It Is What It Is: skin

While you may not be in Boulder, CO to attend this even on February 1st, that doesn't mean you SHOULDN'T include this vital fat into your life!

Fundamental fats

Monday, October 4, 2010

I bet you're suffering from xerosis

Eats to ease xerosis

Friday, June 11, 2010

Just made it back to Boulder, Colorado... and let you tell you, I am a bit of a mess!

I guess it doesn't really help that I rolled out of my hotel bed this morning around 5am to get a work out in before my parents and I decided to hit the road around 8am... Oh and that it decided to DOWN POUR when I went into the grocery store to pick up a few supplies that I needed for my apartment (so with no umbrella or any sort of cover, I braved the torrential rain and got completely drenched... why I have yet to change, I am not quite sure).

Oh and guess what I stumble upon as my internet loads to my Yahoo.com home page... "Beauty Secrets from Around the World"... was that a "hint, hint, nudge, nudge" on the whole, "you look like crap GiGi" thing??!! Well, SCREW YOU YAHOO... but of course I clicked the link because after all... who isn't looking for a new way to primp these days? I even know guys who are looking for a way to better their appearance!

Curious... where here's the list (copy & pasted from the source):

Australia

Australian makeup artist Napoleon Perdis says yarrow extract is used by Australian Aboriginal women to prevent stretch marks, thanks to its moisturizing and hydrating properties. “Yarrow root is also an anti-inflammatory, which soothes the skin.” Calm your complexion with his Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer , which contains the extract as a key ingredient.

Chile

Chilean women credit the antioxidant powers of red grapes for their luminous skin. They create a paste by mashing up a handful of the fruit and adding 2 tablespoons of white flour. They then apply the mask to their face and leave it on for 10 minutes before washing it off. “It wakes up the appearance of tired and fatigued skin to give you an amazing glow,” says Shalini Vadhera, author of Passport to Beauty

Dominican Republic

“If you ever meet a Dominican woman, look at her nails––chances are they’re super-strong,” says Vadhera. What’s their secret? Women in the Dominican Republic swear by garlic to keep their nails tough as…well, nails. They chop up fresh garlic, add it to a bottle of clear nail polish and let it stew for 7 to 10 days. “There will be an initial smell, so if you want to ward off vampires this is a great way to do it,” jokes Vadhera. “But the scent goes away. Garlic has so many strengthening properties and is naturally antibacterial as well.”

Egypt

According to Vadhera, Cleopatra’s beauty secret was taking milk baths to soften her skin and remove dead cells. To try the treatment at home, Vadhera recommends adding 2 cups of powdered milk to your bath. “It will make your skin look absolutely gorgeous and feel so smooth, silky and soft.”

France

“The French woman sticks to a scrupulous and preventive skin and body care routine,” says Shannon Gallogly, lead aesthetician for French beauty brands Decleor and Carita. “This means she has weekly facials, regular massages and religiously takes her makeup off each night.” Gallogly’s recipe for an at-home facial without the price tag of a spa version: Mash up cherries and pomegranate seeds and apply as a mask to the skin for about 6 minutes. “This mask will help brighten skin with natural enzymes while firming at the same time.” Remove the mixture with a warm towel to help boost circulation.

Greece

“Greek women are blessed with Mediterranean skin, which is light in color but has enough melanin to shield and absorb harmful UV rays,” says New York City dermatologist Macrene Alexiades, MD, PhD, who is half Greek. But even if you aren’t genetically blessed, you can still take a cue from the women of Greece. “There are other factors that contribute to their glowing complexion: They eat a Mediterranean diet high in fish, which provides skin-rejuvenating omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as fruits and vegetables, which provide antioxidants and vitamins. They also believe their intake of olive oil contributes to their great skin." So, start reaching for the olive oil instead of butter for better skin.

Israel

Cygalle Dias, owner of New York City’s Cygalle Healing Spa, was born in Israel and believes in the healing powers of sea salt. “When you swim in the Dead Sea, all of the salt helps your body rid itself of toxins, and it has also been known to help cure skin diseases.” To get the detoxifying benefits of sea salt at home, Dias shares her spa’s Lavender Sea Salt Scrub recipe: Mix together ¼ cup sea salt, 1 pinch seaweed powder, ½ cup massage oil and 10 to 15 drops lavender oil. Apply to skin to gently exfoliate.

Italy

How do Italian women maintain their glossy locks? According to Fabio Scalia, Italian hairstylist and owner of Fabio Scalia salon in Brooklyn, New York, the answer is right in your kitchen. Italian women keep their hair shiny by combining yogurt and olive oil and using the mixture as a conditioner. “The protein in the yogurt gently nourishes and conditions.” To whip up the rich treatment at home, Scalia recommends mixing 1 cup of plain whole-milk yogurt with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Then apply the mixture to washed hair, let it sit for 5 minutes and rinse with cool water.

Japan

Titi Branch, the half-Japanese cofounder of Miss Jessie’s hair care line, credits seaweed for Japanese women’s long, silky hair. Nori is a rich source of the trace mineral iodine, which is essential for healthy hair growth. (According to Branch, the iodine added to table salt isn’t the right kind to nourish your hair because your body doesn’t easily absorb it.) Seaweed is also a rich source of other mane-strengthening minerals—including iron, zinc, selenium and copper. “Japanese women either eat nori seaweed or boil it and apply it to dry hair as a nourishing paste.” Head to your local Asian grocer or health food store to pick up sheets of nori. “It’s traditionally used to wrap sushi, but you can use it like a tortilla to wrap up veggies with a dash of soy sauce, or crumble the sheets and sprinkle them on a salad, rice or stir-fry,” advises Branch.

Spain

Spanish women bring out natural, subtle highlights in their hair by rinsing it with cranberry juice, says Vadhera. Try mixing ¼ cup pure juice (not cocktail blends) with ¼ cup water and doing a final rinse with it in the shower. “If you’re going to be in the sun, the cranberry juice brings out the rich hues in your hair,” she says. “It works amazingly on brunettes, but if you’re blonde you’ll want to use lemon juice instead to avoid ending up with pink hair.”

Sweden

Swedish women attribute their glowing, healthy skin to their diet of antioxidant-packed fresh berries and grilled fish, says Petra Strand, Swedish makeup artist and creator of makeup line Pixi, now available at Target. Give yourself a hit of antioxidants by trying Strand’s at-home treatment: Boil mineral water with a green tea or white tea bag, let the tea infuse the water and then freeze it into ice cubes to use instead of a toner. “Saunas are also a big part of Swedish culture,” says Strand. “The dry, clean heat rids your body of toxins.” To get the effect of a sauna at home, Strand says to take a handful of rock salt and add a dash of olive oil and about 10 drops of pure eucalyptus oil. Rub it all over your body and rinse with a blast of cold water.

So which one of these habits do you already do??? None of these say sitting in wet clothes enhances beauty... so while you figure out what habits you might want to start adopting, I'm going to get out of these sopping clothes and make some hot tea! (Hold on, where's the "tip" about drinking green tea & beauty... I know I have read that somewhere!!!)

Friday, June 5, 2009

You Can't Hide From It, So Embrace It Safely!

I am sure all of you are extremely tired from the mundane/routine tasks you completed all week... I know I am. Weekends are a perfectly way to unwind from these 5 hectic days from hell. Seeing friends, sleeping, pampering yourself, all fall into that category. Another great way to completely unwind while obtaining some health benefits is by sun tanning.

I know exactly what you're thinking... "I thought sun-tanning was bad for us"... "Um excuse me, skin cancer!"... "When I go outside I use SPF 100 because I don't want to risk it"... "WRINKLES!"...

(One Big Ball of Concentrated Skin Cancer & Vitamin D! ha ha)

Yes, all of those things can result from sun-tanning... but that's why I am here to tell you how to tan safely and reap the benefits that come with basking in it!

First things first... if you want a golden tint... go outside for it! Never ever use a tanning bed! In tanning beds the only UV rays available are UVA rays which cause the most damage (while also giving you that bronzed glow... or red as a lobster look). Plus when you are laying in a tanning booth completely nude, the distance between the rays and your body is quite close - tanning beds are 2 to 3 times MORE POWERFUL than UVA rays from the sun... Thus more rays are absorbed into your body. What happens when these rays are soaked up? Well they do a number to your immune system (weaken it) which means you are more susceptible to getting skin cancer. Yikes!

When you're outside both UVA and UVB rays are present... which means the risk of getting skin cancer is there as well because two powerful rays are being absorbed into your body... No wonder there are so many sun block brands with high SPFs - getting skin cancer is rather easy!

So what can you do to make sure you are not part of the statistic (of those who get skin cancer per year)? This may come as a shock to you but for the first ten minutes of being outside, wear no sun screen at all... This way you obtain an ample amount of Vitamin D which is one of the vitamins most every American is deficient in. Vitamin D is a "wonder drug" and new findings keep supplying more information in it's favor.

After those health boosting ten minutes though, slather on some SPF 35 and reapply it every 2 hours!! This is hard to remember because some either fall asleep outside or get too involved in the Frisbee game... that's why perhaps you should turn on the timer on your cell phone - anything to get you to remember to reapply that sun screen!

