3 Easy Steps To Prepare The Makeup Removal Pads At Home

You just attended a wedding and feeling very tired. Dying to hit the bed and feeling lazy to remove your make up as well. As we all know removing make up before going to the bed is one of the essential step in skin care. You can not just sleep with the eye shadow and […]
3 Easy Steps To Prepare The Makeup Removal Pads At Home
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2tAgndR

5 Amazing Recipes Of Homemade Toners For Pimple Free Skin

We all know the Importance of CTM i.e. Cleansing, Toning and Moisturizing in our skin care routine. It helps to balance the Ph level of our skin and keep it healthy. When we talk about balancing the Ph level, Toners play a very important role. Toners help to wipe out the excess traces of oil […]
5 Amazing Recipes Of Homemade Toners For Pimple Free Skin
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2ssWD6X

4 Steps To Prepare Coconut Lemon Body Butter For Glowing Skin

Summer, Monsoon or Winters let it be any season moisturization is must for our facial and Body skin. Due to lack of moisture skin looks dull and wrinkled. Hence it is very important to keep it hydrated.It is always recommended to massage our skin with natural oils such as olive oil, coconut oil or almond […]
4 Steps To Prepare Coconut Lemon Body Butter For Glowing Skin
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2tw2dur

This Is Why Your Face Turns Red When You Drink Alcohol

Does your face always look madly sunburnt after a couple glasses of Hennessy? You’re not alone. A drunken Internet search may have you paranoid about a plethora of serious dangers—intense allergic reactions, high blood pressure, alcoholism. 

But the real reason you look like an Oompa Loompa after happy hour all comes down to science. Basically, the flushed skin is your body’s way of letting you know that it’s not metabolizing alcohol the way it should be. Blood pressure skyrockets when alcohol is consumed, and the liquid is broken down into a compound called acetaldehyde. When your body cannot metabolize the compound during this process, the blood capillaries in your face dilate, resulting in a visibly blotchy face.

The phenomena is officially dubbed as “alcohol flush reaction,” defined as a condition in which an individual develops flushes associated with erythema on the face, neck, shoulders, and in some rare cases, the entire body.

Due to genomic differences, 80 percent of East Asians suffer with the syndrome. Most Asians inherit an overactive alcohol dehydrogenase, so they break down acetaldehyde extremely quickly, sometimes up to 100 times faster. Because of this, they don’t experience the typical alcohol “buzz.” Instead, an inactive variant of the liver enzyme ALDH2 causes acetaldehyde to clear from their bloodstream at a slowed pace, instigating a significantly greater buildup of acetaldehyde and Santa-like cheeks.

Although it is less common to see this syndrome in Europeans, Africans, and Mexican-Americans, people of Jewish descent do have a higher than average chance of suffering from it.

The negative aspects of alcohol flush reaction go beyond the aesthetic downside; the defect also abets rapid heartbeat, nausea, headaches, and overall discomfort.

Unfortunately, research from South Korea has shown that among people who sip four or more drinks per week, men with alcohol flush reaction were over twice as likely to develop high blood pressure later in life than guys who didn’t suffer from the defect. This puts those affected at greater risk for heart disease, stroke, and other hypertension-related health issues.

But that doesn’t mean you need to shy away from the camera at every bar outing and happy hour you attend; although there is no cure, there are tactics to indulge yourself and minimize the rosy cheeks.

For starters, don’t start chugging cocktails to try and build up a tolerance with fingers crossed that the redness will eventually subside; unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Doctors avidly discourage this strategy as it may actually aggravate the condition.

Instead, limit your alcohol consumption; ideally, men should stick to two standard alcoholic drinks per day and women should adhere to a maximum of one alcoholic drink per day. Binge drinking will drastically overload your body, so stay away from the beer bong at parties.

But the best way to regulate the flush is to eat before or while you drink. A full stomach will protect the stomach lining against excessive alcohol irritation—and could even prevent a hangover. Fatty and carbohydrate-rich foods (pizza, bread, etc.) can stop the alcohol from entering the small intestines too quickly, slowing down the rate of alcohol absorption.

If you’re suffering with alcohol flush reaction, identify your limit and avoid exceeding it as much as possible. That may mean bidding adieu to your favorite drinks, so try this yummy mocktail in the meantime. 

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2tvbkLT
This Is Why Your Face Turns Red When You Drink Alcohol Health – Reader's Digest

My Dad Passed out at the Sight of My Blood When I Was a Kid—and He’s a Drill Sergeant

Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. I remember the first scar I ever got—it was actually two scars.

I was six years old, teaching my little buddy next door how to golf. I’d taken my dad’s bag of golf clubs and dragged it out in the yard.

I wanted to show my friend how to hit the ball, so I stood behind him and had him choke up on the nine iron. I was all gung-ho to be a teacher. I coached him on the backswing and then the follow-through. And then he whaled back and hit me in the head. The nine iron took a chunk out of the back right quarter of my scalp and, on the follow-through, hit me on the other side. I had two giant flaps of skin peeled off my skull.

MORE: Here are 9 popular workout moves that could seriously injure you. 

The blood just starts pouring down. I put my hands up, and I feel the soft, wet part and then the little bristly, hairy part. I pushed my scalp back up and went running into my house.

I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face. She’s in the kitchen with her cat’s-eye glasses, talking on one of those black rotary-dial phones. She just let go of the phone. I had blood running down my arms and all over my little white T-shirt. She made this dying pigeon noise and called my dad, told him to meet us at the emergency room.

We pull up to the ER at Lackland Air Force Base. My dad was a drill sergeant. Rolled-up sleeves, the tan uniform, the Smokey the Bear hat.

His job all day long was to yell at guys, tell them that they were no good and that his grandmother could do everything they could do, but better.

MORE: 45 things America’s troops wish you knew about shipping out, coming home, and how their lives changed.

He comes in and says, “Where’s my son?” And there I am on the table, drenched in blood.

The doctor says, “We’ve gotta shave a li’l bit there, and then we gotta stitch him up.”

And my dad’s there and he’s holding my foot. He’s looking at me. He’s like, “Are you OK?”

But I heard, “ARE YOU OK?”

So I was like, “Yes, sir! I’m OK. No problem.”

The doctor tells my dad, “Stay here. I gotta go get the needle.”

My dad looks at me, and then his eyes roll back in his head … and he drops. I think he’s trying to make me laugh, trying to give me a little encouragement. I’m laughing.

But on the way down, my father hit his head on the end of that metal table so bad, it caught his eye socket and ripped.

I’m lying on the table, saying, “Dad, that’s funny. Um, where are you?”

And then the surgeon comes in, and he’s like, “What the … !”

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My dad was unconscious in a giant pool of blood, his uniform completely drenched. The doctor lowers the table; we get my dad onto the thing. He’s stitching my dad up, and I’m watching and helping. And my dad is out cold. He gets 16 stitches from the corner of his eye all the way back up.

Then the surgeon says, “Help me put your dad in the wheelchair.”

And then the surgeon stitches up my superficial scalp wounds. Once I’m all stitched up, he wraps my whole head. I’ve got the Q-tip-looking head with the blood spots soaking through.

MORE: 50 secrets your surgeon won’t tell you. 

My dad is still out cold, and the surgeon goes, “Just push him out to your mom, OK?”

And my mother is in the waiting room. I come out pushing my father in the wheelchair, but I’m not very tall, so I’m kinda looking over the side. I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face.

Thank God she was sitting down when she fainted.

Told live at a Moth show at Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York, NY

Ed Gavagan, 54, owns a furniture and design company. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2u48QRw
My Dad Passed out at the Sight of My Blood When I Was a Kid—and He’s a Drill Sergeant Health – Reader's Digest

Warning! Three out of Four Sunscreens Apparently Don’t Work—Here’s Why

When it comes to sunscreen, you believe what it says on the tube, right? Unfortunately, many products that advertise sun protection don’t live up to expectations—which is why it helps to know what products dermatologists actually use. Each year scientists with the consumer safety group, Environmental Working Group (EWG), analyze the biggest sunscreen brands on the market and determine the best and worst products. Their 2017 report is out, and it claims that a stunning 73 percent of the products tested didn’t work as well as advertised and/or contain “worrisome” ingredients.

For the tests, the EWG looked at SPF (sun protection factor), chemical ingredients, and overall safety and effectiveness in 880 beach and sport sunscreens, 480 moisturizers and 120 lip products. They also looked at the child-focused category—products with “baby,” “kids,” “little,” “children” and “pediatric” in the name. The experts checked how well individual ingredients filtered UVA and UVB rays—pointing out that a good sunscreen should block both of types. One important finding is that products claiming a 50-plus SPF encourage an exaggerated sense of protection in consumers.”Sunscreens are really mis-marketed, and as a result, people who depend on them think they are far more powerful than they really are,” Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the environmental advocacy group and lead scientist on the report, told CNN.

When it comes to those “worrisome” ingredients, the group is particularly concerned about sunscreens containing oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate. EWG points out that oxybenzone is a hormone disruptor, which can cause allergic reactions. Some studies suggest oxybenzone behaves like estrogen in the body, lowering testosterone in men and raising the risk of endometriosis in women. As for retinyl palmitate, the EWG website reports that “government test data shows more skin tumors and lesions on animals treated with [retinyl palmitate] and exposed to sunlight.” However, the report indicates that since 2010 use of this “troubling ingredient” in sun protection products has dropped by more than half, and it was in only 14 percent of the products they tested for 2017.

If you take sun protection seriously—and we all should—check out the full report and note the EWG sunscreen top recommendations, such as All Good Sport Sunscreen (SPF 30), Sunology Natural Sunscreen (SPF 50) and Tropical Sands Face Stick Sunscreen (SPF 30).

Before you go, find out 10 ways dermatologists switch up their summer skin-care routine.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2tuoclv
Warning! Three out of Four Sunscreens Apparently Don’t Work—Here’s Why Health – Reader's Digest

9 Natural DIY Methods To Get Rid Of Chest Acne

Chest acne is a severe acne problem. The cause of chest acne is same as normal acne. It starts when greasy secretion of skin’s sebaceous glands plugs the openings for hair follicles. Excessive oily skin is prone to chest acne. Lack of hygiene, eating junk food, smoking etc. is other common causes of chest acne. […]
9 Natural DIY Methods To Get Rid Of Chest Acne
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2t4nYhT

7 Incredible Benefits Of Acupuncture Technique

We all are aware of acupuncture technique. It is an alternate to medicine wherein small thin needles are inserted into the skin to cure various health and skin concerns. Generally it used in pain relief treatments by inserting needles on the specific points which are considered to points of energy. There are several types of […]
7 Incredible Benefits Of Acupuncture Technique
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2t3gfAy

One Phone Call Changed This Drug Addict’s Life, and Her Story Will Change Yours

I’m curled up in a fetal position on a filthy carpet in a cluttered apartment. I’m in horrible withdrawal from a drug that I’ve been addicted to for several years now.

In my hand I have a little piece of paper. It’s dilapidated because I’ve been folding it and unfolding it to the point that it’s almost falling apart. But you can still make out the phone number on it.

I am in a state of bald terror. If you’ve ever had an anxiety attack, that’s what this felt like. My husband is out running the streets, trying to get ahold of some of the stuff that we needed.

And if I could, I would jump out of my own skin and run screaming into the streets to get what I need. But right behind me, sleeping in the bedroom, is my baby boy.

Now, I wasn’t going to get a Mother of the Year award. In fact, at the age of 29, I was failing at a lot of things.

I had started out fairly auspiciously. I was that girl who had the opera lessons, spoke fluent French, and had her college paid for. I was that person who, when my checking account ran out, would say something to my parents and $200 would magically appear.

But I came to the conclusion that the thing I needed to do with all that comfort was to destroy it. And you know, every time I’ve come to a major faulty conclusion in life, the man comes right after who will help me live it out.

I was 24 then, he was 40, and I was smitten, in love. And it was beautiful for a while, until he introduced me to one of his old friends, who introduced us to the drug I was now addicted to.

So curled up on my apartment floor, I decided to get clean. I was leading the life that was going to lead to me losing the most precious thing I’d ever had in my life, which was that baby boy. I was so desperate at that moment that I became willing to punch the numbers into the phone.

The phone number was something my mother had sent me. Now, mind you, I hadn’t been speaking to my parents or anybody else for three, four, five years.

But she’d managed to get this number to me by mail, and she said, “Look, this is a Christian counselor, and since you can’t talk to anybody else, maybe sometime you could call this person.”

I was emaciated, covered in bruises. I was anxious and desperate.

I punched in the numbers. I heard a man say, “Hello.”

And I said, “Hi, I got this number from my mother. Uh, do you think you could maybe talk to me?”

I heard him shuffling around in the bed. You could tell he was pulling some sheets around himself and sitting up. I heard a little radio in the background, and he snapped it off, and he became very present.

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He said, “Yes, yes, yes. What’s going on?”

I hadn’t told anybody, including myself, the truth for a long, long time. And I told him I wasn’t feeling so good, and that I was scared, and that things had gotten pretty bad in my marriage.

Before long, I started telling him other truths, like I might have a drug problem.

And this man didn’t judge me. He just sat with me and listened and had such a kindness and a gentleness.

“Tell me more … Oh, that must hurt … Oh.”

I’d made that call at two in the morning. And he stayed up with me the whole night, just talking, just listening, just being there until the sun rose.

By then I was feeling calm. The raw panic had passed. I was feeling OK.

I was feeling like, I can splash my face with water today, and I can probably do this day.

I wouldn’t have cared if the guy was a Hare Krishna or a Buddhist—it didn’t matter to me what his faith was.

I was very grateful to him, and so I said, “Hey, you know, I really appreciate you and what you’ve done for me tonight. Aren’t you supposed to be telling me to read some Bible verses or something? Because that’d be cool. I’ll do it, you know. It’s all right.”

He laughed and said, “Well, I’m glad this was helpful to you.”

And we talked some more, and I brought it up again.

I said, “No, really. You’re very, very good at this. I mean, you’ve seriously done a big thing for me. How long have you been a Christian counselor?”

There’s a long pause. I hear him shifting. “Auburn, please don’t hang up,” he says. “I’ve been trying not to bring this up.”

“What?” I ask.

“You won’t hang up?”

“No.”

“I’m so afraid to tell you this. But the number you called …” He pauses again. “You got the wrong number.”

I didn’t hang up on him, but I never would get his name or call him back.

But the next day I felt this kind of joy, like I was shining. I had gotten to see that there was this completely random love in the universe. That it could be unconditional. And that some of it was for me.

I can’t tell you that I got my life totally together that day. But it became possible to get some help and get the hell out.

And it also became possible as a teetotaling, semi-sane single parent to raise up that precious baby boy into a magnificent young scholar and athlete, who graduated from university in 2013 with honors.

This is what I know. In the deepest, blackest night of despair, if you can get just one pinhole of light … all of grace rushes in.

Auburn Sandstrom, 54, is a college writing instructor and is pursuing a PhD in urban education policy. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

This story also appears in the book All These Wonders: True Stories About Facing the Unknown.

 

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2tm4KqA
One Phone Call Changed This Drug Addict’s Life, and Her Story Will Change Yours Health – Reader's Digest

This Guy Found His Own Crazy Remedy for Social Anxiety: Being a Clown

Told live at a Moth show at the Secret Society in Portland, OR

Growing up, I got embarrassed really easily. If a teacher called on me in class, if I was talking to a pretty girl, if I was in public with my mom, my face would just go crazy bright red. I mean, forget about it. My ears would get all hot crimson, and I would sweat.

When I got to college, it got worse. I was way out of my comfort zone, and I started having panic-attacky kinds of feelings. But I also wanted to meet people; I wanted to have a normal life; I wanted to meet girls. I wanted to live out loud.

So I flipped through the paper and looked through the want ads. It was full of the same old stuff: office jobs and restaurants and hotels and construction. Nothing sounded scary enough. But toward the end of the first week of looking, I found it in all of its awful glory: Clowns needed. No experience necessary.

I picked up the phone before I changed my mind. “Uh, hi. I’m calling about the job.”

This nice lady says, “Someone’s calling about the job.”

A man comes on the line and says, “We accept. If you can come in today, we could show you and get you a few jobs for this weekend.”

It’s Thursday, so I head down and spend the rest of the day at Party Animals’ headquarters. I learn about clowning and makeup and balloon animals and magic and juggling.

