Skin - The Holy Fortress
Skin - The Holy Fortress
What exactly does it mean to say that skin is a holy fortress? Well, when you think of a fortress you think of a huge walled city. The outside wall is the thickest and the tallest structure in a walled city. It is meant to keep invading forces out and those inside safe and warm. So it is with the skin. Skin is the body0s first greatest defense against the outside world. It is the largest organ on the human body. It is there to keep our bodies warm, moist and contained and it is also there to assist in keeping invading forces outside, such as bacteria, viruses and parasites.
But I0m sure you have guessed that skin is far from impervious. The skin is in fact very full of holes, thus the term holy. We constantly suffer from blood suckers like mosquitoes, leeches, flees, or lice that are in fact attracted to the very odors our skin exudes. One, tiny cut is all that0s need to allow invading bacterial forces access to the body fortress and start a massive infection that can eventually seize control of our fortress if left unchecked.
At the same time the skin has a vast ability for healing itself unlike a rock fortress. When holes are blasted into cities, they don0t grow back. The skin does, in a very unique way. If kept healthy and supplied with all the right materials the skin can slap a patch on a hole in a matter of minutes and have it completely sealed in just a day maybe a few more depending on the size of the hole.
For many people skin, their outside wall, can be very sensitive. It can react in terrible ways to over-exposure to sunlight, leaving nasty, blistering burns. It can also react adversely to chemical contaminants in cleaners or other harsh astringents. In this case it often leaves terrible, itchy sometimes painful blotches or rashes.
And that0s not all, even healthy, vibrant unblemished skin is holy. The entire surface of out body is covered in holes, known as pores and still more holes commonly known as follicles where our hair grows. And yet there0s more. There are microscopic holes between the cells and in the cells themselves. All these holes operate to keep our body properly moderated. They keep the temperature just right, the salt and water content just right. They allow sunlight to enter our body and create vitamin D. They take in many things from the atmosphere around us and things that are in contact with the skin.
Now the body is a pretty smart machine. It can recognize a massive variety of living invading forces and launch a counter attack within hours of discovering a breach. But, sadly, the body has not learned to recognize invaders that are not living. Things like bleach, SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfide), formaldehyde (Quaternium 15), lead, nickel, dioxin and a thousand more I can0t even begin to pronounce. These chemicals and heavy metals invade the body in force with no strategy, through the very holes our skin has built in for it0s own use. They inflame the skin itself, adversely affecting it0s ability to perform its function. Then they permeate the body and all its organs.
Most of the chemicals masquerade as normal functions inside our bodies. SLS for example has a similar structure to estrogen, causing our body to recognize and use SLS instead estrogen. Obviously this can have a pretty far reaching affect on body function, men and women. Many of these chemicals just get into our bodies and wreak havoc on our cells and genes creating terrible abnormalities and genetic changes which could eventually result in cancer or birth defects.
Our livers and kidneys work to cleanse the body of these invaders, often contaminating themselves in turn. But, the body can not conquer an enemy with an in-exhaustible supply of fresh troops. Meaning that the body can never completely cleanse itself due to constant re-contamination from the outside.
So where the heck are these fresh troops coming from? How do they keep getting into our bodies? It0s simple, everything you come in contact with has the potential to be taken into the body via the skin. This, of course includes, shampoos, soaps, household cleansers, aerosols, make-up, deodorant, moisturizers and more. The ingredients in all of these products can be absorbed through the skin and into the body.
I can see some skepticism. Don0t we contaminate our bodies through ingestion or inhalation? Well, heck yeah we do, we contaminate them more quickly in that way, thus the reason we don0t eat our shampoo. But people are lulled into the false sense of security that our fortress is impenetrable, that our skin is impervious. Not only that, but people believe the ingredients in products sold on store shelves must surely be safe. In fact they never question it after they see the $1 price tag on a bottle of Suave. But, I0m here to tell you, your fortress is easily penetrated and your body is ignorant to the invading forces that can and do cause serious, often irreparable damage. And also there are little to no government regulations on products that are not ingested. The government recommends testing for new chemicals, but that is at the discretion of the manufacturer. Do you honestly see them spending any more than they have to on product development, because I gotta tell ya they aren0t in the game to keep you healthy. They0re in it to keep their prices cheap and their customers buying.
Still not sure. Need some proof? On February 6 of 2007 MSN reported two young women died from a skin numbing solution they placed on their legs after laser hair removal. Now true this is an extreme case and the product was a prescription , but it does prove that chemicals easily pass from the outside surface of the skin into the body readily. This product was simply meant to numb the outside layer of abraded skin, not to have any affect on the internal function of the body. And yet it did and two women died. Time and constant re-application with ingredients and chemicals that are un-natural and unfamiliar to our body can soon contaminate our fortress beyond its ability to heal.
Sadly today, there isn0t a human on this planet without chemical contaminants coursing through their veins. Even fetuses in the womb. The Environmental Working Group discovered dozens of chemicals in the cord blood of newborns, who had yet to take a breath. The contamination of our children has reached epic proportions. While yet to be tested or proven I believe you can see the affects of chemicals in the rates of cancer, hyperactivity, birth abnormalities, autism, infertility, over-fertility, genetic anomalies and so much more. Read the backs of your bottles. Do you recognize those chemicals? Look them up on the internet and see exactly what the experts have to say about them. For the good of your children and mine.
About the author
Manufacturers put 10000s of chemicals into our household products. Organural offers a variety of http://www.organural.com and other natural alternatives to store brands.
