Do You Want Healthy Skin?

Susan Brannon

A person needs healthy fat in their diet to enhance your skin!  Some folks think that any fat is bad, but that is not true.  The healthy fatty acids give the needed nutrition for your body and skin.
 

Here are a few foods that contain healthy fatty acids:
avocados
organic eggs
extra-virgin olive oil
sardines
Use as little soap as possible and use a gentle pat-drying with a soft towel.
Don't scrub hard with a coarse towel! Below is a quick explanation of how your skin works.  Then afterwards some helpful hints to keep your skin healthy!

How Your Skin Works
You naturally loose millions of dead skin cells daily, and generates new skin cells to replace the ones that you shed off.

• The top layer is called the epidermis,the part that touches the air and provides protection against ultraviolet rays. 

• The next layer is is called the Dermis, this layer remains pretty much the same your entire life it houses your blood vessels, that provides nutrients to your skin cells, and cells that help combat an infection. This layer also contains a Lymphatic vessel, that provide the transportation network for immune-related cells, they also balance the distribution of fluids thoughout your body. This layer also contains, your nerve endings, hair follicles, sebaceous glands (which produce and secrete sebum, an oil that helps to protect you against infection and water resistant.) Sweat glands, collagen (for strength and flexibility) and elastin, a protein that gives your skin to return to the original shape.

• Below your dermis, is a layer that consists mainly of fat.  This anchors your skin to the tissues the deeper tissues are usually your muscles, and sometimes your bones.

The skin is the largest organ in your body the critical roles that your skin plays in keeping you healthy are:
a barrier for protection
regulator of body fluids and temperature
channel for elimination of waste products (sweat glands, like toxic metals, lactic acid)
physical protection, a layer of cushion to help protect against injury.

Tips:

• Do not aggressively scrub your skin!  This process actually worsens your skin because it damages one of the structures in your layers of skin.  As stated in the design of your skin, it naturally cleanses itself from the inside out.

• Do not use Anti-Bacterial Soap.

There is unfriendly bacteria and friendly bacteria.  You need the friendly bacteria to produce fatty acids, peroxides and natural protections against the unfriendly bacteria.

• Use as little soap as possible, and not hot water!

Hot water can dry out your sebaceous glands, causing your skin to become dry.  Soap does the same thing.  You need your sebum production to provide resistance against water.  Use a natural soap if necessary.  Try just washing your face and skin with lukewarm water.

• In the cool months, our skin tends to become dry.  Try to minimize furnace heat.  Turn down your heat, wear warm clothes and slippers to stay warm.  Hydrate your skin with lukewarm baths, not hot baths.  It is best not to shower everyday if you can!

• Keep your skin bare.  When you block your skin from breathing, with makeup, cosmetics that contain toxic chemicals it cannot function correctly, and it burdens your skin cells.  In time, your skin will not function as it should, then you will need these products to maintain your outer shell.

The less stuff you put on your skin the better!  The healthier and more beautiful it will be in the short and long term!  I know that people do not want to hear that, because of the society we live in teaches us to put all kinds of things on our skin to fit into society!  There are other ways to enhance your natural skin!

You need a steady blood flow to your skin (quit smoking!) because the blood circulation brings nourishment and clears away waste products. 
To help with this, eat water rich foods!

Vegetables and fruits.
Dark green vegetables and the best single food group to promote healthy skin with your blood circulation.  

Eat foods that contain Omega-3 fatty acids and flavonids:

• Foods with Omega-3 fatty acids are:

Dark green leafy vegetables
raw walnuts
wild salmon
fresh or dried seaweed
flax seeds
hemp seeds
free range eggs

• Foods with flavonids are:

lettuce
cherries
citrus fruits
cabbage
kale
spnach
asparagus
lima beans
kidney bean
raw chocolate

Eat Foods that are rich in Vitamin A, Carotenoids and healthy Fats:

Vitiman A helps to maintain the function of your skin cells.

• Vitiman A from caratenoids are:

dark green, yellow, and orange vegetables such as:
spinach
carrots
sweet potatoes

Happy Eating!

Cheap Workout Ideas with your Children!

Susan Brannon
21 June 2011
How Do I Get My Children to Participate in Exercise?

Helping your children to get into the habit of exercise is the best thing that you can do for their health, better sleep, increasing grades and feeling happier!  As stated in my article “Children and Media: Effects and Tips on cutting down”  It is proven that the average child ages 6-11 watches 28 hours a week of TV, plus more!  Exercising can help get them (and you) off of the couch and live a healthier life!

