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February 2003
Underneath is the main part of the newsletter that was sent out, excluding special offers or items that were being promoted during that month. To access any previous newsletters, please click here, or if you want to sign up for our free newsletter, please click here.
In this issue:
The quest for a wrinkle-free face has been the holy grail since man started walking upright, but even with the time, effort and money spent by all cosmetic manufacturers, few could actually produce a product that would help stop wrinkle formation and remove wrinkles already formed.
The injection of botulism, (Botox™) which is a powerful neuro-toxin, has been the only way for women and men to help reduce wrinkle formation, but even this powerful toxic compound has its limitations, since it cannot be used around the eye area and has other potentially unpleasant side effects.
This all changed when a private laboratory in Spain, in collaboration with a university research facility, and with partial funding by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology developed a new hexapeptide molecule.
This molecule is a non-toxic, non-irritant compound that modulates the excessive stimulation of the facial muscles, relaxing facial tension and also helps to reduce the depth of already formed wrinkles.
For the compound to be effective, it must be included at a 10% solution to a cream. Some companies are now starting to include this molecule into their formulations, but when used at less than the 10% inclusion rate, the cream cannot be as effective, as shown in the clinical trials that were done when the research and development of the molecule was developed.
The website where this cream will be available is not ready yet, but we hope to be able to direct our readers next month to this website - to help them achieve a truly "ageless" face.
Gotu Kola, also called Indian Pennywort or Centella, is a native herb of South Africa, India, Sri Lanka and Madagascar. It has been used extensively in African herbal remedies and has been a major herb in Ayurvedic medicine for the last 3000 years, and was also referred to by early Western medicine in the French pharmacopoeia of 1884.
In the modern day pharmaceutical world it is often used as an active ingredient in tonics, oral slimming formulas, body beautiful preparations, body firming products, wound healing and anti-aging skin care products.
Gotu Kola is said to help purify the blood, promote better circulation, increase energy, healthy skin, assist in helping with high blood pressure, rejuvenating and balancing the mind as well as being a nerve tonic, assisting with slimming, edema, helping with arthritis, rheumatism, treating of liver and kidney problems, an anti stress agent as well as an adaptogen.
The saying "if it is too good to be true, then it usually is" comes to mind when you start talking about this amazing herb, but in the instance of Gotu Kola, much can be said for the properties it contains, and for this reason it has been successfully used for more than 3,000 years.
Gotu Kola contains NO caffeine or any stimulant (do not confuse it with the Kola nut), but contains asiaticosides, which is a triterpene glycoside, which can be classified as a type of antibiotic and may assist in wound treatment and which has also been used to assist in fighting leprosy in both African and Indian herbal treatment since it helps to dissolve the waxy coating of the leprosy bacteria - thereby allowing the immune system to destroy the bacteria.
It further contains brahmosides and brahminosides, which are saponin glycosides, as well as madecassosides - also a glycoside, but with great anti-inflammatory properties.
Over and above the asiaticosides, brahmosides and brahminosides, the plant also is a source of vitamin K (which is used in blood clotting as well as bone maintenance and repair), magnesium, calcium, sodium, madecassic acid, thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, vitamin K, asparate, glutamate, serine, threonine, alanine, lysine and histidine.
The Indian yogis believe that centella helps in their meditation, mental alertness and mental focusing. Students have also reported greater capacity for memory retention and it is also thought to help produce neurotransmitters.
Gotu Kola is a useful herb for bedridden patients since it is a great help with circulation, wound healing and bedsores. People with phlebitis problems (inflammation of the veins), varicose veins, gastric ulcers and other circulatory problems also report benefits from Gotu Kola.
Gotu Kola is also taken for energy and vitality as it is said to help with the normalizing of blood sugar levels, which in turn helps with combating hypoglycemia, mental fatigue, depression and confusion. Gotu Kola could also help with the body's energy level since it has a good supply of thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2) and pyridoxine (vitamin B6), which assists in converting carbohydrates into glucose as well as being needed for normal nervous system functioning.
In India it has for the last 3,000 years of Ayurvedic medicine been used for wound healing, as a mild diuretic, increasing concentration, alertness, as well as anti-anxiety and anti-stress.
In the Far East it is used for treatment of depression and longevity - in China it is also called the "Fountain of Youth" - and by name alone should inspire those looking for a way to look better for longer.
Another anti-ageing benefit that Gotu Kola is said to have is to help with the increase of hemoglobin, while decreasing urea and acid phosphate levels in the blood.
Gotu Kola is said to have an effect on connective tissue, and has great value helping with the synthesis of collagen, thickening of the skin (a great anti-ageing property - as we age our skins become thinner), increasing the tensile strength of the flesh, wound healing, repair of damaged tissue in wound healing, as well as promoting hair and nail growth.
If very large quantities of Gotu Kola are ingested it might cause nausea, but no other side effects exist.
People on any sedatives or calming medication should also avoid Centella, since it could enhance the action of the sedative.
When detoxifying the body it is also helpful to look at Gotu Kola, as it is said to assist with destroying toxic accumulation in the brain as well as the nerves, while helping to clear the body of heavy metals as well as drugs - including recreational drugs.
In some quarters, although extremely alternative, people suffering from hepatitis as well as alcoholic liver disease also use Gotu Kola when detoxifying.
In alternative health this herb is used to treat tumors and cancerous growths, without suppressing the auto immune system or creating toxic wastes within the body.
In its fresh form (you can plant it successfully in your garden) Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica) can also be used in salads and the dried leaves can be used to make a herbal infusion.
We would like to reiterate that the above information is meant as information only, and although the anecdotal qualities have been listed, it is not as such underwritten by clinical Western allopathic medicine, and none of the above should be seen as any health or medicinal claims by Zest for Life or its manufacturers.
Zest for Life includes Gotu Kola in their apple cider vinegar capsules, and can be view at
www.anyvitamins.com/applecider.htm
Other articles of interest 
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You are as young as your faith, as old as your fear and as long as your heart receives messages of beauty, cheer,
courage, grandeur, and power - from the earth, from man and from the Infinite - so long will you stay
Ageless. |
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