Everyone wants soft, healthy, firm skin. Especially as we get older.

This is so much the case that about $17 Billion is spent on skin care products yearly.

But much of these products, while providing results in the short term, actually cause worsening conditions over time, increasing the "need" to use them.

This is due, in many cases, to some very toxic ingredients used in many of them.

These include hormone disruptors, formaldehyde, chemicals also used as plastic softeners, carcinogens, allergens, solvents and even neurotoxins.

So, while these products may contain ingredients that seem to help on an immediate basis, over time many of them are causing the issues they claim to address.

Let’s see what's actually happening here and what we can do about it.

We’ve touched on how toxins affect our digestive tract and microbiome, and also how they lead to Leaky Gut and to our immune system mistaking healthy cells for harmful microbes that must be destroyed.

They cause an inflammatory response, both in our digestive tract and throughout our body over time.

They affect our hormones, energy levels, and mental focus. They make losing body fat and building muscle much harder due to increased cortisol levels.

And they speed the aging process, both internally and in our skin and overall appearance.

But now we’re going to dive deeper. And to give a real idea of how this works we're going to look at how one toxin, Glyphosate, affects us.

Glyphosate is the key ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, which is used on most major crops today.

This is a real problem, because it's one of the most toxic substances there is.

And due to its widespread use, it’s in almost all processed foods and non-organic meats.

And it plays a very large roll in the destruction of our digestive tract, microbiome and overall health, leading to Leaky Gut and some of the worst physical conditions there are.

So let’s dive in and see how this actually affects us and what we can do.

Did you know that the official measurement of what is considered to be normal testosterone levels has been lowered? 

It has. And this was done because the majority of men no longer fall into the earlier acceptable ranges. 

Their testosterone levels are too low. 

Why is this? What's happening? And why would they choose to lower the acceptable levels instead of addressing why they are lowering?

In this article we talk about what testosterone does in the body, largely from the view of its anti-aging effects, how lowering testosterone levels, not just in the elderly, speeds up our biological aging, and what is causing this.

If we want to slim down while gaining lean muscle or toning our muscles, we need to address our hormones. 

This is because achieving hormonal balance allows our body to fully and correctly utilize the nutrients we’re consuming for what we do want and not for what we don’t want.

We’ve already covered how high Cortisol hinders fat loss and slows muscle growth. As well as how Growth Hormone, Testosterone and IGF help to speed fat loss and muscle growth.

But there is another aspect to this balancing act: Estrogen, Progesterone and Thyroid.

These hormones exist in both women and men, and are each necessary in proper amounts.

But when they go out of balance, they can create a vicious spiral that raises cortisol and cravings for junk food, lowers growth hormone, testosterone and IGF, and makes fat loss and muscle gains much harder all around.

Did you know low levels of thyroid can bring on not only low energy and weight gain, but also depression and even brain fog?

This can make thinking, problem-solving, and just coping with the everyday stresses of life, much harder.

With the rise in hormone-blocking toxins in our environment, processed foods and processed sugars, and the low amount of protein most of us consume, low thyroid is affecting more and more people, especially among women and the elderly.

In this article we dive into what thyroid is, how low thyroid occurs, how it affects our mood, mental alertness, and our ability to think and cope with the problems of everyday life and what we can do to raise it.

We've spoken a lot about hormones, but here we cover specifically how toxins affect these.

Testosterone levels have been dropping for decades, while estrogen levels have risen sharply.

And hormonal imbalances are now much more than just being deficient in one or another hormone.

But why is this?

There are exact chemicals in the environment now which block hormones from being created, block them from being used, disrupt their normal action, or even impersonate them entirely.

And, while this affects muscle-building and fat loss significantly, its effect goes far beyond this.

Let's dive in.

Those are some big claims in that title.

And how could they be true when we have statements like:

“BCAAs stimulate the building of protein in muscle and possibly reduce muscle breakdown.”

“Valine is needed for your muscle fibers to fire, for tissue repair, and for the maintenance of proper nitrogen balance in the body.”

“Leucine stimulates muscle protein synthesis and may be the dominant fuel involved in anabolic (tissue building) reactions.”

Well, unfortunately, the claims in the title of this article are true.

They come from research studies done on BCAAs, while the above quoted statements come from marketers.

BCAAs, or Branched Chain Amino Acids, taken on their own regularly and over time, can have a significant effect on body fat creation, muscle gain reduction, kidney trouble, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity.

