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We are all aging and that’s something we can do nothing about. But, what we do have control over is how we age.
Aging youthfully is our choice. In fact, lifestyle choices account for 33 percent of how old a woman looks. Living an unhealthy lifestyle can age a woman’s skin by over ten years, an in-depth international study has just revealed.
The true damage caused by sun beds, smoking, not moisturizing your skin, and not eating enough fruit can accelerate the aging process – not by a little but by a lot.
Dr. Andrew Mayes, who led the study for Simple skin care, said: ‘We already knew genetics accounted for about 50 per cent of how old people look, but we didn’t know how much would be accounted for by their lifestyles.
‘Even we were surprised by just how much it was; both in terms of the number of years and the percentage.’
The study which was carried out over the last eight years involved women aged 45 to 75 in the UK, Spain and China.
Those who took part were asked a string of questions about their lifestyles including whether or not they liked to sun tan and if they were smokers or non-smokers.
Other questions included how often the women used moisturizer, whether they eat fruit and vegetables, how often they brush their teeth and if they have all their own teeth.
The research team also took digital images of the women which were then assessed for how old they looked to identify their perceived age and whether they looked younger or older than their actual age.
When they got their data the research team compared the perceived ages of those with good versus bad lifestyles.
They concluded the difference was 10.4 years. Dr. Mayes said, “The number of years’ difference was most staggering. We had just seen some data out of a group of plastic surgeons in the US and Canada suggesting that a face and neck lift (together with eyelid and forehead modifications) could take an average of about 8.5 years off your facial age.
‘Then we got our data through demonstrating a saving of over 10 years. It’s fair to say at first we couldn’t quite believe it”.
‘Simply put; good skin health is about more than fancy creams and lotions – it’s about how we live our lives and how we treat our bodies and the steps we need to take do not need to be extreme.
The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there’s no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.
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‘This has been one of those beauty tips you often hear quoted, but for the first time we can back it with science,’ Queensland Institute of Medical Research senior scientist and lead author of the trial Adele Green said.
The study found that adults who regularly applied broad spectrum sunscreen – which protects against both ultraviolet B and ultraviolet A rays – over a four-and-a-half year period had no detectable aging of the skin.
They also had 24 per cent less skin aging than people who used sunscreen less frequently, according to study.
The randomized, controlled trial, published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine, is the first study of its kind. Previously, the only scientific evidence for the beneficial effects of sun screen on wrinkling was in hairless mice.
The researchers randomly assigned 903 adults, ages 25-55, to use SPF15+ every day on their face, arms and hands with frequent reapplication or to use sunscreen at their discretion.
Silicone impressions, or molds, were taken from the backs of all participants’ hands at the start and end of the trial to grade the damage over the four-and-a-half years of the study.
The adults were all aged under 55 to ensure the changes noted were primarily due to photo-aging rather than chronological aging.
The researchers found those using daily sunscreen were 24 per cent less likely to show increased wrinkling over the period.
Regardless of sex, age, skin color, occupation, skin cancer history, weight and smoking, everyone benefited from daily sunscreen use. ‘And the study has shown that up to middle age, it’s not too late to make a difference,’ Green said.
Any sunscreen stronger than SPF15+ might have had only a marginal additional effect, according to Green as SPF15+ blocks about 94 percent of ultraviolet B rays, which are responsible for sunburn, while one with an SPF of 40 filters about 97.5 percent.
And don’t forget this important warning. Apply sunscreen well and reapply often.
Previous research suggested that sunscreen could lull sun-worshipers into a false sense of safety, and see them staying out longer in the sun.
‘The sunscreen has to be applied thick enough and in all areas to be effective,’ Dr. Thomas Ruenger, a professor of dermatology at Boston University, told NBC News.
Ruenger recommends using a broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 20 or 30 and reapplying every two hours and after sweating or bathing.
The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there’s no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.
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Did you ever meet a woman who was satisfied with her body? I haven’t. You think you are too big here, too small there, and whatever you do to look better – it’s never enough.
But, how deep do these insecurities really lie and how much do they affect our day-to-day lives?
Dr. Bijal Chheda-Varma, a psychologist specializing in body image at London’s Capio Nightingale Hospital, decided to find out using the silhouette test. She says: ‘The silhouette test is widely used among psychologists because it’s a very simple way to determine how unhappy a woman is with her shape’.
