Sunday, March 6, 2011

Pear Shaped Body : Fashion For Pear Shaped Body,How To Dress To Flatter Your Shape





Fashion Advice For Your Body Shape: Pear


Learn how to dress to flatter your shape with our fashion guide for people who are 'pear' shaped and have a larger bottom half than top half.

1. Pears have a larger bottom half than top half. If you are a pear you probably have wide hips, narrower shoulders and a small bust.

2. Pears should wear clothes that minimize hips and draw attention upwards.

3. Dresses and skirts should be A-line or flared at the hem with a side zip to minimize bulk around the hips.

4. Jackets should stop at or above your hips. If it is double breasted or has a detailed collar, it will balance out your silhouette and draw the eye upwards.

5. Reduce the appearance of your hips with dark trousers that flare below the knee. Wear flat-fronted, side-fastening trousers and avoid pleats, pockets or seams on the hips which will add to your bulk.

6. If you have chunky legs, wear boots to cover your calves, or platforms to elongate and slim your legs.

7. Broaden the appearance of your shoulders by wearing tops with boat necklines, ballet necklines, or wide lapels. Tops with capped sleeves or three-quarter length sleeves will also balance out your profile. Add interest to your neckline with scarves and accessories. Tops in bright colours, patterns and textures will also draw attention upwards.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Cover A Spot : How To Cover A Spot, How To Cover Up Spots




Concealer:
How To Cover A Spot

Having zits, pimples and spots isn't easy and even the most confident of people can become self-conscious and upset. Last-minute skin care tricks can save your look from disasters. Whether you suffer from a lot of spots or just the occasional breakout, follow our advice to help you cover up even the most noticeable of acne.


1: Prepare

Before you even contemplate techniques to cover spots it is important to prepare correctly. This means always washing your face thoroughly before going to bed. Also make sure you moisturise any blemishes as it will be easier to cover red skin than to cover dry skin.

2: Foundation

Depending on what suits your skin, you could use either a foundation or a tinted moisturiser on your face, and for smaller blemishes and spots this can sometimes be enough. This isn't a necessity but if you normally use these products then they should be applied before any concealer is used.

3: Concealer

Warm a small amount of concealer on the back of your hand, and using a small brush or cotton bud apply it directly onto the spot. You can get medicated concealer's which will help to heal blemishes and decrease their redness.

4: Blend

Finally, using a small brush, blend the concealer at the edges of the spot onto the rest of the skin to give a more even finish.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Food Poisoning : Causes, Symptoms, Prevention and Natural Home Remedies


Food poisoning might be described as a food borne disease. Food that contains a toxin, chemical or infectious agent (like a bacterium, virus, parasite, or prion) and cause symptoms in the body are considered types of food poisoning by most investigators. Those symptoms may be related only to the gastrointestinal tract causing vomiting or diarrhea or may involve other organs such as the kidney, brain or muscle.

Food poisoning most commonly causes:

* abdominal cramps,

* vomiting and

* diarrhea.

This can cause significant amounts of fluid loss and with nausea and vomiting, it may be difficult to replace that fluid, leading to dehydration.

A health care practitioner should be contacted if the vomiting and diarrhea are associated with one or more of the following symptoms:

* fever,

* blood in the stools,

* signs of dehydration including light headedness when standing, weakness, decreased urination,

* diarrhea that lasts longer than 72 hours, and/or

* intractable vomiting that prevents oral hydration.

Maintaining good hydration is the first priority when treating food poisoning. Medications may be prescribed to help control nausea and vomiting.

Following are some of the effective home remedies for food poisoning:

- Prepare a mixture by adding 1 tsp poppy seeds, 1 tsp edible gum, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder, and 2 tsp sugar, and grind to powder form. Take this powder every 2 hours.

- Ginger is very useful home remedy for treating food poisoning. Take small piece of ginger and make its paste by mixing buttermilk. Take this 2-3 times a day. Patient suffering from food poisoning may also take ginger extract along with lemon juice to get fast relief from vomiting, nausea, etc. Take 2-3 tablespoon of ginger and lemon extract each and add little amount of black pepper powder into it. Take this mixture 3-4 times a day.

- You can also take this immediate step for treating food poisoning like give warm water to the patient immediately after vomiting. This would sooth his stomach and gives relief from abdominal pain.

- Papaya is also taken for treating food poisoning. Take a raw papaya, grate it or cut it into small cubes. Take 1-2 glass of water and add papaya to it. Allow it to boil for 15-20 minutes, drain the mixture and drink it. Take this mixture 2-3 times a day. It is natural and very effective in food poisoning.

- Prepare an herbal tea of mint, raspberry, chamomile and blackberry for treating food poisoning.

