Skin Structure

Skin Structure


The skin is made up of four layers; the horny outer layer, which consists of dead cells; the epidermis; the dermis; and the subcutaneous layer of fat. The skin is designed to be waterproof, and nothing that is put on the skin, such as moisturizers, cellular renewal creams or anti-ageing creams, can penetrate any deeper than the outermost layers of the epidermis.



Skin grows from within outwards. This occurs at the basal cell layer, which separates the dermis from the epidermis. These cells are continuously reproducing and moving forward towards the skin's surface. When these cells die, they form the horny layer that acts as a safety barrier and protects the fresh cells underneath. At the surface these cells form keratin, a layer of tough material that is thickest in body areas subject to the most wear and tear, such as the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The surface layer is in a constant state of renewal as the dead cells are sloughed off and replaced by other cells. Exfoliation removes this surface layer, leaving the skin smooth.



Collagen, the elastic tissue in the dermis layer, give the skin its suppleness, smoothness, and plumpness. As you age, the collagen tissues break down, which causes skin to sag, wrinkle, and thin. Nothing short of cosmetic surgery can prevent these signs of ageing. The rate at which your skin ages is inherited, so if your parents have young-looking skin, chances are you will too.

100 Life Saving Health Food Tips

Stop Smoking Programs…what are my options?

Stop Smoking Programs…what are my options?

In today’s society there are many different options that are out there to quit smoking. There are many different smoking cessation aids and tools that are available for your journey to quit smoking. Stops Smoking Programs come in many shapes and sizes. With all of the available programs that are available for you the trick is to find the one that will best fit your needs.

Hypnosis to stop smoking – You can use hypnosis as a stop smoking program. There are many options that are available on the market. They come in two flavors you can buy self hypnosis audio programs that will guide you in the progress of stop smoking, and will help increase your will power. You can also see a specialist in your local area, where you will go into their clinic to get hypnotized. Hypnosis has had high success rates with people that truly want to quit.

Planned programs to stop smoking – There are many programs that will take you on a day by day list of things to do to quit smoking. You will have to follow all the steps in the program, but it is possible to quit using these programs. My personal favorite program is “Quit Smoking Today”. This program is very well planned out and made for all different types of quitters. Many people who have used this program have had success with stop smoking and smoking abstinence.

Counseling to stop smoking – There are many options provided by many local, state, and federal programs that will help guide you through the stop smoking process. Counseling Stop smoking programs are designed to be used as a support system to help aide you when you need it. Many of the programs offer weekly counseling sessions, and phone/chat lines to help you get through those “moments of weakness.”

Laser Treatments to stop smoking – There is a new and fairly contraversal method that is new to the market, which is laser treatment therapy. These methods utilize lower levels of light the hit trigger points on your body that will aide in calming ones nerves and anxiety. This is new and promising, but does not have a lot of data proving that it is a truly effective method. If you are one those “be ahead of the game types”, then this might be a great solution for you.

NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) to stop smoking – Nicotine Replacement therapy stop smoking programs are nothing new. The most popular programs are Nicoderm CQ and Nicorette. Both of these methods use a patch you apply on your skin or a gum that will release small doses of nicotine into your body. The idea is that you ween yourself off the nicotine slowly, and you will fell less discomfort while doing so by following this method.

Detox Centers to stop smoking – There are detox centers and support groups that your can find in any major city to help you quit smoking. These program are intensive, timely and costly. They are known to have very high success rate. They are just like detox centers for drug users, but they keep you from quitting in a control environment. You can look them up for most major cities. Please be aware this method is very expensive.

Cold Turkey to stop smoking – This is where you simply set down your cigarettes and never pick them up again. This is a very difficult method to do, because you will experience most of the withdrawal symptoms. Most people will use gum, toothpicks, or mints to replace the cigarette. This is not an easy method, but it is possible to achieve.

6 simple tips to lose weight

Tips from Reader’s Digest :

Chew Gum
Volunteers who chewed gum for 15 minutes each hour between lunch and a snack consumed 60 fewer calories from sweets than when they went gum-free.

Vegetable Juice
Here's a surprising way to supercharge any diet--and your health: Chug a glass of low-sodium vegetable juice every day. In a study of 81 overweight adults at risk for heart disease and diabetes, those who drank at least a cup of low-sodium V8 daily lost four pounds over 12 weeks, while those on the same reduced-fat diet who drank no juice lost one pound.

Drop Sugary Drinks
Calories from solid foods and liquids both add up, of course. But in a recent multicenter study, the only menu change that had a significant payoff for dieters was cutting back on sugary beverages, says lead author Benjamin Caballero, MD. Reducing intake by just one serving a day took a pound off after six months, enough to add up for people with a soda or fruit-drink habit.

Green Tea
Overweight or obese exercisers burned off three more pounds and 7 percent more belly fat when they drank green tea instead of another beverage with the same calories, according to a new multicenter study.

More Sleep
A study of 32 summer students at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas over three weeks showed that those who slept an extra two hours ate nearly 300 calories less.

Mushrooms
When ground beef was swapped out for mushrooms in lasagna, sloppy joes, and chili, adults consumed 400 fewer calories per day, according to a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study. Researchers estimate that if you sub mushrooms for ground meat in one meal every week, you can lose five pounds in a year.

Tell your friends to remind you of your bad posture

I have a big problem with my posture. I've had it since age 14 and I think there haven't been a single day since then when I have not thought of my bad posture.Recently I've come to terms that my back "problem" is psychological rather than physical because when I'm at home or when I am outside when it's dark with few people around I can easliy walk with a straight back with no problems at all. But when I'm in a city centre full of people it feels like something litterally weighs down my shoulders, making it hard to walk with a straigh back.I have figured out that my back problem maybe has to do with low self esteem, or likely, though I, in general, do feel confident, so it's a bit contradicting.Like I wrote in the beginning of this post, I do think of my bad posture and to "stand straight" and likely on a daily basis. I usually manage to have a good posture for a minute or two when I suddenly find myself with a bad posture again.

I have thought of some "solutions" that helps a bit regarding this:First one is to let everyone around you know about your problem. I'm talking about those who you feel confident to share it with, of course. To me, my family and some of my closests friends. Tell them to remind you of your bad posture when they see it.Second one is to always think positive when you are thinking about your posture. Always think sentences like "I will walk with a straight back" or "Improving my posture" instead of the negative ones like "Damn, I'm having a bad posture right now".Think the law of attraction. Use only positive words in your head.Third is to start going to the gym. Working out those back muscles do help a lot with the posture.

Apply vitamin E oil to your skin as your anti-aging cream

Vitamin E is known for protecting cells in the skin from damaging through oxidation. This means you can use a vitamin E oil as a natural anti-aging oil because it counteract the aging of skin and stimulate the circulation of the blood.While i don't need to worry about my skin getting older, I do use a vitamin E oil called "E-Vita" (with an added smell of lavender) in my face because it makes my skin softer and I don't get dry skin. I feel applying it in the shower is the optimal.In food you can find high levels of vitamin E in green leafy vegetables and nuts.

Organic salmon-potato soup with haricots, carrots and broccoli

This fall I've started experimenting with making new dishes and this salmon-potato soup with vegetables is one of them.

The ingredients you see in the picture are:

Main ingredients

- Salmon filet (organic)

- Potatoes- Haricots

- Carrots (organic)

- Broccoli (organic)

Herbs

- Tumeric (organic)

- Thyme (organic)

- Oregano (organic)

Flavor enhancer

- Tamari soy sauce (organic)

- Himalayan salt

The easiest (and laziest!) way to do this soup is to boil everything at once in a big, big saucepan for about 20-30 mins. The haricots and broccoli can be added the last 5-10 minutes so they won't get too boiled.And that's bascially it! Kind of easy, do you agree?As you can see, almost every ingredient is organic. When I'm at home that's what I'm aiming for. I find my organic herbs, Tamari and Himalayan salt in the health food store, the rest of the ingredients comes from the supermarket.I hope this blog post will inspire you and give you an idea or two next time you cook!