Although you may not have heard of salicylates, your sensitive skin may be very aware of them! If you’re having trouble finding solutions to your sensitive skin challenges, you may find it helpful to learn a little about how salicylates could be affecting your skin and your health.
Salicylates are natural anti-inflammatory chemicals that are found many foods and personal care products, cosmetics and medications such as aspirin. Salicylates are also found in fragrances, artificial colors and dyes and preservatives.
A small amount of salicylates is normally well tolerated by most people, and they are Mother Nature’s way of providing us natural anti-inflammatory benefits. Just like anything though, too much of a good thing can turn out to be not very good for our bodies!
In today’s world, we are now being inundated with salicylates in amounts that are much higher than what is normally well tolerated by the human body. Many of the crops grown today have higher salicylate contents because foods are now genetically engineered to reduce their susceptibility to pests and disease.
In addition our lifestyles have changed a lot in recent history. We now use a wide variety of cosmetics, dental products, personal care products and medicines that simply were not available several generations ago. These products contain a much higher salicylate content than the more natural kinds of personal care products that were used in days past.
The result is that more and more people are developing mysterious allergies and allergic symptoms. Although we’ve all heard of people who are allergic to aspirin, we might not be aware that they are allergic to salicylates, which are the natural salicylate compounds that are also found in so many foods, personal care products, toothpastes and pain relief products.
Doctors are now just beginning to discover salicylate allergy and salicylate sensitivity, which have symptoms similar to many other conditions. Because sensitivity to salicylates is not well known yet, there are people with allergies and sensitive skin who may have this condition without realizing it.
Symptoms of Salicylate Sensitivity
Some of the symptoms of salicylate allergy include:
More serious symptoms include:
How to Reduce Salicylate Exposure
Salicylates are natural substances found in many healthy foods. Unless you have a diagnosed case of salicylate allergy, there is no need to limit your intake of healthy foods. It is wise to limit your exposure to unnecessary salicylates from other avenues, so that you don’t develop an allergy or sensitivity to salicylates.
Here are some basic tips to help reduce your exposure to salicylates, so minimize irritation for your sensitive skin.
There are many other ways that you can reduce unnecessary salicylate exposure, by creating healthier lifestyle choices. For example, coffee, tea, wine, and many alcoholic beverages contain salicylates. unless you absolutely MUST use these, why not cut down a little?
Many condiments also contain salicylates, so if you don’t need a ton of jelly, tomato sauce, or vinegar on your food, just reduce your amounts a little for a few weeks and see how your sensitive skin reacts. And do you really need all those licorice and peppermint candies?
With just a few adjustments you can help your body to balance your exposure to salicylates, and experience fewer allergies and skin sensitivities!
Editor’s Note: Article previously published here.
…
M Rochell is the author of My Sensitive Skin Care, an online educational resource offering new safe natural beauty solutions for sensitive skin. For more information on salicylates and salicylate free products please visit http://www.MySensitiveSkinCare.com
Read more articles written by M Rochell
Related posts:
- What Are the Best Acne Treatments for Sensitive Skin?
Finding the best acne treatments for sensitive skin is a real challenge! Those of us with sensitive skin often break out into a rash in reaction to the ingredients in many acne skin care products. Some of the common ingredients that are in most acne treatments such a salicylic acid... - Homemade Acne Treatments to Heal Your Sensitive Skin
If you suffer from sensitive skin, some homemade acne treatments might be too intense for your face and will cause inflammation, burning or even more pimples. There are many effective natural remedies for acne such as tea tree oil or natural acne medicines with herbs, but these may also cause... - Acne Scar Healing Tips for Sensitive Skin
Acne scar healing can be a real challenge with sensitive skin. Learn which are the best acne scar treatments for acne prone sensitive skin, including six simple, non-irritating home remedies for acne scars. Do acne scar healing methods work for sensitive skin? There are many options for acne scar treatment... - Skin Care For Fall
When summer turns into fall, it’s a good time to assess your skin’s condition. An active summer has likely caused damage to your skin, which should be repaired now in preparation for winter. During the summer, skin is exposed to many harmful influences, like pool chemicals, saltwater, sunburns, heat, and... - The Benefits Of Tea Tree Oil For Your Skin
Tea tree oil is an essential oil which is yellow- or green-tinged with a fresh amphoraceous smell. It is produced by steam distillation of the leaves of the plant – Melaleuca alternifolia, more commonly known as the Australian tea tree. As the name suggests, the trees are native to Australia... - How to Get Rid of Acne, Pimples, and Other Skin Problems
Many people believe that pimples are for kids. But this is not true. Millions of adults are experiencing acne for the first time. In fact, the average age of acne patients has now increased from 20 to 26 years old. (1) And acne rates are rising — contradicting the belief... - Natural Skin Care: Beautiful Basics
Most of us try to look and feel our best with diet and exercise. Few consider the most important measure of our health should be given to our skin. The epidermis is the body’s largest organ and also the most telling when something is wrong. Unfortunately, the largest organ frequently... - Working With Price Sensitive Buyers
The value of money in today’s world is a stark reality and that is why customers looking to shop for their needs have become aware of the cash factor where buying is concerned. They look to getting the most out of the least money spent that is why pricing your... - A Comparison of Tattoo Removal Methods: Tattoo Removal Skin Peels Vs Tattoo Removal Creams Vs Tattoo Removal Using DermaBrasion
A friend and I, along with 3 other buddies, decided to try an experiment to remove tattoos that we have all had for many years. Over time we just decided we no longer liked what we saw on our arms, shoulders and chest so we decided to test all the... - Gentlest Home Remedies for Acne Scars
Which home remedies for acne scars actually work? And which acne home remedies are safe for sensitive skin? Here are some of the acne scar healing tips we have learned that are the gentlest and safest for sensitive skin. Having acne is a terrible experience, and even worse are the... - The Natural Choice for Allergy Elimination
The body is a brilliant creation that is inherently strong and designed to heal itself without synthetic intervention. Long before Western medicine was developed, many people understood that by strengthening the immune system and bringing balance to the body, the human body could be expected to heal itself. Allopathic medicine... - Basic Fungal Biology For Concerned Homeowners And Mold Inspectors
The diverse fungal organisms on planet earth form an entire large grouping of related organisms know as the fungi kingdoms. The terms mold and mould are typically used to describe only a small subset of this much larger kingdom. What are fungi? Fungi are eukaryotic organisms, which means unlike bacteria... - Mold Biology And Mold Related Heath Issues
BASIC MOLD BIOLOGY: Fungi share some basic similarities with plants and bacteria but are not plants nor are they bacteria. They are in their own kingdom, the Fungi Kingdom. The terms mold and mildew are often used interchangeably by lay persons, but according to some more specific definitions, mildew is... - 5W
What Is Natural Body Detox? This is a natural way of removing toxins in the body that it has become dependent on and cleansing it thoroughly from these. A health measure that aims to clean out the garbage from the organs, such as the colons, kidneys, liver, lungs, and skin,... - Body Detox Methods
Having a cleaner and healthier body sure does give a person more opportunities for a longer and better life. Through a full body detox, a person is subjected to the elimination of the harmful toxic substances one can get from various foods, drinks, skin care products, and pollution. The kidneys,...