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Healthy Skin Foods & Tips

When healthy skin is concerned, a healthy body is the first step. If you’re looking for fabulously glowing and vibrant looking skin, make sure you’re eating the right foods to maintain an all around healthy body.  Since ‘you are what you eat’ it is important to eat accordingly! The foods we take in help fuel us internally, but they eventually contribute to our outer physical appearance through fat distribution and skin health. With this in mind, the healthier the foods you consume, the better your skin will look.  Here’s the scoop on healthy foods for your skin and how they work.

1. Low-Fat Dairy Products

One the most important vitamins for skin health is vitamin A.  In fact, experts say that the health of our skin cells is dependent on dietary vitamin A. One of the best sources for this skin-boosting vitamin is low-fat dairy products such as cottage cheese and Greek Yogurt, which are also high in protein, the building blocks of keratin in hair.  Nutrition expert Liz Lipski, PhD, CCN on WebMD, says “it’s doubly important to eat A-rich dairy foods if you have either diabetes or a thyroid condition.”

2. Fiber

Anything that helps keep digestion normal, including live bacteria cultures such as bifida-bacterial and other probiotics or enzymes, will be reflected in healthy-looking skin.  Fiber helps to reduce the rate of absorption of fat to our blood stream, keeping us less bloated cleaner internally.  Women aged nineteen to fifty years old should aim for 25 grams of fiber daily. Women over 50 should try an consume closer to 20 grams of fiber each day. Some healthy sources of fiber can be found in whole wheat products, fruits such as blue berries, strawberries or apples, as well as beans and flax seed.

3. Anti-Oxidants

If you haven’t heard of ‘Anti-Oxidants’ you’ve probably been living under a rock for the last ten years.  Anti-oxidants work to reduce body inflammation and cellular stress by scavenging ‘free-radicals’ or the caustic byproducts of cellular respiration or metabolism.  When you help protect the cells from damage and disintegration, you also guard against premature aging; one of the most noticeable effects of aging is decreased skin elasticity resulting in wrinkles.  A few healthy food sources high in anti-oxidant action are: Green Tea, plums, blueberries and black berries. Aside from the reduced stress on your bodies cells, healthy cells will retain water better, keeping your skin moisturized and look younger looking.

4. Essential fatty acids

Dietary fat is responsible for maintaining healthy cell membranes, or the outer layer that defines a cells’ shape.  This outer membrane not only acts as a barrier to harmful agents but acts as an internal highway for nutrient passage into and waste products out of our cells.  The healthier each individual skin cell or building block is, the healthier our skin appears.   Try incorporating healthy mono and poly-unsaturated fats from plant oils from sources like almonds, walnuts, olive oil, and flax seed or healthy omega-3 fats from fish.

5. Healthy Oils.

Eating good-quality oils helps keep skin lubricated and keeps it looking and feeling healthier overall. The healthiest fat in terms of heart health is omega 3, which must be in balance for good health as well as nice skin.  EPA and DHA are the two sources of Omega-3s that our bodies use most efficiently.  Try avoiding ALA if possible, simply because our bodies can only use about one-tenth of one percent of the Omega-3 contained in the plant form of Omega-3.   Another good source of healthy oils is from Avocados.

Men’s Baldness Treatment, Solution and Tips

Men’s Baldness

There are various causes and reasons for hair loss in men, ranging from genetics and auto-immune disease to stress and poor nutrition.  Aside from the medical causes and physical symptoms, male hair loss can often affect one’s social agenda, professional appearance and quality of life.

Male pattern baldness or MPB, is the androgenetic form of alopecia which accounts for more than ninety-five percent of male hair loss in men.  About one quarter of men experience MPB by the age of 21.  Statistics project that by age 35, approximately sixty-six percent of American men will experience noticeable hair loss and a staggering eighty-five percent of men older than 50 will have significantly thinning hair.

What are the primary medical causes of male pattern baldness? Baldness can emerge due to hormonal changes, scalp irritation or hair follicle damage and slowed or shortened follicular growth.  Primary, hair loss revolves around hair follicular growth cycles.  Our hair goes through cycles of growth and rest periods, each varying by individual. At the end of the resting phase, hair strands fall out and new ones begin to grow in their place. Once a hair is shed, the growth stage begins again. While gradual thinning is a normal part of normal aging, when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of hair re-growth rapid hair loss or balding will occur.

