Be Healthier, Happier, and Prettier.. in 30 Seconds or Less?

Skip the mascara or lipgloss- the one thing you need for touching up in your purse is... eye drops!

In the universal perception of beauty, there are certain things that make a person more attractive. Smooth lustrous hair, clear radiant skin, and sparkling white teeth. All of these traits are signs of youth and vitality; and from early human and animal development, choosing a mate with the best overall health was (and still is!) the most desirable.

Now here's what you might not know: your eyes are included. Research published in Ethology found that people with red or bloodshot eyes were perceived as sadder, less attractive, and unhealthy. Dr. Robert R. Provine, the lead author in the study, says, "If you met a friend with bloodshot eyes it would be unclear whether to offer sympathy or medical assistance, because red eyes may be a result of weeping, allergies or infectious diseases.

(credit: R. Provine)

...Given this discovery, eye drops that 'get the red out' can be considered beauty aids.'"

10 Exercise Myths That Won't Go Away

By Madison Park, CNN

(CNN) -- We're all looking to maximize results while minimizing time and effort in the gym. That search for shortcuts has translated into a lot of myths about exercise.

CNN.com asked exercise physiologists, trainers and nutritionists about their most hated exercise myths.

Consider these the 10 persistent myths of fitness.

10) Your cardio machine is counting the calories you're burning.

"It doesn't mean anything," said Mark Macdonald, personal trainer and author of "Body Confidence" about the calorie numbers spit out by the cardio machine.

Some machines don't even ask for your weight or sex.

"It's not asking your body composition," he said. "If you're at 18% body fat, you're going to burn a lot more than if you're female at 35% body fat."

And how many people know their body fat percentage?

The number calculated by your machine is likely not accurate.

9) Women shouldn't lift weights because it'll make them bulky.

This one drives Alice Burron, a former female bodybuilder, crazy. She would spend four to five hours a day when she competed, trying to build muscles.

"You really have to overload those muscles to create bulk," said Burron. "It's very, very difficult."

Women have too much estrogen to build large amounts of bulk. Guys build muscles faster because they have testosterone.

So ladies, don't fear the barbells. Strength training helps decrease body fat, increase lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently.

The government's 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommended muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least three days of the week for kids and two or more for adults.

8) Heart rate monitors will let you know how hard you're working.

Heart rate monitoring is a flawed science.

The better detector of how hard you're working is not the newest, gee-whiz tech device, but your own body.

"The perceived exertion, your own sense of how hard you're working is a much more reliable of exercise intensity," said Matt Fitzgerald, senior editor of Competitor group.

Perceived exertion means it's your estimation of how hard you are working out and surprisingly, it's very accurate, he said.

"Your perception of your limit can change over time. So yeah, even your own perception isn't perfect. It's still better than heart rate monitor," Fitzgerald said.

Heart rates could falter depending on what kind of exercise you're doing.

The talk test can measure how intensely you're working out depending on whether you can talk in full sentences, short phrases or if you're barely able to muster a few words.

"It's best to learn to recognize your body's signals and get a better control of your effort," said Alex Hutchinson, author of "Which Comes First: Cardio or Weights."

7) Your weight is the end all, be all.

Newbies hit the gym, and then weigh themselves every day on the scale.

Week-after-week, they see no downward trend on the scale and get impatient.

People starting saying, "I haven't lost any weight. This is pointless, I'm not accomplishing anything," said Hutchinson.

After a few months of increased exercise, they are healthier because they've reduced risk factors such as blood sugar levels. Even though a person may not be losing weight, his health has improved in ways that might not be measured. 

"They're stuck in this paradigm that weight is the ultimate barometer for fitness. They don't realize the progress they've made and give up."

6) Low-intensity exercise burns more fat.

In general, low intensity exercise has its place -- it's less stressful on joints.

The myth is that if you exercise too intensely, you end up burning carbohydrates instead of fat.

It's the most dangerous type of myth because there's a kernel of truth in it, Hutchinson said.

The more intensely you exercise, the higher proportion of carbs you burn. You may burn less fat, but the total amount of calories burned is higher and that is the bigger picture.

When your body has burned up all the carbs, it starts burning fat.

"You can ignore zones and pay attention to how many calories you burn, which ultimately determines how much body fat you're going to lose," Fitzgerald said.

5) Chug a protein shake after workout.

"It's eating another meal," said Macdonald, a personal trainer who helped TV host Chelsea Handler get in shape.

