Skin benifits of Pomegranate

Health Benefits of the Pomegranate

• Most powerful anti-oxidant of all fruits
• Potent anti-cancer and immune supporting effects
• Inhibits abnormal platelet aggregation that could cause heart attacks, strokes and embolic disease
• Lowers cholesterol and other cardiac risk factors
• Lowers blood pressure
• Shown to promote reversal of atherosclerotic plaque in human studies
• May have benefits to relieve or protect against depression and osteoporosis

Many studies show that the pomegranate is one of the most powerful, nutrient dense foods for overall good health. These clinical findings clearly show a correlation between pomegranate compounds and their positive effect on both human and animal cardiovascular, nervous, and skeletal health. This is one fruit that you can't afford to exclude from your diet!
In Greek mythology, pomegranates were once the fruit of choice for the Greek gods who believe it could make them immortal. It's no wonder pomegranates have been proven to strengthen the body's natural SPF by 25 percent. Pomegranates may also have a hand in making skin have a more youthful appearance. One eight-ounce glass of pomegranate juice daily is all you need to benefit your skin. You can find it at your local grocery and health food stores.

Smile Lines

You would probably rather have laugh lines than wrinkles caused by frowning, scowling or squinting.  But, if you’re like most people, you would prefer to have no wrinkles, at all, if that were possible.  The good news is…it may well be.

We are learning more and more about how to prevent or delay the inward and the outward signs of aging.  Researchers believe that many of the diseases that seem to accompany the aging process are actually preventable.

Ultimately, they are mostly caused by poor nutrient intake throughout a person’s life.  Food can either make you healthier or cause you to be in poor health and have wrinkles.  So, you can choose to be healthy and young looking.  You just have to want to.

The lazy folks blame everything on genetics and say that life is too short to be overly concerned about what you eat.  But, if they want to live a longer, healthier life, they can fight genetics.

Many researchers believe that many hereditary conditions are only caused in part by genetics.  They are also caused by family habits.  Dietary and lifestyle preferences, for example, tend to be passed on from one generation to the next.

So, how does one prevent laugh lines?  Some women simply walk around with an emotionless expression on their faces, because of the theory that wrinkles are caused by habitual facial expressions.  Other theories make more sense.

Collagen and elastin fibers within the skin’s deeper layers allow it to “snap back” when stretched.  It was thought that the elastic fibers simply wear out, the way that an elastic band would.  But, actually, the elastic fibers are being continuously replaced throughout a person’s life.

The replacement process slows down with age and that’s one of the reasons that you may start to see laugh lines.  It does not stop altogether, however, and it is possible to support and stimulate the production of new collagen fibers.

The most effective approach is to treat the problem of skin aging from the inside out and from the outside in.  In other words, eat right, take some good vitamins and use good, high quality skincare products.

The ingredients to look for in your creams and lotions are nutrients.  Some nutrients, such as coenzyme Q10, can be absorbed into the skin’s layers to fight free radical damage, a cause of cellular aging.

Other nutrients, such as certain kinds of absorbable protein, have been shown to stimulate the production of new collagen and elastin fibers.  If you want to prevent or get rid of laugh lines, remember that nutrients are the keys, inside and out.

Thanks to

 How to Avoid Laugh Lines and Other Wrinkles

Laugh lines are the creases that form at the sides of the mouth and outer corners of the eyes. They are more pronounced when you laugh--hence the name--but are also caused by genetics, aging and overexposure to the sun. One way to help reduce or prevent laugh lines is to stop laughing altogether. But a much more desirable solution is regular facial exercises, particularly those that target the cheek muscles, to lift the skin and minimize the appearance of lines and wrinkles, says Carolyn Cleaves, who runs the Carolyn's Facial Fitness business.

Step 1

Hook your index fingers inside the corners of your mouth and gently pull out to the sides, no more than 1/4 inch, says the Shape Your Face website. Do this to contract the orbicularis oris muscle, which wraps around your mouth and controls your ability to open and close it, as well as to pucker and press your lips together, says the DataFace website. Hold this position for a few seconds, then, to work the muscle harder, slowly draw the corners of your mouth toward each other, using your fingers as resistance. Relax and repeat, building up to 25 repetitions. Strengthening the orbicularis oris muscle will help to ensure the overlying skin is adequately supported to prevent sagging.