- Take 10-15 seeds cumin (jeera) and fenugreek (methi) seeds each and powder it. Add these powders in a glass of water. Drink the mixture. This gives much relief from vomiting and abdominal pain. You can also take these powders with a half cup of fresh curd in place of water.

- Mix 2-3 tablespoon of basil leaves extract in a half cup of fresh curd. Add little amount of black salt and black pepper to it. Take this 3-4 times a day. This will give you fast relief from vomiting, weakness, and body pain.


Following are some of the simple tips to prevent food poisoning:

- Cook mutton, chicken, fish at temperature at which all the germs are killed. Also preserve these food items at appropriate temperature inside refrigerator.

- Always wash your hands before cooking, serving, and eating food.

- Do not use the oil which is left out in the pan after cooking something. Harmful chemical reaction takes place in between.

- Keep your refrigerator properly clean. See the temperature of the freezer and other sections are set at right temperature.

- Keep your house, especially kitchen and utensils, plates, napkins, vegetable knives, etc., clean. Use dish washers containing lemon.

- Never keep the food items at room temperature for more than 2-3 hours.

- Do not preserve milk products, cakes, breads etc., for more than a day.

- Check the manufacturing and expiry date of any eatable before buying it.

- Also check the seal of the canned food.

- Do not use rusted knife or chopper. Use good quality cutting board and wash it thoroughly after use.

- Always eat fresh and well-cooked food. If the food is left, keep it in refrigerator, and heat it before eating.

- Do not eat fried food outside, you don't know oil is of good quality or not.

- Always take lemon water before going to bed. This helps in easy digestion and will also keep the bowel movement correct.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Gluten-Free January Raffle Winners Selected!

Raffle winners have been selected and shirts are on their way. You know who you are. Thanks to everyone who participated and filled out the survey! For those who didn't, there's always next year.

Janine Jagger, Matt Lentzner and I are busy crunching the mountain of data we collected from the GFJ survey. We got 279 responses, which is remarkable for a survey of this nature.

Stay tuned for data!

Dizziness : Causes, Treatment and Natural Home Remedies

Dizziness is a term used to describe everything from feeling faint or lightheaded to feeling weak or unsteady. Dizziness that creates the sense that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving is called vertigo.

Although frequent dizzy spells or constant dizziness can keep you from doing much of anything, dizziness rarely signals a serious, life-threatening condition. Treatment of dizziness depends on the cause and your symptoms, but is usually effective.

Causes

The key sensations that characterize your dizziness � such as vertigo, a feeling of faintness or loss of balance � provide clues for possible causes.

Vertigo
Vertigo usually results from a problem with the nerves and the structures of the balance mechanism in your inner ear (vestibular system), which sense movement and changes in your head position. Sitting up or moving around may make it worse. Sometimes vertigo is severe enough to cause nausea, vomiting and imbalance.

Feeling of faintness (presyncope)
Presyncope is the medical term for feeling faint and lightheaded without losing consciousness. Sometimes nausea, pale skin and clamminess accompany a feeling of faintness.

Loss of balance (disequilibrium)
Disequilibrium is the loss of balance or the feeling of unsteadiness when you walk.

Other dizzy sensations such as floating, swimming or heavy-headedness
Other "dizzy" sensations that are more difficult to describe may include feeling "spaced out" or having the sensation of spinning inside your head.


Common Home Remedies to Treat Dizziness

. Enhance maintaining balance by learning exercises from a trained physiotherapist

. Reduce stress

. Practice aerobic exercises

. Develop a regular sleep pattern

. Rise slowly from bed or spend a few minutes in bed before waking up this helps normalize blood pressure.

. In the case of low blood sugar, it is advisable to immediately consume non-carbonated syrups. Plenty of fluids like coconut water, fresh lime water with sugar and fruit juices is recommended to raise the blood sugar levels as is glucose.

. Ginger root capsules also known to work in providing certain amount of relief, similarly black tea mixed with crushed ginger helps relieve the disorientation and nausea. Likely substitutions of ginger can be chamomile or even peppermint.

. Pregnancy related dizziness can be soothed by mixing two teaspoons of wheat germ into lukewarm milk, this is known to help ease the pain of morning sickness.

. Vitamin A and C rich fruits like Indian gooseberry is said to help. To consume, soak about five grams of the fruit overnight with coriander seeds. Consume the water after straining out the residue. Sweeten with sugar if found to be bitter.

. Consumption of caffeine and alcohol should be kept to a minimum are they are known to cause dizziness in some people.

. One should reduce the amount of intake of salty nuts and especially sweet treats as the measure depending on how severe the symptoms are.