Saturday rolled around. My first gig. I got up bright and early. I was putting on my makeup in the bathroom, and I was thinking, This is much harder than I thought it was going to be.

I don’t have a steady hand or much attention to detail, and my first try I did Death Metal Clown. I give it a second try, and I get Murder Clown. My third try softens up enough for my standards. I grab my gear and go out to my car. That’s when the fear sets in.

I crank up the radio to drown out my thoughts, and I rock out. I figure I’ll drive for a little while, head toward this party, and decide how I feel. As I’m driving I’m like, Man, you don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna do. You can quit this right now.

And I get to the location, about a mile from my house, and this heavy blanket of dark fear stomps down on my whole body. I’m frozen, and I think, I can’t do this.

I turn the music down. I’m sitting there looking all melancholy Gene Simmons, and I hear this racket and noise and screaming. On both sides of me are these giant family cars, and they’re full of kids. The kids are hanging out the windows, waving their arms and yelling, “Clown! Clown! Hello, CLOWN!”

I roll down my window and reach out as far as I can in the direction of the kids, and I’m like, I can do this.

Matt Brown, 47, is a musician, a writer, and the founder of the Taxidermy Salon in Portland, Oregon.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2s3xrV3
This Guy Found His Own Crazy Remedy for Social Anxiety: Being a Clown Health – Reader's Digest

This Is What Really Happens to Your Body after Childbirth (Hint: It Isn’t Pretty)

New moms, beware! If you feel woefully unprepared to bring home your tiny bundle of joy, trust us… You’re not alone.

Here’s the truth about giving birth: Once you come home from the hospital, all of your focus will turn to your little one. As for your health? It pretty much stays on the back-burner. And that’s totally understandable; after all, your baby may be cute, but it also demands a lot of time and energy. Still, not paying enough attention to your well-being could have serious (or even deadly!) consequences, doctors say. (And don’t believe these new mom myths that are totally not true.)

A new study called the 4th Trimester Project, led by experts at UNC Chapel Hill, found that most new moms don’t know about possible post-birth complications, much less how to discuss their symptoms or get treatment. You might have one medical visit six weeks after childbirth, but that’s hardly enough to give your postpartum health the A-OK.

“There’s this fantasy. Your body is going to come back together. Your organs are going to be in place. It’s an illusion,” Isa Herrera, a New York City physical therapist who specializes in pelvic pain, told Vox.

According to Vox, women could face symptoms ranging from heavy bleeding and abdominal cramping to depression, anxiety, and exhaustion. They could also experience constipation, hemorrhoids, chills, night sweats, swollen breasts, back pain, headaches, pain in the perineum (the diamond shaped sling of muscles in the pelvis), incision pain (if the woman has had a C-section), and pain and difficulty walking (after an episiotomy or tear).

These symptoms aren’t uncommon, either. About half of women who give birth still experience pain for weeks afterward, Vox reports. More than 40 percent of women who delivered vaginally reported perineal pain, and nearly 60 percent who had C-sections experienced incision pain within two months of childbirth, according to a 2013 survey.

And it doesn’t stop there. Occasionally, childbirth can lead to more serious complications such as hemorrhage, infection, incontinence, symphysis pubis dysfunction (pelvic girdle pain, which can be debilitating) and pelvic organ prolapse (when weak muscles allow organs to fall into the vagina).

As if bringing home a new baby wasn’t scary enough! Now you have to worry about your own well-being, too. Luckily, there are some initial steps you can take to lay the groundwork for a healthy (and happy!) postpartum experience.

First off, it’s important to recognize your symptoms and take action right away. Women often brush off conditions like pelvic girdle pain and prolapse, believing that what they’re feeling isn’t unusual, Vox says. But doing so can have serious consequences down the road, and by then, it might be too late. Instead, it’s best to see a doctor regularly for any uncomfortable postpartum pain. You may also consider speaking with your OB-GYN or midwife about checking for nerve damage and incontinence after they deliver your baby. Most don’t find postpartum problems because they simply aren’t looking for them, as Kari Bø, a pelvic floor expert at the Norwegian School of Sports Science, told Vox.

But post-birth complications aren’t always physical. Check out these silent signs of postpartum depression.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2s30lF3
This Is What Really Happens to Your Body after Childbirth (Hint: It Isn’t Pretty) Health – Reader's Digest

No More Sushi Face! Here’s How to Banish Your Post-Meal Bloat

Ever heard of “sushi face?” You need to! Julianne Moore just coined this amazing term in an interview with New York Magazine, and it explains everything we’ve ever wanted to know about post-meal bloating.

“It’s because of the sodium,” Moore told the magazine. “My husband loves to have sushi in L.A. because it’s so good out there. But if I’m there for an awards show or something, I’m like, ‘No, I’m not doing it the night before the Golden Globes. My face will be puffy.’”

Sound familiar? Odds are, we’ve all woken up from a sushi binge with a bit of bloat. But the Japanese dish isn’t the only fishy thing (pun intended) making you puffy.

“Anything that contains lots of salt is going to cause you to retain water,” Dr. Debra Wattenberg, a New York City dermatologist at NY Skin Rx told TODAY. “People who are sensitive to salt are going to swell around their eyes and their lips.”

Sushi, along with any other salty meals, causes cells to retain fluid—hence your bloating. And the sodium overload affects everyone differently. Fluid pools at the ankles for some people, while for others, it settles around the face and eyes. (By the way, these are the clear signs you’re eating too much sodium.)

Although experts say bloating is relatively harmless, all that swelling and shrinking could cause your skin to age more quickly. Plus, for health reasons, the American Heart Association recommends that people consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. Ideally, we should be aiming for 1,500 milligrams per day.

But does that mean you should abandon sushi altogether? Not necessarily, experts say.

“People should not be scared of sushi. I think it is important to be salt-conscious,” Dr. Adam Friedman, an associate professor of dermatology at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences told TODAY. “Be conscious of what we put in our bodies and the health effects.”

Want to banish the bloat? Besides reducing your sodium intake, make sure to drink lots of water (it flushes the sodium from your body), avoid alcohol, and use a cold compress to reduce the swelling. Some even recommend sleeping at an incline to prevent the fluid from settling in your face. Or, try eating this every day to beat your belly bloat.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2tkTMB1
No More Sushi Face! Here’s How to Banish Your Post-Meal Bloat Health – Reader's Digest

6 Ways To Pamper Your Skin And Hair With Champagne

Who doesn’t love to celebrate with a toast of champagne. We all do. Champagne is one of the word’s best sparkling wine. It is made of grapes and powerhouse of polyphenols and antioxidants. You might have noticed most of people use champagne in various health concerns as well due to its benefits. Can you imagine […]
6 Ways To Pamper Your Skin And Hair With Champagne
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2tjurrs

7 Best Ways To Revitalize Your Skin You Should Try

Skin care should not be just a duty it should be a ritual. We all say that face is a mirror of a body. Whatever we eat it shows on our skin. Even our eating habits, our lifestyle just everything reflects on our face. Hence it very important to keep this Mirror clean, Apart from […]
7 Best Ways To Revitalize Your Skin You Should Try
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2tjpDSW

12 Beauty Trends That Should Have Never Happened

What the Acne on Every Part of Your Body Is Trying to Tell You

Despite the overwhelming oasis of skin-care products out there, most of us can agree that blemishes can’t merely be wiped away with a wicked cleanser or killer spot treatment—no matter how convincing the commercial’s claim may be. Although most of us will simply attribute acne to clogged pores or hormonal imbalances without a second thought, blemishes in certain areas can actually indicate underlying health problems that will only clear up once the problem is resolved.

The alternative medicine practice of examining the location of acne on the face to diagnose health issues is known as face mapping, and it dates back thousands of years to the days of ancient Chinese medicine. Although the technicalities of the method have evolved over time, the core foundation remains the same: by studying where your breakouts lie, you can discover potential health issues inside your body, thus finding a way to nix both the internal and external situation.

We’ve teamed up with Dr. Roshini Raj, certified gastroenterologist and co-founder of TULA, to map out what popular acne zones could be trying to tell you about your health. Keep in mind that face mapping is definitely not an exact science, so don’t assume that having a pimple or two in one of these areas indicates a serious health issue. Still, if chronic acne frequently appears in the same area with no sign of budging, you might want to consider consulting your doctor to examine something beyond Proactiv.

