Grab Bag November Trivia:

Thanks to Pat M. for sending this in…

• It takes your food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.

• One human hair can support 3kg (6.6 lb).

• The average man’s penis is three times the length of his thumb.

• Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.

• A woman’s heart beats faster than a man’s.

• There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.

• Women blink twice as often as men.

• The average person’s skin weighs twice as much as the brain.

• Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.

• If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.

• Women reading this will be finished now.

• Men are still busy checking their … thumbs.

Grab Bag Velvet Skin Tip:

It’s getting colder. Humidity is dropping. Your skin feels like a size 4, but you’re a size 8. I hate when that happens.
The other day I was watching Dr. Oz’s show, and he was profiling the proper way to take care of your whole body skin. Pretty simple, with a lovely result:

• Use about 1/4 cup of olive oil with the warm water in your bath or shower (watch the slippery aspect in the shower) and a loofah or some exfoliating gloves to exfoliate the entire body.

• Rinse off (he mentioned washing with soap, I say use a very mild body cleanser if any at all), briefly pat the skin dry.

• When your skin is still damp, apply your favorite moisturizer (and here I have to pitch chemical-free, natural fragrance lotions, mixed in the palm of your hand with some slightly warmed (liquified) coconut oil or jojoba oil. (To liquify a jar of coconut oil easily, fill your sink with hot water and float the jar of coconut oil in the water for about 15 seconds, then open the jar and pour the oil into your hand).

Yummy!

And this concept is carried through for your face, as explained by Marie Veronique:

Why are oils so good for the skin?

The stratum corneum, your top layer of skin composed of dead skin cells held together by lipids (oils), is your environmental protection barrier, protecting against the elements. Lipids provide protection from environmental assault and retain moisture at deeper layers of the skin. Lipid barrier damage occurs on a daily basis, so maintaining an effective barrier requires a continuous input of lipids to the skin. Compromised barrier function can lead to moisture loss resulting in dry, scaly or even cracked skin, bacteria-related acne, eczema, rosacea-type inflammation, atopic dermatitis and/or skin congestion, among other problems.

Adding oils to the skin benefits ALL skin types, young, mature, oily or dry. Lipids are a much better exfoliator than AHA’s that can strip your skin of oils. Instead massage in an oil or an oil blend. You will feel the excess dead skin cells float way, without damage to your lipid barrier. Cosmetic problems ranging from skin dryness to the appearance of fine lines and a deepening of wrinkles are alleviated by topical application of lipids. So, forget AHA’s and oil-free products. Embrace nourishing oils in your skin care routine and enjoy the results.

I use Marie’s products, and the first thing I put on after cleansing is her Overture in the morning and Nocturne at night. They are outstanding products.

Grab Bag Household Health Hint:

A number of posts here in “The Bag” have centered around reducing the amount of chemicals we put on our skin and use in our homes. I am sure there are many who disagree, noting that we have been using these products for a long time, and everything seems to be fine.

While the debate continues, AND while the cosmetics and home care products industries continue to be EXTREMELY POORLY monitored, I strongly advocate defaulting on the side of caution by choosing and using the legion of cleaner, more health-friendly options we now have available. I will continue to make a hell of a strong argument for clean skin care products in future posts, as well as post a dedicated page to the products I have found to be real winners (I promise).

But I hope all of you will watch the video below, produced by Canadian Broadcast Corp., investigating many of our favorite cleaning products and the chemicals contained therein. If you have kids, or are considering it, this might be the biggest health benefit you can give them. We have to ask ourselves questions like;

• Why is autism suddenly so pervasive?

• Where are all the childhood cancers coming from?

The answers will likely point to a number of causes working together. Until we can identify those with certainty, let’s remove the more probable elements from our daily lives and optimize our immune systems to fight tomorrow’s health challenges more effectively.

Thanks to Jeannie P. for sending this in.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Grab Bag Great Gifting Tip:

Found this fun little item at Starbucks – so ubiquitous that, by now, there is probably one outside your living room window, as well as behind your garage, right?. Fun giving for the holidays or to just personalize any loved one’s java-jerkin’ morning cuppa Joe. Use the provided super-special pen to express-o yourself or profess-o your adoration for the lucky java-junkie recipient. You then bake the mug to set the paint (instructions included), and you have a great waterproof, personalized mug … might even be dishwasher-safe… I’ll ask next time I’m in the Starbucks at the end of my driveway.

Grab Bag Awesome Nature Moment:

Thanks to Joyce W. for these. To enjoy full-screen, be sure to click on “full” in the bar below the picture:

Grab Bag Brain Game:

This is a series of puzzles with NO INSTRUCTIONS! The first puzzle, pictured below, took me 6 min. 18 seconds to figure out…. go ahead… better it…. GAME ON

CLICK DRAG TYPE 3

Grab Bag Funny Stuff:

Never too early to plan your holiday decorating strategy. Thanks to Susan B. for sending this in: