Here at Echolife we are partial to our green swelling clay (of the ‘calcium bentonite’ kind). We all use it, in several glorious and versatile ways: baths, compresses, face masks, cleanser… it makes our skin soft and detoxes our bodies.
But we’re not the only ones who love our clay: animals in the wild (on almost every continent) have been observed to instinctively seek clay to eat, or bathe in. Why?
Changes in our lifestyles, more environmental pollution and less quality in our diets mean that we are exposed to more free radicals than ever before.
Free radicals (the by-products of oxidants) can harm our cells by causing stress to their surface, and ultimately damaging them. Our body’s smart response is to produce an armour of antioxidants against the free radicals – and save the day by protecting our cells.
Posted in Health and Wellness
Our bodies cannot store magnesium; we need a constant supply of this crucial mineral in our daily diet. But even if your diet is high in foods containing magnesium, you may not be absorbing enough if you have digestive problems. Magnesium levels may be low in those suffering from illness, digestive or malabsorption problems, in alcoholics and in those who consume a diet consisting of refined foods, sugary foods, junk or take-away foods.
A diet high in dairy and low in whole grains can lead to to excess calcium in the tissues and a magnesium deficiency. If you are experiencing cramping, your diet may be high in foods such as cheese, milk or yoghurt. Modify your diet to include mainly magnesium rich foods (see chart below). Continue reading
Posted in Health and Wellness
Tagged Diet and healthy eating, Magnesium, Magnesium Deficiency, Mineral
Most of us love the taste of something ‘sweet’, and although sugar in its many forms is a normal part of our daily diet, sadly (!) too much of it can cause ill-health and accelerate ageing. Science has been studying our intake of sugar and it has been proven that some forms of sugar are taking a toll on our health.
Let’s get technical: our ultra pure green clay is classified as ‘calcium bentonite’ (also known as ‘Montmorillonite’ – don’t be puzzled: both names refer to the same thing). But our clay also contains a significant amount of natural sodium, which means it is absolutely packed with beneficial potent minerals.
How can you use our mineral-rich, all-natural clay? Read on.
Posted in How To's, Natural Skin Care, Product Spotlight
Tagged Bentonite, Detox, Green Clay, Mud wrap, Skin care routine
One of the most common forms of green clay is Bentonite, a clay from the smectite group. It contains substantial amounts of magnesium and a wide variety of trace minerals. Through its natural evolution, bentonite (as well as montmorillonite) also selectively adsorbs a variety of organic material. Echolife’s Calcium Bentonite (Montmorillonite) clay is pH balanced (acid/alkaline ratio).
No two clays are completely alike, even if they are mined in the same area. Our clay is from an underground mine in the beautiful Death Valley/Mojave Desert area of California where it has been protected from the elements for thousands of years. It is finely milled and perfect for adding purified or a good quality still mineral water (hydrating) to make a ‘gel’ or ‘paste’ for face or body applications. Continue reading
The Far Infrared Mineral Lamp was invented by a group of scientists in China, headed by Dr. Gou Wenbin. Early in the 1970′s, an odd and interesting phenomenon was noted at a century-old ceramic factory in rural China. The workers there stood in mud (clay) for much of the work day and the new production manager recognised these working conditions, becoming concerned that the workers would be troubled with arthritis and other related ailments, due to standing on the cold, sodden floor for long period of time.
The ensuing investigations disclosed that the side-effects of standing in the mud were the opposite of original concerns. They found that there was not a single case of arthritis among the workers. A full-scale scientific investigation revealed a single anomaly: an electromagnetic reading in the far-infrared spectrum emanating from the kiln used to fire the ceramics. Analysis of a metallic slag in the kiln, accumulated over years of buildup, showed it was made up of 33 minerals. These minerals happen to correspond with 33 essential minerals in the human body, and when heated sufficiently, radiate far-infrared energy exactly like the human body. Continue reading
Green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years, and for good reason!
In 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of oesophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol. Continue reading
LDL (low-density lipoprotein) or “bad” cholesterol deposits itself on the walls of your arteries, forming plaques that make them hard and narrow. HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or “good” cholesterol removes excess LDL in your blood and brings it to your liver for disposal. The more HDL you consume, the less LDL you’ll have in your blood. Continue reading
Posted in Health and Wellness
Tagged Diet and healthy eating, General Health, Omega-3 fatty acid
An article from the Garvan Institute www.garvan.org.au …
Bitter melon Scientists have uncovered the therapeutic properties of bitter melon, a vegetable and traditional Chinese medicine, that make it a powerful treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
Teams from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica pulped roughly a tonne of fresh bitter melon and extracted four very promising bioactive components. These four compounds all appear to activate the enzyme AMPK, a protein well known for regulating fuel metabolism and enabling glucose uptake.
The results are published online in the international journal Chemistry & Biology.
“We can now understand at a molecular level why bitter melon works as a treatment for diabetes,” said Professor David James, Director of the Diabetes and Obesity Program at Garvan. “By isolating the compounds we believe to be therapeutic, we can investigate how they work together in our cells.
People with Type 2 diabetes have an impaired ability to convert the sugar in their blood into energy in their muscles. This is partly because they don’t produce enough insulin, and partly because their fat and muscle cells don’t use insulin effectively, a phenomenon known as ‘insulin resistance’.
Exercise activates AMPK in muscle, which in turn mediates the movement of glucose transporters to the cell surface, a very important step in the uptake of glucose from the circulation into tissues in the body. This is a major reason that exercise is recommended as part of the normal treatment program for someone with Type 2 diabetes.
The four compounds isolated in bitter melon perform a very similar action to that of exercise, in that they activate AMPK.
Garvan scientists involved in the project, Drs Jiming Ye and Nigel Turner, both stress that while there are well known diabetes drugs on the market that also activate AMPK, they can have side effects.
“The advantage of bitter melon is that there are no known side effects,” said Dr Ye. “Practitioners of Chinese medicine have used it for hundreds of years to good effect.”
Garvan has a formal collaborative arrangement with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica. In addition to continuing to work together on the therapeutic potential of bitter melon, we will be exploring other Chinese medicines.
Professor Yang Ye, from the Shanghai Institute and a specialist in natural products chemistry, isolated the different fractions from bitter melon and identified the compounds of interest.
“Bitter melon was described as ‘bitter in taste, non-toxic, expelling evil heat, relieving fatigue and illuminating’ in the famous Compendium of Materia Medica by Li Shizhen (1518-1593), one of the greatest physicians, pharmacologists and naturalists in China’s history,” said Professor Ye.
“It is interesting, now that we have the technology, to analyse why it has been so effective. Some of the compounds we have identified are completely novel. We have elucidated the molecular structures of these compounds and will be working with our colleagues at Garvan to decipher their actions at a molecular level. We assume it’s working through a novel pathway inside cells, and finding that pathway is going to be very interesting”.
The Garvan Institute of Medical Research was founded in 1963. Initially a research department of St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, it is now one of Australia’s largest medical research institutions with approximately 400 scientists, students and support staff. Garvan’s main research programs are: Cancer, Diabetes & Obesity, Arthritis & Immunology, Osteoporosis, and Neuroscience.
The Garvan’s mission is to make significant contributions to medical science that will change the directions of science and medicine and have major impacts on human health.
The outcome of Garvan’s discoveries is the development of better methods of diagnosis, treatment, and ultimately, prevention of disease.
