Weakness of blood vessels is often seen during the aging process when blood vessels become fragile. Dark bilberry fruit has been shown to reduce blood vessel permeability, improve capillary resistance, and provide antioxidant properties, to scavenge free radicals. One way to fight the aging process of the body is to promote health in the vascular system by eating nourishing foods, exercising, and learning how to handle stress. Evidence shows that eating five servings or more a day of fruit and vegetables can reduce the risk of heart disease, cataracts, and some other disorders that related to blood vessel health. The dark pigment in fruits and vegetables has many health advantages.

A lot of people think that the only way to improve blood vessel health is to reduce blood cholesterol, minimizing the risk of a heart attack. That is an essential goal, but blood vessels should also have strength and integrity to maintain their health in order to carry nutrients and oxygen through the body to feed the tissues. As we age, eye function begins to diminish and causes a lot of people to fear that they are losing their eyesight.

The blood vessels decline in function, but there are other factors such as the reduction of arrestin and rhodopsin. Arrestin is a protein while rhodopsin is the light sensitive pigment that can be found in the retina. The dark pigment of fruits and vegetables is extremely important to blood vessels and the health of the structures and proteins of the eyes. Brilliant colored fruits and vegetables may prevent strokes, heart disease, and help long-term vision because they improve integrity of blood vessels.

Bilberry fruit has been studied for over 40 years for its supportive effects on blood vessel health, blood circulation, and lymph flow. Blood vessels in the brain, heart, eyes, stomach, veins in the legs, and actually anywhere in the body have the potential to leak. In many regions bilberry extract has been used to support individuals with microcirculatory disorders including varicose veins, atherosclerosis, and degenerative retinal conditions including macular degeneration and cataracts. Diabetes, atherosclerosis, poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, excess alcohol and an inability to handle stress can all contribute to blood vessel disorders and cause the capillary’s membrane to thicken, therefore, increasing capillary permeability causing edema and leaking of fluid.

During the aging process, oxidative damage occurs by free radicals in the eyes, which then causes a loss in the transparency of the lens. Symptoms that occur because of this are blurred vision, increased sensitivity to glare, reduced visual acuity, color perception, and light sensitivity. When the eye structure begins to break down, vision impairment and cataract formation result. Bilberry extract has been shown to improve vision and twilight vision, helping the retina adapt to darkness and glare.

With aging, a gradual degenerative process is experienced which is caused by free radical damage to our body’s genetic material, cell membranes, and tissues. Free radicals attack blood vessel endothelial cells, and they begin to rupture. Antioxidants help to prevent AMD and reduce the damage of the retina’s photo receptors. In summary, blood vessel health is an important part of age management. By improving diet, managing stress, exercising, and supplementing with bilberry extract, one can promote the health of blood vessels throughout the body, and therefore, support the eyes.

These days, it is getting more and more difficult to maintain a Healthy skin, staying youthful and radiant skin due to our Lifestyle and also the surround environment.

The high humidity and the hot climate causes oily skin to secrete more oil, and easily accumulate dirt, grease and grime. Making the skin more problematic and more susceptible to acne formation and on the other hand, those who has dehydrated skin will face dead cells building up and uneven skin tone and textures, your skin form barrier that whatever skincare products and treatments are unable to penetrate or being absorb, wrinkles formation and pigmentation.

On the other hand, those who stay in areas whereby weather that has seasonal, may have to adjust, not only skincare products and the body is taking temperatures changes, in which the skin and the whole body has to undergo changes and less self defense ability.

Learn How to Self check to Signs of Skin Aging and Skin Problems?

1 Do Your Skin feel rough
2 Your Skin looks Dull and lacks of Glow
3 Is the hyper pigmentation spots and fine lines become noticeable
4 Your skin sags and lacks vitality
5 Your skin lacks translucency
6 Do abnormal sebum secretion occurs from time to time
7 Do unpredictable skin sensitivity occurs feeling skin flushing, itch or rashes

Our Skin Ages As We Grow Older and the following will result:

1 Wrinkles formation
2 Lowered skin cell metabolism rate
3 Deteriorating skin self defense ability
4 Poor nutrients absorption power from the body as well as the skin.

Factor contributing to skin aging

-Increase in age
-Exposure to free radicals
-Exposure to Sun
-Weakening blood vessels
-Improper Diet
-Insufficient rest or sleep
-Wrong choice of skin care products

Do not let AGE gets into you and under your skin

It is the Everyday routine, you take care for your skin that matters year after years in order to stay healthy, youthful.

Greens provide essential base forming minerals such as calcium and magnesium that are not found in fruit, nuts and seeds, not to mention other more conventional, acid-forming foods. Most of the fruits available to us are very low in calcium. Although we hear oranges and figs are rich in calcium, we do not eat or digest the white pith or seeds.