Now I won't lie to you - I am pretty bad at putting sun screen on myself... but I have definitely paid for it and will try my best this summer to keep up a healthy sun screen routine!

Who's with me?

PS: HAPPY WEEKEND!!!

Friday, May 22, 2009

White Tea

Ever since my surgery I have been a bit hesitant about drinking coffee... I haven't really had a craving for it... and if anything the thought of it has made me slightly nauseous... But I need caffeine in the morning or else I am as functional as a remote control without batteries! So what else could I add to my life other than coffee to pep me up? I decide White Tea would be perfect... I used to drink it in the past and thought it to be very light and nurishing yet gave me the caffeine I needed to tackle the day. Granted both Black and Green Tea do the same thing, but there is something about White Tea that I like just a bit more than it's relatives (and when I say relatives, I mean it because they all come from the same plant). So of course, since I have been drinking this brew daily now... I had to look into it's health benefits... and here is what I found:

WHITE TEA:

- Caffeine: roughly 15 mg per one tea bag steeped for 3 to 5 minutes & then removed (about 25 to 30 mg if tea bag is left in)

- Prevents body from storing fat

- Boosts mental strength

- Natural appetite suppressant

- Contains lots of antioxidants

- Does not stain teeth & aids in dental health

- Carries anti-aging properties

- Contains EGCG

- Reduces skin cancer risk

- Reduces heart disease risk

- Reduces stroke risk

- Reduces diabetes risk

- Detoxes Harmful substances from the body

http://www.whiteteacentral.com/ --> Where info is from

Personally my favorite WHITE TEA is anything from Celestial Seasonings!!!

So doesn't all this information make you want to drink WHITE TEA on a daily basis!? Even if you drink black or green tea you will still get the same health benefiting properties!!!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

IT'S NOT HALLOWEEN BUT...

I AM OBSESSED with Pureed Pumpkin!!! The best part about me eating this vegetable is that... It is LOADED with health benefits!!!

For roughly 80 calories PER CUP (According to LIBBY'S Canned Pumpkin) you get TONS of vitamins, minerals and fiber... Exactly what vitamins and minerals does pumpkin contain...

- Vitamin A/ Beta- Carotene/ Carotenoids [aids in eye health, immune function, bone metabolism, skin health, heart health, etc]

- Potassium [Stroke & Hypertension Prevention]

- Vitamin C [Lessens Oxidative stress, Antioxidant, Skin Health, Immune System Health, Energy Enhancer]

- 3 Grams of Fiber (per cup) [Healthy Weight & Bowel]

- Lutein & Zeaxanthin [Eye Health]

- Iron [Wards off anemia & kidney failure]

- Zinc [Improves sense of taste & smell, Aids in Wound Healing, Increases Energy, Protects DNA & Aids in Proper Growth & Development]

And don't forget about the SEEDS of the pumpkin because they are equally nutritious containing...

- Magnesium

- Copper

- Iron

- Manganese

- Phosphorus

- Zinc

- Healthy Fats

So even though it's just about summer... why not dig into a can of pureed pumpkin - it will no doubt aid in achieving your bikini body... by making your skin, hair & nails healthy while keeping you full so you don't lose your stellar figure! And one more added bonus... eating pumpkin acts as an SPF (of about 5 but still)!!!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Naturally Healthy Sweetener

I am sure you have all heard of low/non sugar additives such as, aspartame, sorbitol, manitol, splenda, saccharin etc... but have you heard of STEVIA?

Stevia Rebaudiana is a derivative from a plant found in South America and has been used for a centuries in both South America and China. This herb is roughly 300 times sweeter than sugar, calorie free and comes in a white powder form or liquid tincture.

It has been recorded that Stevia Extract stabilizes blood sugar and also aids the pancreas - this herb is very valuable to those with diabetes &/or hypoglycemia as well as those who wish to loose weight and cut out sugar from their diets.

Other studies suggest that Stevia decreases the desire for actual sugary sweets, improves digestion and soothes upset stomachs. It has also been noted that Stevia can fight infections of the mouth which is why a lot of people even use it as a mouth wash.

Stevia can also be used topically and is known to soften the skin when applied. It even is a notable wrinkle smoother and a scar healer!

Why the FDA took so long to OK Stevia... I don't know! I have been using it for 8 years now DAILY in my coffee and adore it! I especially adore the brands: Sweet Leaf & NuNaturals - So to everyone who is trying to rid sugar from their life and have read one too many articles about Aspartame being dangerous - Try Stevia, all health food stores have it these days and popular drink brands are ever starting to use them!

Where You Can Get Stevia: