Health and Beauty :)

Hello Again :) I promised you a Health and Beauty post and Here It Is :)

I am back with some beauty tips that are different from the usual cream and tonic routines.  Today I am going to share with you 8 pointers towards a healthier skin, hair and nails, besides the use of cosmetics.  We are all aware that we are what we eat so it is good to note what is good for what.  Please do not take these points as a sacred code to live by! I don’t want anyone going on extreme diets as that is in no way healthy!!  These points would be helpful if incorporated along with our normal lifestyle and some of us may already be doing something off the list!

Point 1 – Protein

This is important for growth in general and helps regenerate cells. But we have to be careful as too much protein will result in fat accumulation as the body transforms excess protein to fat for easy storage and not all of us are fond of where the body decides to store the fat!

It is recommended to obtain our protein intake from the following:

Lean meats, chicken, seafood, legumes or eggs where a serving of anyone of these daily will do the trick. Keep the portions at a normal size plus add 2 servings daily of low-fat dairy products.

Point 2 – Seafood

Seafood is a good source of protein and essential oils like Omega 3 and Omega 6. The skin shows signs of their deficiency in nasty ways such as drying off and bruising quickly. Careful not to overdo it though! Remember seafood was already mentioned in point 1!

To satisfy both pointers, 1 serving a week of either salmon, sardines or tuna is enough.  Note that these are all oily fish, so they are rich in the Omegas :)

So hit 2 points at one go and make sure that at least once a week you take your portion of seafood (not if you are allergic!) both for proteins and Omegas. Don’t double the size of the portion, that doesn’t work!

Point 3 – Iron

This mineral is taken forgranted but it’s deficiency can be quite harmful! I am not going to list them here as it is not my point to scare people off but keep in mind that iron is important and that the body cannot absorb it without Vitamin C.

Iron is found in red meats, legumes, and whole grains. Don’t go overboard with red meats, once a week is enough, plus when you take legumes to satisfy Point 1, you are automatically adding your Iron intake as well.  Don’t forget a fair share of Vitamin C which is obtained from fruits to help the body absorb the iron!

Point 4 – Muesli

Wholegrains contain Vitamins B and E, and iron.  The vitamin B complex is important for many things including your nervous systems but we are most concerned with its good effects on the skin J   Here is a way how to have nice muesli: Soak a bowl-full of muesli in low fat milk overnight then add yoghurt and fruit in the morning and your breakfast is ready J  This also covers your first daily serving of dairy products!

Point 5 – Nuts

These are high in Vitamins B and E and are perfect for keeping healthy nails and hair. Eat a handful a-day and you are good to go. Avoid salted nuts as salt increases blood pressure plus if you are allergic to nuts stay away completely!

Point 6 – Vitamin C

This is highly important for healthy skin and the immune system plus it is essential for iron absorption.  It is found mostly in kiwi, oranges, lemons and grapefruits and there is no limit as to how much you eat :)

Point 7 – Vitamin A and Carotene

Carotene is mostly important for hair and nails whereas Vitamin A is important for the skin and the eyes.  Be careful with carotene as overdoing it will result in yellowed palms and eyes! When I was a baby the doctor told my mum that carrots are good for the eyesight and she literally packed me with carrots only to have my hands turn orange! It is nothing permanent but it took quite some time to wear off and as if I wasn’t a lesson for her, my sister got the same treatment :)

These are the foods that contain Vitamin A and Carotene: liver, oily fish, egg yolk, tomatoes (which are rich in iron too), watermelon and carrots.

Point 8 – Hydration and Antioxidants

Water is important as 70% of our body is water which has to come from somewhere.  We have to at least drink 2 litres a day.  Other important drinks are black, green or white tea as tea is diuretic and helps us flush the system. A cup of cocoa, or a few cubes of dark chocolate a day helps as these contain certain tannins required for our hair and antioxidants to clean the system out. A glass of red wine a day is also useful as it has a high content of tannins and antioxidants, plus it is a general saying that a glass of red wine is good for a healthy heart here in Malta.  Now don’t drink yourself drunk everyday! Excess is equally bad!

Skin essentials:

Omega 3 and Omega 6 are really essential for the skin as they provide it with it’s elasticity and helps plump it up.  Omega 3 is found in walnuts, peanuts, salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel and kahawai (some sort of asian fish).  Omega 6 is found in sunflower oil, olive oil, walnuts, brazil nuts, peanuts, almonds and oats :)

An ideal menu would go something like this:-

Breakfast – Muesli full of nuts soaked in milk and with yoghurt

Lunch – salad with salmon, tuna, cucumber and a Kiwi as a dessert

Snack – a handful of nuts

Dinner – small portions of lean meats, veggy soups, a fruit salad as a dessert and a glass of red wine to wash it all down.

Plenty of water all day long and a green tea somewhere along the way :)

I have fixed it a little to my liking, you are free to fix your own J Plus I leave the dinner arrangement to my mother still :P

Don’t go crazy trying to stick to these pointers. Remember the more you try to do things all at one go, the less likely you are to succeed. Incorporate each point slowly within your lifestyle, and start off with the one you are most likely to enjoy doing. Slowly you will get there. Rome wasn’t built in a day.. as the saying goes :)

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you and that you find it useful :)

Till next post!
안뇽히계소요!
Pauline :)