Bad habits that cause pimples

Here are some of the bad habits which cause  pimples or acne.  You can avoid these habits so that you will not get acne.  So you can stop the bad habits to prevent acne and enjoy a healthy glow of clear skin.

The acne or pimples occur when oil, bacteria, and dead skin cells clog hair follicles.  The people with oily skin are more prone to get pimples but if you can break some bad habits, you can prevent pimples.  Here are some of the bad habits which can cause pimples and you can avoid them.

• Washing your skin very often :  It is important to keep your skin clean, but washing it too often will only make the acne worse.  Instead of that you can just wash your face in the morning when you wake up and  at night before sleeping./
• Scrubbing your skin vigorously : Scrubbing your skin vigorously with a wash cloth will cause significant irritation — and may worsen your acne-prone skin.  To prevent acne, always wash with only lukewarm water and a gentle cleanser.
• Picking at your skin and popping your pimples : Some times it may be irresistible to pick or pop pimples,  this behavior can cause increased redness from squeezing the pus deeper into the skin and sometimes even scarring. Instead, keep your hands off your face and let pimples go back down to size with the help of an anti-acne lotion or cream.
• Not cleaning sweaty skin :  Your skin will be covered with sweat after having a tough work or have been outside in the sun.  Please do not allow the sweat to dry on the skin.  Instead, always  bathe or wash your skin promptly after sweating.
• Skipping the shampoo : If you have oily hair, that oil can seep down to your face and can cause pimples. So you make sure that you wash your hair each day to keep excess oil off your forehead.  
• Getting hair products on your face :  It is very important to keep hair spray, gel, or other hair products away from your face to prevent them from clogging up your pores.  You should cover up your face when applying these hair products on your hair and off your skin.
• Eating greasy food : Greasy foods can make acne-prone skin worse because of the excess oil and grease that can get on to the skin from the food itself.  So have a healthy diet without greasy and fried food to spare your skin. 
• Using cosmetics containing oil :  If you have acne-prone skin, you should avoid using oily skin products.  Look for oil-free options labeled with the terms "non-acnegenic" or "non-comedogenic" to help prevent acne.

How to improve your memory

Memory is the ability of remembering the things and facts and recall them back whenever required. In simple words, memory is the mental activity of recalling the information that you have experienced or learned in the past.

We can say that memory is the process of 1)encoding, 2)storing and 3)retrieving information that we collected in the past. Memory gets affected when we fail to do any of these three.

Surveys have indicated that the first memories are formed at the age of four. Just like health and beauty, a good memory is a gift of God and we can improve the memory only by natural way. Here are some tips to improve memory.

• Proper nutrition is very important to improve the memory.  You should have better nutrients in your diet which is very much essential for a good memory.
• Have enough sleep.   If you do not sleep for the correct time, this may interfere with memory.  To have good memory power,  you should always have a sound sleep and that too for correct number of hours. Normally students sleep less because of their busy schedules with school activities, and extra curricular activities.  If you have a problem of sleeplessness, then take 10 to 15 minutes of meditation to energise yourself.
• Getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep can interfere with memory. . Today, students have very busy schedules with school activities, sports and extra curricular activities that the only time left for studying is late at night or they end up cramming for tests and finals at the last minute.
• Rehearsal is another thing to improve memory.  The basic principle behind rehearsal is to repeat something over and over again until we know it. Regular brain exercises:  Regular brain exercises like doing maths with out calculator, attempting various puzzles, baffles etc. will sharpen your memory.
• Regular physical exercise: Regular physical exercise will improve the blood supply to your brain thereby improving the memory power.  
• Managing Stress: Cortisol, the stress hormone will damage the hippocampus which plays an important part in processing information in your memory.  Stress makes it difficult to concentrate.  
• Drink plenty of water : Toxins can have an adverse effect on memory. Drinking plenty of water helps to flush away toxins from your body.
• New research indicates that walking six miles to nine miles every week can prevent brain shrinkage and memory loss.  
• Do not take alcohol. Over medication can lead to memory problems as we get older.

Interesting Facts about Human Blood

1) A woman has approximately 4.5 litres of blood in her body, while men have 5.6 litres.

2) The kidneys filter over 1515 litres of blood every day.

3) If you could stretch out all of a human's blood vessels, they would be about 96,560 km. long. That's enough
to go around the world twice.

4) Blood accounts for about 7% of a human's body weight.

5) A newborn baby has about 0.23 litre of blood in his/her body.

6) Two million red blood cells die every second.

7) By donating just one pint (1.75 litres) of blood, four lives can be saves.

