|
|
Nutrition and the skin Warm Greetings, Here we are, back again after all the excitement of the summer holidays, Xmas and New Year parties and "fun in the sun". We trust that you had a wonderful time and that you managed to rest and gather some energy to tackle the year ahead. This is a year to look forward to with anticipation for changes to the better (economically) Let's hope that the world will also learn to live together in peace and tolerance (one can hope!) We also hope that this new year 2003 will be the year that we make time to look after our self, health wise, and visit the gym regularly. We also wish to thank all of you, who took the time, to send us e-mails or verbally advise us how they feel about the newsletters. Invaluable feed back as this is the only way we know if you enjoy, or disagree, with the articles. To all of you we reciprocate the good wishes you sent us... A big Thank You! Well, let's get back to "business" As you know, the articles of these newsletters are part of the "Life Science" course. For the next few weeks we will be focusing on nutrition and the skin (article written by Robert & Elisabeth McCarter) " During the last 50 or so years, we have witnessed a veritable explosion of magazines and other materials being offered to the public, a goodly number of these being devoted to the care of the skin. In the earlier years the discussions and recommendations in these publications were largely aimed at the female members of the reading public, but in the last few years more and more words have been targeted for both sexes with suggested methods of skin care being accepted as scientific "truth" by many of the readers. Why such great interest in the skin, this outer integument which holds us together and prevents the parts from scattering to the wind? It is probably because instinctively we recognize that the outer skin is the visible evidence of the condition of the inner man or woman, the mirror that reflects the health, or lack thereof, presently possesses. Interest in the skin is nothing new, of course. Women throughout history and in all cultures have had recourse to outside agents, including herbs, chemicals, and other concoctions, all supposedly enriched with specific properties capable of enhancing personality and beauty and endowed with mysterious substances to retard the aging process. In earlier times, when surgery was relatively new technique on the medical scene, it was the custom in some European medical schools for budding student surgeons to demonstrate their "fitness' for the profession by draping a human skin over their shoulders and strutting around the operating theaters for all to see and admire. Curiosity being just as much a part of scholastic life in those days as it is now, these students and other scientists, perhaps by accident and even by intent, were enabled to learn much about this very important part of the human body. They learned that the skin is not a dead bit of drapery but rather a functional part of the living body, that is housed a number of very interesting organs and parts and played host to an participated actively in a wondrous array of mind-boggling performances. Surprisingly, too, they also found that the skin itself played many roles vitally important to life itself and that it was a very complex entity, indeed. Centuries have passed in review since the first timid advances were made to explore the intriguing mantle of man and, of course, much still remains to be learned in this day of electronic wonders. In the next few weeks we will learn how to care and feed the skin so that it will remain glowing and youthful looking. Until next week, The Crazy Nut Team. P.S. If you have missed any of the previous articles and would like to read them, please visit our archives at http://crazynut.theshoppe.com