Be A Role Model:
The best thing that you can do for your child is to role model, the importance of daily exercise. As stated in the Benefits of Exercise, these benefits also pertain to your children!  They will do better in school, sleep better, be less worried about friends and social concerns and you will have quality time together, which seems to be lacking in our society these days.

Make it Fun:
The most important thing is to make exercise fun!  You can create family time through exercise no matter the age, become a positive role model for your children.  Pull your teenager away from Facebook, video games and the TV.  Don’t let them rule your world, you are the parent and it is the best thing for your child to teach them life balance!  They will thank you for it later.

Suggestions:
•    Walks.  Walking is relaxing, creates a good time for family conversations and getting to know each other again. 
•    Listen to your children while walking and let them talk to you.  It is important to feel heard and in feeling heard, they will gain in their self -confidence. 
•    Buy jump ropes!  It is a great exercise and cheap.  Create games with the jump ropes.  (You will find that your child can go for a longer time than you!)
•    Ride bicycles together to a part and pack a lunch
•    Exercise during commercials, 10 jumping jacks, 5 push up, leg stretches…each and every time a commercial comes on.  Include everyone in your family.
•    When cleaning the house, turn on the music and have them help you! 
•    Take family hikes, pack snacks and a lunch
•    Walk with your child to school before and after school.  Do one or the other, on the way to work, or after work.
•    Turn on the music and have them teach you the latest dance steps.
•    Learn ballet together buy a video to install into your TV!  Do this three times a week.
•    Practice on Yoga together!
•    If your child is older, help coach a sports team.  (The cost is not too high)

Include daily exercise with your child and make the time to be innovative.  Teach them how you can incorporate daily activities with exercise!  This one valuable lesson you can teach your child and it can help to create a happier and healthier family in today’s world.

Related Articles:
Children and Media: Effects and How to Cut Down

Children and The Media: Effects and Tips on cutting down

Susan Brannon
22 June 2011

Did you know that the average American 2-5 year old child watches 32 hours of TV each week? Ages 6-11 watches 28 hours.  71% of 8-18 year olds have a television in their bedroom, with 20% premium channels?  Considering the amount of Internet, I-Phones and iPods, the average youth pack in 10 hours and 45 minutes a day using multiple media resources. (Kaiser Family Foundation Study, January 2010 Generation M2. Media in the Lives of 8-18 year olds, p.2).Two-Thirds of the households have a television on during dinner -time and meals and 51% of the households the TV is on most of the time.

Now lets consider all media, mobile media from 8-18 years old went up from 39% (in 2004) to 79% in 2009 for cell phones; from 18%-76 percent for iPods.  They spend more time watching TV on their cell phones and iPods than talking on them. (Kaiser Family Foundation) (January 2010)  The Kaiser Foundation reported that the youth not only have a TV in their bedroom, but a cell phone, a computer, and ipod or ipad.  The cell phone is the last thing that they touch before going to sleep and the first thing when they wake up.

The age group with high levels of media consumption is those in their early teens, 11-14 year-olds.  The jump in media use for the early teens jumped more than three hours a day in time spent in total media use compared with other age groups.  The average is 8:40 hours per day, if we include multitasking they can pack in nearly 12 hours a day.

What are the effects of the increase in media use with the children?
Grades -The Kaiser studies show 51% of heavy users get A’s and B’s compared to 66% of light users.  Children with C’s or below is 47% for heavy users compared to 23% for light users.  Heavy users is considered those who consume more than 16 hours in a typical day whereas light users consume less than three hours per day. This shows that the youth who spend more time with media report lower grades. One study found that TV’s effects on education were long term even at the age of 26. Watching more television/media increased the chances of dropping out of school and decreased the chances of obtaining a college degree. (van der Molen JH, Bushman BJ. Children's direct fright and worry reactions to violence in fiction and news television programs. J Pediatr. 2008 Sep;153(3):420-4. Epub 2008 Apr 28.) 

Social- Heavy users are more likely to get into trouble a lot, are often sad or unhappy and are often bored. There were not controls for the study if the youth came for single parent or two parent households, so it is difficult to establish if there is a definite cause or relationship between media use and grades but both could have an effect simultaneously. Watching TV at age four was a factor to be associated with bullying in grade school. (Zimmerman FJ, Glew GM, Christakis DA, Katon W. Early cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and television watching as predictors of subsequent bullying among grade-school children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005 Apr;159(4):384-8.) 

Excessive media usage can contribute sleep problems, obesity, risky behavior and behavior problems.  Advertisers target kids and on average they can view tens of thousands of commercials each year., including, unhealthy snacks, drinks, and 2,000 beer and wine advertisements. 

