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All-Natural Vs. Toxin-Free

A MyoMed FYI
For decades, pain relief products have touted their all-natural formulas. Even as they claim all-natural status, they include such ingredients as salicylates, alcohol, paraben, and dyes. Certainly, each of these substances occur naturally and fit within the designation of all-natural. The designation, however, of all-natural is not an indication of a healthy or safe product. Nature is full of toxins that are harmful to the human body and many of these have found their way into popular pain remedies.

Much of what has been traditionally used to relieve pain works by introducing toxins into the body to interrupt or shock pain receptors. One of the favorite "all-natural" substances for interrupting pain receptors is salicylic acid or aspirin. One form used extensively in topical applications is methyl salicylate also listed as wintergreen oil. Methyl salicylate, much like aspirin, interrupts pain receptors creating temporary relief. Unfortunately it also builds up in the blood stream to the point that it can permanently damage internal organs. One government information site lists it as the "most poisonous (toxic) form of the salicylates."1 Excessive use can even be fatal, as evidenced by a teenage athlete who died in 2007 from an overdose of methyl salicylate found in Ultra Ben Gay.

Another toxin introduced through many topical pain relief products is alcohol. Besides being a toxin for killing micro-organisms, alcohol is a cheap way to increase absorption without leaving behind excess moisture. Unfortunately, alcohol displaces moisture in the skin and then evaporates, essentially drying out the skin. This repeated drying can lead to conditions ranging from minor irritation to breakdown of essential dermal layers. The use of alcohol also leads to certain texture issues, giving the topical cream an unpleasant feel. Improving the feel of the cream often comes at the cost of adding more toxins.

Paraben provides an inexpensive way to adjust the texture of a cream. The paraben balances out the viscosity of the cream improving the feel for the user. Paraben is a type of wax and a toxin that, along with being cheap, brings with it a set of new problems. Where alcohol has dried out the skin, paraben follows behind plugging up pores in the skin. The paraben essentially blocks the skins ability to re-hydrate. Paraben adds further complications as it breaks down and makes its way into the body. It tends to collect in the body creating deposits that are being diligently studied by medical researchers. The main focus of the research is to determine whether there is a cause and effect relationship between paraben and certain types of cancer.

Salicylates, alcohol, and paraben often bring a color to the cream that is unpleasant. To adjust the cream to a more pleasant look, manufactures add dyes to the cream. Although many of these dyes are inert, they do not leave the body as readily as they should. Just like the old red M&M® dye, as more research is completed, more dyes continue to be banned from the market.

Knowing that the all-natural status of many creams is by no means a seal of health and safety, some manufacturers have departed from it completely. They’ve moved straight to adding pharmaceutical drugs with known side effects. The most common additions to pain cream are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, even with the known hazards prolonged use of ibuprofen poses to the liver and other internal organs.

Toxin-Free Alternatives

Most of the all-natural creams on the market are relying on formulas and methods that are decades old and ingredient lists chosen more for their price than their effectiveness. Science has moved ahead in almost every field and innovation in topical pain relief is no exception. We know, for instance, that most muscle and joint pain is tied to inflammation. This is why sports trainers often apply ice to strains and sprains to eliminate the inflammation and thereby reduce the pain. Applying salicylates or even heavy doses of menthol as found in many topical creams does little to nothing to relieve inflammation. In fact, these treatments dull the pain while leaving the inflammation to create more damage to the already stressed joints and muscles.

Advances in technology have identified fatty acids responsible for re-enforcing cells and preventing or reducing inflammation. According to clinical studies at the University of Connecticut, cetylated fatty acids (CFAs) applied topically on osteoarthritis patients increased mobility and reduced pain within 30 minutes. The study which continued for 30 days showed continued improvement among patients who used the product daily. The basic premise behind the use of CFAs is that they provide the natural, toxin-free ingredients that the body needs to feed built-in systems to reduce inflammation. As the inflammation goes away, the pain follows. Excess CFAs are discharged from the body as natural waste.

Another toxin-free advance in pain relief has been the use of liposomes for delivery. Traditional creams dull pain by interrupting nerve impulses in the skin. In most cases, the skin is not the source of the problem. For an anti-inflammatory cream to truly be effective, it needs to deliver ingredients past the skin and fat layers and into deeper tissue. Liposomes, such as phospholipids, are the body’s natural mechanism for carrying ingredients through fat (or lipid) layers within the body. By encasing anti-inflammatory ingredients such as CFAs in a liposome, the ingredients can be delivered to the source of the inflammation. The liposomes, natural structures in the human body, dissolve and leave the body as natural waste.

Conclusion

The days when all-natural was a stamp of approval on a topical pain cream are long gone. In the United States each year, more people are poisoned by toxins they put on their skin than by toxins taken orally. In other words, what we put on our skin is as important as what we ingest. Toxin-free has replaced all-natural as a mark of acceptable quality in topical pain relief.

1. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002683.htm

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