8) One unit of blood can be separated into several components: red blood cells, plasma, platelets and
cryoprecipitate.

9) Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body's organs and tissues.

10) Red blood cells live about 120 days in the circulatory system.

11) Platelets promote blood clotting and give those with leukemia and other cancers a chance to live.

12) Plasma is a pale yellow mixture of water, proteins and salts.

13) Plasma, which is 90 percent water, makes up 55 percent of blood volume.

14) Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets.

15) There is no substitute for human blood.

Healthy Fruits and their benefits

1. Olives :

Hindi Name - Jaitun
Correspond with: Female reproductive organs, especially ovaries
How they benefit : Olives are rich in mono unsaturated fatty acids which are useful to raise good cholesterol, calcium and iron. The Vitamin E, hydroxytyrosol, and Oleuropein (all phytochemicals) present in olives are healthy for the female reproductive process. They help maintain healthy hormone levels and unobstructed blood flow to the pelvic area which is essential for sexual performance. Combine with: Cranberries. It will help prevent urinary track infections. Moreover, cranberries contain flavonoids that prevent forma tion of cysts in ovaries.


2. KIDNEY BEANS:

Hindi Name – Rajma
Correspond with: Kidneys. Its resemblance is all too obvious.
How they benefit: Kidney beans contain flavonoids and glucosinolates that regulate the creatinine level in the kidney. It has also a trace of mineral called molybdenum which is responsible for detoxifying sulphides and help in management of creatinine.
Combine with:
Black urad daal. The daal helps the chemical content get absorbed fully in the body

3.FRESH FIGS:

Hindi Name - Anjeer
Correspond with: Male reproductive organs
How they benefit: Figs, which are high in sugar content, give energy and vitality to the scrotal sac. They help maintain proper temperature inside the scrotal sac which is essential for sperm mobility, thereby leading to proper erections as well. Including figs in your diet helps battle fatigue and depression, a common reason attributed to poor performance in bed.
Combine with: Pumpkin seeds that are a good source for zinc. Zinc is important for sex drive and is also needed by the body to make sperms.

4. TOMATOES

Hindi Name - Tamator
Correspond with: Heart. A tomato has four chambers and is red. Ditto for your dil.
How they benefit: Tomatoes have fibre and lycopene, a type of phytochemical which is a powerful anti-oxidant. They also have Vitamin K which regulates blood flow.
Combine with: Lotus stem, which resemble arteries. Okra is a good combo too since it's known to purify blood capillaries. Tomatoes are best consumed through soups and sauces (without preservatives). While the raw form is healthy, cooked tomatoes are more advantageous as the heating process makes lycopene easily absorbable.

Walking can keep you healthy

If a daily fitness walk could be put in a pill, it would be one of the most popular prescriptions in the world. It has so many health benefits. Walking can reduce the risk of many diseases — from heart attack and stroke to hip fracture and glaucoma. These may sound like claims on a bottle of snake oil, but they're backed by major research. Walking requires no prescription, the risk of side effects is very low, and the benefits are numerous:


Managing your weight : Combined with healthy eating, physical activity is key to any plan for long-lasting weight control. Keeping your weight within healthy limits can lower your risks of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis.


Controlling your blood pressure : Physical activity strengthens the heart so it can pump more blood with less effort and with less pressure on the arteries. Staying fit is just as effective as some medications in keeping down blood pressure levels.


Decreasing your risk of heart attack : Exercise such as brisk walking for three hours a week — or just half an hour a day — is associated with a 30% to 40% lower risk of heart disease in women. (Based on the 20-year Nurses' Health Study of 72,000 female nurses.)


Boosting "good" cholesterol – the level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) : Physical activity helps reduce low-density lipoproteins (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) in the blood, which can cause plaque buildup along the artery walls — a major cause of heart attacks.


Lowering your risk of stroke : Regular, moderate exercise equivalent to brisk walking for an hour a day, five days a week, can cut the risk of stroke in half, according to a Harvard study of more than 11,000 men.


Reducing your risk of breast cancer and type 2 diabetes : The Nurses' Health Study also links regular activity to risk reductions for both these diseases. In another study, people at high risk of diabetes cut their risk in half by combining consistent exercise like walking with lower fat intake and a 5% to 7% weight loss.


Avoiding your need for gallstone surgery : Regular walking or other physical activity lowers the risk of needing gallstone surgery by 20% to 31%, found a Harvard study of more than 60,000 women ages 40 to 65.


Protecting against hip fracture : Consistent activity diminishes the risk of hip fracture, concludes a study of more than 30,000 men and women ages 20 to 93.