Step 2

Place your fingertips over your laugh lines, apply firm pressure, then smile as widely as you can with your lips separated, says FacialExercisesGuide.com. Hold for about five seconds, relax and aim for up to 30 repetitions. Smiling under resistance will strengthen the cheek muscles and lift your skin, minimizing the creases--or laugh lines--around your mouth.

Step 3

Place your thumbs near the corners of your eyes, with your fingers resting on top of your head, says Carolyn's Facial Fitness. Close your eyes tightly and then slide your thumbs firmly away from your eyes toward your temples. This action should draw the corners of your eyes outward and slightly up, although you won't see because your eyes should remain closed. Relax and repeat 10 times. When you laugh, your cheeks naturally push up, causing the skin around your eyes to wrinkle. This exercise will combat this effect.

How to use vitamin E capsule on skin.

Hi guys I have watched an interview with Maret G. Traber, Ph.D, professor of Nutrition LPI Principal Investigator recently. I came to know about a lot of interesting facts about Vitamin E capsules. let me share some pieces of information with you guys.

Vitamin E capsule  
Vitamin E is a family of eight fat-soluble antioxidants, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols, but only one of those eight is useful for humans—alpha-tocopherol. This is commonly called vitamin E on supplement labels.

Q.Does topical vitamin E improve skin appearance?
A: Most skin creams actually contain vitamin E. It’s listed on the label as alpha-tocopheryl acetate. This form of vitamin E is useful because it doesn’t get oxidized. That’s actually good because the alpha-tocopheryl acetate can penetrate through the skin surface and get to the living cells. About 5% of the amount that's smeared on the skin is actually converted to the free tocopherol once it’s inside those deep skin cells and provides beneficial antioxidant effects.
Q: Are there other side effects of very large intakes of vitamin E? Is vitamin E toxic at high doses?
A: Bleeding is the only side effect that the Food and Nutrition Board could find. I think it should be noted that there aren’t any studies in humans that demonstrate adverse effects of vitamin E, possibly because the studies are not of sufficient size, length, or control.

Q: Is 200 IU of d-alpha-tocopherol a reasonable amount to take?
A: Synthetic vitamin E is cheaper than d-alpha-tocopherol, or natural source vitamin E, but only half as effective. The body is clever enough to figure out the one it wants. It’s really a wash. If you want to get 200 IU of natural vitamin E, you can buy 400 IU supplements of synthetic vitamin E at maybe half the cost of 200 IU natural vitamin E.

Well guys,

Vitamin E is often used to promote smooth, hydrated skin, it can help soothe burns, and it even be smoothed onto stretch marks and scars to diminish their appearance. But you don't have to buy vitamin E oil to take advantage of its many uses. Instead, make your own using vitamin E capsules from the health food store, and a little olive oil. Use vitamin E oil daily to smooth your skin and keep it looking healthy and young. It may be a better treatment than pricey department store antiaging creams.

Step 1

Remove three vitamin E capsules from the vitamin bottle, and lay them on a paper towel. Use a needle to poke a small hole in each capsule, and squeeze the oil into a small jar until only the skin of the capsule is left. Stir in 1 tsp. of olive oil to make the the vitamin E more pliable when you apply it to your skin.

Step 2

Dab the vitamin E oil gently around your eyes, forehead and mouth to prevent and improve facial wrinkles. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that pure vitamin E can help decrease facial roughness found in wrinkles and fine lines.

Step 3

Poke a hole in a few more vitamin E capsules to make enough to apply to large patches of your body, like on stretch marks or large scars. For every three capsules, remember to add 1 tsp. of olive oil, or the vitamin E may become sticky. Rub into scars at least once daily with your fingers.

Step 4

Use your vitamin E oil from the capsules on sunburns or after visiting the beach. It can help replenish the moisture that your skin loses from being out in the hot sun, and can provide soothing relief from painful burns. Try placing your vitamin E capsules in the refrigerator before you puncture them before added cooling relief.

Step 5

Apply vitamin E directly from the punctured capsule onto the skin if you suffer from extremely dry skin, eczema or psoriasis. The pure vitamin E oil can help to hydrate the skin, and you won't need to use expensive or synthetic moisturizing products.

Acidic Food Cause Aging?

The key to having healthy skin lies with what I eat. Cliche as it may sound but the adage, “we are what we eat” is indeed true. So instead of reading materials that only suggest beautifying our skin with external aids like creams and lotions, I’ve begun to read books on how to eat for healthier skin. Two books that I’m currently reading are “The Healthy Skin Diet” by Karen Fisc and “Stop Aging, Start Living” by Jeanette Graf, M.D. with Alisa Bowman.
Both books were randomly picked from the library shelves but coincidentally, they both dealt with the same topic – balancing the body’s pH with alkalizing foods to maintain healthy skin. As I read on, I realized this balance is crucial and has direct connections to what I was trying to achieve with my detox to maintain a healthy liver and a digestive tract. In fact, all the topics that I’ve written before about sleep, caffeine, exercise, diet, stress, and hormones were basically about balancing our body’s pH but I never knew it. So you can say that reading about this was definitely an Eureka moment for me!
Optimal pH level should be slightly alkaline
I’m not about to reproduce the contents of the books here but in a gist, both books suggest that we need a slightly alkaline pH level for optimal health and functioning. On a scale of 1 to 14 and 7 being neutral, our blood should be slightly alkaline at a pH of 7.365 to be precise. If our blood pH becomes too acidic, it can damage the cells and tissues in our body. And in terms of our skin, except for our epidermis that function best at a slightly acidic pH of 5.4 to kill bacteria, cells in the dermis function best at an alkaline pH of 7.35. An acidic pH level can reduce the amount as well as quality of collagen and elastin being produced, thereby causing us to end up with premature aging and wrinkles. In addition, too much acids in the body can also cause demineralisation, which can lead to dry and cracked skin, fingernails that split easily plus thin, brittle hair. Finally, an acidic pH level will damage our red blood cells and this in turn can cause our skin to look dull and greyish from low oxygen supply.


Acid forming foods
When our body has too much acid, we may develop symptoms of acidosis, such as lethargy, poor digestive system, constipation, acne, skin bumps, skin allergies and so on. Causes for this include too much stress, alcohol, smoking, chemicals, dehydration and most importantly, a poor diet consisting of acid forming food. And what are acid producing foods? Common ones include meat, sugar, cereals, as well as processed foods. However, the interesting information I picked out was that a food that is considered as acidic may actually be alkaline when eaten. For instance, oranges, lemons, and limes are considered acidic, but the end-product is an alkaline residue. Dairy products and meats usually test alkaline before digestion and assimilation, but actually leave acidic residue when ingested. You can run a search on the Net to look for acidic/alkaline food chart but here is one that I found with a rather detailed listing.
Testing pH level in your body
You can actually test your body’s pH level by using pH test strips to test your urine continuously for five days in the mornings but a more accurate reading is to have a doctor measure your blood’s pH level. And the trick to the whole issue is to achieve a balance, which I consider tough. I’ve learnt that we can still eat acidic food in moderation but my experience tells me otherwise. Some weeks ago, I drank some beer and immediately felt so lethargic the day after. So for some foods, abstinence is possibly the best solution.
Remedies to release acids in the body
Two good remedies I found that can help our body release acids: one is to take a warm glass of lemon drink in the morning, which is also good to cleanse the liver and the other is to engage in moderate exercise for about 20 to 30 minutes a day. Anyway, I’m going to come out with a plan to do this right for myself. I have a lot of information swirling within my head at the moment and I need to sieve them through. But going with my initial thoughts, I think my plan is going to be a long one and it will need some time to materialize. So if you’re interested, stay tuned.

Excessive Exercise ! Good or Bad ?

A   new study  has found that strenuous, long-term exercise may have anti-aging properties by virtue of its effect on telomeres.

Exercise may have beneficial properties at a chromosomal level, specifically on telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that are believed to have an impact on aging.

What are telomeres ? 
 A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome, which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration or from fusion with neighboring chromosome

Telomeres have been compared with caps on the ends of shoelaces, protecting against genetic unraveling, which, in turn, can lead to diseases.
When telomeres become too short after repeated cell divisions, cells die.

