Acne: Not Just for Teens

ACNE IS OFTEN considered just a teenage problem, but because spots can be a response to the sex hormone testosterone, they may appear at puberty, before a period, while on the pill or pregnant, or during menopause.

Spots occur when oil pores get blocked by dead skin, allowing skin bacteria to colonize the pores, causing inflammation and red spots. you can help prevent this by keeping your hair away from your face and eating a good diet (experts debate whether specific foods cause acne, however).

Treat acne with a pH-balanced soap-free cleanser and a spot treatment. These can dry skin out so use an oil-free moisturizer. If acne persists, see your GP, who may prescribe hormone treatments for women or other medication.
a

Pain Pills : A Time Bomb for Women?

ANALGESIC DRUGS are the most frequently used medication, yet women who habitually pop a few every day may be raising their chances of getting high blood pressure.

American scientists studies over 5000 women, monitoring their intake of aspirin, paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen.

They found that women who took 500mg or more of paracetamol a day were twice as likely to develop high blood pressure. those taking 400mg plus of ibuprofen a day were 60% more likely to develop the condition, rising to 80% for older women (aged 51-77). Aspirin, on the other hand, didn't seem to affect blood pressure.

If you are taking daily OTC painkillers, it's bets to see your GP about the underlying cause.

Seven Simple Ways to Eat Healthier

Learn to maintain balance in your life

The key to better health is learning the difference between healthy and unhealthy nutrients. The choices we make greatly affect our health. Making a few simple healthy and nutritious changes in our dietary choices can have a profound and positive impact on our health, well-being, energy levels and life span. For instance . . .

• Healthy proteins provide the amino acids our bodies require to build and repair lean body mass (like muscles, skin, hair and nails), and are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and chemicals. Good sources include wild salmon, beans, legumes, soy products (tofu, tempeh, TVP), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin), nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts) and peanut butter.

• Unhealthy proteins are loaded with saturated fat, cholesterol, hormones, or antibiotics (like beef, lamb, beacon and sausage). While they give your body the needed amino acids, they also clog arteries and compromise your immune system.

• Healthy fats are unsaturated fats (mono and poly), omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Good sources of these fats include extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, ground flax seeds and walnuts. They help your body absorb fat-soluble antioxidant micronutrients like vitamins A, E, D, and K, and lycopene.

• Unhealthy fats are saturated fats and trans fatty acids (trans fats), like butter and margarine. These fats contribute to heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, hypertension and obesity.

• Healthy carbohydrates are high in fiber and are considered complex carbohydrates. Good sources include rolled oats, brown rice, whole wheat, broccoli, squash, green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, beans and whole fruit. These help lower cholesterol, aide digestion, regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, and reduce caloric intake.

• Unhealthy carbohydrates are high in sugar and are called simple carbohydrates, like candy, white bread, sodas, ice cream, cake and cookies. These spike blood sugar and insulin levels, and increase caloric intake (they are considered empty calories).

Eating nutrient-dense foods that are high in antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber help the body function optimally, promote overall well-being and improve digestion. These nutrients also help fight and prevent heart disease, cancer and diabetes, strengthens the immune system, slows the aging process, increases energy and improves cognitive performance.

Additionally, as we age our appetite lessens, making it even more critical to choose foods wisely. When every bit counts, picking foods with the highest nutritional profile is more important than ever.

An easy way to make your nutritional choices is to look for foods that are bright in color, for they usually contain more beneficial vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. For example, red and pink grapefruit have the heart-healthy cancer-fighting antioxidant phytochemical called lycopene while white grapefruit does not. Here are seven more simple ways to start eating healthier.

1. Switch from iceberg lettuce to romaine lettuce. Romaine lettuce has more vitamins and minerals like vitamins A and C, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium and potassium. It also has more fiber than iceberg lettuce.
   
   
2. Eat brown rice instead of white rice. Brown rice naturally has more fiber and riboflavin, and less sugars than white rice. It is digested slower and is more filling.
   
   
3. Switch from white bread to whole-wheat or whole-grain bread. Whole-wheat and whole-grain breads have more fiber, iron and potassium. Slice per slice, they are more filling and satisfying than white bread.
   
   
4. Drink iced teas (black, green and herbal) instead of sodas. Black, green and herbal teas provide antioxidants and phytochemicals that enhance your health. Unlike sodas, you can control the sugar content when brewing your own iced teas.
   
   
5. Choose whole-grain or whole-wheat cereals with bran instead of sugar-coated cereals. Whole-grain cereals and whole-wheat cereals with bran naturally have more protein, fiber, calcium, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin than sugar frosted cereals. Besides having less sugar, they are metabolized slower and are more filling. So you have more energy during the day and you will not get hungry right away.
   
   
6. Switch from cow’s milk to fortified soymilk. Soymilk contains no cholesterol or hormones, and is extremely low in saturated fat. It also provides isoflavones and other beneficial phytochemicals that promote good health. Fortified soymilks also contain easy to absorb calcium, vitamins D and B6, and some even add extra antioxidants (like vitamins A, C, and E), folate and omega-3.
   
   
7. For dessert, have frozen fruit sorbet instead of ice cream. Frozen fruit sorbet is fat and cholesterol free and has more fiber. It is also loaded with antioxidant vitamins A and C, and contains beneficial phytochemicals.
   

To get you started, try this deliciously nutritious homemade sorbet recipe by Monique N. Gilbert. It is cholesterol-free, and high in antioxidants and fiber.

Strawberry Orange Sorbet

1-1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup fortified soymilk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1 tablespoon honey

Blend in a food processor or blender for 1-2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Place in the freezer until ready to serve.

How to Choose Food for a Healthy Skin ?

Eat right for a glowing skin. What you eat plays a major part in how your skin looks and feels. Here are a few nutritional guidelines for a glowing complexion -

1. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble nutrient that is necessary for the maintenance and healing of epithelial tissues. Your skin is of course your largest expanse of epithelial tissue. Eat eggs, and low-fat dairy products to get your fix of this vitamin.
2. Eating food that is rich in beta-carotene will do wonders for your skin. This includes dark-coloured fruit and vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, papaya, broccoli and spinach
3. To keep your skin's oil production normal, you should make sure that your diet contains enough B vitamins. The best vitamin B sources are fish, whole grains, peanuts and eggs
4. Vitamin C is necessary for firm skin, as it helps to maintain collagen, the underlying support structure of the skin. It also protects your skin from damage from the environment. Citrus fruits, tomatoes and berries are all rich in vitamin C
5. Vitamin E helps to slow the ageing of skin cells by reducing the production of an enzyme called collagenase, which breaks down collagen, leaving your skin sagging and wrinkly. Sun exposure also depletes your skin of Vitamin E, making it more vulnerable to Sun damage. The best sources of this antioxidant are fish, legumes, extra lean meat, leafy vegetables and olive and sesame oil
6. Another anti-wrinkling agent is zinc. This trace mineral helps to maintain your skin's elasticity and collagen. It is found in seafood, Soya, and mushrooms

Just make sure you are getting your full of these wonder Vitamins. Nothing like a nutritious diet to get your skin glowing. And don't forget nature's miracle drink 'Water.' You can't drink enough of it!

Anaemia

Are you Anaemic?

When the red blood cells are unhealthy, due to less iron-rich protein called hemoglobin, a person is said to be suffering from anaemia. This protein is the oxygen-carrier and gives the red color to blood. In India, anaemia is more prevalent among women – from toddlers to pregnant and post-delivery women (80-90%) and the elderly. It is common among the city teenagers because of their dietary fads. Though the causes of anaemia are numerous, the commonest cause is iron deficiency, which is easily preventable. Fatigue, breathlessness, palpitation and repeated infections are some of the symptoms of anemia. Decreased hemoglobin is the commonest finding in laboratory medicine. Today, thirty percent of the world population suffers from Iron deficiency anaemia.

How to prevent anaemia:

• In infants, weaned of breast milk or after six months, whichever is earlier, include iron-fortified cereals and Vitamin C to ward off anaemia. Cow’s milk is poor in iron.
• Iron is an important for teens, especially for those who have started menstruating.
• Vegetarians need to pay extra attention to make sure they get enough iron through lentils, beans and greens.
• Cut downs on tea, as it reduces iron absorption.
• Include orange juice, cauliflower, tomatoes etc that are rich in Vitamin C in your diet to help in iron absorption. Add tomato slices to a chicken sandwich, or have an orange with a chutney/butter sandwich.
• For non-vegetarians, liver is a rich source of iron.
• See a doctor if you have heavy periods/ bleeding piles.
• Have a glass of green vegetable juice, at least thrice a week, made of spinach, coriander, with a dash of time.
• Read the labels of bread, cereals, pasta and make sure they are good brands, fortified with iron and vitamins.
• Whenever there is a dessert option of fruits like watermelon, raisins, prunes, apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries, go for it.
• Avoid skipping meals or having junk food regularly, as it can lead to anaemia. Let no work pressure come in the way of nutrition.