To promote thicker hair growth and a healthier scalp avoid greasy foods and incorporate more of the following into your diet:

Vitamins | Minerals:

Zinc

Many men who suffer from hair loss are found to have zinc deficiencies. Zinc plays a key role in many of the body’s functions, from cell reproduction to hormonal balance, and all these functions affect hair growth. Perhaps most importantly, zinc manages the glands that attach to your hair follicles. When you’re low on zinc, these follicles become weak, causing strands to break off or fall out. To combat this problem, eat zinc-heavy foods such as red meats, poultry, mussels, shrimp, nuts, and oysters. Excessive amounts of zinc can eventually lead to hair loss, so it’s best to stick to a zinc-heavy diet rather than eat these foods and take a zinc supplement.

B vitamins

The B vitamins are the most important for healthy hair, especially B7 as Biotin. Biotin functions to activate certain enzymes that aid in metabolism of carbon dioxide as well as protein, fats, and carbohydrates.

B5 or ‘Pantothenic Acid’ gives hair flexibility, strength and shine and can help prevent hair loss and graying. B6 helps prevent scalp damage and dandruff. Both are primarily found in meats but are also present in cereals, egg yolk and liver.  Vitamin B12, found in fish, eggs, chicken and milk can help prevent hair loss.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega 3’s from fish and fish oil sources, may help prevent dry scalp and dull hair color.

Vitamina A & C

Both vitamins help with the production of sebum, a natural oily secretion that acts as a natural hair conditioner. 

Iron

Iron is important for your blood and likewise healthy blood flow to promote hair follicle growth.  Anemia has been linked to hair-loss in both men and women.  However, it is important to rely on a healthy diet for your main source of iron as opposed to a vitamin or supplement to prevent dangerous health affects.  Since our bodies cannot process high amounts of dietary / elemental iron, they are susceptible to Iron toxicity.

Foods | Diet

Fish, Eggs And Legumes (Beans)

Since hair is primarily made of protein it makes sense to eat a protein-rich diet if you’re trying to maintain healthy hair.  While protein is excellent for lean muscle growth, animal proteins that are high in fat can result in increased testosterone levels, which has been linked to hair loss.  Try sticking to leaner proteins such as fish, tofu, soy beans, chicken, low-fat cheese, eggs, almonds, beans, and Greek yogurt.

Raisins

Iron plays a key role in the development and maturation of red blood cells that carry oxygen to your body’s organs and tissues. When iron levels are low or anemia occurs your blood is less efficient at circulating oxygenated blood to the scalp to stimulate and promote hair growth. Iron’s in more than meat! Try eating dried fruits like raisins, craisins or cherries packed with iron. More so, incorporate eggs and dark green, leafy vegetables such as kale and whole-grain cereals for other high-iron options.  Try eating fruits such as oranges, strawberries and lemons that are high in Vitamin C to help Iron absorption.

Bean Sprouts

Bean sprouts are high in silica,  which our bodies use to help more efficiently absorb vitamins and minerals. Silica can be found in bean sprouts and the skin of cucumbers, red and green peppers, and potatoes. Focus on eating raw, as opposed to cooked, to ensure reaping the maximum nutritional value.

Stress Management Tips

Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction our bodies employ in order to deal with the daily demands of life.  While some levels of stress are necessary to keep us on track to accomplish our goals, too much can be detrimental to our overall mental and physiological health.

In identifying the causes of stress, our brain and bodies come hard-wired with a neurological stress highway that serves to power an internal, protective ‘alarm system’.  When we perceive a threat or identify a potentially harmful situation, this pathway signals our bodies to release a burst of hormones known as catecholamines, such as adrenaline, to fuel a unique response. This reaction is commonly referred to as the “fight-or-flight” response.

According to the Mayo Clinic, current studies suggest most Americans experience challenges with stress at some point during the year.  More so, the nonstop pressures of today’s fast pace environment means our stress highways are constantly overloaded, running at a ‘rush-hour’ pace.

That is why stress management is so important in maintaining normalcy within our lives. Stress management gives us set of tools or road-blocks for the traffic of stress on our neurological highway.  Without stress management our bodies are constantly bombarded by these stress traffic alerts, which over time can lead to serious health issues.

Here are a few techniques and things to consider to better deal with stress: