A Matter of Healing

Definition: A super senior is a person seventy-five years of age or older, who is physically and socially active, and in good health.

There is no mystery to healthy aging.

Statistics show that seniors who are in the habit of breathing fresh air, eating nutritional foods, getting plenty of exercise and having strong communal ties, tap into many of the components of natural health that slow the aging process.

Learn about what contributes to aging and what we can do to ward off illnesses that are usually associated with advanced aging.

See the short video: How Do We Age? - Toxicity & Aging

Natural Acne Treatments

Oatmeal and honey have anti-acne properties. Combine cooked oatmeal with a small amount of honey and apply it to the pimply area. Allow it to “soak” into the pores and then wipe it off after a few minutes. Regular use of oatmeal/honey as a treatment for acne could lead to the blemishes disappearing rather quickly. Applying lemon juiceto the affected area is simple and highly effective. For whatever reason, the human skin will reacts to the presence of lemon juice by drying out the pores and eliminating the inflammation, thus shrinking the pimple.

Because tea tree oil has also proven to be effective at killing acne bacteria when topically applied, it is often used as a replacement to benzoyl peroxide in many of the “natural” acne treatments. Combined with aloe vera gel, it can significantly reduce acne symptoms.

Diet, Exercise and Sleep

I believe the best option to maintaining healthy skin is proper diet and regular execise. Diets should consist of pure water, fruits and vegetables and other nutritious food. Avoiding oily, fattening foods and sugar is recommended. Exercising regularly helps maintain the water balance in the skin and stress levels in the body. Also remember that drinking plenty of water is essential to the body's health and the skin's healing, and that it's not what you put on your skin but what you put in your body that truly makes the difference.

Sleep is another essential factor that contributes towards health and acne treatment. A minimum of eight hours of sleep removes stress and protects the body's hormonal balance.

Although traditional treatments like topical creams (Retin-A, Benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid) help open up pores and prevent development of blackheads and whiteheads, and exfoliation procedures help to reduce redness and discolorations, a healthy lifestyle is recommended to be the best solution.

Okay, it’s time to stop trying to drastically change your diet to lose weight. Remember, it was a slow, lengthy process that added those extra pounds, so the road to a successful, permanent weight loss will be a lengthy one.

Getting Started

First, formulate a mental picture of how you want to be, in say, two years. The next step is to think about changing just one of the many bad habits you’ve picked up over time and eliminate it (ie.,drink water instead of sodas). Many find that just making slight changes to their daily routine or habits when they decide to lose weight provide pleasant results. Besides, feeling better may give you the desire to make additional changes. The following are some basic tips for losing weight naturally.

Avoid Late Night Snacks

As the day winds down, so does our metabolism; significantly so while we sleep. Eating just before going to bed increases the chance of the food being stored as fat. So, to assist in your weight loss effort your last meal of the day should be eaten at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime to give your body enough time to properly digest the food.

Drink Plenty of Water

Since our bodies are composed of 70% water, it is essential for survival and proper functioning. It is also key to natural weight loss to drink plenty of water every day to maintain the proper utilization of nutrients from food. Additionallly, water helps to effectively flush fat, waste and toxins from our bodies while cushioning our joints.

Eat Well Balanced Meals

For optimum weight loss, it is very important that you eat all the macronutrients in proper proportion. Following a low carb or low fat diet plan will not give you the results that you are looking for. For example, your energy levels are negatively affected if your diet is only comprised of protein rich foods with little or no carbs. A high carb diet plan will cause your energy level to crash 30 to 40 minutes after eating, and any carbs that are not used by the body will be stored as fat. Also, some dietary fats are necessary because they play an important role in hormone production.

Another tip to help lose weight naturally is to eat macronutrients in the following ratio:

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40% proteins

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40% carbohydrates

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20% fats

Ocassionally change your eating pattern. Cycling your caloric intake on a regular basis can greatly helps in losing weight because your metabolism adapts to your caloric intake. Following the same eating pattern for long periods of time will cause the metabolism to slow down and hinder any progress in weight loss. It is important to have high caloric intake at least once a week to prevent giving your metabolism a chance to slow down.

What is Acne?

Acne results when follicles, often called pores, overproduce cells and sometimes get blocked. Oil (sebum), which normally drains to the surface is blocked and bacteria begins to grow.

Microcomedones become non-inflamed skin blemishes called comedones--either a whitehead or a blackhead

When the trapped sebum and bacteria stay below the skin surface, a whitehead is formed. Whiteheads may show up as tiny white spots, or they may be so small that they are invisible to the naked eye. A blackhead occurs when the pore opens to the surface, and the sebum, which contains the skin pigment melanin, oxidizes and turns a brown/black color. The contents of blackheads drain very slowly to the surface causing the pimple to last a long time.

Acne can present itself as a mild case (a few pimples) to the most severe case, involving pus filled lesions and some disfigurement. (www.acne.org)

Herbalists recommend the following herbal remedies for acne and scarring:

1. Black currant seed oil taken in 500-milligram capsules three times a day for three months or until acne is diminished.

2. Evening primrose oil taken in 500-milligram capsules three times a day for three months or until acne is diminished.

3. Teas made from a combination of echinacea, tea tree oil, goldenseal, nettles, or calendula.

4. Teas made from lavender or chamomile, to help reduce acne-causing stress.

5. Chinese herbs such as cnidium seed and honeysuckle flower.

6. Teas made from cumin, coriander, and fennel, steeped for 10 minutes in hot water and consumed three times a day after

meals.

In the book, Alternative Cures, allergy specialist, Dr. James Braly is quoted as saying, “Milk is one of the two or three most common food allergens in the American diet.” It is also believed that 50 to 60 percent of all school children may be allergic to milk, though many of them remain undiagnosed. And, as with any allergy, it can change throughout a person’s lifetime and manifest itself in very different ways. (Alternative Cures, Gottlieb, Bill)

People suffering with respiratory ailments should avoid dairy products because of the mucus they cause to form in the lungs. Many medical doctors hold to the belief that an asthma attack occurs when more mucus accumulates in the lungs than can be expelled, but studies suggest that either along with or instead of creating excess mucus, milk may worsen asthma due to an undiagnosed allergy to it.

Meet Dorothy Waites (87); a resident of College Park, Georgia. She says that after starting her mornings with prayer and devotion, she usually occupies her day with activities like swimming, walking, dance, chorus and self-defense classes. Dorothy loves to travel and keeps socially connected in clubs like Red Hatters and the 80 Plus Club. She will tell you that friends and family are very important in her life, and admits that there just aren't enough hours in the day to do all things she want to do.