Eat This For Thicker Hair

If you’re removing more hair from the drain than usual, you may want to take a closer look at your diet: Having a vitamin D deficiency and low levels of iron could be playing a role in your thinning locks.
Researchers at Cairo University found that women who were experiencing hair loss also had lower levels of iron and vitamin D2—andhair loss only got worse as the levels dropped.

“This is the first time vitamin D’s possible role in hair loss has been highlighted,” explains Rania Mounir Abdel Hay, MD, a dermatologist at Cairo University, and co-author of the study. “It might regulate the expression of genes that promote normal hair follicle growth.” As for iron: Low levels may inhibit an essential enzyme that has been associated with hair loss in mice.

Aim for a minimum of 600 IU of vitamin D per day, 800 IU if you’re over 71 years old. While it can be difficult to get enough vitamin D in your diet, sacancer, and bone fractures. Click here to find the best dose for yo

lmon packs 450 IU per 3-ounce serving, and fortified milk and orange juice has 115 to 135 IU. And consider a vitamin D supplement, which has more than just healthy hair benefits: It could prevent heart disease,

6 Reasons Why Yoga Is Better Than The Gym

Everything has its pros and cons in life. So, while I am not anti gym, I do think that yoga offers more than what a gym can on every level, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.

People always ask, “what else I do” to “work out” other than yoga. The answer? Nothing! Yoga is everything my body needs to function at it’s absolute best. Here’s why.

1. Yoga Is Great Cardio

All you have to do is try a few sun salutations at a good, steady pace, matching your breath to your movement. You could also really “get moving” by trying Vinyasa, Ashtanga, or Power yoga.

2. Yoga Is Non Competitive

There is already enough competition at school, work and life in general.  While some people may thrive at trying to be the fastest in spin class or trying to run longer than the other person on the treadmill next to them, in yoga it doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing. There is no comparing or competing because there is only you.

3. Yoga Is Free

Yoga doesn’t have an upfront cost like a gym membership does.  All you need to practice is you. You can wear any clothes that allow you to move and you don’t need a yoga mat; a towel or blanket work just fine. If you want some inspiration, there are plenty of great, inexpensive yoga DVDs or free online yoga videos.

4. Yoga Is Kinder To The Body

This does not mean yoga is not intense. Yoga builds heat and works your muscles, but you’re doing only what your body allows you to do. Yoga also helps you stretch as you move through the postures and a good yoga practice builds on itself to prepare the body for the next position.

5. Yoga Reduces Stress

Many yoga classes include Savasana at the end of practice. This gives you a chance to clear your mind of daily stress. With practice, stressful situations can be dealt with more ease and overall stress levels decrease. The competitive nature of a gym along with the loud music and bright lights is more likely to increase your stress.

6. Yoga Helps You Stay Injury Free

In yoga, you learn to unite your body and mind. This allows you to move with ease and pay attention to how your body is feeling at all times, so you move in a way that feels good for you and not one that puts you in places your body doesn’t want to be. The result? An injury free, strong, healthy, whole you. Yoga slowly stretches muscles and opens the energy channels of the body. The increased flexibility keeps muscles and joints lubricated and healthy. Weights and treadmill can cause strain which leads to soreness and injuries.

The Secret to Beautiful Skin

If you find yourself coveting the gorgeous skin of fashion models in most of today’s magazines, first think CLEAN, then think GREEN.
Clean
Companies that produce skin care products would like you to believe that a beautiful complexion can be purchased in a jar. But truly radiant, moist and blemish-free skin is a result of being clean, not just skin deep, but from deep within.
Create clean blood that continuously supplies wonderful nutrients right to the doorway of each and every cell in your body and you’re well on your way to having beautiful skin.
Today, keeping toxins out of your blood and organs is difficult because we live in a "sea" of chemicals and drugs, and eat mostly refined foods. If your goal is healthy skin, you have to make a conscious effort to cleanse these dangerous substances out of your body while putting in the finest nutrients. The good news is that your body is constantly in a cleansing mode and was created with the ability to push out toxins as long as you supply it with the energy to do so.
Cleansing energy is more abundant when you provide your body with the foods mentioned below. (Each food and its nutrients will be discussed in later articles.)
Six Organs That Keep Your Skin Healthy
The six organs responsible for providing you with beautiful skin include your:

• Liver
• Kidneys
• Adrenals
• Thyroid
• Large intestines
• Small intestines

But you are accountable to them as well. Keep them clean at all times and beautiful skin will result from your daily efforts.
Your liver and kidneys are the two filtering organs that constantly provide ongoing housecleaning services. Today they are seriously overworked and underpaid. Why overload them with outside challenges? Shield them from outside harm, feed them well, and they’ll keep you and your skin healthy.
Sitting on top of your kidneys are your walnut-sized adrenals. Often called the "workhorses" of the body, they make many essential hormones including pregnenolone, DHEA, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Healthy hormones are an essential ingredient when seeking energy and beautiful skin.
A well-nourished, energetic thyroid also provides hormones and works closely with your adrenals to create energy. Dry, flaky, sluggish skin is evidence of a weak thyroid.
The well-being of one’s liver, kidneys, adrenals and thyroid is dependent on the condition of your small and large intestines. These two organs not only provide nutrients to other organs, but they are also responsible for the removal of waste products from your body. When waste meant for elimination remains in your intestines your skin becomes thick, oily and blemished. Pure, flawless skin is a reflection of clean intestines.
Drugs, alcohol, chemicals and heavy metals (mercury, lead) do daily damage to millions of Americans. Your liver is damaged from refined oils containing trans-fatty acids. Your kidneys are damaged by common table salt devoid of natural minerals. Trans-fats and refined salt are found in thousands of processed foods consumed by most Americans every day. Pasteurized and homogenized dairy products also clog your kidneys. They are to be avoided, but to reach your goal of good-looking skin you also need to add foods into your diet that nourish your six organs of beauty.
Think Green
Spring is here and in Chinese medicine spring is the season when the liver naturally cleanses and heals by pushing out dangerous toxins. Green foods including chlorella are excellent for the liver. Dark green leafy veggies including kale, spinach, dandelion greens and broccoli are especially wonderful foods. Have them cooked, raw, juiced and even cultured.
More Foods to Nourish Your Body and Skin
Green super-food formulas provide a combination of nutrients including cereal grasses, algae and green veggies. Look for one that has organic ingredients and was designed to heal and nourish your intestines. They are great in the morning because they help alkalize your blood, are more pleasant to take than a handful of supplements, and provide protein, minerals and fatty acids.
Other foods known to contribute to healthy skin include raw and virgin fats and oils. Coconut oil is especially good for your thyroid. Mineral-rich foods (dark green leafy veggies, ocean veggies and seafood) and antioxidant-rich foods (black currant and blueberry juice, and green tea) are a daily must.

Beautiful Hair Braids

Beautiful seas of blues and greens, soft and sparkling white sand and sun that beats down, tempting a tan on one�s exposed parts... these things are just a few signature traits of an unforgettable island vacation.

Relaxing by the poolside, enjoying the surf and sipping cocktails make a great start to a relaxing getaway from reality. Many will strive for the perfect golden glow while others may lather white limbs in coconut-scented sunblock. Perhaps the most common souvenir taken home from a week or two�s stay in the Caribbean is a new hairstyle!

Many women and some men choose to don the tiny braids that often reveal their most recent escape from corporate life. Braided hairstyles are common in a number of other tropical locations, including Jamaica and countless other island destinations.

Offers to braid one�s hair may be plentiful, depending on the time of day and location of the vacation. Women skilled in many styles of creative braiding may wander the beaches in search of their next clients, asking all those whom they pass if they would care for some braids.

In Nassau, the going rate per braid capped at about $3. Vacationers could request as few or as many braids as they wished, in a number of fashions. Those offering the braids often were willing to negotiate on the price in order to secure more business for themselves, so the cost of having one�s entire head braided may not be relative to having a few single braids done.

Once the number of desired braids has been determined, one should then select the braiding style. Common styles seen in The Bahamas include dozens of straight micro-braids - woven from roots to ends, cornrows fastened with beads at the crown, and cornrows ending in long braids.

Beads or tiny seashells may adorn braids and cornrows in the desired colors of the wearer. Popular styles seen this February consisted of cornrows ending at the crown in two alternating colors and long, micro-braids fastened off with a few beads on each one.

Some important hair and scalp care is necessary for those donning the stylish braids.
Dabbing a bit of sunblock on the scalp is critical to preventing sunburn.
When shampooing, wearers of the braids should not shampoo the braids directly, but rather the scalp, allowing the suds to soak down the braids.
To keep braids in great condition longer, a light coat of conditioner on each one should do just the trick.

When removing braids, the best method involves coating braids with conditioner and gently unraveling them one by one. A warm shower with normal shampoo and conditioner products should restore hair to its usual texture and appearance.

Beautiful Hair

How to achieve and maintain a healthy head of beautiful hair. Hair SOS

Three main things are needed for a good-looking head of hair - haute hair - good health, the right attention to cleanliness, and caution when using cosmetic treatments.

1. Adequate Diet

Hair growth depends on an adequate diet. A widespread diet problem which causes loss of hair is iron deficiency Anaemia. The cause is too little iron in blood, brought on by a diet containing too little meat, eggs, cereals or peas and beans. Fresh fruits and vegetables are also needed to provide vitamin C, which enables the body to absorb iron.

2. Cutting the hair

Although cutting the hair is not essential to its well-being, it is easier to keep the scalp clean if the hair is kept reasonably short. Regular cutting does not make the hair grow strong or faster.

3. How hair can be damaged

Although scalp hair is hardy, and can withstand a lot of abuse, it can be damaged by too much or inexpertly applied perming, dyeing - Blonde to Brunette, bleaching and massage. The amount of beautying the hair can take varies from person to person. Occasionally the scalp is allergic to the dye and becomes inflamed and swollen. To prevent this occuring, the dye should be tested by applying it to a small area on the arm. If a patch of inflammation has developed, the dye must not be used on the hair.

Most people who bleach their hair do so with hydrogen peroxide. If the peroxide is repeatedly applied, it may make the hair brittle. Hair SOS If this happens the hair may turn rough, develop split ends, or become thinned or shortened.

9 foods that help prevent hair loss

1. Chickpeas

Eating chickpeas basically kills two birds with one stone. You can get both zinc and the vitamin B-6 you need for healthy hair from chickpeas. Zinc has an important part in building hair protein.

Zinc also works together with Vitamin A. Missing one of those two causes you to have dandruff that could contribute to hair loss. Non Vegans can eat roast beef instead and get all of the same benefits and protein as well.

2. Roast beef

Roast beef is another source of Vitamin B-6 and Zinc. It's also a good source of protein. Vegans might consider taking Soy beans instead for protein and chickpeas for vitamin B6 and Zinc.

3. Soy beans

Soy is a great source of protein for vegans. It also contains a substantial amount of Iron and Vitamin E. Iron is an important part of hemoglobin production. Hemoglobin is responsible for getting oxygen to the tissues of the body. Without it your hair won't grow

Vitamin E also helps with the absorption of oxygen and increasing blood circulation to the scalp.

4. Almonds

Almonds are good sources of vegetarian protein, Iron and Vitamin E. They also help to lower cholesterol helping you avoid having to take cholesterol lowering drugs in the future. Some cholesterol lowering drugs actually cause hair loss.

5. Whole wheat

Whole wheat is a good source of Silica and Iron. Silica is very important because it helps with the absorption of many other vitamins and minerals. It's usually not found in abundance in western diets and in many cases it could be one of the main causes of hair loss.

6. cow's milk

Cow's milk has absorbable Iodine. It's impossible to overdose on Iodine from food sources unlike Iodized salt.

7. oats

Oats are a good source of easily absorbable Iron as well. It's also a good source of Potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.

8. Oranges

Oranges (or orange juice) are a good source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps make meat and soy sources of Iron more absorbable. Vitamin C is a big part of the development of collagen which is necessary for hair growth.

9. Fish

Fish is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B-6, Protein and essential fatty acids (efa's). EFA's play a major role in maintaining healthy nails, hair and skin.

4 minerals you need for healthy hair

1. Trace Mineral Silica

If you are missing a mineral in your diet it's probably the trace mineral silica. It's the most important mineral when it comes to healthy hair and probably the one mineral that's usually absent from most American diets.

