Toxic Skincare: What Big Beauty Isn’t Telling You | Brian Vaszily

[00:00:00] Brian Vaszily: The problem is that people largely don’t realize, I call it the worst offender when it comes to toxins, is skin care. It is number one. It’s number one because of the sheer volume of toxins that people are putting in.

[00:00:19] Let’s not forget, and if we don’t know this, let’s remember that your skin everybody is an organ. It’s an organ. And it is not something that’s meant to be experimented on, just like you wouldn’t put, you know, some chemical in a cream on your brain or your heart. 

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[00:00:38] Dr. Z new: Welcome to the Natural Living Family Podcast, where we help you say no to overwhelm and yes to intentional living so you could take your health back God’s way. We’re Dr. Z and Mama Z bestselling authors, Bible Health Educators, and Parents of Seven. And this show is all about equipping you with simple, low-toxic living and budget friendly health solutions so you can walk in the abundant life you were created for.

[00:01:03] This isn’t about chasing trends or doing it all, it’s about renewing your mind, rejecting toxic systems, and embracing God’s design for healing and wholeness. Because the truth is God has a beautiful plan for your life, and yes, your health matters to him. Are you ready to get started? Awesome. Let’s dive in….

[00:01:27] Elijah: Hey, Dr. Z and mama Z. This is Elijah and I’m 12 years old, and I was wondering, can essential oils help support a healthy immune system for someone like me who is always on the go?

[00:01:42] Dr. Eric Zielinski: Hey Elijah. What an awesome question buddy, and thank you so much for sending it. We love hearing from the younger generation like you. It just blesses my heart to know that this Bible health revelation is happening and there’s a revolution, and you’re part of it. You’re being really wise and we’re super proud of you.

[00:02:01] The answer is yes. Essential oils can definitely help support your immune system, especially when you’re always on the go. Like you said, some of the best oils for this are citrus oils like orange, lemon, and grapefruit. These are rich in a natural compound called laminine, and that’s known because it’s rich in antioxidants and it’s an anti-inflammatory, and that means it helps protect your body’s cells and calms down stress that wears down your immune system.

[00:02:28] So here’s an. Easy way to use them. After you shower, you mix two drops of orange oil with one tablespoon of coconut oil and rub it on your arms, your legs, your chest, and your back. This helps the oil absorb into your skin, gives your immune system a natural boost. Plus, it smells amazing and it’s a great moisturizer and something fun.

[00:02:48] What I call my natural flu shot recipe. Don’t worry it tastes like candy. Get one serving of a liposomal vitamin C one teaspoon, A manuka honey or raw local organic honey. One teaspoon of an extra urgent unrefined coconut oil, one to two drops of a immune boosting blend, and I’ll give you that in just a minute and a quarter teaspoon of some pumpkin pie spice, or cinnamon powder with a pinch of salt.

[00:03:16] You mix that all together and it’s full of nutrients that help your body stay strong, especially during cold and flu season. Now you could buy essential oils, um, from a company and they oftentimes sell immune boosting blends. Or you can make your own and you can, um, ask your parents to buy cinnamon bark, clove, rosemary, orange, lemon, and you mix ’em all together with eucalyptus oil.

[00:03:43] And that right there is a pretty powerful blend that’s been shown to kill the flu virus. Right. Remember, the best way of staying healthy is doing the basics really well. Get good sleep, drink clean water, eat whole foods, breathe pure air, and spend as much time as you can outside. We love what it says in the book of Psalms, chapter 1 39.

[00:04:06] I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Amen. God made your body strong, buddy and smart, and he gave us natural tools to support it. Thanks again, Elijah. You’re doing such a great job learning and asking questions. Keep it up. We are cheering you on and hey, if anyone else listening has a question we’d love to feature in on the show, just visit naturallivingfamily.com/ask and send it in.

[00:04:32] Today I’m thrilled to introduce you to a good friend and colleague, Brian Vaszily. Brian has been a prominent leader, researcher, and advocate in healthy aging and longevity for over 20 years.

[00:04:42] He’s the founder of the popular health destination with over 500, 000 members, TheArtOfAntiAging. com, whose mission is to empower you with the most effective evidence based natural solutions to avoid and overcome disease, live long and thrive. He’s the host of the Art of Anti Aging’s highly respected Healthy Aging Summits, which have impacted the lives of millions of people. And he’s the founder of Purity Woods, one of today’s fastest growing certified organic skincare and supplement companies. In his long career, Brian has interviewed, guided, and worked closely with hundreds of top MDs, researchers who focus on different aspects of healthy aging.

[00:05:22] And he’s renowned for his ability to provide you the most important steps from these diverse areas of health in a clear and compelling manner, as you are about to hear. 

[00:05:33] All right, my dear friend Brian, thank you again for joining me today, my friend. How are you doing? 

[00:05:40] Brian Vaszily: Well, I feel quite amazing, Eric, especially because I’m here talking to you today. You know, I’ve followed your work for 10 years and I love what you have put out and done for the world. So I’m really looking forward to this conversation.

[00:05:56] Dr. Eric Zielinski: Now, not to throw you through a loop, but you’re under a little pressure right now. A little stress because of the circumstances that you put yourself in because you’re working on something really special. And why I want to mention that is you’re the founder of Art and Aging and you host some of the largest, most influential online events in the world. And you’re in the throes of it right now. So I think this is kind of interesting to talk to you. Like you’re editing,you’re tweaking. You’re probably doing a bunch of things right now, getting ready for your upcoming event.