“There are lots of causes to acne, and many people don’t realize that internal factors—from how much you sleep to the air you breathe—can affect your complexion,” says Raj. “Great skin comes from taking care of both what you put on your skin and how you take care of your body.”

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2sXld1Q
What the Acne on Every Part of Your Body Is Trying to Tell You Health – Reader's Digest

4 Best Ways to Use Rice Water For Beautiful Hair And Skin

When you soak uncooked rice in water to speed up the cooking process, the grains release a number of nutrients in addition to starch into the water. This cloudy rice water that we usually tend to discard without realizing its beauty benefits works wonders for the skin and hair. In Japan and China, rice water […]
4 Best Ways to Use Rice Water For Beautiful Hair And Skin
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2sbhKzu

Yes, There’s a Miracle Trick to Relieve Eczema—and It’s Unbelievably Simple

I’ve suffered with eczema for over 20 years. From my first year of life, the dry, scaly skin was all too familiar; every night, I would go through a nighttime routine of slathering greasy ointments and creams until the chunky layer of lotion became a whole other skin to me. The idea of short-sleeve shirts sent a shiver down my spine, and I often resorted to sweaters and jackets in 90 degree weather. When I was a kid, I even had to attend school with bandages wrapped around my inner elbows to prevent bleeding. 

The perpetual itch lingering on my skin was like having a series of mosquito bites you can never scratch; do it and it just gets worse. Needless to say, it was not a pleasurable condition and I did all I could do to relieve it.

Fun fact: Pretty much every dermatologist you visit will look you sternly in the eyes and tell you there is no cure for eczema; it’s a chronic condition that you’ll just have to learn to live with. (Learn more about what common diseases you skin can reveal.) This is definitely not what anybody wants to hear because it’s partly true—there is no official “treatment” or magical antibiotic you can swallow to completely eradicate those red patches. But fear not: there are several remedies that can come pretty close.

After speaking with several different doctors, I was told to try the topical steroid hydrocortisone at an early age. Hydrocortisone is no foreign substance to eczema sufferers—the famed medication is commonly used to treat redness, swelling, and itching, so eczema symptoms fit its usage to a T. Unfortunately, relief is oftentimes temporary, and frequent application is highly discouraged for its strong chemicals.

I wanted something that would last longer, work quicker, and treat better. Several fellow eczema sufferers proclaimed the beauty of aloe and its ability to work wonders. At the same time, my doctor informed me that using too many different eczema treatments in conjunction with one another can actually be less effective, so I dropped the army of dermatitis tubes and oatmeal scrubs sitting on my counter and replaced it with just two: aloe and hydrocortisone.

This combination worked wonders for me; using aloe alone was not effective and using hydrocortisone itself was not long-lasting. The mixture of the two, however, was able to not only soothe my nagging itch, but expunge the scaly patches entirely.

Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, a Miami-based board certified dermatologist, offered up some insight as to why this can work. “As a general guideline, itchy eczema skin should be kept cool. Cortisone 10 ointment is usually very helpful as it hydrates skin while delivering 1 percent hydrocortisone which had previously been available by prescription only. Together, the combination of hydrocortisone and aloe vera brings cooling relief to the skin,” says Ciraldo.

Although raw aloe works best, we know it may not be ideal to start growing a garden of aloe plants on your windowsill. If you happen to do so, break open the thick part of the leaf and apply the gel directly onto the affected area. Otherwise, organic aloe from your local drugstore should do the trick just fine.

Keep an eye out for creams that combine the two elements into a single treatment; the one that I use from Equate is my holy grail go-to.

The treatment should only be applied to clean, freshly washed skin; directly after a shower is most ideal as it opens up your pores for easy absorption. From personal experience, applying ointment to dirty skin can aggravate your eczema even more, so keep the application strictly to the bathroom.

“To maximize results, soak skin… think of staying in a room temperature shower until your fingertips get all wrinkled,” says Ciraldo. “At this point your skin has replenished water levels back into the dry, eczema-affected skin. Pat dry and apply the 1 percent cortisone ointment to your skin while it is still damp.”

Keep in mind that everybody’s skin is different, so what worked for me might not work for the next guy—but the combo is definitely worth a try to those yearning for some instant effects.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2tdM0cv
Yes, There’s a Miracle Trick to Relieve Eczema—and It’s Unbelievably Simple Health – Reader's Digest

11 Blemish-Busting Face Masks to Use If You Have Acne-Prone Skin

Charcoal

Charcoal acts like a magnet, attracting, binding, and drawing out impurities, dirt and oil, thus purifying, decongesting, and shrinking the appearance of pores—making it great weapon against comedonal acne (blackheads and whiteheads). “Weekly charcoal face masks are helpful for adults with blemish-prone skin, as it’s usually less harsh and drying than classic acne-fighting ingredients like benzoyl peroxide,” explains Tsippora Shainhouse, MD, a board certified dermatologist in Beverly Hills. Try: boscia Charcoal Pore Pudding Intensive Wash-Off Treatment or Yes to Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Mud Mask. And don’t miss these drugstore acne treatments that really work, according to top dermatologists.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2tCG0aT
11 Blemish-Busting Face Masks to Use If You Have Acne-Prone Skin Health – Reader's Digest

6 Types Of Sugar Present In Carbohydrate Foods

Carbohydrates generates energy to the body including the brain by the breakdown of the carbohydrates into monosaccharides, disaccharides or polysacchariedes , that is taken by our body in many forms of food. The carbohydrate is broken by the small intestine by the enzyme called sucrase, that breakdown in fructose and glucose, then insulin takes it […]
6 Types Of Sugar Present In Carbohydrate Foods
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2sxNU6V

12 Ways To Use Cinnamon As A Medicine

Cinnamon, an incredible spice not only adds flavor and aroma to your dish but also provides you a host of health benefits. This powerful spice has several medicinal uses and has a warming and distinct taste. The compounds found in cinnamon-cinnamaldehyde, cinnamate, cinnamic acid are responsible for the health benefits. It has potent antioxidant abilities […]
12 Ways To Use Cinnamon As A Medicine
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2rY6vu6

Forget Facial Expressions and Reputation: 3 Surprising Rules to Sharpen Your Trust Instincts

Residents of Gulfport, Mississippi, will never forget August 29, 2005. Hurricane Katrina battered their city with 16 hours of winds and ocean surges that exceeded 28 feet.

After the storm calmed, residents set their sights on rebuilding. But with electricity unlikely to be restored soon, access to money was frozen. Whether you had $100 or $100,000 in the bank didn’t matter; you couldn’t get to it.

The CEOs of Hancock Bank, a local financial institution, made a surprising decision. They would jump-start commerce using a basic strategy: trust. Hancock’s leaders decided to trust that people whom they allowed to withdraw money would pay it back. Bank employees set up folding tables around the community and gave up to $200 to anyone who wrote his or her name, address, and Social Security number on a scrap of paper. Hancock released more than $40 million, and all but $200,000—about one half of 1 percent of the amount distributed—was returned. Hancock gained thousands of customers and increased its assets by more than 20 percent.

From contracts with banks and marital vows to daily interactions with our family, friends, and colleagues, trust pervades almost every aspect of our lives. We think we know what trust means (keeping your word) and looks like (beware shifty eyes), but after conducting and reading hundreds of studies, I’ve observed that it’s much more nuanced than you think, and many of our longtime assumptions can be way off. Consider these principles to avoid being vulnerable and make smarter decisions.

Trust is important. So we conducted a survey to find out which brands American’s trust the most. Meet the heroes of the Trusted League, these are the most trusted brands in America.

1. Watch Out for Power Plays

We like to think we can predict trustworthiness on the basis of reputation, but decades of research show it’s not the case. People are shocked by this. They’ll note that their uncle Ben has always been honest or, on the other hand, is someone you wouldn’t trust with your money. If this is true, it’s because our lives usually don’t change much from day to day. But if monetary rewards are tempting enough or if a change in status makes you more powerful, your trustworthiness is susceptible—no matter who you are.