Protein shakes, powders and bars are good for emergencies, but "they're the lowest quality food."

"You're better off eating real food," he said.

The products are more processed. The best way to get protein is through foods such as a turkey sandwich, Greek yogurt with nuts and fruit.

Martin Gibala, chairman of the department of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, agrees. "Protein sources in real food are Number 1. Cheaper and real food may provide other benefits, vitamins and minerals. And some of the components in food may act synergistically in ways we don't understand."

"When we isolate the compound we think works, it's not as good as the real foods."

4) You can spot reduce for tight abs or toned arms.

You may have crunched in vain.

You won't see muscle definition or a nice six-pack despite how many crunches you do, because of the layer of fat resting on top of your muscles.

"Don't focus on a body part. Try to get them all," said Burron, a spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. "You might have beautiful triceps -- it may not be flopping all over the place. Until the fat is gone, most people wouldn't know it's there."

3) As long as I go to the gym 30-45 minutes, that gives me a pass to do what I want for rest of the day.

The gym doesn't negate a bad diet.

Also, emerging research suggests that if you're sedentary most of the day, it may not matter how hard or often you exercise.

People who spend more time sitting during their leisure time have an increased risk of death, regardless of daily exercise.

Sitting for hours can shave years off life

In a study of more than 123,000 healthy people, the American Cancer Society found that women who spent more than six hours a day sitting were 40 percent more likely to die sooner than women who sat less. Men who sat more had 20 percent increased risk of death.

Essentially, those who sit less, live a longer life than those who don't.

2) No pain, no gain.

"The ongoing perception is that people need to feel pain through the entirety of their workout or they're not getting the benefit -- that one's very frustrating to me," said Burron, a personal trainer. "You shouldn't be exercising at a level of pain ever."

Feeling discomfort during a workout is OK.

"If it's so intense you're thinking of passing out, you can't continue this session for longer, then it's too difficult and you're at increased risk for injuries or burnout," Burron said.

"You want to exercise smarter, not harder," she added. "That's the premise. You don't have to kill yourself. You just have to be smart about it."

1) Stretching will help prevent injuries.

A growing number of studies challenge the entrenched assumption that stretching helps prevent injuries.

"The way we were taught to stretch, to try to touch your toes -- there's little evidence it prevents injuries," Hutchinson said.

A review published in 2007 of 10 randomized studies about stretching after or before physical activity found that "muscle stretching does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness in young healthy adults."

Static stretching is when you stay in place, bend over to touch your toes, or try to pull your ankles towards your hips.

A study presented this year at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found that such static stretching before a run neither prevents nor causes injury.

Then a study published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that static stretches that last longer than a minute could be detrimental to performance.

Athletes often swing their arms and warm up before a game. That type of dynamic stretching such as high knee jogs, walking lunges can help move your muscles through different ranges of motions.

This type of dynamic stretching is different from clutching your limbs, because it focuses on movement.

A study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research found professional soccer players who practiced dynamic stretching had higher range of motion than when they practiced only static stretches.

While toe-touches and extra flexibility might be required in gymnastics or figure skating, it's irrelevant for more everyday activities like basketball or weightlifting.

"Get Gorgeous" Herb Tea For Clear Skin

Tea is known for its antioxidant powers and calming effects. In ancient China, it was used for its medicinal effects, and over centuries afterwards its popularity increased and became a luxury all across the world. Different teas do different things, but can one actually make your skin look better?

The Republic of Tea thinks so. Their "Be Well Red Teas" have many different specialty teas including "Get Gorgeous". Here's what it says on the can:

"Let's get one thing clear. True beauty comes from within. But when it comes to clear skin, some of us can use a little help. So here's good news: this organic, rooibos-based, naturally caffeine-free tea blend is brimming with antioxidants- your skin's best friend. Studies show antioxidants are champions at fighting free-radicals- those pesky cells responsible for aging. Rooibos, a natural complexion calmer, is lovely on its own. When joined by soothing chamomile, the bright flavor of orange peel and a rainbow of other tasty, beneficial herbs, it's a veritable superstar. Who could ask for more in a tea? Simply brew, sip, and "get gorgeous".

 Pick some up at Republic of Tea ($10.50 for 36 tea bags).

How To Pop A Pimple.

I'm going to begin this post by stating the obvious: don't pop pimples. You've heard it, I've heard it, that's the best advice they've got and still- that big date is coming up and you say- screw what's better for my skin, I want to look good. Understandable!

