minimum
BY LEAH CHERNIKOFF
Thursday, August 7th 2008
It's a hot sticky mess, New York.
And staying dry in soaring temperatures and high humidity make the city seem more like a real jungle than an
urban one. But embarrassing sweat stains don't have to be a part of your summer look.
For every type of girl, there's a perspiration problem-solver. Whether you're high-maintenance and hardcore,
laid-back and eco-friendly, or a health nut, there's a way to make your summer just a bit cooler.
THE "GREEN" WAY
If you're a natural girl who doesn't want to smell natural, Mindy Pennybacker, senior editor of Plenty magazine,
has got tips:
Green Deodorant: "A lot of green deodorants lack the active ingredients common to conventional deodorants
(aluminum, zirconium or zinc). In all frankness, deodorants that don't have aluminum are ultimately not as
effective in the long run. So I just buy cheap conventional antiperspirants, but I look on the label to make sure
they don't contain the most worrisome chemicals.
"The worst ones are known as parabens, which are preservatives added to a lot of personal-care products.
They've been found to mimic estrogen in laboratory tests and cause proliferation of human breast cancer cells in
vitro. I think it's more important to avoid those and I've found if you just look at the labels, there are many
standard deodorants that don't have parabens."
DIY Deodorant: "You can make your own deodorant/antiperspirant just with baking soda and cornstarch. Baking
soda to deodorize (as we all know from our refrigerators), and corn starch because it absorbs moisture. You
could shake it into your hand and put it on in the gym or at home you can use a luxurious powder puff."
GREEN AND RETRO
Handkerchiefs: "There's been a return to handkerchiefs - so you can just discreetly dry off damp places. And you
can find organic cotton versions online at rawganique.com," says Pennybacker.
Towelettes: "The alcohol [in towelettes] makes sweat evaporate and it's gentle enough to put on your face or
other places as the need may be. Plus, alcohol is a really good antiseptic. It's antibacterial and doesn't have the
environmental consequenes of triclosan, which is a chemical used in a lot of products," adds Pennybacker. "I
always have them in my bag to clean up after touching a subway pole."
THE HARD CORE WAY
If you're a high-powered, high-maintenance working woman with no time for sweat, consider a visit to your plastic
surgeon. Leo Otake is a plastic surgeon at Elevation Plastic Surgery in Westport, Conn., and the Botox he uses
to freeze wrinkles can stop you from sweating, too.
"Botox essentially just knocks out the ability of the nerves to chemically transmit their signal. So in the case of
wrinkles, the nerves can't activate the muscles that cause the furrows or the wrinkles. In this case [applying Botox
to armpits or feet], it just blocks the chemical signal for the sweat glands to do their thing. It wears off anywhere
between four to eight weeks," says Otake.
"[Antiperspirant] is a chemical made for mechanically blocking your sweat ducts, so the sweat gland is still making
sweat, but you're plugging it up. So in some ways, it's not the physiologically best way to stop sweating. It's like if
you have a leaking faucet, you put a cork in the spigot as opposed to turning off the faucet itself. So Botox allows
you to turn the faucet off, whereas with an antiperspirant, you're just putting a cork in the spigot."
And while shutting down your ability to sweat might sound dangerous, when it's relegated to small areas of your
body, there's no need to worry:
"Sweating is an essential component of how we keep cool and if you were to knock off the ability to sweat over a
large portion of our bodies, that would be a problem in terms of being able to regulate body heat. But if we're just
knocking off the armpits, that really shouldn't have a big effect overall."
A typical Botox treatment should run about $1,500.
THE DIET WAY
Staying cool and dry for summer can be as easy as altering your diet.
"Our bodies lose a lot of fluid in the summer through perspiration and giving off heat so if it's not replenished, it
can cause fatigue, dehydration, in severe cases, sunstroke," says nutritionist Jennifer Vimbor. "So it is true that
you can cool your body through foods with high water content."
Vimbor recommends fruit (especially citrus), vegetables, legumes and whole grains.
"Foods with high-water content decrease the amount of work your body has to do," explains Vimbor. "Heavier
food, like meat, is going to make your body work harder to break it down so you can absorb all the nutrients,
vitamins and minerals. The more your body has to work, the more heat it produces."
And as refreshing as that iced coffee or margarita may sound, avoiding caffeine and alcohol is key to staying
hydrated and dry during the summer.
"Caffeine will increase your metabolism, which will, in turn, increase the amount of heat you produce as well,"
says Vimbor.
"Drinking is a poor idea to keep cool - the alcohol can cause dehydration. So if you're going to have that
margarita, I would suggest having a glass of water alongside it."
BY LEAH CHERNIKOFF
Thursday, August 7th 2008
It's a hot sticky mess, New York.
