Whatever It Takes

Medically speaking, our fingernails and toenails are like tiny little mirrors. Any low-grade, chronic stressor of some sort in your general health—if you need a little more of a certain nutrient, for example—will often show up first in your nails. As a result, if you’re paying attention, your nails can give you a gentle, early heads-up, before little problems turn into big ones.

Here is a list of several common nail complaints and what they could be saying about your health:

• Thin, brittle, weak nails—protein deficiency, iron deficiency, calcium deficiency, biotin deficiency, silicon deficiency, or thyroid disease.
• Hangnails—zinc deficiency or dehydrated cuticles.
• Brown area at the tips of your nails—diabetes, liver disease, or congestive heart failure.
• Brown or pink discoloration on the half of your nail near the tip and white on the half near your cuticle—kidney disease.
• Yellow- or green-colored nails—lung disease or poor circulation.
• Yellowish nails—lymphedema.
• Thickened, yellowish nails—fungal infection.
• Talon-shaped nails—cardiovascular disease, lung disease, or cirrhosis of the liver.
• Bowl-shaped nails—iron deficiency.
• Pitted nails—psoriasis.
• Ridged nails—vertical ridges are often inherited and normal, but horizontal ridges indicate past illness or stress.
• Horizontal “speed bump” at the edges of your nails—vitamin A deficiency.

Have you noticed either one of these signs on your nails?  Act now visit your doctor

Sunset is a very nice view to watch specially when you are with your love one sitting on the romantic shore.   I personally adore that scene even solitary.  In a woman’s   life there is what we call menopausal stage which give signal or remind us that we are now on a different stage of life.  We can notice a lot of physical changes in response to hormonal imbalances.   I have read a lot of valuable readings which convinced me that this is nothing to worry about.  Its just a matter of acceptance and positive attitude towards aging.   Honestly, I’m even happier in this stage because more or less i’m now settled with my job and my kids.  I can devote my time for self enrichment.   As a result to this quest to enrich myself ready for my journey to “sunset”, I have encounter this reading which I find very helpful to understand some of the physical changes that we experience as we aged.

We talk a lot about the impact of aging and hormonal changes on our health—but did you know these same changes affect your hair and nails? As your estrogen levels drop, it can affect the texture and thickness of your hair. Plus, years of blow drying and hair coloring can take their toll. Hair and nail growth also slows down as you get older.

With nails, a lack of circulation is often to blame as well. As we age, many women are often less physically active than they used to be and develop sluggish circulation. Because your nails are at the farthest reaches of circulatory system, they get less nutrients and oxygen than the rest of your body—and as a result become older-looking, more weathered, and less healthy.

The good news is there are simple steps you can take right now to bring back thicker, fuller hair and strong, healthy nails.

1.   Nourish Your Hair and Nails With Vital Minerals: There are three minerals that play a critical role in hair and nail health: zinc, copper, and silica.    Zinc and copper protect your hair and nails from oxidative damage. Plus, they support tissue growth and strength—helping your hair and nails grow longer, thicker, and more luxurious. Plus, silica is pure magic, helping to make your hair strong and shiny and your nails hard and long.

Our levels of these vital minerals begin to decline as we get older, so it’s important to replenish their levels. I recommend supplementing with 6 mg of zinc per day, 60 mg of silica, and 1 mg of copper. You can find all of these beauty boosting minerals  along with other important nutrients to hydrate, protect, and strengthen your hair and nails.

2.  Keep Your Hair Follicles Fed with EFA’s: Your hair needs a constant, nutrient-rich flow of blood to its follicles. One of the best ways to nourish your hair follicles is with adequate amounts of essential fatty acids and zinc. To ensure that you’re getting enough EFAs in your diet, eat foods rich in omega-3s, like flaxseed (4 to 6 tablespoons per serving) and cold-water fish like tuna, salmon, trout, or halibut (3 times a week). The best sources of zinc are wheat germ, oysters, pumpkin seeds, and high protein foods such as chicken breasts, eggs, and fish.

