Lifestyle Choices

Essential oils are absorbed through the skin and penetrate its deepest layers. The main property of all essential oils is that they are highly antiseptic, though at different degrees, depending on the essence chosen. They help speed up the removal of old skin cells and thus encourage the production of new cells.

Essential oils help muscles to regain a healthy condition and aid the soft tissue to get rid of excess fluid and waste materials or, if required, to restore lost hydration. They also act as blood regulators, improving the blood circulation. With the help of pressure points on nerve centres, the essential oils help to regulate the nervous system, making it more alert to impulses and quicker to react. (more…)

GoreTex is a synthetic material composed of interconnected fibrils of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). You may recognize Gore- Tex as the lightweight fabric used to make insulating ski jackets, but GoreTex fibers are even more interesting as surgical implants. They have been used for almost 30 years as surgical vascular grafts and more recently for implants in the skin.

GoreTex patches can be placed just under the skin of the nose to give a smooth profile to previously unaesthetic indentations, and can be threaded under the deep folds between the nose and the mouth to smooth the grooves. (more…)

Thereis still much research and debate about how magnets work.

Different theories have been put forward by manufacturers of magnetic products. I will summarise the largely accepted views held by doctors and researchers.

When a magnet is applied to the body, muscles and soft tissue lengthen and relax, waves pass through the tissue and secondary currents are induced. When those currents clash with magnetic waves they produce impacting heat on electrons in the body cells. These impacting heats are very effective in the reduction of muscle swelling and pain. (more…)

The enormous fuss that is made about cellulite always surprises me. “Does it or doesn’t it exist?” “What are its causes?” “What, if anything, can be done about it?” Such is the way women tend to treat cellulite, as if it were some kind of externally imposed curse to which they fall innocent victim.

Cellulite is the manifestation of the wrong kind of lifestyle for health and beauty: eating wrongly (or too much), living under prolonged stress, being exposed to too many pollutants, and all the other things that we tend to think we can get away with, but never really do. And no number of expensive or painful treatments is going to help the problem for long unless you change the things that brought it on in the first place. (more…)

External treatment is almost as important as internal treatment—breaking down the pockets of cellulite physically so that stored wastes in them are released and can be eliminated from the body. There are several ways of doing it. Which you choose depends on your patience, your preference, and the state of your pocketbook. If the cellulite is hard and long-standing, if there is a lot of it—you will probably need professional help, either a beauty therapist who knows what she is doing (many unfortunately don’t) or a physiotherapist trained in corrective tissue massage or Rolfing. (more…)

When there is a serious misalignment in the body, such as a chronic stoop that begins to distort the soft S-shape curve of the spine, heavy, shapeless piano legs, or twists, curves, and bulges in parts of the body, that stays there even after the loss of excess weight, cellulite treatment, and exercise, then you need professional help. There are a number of different disciplines that can be useful. Osteopathy or chiropractic, through manipulation and specific exercises, can realign spines as well as eliminate pressures on nerves or blood vessels in the spinal area. Left unattended, these pressures may result in serious back pain, varicose veins, poor lymphatic drainage to the legs, and bad cellulite. The Alexander technique can help straighten a spine bent by years of discouragement and rehabilitate the personality that carries it in the process. Tai chi and yoga work slowly and gradually, but are capable of restoring most bodies to perfect alignment and balance as well. But I’ve found two other techniques—Rolfing and connective tissue massage—to be especially helpful in treating body problems that, by interfering with perfect form, mar beauty. (more…)

A living, breathing thing, skin is far more than just a superficial covering for your body. It is your largest organ. It covers a surface area of about 17 square feet and weighs between six and eight pounds. So complex is this stuff called skin that a piece of it with only the surface area of your thumbnail boasts a yard of blood vessels, twenty-five nerve endings, one hundred sweat glands, and over three million cells.

Lasting skin beauty is a question of lasting care, not spending lavishly on fancy creams and treatments. It is the everyday way you treat skin that matters year after year. But to know how to look after your skin you must first know something about it—what it is and isn’t, what it’s meant to do, and the many things that affect it for better or worse. For then you can see that its needs are met from day to day. In return it will give you what you desire: beauty that at the very least is skin deep. (more…)

All diets focus on weight loss, and there is general acceptance that the closer you are to your ideal weight, the healthier you will be, with less risk of life-threatening and debilitating diseases.

However, your weight is only a part of the picture. Your lean muscle tissue is important as well. Vital body organs, such as your heart, liver and kidneys, need to be supported by lean tissue, as does your whole body. That is why fitness is so important. When we exercise we shape up on the inside as well as the outside.

Muscle uses up more glucose, and therefore calories, than fat meaning that muscle (or lean mass) helps you burn fat. This means that if you are heavy, but fit, your weight may not be as much of a problem as you think. On the other hand, if you are thin, but lightweight and lacking in muscle tone, you may not be as fit as you suppose. How can this be? (more…)

1. Binge-eating disorder

This is a recently classified disorder in which people have frequent episodes of compulsive overeating, but unlike those with bulimia, they do not purge their bodies of food. During these food binges, they often eat alone and very quickly, regardless of whether they feel hungry or full. They often feel shame or guilt over their actions. Unlike anorexia and bulimia, binge-eating disorder occurs almost as often in men as in women.

2. Endometriosis

This increasingly common condition is one of the major causes of infertility, and causes many women much distress and pain. The endometrium is the soft tissue that lines your uterus. Normally, (more…)