And it's becoming quite a problem. Just google "BCAAs side effects" or "BCAAs and Type 2 Diabetes" and you'll find much more than you wanted to.

But how can they say these things and how does this all work?

Let's dig in and see.

Getting good sleep is one of the most important things we can do, not just for muscle building and fat loss but for our mood, energy levels, and overall health.

Sleep is when our body is able to recover and repair cells, a lack of it even affects our aging process, speeding it up internally, as well as visibly causing wrinkles and sagging skin. 

During the first few hours of deep sleep is when many hormones, including growth hormone and IGF (major fat-burning hormone) are released.

Getting enough sleep also helps to keep cortisol levels lower and balance estrogen, testosterone, progesterone and thyroid.

So if we want a lean, toned or muscled body, then we need deep sleep every night for full recovery, muscle building, natural fat loss and hormonal balance.

Yet a third of Americans get poor sleep, and those with the worst sleep generally have poor health.

So what causes this and what can we do to not only get better, deeper, more refreshing sleep, but also to reverse the effects of poor sleep?

Let’s dive in and see.

Cholesterol is very firmly associated with lifespan. Just not in the way most people think.

In fact, according to newer research, levels of cholesterol in the ranges of 210-240 are associated with longer lifespans.

And lower levels of cholesterol lead to lower levels of energy, overall health and hormonal deficiencies among testosterone, estrogen and others.

In this article we cover how cholesterol actually operates in the body, what it actually has to do with high blood pressure and how it’s not quite the villain it’s been made out to be, but a vital part of our body’s proper functioning.

When working out, training, or just going about our daily lives, optimal blood flow is very important.

It's necessary for the fullest recovery after exercise, high energy levels, performance, muscle building, and fat loss. Not to mention, overall health.

Poor blood flow even affects our mood.

It's how the nutrients, water, and oxygen needed for energy creation and cellular repair flow to our cells.

And how the toxins flow out.

If our blood flow is lower, our cells do not get these nutrients or oxygen fast enough and our energy levels go down during high intensity workouts, or in daily life.

This lowers endurance, slows recovery, muscle building, and fat loss significantly, and can leave us feeling exhausted, low energy, and even depressed.

Achieving healthy blood flow then is important for maximum results and maximum overall health.

Did you know low levels of thyroid can bring on not only low energy and weight gain, but also contribute to depression and brain fog?

This can make thinking, problem-solving, and just coping with the everyday stresses of life much harder.

With the rise in hormone-blocking toxins in our environment, processed foods and processed sugars, and the low amount of protein most of us consume, low thyroid is affecting more and more people, especially among women and the elderly.

But there’s one more thing affecting this — low magnesium. Magnesium is necessary for thyroid to be produced inside the body. Yet it’s being processed out of our foods more and more every year, until more than half the people in the US are now magnesium deficient.

In this article we dive into what thyroid is, how low thyroid occurs, how it affects our mood, energy levels, mental alertness, and our ability to think and cope with the problems of everyday life and what we can do to raise it.

Today, approximately one in three Americans experience skin issues of various sorts: clogged pores, breakouts, redness, and irritation of different kinds.

And while this number has been growing for the last few decades, it’s sped up in recent years.

Even more, accelerated aging of the skin: fine lines, wrinkles, dryness or flakiness, and skin sagging is occurring earlier than normal, with many in their twenties now experiencing it.

While there are several factors involved, and some include the skin care products being used today, there is a much larger factor bringing this on: the health of our gut.

When we have harmful bacteria or candida in our body, or toxins and even gluten coming in, our immune system produces what’s called an inflammatory response.

And this, when it gets to our skin, can cause all sorts of trouble.

It can cause breakouts by increasing oil production and clogging pores.

It breaks down collagen and elastin, the proteins responsible for keeping our skin firm and smooth. 

Then, as these proteins degrade, the skin begins to sag, and wrinkles or fine lines appear.

It also causes skin to lose its ability to retain moisture effectively, leading to dryness, flakiness, and irritation.

But, as much of this is caused by the health of our gut, no amount of skin creams, oils or regimens will be able to fix it as they’re addressing the end result, not the cause.

And the cause, if not itself addressed, will just continue the problem.

If we want healthy, radiant skin that stays clear, soft and firm for the longest amount of time, then we need to address our gut.

So let’s dive in.