 As people get older, telomeres get shorter.

The study found an association between telomere length and leisure time exercise. It concluded that a sedentary lifestyle may accelerate the aging process as the result of telomere shortening.


Too Much Exercise cause Aging?

'Excessive exercise promotes the biological aging of middle-aged women'
according to Shin Yun-a, professor of physical education at Seoul National University.
Heavy exercises consume more oxygenShin released a paper regarding the effect of heavy exercise on middle-aged women’s telomeres, an aging indicator in cells and discovered telomeres got shorter when women in middle age in their 30s to 60s do excessive exercise. According to her, sudden and heavy exercise requires excessive oxygen consumption, causing aging.
Shin explained that after heavy exercise, the women’s lipid peroxidation, that damage cells, rapidly increased. Excessive exercise also caused superoxide dismutase (SOD) deactivation — SOD is an enzyme protecting cells against aging.
Free radicals cause cellular damageAnother article at the Department of Physiology in the University of Valencia also stated that exercise causes an increase in the generation of free radicals by cells and these radicals cause cellular damage.   However, this is only when exercise is exhaustive as strenous exercise causes oxidation of glutathione, release of cytosolic enzymes, and other signs of cell damage.
Antioxidant supplements can helpThe same article pointed out that the damage can be prevented by antioxidant administration and this is similar to what I read in Men’s Health Magazine, which encouraged those who exercise to supplement with antioxidants (vitamins A, C & E) in order toreduce the post-workout infllamtion.  Definitely something to consider, especially for those who exercises regularly.
So if you exercise, do exercise in moderation as well.

Vitamin C and E to fight aging

The two key sources of antioxidants are water soluble vitamin C and fat soluble vitamin E. Vitamin E is the most efficient antioxidant and is also the most abundant in our diet. It is the one you need the less of.

Antiaging antioxidant, Vitamin C being water soluble requires more and heftier intake as, unlike antiaging antioxidant vitamin E, the body cannot store it for long periods of time and needs to be replenished. This is where multi vitamins and supplements of vitamin C together with raw fruits and vegetables is important to top up our daily intake of vitamin C. Vitamin C is also excellent at fighting against the effect of free radicals created from smoking and pollution.

Most skin creams actually contain vitamin E. It’s listed on the label as alpha-tocopheryl acetate. This form of vitamin E is useful because it doesn’t get oxidized. That’s actually good because the alpha-tocopheryl acetate can penetrate through the skin surface and get to the living cells. About 5% of the amount that's smeared on the skin is actually converted to the free tocopherol once it’s inside those deep skin cells and provides beneficial antioxidant effects.

Synthetic vitamin E is cheaper than d-alpha-tocopherol, or natural source vitamin E, but only half as effective. The body is clever enough to figure out the one it wants. It’s really a wash. If you want to get 200 IU of natural vitamin E, you can buy 400 IU supplements of synthetic vitamin E at maybe half the cost of 200 IU natural vitamin E.

Top 10 Foods Highest in Vitamin E

1: Sunflower Seeds
A great snack on the go, or a great garnish on salads and soups, sunflower seeds provide 36.6mg (222% RDA) of vitamin E in a 100g serving, or 36.5mg (310% RDA) per cup.
2: Paprika and Red Chili Powder
It is nice to know you are able to add pepper to a dish whether mild (paprika) or spicy (red chili powder) and get the same amount of vitamin E, around 30mg (199% RDA) per 100g serving, or 2.1mg (14% RDA) in a single tablespoon.

3: Almonds
Almonds are best as a snack in raw whole form, but can also be found as almond butter and almond milk. Almonds provide 26.2mg (175% RDA) of vitamin E in a 100g serving, 37.5mg (250% RDA) per cup, and 0.3mg (2% RDA) of vitamin E in an almond.


4: Pine Nuts
Known as a key component in pesto, pine nuts are also great on their own, or added to a fruit salad. They provide 9.3mg (62% RDA) of vitamin-E in a 100g serving, 12.6mg (84% RDA) per cup, and 0.2mg (1% RDA) in 10 nuts.