Brain development- As listed earlier, the aver 2-5 year old watches 32 hours of TV each week.  This is during the most vulnerable time during a child”s brain development.  Some studies link early television watching to ADHD, however some researchers disagree with the results.  The American Academy of Pediatrics says: “Don’t do it!”  “The early years are crucial in a child’s development.  The Academy is concerned about the impact of increased television watching.  They strongly oppose targeted programs that is used to market toys, games, dolls, unhealthy foods and other products.

Sleep-Johns Hopkins Bloomberg reported that” children having a television in the child’s bedroom at 5.5 year of age was associated with behavioral problems and poor sleep.” 41% of the children studied had televisions in their bedrooms. (Johns Hopkins) They also added that children who reduced the amount of television watched were not at “greater risk for behavior and social problems.”

Attentional and ADHD -  The Kaiser Report in April 2004 showed that 2,500 children ages 1-3 and viewing television each day “were associated with Attentional problems like ADHD at age 7”  (Johns Hopkins)

Violence- The average American child will see 200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders on TV by the age of 18. (University of Michigan Health Systems Report)   Two-thirds of programs contain violence. (Federman J, ed. National Television Violence Study. Vol 3. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 1998)
•    Programs designed for children more often contain violence than for adults (Federman;1998)
•    Most violent acts go unpunished on TB and are often accompanied by humor. The connection between human suffering and loss are rearely depicted.
•    Many shows glamorize violence, promotes violent acts and effectively projects you get what you want without consequences. (Federman;1998)

Thousands of studies have asked whether there is a link between media violence and violent behavior.  University of Michigan reports “All but 18 have answered “Yes”.  The evidence in the research is overwhelming.  The report states: “Violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, the fear of being harmed, and having less empathy towards another”

A 15 year long study by University of Michigan, found that there is a link between childhood TV violence viewing and aggressive and violent behavior persists into adulthood.  Also, just having a TV in the home is linked to “more aggressive behavior in 3-year-olds regardless of the type of programming and regardless if the child was watching TV. (American Psychological Association)
 
Health- University of Michigan researchers discovered that being awake in the room with the TV for more than 2 hours a day put the child at risk for being overweight at the ages of three and four. (Rich M, Woods ER, Goodman E, Emans SJ, DuRant RH. Aggressors or victims: gender and race in music video violence. Pediatrics. 1998 Apr;101(4 Pt 1):669-74.)  Another study also found a correlation between how much television was watched as a child and adult health problems such as overweight, higher cholesterol, smoking, and poor fitness.

The recommended solutions are to: (Please note:  TV includes computer (social networking etc), video games and other media resources)
•    not have the TV on for the first few years of the Childs life, to enhance development. 
•    Reduce the amount of television and media resources down to 2 hours a day
•    take the televisions out of the childs’ bedroom
•    reduce the amount of time on the social networks on computers
•    turn off the cell phone at a decent hour in the evening 
•    promote physical exercise programs in ways such as role modeling. 
•    Turn off the television during mealtimes
•    Make rules such as: No TV during the week and limited weekend TV. This helps reduce rushed meals, to return to the program in the evenings, instead of doing homework.
•    Read to your child before bedtime.
•    Do Not use the TV as a reward or punishment
•    Go for walks, ride bikes, play basketball
•    Don’t use the TV as a distraction or babysitter for preschool children.

Related Articles:
Cheap Exercise Ideas for Your Children!

Inexpensive Exercise Ideas

Susan Brannon
17 June 2011

Okay there are exercises for those without any time and for those who can afford the Gym.  Here are some ideas for those who may have a bit of time, or can make the time but want to watch their budget.

Walking
Walking is a great fat-burner.  Instead of driving your car down the street to buy a few groceries walk!  Instead of driving your kids to school, walk them!  Walk your dog. Walk to get a cup of tea or coffee, walk around the block a few times when you feel nervous or need to think or a small break.  Walk standing up straight, remember to pull your shoulders back, take nice long breaths.  Breathe in through your nose until your chest rises high, and exhale out your mouth until you feel that you have squeezed as much air out of your lungs as possible.  Do the breathing slowly and find a nice rhythm with your steps.  Swing your arms using energy.  Don’t worry what others will think about you passing by in their cars, you are using your body, walking and building energy for you!

The breathing technique helps to increase your oxygen into your whole body helping to clear your mind from all the daily problems, while providing the needed oxygen to your organs. 

Ban drive-thru’s, get out of your car and walk.  Find the farthest parking space away from the shopping center and the grocery store, walk, walk walk.

