DREAM WHITE FOR AGELESS BEAUTY

DREAM WHITE FOR AGELESS BEAUTY

You wake up one morning and look in the mirror. Suddenly, you notice facial lines that just weren't there yesterday.

As we get older, usually, beginning in our twenties, the cumulative effects of exposure to stress, pollution and ultra violet radiation from the sun, often cause a low grade inflammation in the lower two layers of the skin. This condition then clogs up the pores in the skin, which are crucial for transporting vital nutrients and liquids throughout the skin, therefore slowly starving the membranes of the vital nutrients it needs to stay young, vibrant and healthy looking

The harmful effects of our exposure to many-skin damaging pollutants are generally invisible to the naked eye. But, this is the time when the seeds of skin problems are sown.Facial wrinkles and creases begin to appear as the underlying collagen and elastin fibers begin to break down and wear out. While this breakdown is part of the natural aging process, it can also result from excessive squinting, frowning and smiling.

If the idea of collagen injections has you running the other way, ease into aging naturally with the latest anti-aging soap in the market - Kojie.san Dream White anti-aging soap.
Kojie.san Dream White Anti-aging soap is the newest addition to the skin care line of Beauty Elements, the manufacturer Kojie-san, the leading and only kojic soap in the market today.

Dream white contains the most effective ingredients to help our skin get its youthful glow, kojic acid, collagen, elastin and vitamin C.

Among the ingredients of Kojie.san Dream White, the most active are collagen and elastin -- the skin proteins responsible for elasticity, tone and texture. Collagen forms the structural network of our skin and is the most abundant protein in the body. It is one of the strongest proteins in nature and gives skin its strength and durability. Elastin is similar to collagen but is a more stretchable protein that maintains the skin's elasticity. It provides the matrix that holds individual skin cells in place. But as we age, collagen and elastin begin to deteriorate and cause the skin to become thinner and sag.

While kojic acid, the trademark ingredient of every Beauty Elements product, will help lighten pigment spots and skin discoloration. Kojic acid can produce excellent effects in even toning the skin, fighting age spots, pregnancy marks, freckles as well as general skin pigmentation disorders of face and body. Kojic acid is very safe as it is a pure (98%) and natural material. It also is widely used in the field of medicine and food. (i shortened it and just focus only on the benefit of kojic)

And Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant and studies have shown that levels of vitamin C in tissues exposed to UV radiation are reduced. In addition to being an antioxidant, vitamin C is known to stimulate collagen production. Prodcucts, which contain Vitamin C, like Kojie.san Dream White and Kojie-san Ligthening soap, have consistently demonstrated protective effects against skin damage from UV radiation exposure. Furthermore, vitamin C improves the quality of photoaged skin.

With Kojie.san Dream White anti-aging soap, it will help our skin retain and gain the proteins and nutrients that our skin need with its moisture-rich formula. By combining kojic acid, vitamin C and essential collagen & elastin the proteins, young, healthy skin, will leave your skin visibly healthy and younger looking.

Kojie.san Dream White anti-aging soap can hydrate, firm and tone your skin as it smoothes fine lines and wrinkles leaving your skin looking smooth, fairer and refreshed.

Dream White anti-aging soap is available in all Watson's outlets, Mercury Drug stores, SM supermarkets and other leading stores. For more information or interested distributors, you may call 899 6770 or 0916 609 2709 or email kojiesan_info@yahoo.com.

Change eating habit, prevent diabetes and obesity

BTIC: Change eating habit, prevent diabetes and obesity

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of cases of diabetes in developing countries is likely to increase more than two-fold in the next 30 years. To date, the estimated number of diabetics in the Philippines is about four million and only 1 out of 4 are aware of it. Out of the one million who know they have the disease, only 200,000 are undergoing treatment. By the year 2030, cases of diabetes in the Philippines will increase to 7.8 million.

Furthermore, the WHO report on Diabetes says that whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, what, when, and how much you eat all affect your blood glucose level. Blood glucose is the main sugar found in the blood and the body’s main source of energy. For a diabetic (or a person with impaired glucose tolerance), the blood glucose level can shoot up if too much food is consumed at a time. When blood glucose levels remain high for a period of time, a person can develop heart, eye, foot and kidney diseases. Too low blood glucose levels also create problems because a person can develop hypoglycemia. Keeping one’s blood glucose at a healthy level will prevent or slow down diabetes and consequent complications.

Better than Ice Cream General Manager, Pie Bonoan-Cabigas said the best way to curb the rising diabetes incidence in the country is through lifestyle change, "addressing one’s health condition should start in changing his/her lifestyle, especially one’s eating habit. We are what we eat!"