Dana Carney of the Haas School of Business in Berkeley, California, has demonstrated that increases in power make people better liars. Participants played roles in a fake business. “Bosses” had bigger offices than “workers,” got to assign workers salaries, and so forth. Half of participants (both “bosses” and “workers”) were instructed to steal a $100 bill. Those told to steal could keep the money if they could convince the experiment runner that they didn’t take it. (That person didn’t know who was assigned to steal and who wasn’t.)

Thieves with little power—the “workers”—were more often pegged as deceitful than the high-powered “boss” thieves. A slight change in status empowered the “bosses” to be self-serving liars.

Consider the impact of larger, longer-lasting changes in money or power. If your spouse lands a big client or a childhood pal comes into family money, it could affect how each person treats you. With increasing money and power comes the belief that you don’t depend as much on others; as a result, it becomes easier to treat people unfairly.

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But before you judge the rich too quickly, realize that you don’t have to land a big raise to be corrupted a little. Simply being in close proximity to money—say, at a casino—can increase dishonesty, research shows. Being physically close to cash makes you feel as if you have plenty of resources, which can make you favor short-term, self-centered behaviors (making big bets at the craps table) while ignoring repercussions (risking savings for your kitchen renovation).

To demonstrate this, Harvard economist Francesca Gino had study participants self-grade a work sheet, then take earnings from a pile of cash on a nearby table. (They were told to take $3 for each correct answer—the study ran on the honor system.) For one group, a few hundred dollars sat on the table; for the other, more than $7,000. Guess who cheated more. As Gino predicted, the presence of the extra cash increased cheating in the latter group.

 

2. Listen to Your Intuition

There’s a long history in psychology of believing that specific expressions or gestures provide unambiguous cues about a person’s motivations or feelings. A smile means someone likes you. A furrowed brow means a person is angry. But we now know that isolated gestures and expressions aren’t reliable indicators. What’s more, overanalyzing such nonverbal behavior can get in the way of our innate trust detectors.

With a team of scientists from Cornell and MIT, I videotaped pairs of people playing a gambling game to study all the possible combinations of behaviors that might influence decisions to trust or not trust. Over several months, a small army of trained coders translated participants’ actions into entries in a database.

After much investigation, we identified a set of four individual cues that—when taken together—strongly predicted how trustworthy a person would be: crossing arms, leaning away, face touching, and hand touching. The more frequently anyone engaged in all these behaviors, the less trustworthy he or she was in the gambling game.

Here’s where intuition comes in: The more often partners showed these cues, the less trust others placed in them. Even more interesting: No one could pinpoint which specific behaviors a partner exhibited that led him or her to guess the partner would be untrustworthy—participants just “sensed” it. In other words, we’re born with an instinct to subconsciously assess these traits and determine whom to trust.

The takeaway? If we listen to our gut, we can adjust on the basis of other information if needed (e.g., a change in someone’s power status).

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2rWgCzA
Forget Facial Expressions and Reputation: 3 Surprising Rules to Sharpen Your Trust Instincts Health – Reader's Digest

5 Steps To An Easy Homemade Lemon Facial For Oily Skin

Oily Skin. A nightmare for many girl. It doesn’t only contributes the tank full of oil on face but also pimples and blackheads. We try to use every face wash in the market which claims to control the oil secretion and to get rid of that oil we over cleanse our skin which dries out […]
5 Steps To An Easy Homemade Lemon Facial For Oily Skin
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2rY6d1h

7 Homemade Hair Mask Ideas For Healthy Hair

Beautiful hair always leaves a good impression. Hence good care of your hair is very important. Here are few tips of applying hair mask to keep your hair healthy and shiny. It is always recommended to apply a hair mask on washed and towel dry hair. Here Are Some Of The Homemade Hair Mask Ideas […]
7 Homemade Hair Mask Ideas For Healthy Hair
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2rXHkmE

14 Home Remedies For Heel Spurs

If you notice a bony protrusion on the underside of the heel bone, be for sure that it is a heel spur. This condition of the bone is accompanied by a painful inflammation of the connective tissue that runs from the bottom to the heel of the foot. This kind of pain may be due […]
14 Home Remedies For Heel Spurs
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2rTNnxu

10 Amazing Benefits Of Chamomile Tea

Chamomile Tea can be counted among the the list of the most popular tea forms available in the market and this tea has a reputation of being used even by the ancient Romans and Egyptians. Chamomile Tea is actually derived from chamomile plant whose scientific name is ‘Matricaria chamomilla’. Usually there are two types of […]
10 Amazing Benefits Of Chamomile Tea
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2rU0Hgc

11 Ways To Use Licorice To Fight Tooth Decay, Inflammation And More

Licorice is indigenous to Asia and Europe. The roots and the underground stems of the plant are traditionally used as flavoring agent. Although licorice is better known as a natural sweetener, in the traditional medicines for centuries it is being used as a remedy for various illnesses. The active constituents in licorice root are valued […]
11 Ways To Use Licorice To Fight Tooth Decay, Inflammation And More
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2sSd1m3

10 Tricks Beauty Pros Swear by to Keep Your Look Fresh from Day to Night

Preventative measures

Makeup that goes all day—and night—long, starts in the morning. Danielle Gray, beauty and fashion expert for The Style and Beauty Doctor blog, swears by using primer under her foundation. “My long-time go-to is Mally Beauty Perfect Prep Poreless Primer. I have oily skin and this is my fave for not only giving my makeup an amazing base so it looks better, but it keeps my makeup on longer—even cream formulas.” Another pro makeup tip: Your eye shadow will stay put longer, too, if you use an eye shadow base.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2tLbOcL
10 Tricks Beauty Pros Swear by to Keep Your Look Fresh from Day to Night Health – Reader's Digest

Yes, Windy Weather Can Trigger Rosacea—and So Can These 6 Other Things

Her battle with rosacea

Kristin Chenoweth is a super famous, super talented Grammy- and Tony-award winning actress and singer and her face has graced the covers of magazines, billboards, and everything in between. But what most people don’t know about the bubbly blonde bombshell with the petite stature and powerhouse voice is that she’s spent the better part of her adult years battling a pesky skin condition known as rosacea. “It’s a red, itchy, apparent, slightly embarrassing thing, it’s usually on the face, and people who have it just hate it,” Chenoweth told RD. “It doesn’t matter if you’re on camera or not—who wants to have another ‘thing’ to deal with?”

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2tL1aT9
Yes, Windy Weather Can Trigger Rosacea—and So Can These 6 Other Things Health – Reader's Digest

I Bathed in Live Bacteria for a Month—Here’s What Happened

The Goal: Healthy Skin

We’ve all heard about probiotic foods, like kimchi and kombucha, and how they can help balance out the bacteria in our stomachs. But what about skin? Can good bacteria make skin healthier, too?

According to the U.S.-based company Mother Dirt, a specific live-cultured bacterium is key to good skin health. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOBs) live all over the body and are naturally found in sweat. Soaps, deodorants and other products strip AOBs from the colonies of microorganisms that live on skin, also known as the microbiome. The theory goes that when your skin has a strong arsenal of these friendly AOBs, you have less inflammation and reduced body odor. You won’t need skin-care products and you won’t need to shower as often, or even at all. Take it from the company’s co-founder, who claims to not have showered for over 12 years. 12 YEARS! (#dirtydozen)

The Product: Mother Dirt AO+ Mist

For years, I’ve relied on an aluminum-based antiperspirant, and I want to try using something more natural. Plus, I think the idea of a bacteria spray is super cool, so I’m testing out the AO+ Mist, which contains a strain of safe, live-cultured AOBs.

With the AO+ Mist, you swap soapy showers for bacteria baths. The Mist promises to neutralize body odor; other purported benefits include softer, smoother skin, less oiliness and fewer breakouts.

The Cost

I ordered the Mother Dirt bundle from the U.S. website, which comes with the AO+ Mist, plus a “microbiome-friendly” shampoo and cleanser. The cost, including flat-rate shipping, came to $77.99 USD, or $103.85 CAD. Plus, the package was dinged with customs taxes, so I paid an additional $23. Ouch!

Day 1

After my morning shower (water only, no soap), I take the AO+ Mist out of the fridge (refrigeration makes it last longer) and spray my face, scalp, and whole body. There’s no smell and no residue-it’s like spritzing myself with water.

I worked from home, and I only left the house to grab a coffee, meaning I didn’t exactly work up a sweat. By the end of the day, I lift my arms and do a sniff test: Not bad. Hey, maybe the spray’s working!

Day 2

It’s not working. By afternoon, I catch a whiff of my underarms. It’s…not good. After years of using clinical-strength stuff on my pits day in and day out, I had forgotten what B.O. smelled like. I stink of cooked onions.

The product makes it clear that it takes time – usually weeks – to level out the skin’s microbiome. So I keep spraying myself several times throughout the day. Grow, good bugs, grow!

The Month

It doesn’t take long before I start using soap again. I figure I’m rinsing off some AOBs with water anyway, why not use a little soap in the areas that need it?

One day, the odor was so strong, I had to shower mid-day. Another time, I had an important meeting, and I didn’t want to face people reeking of braised Cipollinis, so I brought in back-up: an all-natural, clay-based deodorant cream. Good thing I did, because the mist was no match for stress sweat.

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There were a couple of times when I didn’t mist: On a 4-day trip to San Francisco, I didn’t think I could take the spray in my carry-on (turns out the 3.4-ounce bottle would have been fine). Here’s another fail: Mother Dirt advises users to simply spray before and after a workout and skip the shower, but that routine just doesn’t cut it for me. I’m a sweaty beast at the gym and there’s no way I’m walking out of there without showering.

Bottom Line:

The underarm odor bugged me in the beginning, but by the end, it wasn’t that bad! None of my friends mentioned a ripe smell. I even met with my Best Health editor, who knew I was trying out the mist, and she didn’t say a word. Now I’m much less self-conscious about underarm sweat-that’s a good feeling. [Editor’s note: I wasn’t just being nice; I really didn’t notice a smell!]

I saw changes in my skin, too: My face and arms especially feel hydrated and super-soft. I don’t use many skincare products to begin with-just sunscreen in the a.m. (which Mother Dirt recommends you keep using)-so this hasn’t saved me a ton of money on beauty products. But I am showering and shampooing a bit less often.

My month of bacteria-spritzing was the jump-start I needed to finally make the switch to a natural deodorant. Now, on days where I work from home, I don’t apply deodorant at all, which would have been unimaginable to me a few weeks ago. The AO+ Mist is a bit pricey to buy regularly, but it was worth trying for that confidence alone.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2sNXd37
I Bathed in Live Bacteria for a Month—Here’s What Happened Health – Reader's Digest

6 Simple Homemade Chocolate Face Masks For Healthy Skin

Do you love chocolates? Chocolates are not only for your tummy. Chocolates are a good way to enhance the beauty of your skin.  Chocolate face mask is getting famous day by day. Chocolate is rich in antioxidants and thus helps reduce the signs of aging. It also moisturises skin and helps maintaining collagen production. Remember […]
6 Simple Homemade Chocolate Face Masks For Healthy Skin
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2tnQuuF

6 Elevating Grape Based Face Packs For Skin Revitalization

There is something always cool about eating a grape. It certainly differs from the other fruits and most of the times grape lovers would leave no stone upturned to show the world of their association with grapes. Well, that’s because grapes are really one of the most chilled out fruits in the plant universe. They […]
6 Elevating Grape Based Face Packs For Skin Revitalization
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2ryCXii

5 Best Homemade Hibiscus Hair Masks For Long And Strong Hair

When nothings seems to work home remedies always come for a rescue. Specially for hair care, we try every hair oil, spa treatments, various shampoos and conditioners. But Most of the time instead of doing good they always end up doing worst to our hair.Natural remedies to take time to show results but they give […]
5 Best Homemade Hibiscus Hair Masks For Long And Strong Hair
from DIY Remedies – DIY Health Remedy http://bit.ly/2sQZQld

I Lost 35 Pounds—Thanks to the Most Fun Gym in the World!

Recently, after decades away, I decided it was time to go back the gym. The last time I had embraced a workout was when I started doing Step aerobics in college, more than 20 years ago. After a move and a divorce I found myself reevaluating everything in my life and it was time to face the fact that all those years of eating whatever I had wanted to had caught up with me long ago. So I posted on Facebook that I was looking for a workout that would be fun and rewarding.

One friend suggested a gym in midtown that’s modeled after recess in school. A former colleague recommended a kickball league. But I was looking for a workout that happened to be fun, not fun that might include a workout.

And then a business acquaintance suggested Mark Fisher Fitness (MFF), a little cult gym known mostly for being where a lot of Broadway types (including Lin-Manuel Miranda, who talked about it in the New York Times) train when they’re prepping for a role.

Walking up to the door the first day, I was terrified. I’ve never believed in the idea that if something frightens you or makes you uncomfortable you should do it. Um, no … if you’re so scared your heart is pounding that’s nature’s way of telling you to run, thank you very much. I felt weak, uncoordinated, and out of shape, and I was sure the trainers would be able to tell that I didn’t belong there. But I quickly realized this place was special.

My first workouts

First, it doesn’t look like any gym I had ever seen. There are graffiti-style murals on the walls, and the coaches wear silly outfits and sometimes even costumes. (I once did a semi-private class with a trainer in a Cats costume. We’re not talking a simple headband with ears and a pin-on tail—an actual costume from the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical!) There are laser lights and disco balls, raunchy jokes (if you blush easily, consider yourself warned!), a giant blow-up unicorn they call their mascot, and upbeat sometimes wacky movements and playlists. (One of my first workouts was to the Hamilton Mixtape; sometimes we finish our routines with “drag queen burpees.”) The atmosphere isn’t an accident—the concept of the place is that having fun and being silly makes exercise less intimidating and allows people to work hard without it feeling so much like work.

Also, the workouts center around kettlebells—that’s right, I went from the couch, right to weight lifting. It felt like a strange decision at first … would I really be able to do this? Should I pick something easier instead? But MFF starts you off with two training sessions before you ever take a class. They show you the movements, focusing on form and posture rather than just cranking out reps.

It wasn’t easy. The first week I pretty much crawled out of bed in the morning, wincing as I reached for the Advil in my medicine cabinet. But, slowly, I started to pick it up.

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Getting serious with a six-week program

After a few months, I was progressing, but I wanted to focus on healthy eating. So I signed up for the gym’s “Snatched in Six Weeks” program, a boot camp of sorts that includes three workouts a week with the same group of a dozen people, nutrition coaching, and encouragement that you do two other weekly workouts of weight lifting programs (somewhere, anywhere). Since many people start with Snatched before ever lifting a kettlebell, the workouts begin at the beginning and gradually gain steam so that, by the end, they’re more intense than the regular workouts at the gym.

We started each class with the same warm up, which included everything from rocking in place to skipping and “bear crawling” across the floor, growling at each other as we passed. I learned to love the Spiderman lunges, and the feeling of sore muscles getting stretched out before we worked them out again.

One of our coaches was Mark Fisher himself, the handsome and inspiring 37-year-old fitness guru who started the gym. (He would balk at the term—adding “I’m not your guru, I’m your Sherpa!”—but there’s no denying that those of us who finally found success here would follow him anywhere.) In his sparkly red pants and chicken hat (just one of his many costumes), Mark often quietly encouraged us, and gently pushed us toward heavier weights. (“You do you, but I think you’re ready for more!”) Amanda “Wheels” Wheeler, our other coach, always noticed when someone made progress, and—even in a room full of people—the moment I moved from push-ups on my knees to real ones I could hear her cheer me on.

And, every single morning, Mark sent an email to those taking Snatched, addressed to his “babies” and “girlfriends,” walking us through, for example, the latest research on dieting or evaluating other popular fitness programs. (I read them quickly and saved them all; I know what I’ll be rereading on the beach this summer.)

Focusing on nutrition

Our nutrition program involved a high protein, low-carb diet that allowed us to choose what we wanted to eat within the constraints of the macros they set for us based on our individual weight, age, and measurements. I got used to prepping a bunch of meals and portioning them out on Sunday nights, eating eggs in the morning instead of oatmeal, making protein shakes, and having the maki at my favorite sushi bar wrapped in cucumber or daikon instead of rice. We logged everything into an app and our nutrition coach, Reilly Jennings, would send us regular comments. Mine often included some version of “You’re crushing those protein goals girrrrrl! Now try to see if you can get in some more vegetables…”

And, somehow, almost immediately my class became a team, with inside jokes and shared recipes and assigned mats. We gave ourselves silly (not fit to print) team names, created a team cheer, and planned dress up nights. One Wednesday, we wore pink (an homage to the movie Mean Girls), another we wore super hero costumes.

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Our resident Broadway star, Jennie, sang along through every class, and when she was out-of-town one Friday the room seemed too quiet. As the workouts got harder with shorter rests, it felt comforting to know I could look to my left and admire Kerianne’s flawless glute bridges or watch Michael and Itamar leap in the air in jump squats before me. Sure, they probably soared higher than I will ever be able to reach, but it didn’t stop me from trying. And the night I melted down after forgetting to log a protein bar and going way over my carb limit, I knew these were the people who would understand.

I had been so afraid to do this, but soon it was my favorite place to be.

And it was amazing to watch our whole team shrink as the weeks went by—to see Travis’ cheeks thin out and Sean grow impossibly small in a short period of time. I spotted Susan across the locker room one evening and wondered if it was her at first because her arms and legs seemed so trim.

For our last night, we planned a party with cocktails, dinner, and a movie. It was right after the final workout of the six weeks, and by the time we were done with our class everyone looked wrecked. Still, every single one of us stayed to hang out, hitting the showers before grabbing a seat in front of the screen. It was the quietest movie night I had ever been to—we had all left a lot on the mat!—but we wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

The results are in!

It seems shallow to talk about the actual weight loss when the experience is so much more than that. But the results were significant for me: In the last four and a half months I have lost 35 pounds and almost 20 of those was during the six weeks of Snatched. I also dropped my BMI, my dress size (OK, four dress sizes!) and gained a lot of muscle. Feeling like I knew what I was doing in Snatched encouraged me to try other kinds of workouts—rowing (fun and challenging), Pilates (more of an active recovery, but a great stretch), and Barre (honestly, probably never going to be for me).

Now, my team is planning group dinners (high protein, naturally) and workouts, editing each others’ dating profiles, and quickly finding that these are friendships we’ll have outside the gym, too. It seems silly to think I was afraid before I started. Back then, the idea of finding a workout I loved after decades out of the gym had seemed unlikely at best.

But the most amazing part is how it extends to the rest of my life: last week, right before a job interview, I felt anxiety welling up … and then I remembered the last day of Snatched. At the beginning of each class we introduced ourselves by answering a question. The last night, the question “What is something you learned here?” made me pause. And then it came to me; it wasn’t that I learned how to do proper push-ups or that I can lift my body weight on a hex bar. “I learned that just because I am afraid of something doesn’t mean I can’t do it.”

Suddenly, the interview didn’t seem so scary anymore. And, of course, I crushed it.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2rKPvYb
I Lost 35 Pounds—Thanks to the Most Fun Gym in the World! Health – Reader's Digest

The Simple Guide to Finding Your Body’s Acupressure Points—and Why You Definitely Should Start Pressing Them

The anytime, anywhere stress solution

Sometimes, your brain just won’t shut up, and a simple “Let it go” isn’t going to help. Research-proven acupuncture can help with stress, but that won’t do you much good when you’re, say, facing a 3 p.m. deadline at work. That’s where acupressure comes in: It targets the same acupuncture release points—called acupoints—but it substitutes your fingertips for needles, along with deep, rhythmic breathing.

According to Justin Newman, the director of Holistic Medicine at Banyan Holistic, acupressure reduces anxiety a few ways. “First and foremost, acupressure triggers the brain to release endorphins, so the patient feels calmer, clearer, and more centered after therapy,” he explains. It also slows stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system and stress response, while supporting your parasympathetic nervous system, which manages the relaxation responses of the body. “There are a few points on the body that can help calm the mind, and alleviate anxiety,” says Dr. Newman. “They can be used solo, or in combination. There might be a point that is more sensitive than the rest. This sensitivity indicates how important that point is for you, at that particular time.”

Set the stage

If you’re sitting between stops on a subway train or at your desk waiting for a stressful meeting to start, begin with some deep breathing. This helps set the stage for acupressure. Sit up straight and inhale through your nose for a count of five. Hold for a moment, then exhale through your mouth for a count of five. Repeat four or five times, and don’t worry—no one will notice—really. Light meditation or yoga before acupressure, can also help increase your relaxation response. Here are some stretching exercises for stress relief.

Find the Gate of Heaven

The acupoint shen men—which means the gate of heaven—is one of the classic anxiety-releasing spots, says Joseph Feuerstein, MD, director of Integrative Medicine at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut. It’s located near the top of your ear, just inside the rim. Press or massage shen men firmly on one ear for a minute as you breathe deeply. Do each ear. Tilt the head from side to side to release the neck, between pressings.

Know your forearm

There are several acupoints situated along the forearm, which can have powerful, positive effects on anxiety, and other emotions. The first is daling, which is located on the wrist: With your palm facing up, find it on the wrist crease above your pinky finger. Next up is nei guan, which is located three fingers up your arm from daling. After that is jianshi, about another two inches higher up. And finally, there’s xi men, at about the midway point between your wrist and elbow. To activate these acupoints, apply firm pressure with your thumb, and massage each for one-to-two minutes in sequence, on both arms.

Use Union Valley to ease tension

When you’re feeling anxious, you tend to hold your body, and face, in stressful poses, without even realizing it. Fret-filled frowns can be dissipated, along with the headaches they cause, by activating the Union Valley acupressure point. To find it, stretch your hand wide. At the bottom of the crease between the thumb and the palm you’ll find the acupoint: Gently place the thumb and index finger of the free hand on the point of the other hand. Apply moderate pressure for 30 seconds to a minute, while breathing deeply. Do each hand two to three times. Here are some additional techniques for banishing headaches.

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See with the Third Eye

Feeling overwhelmed? Activate the acupressure point known as the Third Eye for relief. Located right above the bridge of the nose between the eyebrows, this point can ease frustration, confusion, headache, and anxiety. Use your middle and index fingers to gently apply pressure for a minute or two; close your eyes, breathe deeply, and release the shoulders and the head. Try these 11 tricks to help stop overthinking.

Tap the Shoulder Well

The shoulders hold a great deal of the body’s anxiety, often scrunching up in defense. Alleviating this emotional clog by activating the Shoulder Well acupressure point. You can find this point on the back of your shoulder, midway between the base of the neck and the tip of the shoulder. Use the fingers of the opposite hand, in a hooked position, to gently massage the point for one to two minutes. Breathe deeply; repeat two or three times.

Sow some seeds

Want to tap the acupressure benefits while your hands remain free? Acupressure seeds can be applied to anxiety-related acupoints. They generate pressure just like your fingertips, says Dr. Feurstein. “I recommend using seeds to keep calm during stressful days. They are even better, if used in conjunction with meditation techniques.” he says.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2rKagU0
The Simple Guide to Finding Your Body’s Acupressure Points—and Why You Definitely Should Start Pressing Them Health – Reader's Digest

All of Your Trickiest Makeup Questions—Finally Answered!

Foundation or concealer first?

Although many amateur makeup tutorials will instruct you to conceal your under-eye circles, acne spots, and redness first thing, the pros take a different approach. “I apply foundation first, then go back and touch up areas that need extra coverage with concealer,” says Rebecca Restrepo, Elizabeth Arden global makeup artist. That includes under-eye concealer after all your makeup is on. “That way, you can clean up any eye shadow dust and not to have build-up product on the thinnest skin of your face.”

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All of Your Trickiest Makeup Questions—Finally Answered! Health – Reader's Digest

How Not to Feel Lonely: 50 Science-Backed Tips Everyone Should Read

Remember: We all feel lonely sometimes

It has been reported that one in five Americans suffers from persistent loneliness. Knowing this can bring us some solace; the feeling of loneliness is something many others near and far face in various forms. Loneliness can be a physical distance from family and friends or it can be perceived emotional distance. A perceived sense of isolation can involve feeling alone in certain areas of life. Maybe we think we’re the only ones around us who worry about body image, suffer from embarrassment, or have financial woes. This is simply not true. Maybe success is a lonely experience for us. Maybe we’re the only entrepreneurs in our community or perhaps we just got promoted when everyone around us seems to be struggling. We may have different reasons for being lonely, but at one point or another, we’ve all felt it. (Don’t miss these 17 little things you can do to connect with others.)