A variation to walking normally, try taking steps heel-toe-heel-toe.  This will help work your upper thighs and butt muscles.  It takes some concentration, but it works!

Stretching
While your coffee is brewing or your water boiling in the morning, stretch for five-minutes to help get your muscles moving, oxygen into your system and strengthen your body.  Here are some ideas:

•    Stand up straight and raise your arms straight out in front of you with your palms together and arms straight.  Move your feet hip-width apart and separate your hands palms facing inwards and move your arms over your head.  Do this while imagining a string pulling from your belly button towards your spine and remain standing straight.  Stretch your torso and arms towards the ceiling. Slowly bring your arms down in front of you, while bringing your legs together and repeat 5 times.
•    Stay standing with your feet apart and bend down feeling the stretch in your back let your arms relax and your hands touch the floor and hold for 10 seconds.  Repeat.
•    Keep your feet apart and squat keeping your back straight and hold for 5 seconds.
•    Repeat
•    Stand up straight feet together and march, with energy swinging your arms 15 times.
•    Stop and bring your left arm across your chest, using your right arm to pull it further, Hold for 10 and repeat with the other arm.  Do this twice.

To Strengthen your muscles

These are for your arms, thighs, bottom, abdominal muscles and shoulders!  This works if you do this every day.

•    Get down on all fours with your knees hip-width apart and your arms down.
Gently lower your upper body to the floor, keeping your back straight and hold your tummy in. Raise your body slowly and repeat 14 more times!
•    On all fours, pull your tummy with that imagined string towards your spine, breathing in, and release while breathing out slowly.  Do not let your back sag, keep it straight as possible.  Repeat 10 times.
•    Follow the same routine as above, but this time…breathe normally, while pulling your string towards your spine and hold your stomach in for the count of ten seconds.  Remember not to hold your breath but to breathe!  Repeat 5 times and continue but hold for twenty seconds!  Repeat five times.
•    Lie on your back with your hands behind your ears.  Lift your right leg straight in the air with the sole of your foot pushing away from you and bend the left leg towards your chest.  Now straighten your left leg, and bend the right one back and forth with the soles of your feet pushing forward.  While doing this, keep your abdominal muscles flat, keep your hips as square as possible and your head down. Repeat 10 times.
•    Grab a couple water bottles filled with water.  You can start with the small ones and as you build your muscles, you can increase to the larger ones.  Stand straight and tall holding a bottle in each hand and raise your arms and then bend them behind your head.  Remember to stand straight and tall, keeping your feet flat on the floor and your neck straight.  Inhale while your bring your arms behind your head and exhale while lifting your arms towards the ceiling.  Relax your arms by your side and repeat 10 times.

Related Articles:

Three Secrets For Shaping up for the Summer

Three Secrets for Strengthening Your Calves

More Summer Tips: For your Arms

The Working Women Abdomen Workout

How to do Squats the Right Way!

Bathroom Demi Plie’ 1st Position

Bathroom Grand Plie' 1st Position 
Secret Tips for Leg Toning

Benefits of Exercise

Susan Brannon
13 June 2011

Do you need to blow off some stress?  A 30 minute workout or walk can help to calm you down.  Why is this?
•    Physical exercise increases the serotonin level in your brain  that leaves you feeling happier and more relaxed than before you worked out. 
•    You will look better
•    Can boost your confidence and self-esteem
•    And help to prevent depression

What about heart disease and osteoporosis?
•    Working out and exercise can help to prevent and manage, high blood pressure
•    Regulate your cholesterol and boosts HDL, good cholesterol while decreasing triglycerides.  This helps to keep your blood flowing smoothly and can help to lower the buildup of plaque in your arteries.

And weight loss?
•    By increasing your activity, you use more calories, and the easier it is to maintain and control your weight. 
•    Combining exercise and changing your diet, you will slowly build your muscles and burn off the fat!

Wondering how you can do this without any time?
•    Read my “bathroom” and at “work” exercises linked below
•    Use extra energy, exaggerate your movements when making the beds, vacuuming, dusting, sweeping and washing the dishes! 
•    Turn off your TV and instead take a brisk walk.  You will not miss much on the television anyways.

Wondering about tiredness?
•    When you exercise, this increases oxygen and nutrients to your tissues, increases your blood circulation making your lungs work more efficiently, thus creating more energy to do things.

Worried about lack of sleep?
•    Exercise is known to promote better sleep.
•    Hint:  Don’t exercise just before going to bed!  It is best to exercise before eating your dinner, or just after if you will be up for a while.  This is because exercise increases your blood flow and gives you energy. 

This does not make any sense…
•    Because you use energy in exercise, your will relax, breath better creating the ability to sleep deeper and fall asleep faster.

