The Outcome

These past few months, I have fallen in love with blogging about health and nutrition. It excites me to be able to share my knowledge with my fellow bloggers, and at the same time, teach myself. Doing research on the topics I presented opened up my perspective on how many sources are out there, and which ones are reliable.

Because of the influence blogging had on me, I am going to try to keep up with my blog once every few months by filling you guys in on the latest health tricks and secrets that not many people know. I will post about different foods and what they benefit, as well as simple dishes you can make at home. I hope to continue blogging, however the posts will not be as frequent as the first eight have been.

I want all my readers to be able to leave my blog page knowing more about how the body works and what they can do to better themselves from the inside out. I believe being aware of what we intake is crucial in our daily lives because, in the long run, it can have a reverse effect, good or bad. So please, please, please make smart choices in what you eat everyday, what you feed your children, and what actions you demonstrate to the people around you. One person is all it takes to make a change.

Thank you for following my blog, and make sure to check it every once in a while for new posts!  

Stay Away from Cigarettes

Last but not least the most important beauty tip…stay away from cigarettes, and smoking in general. According to MedicalNews Today, smoking is the largest cause of preventable death in the world. Recent studies have found that smokers can undermine the health of non-smokers in some environments as well.  Aside from being the top cause of lung cancer, and death in the US, it triggers an early development of wrinkles, thinning of hair, and many other visible health problems that I will list out.

1. If you aren’t scared enough from the threat of getting lung cancer, then think about becoming bald. Smoking is so horrible for you that it damages DNA in your hair follicles, causing them to thin and gradually fall out. Not only does your hair get thinner, it also grays sooner.

2. Have you heard of an autoimmune skin condition called psoriasis? With this disease, your skin turns scaly and discolored. Yes, it can show up if you’ve never smoked cigarettes. However if you do smoke, your risk for developing psoriasis goes up by a great amount. In the Health Magazine, as well as the Science Daily News, I found that they had very similar studies comparing how psoriasis and tobacco are linked.

http://smartersmokingnews.wordpress.com/2012/11/
22/the-deadly-crusade-against-e-cigarettes/ 

According to Science Daily, “Compared with women who never smoked, the risk of psoriasis was 37% higher among past smokers and 78% higher among current smokers. Pack-years were associated with a graded increase in the risk for psoriasis. Compared with never smokers; the risk was 20% higher for 1-10 pack-years, 60% higher for 11-20 pack-years, and more than two times higher for +21 pack-years. The significant trends persisted with smoking duration in both current and past smokers.”

3. This is what all women fear: wrinkles. And guess what is the second leading cause to premature skin aging? Smoking. The first is sun exposure, which is why it’s important to keep that sunscreen on and only have your face in the sun for no more than 15 minutes. One single puff of a cigarette throws more than a trillion free radicals into your system. Free radicles create critical internal damage to your cells and DNA and on top of that, break down the collagen and elastin in your skin so that it starts to lose its youthful appearance. Your face is not the only thing affected by premature wrinkles; your neck and hands will look ten times older than you actually are.

4. Smoking causes gross fingers, dirty nails, and yellowing of teeth. That’s just plain common sense. The nicotine in cigarettes is the cause of staining, and my biggest pet peeve is yellow teeth. A person can be so good looking, but when they smile and reveal their disgusting teeth it changes your whole perspective of them. In addition to looking like you haven’t brushed your teeth for weeks, smoking causes oral cancer and gum disease. According to a 2005 U.K. study in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, smokers are up to six times more likely than nonsmokers to develop gum disease, which can lead to tooth loss.

All in all, cigarrettes are contributing factors to many health problems both inside and outside the body. It goes from small things like slowly developing a flabby tummy, stretch marks, or wrinkles to being diagnosed with skin, lung, or gum cancer. The best thing to do is keep away from cigarettes and even other smokers so you don't risk getting second-hand smoke. If you do smoke now, I have given you a handful of reasons as to why you should quit as soon as possible.

I recommend for you guys to do some research on smoking and see for yourself just how terrible it is for our bodies, and just how many carcinogens/chemicals are in one cigarette. 

Crucial Beauty Tip: Fiber

In my earlier posts, I discussed probiotics and how they are important to keeping a happy gut. Another key component to a healthy digestive system, especially colon, is fiber. Fiber is different from foods like fats, carbs, and proteins that your body breaks down and absorbs; your body doesn’t digest it. It instead goes through your stomach, small intestine, colon, and out. I came across a great article on WebMD about the benefits of fiber and it became clear to me that if one wants to achieve a certain weight or have a strong digestion, he or she should consume at least 20-30 grams of fiber daily. 

How and why does fiber benefit us so much? Kathleen Zelman, the director of nutrition for WebMD, classifies fiber as soluble or insoluble; soluble means that it can dissolve in water to form a gel-like material, and insoluble promotes the movement of your stool. Soluble fiber is found in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, and barley. Some insoluble fiber foods are wheat bran, nuts, cauliflower, beans, and potatoes. 

My other source, the Mayo Clinic staff was extremely similar to the information I found in Kathleen's WebMD article about the Benefits of Fiber for Your Heart, Weight, and Energy. They both discussed the common confusion people have about fiber, broke fiber down into two categories, and gave specific examples of what sources will give you what benefits. In the WebMD passage, there was a chart presented, showing how in depth fiber goes and which kind to eat.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/compare-dietary-fibers

Don’t worry about what kind of fiber you are taking in unless you are seeking a specific health benefit, such as eating more soluble fiber to lower cholesterol. Instead, focus on eating a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. This will provide a variety of soluble and insoluble fibers and all of the health benefits.

Here are some more of fiber's many benefits:

Normalizing bowel movements: the dietary fiber helps solidify the stool, it also draws in water from the surrounding blood vessels, which softens the stools, making elimination more regular and easier, thus helping to prevent constipation and hemorrhoids

Maintaining bowel health: fiber prevents digestion diseases, especially with the colon

Lowering cholesterol levels: according to the website I found, “Soluble fiber found in beans, oats, flaxseed and oat bran can help lower total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low-density lipoprotein, or "bad," cholesterol levels. Studies also have shown that fiber may have other heart-health benefits, such as reducing blood pressure and inflammation.”

Helps control blood sugar: a diet that includes insoluble fiber reduces the risk of getting type two diabetes and improves blood sugar levels.

Aids in weight loss: foods that are high in fiber usually takes more time to chew and feels like you are eating more, therefore you tend to not over eat or eat extra. In addition, fiber foods usually have fewer calories for the same amount of food, so you are not overloading yourself with food but are still getting a full meal.

How much fiber do you need each day? The Institute of Medicine, which provides science-based advice on matters of medicine and health, gives the following daily recommendations for adults 51 and younger- men: 38 grams, women: 25 grams. Nowadays, many foods are high in fiber so it is not too difficult to include it in your everyday life. 

Have you had any fiber today?