"Pinoys have very well adapted the fast-pace lifestyle and everybody wants to get things done in a snap of a finger. With the rise of to-go restos and other food chains, most of us don’t care much about the nutrition we are getting from the food we eat. This unhealthy practice could cause bad health conditions, like obesity and diabetes," Cabigas added.

Banking on the health benefits of BTIC products and the company’s continuous research and development efforts to give its consumers the very nutritious products that can boost one’s health and even help prevent illnesses, BTIC encourages frozen desert lovers to make BTIC frozen yogurt a part of their healthy diet & lifestyle. BTIC Frozen Yogurt products are low in fat, cholesterol and calories but high in calcium, carbohydrates and protein. BTIC’s No Sugar Added products are sucrose-free and are sweetened with Nutrasweet.

A study documented in The International Journal of Obesity reveals that yogurt may help turn up the body’s fat-burning ability thus making it easier to lose fat while maintaining lean muscle. The mix of nutrients found in dairy foods such as YOGURT, especially calcium, may be responsible for helping the body break down and burn fat. Eating yogurt will provide the calcium we need without saturated fat and cholesterol.

Aside from helping lose weight, BTIC’s frozen yogurt helps the digestive system because it contains active friendly bacteria cultures - Streptococcus thermophilous and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, which change most of the lactose in the milk into simpler sugars easily absorbed by the body. Other benefits obtained from eating yogurt products are: it strengthens the immune system; it prevents diarrhea and promotes healing specially after intestinal infections; it guards against ulcers; and decreases yeast infections.

"Before, we thought that diabetes & obesity were hereditary, but nowadays, anyone can develop it, especially those who love to eat sweets and foods rich in sugar. Changing our eating habits may take a while but in the meantime there is no need to deprive one’s cravings for desserts because BTIC offers products that are healthy with most of it having no sugar added," Cabigas noted.

BTIC Frozen Yogurt comes in a variety of flavors grouped into 3 categories: Chunky, No Sugar Added and Premium No Sugar Added. It can be enjoyed in single cone servings, made into a shake or banana split or served ala mode with your favorite cakes/pastries. It is also available for bringing home in pints or half gallons. Top-selling flavors are the Premium No Sugar Added Pistachio and Dark Chocolate Almond.

Last summer, BTIC opened its first branch in Pampanga at the SM City in San Fernando.

Pampangeños can now enjoy BTIC’s healthy frozen deserts by visiting the scooping station located at the Food Court of SM City Pampanga. Two more branches are planned to be opened in the area this year.

To know more about BTIC products, stores, promos and health benefits, visit www.bticfrozenyogurt.com.

POETIC IMAGES

Delgado's Poetic Images launched

After long months of waiting and hardwork, Fine Art photgrapher Mayie Delgado launched his first coofee-table book titled Poetic Images last June 14, 2007 at the North Forbes Park, Makati City.

Poetic Images is Mayie's collection of more than 100 abstract photgraphs of rocks, sand, reflections, jewelry, art deco, plants, wood and sea. Every set of photos in the book is interpreted in prose essays by eight of the country’s literary icons, namely columnist/writer Alfred Yuson (who is also the book’s editor), Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta, Cirilo Bautista, Ricardo De Ungria, Gemino Abad, Marjorie Evasco, Lourd Ernest De Veyra, and National Artist Edith Tiempo.
The book only tells Mayie's one principle or standards in taking photographs, that is to make sure that he is doing it right—"it gotta be good."

"In this book are themed sets of his photographs — eight in all — that celebrate denominators both common and rare. Common because they are everywhere around us. Rare because fleeting, taunting the eye and the partner lens in a game of tag. He clicks and the apertures of our consciousness open and close, in sleight-of-hand conduct that is very modern and modernist in the very capture of captivation itself," Yuson wrote in the introduction of the book adding, "Mayie Delgado as photographer romances vowels and consonants of an alphabet that travels the globe from A to Z, like a thorough seeker as well as a determined documentarist. Catching the dramatic moment is his act of poetry, amid many momentous acts of poetry that are happenstances of quick history."

Cid Reyes on the other hand, described Mayie as "a photographer with a painter’s eye. His sure abstracting eye is a positive index of his artistic sensibility. Drawn towards the stillness of natural phenomena, Delgado trains his camera on nature and elicits from it images of form and feeling, disclosing mysterious and ineffable states.?