Sleep is important because…
•    It helps to improve your concentration and helps you to be more productive during the day.

What about sex?
•    If you feel “out of shape” to engage in sex, it is proven that if you exercise it can leave you energized, looking better, gain self-confidence and have a positive effect on your sex life. 
•    Regular exercise can raise the level of sexual arousal in women, and helps men with erectile dysfunction.

In the end, I do not see anything negative about exercising!  You will end up with only positive results, who can loose?

Get up, turn off that TV, shut down your computer for 30 minutes and move your body!

Helpful Hint:

While cleaning the house, put on some music and dance and sing while you clean!  You can even have the little kiddo’s help you!

Related Articles:

Three Secrets For Shaping up for the Summer

Three Secrets for Strengthening Your Calves

More Summer Tips: For your Arms

The Working Women Abdomen Workout

How to do Squats the Right Way!

Bathroom Demi Plie’ 1st Position

Bathroom Grand Plie' 1st Position 
Secret Tips for Leg Toning

Bathroom Grand Pile' 1st Position Exercise

Susan Brannon

Now that you have worked on the first position, demi- plie’.  I will show you how to do the 1st position Grand plie’!  The Grand plie’ is almost like the 1st demi-plie’ but you go down a bit further!

It is rather simple, but for balance, and to strengthen your arms you should to use your arms as in the picture above.  With this exercise, I will add arm instructions to the plie’.

1)    Stand up straight and firm, with your legs together, butt tucked in, arms at your side, head up, back straight, facing forward, then point your toes outwards in a V position and keep your heels together. (First position) Keep your weight at the balls of your feet.
2)    Slowly bend your knees keeping your knees over your toes and push your thighs out and your eyes forward once you start to pass the “demi” position, start to slowly lift your heels at the speed of your movement, look down at your toes, you should not be able to see them, for they should be blocked by your knees. (Your knees should be aligned between your second and third toes)  Remember to keep your buttocks tucked, back straight, facing forward and hips squared in front of you!
3)    As you go down slowly lift your arms up to your side then to your front, with your palms facing each other.  Create movement like they are wings connected from your shoulder blades.  Doing this correctly can give you the beautiful ballerina back!
4)    Once you are down, your heels should be off the floor, arms in front of you, hips faced forward, back straight, and knees aligned correctly.  Hold for a few seconds,
5)    Slowly stand up, moving your arms back to your sides like a butterfly, keeping your legs at the V position, and stand up straight.
6)    Repeat 10 times!
Hints:
•    Imagine that your hip bones are headlights, they should always be level with each other and shine straight ahead.
•    Use the abdominals to shift the pelvis to this position, tilted neither forward nor backwards.
•    Look sideways in the mirror and go through each position, to make sure that you have a straight line, from your neck to your butt.

Related Articles:

Three Secrets For Shaping up for the Summer

Three Secrets for Strengthening Your Calves

More Summer Tips: For your Arms

The Working Women Abdomen Workout

How to do Squats the Right Way!

Bathroom Demi Plie’ 1st Position
The Benefits of Exercise 
Secret Tips for Leg Toning

Bathroom Plie' Demi 1st position!

Susan Brannon
Who said we are too old for Ballet?  Do you remember the ballet plie'?  Not many people know this, but the best way to get your body firm and trimmed is to take ballet classes.  If you don’t mind dancing with a bunch of 8 year olds, it could be the best thing for you!

However, there are some exercises that you can do in your bathroom, if you still have time after your squat routine!

Ballet plie
This is good for your buttocks, thighs and calves.
You need to hold on to something while doing this, maybe your towel rack, just don’t put your weight on the rack or it will tear off the wall!

1)    Stand up straight and firm, with your legs together then point your toes outwards and keep your heels together. (First position) Keep your weight at the balls of your feet.
2)    Slowly bend your knees keeping your knees over your toes and push your thighs out and your eyes forward. (demi pile) Look down at your toes, you should not be able to see them.  Keep your buttock tucked in, back straight and your hips aligned facing forward.
3)    Hold for a few seconds and slowly stand up, keeping your feet in second position)  Keeping your feet firm on the ground and your back straight. 
4)    Repeat 10 times!

Oh!  Keep your feet flat on the floor!  Don’t push yourself.

Related Articles:

Three Secrets For Shaping up for the Summer

Three Secrets for Strengthening Your Calves

More Summer Tips: For your Arms

The Working Women Abdomen Workout

How to do Squats the Right Way!

Bathroom Grand Plie' 1st Position   

The Benefits of Exercise
Secret Tips for Leg Toning