[00:06:30] First off, just thank you, for not just giving people like me a voice, cause it’s been an honor to be featured in these events over the years, but for sharing this information in such a way that is palatable for people, that’s easy to access and actionable.

[00:06:47] And for those of you who don’t know, Brian’s the guy and I just read his bio. So you got the official version of it. But Brian, give us a little background of why you’ve done these events and kind of go through today.

[00:07:00] So, you know, how is this relevant for people now as it even more was when he first started? 

[00:07:08] Brian Vaszily: Yeah, those are great questions. Well, regarding the pressure, first of all, it’s all year long, man, but I love it. I love it. I, one of my childhood idols was Michael Jordan and he performed well under pressure.

[00:07:20] So, you know, I learned from all the. I try to learn from all the greats in all different walks of life and, yeah,I do enjoy that because I, just, I’m doing what I’m called to do, as I know you are, and, you know, what I’m called to do, and there’s reasons behind the why, is, provide the most evidence based, natural steps, in other words, not toxic steps, not medicine, in terms of pharmaceuticals, not surgery, the most evidence based natural steps for people to look and feel their best, avoid, possibly even overcome, disease and live long doing it.

[00:07:55] This is my heart and soul. That, you know, is what the art of anti aging. com is entirely based on. And our summits, every single event, I try to, make it even greater. You’ve been a part of pretty much all of them. A core part, for good reason. because you have, again, a wide swath really of insights. You know, learned insights to offer the world.

[00:08:19] So you’ve been in it, you know, I’ve been on the other side of this chair where I’m doing a lot of the interviewing. You’ve been on the other side of that. I just take heart, first and foremost to it. And then, you know, so I lead with heart on it and pull in the best of the best in terms of the experts, you know, before events,I grill you.

[00:08:39] You know, exactlywhat you’re going to provide, to the world through these events. And we just massage it and make sure it’s outstanding. And it’s helped now, I’m so honored, millions of people at this point. And you know, every day I’m like, I can’t believe I’m in this role where it feels good to touch one life.

[00:08:56] When you’re touching millions of lives,it’s an honor, it’s humbling. To be honest with you. So I appreciate you putting the spotlight on our own events when in fact you’re doing yours here and again, I’m so looking forward to being on the other side of this chair and sharing some really powerful information.

[00:09:12] Brief origin story. If you want me to go deeper, I will. But, you know, first half of my life was quite rough. I, as a young boy, I was abused by my father, to be frank about it. He was a good man until around my age of nine, then he turned severely alcoholic. And, you know, if his life was written into a novel, people wouldn’t believe what he went through.

[00:09:34] Super fast. You know, he was, basically a spy for the U. S. in World War II, and he was in German, and he saw everything happening there. He fell in love with a woman, they were going to get married. She turned out to be a Russian spy, posing as a German. And one day, near the end of the war, I believe it was, she was disappeared and he never saw her again.

[00:09:53] He had to deal with that. Then he, later in life, he watched his first wife they were arguing. She’s stepping out of a car and he watches a truck hit and killed her. Then a little bit later in life was, you know, his wife before my mother who he was married to for the final 25 years of his life. But, he lost a son who was 14 who got hit and killed.

[00:10:11] And back in those days, as you know, Dr. Z, people did not deal with trauma like that in such a healthy way. They certainly didn’t, go through counseling or anything like that. So he didn’t deal with it in any way. He dealt with it by hitting the bottle and then figuratively and literally hitting us.

[00:10:29] And so I had a rough early part of my childhood on that front. And then on top of it, you know, to his credit, he did kick the bottle, but then he spent the last 10 years of his own lifemostly in hospitals, dying a frankly horrible death. And my mother was right there by his side the whole time. I witnessed firsthand as a young, as a child, through being a very young man, how inept, I’ll just put it this way, how inept and cruel our medical system can be. And so I watched that and I had a lesson in that. And, you know, they essentially experimented on him with drugs and different things and had very little sensitivity, during the whole process. I learned a lot that I did not ask to learn, but I learned a lot at a very young age.

[00:11:12] Then I was poor and I became a very young father, myself and my wife and I, we struggled. I mean, dirt poor where, but nonetheless, we pushed ourselves through college full time while working,minimum wage jobs full time, lived in studio apartment, for example, where I had to choose, you know, on certain months before between putting food on the table for my baby or keeping the lights on.

[00:11:31] So it was rough. Rough first half of life, long story really short, the one consistent thing that helped me pull through all of that and be on the spot I am today alive and indeed thriving is powerful women. A wonderful angel of a mother, same for a sister, certain teachers in my life, certain friends.

[00:11:52] They all happened to be women and they really stuck by me and held me up when I was suicidal. I had, you know, at different points. So that’s the early part of the story.

[00:12:03] So now fast forward. I have been on the inside of the bad guy, meaning my very first real job, you know, when I did get out of school, I had to take it, was inside of, I’ll just put it this way, the pharmaceutical industry.

[00:12:16] So I saw a lot from the inside there and everything, all the people’s suspicions, I will verify are largely true. That’s not bad. people that work inside these organizations. But as a whole, it is not doing wonderful things in our world.

[00:12:32] There are some things, some drugs can become necessary. Of course they can. The excessive amount is a massive problem and what goes on, people wouldn’t believe.

[00:12:42] Anyway, I, as soon as I could, I finally did find my way out of that, got into the natural health world, as you know, I met a doctor and he was crazy and he was brilliant he showed me what he wanted to do. He showed me in some ways how he was doing it and I was like, well, there’s better ways to make this happen.

[00:12:59] That doctor was Dr. Mercola. He and I really grew Mercola. com. Now we’re talking 20 some years back now, 24 or 5 years ago, but you know, and that’s really how I got even more of a deep education.

[00:13:12] Now fast forward, seven, eight years ago, I think it was, what was it? 2018, 17, 18. I was at a crossroads. I’m like, wow, there’s a lot of things I can do here now. If I could go this direction, but I really didn’t have a choice.

[00:13:26] Again, I was called and part of the calling was, I watched these powerful women, Dr. Z, that had been so key to really saving my life and helping me overcome a lot of internal angst from everything that happened and thrive. And I watched as these powerful negative messages of aging impacted even them. And in very negative ways in mindset ways and I’m like, wait a minute this myth, this aging myth goes that once you hit 40, you’re over the hill.

[00:13:57] And, as each year progresses, you’re doomed more and more to suffering, and disease, and decline, and being unattractive, and incapable, invisible. And I’m like,whoa this does not match at all with everything that I have learned, evidence based learned, in all of my experience.

[00:14:17] Which is that the 40s, the 50s, the 60s, the 70s, even the 80s and beyond, these should be the best years of people’s lives. And I mean from a physical, mental, and emotional perspective. So, that myth, that’s harming so many people, especially women, that aging equals doom, is in direct opposition to the reality, which is that no, these should be on all fronts the best years of your life.

[00:14:43] Long story short, the art of anti aging was born. I’m like, I’m going to pull forward to the world, the truth here. And that’s why today our mission still is to provide the most evidence based natural steps to look your best, feel your best, avoid disease, and live long. 

[00:15:00] Dr. Eric Zielinski: And this unreal ability just to pull the best out of people, when you interview them, Brian, it comes from that story. And thanks so much for sharing it. The compassion, the love, the genuineness, I mean, from the pain was birthed this passion that you couldn’t run away from. It’s kind of like you were in your proverbial belly of the whale, like the story of Jonah, you couldn’t get out. And then you’re like, I’m going to do it. And folks to recognize the value of Brian being a researcher for well over two and a half, almost three decades to bring the best of the best. And that’s what I really value. And that’s what we’re going to do today. We’re going to pull in and out of all your vast knowledge, I’ve asked you to just hone in on one particular topic is skincare, its relationship to heart health, and why it’s so important.

[00:15:47] Because when you look at the top causes of death, we consistently see heart attack, stroke, diabetes, which isn’t a cause of death. Diabetes usually ends up being a factor in heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

[00:16:01] So it’s kind of, it’s interesting where we’re at when it comes to it, but ultimately maybe it’s more about a broken heart. And maybe we could talk a little bit about that too, versus just the physical trauma to it.

[00:16:13] So the one thing I value, and I would love to begin with this. Is the best of the best that you’ve seen? I mean, drop a couple golden nuggets on people like these little known things that you’ve had the privilege. You said very eloquently, very humbling to be in front of the world’s most foremost clinicians and experts and scientists consistently. And you’ve got this knowledge at your fingertips. It’s powerful, it really is.

[00:16:41] A couple things that people need to take away. And I think people are going to be surprised at least one of them, huh?

[00:16:49] Dr. Z new: Hey, friend, real quick, if you’ve been listening and thinking, I wanna live this way, but I need help, well, that’s exactly why we created the Bible Health Academy. It’s our monthly mentorship and training hub packed with Bible health solutions, non-toxic living strategies, and the like-minded community.

[00:17:05] You need to walk in the abundant life God designed for you. Whether you’re brand new to natural living or ready to go deeper, this is where transformation happens from the inside out. Visit biblehealthacademy.com to learn more. We hope you’ll join us.

[00:17:21] Brian Vaszily: I’m not sure if they’re going to be surprised perhaps, but one thing that comes to mind immediately is that when I first, in the first even decade of being deeply immersed in research, I heard a lot of people say, and I was also a believer that if you optimize your health, you are essentially immune to what I call the biggest problem today. Now I call it that, which is toxins.

[00:17:48] I believed that, you know what, if you really do everything close to right, proper diet the nutrition aspect, the exercise, the sleep,all the big keys and some of the smaller ones, and you can, avoid the issues that toxins present.

[00:18:05] I am now a firm believer, based on deep research, that the opposite is true. You can be the world’s healthiest person, but if you are not taking steps to reduce your toxin exposure, you’re in for some serious trouble. And your life will be cut short and your quality of your life will be cut short. Not only, you know, with the organ called your skin, but every organ in your body, including your heart, is going to be impacted.

[00:18:32] You have to take steps on both fronts. It’s a two prong process, boost your health, reduce the toxins. We can talk, especially in the context of skin, some ways to do that. That’s one of the biggest. Very related, A more recent, realization is just how impactful air pollution is inside of the home. So we’ve heard this for a while. However, it has escalated, in terms of its severity, and now I have learned how deeply it impacts even your brain. So this internal air pollution, there’s pollution outside, but the air inside homes can be up to 100 times more polluted. Perhaps people have heard that and that’s very true.

[00:19:15] And this impacts your brain. It causes inflammation. Now, this is a big problem, not only because it leads to all sorts of issues and diseases that can prompt decline and dementia, et cetera. Eric, it’s a big problem because it impacts your ability to make wise decisions. 

[00:19:32] Dr. Eric Zielinski: Yes. 

[00:19:33] Brian Vaszily: All right.

[00:19:33] When your brain’s inflamed, the more it is, the harder it is for you to make choices that are based on what’s best for you long term. You’re much more prone to make impulsive, terrible decisions that harm you worse. It kind of becomes a downward spiral. You have to take steps. Largely, air pollution, I’d call number one on that front.

