On the face of it this may seem like a logical statement, but the truth is somewhat more complicated. What has to be realized is that all living things evolved from the same primitive life forms be they plant or animal. All of these formed in the ancient oceans and eventually transformed to terrestrial species. Careful inspection of the metabolic and reproductive processes shows great similarities between species down to the fundamental chemical reactions in life cycles and nucleic processes.
In recent years, advances in science have made it possible to recreate many natural processes or so we believe. However, in many cases minute differences can make huge differences in the way the body utilizes these substances. For example, in the 1950’s saturated fats were thought to be the major cause of heart disease, the leading cause of death at the time. As a result, hydrogenation was developed as a way of making unsaturated fats solid at room temperature so that it could be used in place of butter or vegetable fat such as Crisco. Heating vegetable fats to around 400 degrees Fahrenheit and then bubbling hydrogen gas into the heated fats produces a fundamental change in these hydrogenated fats. The elevated temperature allows hydrogen to attach to the unsaturated end of the fat molecule, thus changing its physical attributes. Among several other processes this method is used to make olio margarine, which then became a substitute for butter. Unfortunately, the hydrogenation process changes the stereo chemical structure of the fat contained in olio margarine. Because of the heat used in this process the shape of the molecule changes from its natural form referred to as “cis” to an unnatural fat called “trans” otherwise known as” trans-fat”.
You may have noticed that several foods are labeled with the statement “contains no trans fats”. The importance of this is that transfats have been linked to cancer because they become incorporated into our mitochondria due to the chemical similarity to naturally occurring fats. This change results in defective cellular activity leading to cancer and is believed to be a contributing factor to the high incidence of cancer in the US. In addition to limiting saturated fats, hydrogenation results in fats that have much greater resistance to rancidity, that dramatically changes the taste of foods and keeps them tasting “fresh”.
In general fats play an important role in storage and release of toxins in the human body regardless of the way they become incorporated into our cellular structure. Therefore any toxins contained in our diet, environment, or topical preparations can find their way into our fat cells. This is particularly true for fat-soluble substances. There is actual scientific evidence that certain chemicals called persistent organic pollutants (POPs) accumulate in fat cells and get released into the bloodstream and other organs when a person loses large amounts of fat. There is also evidence that this might have measurable effects on metabolic and liver health in particular. In many cases this effect can be expressed as a feeling of general malaise or just feeling “crummy”. Although topical preparations contained in skin care have a reduced tendency to become incorporated into fat cells due to the protective nature of skin they are not exempt from this phenomenon, particularly superficial fat cells found around the face and neck. Therefore, it is not advisable to use skin care products that contain man-made components because these substances can have adverse effects especially after significant weight loss. The other thing to keep in mind is that the primary substance desired for use in a naturally derived skin care works more effectively when combined with vitamins and minerals that they naturally coexist with in their native state.
Made with natural ingredients, Curativa Bay natural skin care line, with over 20 products including .02% Hypochlorous Acid, is made with naturally derived and organic ingredients, never tested on animals so you can be assured that nothing, but nature touches your skin