Three Healthy Swaps for Fabulous Beauty Results

There are plenty of beauty tips and products out there that promise better looking skin and hair, and many succeed. However, thousands of these methods could end up doing more harm than good, exposing your body to dangerous chemicals or elements that can really cause damage over time. Swap out these outdated beauty solutions for a more natural alternative that's just as, if not more effective for achieving the look you want.

Use Smarter Skin Products for a Truly Healthy Glow

Spending hours in the sun may give you a gorgeous tan now, but those harmful UV rays can also cause wrinkles, dry skin, dark spots and even skin cancer. Instead, lather up with vanicream sunscreen to protect your precious skin. Then use products like bronzers and self-tanning creams to give your skin the gorgeous glow you crave without the adverse side effects.

Boost Hair Growth Naturally

There are plenty of shampoos and scalp treatments that promise to help stop hair loss and even reverse it. But many of these aren't very effective and contain sulfates, parabens and silicones, which aren't good for your hair or your body. Instead, use organic castor oil to boost hair growth on your scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes. Many people swear by its amazing results. It's also a super inexpensive purchase that will last a long time.

Fight Foot Fungus for Sandal-Ready Toes

Whether it's on your skin or your nails, foot fungus can be both unsightly and uncomfortable. Many topical creams and treatments may help alleviate some symptoms but rarely cure the problem and contain dozens of chemicals. Instead, soak your feet regularly in a solution of apple cider vinegar and water. Treat affected areas with tea tree oil. Exfoliate, keep nails trimmed short and moisturize with organic, cold-pressed coconut oil. Skip the nail polish to let your nails get the oxygen they need, and to make sure they absorb the treatments well.

These simple swaps can leave you feeling better about choosing more natural solutions to your beauty problems. The healthier option just might be more effective and give you the best results.

Acne Around your Mouth

I have read this important tip from a magazine...

THE CAUSE: A reaction to one or more allergy-causing compounds. The usual culprits are dyes used for coloring, and suds-producing surfactants in your toothpaste.

HOW TO FIX IT: Stay away from colored toothpastes and gels, as well as toothpastes with other additives like "sparkles" or "crystals," and stick to plain white paste formulas instead.

How to Stop Wrinkles?

I am just re-posting this email that I got from RealAge. Here it is...

Most of us have heard the do's and don'ts of wrinkle prevention. Stay out of the sun, moisturize, don't smoke. But here are a few tricks you probably haven't thought of yet -- new stay-young skin secrets from the experts at RealBeauty.com.

3 Smooth Secrets
Make these your mantra and you may be staring down fewer lines and wrinkles in the mirror:

* Eat soy. Early research suggests soy may help protect against -- and possibly even heal some -- photodamage caused by sun exposure.

* Have a cup of cocoa. Research shows that two of the antioxidants in cocoa -- epicatechin and catechin -- can help shield against sun damage and improve your skin's hydration and blood circulation. All of which can help lead to smoother looking skin.

* Sleep on your back. Sleeping with your face in the pillow every night can cause wrinkles known as "sleep lines," say folks from The American Academy of Dermatology. Perpetual side sleepers tend to get these fine lines on their cheeks and chin, while people who sleep facing down can end up with a more furrowed brow.

Hope you learn something out from this post!

Breakfast that Wakes You Up

If you feel that your morning is so dragging, try to add in your breakfast favoritesthe menu of yogurt and eggs.

This little diet tweak could help you forget you even have a snooze button, because of the extra dose of tyrosine -- a building block for two important wake-up-your-brain chemicals. It helps make the wake-up brain chemicals dopamine and norepinephrine. In addition to eggs and yogurt, other food sources of tyrosine include almonds, chicken, avocados, bananas, and sesame seeds.

Best Colon Cleanser

Constipation, bad breath, dull complexion, obesity, acne, bloated tummy. If you have all these symptoms beware, the toxin has threatens your health! One has to undergo a Body Detox, in order to clean out the toxins that being accumulated inside our dirty colon. Aside from this, this is some kind of prevention and treatment for constipation. If you’ll do this, it metabolizes a good living with a healthy digestive system because it’s a good dietary fiber. This is all about the Dual-Action Cleanser that is available in the market today! To prevent from being diagnosed as having a colon cancer, why not try it now and be fit!

Meals in the Moment

This is what I've learned in helping to slow down and enjoy meals more. Here are some of the few tricks:

• Keep distractions to a minimum so you can focus on your food.
• Serve small portions. You can have seconds or eat more later if you’re hungry again.
  Stay tuned in to each bite.
• Take a couple of sips of water between bites.
• Give yourself plenty of time to feel full. It may take 20 minutes for your satisfied stomach to send a signal to your brain.
• Aim for three-quarters full instead of stuffed.