The women involved in the test were asked to identify the size they think they are from a range of body shapes, ranked from one to nine (with one being very underweight and nine very overweight).
Next, they were asked to pick the size they’d like to be.
The difference between the two numbers is their body dissatisfaction score and, with a little computer trickery, they were shown how they see their bodies compared to reality.
‘Basically, the bigger the gap between the shape a woman thinks she is and the shape she’d like to be, the more upset she is about her body. Most women tend to have a distorted view.
‘While men tend to be more accurate, the average woman is likely to pick a shape one or two points from reality.
According to Dr Chheda-Varma, body dissatisfaction in women is on the rise.
She says: ‘I’m seeing a growing number who do not have eating disorders, but even so they have increasing body dissatisfaction scores.
‘They often come to me for different reasons, like depression and anxiety, and it emerges that body image and food consumption are underlying factors.
‘From what these women tell me, it’s clear how the high standards they are setting themselves and how anxious the pressure to be perfect can make women feel.’
Ladies, what we do to ourselves is criminal. You have to ask yourself why are you so hard on yourself?
. The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there’s no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.
. Bookmark the
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Prior to founding Heart Open LLC, Michael Russer was a highly successful international speaker, author and columnist. Then in September of 2011 he began a year-long personal transformation that included a diagnosis of prostate cancer, radical prostatectomy, followup intensive radiation treatments and full-blown impotence.
He considers impotence to be one of the biggest blessings in his life. It made it possible for him and his partner to discover an entirely new approach to experiencing levels of emotional and physical intimacy that far exceeded anything he felt before.
Michael was on our weekly radio show, Powered Up, last night talking in great deatail about his fabulous sex life and it’s a WOW!!!. I really urge you to listen to the podcast - it’s an eye-opener. He told us that he and his girlfriend have to schedule time for sex on their calendars because each session lasts between 2 and 4 hours. Yes, you read that right.
It is difficult for men who have had the radical surgery Michael did to achieve an erection, who can lead to all sorts of problems. Because of this loss, it’s difficult them to believe they still are still strong sexual beings capable of giving and receiving pleasure. Men are conditioned to believe that intercourse is the end all, be all of sexual activity, but, there are so many other delicious ways to connect. Women know this, men have to be taught.
The most important part of achieving satisfying sex is for the two people involved to have a strong emotional connection. Without great communication, the sex never even comes close to its full potential. Sex is not a chore, not a race to the finish, it’s a time when two people who care about each other delight in providing pleasure in a way that is loving and satisfying. There is no goal you have to achieve – it’s fun with no pressure.
It is Michael’s personal mission to serve other couples who struggle with emotional and physical intimacy due to Erectile Dysfunction/Impotence and use his vibrant communication skills and his personal experience to share what he has learned.
The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says,”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest
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Women are incredibly hard on themselves. We don’t seem to comprehend that all that second guessing or picking apart every flaw we see in the mirror, is abuse. That self-inflicting feeling of not being enough is hard on us and causes all kinds of repercussions.
Research shows that women are generally kinder, more nurturing and empathetic than our male counterparts, but at the same time, we’re meaner, more dismissive, and critical of ourselves. What does that say about us?
Low self-esteem is a killer. The need to see ourselves as worthy puts incredible pressure on our psyche. It’s like walking around with a 100 pound weight on each shoulder. This notion of perfection, isn’t realistic yet for some reason feel it’s very real.
Our sense of self-worth goes up and down like a yo-yo in lockstep with our latest success or failure. We get an incredible high when we receive a nice complement, but feel like jumping off a bridge when someone ignores us or — worse — criticizes us. We may say we don’t care what others think but inside where it counts our stomach is in knots.
Study after study shows that women who are self-compassionate are much less depressed, anxious and stressed, as well as happier, more confident, and satisfied with their lives, than their harshly self-critical counterparts.
But what does self-compassion mean exactly? The concept stems from Buddhist traditions that emphasize compassion for all beings — ourselves included —– because we are all part of an interconnected whole.
It also entails relating to our situation with mindful awareness and making a mountain out of every little mole hill.
Fortunately, women have access to an incredibly powerful tool they can use to turn things around. We can draw on our ability to care for and nurture others and direct these strengths inward.
