For Your {Bliss}

Here's a list of 7 foods to reverse signs of agining! According to Glamour Magazine, the following foods can help you look younger with smoother (glowy) skin.

1. Lemon & Kiwi - Clear complexion. Lemons and kiwis support your liver and kidney. The cleaner those systems are, the cleaner your skin. NOTE: Kiwi's also provide more Vitamin C than oranges & vitamin C is believed to reduce wrinkles!

2. Ginger - Fight puffy eyes. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties which help reduce the appearance of redness and puffiness in the face.

3. Buckwheat - Prevent Botox. The monosaturated fatty acids in Buckwheat seeds (also found in olive oil!) help keep skin supple. Buckwheat also contains the flavonoid, rutin, which is believed to help collagen in your skin retain its elasticity!

4. Papaya - Glowing skin. Rich in nutrients such as vitamin C, carotene and flavonoids that fight signs of aging and give you a youthful glow.

5. Oysters - Renew your skin. Oysters are a rich source of zinc which actually repairs skin. (Sidenote: zinc will help if you're trying to prevent a scar! My forehead is proof of this!)

6. Wheat germ - Boosts new skin cells. Contains B vitamins which help support rapid cell division, renewing your cells inside and out. (Another note: B vitamins are also help hair growth).

7. Barley - Reduce Wrinkles. It provides nutrients and antioxidants that stabalize insulin and blood sugar levels, which in turn helps prevent the breakdown of collagen, keeping your skin wrinkle-free. NOTE: My Mom makes this fantastic vegetable/cabbage coup with barley in it... forgetit. It's delicious. I can't even talk about it that's how good it is.

Here's a list of 7 foods to reverse signs of agining! According to Glamour Magazine, the following foods can help you look younger with smoother (glowy) skin.

1. Lemon & Kiwi - Clear complexion. Lemons and kiwis support your liver and kidney. The cleaner those systems are, the cleaner your skin. NOTE: Kiwi's also provide more Vitamin C than oranges & vitamin C is believed to reduce wrinkles!

2. Ginger - Fight puffy eyes. Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties which help reduce the appearance of redness and puffiness in the face.

3. Buckwheat - Prevent Botox. The monosaturated fatty acids in Buckwheat seeds (also found in olive oil!) help keep skin supple. Buckwheat also contains the flavonoid, rutin, which is believed to help collagen in your skin retain its elasticity!

4. Papaya - Glowing skin. Rich in nutrients such as vitamin C, carotene and flavonoids that fight signs of aging and give you a youthful glow.

5. Oysters - Renew your skin. Oysters are a rich source of zinc which actually repairs skin. (Sidenote: zinc will help if you're trying to prevent a scar! My forehead is proof of this!)

6. Wheat germ - Boosts new skin cells. Contains B vitamins which help support rapid cell division, renewing your cells inside and out. (Another note: B vitamins are also help hair growth).

7. Barley - Reduce Wrinkles. It provides nutrients and antioxidants that stabalize insulin and blood sugar levels, which in turn helps prevent the breakdown of collagen, keeping your skin wrinkle-free. NOTE: My Mom makes this fantastic vegetable/cabbage coup with barley in it... forgetit. It's delicious. I can't even talk about it that's how good it is.

Orange You Glad You Know This?

Oranges can provide more benefits than you think. Oranges and fresh-squeezed orange juice are known to be good for you, but most people may not know just how good for you they really are. Everyone knows them as a favorite source for Vitamin C (an important vitamin as it is not naturally occurring in the body). However they also provide: 

- Betacarotene: An antioxidant which helps prevent cell damage.

- Calcium (33 mg per 100 gm): Maintains bone and teeth health.

- Folic Acid: Promotes proper brain development.

- Magnesium: Maintains blood pressure.

- Potassium (300 mg per 100 gm): Maintains electrolyte balance in cells and a healthy cardiovascular system.

- Thiamin: Helps convert food into energy.

- B6: Supports production of hemoglobin that carries oxygen to all parts of the body.

Makes you realize there was real reason why mom gave you orange wedges during soccer games, doesn't it?

For more benefits of oranges see: Health Benefits of Orange

Women's Health Magazine published an article in January 2010 listing seven fashion resolutions for a new year. I like six of them, so I've listed them here as they apply to ANY January! 