Grapefruit: Better Weight Loss

The whole grapefruit also took a bite out of insulin resistance in folks with metabolic syndrome -- a constellation of conditions that can raise the risk for several serious health problems, including diabetes. There was once a study conducted that obese people who ate half a grapefruit before each of three daily meals shed more pounds than their counterparts did.

But of course exercise and a calorie-controlled diet remain the true cornerstones of weight loss, but if grapefruit helps, great!

Eat Beans, Weigh Less?

I would like to share it with you what I have read about....

They’re called "magical fruit" in children’s rhymes for a reason . .

Just not for the flatulence-producing reasons kids obsess about. What really makes beans magical is their potential effect on your waistline: Bean eaters weigh less on average than non-bean-imbibing folks do.

In fact, bean eaters weigh as much as 6.6 pounds less. It makes sense when you consider beans are full of fiber and protein but low in fat, which means a serving will keep you going far beyond the need-to-munch hour but only make a minor dent in your calorie intake.

Every Woman's Dream

It is of every woman’s dream to stay fit and sexy. For me it is a wrong notion that once a woman turns pregnant she has no opportunity to regain back her natural body after giving birth. Quite true in the sense that I myself had experienced hard times of getting back to my old self as super slim structure. I really much weight for almost a year due to the contraceptive pills that I have been using. I love to eat and eat and eat. Until such that my hubby keeps on reminding me to do some exercise for me to loose weight. Thanks God for so many months of eating the right food and do some exercises, I stay fit and sexy of course!

Every time I will met someone especially my friends they will keep on asking me on what diet pills that I have been using. Or some may ask “What did you do, why you loss your weight that easy well in fact you’re already a mom of one?” I guess they need the safe diet pills that are so effective and for sure it will help them achieve their weight loss goals. Well, thanks God that I have a fast metabolism and I don’t need to have any diet pills to take in.

Bananas for a Healthier Colon

I have just learned that there is a common vitamin from bananas, corn, eggs, salmon, and spinach that’s great for our colon. I am talking about vitamin B6. Just imagine by simply getting your share of this nutrient could cut your risk of colon and rectal cancer.

In one of the largest studies to date on B6 and colon health, people with the highest intake of the vitamin -- from food and supplements -- reduced their risk of colorectal cancer by 20 to 30 percent. A healthy colon is just one reason to load up on B6-rich foods.

Ulcer or UTI?

At exactly 12:30 AM just today, I asked my husband to rush me to the nearest hospital because I can't bear the pain in my stomach, I was super pale and so weak already because I vomitted for several times. The doctor had checked me in the ER for several hours and thought that I had an Ulcer so she gave me a med for a Proton Pump Inhibitor. I thought I will be going to be confined that time because of the pain that didn’t subside after all. She even let me undergo for a urinalysis. Though the result was not good, I had a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) which causes the pain in my abdomen. I’m still under medication for one whole week to verify whether it is an Ulcer or just the cause of the UTI. But the common denominator is they all started from letter U.(lol)

Though the pain is still here but I know that God healed me already. I have learned lessons that I need to eat on time and never misses a meal or snacks if my tummy calls for it. Also, never to drink on soda if my tummy is empty. It’s different now if you are a mother already comparing to my old single days.

The Fruit that Fights the Flu

Once November hits, the rest of the year is a giant sprint to the Dick Clark ball-dropping finish line. Here’s the game plan for keeping healthy through it.

Start by getting a flu shot. Then, buy yourself a bag of apples and munch away. The quercetin in apples may help bolster your immune system during vulnerable times.

Boon to Immunity

Yep. Apples (and red onions, broccoli, and tea) are great sources of quercetin -- a flavonoid that may stave off the influenza virus when the body is under stress. In a recent animal study, quercetin did just that: The normal dip in immunity that comes with physical fatigue was pretty much cancelled out by the flavonoid. If it works as well in humans, quercetin could help power the body through both physical and psychological stress.

Talking ’Bout Disease Prevention . . .
Quercetin may not only quash the flu but also stave off health conditions like cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and pancreatic cancer. So get more quercetin with these quick and easy recipes from EatingWell:

• Slip some quercetin-rich broccoli into the king of all comfort foods with Cheesy Broccoli-Potato Mash.
• Give the holidays a twist with this Chunky Apple-Rhubarb Sauce with Dried Cranberries. (You’ll get loads of quercetin from the apples, apple juice, and red onion.)
• Or try this quicker, healthier take on a favorite dessert: Old-Fashioned Apple-Nut Crisp.