Dare You To...

Here's a dare I've taken on that people have noticed.  I've gotten compliments on my glowing skin, and some have asked me what I'm up to.  If you want to stop worrying about what's on your face and finally have glowing, balanced skin, then this post is for you.

Just as I got rid of the unpronounceable ingredients in my body lotion, I wanted to avoid the artificial cleansers in my face wash, too.  What good does it do to use coconut oil to moisturize my face, if I'm still washing it with strange chemicals twice a day?

Well, I'd heard of "oil cleansing" before, and you may have, too.  There's a website dedicated to it (The Oil Cleansing Method.com, and it's outlined extensively with various options in The Skintervention Guide by Liz Wolfe.  THere's also a helpful tutorial on Mommypotamous.

It may seem counterintuitive, but using oil topically actually helps balance your skin.  It's nourishing, cleansing, and moisturizing.  It helps …

TGIF!  Today we've got a variety of topics, so take your pick -- they're ALL insightful and informative. Enjoy and educate! 
-----
Mark Sisson asks, "Are You As Healthy As You Think You Are?"
Dare you to go beyond "better" in comparison to others and shoot for your own BEST.

-----
Think you know what you're eating?  Think again!   Fox uncovers some scary truths in "19 Foods That Aren't Foods."
-----
In a similar vein, BuzzFeed highlights eight foods and ingredients
that we eat here in the U.S., but are banned in other countries.
Learn more by clicking here!  (Why oh why oh WHY hasn't this caught on here??)

-----
Remember when we learned about proper posture?  There's a lot more where that came from! Check out these 15 Blogs Informing You How to Improve Posture in You and Your Kids.
-----
This moving TED Talk by Peter Attia urges us to question our
long-held assumptions, following this surgeon's lead as he overturns his own
prev…

I've already told you about my newfound use of coconut oil as a moisturizer, and there are loads of other beauty uses for it (like these recommended by Dr. Korson).  But today, I want to talk about cooking with it.

Did you know that every fat and oil has a smoke point--the temperature at which it begins to break down and increase toxic compounds?!  Thisrancid oil is no longer safe for consumption!  A year ago, I'd had no idea.  I had already taken canola oil out of my diet (see Balanced Bites to learn why), but I was still using olive oil for just about everything.  But was I burning my oil?

In learning more about paleo and food quality, I started learning more about cooking oils and their smoke points.  The smoke point determines which fats and oils are safe to use for cooking at various temperatures.  While I was still exclusively using olive oil, I learned that the smoke point of extra virgin olive oil is typically around 325-375 degrees.  It seems that olive oil smoke poin…