The help we need to thrive is available inside us, there whenever we need it, especially when things are at their worst. We have to dismiss the notion that others are worthy of kindness and we are not. We need to promote compassion in every aspect of life, and the first place to start is with ourselves.
The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says,”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.
We are bombarded daily by the do’s and dont’s of proper eating. Tune into any daytime television show and there’s a discussion going on about healthy eating. But despite the constant stream of experts trying to scare us thin, there are several dieting myths that keep us fat.
Here are 6 of the beliefs that sabotage our success despite our best intentions:
1. SKIPPING BREAKFAST
Myth – Not having breakfast encourages your body to burn fat
Fact – Thin people eat breakfast; fat people don’t‘
Missing breakfast leads to overeating later in the day as blood sugar drops mid-morning, making you more compulsive around food and less likely to resist that double mocha and danish. Plus, you are more likely to binge at night as your body plays catch-up on missed calories, making you more likely to store the calories as fat.
2. WEEKEND BINGING
Myth – If you eat healthily all week, it’s fine to treat yourself at weekends
Fact - Even after five days of restraint, two days of freestyle carbicide will make you gain weight
Carbs are first stored as glucose and water, and will turn into fat if it isn’t worked off, so you’ll need to do extra exercise during the week.
To avoid the temptation to binge, pepper your working week with small amounts of what you love to eat, maybe a nice glass of wine, some cheese and a few squares of dark chocolate.
Myth – Diet drinks have no calories so they won’t impact on weight
Fact – People who drink diet drinks are fatter than those who don’t
A study from the University of Texas Health Science Centre found that people who drank 21 diet drinks a week were twice as likely to be overweight.
Another study that followed diet drinkers over a ten-year period found their waists grew a staggering 70 per cent more than non-diet drinkers’ waistlines.
‘Diet drinks feed a sweet tooth. When the body receives a sweet taste without the calories it expects, it triggers sweet cravings that make you eat more.
Sweeteners have also been shown to have a similar effect to real sugar on blood glucose and insulin levels.
4. ‘BUT IT’S HEALTHY’
Myth – I can eat as much healthy food as I like
Fact – Healthy food has calories too
Hummus, pistachios and peanuts contain healthy fats but come with masses of calories and often fail the ‘eat just one’ test. Such foods can act as triggers for those with a tendency to overeat.
Being “healthy” doesn’t give people carte blanche to completely ignore calories.
5. FAT PHOBIA
Myth – Avoid fat if you want to lose weight
Fact – Successful dieters get 30 per cent of their daily calories from fat
Studies show that the tiny ten per cent of people who lose weight and keep it off eat moderate amounts of fat.
When dieters avoid fat, they are hungry all the time. Dieters’ obsession with low-fat products merely fuels a craving for fatty foods, and that’s why they end up bingeing on cakes, cookies and ice cream – all sources of the fat the body needs.
Low-fat food is pointless for people wanting to lose weight because when real fat is removed, something needs to be added to retain taste and texture – ‘usually sugar and flour, which provide calories but are nutritionally poor’.
6. DIETS, Full Stop
Myth – Diets work for long-term weight loss
Fact - 90% of yo-yo dieters don’t keep the weight off
Most people can’t tolerate rigid dieting for long so once it’s inevitably stopped, weight goes on a little more than before.
‘Then you go on another diet, lose again, stop and go a little higher still. That is how crash dieters gain more and more weight over time.
‘The body thinks it’s starving so, to compensate, will switch on all the mechanisms it has to store food.’
‘One of these is hormones. Last October, a University of Melbourne study of 50 overweight women and men showed that after dieting, our hormone levels start to work overtime and react as though our bodies are starving.
The bottom line: dieting was making them hungrier.
What you should do ‘The only diets that have been proven effective for long-term weight loss in randomized controlled studies are those that focus on higher amounts of protein and vegetables, and limit carbohydrates to those with a low glycemic index.
Losing weight isn’t rocket science. Common sense rules. You will gain weight if you take in more calories than you burn off. Make sure you include exercise in your healthy living routine.
The Real Cougar Woman is a 5-carat diamond who knows the importance of taking care of her health, beauty, relationships, finances and spirituality. Linda Franklin says, ”there is no stopping a woman who has a strong belief system, passion and a dream. All things are possible”. Linda’s book, Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am helps women of all ages tap into their power and live life to the fullest.
. Bookmark the
.
Read more...
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