Let's first talk about why they recommend you leave it alone. The first reason given for why you shouldn't pop it is because it has the potential to cause scarring. This is more true of certain skin types than others. For example, darker tones and people with severe acne. My husband is pretty fair skinned and this is no motivation for him to stop- he says "I've never gotten a scar before, so that doesn't mean much to me." While some could argue that what he's saying is naive, it's also the mentality of most people who haven't experienced scarring. It's not much a concern!

So what else? Here's one thing that's guaranteed to happen: you're squeezing out a good amount of debris from the pimple, but what you don't realize is, you're not getting it all out. Ever. Think of it like a tube of toothpaste. If you squeeze from the middle, a lot comes out. But the stuff at the bottom doesn't. In fact, when you do this on your face, you are forcing much of the infection deeper down into your skin. This causes potential for worsening the pimple.. which is certainly not something you want. Even in the off chance that it doesn't worsen, it will take longer to completely heal up and go away- because you have caused your body a lot of trouble by interfering with its healing process.

See the illustration above to see what I mean: there is no way you can get in your skin deep enough to squeeze everything out from the bottom, where the hair follicle is. Most likely you will get a lot of the surface, forcing everything else deeper below.

So that's why you don't want to do it. Is that going to stop you? Maybe not. So if you must, you must. But take precautions and do it the right way.

The first step in popping a pimple properly is to make sure your hands and face are clean. Remember how you drive the infection deeper into your skin by forcing some out? The part of the pore that's open will get infested with whatever bacteria is left on your hands, fingernails, and face- one of the reasons a pimple can get worse after popping, or God forbid- spreading the infection causing more breakouts. Prevent this by being clean. Otherwise, don't touch your face!

Next, disinfect a needle or pin with rubbing alcohol. Gently prick the pimple's surface and cover your fingers with some tissue, and squeeze on the sides. (See pic below). If it is ready, the debris will come out easily, if it is not- do not force it. That is key in popping pimples the right way: only do it when it can be done without too much force. You have a much higher risk of damaging skin tissue by using too much force. This will most certainly take longer to heal up, and the main culprit in scarring.

Afterwards, treat the popped pimple with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide, like Clearsil's Popped Pimple Relief Pen.

10 Ways To Wake Up Beautiful

Time Inc. Digital Studio

1. Get an Early Start
Make a habit of washing your face a few hours before bed. If you wait until you're tired, you're more likely to blow it off -- allowing "toxins and dirt to stay on there all night," says dermatologist Laurie Polis of N.Y.C. Another consequence? You miss the best time to treat your skin. "At night there's more blood flow to the skin's surface, and there's nothing else on your face to interfere with absorption," Polis says.

Try: Neutrogena Deep Clean Relaxing nightly cleanser, $7; at drugstores.

2. Sleep on Your Back
Note to Audrey Hepburn fans: Lying on your stomach is bad for "beauty sleep." The average head weighs 7 to 8 pounds -- a lot of pressure to be putting on your face every night. In fact, many dermatologists say they can tell what side of the face people sleep on by the number of wrinkles there.

3. Get a Lift
Sleep with your head elevated on two pillows, or put the headrest area of your bed on 2- to 4-inch pieces of wood. Gravity helps lymph and blood flow so fluid won't accumulate, Polis says.

4. Save Money, Not Wrinkles
At night you don't need to worry about eye treatments smearing your makeup, so slather on the richest formula you can. Polis swears by Aquaphor: "It conditions lashes and hydrates the delicate eye skin really well."

Try: Aquaphor Healing ointment, $9; drugstore.com.

5. Sneak a Glow
Mix a drop of self-tanner into your night cream or use a cream that contains a bit of tan-producing DHA.

Try: Clarins Radiance-Plus self-tanning cream, $52; clarinsusa.com.

6. Avoid Carb Face
To wake with defined cheekbones, eat a high-protein, low-sugar dinner (try salmon and asparagus, a natural diuretic). Skip the rice, pasta and potatoes. "When our diet's high in glycemic carbohydrates, our features take on a soft, doughy appearance," says Connecticut dermatologist Nicholas Perricone.

7. Wrap It Up
To minimize A.M. frizz, sleep on a satin pillowcase or put your hair in a silk scarf. "Those fabrics are much softer than cotton, so there's less friction," says Harry Josh, a John Frieda stylist.