1. "I will wear clothes that hug the body I've worked hard for." 

- YES! Do it! Show off what you've got! (Cause you won't have it forever)

2. "I won't dress schlubby on Sunday."

- Wear what makes you comfortable and feel good, but also live with style! I swear it's possible to do both (I can't even begin to tell you how good I look in my sweatshirt right now).

3. "I'll take one big fashion risk." 

- Why not?! Isn't that why we all lived vicariously through SEX & THE CITY all those years? Now it's your turn. Be the Carrie Bradshaw and go bold.

4. "I'll look pulled together and polished for work."

- Umm, yes. If you want to succeed at all... then yes.

5. "I'll resist wearing a t-shirt and boxers to bed every night."

- Work it, girl. Even if there is no one beside you to show it off to, you'll feel sexy waking up in something lacy... or waking up in nothing ;)

6. "I'll stop being a wuss about wearing color." 

- I should abide by this. My staple is black, but nothing beats a shock of color!

The seventh resolution in the article is "I'll look hot at the gym" but I just can't support that [useless] statement. Nobody needs that kind of pressure on themselves.

Happy New Year! It's 2011! It's the start of a new year and the time for making resolutions of finally becoming the people we swore we'd become last year. To help with that, below is a chart to help you follow through on your promises. 

1. Write out your resolution.

2. Be Specific. If your initial thought is, "I want to lose weight", use the second column of the chart to write out how much weight you want to lose, or where you want to lose it (are you more concerned with your stomach versus your thighs?).

3. Write down why it is important to you to make this change in your life. It's useful to keep your reasons in mind and refer back to them for motivation. 

4. What actions can you take to make this goal happen? My chart includes space for just 2 actions, but you can include as many as you like. This is where you would list, "Join a gym", "Yoga in the morning", "Stop eating sugar", etc. These are specific actions you can take - things that you control - that will lead to the ultimate result that you want.

5. In the last column, next to each action step, list when you can take each action. I actually believe this is the most important column. It's very easy to make a list of things you want to do, but all our lives are busy and full of excuses. So use this column to formulate a plan. When will you join a gym? "This Tuesday after work". When will you do yoga in the morning? "Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays". When will you stop eating sugar? "Immediately and 24/7". Realistically look at your hectic schedule and figure out the best way to work in your action steps. This makes them more attainable and easier to follow through on.

I hope this is useful - I know it is for me!!

Start prepping for summer now with foods that'll help protect you from sun damage. According to an article in Women's Health Magazine, 10-12 weeks of daily ingestion of specific foods will optimize their benefits to protect your skin from the inside out. What foods you say? Any which are high in antioxidants, specifically lycopene (so reddish-orange foods) and flavonoids.

Recommended Foods for Flavonoids:

- Dark Chocolate

- Green Tea

Recommended Foods for Lycopene:

- Pink Grapefruit

- Apricots and/or papaya

- Tomatoes

- Watermelon

As if there weren't enough weird diseases we all have to worry about, here's one more to add to that list: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

AMD is a disease that leads to vision loss. While both men and women are susceptible to it, women in general are at higher risk, and fair haired women even more so. The risk of AMD increases with age and is typically found in the elderly.

The macula is a part of your eye which absorbs certain colors and contains the part of your eye with the highest concentration of cone cells, which are responsible for your central vision.

Scientists have yet to find a specific cause of AMD and so far attribute it simply to the aging process. But to help prevent the on-set of AMD be sure your diet includes:

1) Lutein - Naturally occurring in the eye and the dominating component in the peripheral retina (It is most commonly found in green leafy vegetables). 

2) Zeaxanthin - Naturally occurring in the retina, it is the dominating component of the central macula.

Food Sources: spinach, kale, zucchini, egg yolk, broccoli, kiwi, corn, goji berry and romaine lettuce.

Harking back to an earlier post about iron, I found this great list of iron rich foods and wanted to share! You can read more at blookbook.com.

If you are anything like me, you hiss like a vampire at the first signs of morning light and that offensive buzz of the alarm. Though there is no real way to stop hating an AM that comes too soon, according to FitSugar.com there are habits one can adapt for a better morning...

1. Drink a glass of water - This will help wake you up, rehydrate your body, and jump start your metabolism

2. Get active - Go for a short brisk walk (girls, if the sun's barely out, careful of predators) or do 15 minutes of continual movement yoga. Keep in mind, morning exercise helps you burn more calories throughout the day.