3. Treat Your Locks Gently: In addition to nourishing your hair, you also want to treat it with tender, loving care. It’s important to get regular exercise, which improves your circulation and nutrient flow to your hair. If you smoke, you want to quit. Smoking can damage every cell in your body, including your hair follicles and shafts. It’s also important to not “over-brush” your hair, and to limit the use of hair dryers, curling irons, and styling products which can weigh down and damage your hair.

4.  Up Your Biotin: Deficiencies of the B-vitamin biotin are supposedly very rare, but 20 percent of the population has brittle nails, which suggests that many of us are lacking adequate levels of this nutrient. If your nails are brittle, I recommend taking 2,500 mcg of biotin. After five months if your nails are stronger, I recommend reducing that dose to 300 mcg for maintenance.

5.  Buff, But Don’t Polish Your Nails: Nail polish remover, even the acetone-free kind, dries the nail and delicate tissue around it. Buffing the nails every couple of months removes old residue from hand cream, soap, sweat and more—improving circulation to the nail bed. It also evens out small ridges and nail surface defects that make the nails porous. Buffing your nails naturally seals and makes them stronger, and less likely to chip—so polish is unnecessary.

• First, use a mild emery board on the edges of your nails, shaping them into slightly rounded rectangles.
• Smooth ridges in your nail surface with the mild side of a two-way nail buffer.
• Wrap a piece of chamois cloth around your finger and briskly rub your buffed fingernails to a glossy sheen

6.  Add Healthy Moisture to Your Nails and Hands: Soak your fingertips for 15 minutes in warmed avocado oil two or three times a week—then pat dry with a soft cloth and re-buff with a chamois cloth. I also recommend nourishing and hydrating your hands, and protecting them against future moisture loss, with a good quality hand cream.

As you can see your luscious locks and gorgeous nails do not have to suffer the effects of menopause and aging.   With these techniques you can improve the look, and feel, of your hair and nails.

Cheers to a beautiful hair and nails—and a healthy you!

According to some, water is life.  True! I absolutely agree to this statement.  In so many ways water is so useful and indispensable.   I’d rather live without electricity than without water.   Infact during baptism water is used to symbolize cleansing of our  soul.   We need water to hydrate our body and be in good health.

If your body is not sufficiently hydrated, the cells will draw water from your bloodstream, which will make your heart work harder.  At the same time, the kidneys cannot purify the blood effectively.   When this happens,  some of the kidney’s workload is passed on to the liver and other organs, which may cause them to be severely stressed.   Additionally, you may develop a number of minor health conditions such as constipation, dry and itchy skin, acne, nosebleeds, urinary tract infection, cough, sneezing, sinus pressure and headache.

So,  how much water is enough for you?   The minimum amount of water you need depends on your body weight.   A more accurate calculation,  is to drink an ounce for every 2 pounds of body weight.

I have made an effort to browse the net and search for a wonderful reading that I can send to my friend who is diagnosed of brain cyst.   I wanted to help her overcome her negative thoughts concerning her ailment.  I made the effort to contact the person whom I knew who also suffered the same ailment.  This person undergone brain operation and he is fully healed now.   I gave her the name of the surgeon who handled the operation.   In this way,  she can draw idea on who to get second opinion.    I’m also sharing her the story of a friend who survived this kind of ailment to eradicate hopelessness.     During our conversation, I felt that she has fear on what might happen to her after an operation.    I interrupted her negative thoughts but the fact that she has already heard of some remote stories in which the operation turned out to be a failure,  she could not help but think of it.    I know that she is a strong woman but considering that this ailment is dreadful, we cannot discount the feeling of uncertainty.   I was able to find this tips on how to help us develop positive thinking.   I firmly believe that positive thinking can help her ameliorate /cope with her predicament.    I am sharing this to everyone with the hope that somebody who is in the same situation can also benefit this.