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How Not to Feel Lonely: 50 Science-Backed Tips Everyone Should Read Health – Reader's Digest

10 Proven Ways to Make Better Decisions

Consider the consequences of your choice

When faced with a tempting choice, new research published in Psychological Science suggests that framing the choice as a sequence of events can help you imagine the future. Imagining future consequences may be a useful strategy, the researchers noted, when circumstances are less than ideal–say, when you’re multitasking, distracted, stressed, or just tired. “People often have difficulty forgoing immediate temptations, like hitting the snooze button on the alarm, for the sake of later benefits. One possible reason is that people tend to consider the immediate consequences of a particular action, like getting a few more minutes of sleep, more than the later ones, like not having time for breakfast,” explains study author Adrianna Jenkins of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. By visualizing the consequences of an action in advance, this can help in the best choice.

Understand your emotions

Because decisions are so personal, they are fueled by our own feelings, our relationships to others, and outside powers, Professor Francesca Gino, a professor of psychology at Harvard told the New York Times. One suggestion is to tap into your immediate feelings when faced with decisions. “Take your emotional temperature. Try to be more aware of where your emotions are coming from and how, even if seemingly irrelevant, they may be clouding your decision,” Professor Gino suggests in the article.

Keep fear in perspective

Try to maintain a positive outlook and don’t be too fearful. Research shows that we tend to have greater regrets about decisions that have gone wrong when we feel we approached the subject without looking into it deeply enough or considering enough options, said Terry Connolly, a professor of management and organizations at the University of Arizona, to the New York Times.

Weigh the pros and cons

Approach the decision with an “old-school” pros and cons list that you write down, suggests Allen Klein, MA, CSP, author of You Can’t Ruin My Day: 52 Wake-Up Calls to Turn Anything Around. “With a line drawn down the middle of the page, on the left side, list the positive things about what you are debating about achieving and on the right side list any negative things that would potentially occur if you made the decision,” Klein says. Also, take your time to consider the options. “Spend as much time as you need, anywhere from a few minutes to a few days, writing down positive or negative thoughts related to the decision.” After you feel your list is as complete as it can be, circle the three most important things in each column; three things that jump out at you. “Then compare each of the three to each other,” says Klein. “What I have found is that an answer immediately appears as the items in one column outweigh the other.”

Stay true to your values

When deciding between two courses of action, Elizabeth McCourt, a leadership coach based in Westhampton Beach, New York, states the most important thing she advises her clients is to make decisions based on their personal values. “Once someone can articulate what is most important to them, be it integrity, family, science, adventure, this will help them to have clarity,” she says. “By doing so, one takes the opportunity to ‘notice’ both how they feel and how they want to process decisions. We can logically plod along and make calculated decisions, but when someone can really articulate what’s important to them as well as their situation, there will be more clarity.”

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Keep worrying in check

Decision making is often quite challenging for people who struggle with anxiety disorders due to excessive concerns about the negative consequences of making a “bad” decision. Joel Minden, PhD, clinical psychologist in Chico, California, says an example could be anxiety related to taking a vacation may result from worrying about whether the flight will be too long, uncomfortable, or expensive. “Although it can be productive to consider these outcomes and then devote some time to researching the best flight options, it can be unproductive to worry so much about ‘what if’ scenarios that you end up not leaving town at all,” he says.

Be logical

Mike Bishop, a psychologist and executive director of Summerland Camps, a program which helps youngsters make better life decisions, recommends making an emotional decision based on logical factors. “A decision balance sheet is an effective tool. For example, in making a purchase decision write down all the factors that are important to you. This might be price, quality, reviews, or any relevant factor. Then, assign a number from one to ten for each item. Compare with several brands then add up the value,” he says. “This way we can quantify each subjective factor and make an objective, fact-based decision.”

Follow your integrity

According to an article in Forbes, doing the right thing can be the best choice. “Standing behind what one believes is the right decision in the face of tremendous controversy is the stuff great leaders are made of,” the article says. “There are many areas where compromise yields significant benefits, but your value system, your character, or your integrity should never be compromised.”

Think about what you truly want

Knowing the best decision is part of realizing that you will be satisfied with either option. If there are only two choices, be sure you would be happy with one or the other. “The real reason someone might be unable to make up his mind is neither option is what he really wants,” explains an article in Inc.

Consult with those in your inner circle

Some of the most common decisions people solicit advice from loved ones about include whether to relocate, change careers, end or begin relationships, have children or get married, Anita McLean, a clinical psychologist based in Princeton, New Jersey, told the Chicago Tribune. Because our relationships form such a critical fabric of our lives, it’s not only impossible to make a big decision without thinking of others, but it can be downright unhealthy,” Holly Parker, a lecturer of psychology at Harvard University, adds, “What ultimately matters is how much we allow others to impact our decision and why.”

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10 Proven Ways to Make Better Decisions Health – Reader's Digest

3 Amazing Pomegranate Face Masks You Should Try Today

Pomegranate is known as one of the miracle fruit when it comes to skincare. It contains the highest level of Anti Oxidants than any other fruits. It also contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Iron. It is super food for healthy skin. Due to its anti ageing properties, it helps to rejuvenate the […]
3 Amazing Pomegranate Face Masks You Should Try Today
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There’s a Big Chance Your Sea Salt Has a Gross Unwanted Ingredient, Study Finds

Any chef (or mother) can attest that there’s no ingredient more valuable than salt when it comes to the kitchen. The beloved ionic compound inherits properties that release food molecules into the air, endowing food the element of aroma and providing an essential component of taste that makes the dining experience so enjoyable. Seasoning doesn’t get any simpler than that, right?

However, a new study indicates it may be not be so crystal clear (no pun intended).

Millions of people worldwide have converted from table salt to sea salt in recent years. Sea salt, which is acquired by evaporating seawater, is known to contain beneficial trace minerals and elements that are absent from table salt. Since table salt is typically mined from underground salt deposits, it is heavily processed to eliminate these essential nutrients. Besides added iodine to help maintain a healthy thyroid, the refining process takes out any excess elements for a silkier texture.

As such, nutritionists have promoted the magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron, and zinc found in sea salt, all of which help keep the body’s electrolytes in balance. Moreover, the course, crystallized aspect of sea salt generally carries more flavor than powdered table salt. After the controversial health issue of salt that has arisen in recent years, sea salt has since become the more desirable option for health enthusiasts and professional chefs throughout the globe.

But new research points to another ingredient in sea salt that we bet you won’t find on the label: microplastics. The study, published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports earlier this year, studied 17 commercial salt brands from eight different countries to identify any plastic particles.

By dissolving the salt in water and filtering it through a filter membrane, they were able to see what was left over. The results? They found microplastic in all but one brand.

Basically, these are extremely tiny pieces of plastic, and while you may not have significant problems digesting them, scientists fear that chemicals in plastics could cause poisoning, infertility, and genetic disruption in humans if ingested in high quantities. In other words, it’s not exactly something we want to find on our dinner plates.

While this isn’t good news, it shouldn’t come as such a shock to environmentalists; since their mass production in the 1950s, global plastic production has been increasing, which exceeded 322 million tons in 2015. Since then, plastic waste from shopping bags, cellophane packaging, and microbeads (found in face scrubs and other beauty products) has been shown to steadily—but surely—be making our oceans a churning soup of plastic. Microplastic has since been discovered in the stomachs of clams, fish, and other marine life.

Luckily, researchers say that the current levels of microplastics are so low that it shouldn’t drastically affect a human’s health; the expected consumption level via salt is about 37 plastic particles per year. However, further measures are being taken to better understand the risks.

If anything, the lesson to learn from this global dilemma is a substantial improvement in plastic disposal and recycling. The increasing trend of plastic use and disposal might lead to the gradual accumulation of microplastics in oceans and lakes, and therefore in products such as sea salt.

While the study did not disclose specific brands, the only product that did not contain plastic particles originated from France.

If you ask us, it may be wise to just stick with table salt for now.

from Health – Reader's Digest http://bit.ly/2ruJOcL
There’s a Big Chance Your Sea Salt Has a Gross Unwanted Ingredient, Study Finds Health – Reader's Digest