3. Eat breakfast... but not just any breakfast! I love food and cooking so there will be plenty of breakfast suggestions to come, but for now, know that you need protein and fiber to help you feel full longer and give you lasting energy.

4. Put on that SPF - even if it's cloudy. It's a good habit to get in of protecting yourself daily from pesky wrinkles and pesky cancer... so find a non-greasy lotion with SPF in it that you like and go to town!

For every girl out there stressing because her dream of marrying Prince William is officially dead... CALM DOWN! It was never going to happen. To help you, I just read an article on Yahoo!'s Shine listing 5 drinks that can help soothe your nerves:

1. Glass of Cold Milk - Milk contains tryptophan which gets converted to serotonin as it's metabolized. Milk also contains calcium, magnesium and potassium, all of which help lower blood pressure.

2. Comfort Drinks - Something warm that tastes like Christmas - I like Starbuck's Chai Tea Lattes or hot cocoa... they're like little cups of hugs.

3. Black Tea - OK this might not be instant relief, but according to a study at University College London, drinking 4 cups of black tea a day for 6 weeks will actually lower the amount of cortisol your body produces after a stressful event. REMINDER: cortisol is a stress hormone that causes belly fat.

4. Green Tea - Contains theanine, an amino acid that has been shown to reduce stress and improve mood and cognition.

5. Cold Water - Gets the blood flowing to energize you

As part of a Pink October, eat garlic with your next meal! ... Your date can deal with it. Garlic cloves contain allyl sulfide which studies have shown prevents the formation and growth of colon tumors. Raw garlic, when finely crushed or chopped also produces allicin - a compound which decreases blood pressure and serves as a cold-fighting antioxidant. It's effects decrease over time, though, so you won't get the same benefits from leftovers. 

Before you stuff your face with candy while dressed up like, no doubt, a blue Avatar, remember that this month is a time to call attention to the beast of breast cancer. THIS IS RELEVANT TO YOU IF:

1. You are a woman

2. You date or are married to a woman

3. You were birthed by a woman

According to the American Cancer Society: 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer. How many women do you know or are you close to? ...Do you like them? ...Do you want any of them to get cancer? DO YOU??!!?!?

Oh good, you're not a heartless demon. For everyone's convenience, it is particularly easy to help this cause because all you have to do is buy something pink! (Which, PS, is not a bad idea for early Mother's Day shopping).

Full Shopping of Official Pink Things (aka Cancer Research Donations):

Breast Cancer Research Foundation: Pink Products

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Products

In Style Magazine: Breast Cancer Awareness Gift Ideas

You may be low in magnesium. In an interview in Men's Health Magazine, Dr. Alexander Mauskop of the New York Headache Center said that a drop in magnesium will cause "blood vessels in your brain to constrict and receptors in the feel good chemical, serotonin, malfunction" resulting in a migraine. I had mentioned this side effect briefly in an earlier post (For Your Bliss - Craving Chocolate?).

Top 5 Food Sources for magnesium:

- Halibut   (3 oz has 90 mg)

- Dry Roasted Almonds    (1 oz has 80 mg)

- Dry Roasted Cashews   (1 oz has 75mg)

- Mature Soybeans    (1/2 cup has 75 mg)

- Spinach    (1/2 cup has 75 mg)

The benefits of working out are endless! I recently read an article in Women's Health that cardio exercise helps you think faster, improves your ability to focus and recall information, and think more clearly as a natural side effect of de-stressing. Highlights from the article:

Exercise releases several hormones which affect different areas of the brain:

Serotonin - Mood elevator

Dopamine - Learning and attention

Norepinephrine - Attention, perception, motivation and arousal

In a study that followed people who exercised for 1 hour/day, 3 days/week for 6 months, scientists noticed an increase in size in the part of the brain which controls memory and learning (the hippocampus).

According to the International Journal of Workplace Health and Management, people perform 23% more efficiently on days when they exercise before going to work. Work out buffs also show 20% improvement on memory and problem solving tests.

There is also shown to be a direct correlation between the intensity of your workout and the benefits you reap, so be sure to really sweat.

With regards to released endorphins, the high you get from working out which puts you in a good mood can last up to 12 hours. This mood lifter is especially beneficial if you don't like your work.