May 24, 2008
Looking younger isn’t beyond your reach, no matter what your age. When this time of year comes around, people often start thinking about their skin. Besides the obvious cosmetic benefits of healthy skin people fail to realize that moisturized, healthy skin acts as a barrier against all kinds of bacteria and viruses keeping you healthy on a daily basis.
With this in mind, there are plenty of things that you can do to improve the look and texture of your skin. The following tips will help you improve your skin and prevent future damage:
- The health of your skin starts inside. Many people mistakenly believe that skin care relies on the products you put on your face. Although your skin care product choices can make a difference, what is really important is your diet. A healthy diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables is important in creating healthy skin. Replace processed foods with fresh ones and you’ll be on your way looking younger.
- Drink more water than you think you need. Water is an essential key to the health of your skin. Staying hydrated will give your body the ingredients that it needs to keep your skin healthy. Whenever you can, drink a glass of water. Although eight 8-ounce glasses of water are recommended for most people, you’ll need more if you exercise or drink caffeine.
- Supplement your diet with essential vitamins and minerals. The health of your skin depends on your intake of fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. You can make sure that you’re giving your body all that it needs by taking essential supplements. Omega 3 oils are one of the most essential vitamins to take that relate to your skin. Make sure to take it with other basic vitamins to improve the look of your skin.
- Exercise moderately every day. You don’t have to be an aerobics queen or body building king to reap the benefits of exercise. Some moderate exercise each day, like swimming or walking, can give your skin a boost. The blood circulation you experience while exercising helps you keep looking younger. In addition to blood circulation, exercise provides increased oxygen in your blood stream and a boost of energy. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in General, Health 
1 Comment »
May 21, 2008
BTW, We found a great very short video on youtube of 3 simple eye exercises for computer users. Extremely restful! These will also be very very helpful this summer at the beach, long days in the sun, driving, perhaps too much partying … and good on the prevention side as well.
Posted in Exercise No Comments »
May 20, 2008
It’s that time of year when your concerns shift from bundling up to protecting yourself from the sun. This shouldn’t be taken lightly, and you should take every step necessary to prevent sun damage. Too much exposure to the sun can hurt your skin and hair.
Although sunburns are painful, they carry a deeper risk of causing skin cancer later on in life. That’s why it’s important to take the following steps to protect yourself from the sun. Take them to heart, it’s going to be a hot one in 2008!
- Try out clothes made with SPF. These days there are swimsuits, shirts, shorts and jackets that all come with built in UV protection. If you know you’re going to be spending a lot of time in the sun this summer, consider investing in a few pieces of SPF gear. If you can’t find any clothes made with SPF material, then try to cover up as much as possible with long sleeved shirts and long pants.
- Use a hat whenever possible. A hat, whether its a baseball cap or a wide brim sun hat, is important for protecting your face and hair. That’s right, hair can be damaged by the sun as well. Sunlight can bleach and dry out your hair making it brittle and prone to breakage. Hats are especially important for children, who have thinner hair and can get burnt on their scalps more easily.
- Another option for the protection of your hair is using a leave in conditioner with UV protection. Use the product daily to protect your hair and scalp from sun damage.
- You should be using a sunscreen with a good SPF rate. Most doctors recommend that you wear at least a 30 SPF sunscreen on all skin that will be exposed to the sun. During times where you’ll spend a lot of time in direct sunlight, you should opt for a higher SPF, like 50 or 65.
- Look for oil free sunscreens if you’re worried about breaking out or clogged pores. There are specific sunscreens made for your face that have less oil and are better for your skin than other types of sunscreen. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in General, Health 4 Comments »
May 13, 2008
Reducing the salt in your diet is beneficial for a wide variety of reasons. You’ll avoid the risks of dehydration and you’ll be in better shape. But one of the most important reasons to follow a reduced salt diet is to help your heart. High salt diets are linked to heart disease and high blood pressure.
If you’ve been diagnosed with either one of these conditions, or you suspect that you may have them, following a reduced salt diet can help your symptoms.
When following a reduced salt diet, you need to keep in mind that this way of eating should be viewed as a lifestyle change and not simply a diet. The changes that you make should be permanent if you hope to become healthy. Fortunately, there are a lot of low salt options that make it easy to stick to this type of diet.
The first thing you need to reduce and ideally eliminate is processed meats. Lunch meat, canned meats and other heavily processed protein products have lots of sodium in them. Avoid pre-seasoned meats since the seasoning normally has a lot of salt. You can greatly reduce your intake by eliminating these foods entirely. Instead, buy fresh meats that you can prepare yourself.
The same goes for bacon, ham, beef jerky and corned beef. These meats have high levels of salt as do hot dogs and pepperoni. Basically, your protein options should consist of meats that you can find exclusively at the butcher counter. Avoid any meat products that are available in the center aisles of the grocery store.
Since canned meats have high salt levels, it’s only natural that canned vegetables do as well. Canned vegetables like green beans and corn are often available in low sodium varieties. Make sure to read the labels on all canned vegetables that you buy.
You can also reduce salt by limiting or avoiding naturally salty canned foods. These foods include sauerkraut, pickles and other pickled foods. By reducing these foods in your overall diet, you’ll greatly reduce your salt intake and improve your health at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in General, Health 1 Comment »
May 6, 2008
Hair has been curled, sprayed, cut, dyed and crimped over the years depending on the current trends in hair styles. But through time, hair has been used in a wide variety of ways that some people would consider to be strange. Whether a weird hair use is an old art form or a new way to advertise, it just goes to show that hair is multi-functional.
One of the most traditional weird ways to use hair is in the form of artwork. Hair artwork was very popular in the Victorian period, and the collection of hair art pieces is on the rise due to recent interest. Hair art was just as common as needlepoint and crocheting during the nineteenth century. Women practiced the art form in order to preserve the hair and memory of loved ones, especially the deceased.
Hair from a loved one was commonly braided into jewelry like bracelets, rings and earrings. This way the creator could wear their creation, or give it to someone else to wear. Jewelry made from hair was a common way to mourn the dead. This specific type of jewelry was known as “mourning jewelry.”
Besides weaving hair into jewelry, the Victorians also created other types of art with hair. Hair was arranged into roses, woven around wooden frames and stitched into fabric. Hair could be used in all of the ways that yarn or thread were used. Today there has been a renewed interest in not only collecting vintage hair art but also creating new hair art to preserve family history.
Hair also has more practical uses, especially when it comes to cleaning up oil waste. In an attempt to put the 200,000 pounds of hair that go into landfills each day to good use, Alabama hairdresser Phil McCrory patented a oil-soaking pillow made of human hair. He got the idea while watching footage of the oil spills in Alaska in the late 80s. He realized that human hair would attract oil the same way that otter hair did.
He contacted NASA for help with the project after designed a prototype for an oil absorbing pillow made of hair. NASA saw potential for the project and did a few simple tests. They determined that hair absorbs five times its weight in oil. Best of all, the oil can be wrung out and reused. So the next time you get a trim, your hair could be going toward saving the environment! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in General, Health 2 Comments »
