Lifestyle Choices

MSM

A naturally occurring organic form of sulphur, known as MSM, has been found to have remarkable health benefits, including better hair, nails and skin, and allergy relief. MSM (which stands for methylsulfonylmethane) is a source of the essential mineral sulphur which is one of the minerals most crucial to life. It is involved in a multitude of key body functions including pain control, inflammation, detoxification and tissue building. (more…)

GLA

The amount of GLA required to have this effect is quite high. I recommend 200-300mg GLA per day, reducing to 150mg after three months if inflammation reduces and symptoms stay stable. Only 9-10 per cent of the oil in evening primrose oil is GLA so that means you need to take 3000mg of evening primrose oil, or six 500mg capsules per day. Borage oil contains a higher proportion of GLA and you can get single capsules which provide 250mg of GLA. One of these a day is an essential part of an anti-inflammatory strategy. Supplementing GLA has been shown to be more effective when the co-factor vitamins and minerals (vitamin B6, zinc, B3 and vitamin C) are also supplied. (more…)

A number of different terms are commonly used to describe the various types of nerve pain encountered. The main terms used are neuralgia (meaning pain resulting from injury to a nerve, particularly in the face), sciatica (pain mediated by the sciatic nerve, running from the lower part of the spine down each leg), and neuritis (inflammation in any nerve).

Nerve pain—aching, tingling, pins and needles, and a stabbing or burning sensation are the most common—can be caused by a number of factors, both physical and psychological, but the main ones are circulatory insufficiency, poor posture, wrong diet, stress, and over-exertion. Natural therapies can ease discomfort and accelerate the recovery process. (more…)

Other things contribute to back troubles too—like poor nutrition, which results in stored waste in the tissues and the accumulation of fat, which puts far too much strain on heavily taxed muscles. You shouldn’t sleep on a bed that is too soft either—it won’t give enough support to your spine

and there is always the danger of hanging on to muscle tension left over from the daytime or putting too much of an unnatural curve in your spine during sleep. But you needn’t go out and buy an expensive orthopedic mattress. A simple, firm mattress on top of a board will do fine. (more…)

So in personal terms, for the sake of mental and physical health and beauty it is important that every woman develop an awareness of her own personal relationship to stress and come to terms with it. This is all part of what is known as “stress management.” There are many different methods of going about it. If you are familiar with them you can choose which ones work best for you and you will be able to live with your own stress, an inevitable part of every human life, and enjoy it instead of allowing it to turn to distress and make you miserable, ill, and old before your time. (more…)

There is something transforming about climbing a rock, particularly if you have never climbed one before . . . or abseiling deep into a cave .. . or shooting rapids in a canoe … or winding your way laboriously up a great mountain. It is something about being in the air, about coming close to the earth again—even more important, about the totality of the challenges you face that makes you realize that the limits you unconsciously place on yourself have no meaning. These physical activities tell you that you can do anything if you need to. The top of a mountain with the wind blowing is one of the few places in the world where one can discover that. (more…)

About 5 percent of overweight is considered to be the result of a metabolic disturbance. But most often the cortical or hypothalmic dysfunctions on which overweight is blamed are the results of overweight rather than the cause. Sometimes a tendency to be fat originates in infancy. Bottle feeding and the early introduction of solid foods often result in overfeeding, which probably sets up eating patterns that are carried over into childhood and adult life. Some authorities believe too that when a baby is fed too much, it develops an excessive number of fat cells and from then on will always have a tendency to be fat. (more…)

The Vitamins

Vitamin A applied to the surface of the skin either from a capsule on its own or mixed into cream and oil preparations has been used successfully in the treatment of dry and aging skin and acne. It appears to work particularly well in combination with vitamin D, which itself has a healing effect on the skin. (This is why vitamin D is often used in diaper-rash remedies and in burn ointments.)

Vitamin E, about which there has been such controversy, and vitamin C are certainly useful in the treatment of skin healing from a cut or burn. There is no conclusive evidence that, applied topically, it will do much for normal skin, although many women who use vitamin E regularly claim good results from it. (more…)

The Cause

Oily skin is the result of overactive sebaceous glands, which usually occurs due to a hormonal imbalance in the body. Occasionally a diet too high in fats and fried foods or refined sugar can contribute to the condition, as can too much stimulation of the sebaceous glands by heat, the sun, or skin-care products containing chemicals such as sulfur, which, although they are designed to dry out the condition, in the long run work in a counterproductive way by removing too much oil and thereby stimulating the glands to produce yet more. Studies show that people on diets slightly deficient in some of the B group of vitamins rapidly develop whiteheads, blackheads, and oily hair and skin. (more…)

The Causes

Although allergies and allergic reactions to particular substances are not inherited, a tendency to them can be. If, for instance, both your mother and your father suffered from allergies, you have a 57 percent chance of them too. Approximately 15 percent of all women are said to be highly prone to allergic reactions, 25-30 percent are less easily sensitized (which means they will react adversely only to some substances, sometimes), and 55-60 percent are relatively allergy-free or only rarely prone to allergic reactions. But, on the whole, allergic complaints are on the increase, and cosmetic dermatitis and skin sensitivities are leading the field. For instance, in one study of skin ailments in the mid-seventies it was found that where, four years before, only 3 percent of the patients in Britain seen by dermatologists were suffering from skin reactions, in the space of a very few years it had risen to 14 percent. (more…)

The Cause

It is more common among teenagers than among any other age group, although acne, an infection of the sebaceous glands, can occur at any time in life. It shows up as blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and pustules that occur on the face and neck, back and chest, almost always when levels of testosterone and progesterone—two hormones necessary for growth—are high. Testosterone, known as the male hormone (although women have it in small quantities too), spurs the sebaceous glands to increase their production of sebum. When too much sebum is produced, a keratinous plug can fill the duct, which then becomes infected while the skin around it becomes inflamed. If the problem is severe enough—and luckily most people never get to this stage—the walls of the infected ducts even disintegrate, and cystic lesions may develop in the skin which leave permanent scars after the infection itself has healed. (more…)

The Cause

Stretch marks occur frequently on the abdomen and breasts of pregnant women and on the thighs, hips, and buttocks of women who have been overweight—particularly women who are deficient in zinc, vitamin B6, or both. These two nutrients are necessary for the health of collagen tissue and for the maintenance of a high level of elasticity in the skin. A sudden increase in weight or volume of an area of the body or the swelling of breasts and abdomen in pregnancy results in these unsightly lines, which are difficult to eliminate. (more…)

The Cause

These so-called liver spots are changes in pigmentation in the skin as a result of the aging process coupled with exposure to the sun’s rays. Their proper name is lentigines. They usually mar hands and faces most, and in truth they have little to do with the liver, from which they have borrowed their name. Women deficient in some B vitamins—particularly folic acid and niacin—or women who have a particularly high personal requirement for them thanks to their genetic inheritance or their taking of oral contraceptives, are particularly prone to developing liver spots in areas of the body that are regularly exposed to the sun’s light or artificial ultraviolet rays from a sun lamp. (more…)

While all of the nutrients found in the Lifestyle Diet are important for skin, some are particularly vital to its look and health. Vitamin A, for instance. If you do not have enough of it in your diet or if you have some difficulty in assimilating and using the vitamin (many women do), this can bring about dry, scaly, and crinkled skin. For, among its many functions, vitamin A helps regulate the size and functions of the sebaceous glands. A shortage can result in enlarged pores, rough skin, and acne.

Without adequate vitamin C, the collagen fibers in the dermis suffer damage. Vitamin C and the biofiavonoids that are found in natural foods (such as the whitish inner skin of grapefruit) not only keep skin young by helping to protect the collagen fibers and keep them intact, they also ensure the health of the tiny capillaries that supply nutrients to the skin’s cells, protecting skin from fragile or broken veins (bruising) and early wrinkling. When capillaries are not strong and working properly, then the skin’s cells don’t receive all the oxygen and nutrients they need via the bloodstream, and their functioning suffers. Neither are wastes efficiently eliminated. This can lead to st_asis in the tissues, and cellulite, as well as contributing to early aging of the skin. (more…)

Many eye problems, from poor vision and eye watering or itching to premature wrinkles and crow’s-feet, can be eliminated and often prevented by improving general nutrition. Japanese expert on eye nutrition Jin Otsuka, professor of ophthalmology at Tokyo University, believes that eating refined sugar is one of the worst things you can do if you want to preserve your vision. He has shown in animal experiments that giving sugar in large quantities will make an animal myopic. This is

probably because sugar tends to rob the body of other nutrients essential for the health of the eye and for the nerves which supply it. (more…)

What is the Cause of Hair Loss?

There are many causes. The most simple is that of poor circulation in the scalp, hair breakage from poor treatment or overprocessing, and temporary illness or stress. Other reasons include hormonal imbalance, underactive thyroid, drugs, and poor diet (specifically too little B vitamins, vitamin C, zinc, sulfur, and iron). If you find you are losing your hair at a rapid rate, don’t panic. There is a strong link between anxiety and hair loss, and a temporary excess shedding of hair at the telogen stage can be made much worse by worry about it. Instead, go through the process of elimination to discover possible causes and then seek whatever treatment is necessary to help correct the excess shedding. Start by asking yourself the following questions.

Are you taking any medication? The Pill or estrogen in hormone- replacement therapy is a common cause for thinning hair—thinning that is usually corrected in a few weeks after stopping it. Anti-coagulants, cortisone, and diet pills such as amphetamines are other offenders, as is boric acid, which occurs in many common proprietary products, from ointments for cuts and burns to eye baths. Thyroid medication can also be the culprit. So can simple aspirin, if you take as many as one or two a day. (more…)

The type, the length of growth, thickness, thinness, straightness, and curl of your hair depend on your inheritance, but the condition of your hair depends on the internal state of your body, which feeds the papillae that produce it. For hair to be beautiful, the cuticle and the cortex have to be strong. It has always amused me when I hear hairdressers arguing about whether or not diet has anything to do with the beauty of hair, because it does, as any farmer knows well. Not only can you change the look of an animal’s hair by altering its diet (and that goes for the human animal too), you can also tell a great deal about its internal condition by examining its hair. If you have a sheep that is poorly, its coat shows it. Horses, dogs, and cats are given special vitamin and mineral supplements to improve their coats for shows. But only recently has this aspect of hair care even begun to be looked at for human beings. (more…)

3 ELIMINATE ALLERGIES

Weight gain is a common reaction to foods we’re intolerant to. Most of us have intolerances or allergies to certain foods, but few of us are aware of it. Eliminating the food that you are unknowingly allergic to can lead to highly dramatic weight loss.

Water retention, bloating and puffiness are all common allergic reactions, and they make you feel and look fatter. Once you’ve singled out and eliminated the foods that are triggering your allergic response, you are likely to see dramatic changes very fast. It’s not unusual to lose up to 7lb (3.2kg) within three or four days.

Food allergies also cause other problems, such as aches and pains, headaches, fatigue, mood swings and annoying skin and digestive conditions. These also go when you identify and avoid what you are allergic to. (more…)

PROBLEM SKIN: PIMPLES, SPOTS, ACNE

The most important aspect of skin care is diet. Drink lots of water, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and avoid fatty, fried foods, chocolate and refined sugars, flours, carbonated drinks, coffee, peanuts and iodised salt. Fresh salads daily, with lots of green, chlorophyll-rich ingredients in it, are essential.

There are certain herbs known as depuratives, which cleanse the system by purifying the blood, and this in turn helps ensure a clear skin. Borage and watercress are two depuratives, lemons and oranges are another two. Four common weeds which make excellent blood cleansers are plantain, chickweed, sow’s thistle and dandelion. The young leaves of these weeds can be finely chopped and added to salads. Also effective are infusions, which can be drunk or used as a wash. Lavender, calendula petals, sage, borage leaves and flowers, and dandelion leaves can all be used — 60 ml (1/4 cup) herb to 250 ml (1 cup) boiling water. (more…)

A. Supplements — Who needs them?

You have now read about some of the benefits and characteristics of the nutrients considered essential to maintaining optimum health. So the question arises: do you need to supplement? Do you need to take vitamin and mineral pills, or a separate antioxidant supplement? There are some who say you get all you need from a healthy diet, and supplements are just expensive urine. Others see supplements as essential. So what should you do?

Ideally, a healthy and varied diet would provide your body with all the nutrients it needs. In some cases, however, food is grown in depleted soils or artificially under lights in hothouses. For example, selenium content in soils is varied and regional. New Zealand soils are quite low in selenium, as are parts of Australia, South Africa and North America, but it is important as an antioxidant and in supporting Vitamin E in your body.

Different circumstances and lifestyles can all take a toll on your health. In times of high emotional or physical stress, your body may need some extra support. While supplementation is not a substitute for a quality diet, it can certainly offer those with nutritional concerns some peace of mind. (more…)