Supplementing your diet with silica alone will probably help you more than any of the other minerals combined because Silica helps utilize several other nutrients. Boron, copper, manganese, magnesium, fluorine, phosphorus, zinc and strontium all benefit from silica supplementation.

The only problem is that its very hard to get trace minerals because of the way most western civilizations cook and process their food.

So How do you supplement Silica in the body? It's difficult but not impossible.

You can get enough trace mineral silica in your diet by eating Oats, millet, barley, whole wheat, and algae.

2. Iodine

Iodine is very important when it comes to combating hair loss. You must have Iodine for healthy hair. However, you need a certain kind of Iodine. Not just any Iodine will do.

The kind of Iodine that you would get in your generic table salt isn't the type of iodine you need for hair growth. That type of iodine could easily cause you to overdose on iodine and actually cause you more hair loss.

You don't want that.

So stay away from iodized salt and and start getting your iodine from food sources. These include kelp, yogurt (low fat), cow's milk, boiled eggs, strawberries and Mozzarella cheese.

3. Zinc

Zinc is another mineral that you could easily overdose on. Too much zinc could actually block the absorption of other minerals.

However, that doesn't mean that you don't need zinc for healthy hair. Zinc is very important when it comes to tissue growth and hair growth in particular.

It helps to secrete the scalp with much needed oil and avoid dandruff that could possibly cause hair loss. It also helps with the absorption of other nutrients that you need.

Organic beef, beef liver, lima beans, organic / wild turkey, chickpeas, split peas, raw cashews, pecans, green peas, almonds, ginger root and organic egg are all good food sources of zinc.

4. Iron

Avoid taking iron supplements. You should get all of your Iron from food sources. If you you decide to take an iron supplement anyway then avoid ferrous sulfate which is hard to absorb.

Oysters, lean red meat, liver, poultry, tuna, Iron-fortified cereals, whole grains, dried beans, eggs, dried fruit, dark green leafy vegetables, wheat, millet, oats, brown rice, Lima beans, soy beans, dried beans and peas, kidney beans, almonds, Brazil nuts, prunes, raisins, apricots, broccoli, spinach, kale, collards, asparagus, dandelion greens.

Also make sure you combine foods with Vitamin C in the same meal for better absorption of Iron.

4 Vitamins you need for healthy hair

1. Vitamin A

Vitamin A has a big part in producing sebum. Without it you'll have dry hair, dandruff and a thick scalp. All of those symptoms could potentially cause you hair loss. First and second hand smoke along with aspirin and some prescription drugs could prevent Vitamin A absorption.

On the other end of the spectrum having too much sebum blocks hair follicles. So overdosing on Vitamin A could actually cause you even more hair loss.

Fortunately it's impossible to over dose on Vitamin A when you get it from food sources. Mango, Oranges, Carrots, Sweet potato and Squash are all good sources of Vitamin A.

2. Vitamin B

The B Vitamins are also a very important part of having healthy hair. All of the B Vitamins help with with hemoglobin which helps the scalp get the oxygen it needs for healthy hair growth. The main B vitamins that you need to focus on for hair growth are Vitamin B-6 and Folic Acid.

Vitamin B-6 is often found in protein rich foods. This kills 2 birds with one stone because both Vitamin B-6 and protein is needed to prevent hair loss. Potatoes, ready to eat cereals, Bananas, Garbanzo beans, Chicken breast, Oatmeal, Pork Loin, and roast beef contain Vitamin B-6.

Folic Acid is found in cooked lentils, collard greens, chickpeas, medium papaya, frozen peas, and boiled asparagus.

3. Vitamin E

Vitamin E helps provide good blood circulation to the scalp by increasing the absorption of oxygen. Ready made cereals, Almonds, Safflower Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Turnip greens.

You probably don't have a Vitamin E deficiency but if you do it's most likely caused by an inability to absorb oils and fats. In this case taking a Vitamin E supplement is recommended.

4. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is responsible for the healthy development of collagen which is necessary for strong hair. Vitamin C can be found in Kiwi fruit, Guava, Red sweet peppers and Oranges.