Reyes added that Mayie as "a hunter of images, he is relentless in his search of the elusive visual quarry. But whether in his own country or in the various American and European cities that he regularly visits, one eye is always alert for the compelling image. Thus, in his frequent journeys around the world, a few days are reserved for his photographic jaunts. Who knows what magical image would suddenly arrest his attention? In a world increasingly leeched of its aesthetic qualities, Delgado pursues a vision of internal harmonies, summoning another world that does not exist in the uncaring eye."

At least 32 photos from the book and Mayie's most recent shots were also exhibited during the event. At the same time, Delgado took advantage of launching his own website --- www.mayiephotography.com, which contains his portfolio, recent works and other projects.
The event was attended by Mayie's family, relatives, friends, colleagues and fine art photgraphy aficionados. The event was supported by Canon, Citadel Holdings, Transnational Diversified Inc., Sea Air, Chevron, Ethan Allen, and Hardy's.

The book Poetic Images will be in your favorite bookstore in few weeks. (end).

GLUTATHIONE, the new generation of skin whitening
By Eleanor A. Leyco

History tells us that skin color has always been one of the measures of beauty. Members of the royalty in Eastern China centuries ago were often kept indoor to keep their skin pale. The geishas of Japan paint their faces with white makeup, which represents beauty, grace, and social status. And in the Middle East during the Achaemenid Dynasty, farmers and workers used a kind of lotion that can lighten the skin. Now that centuries have passed us by, the longing for fairer skin might be the only thing that remained intact and this has already affected the lifestyle of many Filipinos.

With the on-going trend in the beauty industry, both Pinoy men and women, seem can’t keep their minds off their looks, especially of their skin color. Everywhere we go, the rate of seeing or hearing an advertisement for skin whitening is very high. The moment we step out of our house, we will be bombarded with posters, tarpaulins and billboards of skin whitening products, and this tells us that Filipinos are becoming more vain.

Most of our parents maybe belong to the Lyna era (the facial cream, which became almost obsolete after Chin Chun Su was introduced in the market) or maybe an Eskinol beauty, but the desire to have whiter skin was tamed or never a hype at that time. But in the early 1990s the seemingly steady concept of Filipina beauty (that is being kayumanggi or morena) started to paint slowly a lighter shade when a papaya whitening soap flooded the market and changed the beauty regimen of many women.

Since then, many cosmetic and beauty companies launched their own lightening products to take advantage of the rising Pinoy vanity. From the natural way of scrubbing calamansi on our skin or bathing in milk to application of facial creams and toners and the use of whitening soaps, now skin whitening has again evolved and everyone is going gaga over the latest whitening product —L-GLUTATHIONE, which can effectively whiten the skin in just few weeks.

Currently, there are at least five glutathione brands that are sold in the mainstream market and a lot are being sold in dermatological clinics, direct selling/networking companies and other means of marketing. However, the people still lack knowledge about glutathione, some think that it is a cure for liver disease, a whitening agent and others think that glutathione is a harmful drug.

The fact that there are many glutathione products in the market today, it is needed to inform the public about glutathione and how we can tell if the product we are using is real or pure and effective.

Based on my research and with some help from a dermatologist and a glutathione manufacturer and seller, glutathione is a substance that is also found in human body, fish, fruits and vegetables.
L-Glutathione is a biologically active sulfur amino acid tripeptide compound containing three amino acids L-Cysteine, L-Glutamic Acid and Glycine. Most glutathione is found in the liver where it detoxifies many harmful compounds to be excreted thru the bile. Some glutathione can also be found in red and white blood cells, the lungs and the intestinal tract.

The primary biological function of glutathione is to act as a nonenzymatic reducing agent to help keep cysteine thiol side chains in a reduced state on the surface of proteins.

Reduced glutathione is involved in the synthesis and repair of DNA, helps to recycle vitamins C and E, blocks free radical damage and enhances the antioxidant activity of vitamin C, facilitates the transport of amino acids, and plays a critical role in the detoxification of harmful compounds. It is also the base material for several other key antioxidant enzyme systems including glutathione-peroxidase, glutathione-reductase, and glutathione-transferase. Declines in glutathione concentrations in intracellular fluids correlate directly with indicators of aging.

In an interview with Dr. Bernadette Ng-Chua of Perfect You Laser and Dermatological Clinic, she says glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant, however, it must be generated within the cell from its precursors before it can work effectively in the body. "The presence of glutathione is required to maintain the normal function of the immune system. It is known to play a critical role in the multiplication of lymphocytes (the cells that mediate specific immunity), which occurs in the development of an effective immune response," Chua added.

Meanwhile, according to Alex Mirador, director for sales and marketing of Yumei Mise, the producer of Kyusoku Bihaku (KB) L-Glutathione 500mg with NAC and Pure Rosehips Vitamin C™ , "Extensive and advanced studies have consistently proven that glutathione is one of the most potent antioxidant currently known to man. Some have called it the miracle cure all owing to its unparalleled inhibiting effect on free radicals which makes it a powerful weapon to combat a wide range of degenerative diseases. With the burgeoning industry all the more getting bigger and more profitable, so-called experts connected to the industry have been too reluctant to boldly state one unmistakable fact: L-GLUTATHIONE IS POORLY ABSORBED ORALLY. "

Mirador added that when taken orally, l-cysteine loses 85% of its sulfur group (which becomes the active component of glutathione) during the digestion process. This means that less than half of the supplemental glutathione is absorbed through the digestive system.

Verifying the statement of Mirador, I asked Dr. Chua and this is what she has to say: "By taking glutathione alone, it will not pose any effect on humans unless it is taken together with a booster like vitamin C, which according to medical studies, help increase glutathione levels. Glutathione boosters also include alpha lipoic acid, glutamine, methionine, S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe), and whey protein, Vitamin B6, riboflavin, and selenium and N-acetyl L-cysteine.

If glutathione is poorly absorbed orally, I asked Mirador how did they address this truth to make Kyusoku Bihaku L-Glutathione 500mg effective?

"Kyusoku Bihaku L-Glutathione 500mg is pure, pharmaceutical grade glutathione. If there is any other thing included in each of the KB capsule, it is NAC (N-Acetyl L-Cysteine). KB glutathione is formulated with the optimum amount of NAC. Research and advanced studies have consistently proven that NAC is the most potent supplement to boost the body’s glutathione levels. Some studies have even concluded that NAC is 20x better than the booster additive. NAC is an acetylated form of the amino acid L-Cysteine. It is in itself a powerful antioxidant and has been used to treat cystic fibrosis and acetaminophen overdose. What makes NAC stand out among the so-called glutathione boosters is that it is a stable compound with an ability to retain most of its sulfur and sulfuhydryl contents losing only 15% during digestion. Furthermore, NAC also helps in preserving our body’s glutathione stores. Some have even suggested that taking NAC is better than taking glutathione itself. However, this is only true in instances where an individual has depleted stores of glutathione in the body and needs supplementation to elevate it to healthy levels." Mirador explains.

Each KB pack comes with 30 separate capsules of Pure Rosehips Vitamin C. Still in its almost organic form, each rose hip capsule is packed with naturally occurring vitamin c which is gradually released to help the body absorb more of the glutathione and NAC. Vitamin C is essential in helping both the glutathione and NAC retain more of its active components and at the same time flush out some of the glutathione and NAC which may be oxidized and become insoluble in the enzymation process.

"Unlike other brands, we didn’t mix the Vitamin C in our glutathione capsule, the more vitamin C you take, the more effective your glutathione will be, and it is priced at P1500, probably the cheapest in the market. KB glutatathione has no added rice bran, cornstarch, yeast, soy, corn wheat, dairy, glutten, fragrance, artificial flavor, color or preservatives—stuff found in most glutathione brands in the market today. That is the very reason why may users are unsatisfied and get no positive result at all," Mirador noted.

Meanwhile, with the growing market for glutathione, we cannot deny that there will be companies that will take advantage of the increasing demand, and claims like their products contain pure or real glutathione will always lure the innocent buyers. However, there is a measure we can always try to know if the product we are using contains real glutathione.

Mirador also says that glutathione has several distinct characteristics that can help consumers — the smell, taste, texture and color.

"When glutathione is manufactured as powder, the texture should be very very fine and must be white. But if the glutathione is already capsulated and mixed with vitamin C or other booster, texture sometimes changes. However, your sense of taste and smell will help a lot in determining if it is real or not. Glutathione is a sulfuric compound, so it should smell like sulphur and the taste is sour," while adding "try to always check the product you are buying or compare them with other brands. Information about glutathione is just a click away, if you have doubts or more inquiries, the internet will be a big help."

Wondering about its side effects? Chua said that no side effects or interactions are known with oral administration of glutathione except for the whitening of the skin. "Because glutathione is a powerful antioxidant, when it cleanses our body off toxins, it makes our skin glow and evens out skin tone. To ensure that you are only buying a safe product, glutathione is often purchased in dermatological clinics and if they are out in the market, they should be BFAD (Bureau of Food and Drugs) approved."

The prices of glutathione (often comes in 30 capsules) range from P1500 - P3000.


For more information or orders email sundae_24@yahoo.com