Genetics and Miscarriage

Canadian researchers have discovered the molecular glitch that explains why so many women lose their babies late in their pregnancy. Known as foetal growth restriction, the condition strikes three percent of all pregnancies and is a leading cause of infant deaths.

Earlier research had shown that a gene producing a protein known as insulin like growth factor II, or IGF2, was critical to feed the foetus and help foetal cells divide and grow.

The Canadian research showed that the normal form of this protein has a very long chemical structure. However, to function properly when helping to build the placenta, another molecule, PC4, has to effectively work like scissors and cut the growth-factor protein to a length crucial to a healthy pregnancy.
"We have found the [molecular] scissors in some women are not sharp enough, or they just don't have enough scissors, said Dr. Andree Gruslin. Gruslin has found some success with certain interventions, but stresses she can offer no scientific research to explain their effectiveness at this point.

Inner Beauty

There's a lot more to beauty than the skillful application of make up. Eyeliner doesn't give you beautiful eyes. It merely enhances what you already have.

And a lot of what you have comes from within. The mind- body connection in beauty is amazing. Why do some people with good features and excellent skin still lose out to others who are not so perfect? It's their inner beauty that's lacking. External beauty is about features and make up. Inner beauty is about charm, appeal and the ability to captivate.

If you don't work on your inner beauty, you're likely to lag behind in a world where personality matters.

Remember, with no inner glow, no amount of make up can make you beautiful. An inner glow lets your real beauty shine through.

Isn't it time you paid attention to what really matters?

Did you know…?

Frowns cause wrinkles, and add a stressed look to your face. It makes you a prickly creature.

Smiles light up your eyes and add a welcoming glow to your face. You blush a little with every genuine smile.

Your eyes reveal your inner thoughts. They're the windows to your soul. Discard toxic thoughts - they distort your features. Let the light within reflect in your eyes.

A calm mind depicts a serene beauty. Turbulent thoughts flaunt themselves in your face, posture and gesture. Attract people with your poise.

Self-esteem helps you stand straight (beautiful posture) and look people in the eye while you talk. You do not slouch or have shifty eyes or mumble. Confidence certainly makes for a more beautiful picture.

Happiness attracts people like nothing else can. Be happy and you'll find people flocking to you. Your positive aura acts like a magnet.

Depression and sorrow does diminish appeal. People will keep away. Just like your happiness enlivens them, your depression will pull them down.

Tips for "Diet/Fitness"

• Stretch out your right leg with your foot flexed as high as you can in front of you visualizing lifting your knee. Lower your leg and then do 15 reps. Switch sides and repeat the same exercise.
  
  
• Eat three well-balanced meals a day. Have proteins, fruits, vegetables and a little fat everyday. Your body requires appropriate fuel to work effectively all through the day.
  
  
• Often when you crash diet, you don't loose the right kind of weight. You loose muscle, bone and water. But the fat remains as it was before you started dieting.
  
  
• Eat more vegetables, whole grain, lean meats and fiber-rich food. Don't eat junk food. Drink lots of water and other fluids. More so in summer, as sweating could lead to dehydration.
  
  
• If you want to be fit, exercise. You need to exercise everyday. Even if it is just walking, do it. Your health and fitness is in your hands.
  
  
• Lie on the floor with your arms extended on each side and your legs straight up in the air, spread out so that both feet are past your shoulders. Your toes should be pointed. Squeeze your inner thighs
  
  
• Lie on your back with your legs straight and together. Keeping your arms at your sides, raise your head and shoulders above the floor until you can see your heels. Lower your head to the floor. Repeat
  
  
• Lie on your abdomen. Place your palms close to your chest. The knees and the feet should be kept straight. Breathe in and then lift the head and the chest. Look up, breathe normally and come down. Sta
  
  
• Daily intake of salads, whether grated or cut into small pieces, add to the fibre content in the diet. Carrots, beetroots, tomatoes, celery, lettuce and onions are healthy ingredients for salads.
  
  
• Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Squat down, placing hands flat on the floor alongside of or in front of your feet. Jump and push both feet back, straightening your body into a push-up.

The Elixir of Youth

If YOU've been trawling the glamorous stands of your local cosmetics store for the perfect fragrance, there's one ingredient you should be asking for - grape fruit. it seems this citrus fruit is hot property in the scent world, because it supposedly makes a woman seem younger to men - six years younger, in fact. in a recent experiment by Dr. Alan Hirsch at The Smell and Taste Institute in Chicago, several middle aged women were smeared with broccoli, banana, spearmint leaves and lavender. but none of these scents made a difference, until the grapefruit came along. when male volunteers were asked to estimate a woman's age, their guess was considerably lower than reality.

What is Obesity?

Weight Loss: What Is Obesity?

Obesity is an excess proportion of total body fat. A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight. The most common measure of obesity is the body mass index or BMI. A person is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between 25 and 29.9; a person is considered obese if his or her BMI is over 30.

"Morbid obesity" means that a person is either 50%-100% over normal weight, more than 100 pounds over normal weight, has a BMI of 40 or higher, or is sufficiently overweight to severely interfere with health or normal function.

What Causes Obesity?

Obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories than he or she burns. For many people this boils down to eating too much and exercising too little. But there are other factors that also play a role in obesity. These may include:

• Age. As you get older, your body's ability to metabolize food slows down and you do not require as many calories to maintain your weight. This is why people note that they eat the same and do the same activities as they did when they were 20 years old, but at age 40, gain weight.
• Gender. Women tend to be more overweight than men. Men have a higher resting metabolic rate (meaning they burn more energy at rest) than women, so men require more calories to maintain their body weight. Additionally, when women become postmenopausal, their metabolic rate decreases. That is partly why many women gain weight after menopause.
• Genetics. Obesity (and thinness) tends to run in families. In a study of adults who were adopted as children, researchers found that participating adult weights were closer to their biological parents' weights than their adoptive parents'. The environment provided by the adoptive family apparently had less influence on the development of obesity than the person's genetic makeup. In fact, if your biological mother is heavy as an adult, there is approximately a 75% chance that you will be heavy. If your biological mother is thin, there is also a 75% chance that you will be thin. Nevertheless, people who feel that their genes have doomed them to a lifetime of obesity should take heart. Many people genetically predisposed to obesity do not become obese or are able to lose weight and keep it off.
• Environmental factors. Although genes are an important factor in many cases of obesity, a person's environment also plays a significant role. Environmental factors include lifestyle behaviors such as what a person eats and how active he or she is.
• Physical activity. Active individuals require more calories than less active ones to maintain their weight. Additionally, physical activity tends to decrease appetite in obese individuals while increasing the body's ability to preferentially metabolize fat as an energy source. Much of the increase in obesity in the last 20 years is thought to have resulted from the decreased level of daily physical activity.
• Psychological factors. Psychological factors also influence eating habits. Many people eat in response to negative emotions such as boredom, sadness, or anger. While most overweight people have no more psychological disturbances than people at their normal weight, about 30% of people who seek treatment for serious weight problems have difficulties with binge eating. During a binge-eating episode, people eat large amounts of food while feeling they can't control how much they are eating.
• Illness. Although not as common as many believe, there are some illnesses that can cause obesity. These include hormone problems such as hypothyroidism (poorly acting thyroid slows metabolism), depression and some rare diseases of the brain that can lead to overeating.
• Medication. Certain drugs, such as steroids and some antidepressants, may cause excessive weight gain.

Emotional Aspects of Obesity

One of the most painful aspects of obesity may be the emotional suffering it causes. American society places great emphasis on physical appearance, often equating attractiveness with slimness or muscularity. In addition, many people wrongly stereotype obese people as gluttonous, lazy, or both. However, more and more evidence contradicts this assumption. Obese people often face prejudice or discrimination at work, at school, while looking for a job, and in social situations. Feelings of rejection, shame, or depression are common.

When to Seek Help

You should call your doctor if you are having emotional problems related to your weight, need help losing weight, or if you fall into either of the following categories.

• If your BMI is 30 or greater, you're considered obese. You should talk to your doctor about losing weight since you are at high risk of having health problems.
• If you have an "apple shape" - a so-called, "potbelly" or "spare tire" -- you carry more fat in and around your abdominal organs. Fat in your abdomen increases your risk of many of the serious conditions associated with obesity. Women's waist measurement should fall below 35 inches. Men's should be less than 40 inches. If you have a large waist circumference, talk to your doctor about how you can lose weight.

Reviewed by the Department of Nutrition Therapy at The Cleveland Clinic.