[00:19:54] But these other sources, cosmetics and personal care, close second. Another close second is the toxins that unfortunately, in so many municipal water supplies these days. This is a huge problem. It’s only growing. The reason it’s more of a problem inside homes is because we are bringing more and more stuff inside of our homes, that’s just loaded with toxins.

[00:20:17] The number’s anywhere from 86,000-93,000 different chemicals, are allowed for use, or used in a wide variety of our everyday products. Of all those, 1 percent have been tested for safety. 1%. So that’s a huge, red flag unto itself.

[00:20:37] And here I want to make a important statement here. This might be the third thing. It’s about calmly taking steps to reduce your exposure.

[00:20:49] But if I am worrying you, if anybody worries you, if you feel worry on this front, the worry is a worse toxin than anything we’re talking about. And I must make that public service announcement. If you feel scared, if what I’m saying to you scares you, that’s not the point.

[00:21:06] Because the point is, take it just gradually, step by step. Every move you make on this front has a more profound impact on improving your health and well being than most people imagine. So, if you feel worry, that’s a worse toxin. Address that worry, that toxin first before any of all this.

[00:21:26] This is just education. And taking it step by step. Man, any step you take that we discussed today can go a very long way to improving your health. 

[00:21:37] Dr. Eric Zielinski: Something I discovered. I’m glad you said that because something I discovered when I jumped into this natural health world, a lot of folks in this space, especially the people that are some of our favorites out there. I’ve had many conversation with the doctors in the New York Times, bestsellers and people in our space. And a lot of them are hypochondriacs.

[00:21:56] They invent things. They’re nuts. And their popularity is surmounting cause they’re so passionate about it. Yeah. And it’s like, if you haven’t, if you have a micro milligram of mold in your home, you basically just need to get your will set up. You’re gonna die. 

[00:22:15] Brian Vaszily: Yeah. Or pack your bags and get out of that house. Run! 

[00:22:17] Dr. Eric Zielinski: Yeah. Right? Right? So how do you? I love that because, and take it back to my faith, that we’ve been designed to be very resilient. And if you compare our environment today versus 500 years ago, it’s uncomparable. It’s a miracle that we’re alive. But then again, it’s not.

[00:22:38] And I think about Brian, maybe we can kind of go down this rabbit hole for a second or not, if you wish. But how many times have you gone hiking? And you see a tree growing out of this, like cleft of a rock. In a 90 degree angle here,. And then it goes up there, because it’s where the sunshine is.

[00:22:56] And you just think back. And when I look at things like that, like, how does this grow in this area? It’s like God created nature to thrive, to live. We have been designed to live and we will create resilience.

[00:23:09] So with that said, we cannot ignore the danger because we’ll put ourselves in a position like your father, like my grandfather, like my living parents right now who have no quality of health to speak of.

[00:23:23] Like you could live to your 90, but did you really die at 70? And what are you doing? So we can’t ignore that. But yet, trust that we will overcome. Trust that we are resilient enough and not let it affect us up here because otherwise, you’ll be paranoid. You’ll go nuts and you’ll go broke.

[00:23:43] You’ll spend all this time and money doing all the things that everyone tells you to do, yet one thing we’re going to hone in on, are getting the biggest bang for your buck. And when it comes down to it. What are the most you mentioned that you kind of glossed over it, but let’s kind of go in the skincare thing for a minute because why did you decide out of all the products that you could have created purity woods by far is a gem and it’s a gift to the world.

[00:24:09] Like why did you decide skincare? You could have done anything. Like why did he feel was the biggest bang for your buck? To help people. 

[00:24:17] Brian Vaszily: Yeah. And we have a couple of supplements over there. Originally, my idea was, okay. I know supplements, can be some of the most contaminated products out there. I’m going to put some, good ones out to the world.

[00:24:28] Then, it’s a very practical story actually. Then, simultaneously, in our bathroom mirror, my wife and I were both looking at our faces, together. We were getting ready for bed, and I was like, and she was like, almost simultaneously, oh my god, I have a ton of crow’s feet. You know, crow’s feet are the heavy duty wrinkles around the eyes, and she said it too.

[00:24:47] Now, she is a cosmetologist by trade, and, you know, she’s very much on board, of course, with natural approaches.And, I was like, well, I know exactly what I’m looking for. Again, I’m a geek. I mean, I go deep on all the research about plants and plant medicine so on and so forth. So i’m like I know exactly what i’m going to go look for out there. I need to find a product that has this and this at least in it and b it’s got to be certified organic. I know what I know will get there.

[00:25:11] I couldn’t find it. I could not find this product. And I’m like that’s horrible. you know, I looked online, looked offline here in the US, elsewhere there were, you know, some, products that, that could have qualified, but I couldn’t even get my hands on them easily in other countries.

[00:25:25] So long story short, we developed that first product and I selfishly developed it for me at first and my wife and

[00:25:33] Dr. Eric Zielinski: I love it. Yeah.

[00:25:34] Brian Vaszily: And it worked like gangbusters and quickly. And I kind of knew it would. It has,we’ll go into these ingredients if you want, but it has red maple leaf extract, which is like nature’s miracle ingredient for boosting elastin, which is a key reason that skin breaks down and gets wrinkles.

[00:25:49] It has astaxanthin, another miracle ingredient from red algae, or what makes salmon and flamingos pink. And it is an, I haven’t found in nature a more power. Or that matter, even outside of nature. I haven’t found a more potent ingredient for reversing the effects of UV sun damaged skin.

[00:26:10] You know, those wrinkles and that weathered looking skin. I can go on. You see, I start to get really passionate about this. Anyway, it had all the right stuff. It worked like gangbusters. And I’m like, it would be an injustice here not to bring this to the world. I’m shifting and I’m going to provide this and another,our, hyperlift serum, you know, came along at the same time.

[00:26:27] Those are the first two ingredients. Today we have more, and Purity Woods has grown into, I believe one of the fastest growing organic skin care companies in the world, and those are still, you know, two of our signature products, and it’s called the Age Defying Dream Cream.

[00:26:43] That’s the name I gave it because that’s what it is. It really is an age defying dream of a cream. Perfect name. And that’s what it is. It’s our number one bestseller still to this day. So that’s the origin story of Purity Woods. Yeah. 

[00:26:57] Dr. Eric Zielinski: But even taking a step back, I mean, knowing what, you know, why didn’t you go to Costco and choose the wrinkle cream there?

[00:27:03] Brian Vaszily: Like what worries you most? And let’s kind of go down that route, what worries you most about what’s out there as the solution that literally tens of millions of women and men are putting on their skin every day. Well, I wish it was only tens of million.

[00:27:17] Dr. Eric Zielinski: It’s actually, probably worldwide several billion. All right, well, wow. 

[00:27:22] Brian Vaszily: Here’s the problem. Yeah. I mean, here’s the problem. Let’s start with some statistics.

[00:27:26] So on average, a woman in the United States uses 12 personal care products a day, including cosmetics, personal care. On average, these contain 128 different chemicals, all right? So day after day, year after year, month after month, decade after decade.

[00:27:44] Now, what are these chemicals? They’re largely synthetic chemicals. I mentioned at the start earlier in this conversation, there are a total of 85 to 93,000 chemicals used in any types of products.

[00:27:57] Within the United States, within cosmetics, there are about 10, 000 different chemicals that can be used. An infinitesimal small amount have been tested for safety. In the European Union and other countries, Eric, 1, 300 to 1, 600 chemicals have been banned or severely restricted from cosmetics. In the United States, 11. 11 have been banned, just 11.

[00:28:32] So in this country, we’ll just say that the beauty industry is the chemical industry. They’re incredibly powerful. That situation is not going to change, you know, by any conscious choice on anyone’s part. It is the most buyer beware industry there is.

[00:28:51] The problem is that people largely don’t realize, I call it the worst offender when it comes to toxins, is skin care. It is number one. It’s number one because of the sheer volume of toxins that people are putting in.

[00:29:10] Let’s not forget, and if we don’t know this, let’s remember that your skin everybody is an organ. It’s an organ. And it is not something that’s meant to be experimented on, just like you wouldn’t put, you know, some chemical in a cream on your brain or your heart. 

[00:29:26] You know, if I came along and said, hey, let’s open up your chest and try this thing on your heart. Would you be like, okay, it sounds interesting. If you tell me it’s going to help my heart, I’ll.. No! You would want to know what’s in it.

[00:29:37] But, sorry strong word but true, we have been brainwashed by a massive multi billion dollar industry to not think of our skin as an integral part of our health and well being. And so we are using again women are using 168 different chemicals on average daily. Now what happens?

[00:29:58] So the skin is it’s not a piece of, metal where not much penetrates. It’s the opposite. It’s a living piece of you, and much, if not most, of what you put on your skin goes into your body. In other words, you eat with your skin, and you do. And some of these nasty chemicals, of these thousands of chemicals that are in these products, can penetrate somewhat deep and cause, ironically, early aging.

[00:30:25] And so even the ones that proclaim anti aging, sure, it’s like fast food. They might work for a day or a few days. Maybe two days later, these synthetic chemicals, you’re like, yeah, my skin’s smooth. It’s kind of like fast food. Oh, that’s, that tasted really good. But then you pay the price hours later, days later, of course, months and years later, you’re paying a hefty price. That’s the case with these.

[00:30:46] But worse than that, some of these ingredients, many of these ingredients penetrate all the way to your blood. Your bloodstream. Where they are then day after day, month after month, decade after decade, shot around your body. There’s not much filtration, not nearly enough going on there, so many of them are stored in your organs.

[00:31:07] Some of these have horrible half lives, by which I mean they can last a long time in your body. And then people get what many might call mystery symptoms, oh wow, how am I feeling so fatigued, why am I getting this brain fog, why am I getting dizzy, oh I’m so moody, digestion issues, skin issues, vision issues, on and on we go.

[00:31:30] And, A key cause, and I am very comfortable saying it if not the key cause, is the consumption day after day, month after month, decade after decade of literally hundreds if not thousands of different chemicals that don’t belong in our body.

[00:31:46] And side note, many if not most of these chemicals come from petroleum.

[00:31:53] You brought up 500 years ago, even if 150 years ago, I came and said to you, hey, here’s a bunch of petroleum, based ingredients. Would you mind putting them inside your body? I don’t think anybody in the right mind would say, Yeah, sure. I’ll try that. You know, They would be, are you nuts? That doesn’t belong inside of me.

[00:32:15] So good old common sense ought to prevail. But we have been incredibly, as I noted, as a large unit here, you know, I’m talking collectively brainwashed to not think about this and not even equate cosmetics with being what they are, which is food. So that is, is the big problem in a nutshell.

[00:32:36] Dr. Eric Zielinski: And this is common knowledge now or it should be common knowledge because it’s mainstream. And this is where the insidious nature of desensitizing ourselves to the reality is becoming real.

[00:32:50] I mean, this used to be something where you had to be in the know, right? I remember Brian and I think I showed it was with the You this before, but when I became a Christian 22 years ago, it was me, the Bible and Dr. Mercola. com. And it was, that’s all I had available at the time. There weren’t any trusted websites that I knew of that I could go to. And knowing that you were instrumental, like you and Dr. Mercola mentored me for years. I remember literally waking up. Can’t wait to get that email. Can’t wait to get the newsletter. Can’t wait to learn.

[00:33:20] So this was like hidden knowledge. Now it’s in your face. And it’s like, how do you not see it? Because look, this is the New York Times straight up. Many personal care products contain harmful chemicals. Here’s what to do. And when you’re looking at things, one chemical that’s consistent, an endocrine disruptor that’s been directly linked to heart disease, increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke, are phthalates.

[00:33:45] Brian Vaszily: Yeah. 

[00:33:46] Dr. Eric Zielinski: And it’s like, why would they even put it in there? And maybe even beyond that is. Like you mentioned, it is allowed and we need all the more to be massively radical on what we allow in and on our bodies and our children’s bodies. And you really eloquently explain that. If you were to give people a top three or four or five or even 10, I mean, there’s tons. I mean, I mentioned the phthalates. But when people are looking at their skin care. What are the non negotiables? Like, what are the ingredients? I have one particular I’m not willing to negotiate on. I don’t care what in the world is in it. 

[00:34:29] Brian Vaszily: Yeah, I bet you it’s similar. Maybe it’s not. We’ll see. Yeah.

[00:34:31] My first response to that is don’t do that.

[00:34:33] What I mean is, again, 10, 000 different chemicals are allowed. Many of them. Most, the vast majority have not been even tested. Even, by the way, when we say that, there are some that are tested and are suspected or known carcinogens, are suspected or known, you know, neurotoxins, suspected or known, as you know, to endocrine disruptors. All of these impact your heart. all of that impacts your heart. We’re not a bunch of different organs. We’re holistic. Any of these things that harm you in some way, harm you in many ways. And you do want to avoid these. That said, that’s why, you know, at Purity Woods, I mean, everything is USDA certified organic, or I don’t put it out there. None of the skin care would go out there if it’s not.

[00:35:14] You want to look for independent strict certifications like that when it comes to your skin care. That one. Is the one I know of that’s, you know, the strictest and the most well known to in the United States. There are others. There are some elsewhere in the world. Echocert in Europe, for example.

[00:35:29] But, that’s really what you want to do. Because you can’t, I’m, Eric, I’ve dug deep into this for decades really. And I don’t know half these ingredients. But I do know some of the more common ones. So I will entertain your question. Because if you can’t do that at least avoid this. We’ll play that right now.

[00:35:48] And so, if I don’t see certified organic, because the problem is that not every single type of cosmetic or personal care is yet available in certified organic. We’ve got what I will confidently say are the world’s best certified organic anti aging creams and serums period. I will stand by that because it’s true.

[00:36:09] But we don’t have certified organic, deodorants and other things like that. Some of them are out there, some are not. So, when you need a product, and especially if you can’t find a certified organic cosmetic or personal care product, the first easy litmus test for me is I turn it around and I see if it says the word fragrance.

[00:36:28] Dr. Eric Zielinski: Yes. Thank you. Come on. Number one, baby. Come on. I knew it. I knew it. 

[00:36:33] Brian Vaszily: And it’s true. And it’s true because it’s just, and by the way, everybody, you might also see the very basic scent instead of the word fragrance, or you might see the fancy French sounding parfum 

[00:36:46] Dr. Eric Zielinski: It’s sexy. I got it. It’s sexy. Oh, I remember thinking like, Ooh.

[00:36:51] Brian Vaszily: Yeah, that sounds so pretty and it’s nasty because what it means everybody is that under that one word, it can contain, tens, hundreds of different potential ingredients. There have been, you know, organizations that tried to break it down and found these are definitely many ingredients you don’t want in your body. So how did they get away with it? What are they doing there?

[00:37:12] Well, fragrance is what gives, these products, their fake pretty smells, musk, strawberry, fake scents, whatever it might be. And it’s a proprietary formula. That’s what they’re claiming. It’s a proprietary. It says trade secret. We, by law, they don’t have to reveal what they claim Is this mix of synthetic or otherwise, but in many cases mostly synthetic ingredients that create that smell.

[00:37:39] They don’t have to tell you so when I see that I’m like listen at least the other ingredients I could see here, and I know in this case, I don’t even get to know, and there have been, you know, studies on this, and in many, if not most cases, it’s terrible. I put it back, and I walk the other way, sometimes run, when I see fragrance on there.

[00:37:57] So that’s a very key one to look for, but you brought up phthalates. Fortunately more spotlight being put on that. That’s a plasticizer. That’s the reason they use it. You know, it does other things, but it’s especially to make thing, you know, form is more, I guess we’ll call it flexible. It’s a plasticizer and it’s horrible.

[00:38:13] It’s horrible. And you, in that case, you want to look for, see, this is the hard part because then I start geeking out and this is too much information, too hard for people, but you want to look, they don’t just say phthalates, they’ll list D E H P or D B P or B P. Who’s going to remember all that?

[00:38:29] But there are others. Another, probably the worst chemical, when I do see variations of it, is formaldehyde. And the problem is this is used extensively as a preservative in cosmetics. Everybody remembers high school or maybe college biology. And we used formaldehyde to preserve frogs and whatever it may be, or brains in jars and all the type of stuff.

[00:38:54] It’s a nasty carcinogen. And this one is a known, by the way, carcinogen, known neurotoxin. And the, I guess we’ll call it the excuse when they put these ingredients in that are either formaldehyde, or, that create formaldehyde, and that’s also a big concern, is, oh, it’s in such minute quantities, it’s safe.

[00:39:15] It’s not safe. Because again, if you use that product one time, it’s safe. But we use these products day after day, week after week, month after month, decade after decade. And we don’t use just one of them. We use many of them, over and over. So it’s like death by a thousand cuts. So formaldehyde and variations on it. I’m trained, I watch for that, but how are people going to know, you know, know that as well?

[00:39:39] And there’s so many more. I mean, I could geek out and here’s an interesting one for you. Triclosan. Triclosan was banned in 2016, but, and here’s the weird part, it was only banned because there was a public outcry from hand soaps. And they say, they acknowledge, yeah, it’s nasty. We’re going to ban it from hand soaps.

[00:39:59] But guess what? It’s used and used widely in skin creams and other products still. Doesn’t even make sense. So you’re acknowledging even publicly and then you’re saying, but, you know, it’s fine if you’re going to put it around your eyes where the skin is the thinnest. Let’s just keep it off your hands. What? Doesn’t even make sense. So it’s, you know, that, that’s a nasty endocrine disruptor as well.

[00:40:20] I could go on here. I don’t know if you want me to, cause I could dive deep into all kinds of different chemicals that are very commonly used that, you know, people want to avoid. But the big picture here is there are so many of them and they’re so widely used.

[00:40:34] You really do want to look for these independent certifications. You know, nothing. I’ll even say this USDA certified organic, nothing is 110 percent everybody. But these certifications, I can tell you as a business owner of Purity Woods, they’re tough.And I’m glad they do, they put us through the ropes. To make sure that not only are we not including any of these, synthetic ingredients, so you don’t have to worry about that. But even the ingredients we do include in there, all plant based ingredients that we include in there were grown organically. So they were not grown with pesticides, not grown with synthetic fertilizers. It’s hard.

[00:41:14] This is why we don’t have, you know, 12 dozen different products. We’ve only got seven or eight that are the most exceptional for what they each do. It’s hard work, but I’m happy to be doing it. 

[00:41:25] Dr. Eric Zielinski: Someone needs to do it.

[00:41:26] And it’s again, we continue to thank you for this because we need people to step up and there’s certain things you just can’t compromise on. And you know, when we don’t have time, cause we try to DIY, but certain things you just can’t DIY. Like there are certain things I’m not like a wrinkle removing sort of solution.

[00:41:44] It’s hard. I mean, you go to our website, you could check out. We have 100 plus DIY solutions for everything to help reduce the toxic overload. But when it comes to certain things like a specialty item, night creams, like it’s really challenging. And that’s why I appreciate because people aren’t going to be able to source your maple extract.

[00:42:04] I’m like, it’s out of my budget to, to do that. And so, unless you come together with a co op, this is where finding a company. So at the end of the day, y’all, I hope that you are inspired to not just look into Purity Woods, which I hope you do. Yet, look into just in general, what are you exposing yourself to?

[00:42:25] And what I love about this discussion is we’re actually talking to the owner, the product formulator, the expert, the researcher. This is a family owned business. I mean, this is as American as you get.

[00:42:38] And for our international audience. You know, this is one of the special things about our country, that many countries share, but we feel very blessed and unique. This is the American that’s like Brian can do something like this and help millions of people behind a computer screen.

[00:42:57] It’s like how in the world. Wow. I just thank God I really do. And this is like a hallelujah moment. And I celebrate that. And so we can come and share these things.

[00:43:08] And so I want to highlight the fragrance issue because I’m glad it was like an, I hope it was an alley-oop for you slam dunk, because you mentioned air pollution and the big part of your air pollution, y’all is fragrance. And so phthalates are in fragrance to make the fragrance last longer. And it’s like this whole web.

[00:43:26] That’s why Brian, I decided to devote my life and my career to essential oils because. We have the solution to fragrance and that is it from every which way. This has been wonderful. I know that we’re wrapping up.

[00:43:39] So this is kind of, I guess, the part of the interview where the pilot says, okay, we’re starting a descent back up thing. So we’re coming down the runway. What else would you like to encourage people with? Maybe we could shift gears away from skincare and talk about, cause I Know you’ve written some books.

[00:43:54] Some really great guides on there on heart health, things that you can pull in, like, what can we leave people with? We talked about the toxicants and the toxins people need to reduce their exposure to.

[00:44:03] Any other good heart health advice to help people reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke?

[00:44:10] Brian Vaszily: Yeah, well, I think your other experts are, you know, going to go into some key areas on that front. So, you know, for example, sleep. Now we talk and there’s a lot of shared tips these days that many people are familiar with. I will tell you, you know, I’ll go personal for you on this one, everyone. Of course, sleep and getting healthy and proper sleep is essential for your heart health. You know, your, all your organs, demand effective sleep. You’ve heard a lot of the, I hope, and if not, I’ll, I can run through a few very key ones here very easily, which is go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time every day. Try that. Make sure your room is as dark as possible. Make sure there’s a, you know, that you’re not, consuming food at least a couple hours before bed, avoid certain foods well before bed, caffeine long before bed, 3 p. m. is often cited as the time.

[00:45:02] I can go on and on with those, but for me personally, I found something interesting that really works. Now we’ve all heard of white noise, and if not, I can explain it, but there’s also pink noise, and there’s also brown noise.