. Consumption of diet drinks is often associated with the feeling of dizziness and should be kept to a bare minimum or avoided altogether. This alone is considered as one of the most effective diets for dizziness.

. If the symptoms of dizziness persist for long periods or are frequent immediately consult a health care professional.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Vaginal Yeast Infection : Causes, Symptoms, Treatments and Home Remedies

Vaginal yeast infection is an infection of the vagina, most commonly due to the fungus Candida albicans.Most women will have a vaginal yeast infection at some time. Candida albicans is a common type of fungus. It is often present in small amounts in the vagina, mouth, digestive tract, and on the skin. Usually it does not cause disease or symptoms.
Candida and the many other germs or microorganisms that normally live in the vagina keep each other in balance. However, when the vagina has certain favorable conditions, the number of Candida albicans increases, leading to a yeast infection.


Symptoms

* Abnormal vaginal discharge - ranges from a slightly watery, white discharge to a thick, white, chunky discharge (like cottage cheese)

* Pain with intercourse

* Painful urination

* Redness and swelling of the vulva

* Vaginal and labial itching, burning


Treatments

* Keep your genital area clean and dry. Avoid soap and rinse with water only. Sitting in a warm, but not hot bath may help your symptoms.

* Avoid douching. Although many women feel cleaner if they douche after menstruation or intercourse, it may actually worsen vaginal discharge because it removes healthy bacteria lining the vagina that protect against infection.

* Eat yogurt with live cultures or take Lactobacillus acidophilus tablets when you are on antibiotics to prevent a yeast infection.

* Use condoms to avoid catching or spreading sexually transmitted diseases.

* Avoid using feminine hygiene sprays, fragrances, or powders in the genital area.

* Avoid wearing extremely tight-fitting pants or shorts, which may cause irritation.

* Wear cotton underwear or cotton-crotch pantyhose. Avoid underwear made of silk or nylon, because these materials are not very absorbant and restrict air flow. This can increase sweating in the genital area, which can cause irritation.

* Use pads and not tampons.

* Keep your blood sugar levels under good control if you have diabetes.


Natural ways to treat vaginal yeast infection include:

* Eat yogurt - Yogurt has good bacteria's that fight off the infection and return the body's natural metabolism. You can eat the yogurt directly and or you can use it as a cream that you can apply in the infected area directly.

* Garlic - garlic are not only good for cooking they are also good for removing the yeast infection. The natural anti bacterial properties of garlic are good for fighting off the infection. You can either eat the garlic directly or you can turn it into a paste and apply it directly on the infected area.

* Tea Tree Oil - tea tree oil has natural anti bacterial properties that also help fight off the infection. You can use the tea tree oil as an ointment to apply directly to the infection or you can put some in warm water and use it in your bath.

* Aloe Vera - Aloe Vera has been used since ancient Egyptian times for it medicinal and anti bacterial properties. You can buy Aloe Vera, remember the fresh ones, and then you can turn it into paste by mashing it and applying it directly onto the affected area.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Oltipraz

Oltipraz is a drug that was originally used to treat intestinal worms. It was later found to prevent a broad variety of cancers (1). This was attributed to its ability to upregulate cellular detoxification and repair mechanisms.

Researchers eventually discovered that oltipraz acts by activating Nrf2, the same transcription factor activated by ionizing radiation and polyphenols (2, 3, 4). Nrf2 activation mounts a broad cellular protective response that appears to reduce the risk of multiple health problems.

A recent paper in Diabetologia illustrates this (5). Investigators put mice on a long-term refined high-fat diet, with or without oltipraz. These carefully crafted diets are very unhealthy indeed, and when fed to rodents they rapidly induce fat gain and something that looks similar to human metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance, abdominal adiposity, blood lipid disturbances). Adding oltipraz to the diet prevented the fat gain, insulin resistance and inflammatory changes that occurred in the refined high-fat diet group.

The difference in fasting insulin was remarkable. The mice taking oltipraz had 1/7 the fasting insulin of the refined high-fat diet comparison group, and 1/3 the fasting insulin of the low-fat comparison group! Yet their glucose tolerance was normal, indicating that they were not low on insulin due to pancreatic damage. The low-fat diet they used in this study was also refined, which is why the two control groups (high-fat and low-fat) didn't diverge more in body fatness and other parameters. If they had used a group fed unrefined rodent chow as the comparator, the differences between groups would have been larger.

This shows that in addition to preventing cancer, Nrf2 activation can attenuate the metabolic damage caused by an unhealthy diet in rodents. Oltipraz illustrates the power of the cellular hormesis response. We can exploit this pathway naturally using polyphenols and other chemicals found in whole plant foods.