Foods from the Green groups are among the best for our health. They typically have a high concentrate of two phytochemicals; chlorophyll and carotenoids. These two have been linked to be a prophylactic to tumors and offer protection to coronary disease.

When discussing the importance of Greens in our diet, I feel it is important to quickly explain how plant nutrients work. The green color of the leaves is due to the most common of plant pigments, chlorophyll. Chlorophyll acts very similar to blood, only it has an atom of magnesium in the center and a tail of hydrocarbons instead of iron. Thus making this molecule soluble only in fats.

Chlorophyll absorbs violet and red light, appearing to be green. What makes a whole plant green is the absorption capacity which is strong enough to hide the other natural colors in plants. The only time we see the other colors is in Autumn, when the chlorophyll molecule decomposes and we see colors of amber, red, and brown.

The nutrition we get out of a plant depends on the environment on which they are grown. The temperature, humidity, sunlight hours and soil properties are the difference between a healthy plant and one that will not create the nutrients we need.

Green leaf vegetables are our best source of folates and folic acid which is a B vitamin that is essential for cell growth and reproduction . The amount of vitamin C, is a powerful antioxidant is extremely high in leafy greens, especially spinach, kiwi, broccoli and parsley.

Other valuable components are carotenoids, highly unsaturated yellow to red pigments occurring in plants which are components of vitamin A. Vitamin A supports the immune system and also fulfils a specific role in our vision. Potassium, calcium, iron and zinc are also present in great quantities, as is magnesium.

The intake of all of these is essential for human health. Green foods should be cut as little as possible before washing and cooking them to preserve these essential minerals.

Now that we know we need to have those nutrients to live a healthier life, it has become a problem of discipline for people. Not everyone wants to cook up a bunch of fresh greens or throw them into a blender to make a high nutrient, sometimes awful tasting smoothie. While most people consider a salad before or during a meal to be essential, it is clearly not enough to give you everything you need. Vegetables vary in the richness of their nutrients. Some of the vegetables we can consume great amounts of calcium usually not found on a dinner plate or in our average homemade salads are cabbage, collared greens, kale, escarole, turnip greens, mustard greens, watercress and spinach.

Many scientists and doctors have taken this into consideration. There are almost too many types of supplemental Greens products available. The most common ways to have ALL of your green minerals is to take it in a pill form or a powder mix that can be turned into a pleasant tasting nutrition drink. These supplements can actually work better than eating the vegetables. Each green has its characteristics and potency but most people do not chew the food enough to release the proper amount into our body. If we eat a vegetable without chewing out the nutrients, it makes it almost impossible for the digestive system to break it down, resulting in a loss of perfect calcium. When supplements for greens are made, they are made up of a blend of the strongest greens and at their most nutritional stage.br
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A simple way to grasp what phytochemicals do is to understand why plants have colors in the first place. Colorful chemicals can be described as pigments in two main classes: phenolics and carotenoids.

Phenolic Pigments

Plant colors of blue, purple, black and red belong to the pigment class called phenolics (or polyphenols), which includes several thousand individual chemicals across the plant world.

Although phenolics may be grouped in as many as 11 subclasses, each with hundreds of chemicals, those known best in public media are the flavonoids found in colorful edible plants like berries. A principal flavonoid subgroup that is common in dark berries is the anthocyanins (anthos = flower, cyanin = blue, Greek). Anthocyanins give the brightest colors to plants, including the blue of blueberries, black of blackberries, red of cherries or rose petals, and purple of prunes and eggplant.

Pigments provide two general functions to plants. Via their scent, flavor, and color, pigments serve to attract pollinators and assure continuation of the species. Secondly, they act as a defensive shell of acidic protectors guarding against bacteria, viruses, fungi and other pests. This category includes antioxidant roles necessary to neutralize the effects of constant exposure to the sun, ultraviolet radiation and production of free radicals during photosynthesis.

Following digestion from eating pigmented foods like berries, phenolics distribute throughout the bodys water compartments. This includes the inside of cells where oxidative reactions are occurring second by second throughout life. Phenolics (and carotenoids below) are the antioxidants that neutralize oxidation reactions from free radicals that can damage cell structures and contribute to disease and aging.

Simply stated, humans can increase their defenses against disease by eating colorful plants. Preliminary evidence for this benefit comes from a host of research studies on animals and in limited human clinical trials. Theses studies show positive results by phenolics against:

?Cancer
?Cardiovascular disease
?Thrombosis (blood clots)
?Inflammation
?Diabetes

Phenolics appearing in public media over recent years include:

?Proanthocyanidins (anti-cancer effect from grape seeds)
?Resveratrol (protective effect against cardiovascular disease from red grapes and dark wines)
?Anthocyanins (protection against brain damage following stroke from blueberries)
?Chlorogenic acid (reduction of high blood pressure from strawberries)
?Ferulic acid (cancer prevention from black raspberries)

Carotenoids

In plants that are red, orange, yellow or green are a smaller family of pigments called the carotenoids. These are the pigments associated with the vivid colors of corn, carrots, pumpkins, tomatoes and spinach. Even though green plants have a predominance of chlorophyll – a green pigment – carotenoids are ever present (though masked by chlorophyll). An example of this effect occurs in spinach. Even though it is a dark green vegetable, spinach contains high levels of a yellow carotenoid called lutein.