[00:45:15] And these have been so helpful to me personally because I am one of these people who wake up, I have no problem falling asleep, but I wake up maybe three, four in the morning and my mind’s racing. And I have had a challenge with falling back asleep and that’s way too early to get up. And I have, gone through many things. This has worked like gangbusters for me. Specifically, brown noise. So I just want to explain real quick because if you have a problem with going to sleep at night or waking up and then trying to fall back asleep, there are a few key tips here, but this is the big one. So white noise, pink noise, and brown noise are all, basically level frequencies. The difference is white noise, you could kind of say is the highest of those, a higher frequency. Pink noise is in the middle. Brown noise is a lower, like a rumbling waterfall in the distance. It’s a preference thing. But, research has shown that many people, I’m not going to say most yet because it’s newer research, many people do much better with pink noise or even going down to the brown noise,with falling back asleep.

[00:46:22] Not only does it shut out any noise out there, cars off in the distance, whatever it might be, it also kind of works in sync, synchronizes with your brain waves and it’s helped me fall back asleep like nothing else. So I wanted to give a very practical tip on that front.

[00:46:38] A weighted blanket is also something to consider.

[00:46:40] That’s just what’s popped out in me because you know, Everybody knows this. You can feel your body saying, including your heart, when you’ve had multiple bad nights of sleep, your body saying, don’t do that. It’s so, so key to your heart health and overall health. If you want to comment on that, I’ve got one more thing I’ll add here. I’ll jump back to skincare. I’ll give people a super fast lesson, I’m really good at this, on what to look for, what to avoid if you want, but if you have any,

[00:47:06] Okay, good. So, so skin. So, the interesting thing about skin, not only, you know, just putting all this junk that we’ve been talking about,harm your health…,

[00:47:15] You need to know that your skin isn’t just an outside billboard for your internal health. Your skin actually impacts other organs in your body. So healthy skin impacts and creates a healthier heart. You want to keep it healthy. Okay.

[00:47:31] But I know everybody, when we talk about skin, they want to hear, and it’s valid. How do you reduce, how do you get rid of the wrinkles, the fine lines? So here’s a super fast lesson for everybody.

[00:47:41] There are four really key components that lead to skin looking old, which by the way, also is a reflection of internal health. But there’s four key components. Elastin, and the breakdown of it. Collagen, and the breakdown of it. These two proteins. Number four, reduction in moisture, hydration, and then the fourth is photo damage,UV rays.

[00:48:04] Because back in the 1980s, some of us didn’t know better, most of us, and we were putting baby oil on to get suntans, and we were paying the price, for overexposure, to the sun’s UV rays. So these four things reduced collagen, reduced elastin, overexposure to UV rays, and, reduced ability to moisturize skin as we get older anyway, and reduced hydration.

[00:48:26] I will say here’s my little plug because it’s true. All of our products, for example, the age defying dream cream. have ingredients because nature knows what it’s doing far better than any human being in a lab still. Trust me on this. It contains ingredients that address and address really well each of these components.

[00:48:47] You brought up red maple leaf extract earlier. It’s outstanding for boosting the elastin. The Age Defying Dream Cream has Indian gooseberry, also known as Amla. Incredibly sky high in vitamin C that addresses the collagen. I mentioned astaxanthin, the red algae based ingredient. Outstanding for reversing the, you know, the look of wrinkles from the sun damage.

[00:49:12] And then hydration, it’s got several, you know, nature miracle Ingredients. Aloe vera juice, for example. Cacao butter. Just great ingredients that address all of these, but I hope you consider our products at Purity Woods, but no matter where you go to things,please, as we have defined well in this conversation, look for truly clean, ideally certified in some way organic products when you feed your skin, and number two, make sure the products you use do address those four key components.

[00:49:44] Wow, this was absolutely fantastic. Mind blowing, Brian, every time we talk I learn so much, buddy. I just thank God for you and your gift and thank you for putting the time and energy into creating Purity Woods. We love the product. We’ve been using it for years. Folks, I hope you get a chance to try it out.

[00:50:00] Um, check out the show notes. I’m gonna drop a link. You get a special. Really, really good discount because you’re a Natural Living Family Podcast listener. And whether you go to our website@naturallivingfamily.com, search the word Dream Cream, or you go to the show notes here, we’re gonna give you a link because I want you to make sure that you get this because it is wonderful You Skin is going to.

[00:50:24] Thank you.

[00:50:25] Dr. Eric Zielinski: I encourage you cause my wife and I love the product and especially my wife.

[00:50:29] She’s kind of stingy when it comes to sharing certain things. And when it comes to her anti aging routine, Mrs. Georgia, she gets a little, a little territorial on her Dream Cream. So you have to send us an extra, gift package. So I could try a little bit more, but. I’m getting a little bit, I’m getting older, Brian, man, I’m almost 45 years old here.

[00:50:46] So, thanks again, my friend. What a blessing you’ve been and just, you know, extract 20 years of blood, sweat and tears. You’ve been in the trenches behind the scenes, in front of the scenes, both sides of the microphone. Just thank you. and folks, thank you for tuning in. It’s been an honor and a privilege to be here with you.

[00:51:02] And as always, as Dr. Eric Zielinski, my hope and prayers that you and your family truly experience the abundant life. We’ll talk soon.

[00:51:13] Dr. Z: Thanks for joining us on the Natural Living Family Podcast. If today’s episode encouraged you, please take a moment and leave a review and share it with a friend. Your voice helps us reach more families with a message of hope and healing God’s way. Remember, Jesus came to give you life and to have it more abundantly!

[00:51:32] For show notes, transcripts, and resources from today’s episode, visit naturallivingfamilypodcast.com and until next time, stay healthy, stay rooted in truth, and keep choosing the abundant life.