5: Peanuts
Most common in butter form, peanuts also make a great dry roasted unsalted snack, chop up a few as a garnish to just about anything. A 100g serving will provide 6.9mg (46% RDA) of vitamin E. That is 10mg (67% RDA) per cup, and 2mg (13% RDA) per ounce.

6: Dried Herbs (Basil And Oregano)
Basil and Oregano go a long way in pasta sauce and pizzas, but are also great sprinkled on top of salads and sandwiches. A 100g serving will provide 7.38mg (50% RDA) of vitamin E, which is 0.2mg (1% RDA) per teaspoon. Other dried herbs high in vitamin E include Sage, Thyme, Parsley, and Cumin. 

7: Dried Apricots
Most common as a snack, dried apricots can also be chopped and thrown into a fruit salad. A good source of fiber and many other vitamins, apricots also provide 4.3mg (29% RDA) of vitamin E per 100g serving, or 5.6mg (38% RDA) per cup, and 0.2mg (2% RDA) of vitamin E in half an apricot.

8: Pickled Green Olives
Olives have no end to culinary use, great in pasta sauce, pizzas, salads, or alone with bread, they will provide 3.81mg (25% RDA) of vitamin E in a 100g serving, 1.1mg (7% RDA) per ounce (about 14 olives).

9: Cooked Spinach
Cooked spinach is great in stews, lasagnas, or as a side all by itself. It will provide 3.5mg (24% RDA) of vitamin E in a 100g serving, 6.7mg (44% RDA) per cup.

10: Cooked Taro Root
Inedible raw, taro is best baked, boiled, or incorporated into a bread. Worth trying as a substitute for potato, taro root gives 2.9mg (10% RDA) of vitamin E in a 100g serving, 3.9mg (26% RDA) in 1 cup sliced. It can be found in your local Asia market if not the grocery store

Top 10 Foods Highest in Vitamin C

1: Red and Green Hot Chili Peppers
An excellent way to spice up soups, curries, and sauces, green chillies provide the most vitamin C than any other food with 242.5mg (404% RDA) per 100 gram serving, 181.88mg (303% RDA) in a half cup chopped, and 109.13mg (182% RDA) in a single green chili pepper. Red chillies provide 144mg (240% RDA) of vitamin C per 100g serving, 108mg (180% RDA) per half cup chopped, and 65mg (108% RDA) per pepper.

2: Guavas
Depending on variety, guavas can provide as much as 228mg (381% RDA) of vitamin C per 100g serving, 377mg (628% RDA) per cup, and 126mg (209% RDA) per fruit.

3: Bell Peppers
A staple of pasta sauce and pizza the sweet bell pepper packs a high vitamin C punch. The amount of vitamin C depends on color. Yellow peppers provide the most vitamin C with 184mg (206% RDA) per 100 gram serving, 341mg (569% RDA) per pepper, and 95mg (159% RDA) in 10 sliced strips. Green peppers provide the least vitamin C with 132mg (220% RDA) per pepper.

4: Fresh Herbs (Thyme and Parsley)
Fresh and dried herbs are packed with vitamins and health benefits, they can be used in almost any soup, stew, or as the main ingredient to a salad like tabouleh. Thyme provides the most vitamin C of any herb with 160mg (267% RDA) per 100 gram serving, 1.6mg (3% RDA) in a single teaspoon. Parsley provides 133mg (222% RDA) per 100 gram serving, 79mg (133% RDA) per cup, 5mg (9% RDA) per tablespoon, 13.3mg (22% RDA) in 10 sprigs.

5: Dark Leafy Greens (Kale, Mustard Greens, Garden Cress)
Dark leafy greens are more than just a source of calcium, and are packed with other vitamins including vitamin C. Raw kale provides the most vitamin C with 120mg (200% RDA) per 100 gram serving, 80mg (134% RDA) per cup chopped. It is followed by mustard greens which provide 70mg (117% RDA) per 100 gram serving, and 29mg (65% RDA) per cup chopped. Garden cress provides 69mg (115% RDA) per 100 gram serving, or 35mg (58% RDA) per cup. 

6: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts
Broccoli provides 89mg (149% RDA) of vitamin C in a 100g serving, 81mg (135% RDA) per cup chopped, 28mg (46% RDA) per piece. Raw cauliflower provides much less with 46mg (77% RDA) per cup, raw brussles sprouts provide 75mg (125% RDA) per cup, 16mg (27% RDA) per sprout.

