Benefits of Antioxidants

Antioxidants are dietary substances including some nutrients such as beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium that can prevent the effects of free radical damage in the body. In other words, antioxidants can neutralize the process of oxidation and cellular damage, which contributes to aging and disease. Eating foods high in antioxidant on a regular basis help to reverse the signs of aging. It can also prevent or even reverse various disease processes such as cancer, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Foods rich in antioxidants are:

• Vegetables: red cabbage, spinach, red beet, brussels sprouts

• Fruits: grapefruit, bilberry, pineapple, watermelons, grapes, orange, plum, pomegranate

• Nuts: walnuts, pecans, groundnuts, hazelnuts

• Legumes: soybeans, pinto beans, broad beans

• Dry Fruits: dates, prunes, apricots

• Spices: cinnamon, cloves, cayenne pepper

• Meat Food Sources: Chicken, lamb, salmon, turkey, crabmeat

Some of the most common and easily obtainable foods rich in antioxidants are:

Tomatoes: Tomatoes are rich in antioxidants and help to boost immune function. The red color of tomato is due to lycopene, a powerful infection fighting antioxidant.

Broccoli: This green leafy vegetable is rich in phytonutrient antioxidants that give long-term protection against a number of diseases. Broccoli is indeed the best choice when it comes to selecting oxidant rich foods. Overcooking of broccoli should be avoided as it destroys the essential nutrients.

Garlic: Garlic, a rich source of antioxidants, has plenty of health benefits. The antioxidant properties of garlic can significantly decrease the risk of certain cancers. A diet containing garlic is essential for long healthy living.

Green Tea: Studies have revealed that concentration of antioxidants is highest in green tea. The antioxidants found in green tea decrease high blood pressure, lower high cholesterol levels and fight bacteria causing diseases.

Berries: Berries, especially blueberries and strawberries, are highly rated amongst antioxidant rich foods. These fruits, high in vitamin C, are probably the richest source of antioxidants.

Reduce your belly fat

Getting rid of belly fat takes a complete lifestyle change, including eating habits and workout habits. Here are some of the best stomach exercises that help to reduce belly fat:

Crunch
Lay on your back and knees bent, lift your shoulders off the floor. The emphasis is on moving the ribs towards the hips.

Reverse Curl

Lay on your back; bend your knees towards the chest. Keep the hips on the floor. Contract your abdominal muscles at the same time. Your lower abdominal exercise program must include reverse curls.

Leg raise

Single leg raise involves raising one leg from the floor. The double leg raise involves raising both legs from the floor at the same time and this works as an abdominal muscle exercise. Lying leg raises are ideal lower abdominal exercise

Abs exercise with the ball

The stability ball is an effective training device for the abs and lower back. Due to the curve of the exercise ball, the lower abdominal muscles get trained better on account of the greater range of motion.

Bicycle

It was ranked the best abdominal exercise by the American Council on Exercise. When performed with the abs muscles pulled, this exercise does great things for you.

Plank

For this exercise program, you need to position yourself for a pushup and hold the pose. Ensure that your body is in one long, straight line from head to toes.

Captains chair

This abs exercise involves standing on a gym chair and gripping the handholds. Press your back against the head pad and slowly lift your knees towards your chest. The back must remain straight.

Simple tips to keep skin looking radiant

Cleanse

Use a gentle, non-soap cleanser that won’t dry out skin and is safe to use twice daily.

Moisturize

If you have oily skin and are prone to breakouts, look for a gel-based or oil-free moisturizer. Use a minimum SPF of 30 for the face and don’t forget the neck, chest area and back of the hands — parts of the body that are the first to betray your age.

Exfoliate

Gycolic acid, also known as alpha hydroxy acid, is clinically-proven to slough off dead skin cells, reduce the appearance of fine lines, and even out skin tone. Experts advise starting with a glycolic acid concentration between 5 and 8 per cent, and graduating to 10 per cent, the highest non-prescription dosage available if you don’t experience any irritation.

Vitamin A

Take care if you have sensitive skin as it can cause redness, itching and sun irritation. Vitamin A is a clinically-proven agent that can prevent wrinkles as it penetrates deep into the skin’s layers where collagen and elastin reside. Vitamin A increases collagen production, prevents fine lines and gives a polished look.

Hair extention

It is so facinating to see how people extend their hair. I have put some videos for you guys too. Enjoy.....

