BEAUTY THROUGHOUT THE AGES
If you think today's obsession with beauty is something new, think again! Men AND women have been in touch with their bodies and beauty dating back as far as the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptian's concern was based as much on pleasing the ?gods? of their time as it was for personal adornment. In fact, it could be said that they prepared their bodies more for the ?afterlife? than the current time. All one need do is read about the tombs and mummies that have been excavated and study what was found. Lavish pictorial examples reveal how extravagantly the aristocracy lived their lives.
Just take a look at the detail the next time you have an opportunity to view Egyptian archaeology reports. Gold and silver bracelets, lapis and jade pendants, rings of gold studded with semi-precious stones. All are evidence of just how deeply involved the human race is with beauty and adornments.
IS BEAUTY REALLY SKIN DEEP?
The answer is yes and no. It?s a paradox, isn?t it? True beauty begins from the inside out. Don?t you wish there were some way to ?wriggle your nose? and regain that soft skin you had as a child? Well, until someone comes up with the true ?Fountain of Youth,? we are stuck with what we have. The best route to healthy skin is to take care of what you have. Sounds simple, doesn?t it? The truth is that your skin takes a beating from the environment every single day.
Here are some of our favorite tips for keeping your skin fresh and healthy:
1. Stay hydrated, and drink plenty of water! That doesn?t mean soda, caffeine or any other type of liquid even if it is low cal. Soda (even diet soda) has a high concentration of sodium. Sodium retains fluids. You need fluid that will hydrate and flush your body free of toxins. Make sure you are drinking at least 8 glasses a day!
2. Protect your skin from harmful ultra violet (UV) rays. We all love the sun. We love being in it and we love having a beautiful tan. The truth is you can poison yourself with too much sunshine. UV rays cause skin cancer, and if that isn?t bad enough, it causes your skin to age faster than it should, contributing to unsightly wrinkles. If you must play in the sun, make certain you are using an adequate sun screen. Don?t leave home without it!
3. Apply your sun screen even if you only make a quick trip to the grocery store. Yes, you can get harmful UV rays even while driving your car!
4. When you purchase sun screen, make certain you are buying the right tool for the job. There are different types of UV rays and they don?t all affect our skin in the same ways. The time of year also has a bearing on how much damage the sun can do to your skin. Altitude is another important factor. UV rays are more intense at high altitudes. Sunshine alone is not the culprit. You can do just as much damage to your skin (or in some cases even more) on a cloudy day!
5. Don?t forget sun screen for your lips. They want to be healthy too!
6. Apply your sunscreen BEFORE going outdoors and allow plenty of time for it to adequately absorb into your skin cells rather than just sitting on top of the skin.
7. Read the labels on skin care products. The truth is that some ingredients may do more harm than good. The more ingredients are listed, the more potential harm they can do to your skin.
THE EYES HAVE IT!
They don?t call them the ?windows to the soul? for nothing! The eyes never lie. If you?re feeling and looking great, your eyes will shine and sparkle. If you?re sad and lonely your eyes will give you away every time.
If you have red, watery eyes due to allergies, deal with them! There are plenty of medications available to eliminate allergy symptoms. Nothing will detract from your appearance faster than red eyes.
If you wear eyeglasses, make certain that they do not detract from your appearance. Eyeglasses should complement your eyes, not cover them. If your frames are unattractive, it means you had the wrong sales person. Try again.
If you can wear them, consider switching to contact lenses. Make sure you remember to remove them when swimming. You can easily lose them in the pool or worse, if you wear soft lenses you could contract a cornea infection that comes from a parasite found in water. The chlorine won?t kill it and the result of this nasty little dude is not pleasant. You are inviting painful corneal infection that could cause partial or total blindness.
Try buying different colored lenses. You might discover a whole new you behind blue eyes!
HAND IT OFF!
Did you know . . . many ancient beauty treatments are still in use today? An example is the East Indian art of painting the hands and feet with Henna. It is known in India as Mendhi and is an ancient Indian art form which has been performed for generations not only in India, but the Middle East, Pakistan and in Africa as well. Women in India traditionally painted henna on their hands and feet, insides of their arms and up their shins most often for a wedding, or other special occasion. The intricate patterns on the hands are particularly beautiful.
Nothing will give away your age quicker than the condition of your hands. Let?s take a look at some tips to try and hold off the ravages of time.
While we don?t particularly recommend the practice of mendhi for everyday USA, it would be helpful in covering up some of those age spots, wouldn?t it? Try this tip. Apply vitamin E oil directly to the spots to fade the discoloration.
There is also a product that?s been around since Grandma was a youngster. It?s called porcelana and women have credited it for removing age spots for decades.
If you spend hours at a time on the computer, be sure you use a rest for your wrists. It will help ward off carpal tunnel syndrome.
THESE FEET WERE MADE FOR WALKIN?
Did you know . . . an average human being loses almost a cup of liquid a day through their feet? Or that a baby?s foot is made up almost entirely of cartilage? They will harden as the feet grow.
Keep a pumice stone handy so you can put it to work on those heels as you step out of the shower.
Use a few drops of essential oil in your next footbath! Pamper your feet. Treat yourself to a pedicure! Try a foot massage. It?s relaxing and rejuvenating. Try it on yourself or ask your partner and trade off. Everyone wins! If your ankles and feet are swelling, it?s a sure sign you are holding fluids. Try to avoid sitting for long periods at a time and cut down on your salt intake.
Stilettos are beautiful and yes, they do make you look sexy, HOWEVER, you should avoid long walks while wearing them. In fact, you should always wear sensible shoes. Ha! Fat chance, right? Seriously, what about a compromise? Wear sensible shoes when you are coming and/or going from work and keep the heels in a tote bag.
For extremely dry feet, lather on a layer of cocoa butter to each foot, slip your feet into plastic bags and pull on a pair of oversize socks. Leave on overnight while sleeping and when you awaken the next morning your feet will feel smooth, silky and soft.
Add milk to a footbath for softening the feet.
HOW TO AVOID BAD HAIR DAYS
They say that a woman?s hair is her crowning glory. Even so, all women have those days when we wish we could cover every unwieldy strand!
Get a good hair cut! It all begins right here. Without a good hair cut, nothing else you do will give you the results you want.
In order to have a good hair cut, you need a great hair stylist and when you find one, keep him/her! Jumping around from stylist to stylist can be hazardous to your hair. The old adage about ?getting what you pay for? is very true when it comes to something as important as your stylist. Yes, it?s possible to find a good stylist at the ?fast hair? shops, but the cost to your hair while searching may be more than you care to spend. Fast hair shops usually employ new, young stylists with little experience. They earn a minimal wage and do not have to invest in hair care products to use on their clients. Stylists that you find in upscale shops and salons are usually independent contractors leasing space in the salon. The salon provides the work station, utilities and in some cases a receptionist to service the stylists. These stylists are generally more experienced and have built a solid clientele. They purchase their own products used in servicing their clients either from the salon or other suppliers and set their own prices.
HOW IS YOUR SMILE?
Did you know . . . a knocked out tooth may be replanted if you act quickly? Don?t clean the tooth, just wrap it in a damp cloth and hustle off to the dentist. If you can get there within 30 minutes you?ve got a 90% chance of saving it. If you wear braces, get extra calcium. Adjusting the position of teeth can leave small gaps in the jawbone. These need to be replaced with new bone. Take it as a supplement or eat plenty of green leafy vegetables.
IT?S THE LITTLE THINGS
Did you know . . . even in the enlightened period of time we live in, most women do not conduct regular breast exams on themselves? So what is a segment on breast exam doing in a beauty book? Well, in order to use the tips in this guide, you have to be around to do it!
Make a self-exam of your breasts part of your daily beauty routine. It doesn?t take long and you can do it in the shower or in the bath. Just do it. More than 90 percent of all breast lumps are discovered by women themselves. The majority of all breast lumps are benign. One in ten women will develop breast cancer at some time in her life. Thus far, breast cancer cannot be prevented. But, with regular breast self-examination (BSE) and periodic screening, breast cancer can be detected early and treated properly! If you don?t know how to conduct the exam, ask your doctor for a chart that will teach you how. Then just do it!
Remember to keep a smile on your face!
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In the beginning man worked hard to survive. He had many things to do. Hunting, keeping warm, finding berries, and taking care of his family. He did not have time to worry about being fat, as there wasn't an issue of fat. It was survival of the fittest, those that were not fit, perished, or had someone to watch over them. Man's goal was survival.
Women labored hard, and many died in childbirth. There were many deaths of their infants, so women kept reproducing to keep the family surviving. They scrubbed, cooked, gathered food and wood and tended after the children. They did not have time to worry about things that made them happy or not happy. Their goal was survival.
Well, times have changed, people don't work physically as hard as their ancestors did, they lose fewer children and the dying in labor has been brought down to a small percentage. Emergency hospitals with ambulances and new technology and medicines have saved the lives of countless people.
Living a Healthier life is rather simple. It is the matter of knowing some essential ingredients to happiness.
Statistics tell you the following:
?Those who are married are far happier than those who are not.
?Those who have some kind of faith or religion are happier
?Those who go to bed at night and sleep an average of 8 hours
?Those who have friends and family
?Those who are mentally and physically healthy
?Those who have a regular schedule to live by
Sure, having extra money makes people happier too. However, the above ingredients are the true essence of happiness. Money just adds extra. Having money and not the above can end up feeling pretty empty.
ADD IT TO YOUR LIFE....
Water, you need water. Try to add at least 4 more glasses of water to your daily diet. The rule of thumb for water is 8 glasses per day; and one extra for every ten pounds overweight you are.
Fats, you need to know about fats. There are different kinds of fats. Some fats are better for you than others. A rule of thumb on fats is, stay away from hydrogenated fats. These are fats that solidify. They are in store bought cakes, cookies, crackers, chips and even in bran muffins. Read the labels.
Choose fats that are polyunsaturated or fats such as olive oil.
And, eat some fish to get some omega-3 fats.
Carbohydrates are your immediate fuel source. An average is about 55 percent of your diet in carbohydrates. So, a rule of thumb is, figure your protein grams, get around 25% fat per day, and the rest would be in carbohydrates.
The heavier you are, the more protein you need and the fewer carbohydrates you will need.
Fiber - work up to getting 25 grams of Fiber per day
Protein - averages about 20 percent.
Women divide weight by 2.2 and multiply that by .8 to get the kilograms.
For men it averages one gram per each kilogram of weight. So, a man would divide his weight in pounds by 2.2 then multiply that by .10
Fats - try not to exceed more than 25 percent fat in your daily diet. 30 percent is acceptable, too. That does not mean you can't have a junk food fast food hamburger ... it just means that if you do eat that 55 percent fat burger that you are going to have to cut down on other fat filled foods for the rest of the day to balance it out.
Make exchanges gradually. Suppose you drink whole milk ... work down to 2 percent, replacing two of your cups per day until you can completely change over. If you are on two percent milk, work down to 1 percent.
Add bran to your cereals for extra fiber. Also, add it in your baking.
You need to balance your diet with vegetables and fruits, too. Try adding different colors to your plate. Maybe an orange yam, and some green beans, to add color. More variety of food colors brings more variety of vitamins.
Eat more raw foods.
Remember, exchange things, add things, and do it gradually. Remember, live all things in life in moderation and soon you will be bouncy and vibrant and well on your way to living BEAUTIFULLY!
Source: Howto101.info ... http://www.howto101.info/bpi.asp?caid=302&cid=51
Adam Asar is the founder of http://www.howto101.info and http://www.quranichealing.com web sites and writes articles for these sites. He writes articles and content for several magazines and websites.
http://www.quranichealing.com: Adam Asar manages quranichealing.com for spiritual healing driven from the Holy book of Qur?an. He speaks three languages. Adam's sincere desire is to share the peace and love embodied in the (Holy) Qur?an teachings.