8. Find Your Inner Ballerina
Pile hair into a twist on the top of your head (use a scrunchie to avoid crimping). "In the morning you'll have major volume and beautiful waves," Josh says.

9. Turn on the Hair Conditioning
Sleep with a moisturizing treatment in damp hair overnight. We like Philip B. Katira Hair Masque, but any rich conditioner will do. Rinse in the morning.

Try: Philip B. Katira Hair Masque, $40; philipb.com.

10. Pop a Rooster Pill
Trust us, we were skeptical. But after swallowing two Wake Up on Time pills at 11 P.M., we found it much easier to get out of bed seven hours later. Created by a sleep-deprived single mother, the pills contain an energizing blend of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins B6 and B12 and guarana-seed extract. It's formulated with a coating that releases ingredients into your bloodstream toward the end of your last sleep cycle, so you wake up feeling clear-headed, not fuzzy.

Try: Wake Up On Time, $30/40 tablets; wakeupontime.com.

Oil Pulling for Detox!

There are a lot of crazy health fads out there, claiming to have all sorts of benefits for your body inside and out. Perhaps the one of the sillier sounding ones is called oil pulling, where you swish oil around in your mouth in order to literally detoxify your whole body. What?

Well, this may actually work. And you could chalk it all up to placebo effect if you want, as there are many people claiming to see all sorts of wonderful things as a result of this oil pulling. But let's look at the facts.

How does oil pulling work?

Here is a posting from a bio-chemist from Curezone.com:

"Here are my thoughts, in a short form, of a biochemically trained brain.

Pretty much everyone here is familiar with the detoxing benefits of an adequate water intake.

Chemicals (molecules) come in two forms. Ionic and nonionic. Ionic chemicals are water soluble. When we detox our bodies, we drink lots of water to flush any unwanted toxins out of our body. WELL guess what? That's only half the picture. Nonionic molecules are soluble in body fat and cell membranes. *

By oil swishing, you are doing the same thing for your body as when you drink a sufficient amount of water daily. You are giving toxins a medium in which to dissolve, then by spitting the oil out, you are removing whatever toxins came in contact with and dissolved into the oil. Using OIL is beneficial because it dissolves a different chemical class of pollutant/toxin than water. This is why you see healing first in the mouth, then later in different parts of the body. The toxins must migrate to the mouth before they can be removed with this method.

This is also why switching to a different type of oil will create a new cycle of healing/detoxing. After you've oil-pulled long enough to "stabilize" your toxin level, you've removed as much toxin as you can with that particular oil. By using different oils with slightly different makeups, you will be able to dissolve slightly different toxins more effeciently. It is not a matter of your body getting "used" to anything -- it has to do with the chemical qualities of the oil itself.

With this knowledge, there are a few more things you can do to keep the good feeling going. One I'll endorse is to eat low on the food chain. Any time you eat fat from an animal, you're ingesting the fat-soluble pollutants that were stored in the animal's body. Guess who buys organic milk and butter?? Ha ha.

If you had an ample supply of appropriate oil, you could 1. coat your skin to excess, then remove after 15 minutes, or 2. use in an enema, preferably followed by a SWF to keep the toxins from migrating back into the bowel from any oil left after evacuating. These should have similar toxin-removing effects on your body, although they would be considerably more involved, messy, and costly due to the amount of oil required.

I hope this has helped some in the community understand the Science behind oil-pulling. It's not magic, and it's not even that wacky. It's a good, healthy, direct application of chemistry.

With this information in mind, you can see where oil-pulling for longer periods will give you a certain increase in benefits, but the daily wait in between cleansing is helpful to the process too. After all, the oil can not remove a toxin located in the bowel. The bloodstream and normal (slow) diffusion will have to carry it to the mouth before you can be rid of it. Think of your body as a sponge -- the oil can only clean one little spot of it at a time. Eventually the whole sponge gets clean... but it takes time and consistency.

Please excuse my spelling. It never was very good. ;)
Thoughts welcome.

* Membranes are made up of molecules with an ionic side (faces the water-rich world and the cell's interior) and a nonionic side (sandwiched together, creates a chemical barrier)."

What does oil pulling DO?

Oil pulling is reported to cure: gum & mouth disease, stiff joints, acne, dark eye circles, allergies, asthma, high blood sugar, fine lines and crow's feet, constipation, migraines, bronchitis, eczema, grey hairs, heart disease, kidney disease, gum bleeding, gum sensitivity, lung disease, leukemia, arthritis, meningitis, menopause, hormonal issues, keratosis pilaris, cancer, AIDS, chronic infections, varicose veins, high blood pressure, diabetes, polio, cracked heels and rough skin.

Now some of those claims sound a bit outlandish to me, like the curing of cancer and AIDS. However, it IS common to find skin conditions, mouth and gum problems, joints, and certain other sensitivities to be improved or even diminished.

Here is a short blip from Bharat Savur's article on The Hindu Business Online

..."When Dr Karsch examined the gargled milk-white oil under a microscope with 600 magnification, he saw live organisms swimming in it. It's poisonous, so never swallow it, he warns. These poisons are bacteria-embryos, which, if not eliminated, cause diseases. Apparently, Dr Karsach cured his own chronic blood disease and 15-year-old arthritis.

The first sign of improvement is in the teeth-they become firm and white, he says. Other healing indications: fresh, relaxed feeling on waking up, disappearing dark pouches below the eyes, anew appetite and energy, better memory and deep sleep.

Dr Karsch swears by the mouth oil-wash for anything from organ-disorders, skin-diseases, menstrual problems, paralysis to every ache and it is in the human anatomy. You can gargle even when you have fever, he says, adding, it takes anything from two days to a year to cure a disease.

And if these claims sound exaggerated, he told a conference of Ukrainian cancer specialists, try out the process yourself.

Interestingly, Ayurveda advises oil gargling "to purify the taste-buds and the entire system", as explained by Dr Deepak Chopra in Perfect Health. According to this life science, the tongue is mapped by organ-locations -- that is, each section of the tongue is connected to the kidneys, lungs, spleen, liver, heart, pancreas, small intestines, stomach, colon, and spine.

Thus, an oil-mouth-massage soothes and stimulates the key meridians where taste meets organ. Simultaneously, as in any skin-massage, the inner skin and lining of the mouth, palate and tongue become warm and supple and the lubrication prevents dryness (the vatic effect).

In modern dietetics too, dryness is discussed. For example, lack of Vitamin A (retinal) causes the outer lining of the eyeball to dry and wrinkle, and affects vision.

And as any dietician would tell you, all oils contain 960 micrograms of vitamin A per 10 gm (the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A per adult is 600 micrograms). So, it's possible that oil gargling helps in reaching the required retinal to the eyeballs and keeps them elastic and smooth.

Likewise, the Ayurvedic `purification of taste-buds' also has its equivalent in dietetics as `antioxidants'. Oxidation literally means `the putrefaction of body-tissues'.

And oil-soluble vitamins, A, C, D, and E are antioxidants that protect and prevent the decaying process and help maintain the integral functioning of cell membranes. That's why, many people are ingesting vitamin E pills to stem `aging' (oxidation)."

Click here to read the rest of this article.

How do I do it?

Best results have been found when the oil used is sunflower or sesame oils, although some claim to see positive results from olive oil and coconut oil as well. Optimally you want a cold pressed oil, but if not, it at least must be a refined oil.

First thing in the morning on an empty stomach, swish 1 tablespoon of your chosen oil in your mouth without swallowing it. Be sure you have brushed and cleaned your teeth ahead of time, as the oil could concentrate on pulling toxins from the surface of your teeth that you would be brushing off anyway (instead of other parts of the mouth that teeth brushing does not get).

Pull it through your teeth and around your mouth, as you would with mouthwash. Don't gargle it in your throat. The oil should become watery and liquidy as it mixes with your saliva- this is ok. It is also normal for the consistancy to get a little thicker towards the end of the process, as the mixture fills up with toxins.

If you have already eaten, wait 4 hours before oil pulling. If you had something to drink, wait 1 hour.

You want to swish the oil for about 20 minutes. You can go longer, but it is not necessary. The mixture will look bubbly and white or yellowish.

It is important to rinse out your mouth thoroughly afterwards, to ensure the mouth is completely rid of the toxic oil bits that could be left inside. You can use water, mouthwash, or hydrogen peroxide (at full strength or diluted with water).

What should I expect after oil pulling?

If you're willing to wait and keep up the process, you should see a multitude of benefits over time. Initially you will have a healthier mouth and whiter teeth- after only a couple sessions.

As does often occur with any detox, symptoms can worsen right before them improve. This is not only normal, this is a good thing. What it means is that the toxins are surfacing and releasing from the body, sometimes causing irritation. Be patient, and soon these symptoms will not only get better, they will go away altogether.