Obviously, dental hygiene is a priority to conscientious parents. Yet, in spite of the advancements in dental care, more than one fourth of two to five year-olds and half of kids 12 to 15 have one or more cavities. Many agree with studies that seem to indicate that adding fluoride to public water will decrease the problem of tooth decay. But this opinion is in no way unanimous.

Fluoride is the 13th most common element in the Earth's crust and exists naturally in water. Some water has sufficient natural fluoride. But what if it is not naturally present? Should fluoride be added to water systems? The debate about fluoride won’t be settled here. Rather, the purpose of this article is to consider a few of these points, and to give you some options. You need to know whether you need fluoride filters for your drinking water.

Consider these quotes: “It is well known that fluoride helps prevent and even reverse the early stages of tooth decay.” “Today, water fluoridation is estimated to reduce tooth decay by 20-40%.” These statements were made by a medical doctor. Here’s another: “For over 60 years, water fluoridation has proved to be a safe and cost-effective way to reduce dental caries.”

Those favoring the addition of fluoride in water claim that its presence combats tooth decay in two ways. First, it strengthens the developing teeth. Second, it also aids the surface of the teeth by preventing the acid produced by the bacteria in plaque from dissolving, or demineralizing, tooth enamel. Fluoride also allows teeth damaged by acid to remineralize, or repair themselves. It won’t repair cavities, but it can reverse minor tooth decay and prevent new cavities from forming.

On the other hand we have quotes like this: “. . . there is no difference in the tooth decay rates of the fluoridated and nonfluoridated areas surveyed.” Indeed, some studies, they say, show that the more fluoride children ingest, the higher their risk of dental decay.

Fluorosis, a discoloration or mottling of the permanent teeth results when children 8 years of age or younger take in too much fluoride. During these years teeth are forming. To add fluoride to water along with what children get in toothpaste and dental treatments might well exceed this limit.

At times the studies have not considered the long range effects of fluoride. The con side says it has been directly linked to cancer, changes in bone structure and strength, has caused birth defects and perinatal deaths, has impaired the immune system, caused initial stages of skeletal fluorosis, caused osteoarthritis, inhibits key enzymes, suppresses thyroid function and several other adverse problems.

How do opponents answer to evidence mentioned above that fluoride is good for dental hygiene? They say the studies are flawed in several ways.  First, the studies did not consider the fact that other minerals were in the water and they might have been the real factor in decreased instances of tooth decay. Second, they failed to differentiate between "natural fluoride" (like CaF) and added fluoride (like NaF). Third, the studies lacked statistical proof. Fourth, only dental fluorosis was included as safety experiments.

If you conclude that fluoride should not be in your drinking water, what can you do about it? You could buy bottled water but this is expensive. A better choice is to purchase a water filter that removes fluoride. The Berkey Filters, for example, has available an additional filter that can be attached to the regular charcoal filters and will remove fluoride from the water. You don’t have to ingest it if you don’t want to.

If you want to start using a more natural skin care regimen than you have previously, you may be worrying about having to make a major investment in new skin care products. Fortunately natural skin care can work with any beauty regimen.

There are a lot of advantages to this type of skin care, including:

* Skin safety since you are not exposing it to manmade chemicals

* Supporting the environment through green lifestyle.

* Setting the example of a healthy, responsible beauty lifestyle.

However, it may be hard to bring yourself to throw all of your old favorites away. Start out slow, and take on your natural skin care gradually. This can help your skin and your pocketbook at the same time.

* Step One: As you run low on products, replace those products with natural ones. For example, you might replace your current moisturizer with a natural moisturizer with an almond base.

* Step Two: Pick the product up first for replacement. If there are certain things you want to try right away, let those be the things that you replace first. The natural products may add to your regimen as well as replace existing facets. Natural toners protect makeup and still moisturize skin. Try keeping a small bottle of toner in your desk at work for easy access.

* Step Three: Determine your favorites. Do some research on natural skin care products to determine what best suits your needs. Pick the best product for your needs and then target the next aspect of your beauty routine. Make that new item a permanent fixture in your beauty routine.

Once you have incorporated natural skin care into your daily skin care routine, you will wonder how you ever did without it. People who use primarily or exclusively natural skin care products often report that the effects are more far-reaching than simply their appearance. They sometimes report feeling clearer and more confident than before – possibly because of the aromatherapeutic effects of natural skin care. Natural skin care products are always attractive, so look into your options right away.

There are several ways in which vitamin c and skin care are dependent on each other.  Vitamin c has the main function of aiding in collagen production.  Collagen is what gives our skin cells elasticity and youthfulness.When we are wounded our bones can be healed and our skin can be rejuvenate with the help of it.  Caring for our skin internally involves vitamin c, but now medicine and beauty care are trying to include it topically.  There are some hurdles to follow in this marriage of vitamin c in skin care creams and lotions. 

Vitamin c is highly unstable when utilized away from its natural formats.  It oxidizes easily and can become dangerous or ineffective for its purpose.  There is no doubt as to vitamin c’ skin care effectiveness. 

To remedy the main components problem with instability, ascorbic acid is being picked apart to find more stable usable components of the nutrient.  There are studies which show that vitamin c needs to be concentrated and applied under the appropriate conditions to be absorbed properly into our skin so as to offer us the best skin care benefits.

Products Currently Offering The Best Vitamin C Skin Care

Any products that offer vitamin cin a form that is absorbed by the skin and is concentrated is one that is going to give the best skin care and deliver the vitamin c the best.  Many products offer different derivatives of vitamin c but one of the most popular is a vitamin c skin care derivative known as Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate or MAP.  This derivative is less oxidizing and more stable than L-ascorbic acid, which is natural source vitamin c.  The caution with any vitamin c skin care product is that they deteriorate in air and light, so they must be kept sealed and in cool dark areas until used up, and many do not have long shelf lives.

Vitamin c skin care products are so popular simply because amongst all the skin care products vitamin c has the most scientific proof of its actual ability to help remove fine lines, wrinkles and other skin imperfections.Maintaining in a product is very hard and makes it very expensive to have as a medication.  Some spas claim that mixing vitamin c powder directly into facial creams immediately before treatment works as well, however ascorbic acid can be irritating to the skin.  Caution when looking into products for your skin make sure you talk to a professional about their process if you go to a spa.  Make sure when sourcing your product you read their ingredients and look into the science they claim is in their product.  An average cost for a small 50ml vial of real vitamin c skin care product known as legitimate concentrate and is used in spas and other skin care facilities is about $60 to $100, so if you buy a large bottle doting vitamin c added and it has a sale sticker of $10, more than likely you are not getting the same benefits.