Other carotenoids now seen in consumer products like vitamins and supplements include:

?Beta-carotene
?Lycopene
?Zeaxanthin (zee-a-zan-thin)

Carotenoids have two characteristics of particular health value to us. First, they tend to dissolve best in lipids and so are concentrated in fatty parts of human cells (like membranes, nuclear envelopes and the sheaths of nerves close to critical functions of these cell components). Second, carotenoids typically have numerous double-bonds between carbon atoms, a highly effective source of electrons needed in antioxidation processes.

Simply for the above reason, carotenoids are thought to be more powerful dietary antioxidants than phenolics. With carotenoids in cell lipids and phenolics in cell water, phytochemicals from a diet of colorful plants act in concert to protect our organs from potential damage by radical oxygen and nitrogen species.

In ongoing basic research on animals, carotenoids have been linked to broad health benefits including:

?Eye diseases
?Cardiovascular diseases
?Cancer
?Psoriasis
?Inflammation
?Viral infections

Summary of health benefits: Enrich your dietary content of phenolics and carotenoids by eating a variety of the most brightly colored vegetables and fruits!

Reading

* Heber D, What Color is Your Diet?, 2001, HarperCollins, New York.
* Joseph JA, Nadeau DA, Underwood A. The Color Code, 2002, Hyperion, New York.
* Lee J, Koo N, Min DB. Reactive oxygen species, aging, and antioxidative nutraceuticals. Comprehen Rev Food Sci and Food Safety 3:21-33, 2004.

Copyright 2006 Berry Health Inc.br
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The fact is that any type of skin condition can happen regardless of the pigment of skin you have. When it comes to African American skin care and others with darker complexions however, there are a few skin care problems that are much more prevalent.

Here are five of the most common African American skin care issues?

Acne

Acne is a chronic disorder characterized by excess production of oil from sebaceous glands causing the hair follicles generally on the face, chest and back to become plugged. Pimples, papules, pustules and comedone, (black heads and white heads) cysts and infected abscesses can be treated in acne. Acne affects most teenagers to some extent. However, the disease is not restricted to any age group; adults in their 20s – even into their 40s – can get acne. In regards to African American skin care, acne may result in long lasting discolorations of the skin. Therapy is the same for all skin types but it is very important to use topical agents that minimize irritation of the skin.

Ingrown Hairs of the Beard (Razor Bumps)

Another African American skin care issue is Ingrown Hairs. African Americans have curved hair shafts and this is true of beard hair as well as other body hair. Often after a very close shave, the pointed hair may curl back into the skin and it may pierce the wall of the hair follicle, causing a reaction resulting in bumps called “pseudofolliculitis barbae.” If you can, growing a beard is a viable option for helping this.

African American men should try different methods of hair removal if they suffer with ingrown hairs, which are also called razor bumps. Shaving with a special type of safety razor that does not permit a very close shave may help. Do not stretch the skin during shaving and don’t shave on a daily basis. If hairs become ingrown, lift them up with an alcohol-cleaned needle (don’t tweeze or pluck) just before shaving. Sometimes using a rough washcloth before shaving can help to loosen hairs about to grow inward.

Hair removal chemicals do remove hair but should only be used once a week. They must be wiped off promptly according to package directions and wash your face twice with soap and water immediately afterwards to guard against irritation.

Permanent removal of hair performed by an experienced Electrolysis Operator may be an effective solution and there are new medicated creams that may slow hair growth and help. Be sure to consult your dermatologist about treatment options.

Variations in Skin Color

African American skin has larger melanosomes (cells that determine skin color ) and the melanosomes contain more of the pigment melanin than those found in white skin. Because of the protective effect of melanin, African-Americans are better protected against skin cancer and premature wrinkling from sun exposure.

Post inflammatory hyper pigmentation is quite common in dark skinned individuals, even after minor trauma. An area of the skin may darken after an injury such as a cut or a scrape, or after certain skin disorders such as acne. To avoid or reduce post inflammatory hyper pigmentation, avoid picking, harsh scrubbing, and abrasive treatments. Darkened areas of skin may take many months or years to fade, although topical (surface) bleaching agents may help. Also chemical peels (using alpha and beta hydroxyl acids) and microdermabrasion can be helpful.”

Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a common African American skin care condition where pigment cells are destroyed and irregular white patches on the skin appear. Many dermatologists think that the cause of this common disorder is an autoimmune process, where the cells of the body attack the pigment producing cells.

The extent of color loss differs with each person; some people lose pigment over their entire bodies. Some patients with vitiligo do not regain skin color, however some cases of vitiligo do repigment. See your dermatologist as soon as possible, as the extent of the disease will determine the appropriate treatment. .

Several skin care methods are used to treat vitiligo, but none have been perfected. Topical medications, including corticosteroids and new non-steroid anti-inflammatory preparations are commonly used. In cases where vitiligo affects most of the body, it is sometimes best to destroy the remaining normal pigment. A dermatologist can determine what treatment is best based on the extent of the disease.

Keloids

When the scar from a cut or wound extends and spreads beyond the size of the original wound, it is known as a keloid. Keloids may vary in size, shape, and location. They occur more often in brown or black skin making this a very common African American skin care issue.

Keloids are a common skin care issue on the ear lobes, neck, chest, or back, and usually occur after an injury or surgery. Occasionally they occur spontaneously, especially on the mid-chest area. Keloids often follow inflammation caused by acne on the face, chest, and back.

Keloids may be painful both physically and emotionally (from a cosmetic perspective), but it’s important to address keloids primarily as a medical, rather than cosmetic condition.

Depending on the location of the keloid, skin care treatment may consist of cortisone injections, pressure, silicone gels, surgery, laser treatment, or radiation therapy. Unfortunately, keloids tend to return and even enlarge, especially after treatment with surgery.

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IN EVERY period and civilizaion, notes one reference work, hair expresses a little componant of the person underneath it. Little surprise, then, that a large amount of people are keenly engrossed in keeping their hair healthy and gorgeous.

Hair contains keratin, a fibrous protein. Every hair grows out of an groove in the scalp named a follicle. Next to the base of all follicle is the papilla, which surrounds a rich blood supply. The papilla produces hair cells which extend up the follicle and harden into hair.

A few people visualize that hair is nourished by means of the body in the same method the limbs of a tree are nourished by means of the trunk. Although as soon as hair surfaces out of the scalp, it is a lifeless substance. Trimming the hair, conseqtly, does not shape its growth.

The central layer of the hair includes a pigment that gives hair its color. At the same time that the pigment cells pass way, the hair turns gray; its part of the aging progression. Early graying might be caused by means of genetics or ill health. It is a legend, yet, that hair will turn gray while sleeping. Pigment is deposited underneath the scalp. Therefore time is necessary for the gray hair to grow (in the vicinity of one half inch [1.25 cm] per month) and come into view on the surface of the head.

Hair loss is part of the usual cycle of hair. On average, everybody sheds an estimated 50 to 80 hairs daily. Although male pattern baldness has a genetic source and seems to be caused by a hormonal imbalance, ensueing in lasting hair loss. Uncharacteristic loss of hair is called alopecia.

Beneath the scalp, blood feeds the hair. So healthy hair might mirror a well-nourished blood supply. On the other hand, a person that eats badly or overindulges in alcoholic beverages might discover that his hair becomes limp and weak, because his blood supply cannot suitably nourish his hair. Hair loss or weak hair can even be an early warning of sickness or pregnancy.

If you wish for a alter your haircut, bring a photo of the style you desire and possibly of the style you dont want. For the Jennifer Aniston Sedu Haircut, find a photo on a website such as http://www.seduhairstylestips.com . Honestly put across your requests and the amount of time you are prepared to put into hair care every day, given that some hairstyles require additional consideration than others. Keep in mind that it more often than not takes two or three visits for a hairstylist to get to recognize your hair and to establish good communication with you. So dont give up on your stylist too quickly!

Hair care and styling are forms of self-expression. Hair has been cut, extended, straightened, curled, colored, and variously styled to meet fashion trends, religious beliefs, and even social and political agendas. Take a closer look at your hair. Healthy hair that is elegantly styled adorns its wearer and is well-liked by others.
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Hyper pigmentation of the cells in the body leads to what is called the skin moles. Proliferation of the pigment cells, exposure to sunlight and hereditary factors can be the most common causes of moles. What exactly is a skin mole? Pigmented cells clustered together and having a raised surrounding area having a brown or black color is known as a mole. They are round or irregular in shape and a number of them can vary from one person to person. Get rid of Moles in Just 3 Days They are generally harmless in nature but many people prefer to get rid of moles purely for cosmetic reasons and a few when it becomes painful or infected. What are the possible treatment options that are available through which one can safely get rid of moles? Surgery is something which suggested by the experts for treating this condition. At the same time, recurrences are also noted in most of the cases. There also alternative simple methods opted out these days such as shaving and cutting of the mole.Natural remedies are available that has the ability to eliminate the illness from its root. They are affordable and have no side effects when compared to the conventional modes of treatment. Following are some of the home remedies that will help you to get rid of moles.•