7: Kiwi Fruits (Chinese Gooseberries)
Kiwi fruits are tart as well as decorative, they make a great addition to any fruit salad or dessert. A 100g serving will provide 93mg (155% RDA) of vitamin C, that is 164 mg (273% RDA) per cup, 84mg (141% RDA) per fruit.

8: Papayas (aka: Lechoza, Mamão, Pawpaw)
In addition to vitamin C, papaya is also a great source of vitamin A and folate (vitamin B9). Papaya provides 62mg (103% RDA) per 100 gram serving, that is 87mg (144% RDA) per cup cubed, and 188mg (313% RDA) in a medium sized papaya.

9: Oranges and Clementines (Tangerines)
Oranges, citrus fruits, and their zest (the shavings of their peel) are all high in vitamin C. Oranges provide 59mg (99% RDA) per 100 gram serving, 98mg (163% RDA) per cup, and 83mg (138% RDA) per orange. Clementines, or tangerines, provide 49mg (81% RDA) per 100 gram serving, or 36mg (60% RDA) per fruit.

10: Strawberries
Strawberries are delicious and make a great addition to desserts or drinks. Strawberries provide 59mg (98% RDA) per 100 gram serving, 98mg (163 % RDA) per cup slices, and 11mg (18% RDA) in a single large strawberry.
 

Wanna be young?

International pop diva Beyonce, who turned 30 on September 2011

     Everybody wants to be young forever. But can we stay at  same age all the time? Can we continue live like a teenager even after 40? Can we look youthful forever? 
 Even a highly optimistic person finds it hard to say yes.
 We do age. Though we start aging right from the moment we are born, the first signs of aging  are only felt when we hit our 30s.But we could delay aging if we take care of some steps in our daily life, which include not just selecting face lift creams or sunbloks with SPF above 30, but providing a platform for antiaging such as more than 7 hours sleep, frequently hydrating our body, regular exercise and so on. 
 What made me think seriously about aging was the words of Cindy Crawford. She once in an interview told that 'the beauty that you have in your 20s is what you inherit. But the beauty that you have in 40s is what you earn.' That was a striking advise. Indeed most  people  think about anti aging remedies only when start seeing visible lines on their face.
 But if we start the fight against aging right from our 20s we could definitely delay ageing by 10 to 20 years, we too could get the skin of Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell who are at their 40s but has managed to have a 30 years skin. We too could be like Jay Manuel who at this 39th age still looks like he is at 24.

ANTM photoshot director and makeup artist Jay Manuel who turned 39 on August 2011

              So lets start our fight right from now.....Here we go...  

Step 1. Keep your body hydrated.
            Keeping your skin hydrated is very important as dry skin has less resilience and is more prone to wrinkling. But most dermatologists will tell y
ou that to maintain the skin’s moisture levels you should not only take water but need to keep it there too.

A striking skin care advise is by Dr Todorov of Smart Skincare – with a Phd in Biology and an MS in Molecular Biology.

“It is true that drinking lots of water helps keep the skin moist. However, it is best to drink most of your water during the day, and not drink excessive amounts of fluids at night, particularly within 2 hours before going to bed. Otherwise, many people tend to get morning puffiness that promotes facial sag.”

Step 2.  Sleep Well.
Sleep is the time of the day when the body rebuilds, repairs and re energizes for the next day.  Without enough sleep, the skin will be unable to rebuild those dead and dying cells and this is when aging occurs.Unlike other parts of the body, the face and the skin is the only organ the outside world can see. With a lack of sleep, the entire body will age significantly, due to the want of sufficient regeneration time for the cells of the external body. Sleep more and your skin will wake up fresh and new each morning.

 Step3. Avoid Smoking, Fizzy Drinks, Alcohol etc...
Avoid smoking as it increases free radicals which lead to cell death. It harms your lungs – and as the result it is harder for you to exercise. Plus, it affects your social life.
Researchers have found that drinking damages part of the cells that are linked to premature ageing and cancer.
Researchers also show  that the so-called ‘sparkling drinks’ contain high levels of phosphate which could speed up aging.