Healthy Eating Habits

With skimpy swimsuits and trips to the beach in mind, toning various body parts and dropping a few pounds in time for summer has become a priority for many. Coupled with regular cardiovascular exercise, healthy eating habits can severely impact one�s weight as well as one�s overall body image.

When it comes to shaping up and slimming down, several factors impact a person�s body and general healthiness. Different diets and eating routines work for different people. The following �dos� should put a positive spin on helping those who wish to revamp their eating habits in the hopes of transforming their bodies for the better.

DO eat well-balanced meals throughout the day, kick starting your metabolism with breakfast as often as possible.

DO eat several helpings of salad, fruits and vegetables throughout the day. Recommended amount is five servings of fruit and vegetables each day.

DO drink lots of water. Strive for at least eight glasses a day, but drink as much as you are able. Your body will eventually crave the water, which often makes you less hungry for snacks throughout the day while also flushing toxins from your body.

DO avoid eating simply because you are bored. Popping candy, cookies and other sweets into your mouth merely to pass the time is not conducive to modifying and maintaining a healthy body image.

DO sit down; enjoy your food and CHEW! Avoid scarfing down your lunch in the car as you drive. Rushing meals and trying to get too many other things done while eating may prevent the food from digesting properly. Take the time to enjoy a leisurely meal without constantly trying to do something else.

DO reduce your intake of sugars and fats if you find yourself eating junk food all day.

DO avoid grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Almost inevitably, those shopping with hunger pangs pushing them along may be apt to throw a few more goodies in the cart than if shopping after a meal.

DO eat when you are hungry. Try to substitute healthier snacks, like vegetable sticks, for salty or sweet snacks like chips and cookies.

DO eat foods that are high in fiber. This will help to keep the snacking urges from breaking through as often.

DO be realistic about your body image goals. Do not expect overnight results. Work to achieve your goals but do treat yourself every once in a while!

DO stop eating when you are full. Many people try to force themselves to clean their plates completely in order to be �polite� or to �get their money�s worth�.

DO exercise at least twice a week, whether by jogging, walking or doing a cardio workout. Combining healthier eating habits with cardiovascular exercise is a surefire way to lead a healthier life.

To improve your body image and the way you feel about yourself, monitor your snacking and do your best to follow a disciplined eating routine. Eat balanced meals, exercise and maintain a positive outlook and you�ll be well on your way to a healthier body, mind and soul.

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.

Right Way To Wash Your Hair

Most of us think we have this all down pat, but for all we know, we might be wrong. After all, we have been washing our hair all our lives. How could we go wrong with something like washing our hair? However, we might be washing our hair the wrong way and contribute to its damage without actually knowing it.

What we should remember about our hair is that the individual strands of our hair, no matter how thick or strong it looks, is actually very delicate. So we cannot just tug and pull at it, or else it would break. We would not want to have hair breakage, would we?

So, what is the right way of washing the hair?
The first thing you should do is to comb the tangles out of the hair before you wet it so the hair would wash easily and the tangles would not worsen. And then, wet your hair thoroughly under the shower. You can use either warm or cold water if you like, but for best results, you can wet your hair with warm water to open the scale-like cuticles of the hair and wash all the oil and dirt off. And then, you can rinse your hair with cold water afterwards to close the cuticles and add to the shine of your hair.

Rinse your hair under the shower to rid it of the leave-on conditioner and styling aids you have used previously, using gentle strokes of your fingertips. Then, pour a dollop of shampoo in the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together, and then apply the shampoo to your scalp. Take note that you should put the shampoo on your scalp and not at the ends of your hair, as the shampoo would dry your hair's ends and cause it to weaken and split. Also, do not mix your hair all over your head as you shampoo because it will get all tangled up. After this, rinse the shampoo off.

More often than not, we need to shampoo our hair for a second time. The purpose of the first shampoo is to clean the oil and dirt off; the second shampoo is supposed to let the shampoo treat our hair. So, repeat the process, but let the shampoo sit on for around a couple of minutes. Rinse the hair completely after this.

To get the excess water off your hair, just squeeze the water out. Do not pull or tug at the hair because the hair is at its most delicate when it is soaked. When the excess water is out, apply a dollop of conditioner - mane event - and apply it along the hairline, the nape and the ends of the hair. Pile your hair then inside a shower cap and let the conditioner stay there for around ten minutes. And then, rinse it off completely.

The process described here does seem tedious and time-consuming. But remember, having great hair takes time and effort. And it is definitely worth it for a picture perfect hair.

Top 3 Supplements Often Found In Natural Hair Loss Products

1. Saw Palmetto

If you want the main ingredient that's in 90% of the natural hair loss treatments out there then get Saw Palmetto.

Saw Palmetto has become a popular hair loss supplement because of it's reputation for promoting prostate health by reducing DHT. Since prostatic disease and hair loss are connected in several different ways many herbalist have begun marketing Saw Palmetto as a hair loss treatment.

Propecia (Finasteride) was originally marketed as a prostatic treatment as well. It became a hair loss treatment after patients started noticing changes in hair growth.

Saw Palmetto, like Propecia, will help you lower the amount of DHT produced in the body. However, it's debatable whether or not it will work quite as well as Propecia.

You should also know that Saw Palmetto does have side effects and drug interactions. Pregnant women should avoid Saw Palmetto because it could be dangerous to unborn babies. It might not have any hair growth benefits for women at all.

In a few cases Saw Palmetto has caused hemorrhages, difficulty urinating, swelling of the prostate, and blood in the urine.

2. Nettle Root

Nettle Root is a another supplement that's often put into natural hair loss treatments. It helps block 5-Alpha-Reductase which causes testosterone to be converted to DHT.

This supplement is often included in the top tier natural hair loss treatments. Nettle root is considered a stronger DHT blocker than Saw Palmetto by some herbalist.

In most cases natural hair loss treatments don't have any nettle root in them at all. The ones that do have nettle root often don't have enough.

However, like saw palmetto nettle root does have some negative interactions with prescription drugs. Be careful if you are taking blood pressure medication, diabetes medicine or sedatives.

Unlike, Saw Palmetto women with hair loss can use it as well.

3. Dong Quai

Dong Quai is another DHT blocker. It has phytoestrogens which block androgen-receptor sites that help convert testosterone to DHT.

Since it works to block DHT many people believe that it will also help prevent hair loss.

Dong Quai can also be used by women. If you combine Dong Quai with Nettle Root then you will probably have a regimen that's stronger than most natural hair loss treatments on the market.

Combine all three and you will have the best possible supplement regimen at a much more affordable price.

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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.