Starting this new year, I want to share with you one of the best kept skin care secrets.
Last week, I went through some boxes with old supplements. These supplements were over 3 years old. I don’t use most of them anymore so I wanted to throw away the ones that had passed the expiration date. I found a box with Co Q10.
Quite expensive to just throw away, so I decided to open a capsule and put the content (vegetable oil, beeswax and CoQ10) on my skin: face and hands.
And Wow! My face looks amazing! I’ve never used a cream or lotion that had such a drastic effect! After just three applications. Wrinkles became less, age spots became less, old scars seemed to heal.
Absolutely amazing! And it feels great too. So if you have (an old box with) CoQ10 put it on your face and try it yourself. (And no, I’m not selling any!)
American consumers want natural drugs, believing natural drugs are safer than
synthetics. The pharmaceutical firms seem to prefer synthetics or
semisynthetics, in part due to proprietary economic reasons. The health of the
drug company by necessity must concern the drug company before the health of
the consumer. As noted in a recent International Trade Commission Study,
"Between 1976 and 1990, the cost of developing a pharmaceutical product in the
US increased from $54 million to $231 million. Only one out of every
4,000-10,000 compounds discovered can be marketed commercially–after which a
company has less than ten years to partially recoup its R&D investment
before its patent expires and generic manufacturers enter the market or a
me-too drug is created by a competitor" (Chemical Marketing Reporter 1991).
Such investments may lead pharmaceutical firms to prefer a proprietary
synthetic or semisynthetic to a relatively less proprietary herbal or natural
product.
American pharmaceutical firms often seek the semisynthetic and avoid
the natural compound, when, at least in some cases, the natural compound might
be best. The pharmaceutical firm must consider several attributes including,
safety, efficacy, reproducibility of results, patentability, and profitability.
With at least $7,000 in public relations directed to each physician in this
country by the pharmaceutical firms, the physicians may reflect the same
priorities as the pharmaceutical firms. Consumers, National Institute of
Health, Food and Drug Administration, and the government as a whole should seek
the safest, cheapest, most efficacious drugs. Often, these could prove to be
standardized herbs or relatively unpatentable natural products, placing the
drug companies and the consumers and government’s interests in conflict. More
than 10% of Americans can’t even afford modern medicine and/or insurance.
Farnsworth (1990) estimates that about 64% of the world’s population or 3.2
billion people use plants as drugs (largely unable to afford modern medicine).
If their drugs are worth as much to them economically as modern medicine is to
Americans, these plants are worth trillions of dollars.
Takeaways:
It’s against the law to patent a natural plant
To make money pharmaceutical firms seek to create synthetic drugs based on the properties of natural plants
Most natural plants work far better than their synthetic counterparts
Pharmaceutical are in the business of making money, so it’s up to the public to get educated about what really works
Well meaning MDs and Docs don’t stand a chance against the marketing budgets of big pharma
Note: I wrote this post and then realized that the Green Business of the Year award was announced back in November. I’m a little late with this news, but none the less my appreciation still stands.
Original Post
I first heard about Mountain Rose Herbs from herbalist/alchemist Daniel Vitalis. Daniel does most of his bulk herb purchasing from MRH because the company has such a commitment to quality products, affordable pricing, fare trade and the organic movement.
Upon hearing Daniel’s recommendation I tried a few of their products and was immediately sold. I’ve now been using MRH products in my daily Elixirs for about 5 months.
This morning I got a Facebook message from Green America (formally Co-Op America) that gave me another reason to love MRH even more:
Our 2008 People’s Choice Award
What better way to celebrate the new year, but through celebrating the
best of 2008. The votes are in and the people have spoken!
Congratulations to the winner of our fourth annual People’s Choice
Award for Green Business of the Year- Mountain Rose Herbs.
Mountain
Rose Herbs is an amazing business. A member of our Green Business
Network for 17 years, Mountain Rose has grown from a one-woman
living-room operation in the late 1980s to a remarkably sustainable
mail-order company employing 60 full-time employees in Eugene, OR.
Mountain Rose’s products are truly green, with a commitment to sourcing
only 100-percent organic herbs since 2001, in addition to pioneering
the sale of Fair Trade Certified™ herbs in the US.
But beyond their product, everything about Mountain Rose is deeply, deeply GREEN.
The
entire company produces less than 80 gallons of waste per month (the
equivalent of a four-person household), and staff are committed to the
ultimate goal of zero waste. Mountain Rose makes deliveries in a fleet
of trucks running on 100-percent locally produced recycled biodiesel,
and even at their desks in the office, Mountain Rose employees are
using recycled office supplies and energy-efficient computers.
They are the real deal, and a true asset to Green America.
I love hearing stories of small business success. I love hearing stories of small green business success even more.
Congratulations to the team at Mountain Rose Herbs. We wish you continued success in 2009.
Being a Vegan is a lifestyle choice that can often make it difficult to find appropriate foods to eat. Also, some of these recipes can be time consuming with regard to cooking them. With the introduction of a slow cooker to your life, maintaining a vegan lifestyle has become easier than you could imagine.
Have a delicious sauerbraten ready when you get home from your busy day. And you will probably have enough leftover to make a second meal later in the week.
This easy, mouth-watering shredded barbecued pork recipe with tasty homemade sauce is simple to make in your crockpot. Serve on a large, whole-wheat bun to wow your family at dinner tonight.
This easy appetizer recipe is sure to be the hit of any party or meal. Throw everything together in a crockpot and heat. Just make sure you make copies of the recipe, everyone will want one.
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