And staying dry in soaring temperatures and high humidity make the city seem more like a real jungle than an
urban one. But embarrassing sweat stains don't have to be a part of your summer look.
For every type of girl, there's a perspiration problem-solver. Whether you're high-maintenance and hardcore,
laid-back and eco-friendly, or a health nut, there's a way to make your summer just a bit cooler.
THE "GREEN" WAY
If you're a natural girl who doesn't want to smell natural, Mindy Pennybacker, senior editor of Plenty magazine,
has got tips:
Green Deodorant: "A lot of green deodorants lack the active ingredients common to conventional deodorants
(aluminum, zirconium or zinc). In all frankness, deodorants that don't have aluminum are ultimately not as
effective in the long run. So I just buy cheap conventional antiperspirants, but I look on the label to make sure
they don't contain the most worrisome chemicals.
"The worst ones are known as parabens, which are preservatives added to a lot of personal-care products.
They've been found to mimic estrogen in laboratory tests and cause proliferation of human breast cancer cells in
vitro. I think it's more important to avoid those and I've found if you just look at the labels, there are many
standard deodorants that don't have parabens."
DIY Deodorant: "You can make your own deodorant/antiperspirant just with baking soda and cornstarch. Baking
soda to deodorize (as we all know from our refrigerators), and corn starch because it absorbs moisture. You
could shake it into your hand and put it on in the gym or at home you can use a luxurious powder puff."
GREEN AND RETRO
Handkerchiefs: "There's been a return to handkerchiefs - so you can just discreetly dry off damp places. And you
can find organic cotton versions online at rawganique.com," says Pennybacker.
Towelettes: "The alcohol [in towelettes] makes sweat evaporate and it's gentle enough to put on your face or
other places as the need may be. Plus, alcohol is a really good antiseptic. It's antibacterial and doesn't have the
environmental consequenes of triclosan, which is a chemical used in a lot of products," adds Pennybacker. "I
always have them in my bag to clean up after touching a subway pole."
THE HARD CORE WAY
If you're a high-powered, high-maintenance working woman with no time for sweat, consider a visit to your plastic
surgeon. Leo Otake is a plastic surgeon at Elevation Plastic Surgery in Westport, Conn., and the Botox he uses
to freeze wrinkles can stop you from sweating, too.
"Botox essentially just knocks out the ability of the nerves to chemically transmit their signal. So in the case of
wrinkles, the nerves can't activate the muscles that cause the furrows or the wrinkles. In this case [applying Botox
to armpits or feet], it just blocks the chemical signal for the sweat glands to do their thing. It wears off anywhere
between four to eight weeks," says Otake.
"[Antiperspirant] is a chemical made for mechanically blocking your sweat ducts, so the sweat gland is still making
sweat, but you're plugging it up. So in some ways, it's not the physiologically best way to stop sweating. It's like if
you have a leaking faucet, you put a cork in the spigot as opposed to turning off the faucet itself. So Botox allows
you to turn the faucet off, whereas with an antiperspirant, you're just putting a cork in the spigot."
And while shutting down your ability to sweat might sound dangerous, when it's relegated to small areas of your
body, there's no need to worry:
"Sweating is an essential component of how we keep cool and if you were to knock off the ability to sweat over a
large portion of our bodies, that would be a problem in terms of being able to regulate body heat. But if we're just
knocking off the armpits, that really shouldn't have a big effect overall."
A typical Botox treatment should run about $1,500.
THE DIET WAY
Staying cool and dry for summer can be as easy as altering your diet.
"Our bodies lose a lot of fluid in the summer through perspiration and giving off heat so if it's not replenished, it
can cause fatigue, dehydration, in severe cases, sunstroke," says nutritionist Jennifer Vimbor. "So it is true that
you can cool your body through foods with high water content."
Vimbor recommends fruit (especially citrus), vegetables, legumes and whole grains.
"Foods with high-water content decrease the amount of work your body has to do," explains Vimbor. "Heavier
food, like meat, is going to make your body work harder to break it down so you can absorb all the nutrients,
vitamins and minerals. The more your body has to work, the more heat it produces."
And as refreshing as that iced coffee or margarita may sound, avoiding caffeine and alcohol is key to staying
hydrated and dry during the summer.
"Caffeine will increase your metabolism, which will, in turn, increase the amount of heat you produce as well,"
says Vimbor.
"Drinking is a poor idea to keep cool - the alcohol can cause dehydration. So if you're going to have that
margarita, I would suggest having a glass of water alongside it."
| The Fine Arts Building, 410 South Michigan Avenue Suite #306, Chicago, IL 60605 Telephone: (312) 235-0050 Fax: (312) 235-0055 Email Address: info@ChicagoNutritionist.com Nutrition Counseling Services, Inc. |
| NUTRITION COUNSELING SERVICES |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |