—converts UV light to vitamin D, thereby improving the skin’s use of vitamin A.  However, the cumulative exposure are what cause oxidative damage in skin cells. 
 
Do all skin care products deliver the same results? 

While shopping a health food market, I heard an employee say, “We work in a health store, but that doesn’t mean everything is good for you.” This reminder applies to skin care products—not all are created equally. Many products sold to produce smooth, soft skin contain petroleum-based ingredients and other elements that hinder cellular repair and, therefore, end up being counterproductive.  The small print is far more telling than bold claims.

What if science is right that we’ll live to be 150?

As long as we might live, it is especially difficult to grasp the idea that the body starts ageing at the cellular level at 20.  Let’s face it: The body’s internal mechanisms are always working—no matter what!

What the body cannot do on its own is produce vitamins and minerals. Clearly, our choices play a supporting role.  Choices and disciplines are what encourage good health.  Therefore, as science advances our ability to live longer, we race for answers about how we can remain youthful. 

The Fountain of Youth isn’t as elusive as one may think.

While some travel the world for anti-ageing remedies, you need not look any further than foods rich in rainbow colors—yellow, green, orange, red—to find antioxidants.  Although science does not necessarily support the need for supplementing dietary nutrition, healthcare professionals are more readily recommending supplementing diets with vitamins, minerals, flavonoids and phytochemicals.  What supports their reasoning goes beyond the freshness and quality of our food chain; their answers point to the chain reactions that either enhance or impair cellular renewal.  

Simply put, your lifestyle and all that encompasses directly cause and effect your health overall. 

Ironically, as science uncovers more answers to complex questions about ageing and maintaining a healthy body, the clearer it becomes that the most natural choices are optimal after all.

It is interesting to think that birds have been credited with introducing new foods to American cuisine; Paprika is one of them.  A perennial, small shrub considered to be a vegetable, Paprika is a berry botanically.  Its origin reads like a “who’s who” of geography.  Historically associated with the voyage of Columbus, introduced to Europe, and subsequently to Africa and Asia, the species emerged in the area bordering south Brazil and Bolivia before moving to the north as the birds dispersed it.  Surprisingly, a well-known favorite of Hungary, the berry is now grown mainly in the southwestern U.S.   Since some plants are more cold tolerate, we’ve selected a species to include in the Sage Hill Farms family of sustainable foods.

Paprika is of the nightshade family, the first fruits known to contain vitamin C.  It was first isolated from ripe paprika by the Hungarian chemist, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, who later won the Nobel Prize for his work.  The paprika berry derives its color in the ripe state mainly from carotenoid pigments ranging from bright red to yellow.  Valued for taste as well as its sweet flavor, compatible with hot spicy dishes and mild stews, paprika contains significant amounts of sugar.  In the U.S., paprika is best recognized for is dried red powder, usually sprinkled on deviled eggs, while gaining a distinction for its enhanced flavors in cuisine.

A Sage Hill Farms favorite recipe using paprika is simply to brush grilled chicken (or shrimp) with melted butter (the read butter), lightly shaking paprika over the entire serving platter.  Paprika also deliciously flavors vegetables and even breads. 
 
No matter how you choose to enjoy the tang of Paprika, you’ll know to thank the migrating birds for spreading the fruits of their labor!

The hands of two special people often come to mind. First, I remember my mother’s beautiful hands; she had long, slender fingers and perfectly formed nails that were always manicured.   My mom did her own personal manicures, thoughtfully laying out the manicure set each week. Performing her ritual, she taught me to care for my own nails.  Inevitably, during the course of a week, a nail would need repairing with the help of an emery board.  Sometimes she’d apply nail polish, though most times she wore her nails natural.   