Health tip: Include fiber in your food

Foods high in fiber give you the strength and inclination to get up and go on a regular basis. They also help you look and feel your best. A fiber deficiency increases your risk of constipation, hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity, colon cancer and heart disease. Eating foods high in fiber also help to a healthy body weight.
Most Americans get only about 10 grams of fiber daily. Recommended fiber amounts for women is 21 to 25 grams a day and for men is 30 to 38 grams a day. Here is the list of foods high in fiber:

Fruits	Serving size	Total fiber (grams)*
Raspberries	1 cup	8.0
Pear, with skin	1 medium	5.1
Apple, with skin	1 medium	4.4
Figs, dried	2 medium	3.7
Blueberries	1 cup	3.5
Strawberries	1 cup	3.3
Banana	1 medium	3.1
Orange	1 medium	3.1
Raisins	1.5-ounce box	1.6
Grains, cereal & pasta	Serving size	Total fiber (grams)*
Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked	1 cup	6.3
Barley, pearled, cooked	1 cup	6.0
Oat bran muffin	1 medium	5.2
Bran flakes	3/4 cup	5.1
Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked	1 cup	4.0
Popcorn, air-popped	3 cups	3.6
Brown rice, cooked	1 cup	3.5
Bread, rye	1 slice	1.9
Bread, whole-wheat or multigrain	1 slice	1.9
Legumes, nuts & seeds	Serving size	Total fiber (grams)*
Split peas, cooked	1 cup	16.3
Lentils, cooked	1 cup	15.6
Black beans, cooked	1 cup	15.0
Lima beans, cooked	1 cup	13.2
Baked beans, vegetarian, canned, cooked	1 cup	10.4
Sunflower seeds, hulled	1/4 cup	3.6
Almonds	1 ounce (22 nuts)	3.3
Pistachio nuts	1 ounce (49 nuts)	2.9
Pecans	1 ounce (19 halves)	2.7
Vegetables	Serving size	Total fiber (grams)*
Artichoke, cooked	1 medium	10.3
Peas, cooked	1 cup	8.8
Broccoli, boiled	1 cup	5.1
Turnip greens, boiled	1 cup	5.0
Sweet corn, cooked	1 cup	4.6
Brussels sprouts, cooked	1 cup	4.1
Potato, with skin, baked	1 medium	4.0
Tomato paste	1/4 cup	2.7
Carrot, raw	1 medium	1.7

Benefits of omega-3 fatty acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids. They are essential to human health but cannot be produced by the body. For this reason, omega-3 fatty acids must be obtained from food. They can be found in:

- Fish, such as salmon, tuna, halibut, sardines, mackerel, tuna, and herring

- Other marine life such as algae and krill

- Nut oils, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, soybeans, soybean oil, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, purslane, perilla seed oil, walnuts, and walnut oil

Omega-3 fatty acids also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) plays a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. Research indicates that omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and help prevent risk associated with heart disease, cancer, and arthritis.

In fact, infants who do not get enough omega-3 fatty acids from their mothers during pregnancy are at risk for developing vision and nerve problems.

Many clinical studies suggest that omega-3 fatty acids may be helpful in treating a variety of health conditions such as, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, weight loss, osteoporosis, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit, eating disorders, burns, skin disorders, asthma, macular degeneration, menstrual pain, colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and many others.

Symptoms of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency include extreme tiredness (fatigue), poor memory, dry skin, heart problems, mood swings or depression, and poor circulation.

Makeup tutorial for Fall 2009

Benefits of green tea

Studies have shown green tea increases the metabolic rates and speeds up fat oxidation. Green tea metabolism boosting benefits can be utilized in your battle against excess weight. However, there are some people who say a study done in a small group, and that possibly the benefits of weight loss will not be too big on an obese person. However, people who drink green tea on a regular basis can be powerful tool to drop the pounds of excess fat. Of course, you will not lose a lot of weight just by drinking green tea, and you will not lose any pound of fat if you continue eating bad, but with a good nutrition and exercise schedule, you could be boosting your efforts seriously.

Also, keep in mind that you can go beyond green tea metabolism benefits. Green tea contains powerful antioxidants (flavonoids) that can help protect heart disease, cancer and stroke. If you are a coffee drinker, it will be a very wise idea to swap it for green tea.

Healthy Food = Beautiful Skin

Pluck your own eyebrow

If threading your eyebrows is not your cup of tea like me, you can use this tutorial to pluck them up.