Here are a few actions and tips to help you develop the power of positive thinking:

Always use only positive words while thinking and while talking. Use words such as, ‘I can’, ‘I am able’, ‘it is possible’, ‘it can be done’, etc.

Allow into your awareness only feelings of happiness, strength and success.

Try to disregard and ignore negative thoughts. Refuse to think such thoughts, and substitute them with constructive happy thoughts.

In your conversation use words that evoke feelings and mental images of strength, happiness and success.

Before starting with any plan or action, visualize clearly in your mind its successful outcome. If you visualize with concentration and faith, you will be amazed at the results.

Read at least one page of inspiring book every day.

Watch movies that make you feel happy.

Minimize the time you listen to the news and read the papers.

Associate yourself with people who think positively.

Always sit and walk with your back straight. This will strengthen your confidence and inner strength.

Walk, swim or engage in some other physical activity. This helps to develop a more positive attitude.

This applies to all our endeavor in life.   Let’s practice positive thinking everyday and expect a positive outcome.   Think positive and only expect favorable results and situations, even if your current circumstances are not as you wish them to be.    In time our mental attitude will affect our life and circumstances and change them accordingly.

I came across today a story from a local newspaper which reported a Taiwanese groom who died on his wedding day after having too much wine and beer to drink.   The man was only 35 years old, an insurance company worker.  He passed out at home after drinking too much on his wedding day.

It was not known if he had health complications.  Everyone was having a great time according to the party organizer.   The man was hospitalized after his face turned black.   He died despite treatment.

This is really a very sad and traumatic experience for the wife.   A lot of questions coming from my head….. One, was the husband celebrating happily that’s why he drank too much wine and beer?   Two, was the man trying to drink too much wine and beer to intentionally end his life.    Well,  the news didn’t say anything about the reason but for the sake of discussion we will raise this questions.   What do you think is the reason why he drank too much wine and beer on his wedding day?   If  I’m the groom, I should not be drinking too much wine on my wedding day because I will be anticipating for a more exciting part after the reception…….. the First Night!   How could I perform well if I’m drunk???  That’s my point of view…..what about yours? hahahaha

Many women would want to get trimmed but most lacks the will. I for one keeps on browsing in this internet trying to find ways to trim down fats in the easiest way. There are those sites that are endorsing slimming pills which offers quick results but I doubt if it is safe. Checking the label and its components won’t help not unless you are a pharmacologist who can distinguish the chemicals or the herbs.

We women should stay trim and fit specially if we have a husband to keep. If we are fat, we tend to be lazy, unattractive, unhealthy, unresponsive to sex and insecure. These are the bad effect of being fat. Women please take note that it is our responsibility to maintain the looks when we first met our husband. Though as we become older it is impossible for us to maintain that looks but atleast we should not changed that bad. I can hear some women says that its not a problem to them if they are fat because there husbands loves them to be fat. That’s nice to hear if your husband is sincere to his words but its not just for your husband but for yourself. We know for a fact that too much fat in our body can cause high blood pressure and eventually affect your hearts’ normal functioning. If your husband wants you to be fat maybe he wants you to die early (just kidding aside). Yes its a joke but did you realize what is it all about? It’s your health babe!!! Please love yourself for heavens’ sake.

I wanted to share something which I have proven effective in trimming down extra fats in our body. This is from my own personal experience. I am also that kind of woman who wanted to get trimmed but lacks the will. However, by just making a slight changes in my diet I was able to lose roughly 10 lbs in 2 months. Well, not bad at all because all I did was just to refrain from eating rice in my meals. I didn’t do any exercise. I only eat fish, meat, vegetables and fruits. In the morning I drink milk and eat 2 slices of white bread with either eggs and some spreads. For me this is already enough to give me heat and energy to start my day. During lunch I only eat viand that is served and also during supper. Now I’m getting used to this diet. Try this I’m sure you too can get the same result as mine. By the way you have to drink also plenty of water. I’m imagining myself 5 months from now a more leaner body I can achieve. So what are you waiting for? Try this….I don’t have a husband to keep but I’m hoping to find one.