The other hands that are dear to me are my husband’s. His palms have such incredibly soft skin that I find myself sometimes starring and wondering how it is.  A salesmen’s salesman, home fix-it guy, farmer at heart, and one who tinkers with hobbies—he does treat his hands with care.
You, too, can have hands that leave a lasting impression in three easy steps:

• Choosing—Caring—Protecting

Choose with care what goes on your skin.  Your hands may appear to be taskmasters, but well intended ingredients can cause more harm than help.  Green is the new buzz in skin care products, and confusion remains over what is organic and natural.  

What to look for in your hand care:

The easy answer is to see if you recognize the words on a label; if not, forget the product.  Although that method can work for many consumers, botanical names and exotic plants may be unfamiliar yet still beneficial. 

By the way, did you know that the rose is in the herb family?  Rose petal extract improves dry skin, reduces the appearance of wrinkles, and is calming, both for eczema and the body.

Chaffed, cracked, torn skin around the nail bed can be so subtle, but left untreated those areas become painful to look at as well as irritating, especially when they snag something.  Choose ingredients with the purpose for soothing, healing and repairing your skin. 

While a label may read easily with safe enough ingredients, don’t be confused that lanolin sounds innocent—it comes from sheep’s wool—but it may actually be robbing the skin of nutrients.  Did you also know that alcohol hardens the upper layer of skin, thereby reducing the absorption of nutrients and also reducing the rate of elimination of the skin’s own metabolic waste?  Keep in mind that in addition to the skin’s primary role to defend and protect the internal organs, it also filters as well as synthesizes Vitamin D.  Additionally vital is the role the skin plays as a sensory organ.

• Like the complexion, your hands have dead skin cells.  Soften the feel of the skin while softening the look with a spa treatment.  A gentle exfoliation with carefully chosen plant extracts will help smooth the effects of ageing, lessen sun damage, and freshen the skin.  When you combine exfoliation with nourishing hand and nail crème, your hands will feel as good as they look.

To the educated eye, hands and nails are indicators when the body isn’t working well.  The body depends upon healthy foods to work efficiently.  Unlike the better known choices of fast and easy, your skin and nails look their best when supplied with vitamins and minerals that come from fresh, preferably organic, foods of the many colors of the rainbow. 

Reach for the bottle opener, can opener, scissors or screwdriver.  Do we think how often the hands and nails substitute as tools?  Gloves!  Wear them as appropriate for the weather, when your hands are in chemicals, sloshing around in water, doing yard work and, yes—gardening! 

Protect your hands from sun damage.  Although sunscreens appear to be the chosen solution, with so many brands on the market how do we go about making a decision?  I posed that question to Simplicité founder and skin care expert, David Lyons, N.D. who cautions against applying chemicals that can cause permanent skin discoloration.  He further says not to be fooled into believing that the highest SPFs offer protection after you have maximized your sun exposure.  Look for David’s expert knowledge about sunscreens—and the misconceptions surrounding them—simply explained in Anne’s ebook, Nature’s Secret for Every Season.

From someone who is an advocate for healthy skin, even I am hard on my hands and especially the nails.  I also have sensitive skin that easily dries up, and that is all the more reason I recommend being informed about the ingredients that you apply to your skin.  When you use the right hand and nail care, you should be surprised only that the results make your skin feel and look better than you possibly could have imagined.

Simplicité Botanicals—made with the health of the consumer and the health of the environment in mind.

For an example of typical exposure, it would be akin to taking part in a weekend activity—enjoying a sport, riding a bike, walking, having a picnic, etc.  (When driving in the car with the windows up, you will have additional protection from the glass. Fewer sunscreen applications would be necessary.)  

In general, then, how often should those of us with “normal” to darker skin reapply sunscreen?

In August 2006, the University of California Riverside found that sunscreens which absorb deeply into skin need to be reapplied every 2 hours.  In contrast, sunscreens that are more carefully formulated to stay close to the surface of the skin do not require such vigilant reapplication unless they have been sweated or washed off.  The University study also postulated that sunscreens containing antioxidants would also reduce the damaging effects of the sunscreen chemicals. 

To be more specific:

1.  Part of the requirement to reapply poorly formulated, deeply absorbing sunscreens is to restore the upper skin protection that is lost from the movement of sunscreen chemicals from the surface into the deeper tissue of the skin. 
2.  The other reason for reapplication of certain sunscreens is to protect the skin from oxidation produced by the sunscreen’s chemicals and their combination with UV light.  In this situation, the user experiences no telltale ‘burn’ to signify that damage is occurring.
 
All of this has to be balanced against the need to produce vitamin D in the skin through at least some sun exposure in the UV-B range.  UV-B is present in appreciable amounts when the sun is 45 degrees above the horizon OR when the UV index is greater than 3.
 
Discussions about sunscreens can go on for pages and pages and occupy entire research papers.  The bottom line is to use effective sun protection and to feed the skin lots of nutrients!  Use a hat, sunglasses, SPF-rated swim shirts and other clothing protection where possible.

Key Ingredients & Benefits:

Fresh Aloe Vera juice is a powerful healing agent that is soothing. It also calms rashes.

Calendula, a source of pro-vitamins essential for skin firming, encourages the restructuring of damaged tissue.  Used for centuries to tone visible blood vessels, calendula was employed in ancient times to “comfort the heart and spirits.”

Rosemary, a herb regarded as sacred in many civilizations, is a natural antioxidant that improves the circulation to the skin, promotes healing and lessens the pain of certain skin problems.

Ti-Tree demonstrates outstanding qualities in being active against the growth of all three infective organisms—namely bacteria, fungi and virii.  Boosting the immune response to the skin’s own infection fighting mechanisms, it lessens inflammation, encourages the formation of healing tissue, and soothes irritations.

Spruce is antimicrobial and antiseptic.  It contains natural yet highly effective antibiotics.

Fir Tree soothes through its antibacterial properties.

Lavender balances the sebum secretion of the skin, encourages cellular regeneration, reduces surface scarring and acts as an antibiotic. It is also calming and soothing in the treatment of acne and pimples.

Fresh Witch Hazel extract, a natural cleanser, firms the protein strands of the skin.  It further reduces inflammation and alleviates the swelling cystic acne. 

Sage inhibits bacteria in the treatment of acne and regulates sebum production.  Used in soothing skin washes, it remedies dermatitis and eczema.  One of the sacred herbs from Roman times, sage comes from the Latin word for salvation, as it was used to cure many illnesses and promote longevity. 

Please Note: Therapeutic levels of sage used in this formula are not to be equated with “toxic” levels, which are many times higher.  Applying this product over the small area of the face is entirely different from using undiluted sage essential oil over the entire skin surface of the body.  Toxic doses are estimated at 12ml to 50ml and above of the pure essential oil.  Therefore, do not use these levels in baths or where the entire amount is massaged over the body in one treatment with carrier oil.  Applying all over the body, such as when used in baths or for massage, greatly increases the surface area available for absorption and gives a much longer period of time over which the essential oil can be absorbed.  Avoid using pure sage essential oil at these higher toxic doses on children, if pregnant or on epilepsy sufferers.

Equisetum, rich in mineral nutrients that reduce scarring, supports the skin’s natural infection fighting defenses.

Hypericum, which calms and soothes redness, contains flavonoids found to encourage effective micro-circulation.  It also delivers exceptional healing agents. In fact, the herb itself, with yellow, five-petal flowers, was considered to reflect its healing colour, which was thought to be yellow. The common name, St. John’s Wort, was in tribute to St. John the Baptist, and the word wort is a medieval word meaning herb.  With centuries-old history in treating skin trauma, it relieves pain and serves as an anti-inflammatory.

Carrot extract revitalizes the tone of the skin, restores elasticity, improves micro-circulation, and is used in the treatment of rashes— including dermatitis and eczema.  Because of its rich levels of vitamin A precursors, carrot is highly valued for its external healing effect.

Chlorophyll detoxifies the skin and fights bacteria.

With a wealth of naturally organic benefits, Rosemary Blemish Gel is the healthy, safe and effective answer to problematic skin.