The list goes on and on. Many other studies indicate a daily brisk walk also can help:


• Prevent depression, colon cancer, constipation, osteoporosis, and impotence
• Lengthen lifespan
• Lower stress levels
• Relieve arthritis and back pain
• Strengthen muscles, bones, and joints
• Improve sleep
• Elevate overall mood and sense of well-being.

Good tips for a Good Heart

Please the following points and follow them to have a healthy heart.


1. Drink eight glasses of water a day.
2. Include two vegetables and one fruit in every meal.
3. Begin each meal with a raw vegetable salad.
4. Make a light snack of assorted sprouts.
5. Start the day with a glass of warm water and a dash of lime..
6. Use only fresh vegetables.
7. Once a week have only fresh fruits until noon, make lunch the first meal of the day.
8. Eat only freshly cooked meals, not refrigerated leftovers.
9. Include one green vegetable and one yellow vegetable in every meal.
10. Go on a juice fast for a day. Start with vegetable juice, and sip fruit for lunch and dinner..
11. Kick the old coffee habit. Have a glass of fresh fruit juice instead.
12. Cut out all deep-fried foods from your diet.
13. Cut down on high sugar products like soft drinks, ice-cream, candy and cookies in your diet.
14. Never skip a meal, even if you're on a diet. Eat a fresh fruit or have vegetable juice instead.
15. Avoid beverages like soda, coffee, colas and so on.
16. Include high fiber foods and plenty of fruits, vegetables and grains in planning your diet.
17. Use salt in moderation
18. Wash vegetables thoroughly in clean water before chopping.
19. Stream or boil vegetables (rather than fry or saute).
20. Retain peels of potato, cucumber, carrot and tomato while cooking.
21. Do take a moment off to mentally list out the nutritional value of the food you're about to eat.
22. Don't rush through your meals. Set aside enough time to appreciate, enjoy and digest your food.
23. Make every meal an enjoyable experience. Set dishes out attractively and chew slowly to appreciate the full flavor of the foods you eat.
24. Choose to be radiantly healthy. Keep yourself informed about the nutritive value of every food you buy.
25. Shop for groceries yourself. Notice the look, feel and smell of fresh fruit and vegetables and enjoy their intrinsic goodness.
26. Watch out for eating habits paired with emotional states, like reaching for a chocolate when youre depressed. Resist the urge and eat fruit instead.
27. Eat popcorn (rather than chips) while watching a movie.
28. Sit at the table at meal times. Don't read the paper or review bills while eating.
29. Make it a point to have dinner with the entire family at the table, and not in front of the TV.
30. Eat just to the point of the fullness. Don't stuff yourself!
31. Stop smoking.
32. Restrict alcohol consumption.
33. Get a good night's sleep, every night.
34. Enroll today in an exercise programme.
35. Take a brisk, 20 minute invigorating walk each morning.
36. Spend 10 minutes every morning and evening doing basic stretches.
37. Do not use elevators when you can climb the stairs.
38. Enroll in a TM programme today.
39. Focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly. Repeat a couple of times a day.
40. Learn to relax. Spend 20 minutes consciously relaxing each muscle of your body.
41. Spend 20 minutes a day in silent meditation, prayer or contemplation.
42. Learn the healing power of laughter. Watch a crazy movie, recall a joke or read a funny book and laugh out loud.
43. Tap the powers of your sub-conscious. Relax your body for 20 minutes and project the Perfect You're on your mind screen.
44. Balance your lifestyle. Devote equal time each week to work and fun.
45. Join kids in a sports activity and rediscover the joys of childhood.
46.. Do keep in touch with friends. Call up or visit them and be at peace with the world.
47. Enroll in an activity (like dancing, swimming or roller skating...) you never indulged in because you were afraid of what people might say.
48. Forgive someone who you think has done you wrong and cleanse your spirit of rancor.
4. Do a nice turn to someone you don't know too well, but who could do with a friend.
50. Spend a quiet half-hour chatting with your family.
51. Listen to soothing music for 15 minutes at least each day.

Simple but very useful Health Tips

Use aloe vera gel to soothe skin rashes and irritations. It contains 18 amino acids that can cure most form of skin damages.

· To make protein rich and low fat paneer at home, use skimmed milk. Add a few drops of fresh lemon juice and wait for the milk to curdle.

· Rub your palms for a few minutes and place them on your eyes. This helps reduce the strain caused by staring at the computer screen for too long.

· Drink fresh pear juice to calm tense nerves and prevent throat infections.

· Include Vitamin C rich food like Spinach in your diet to reduce dark circles.

· To increase calcium levels, lower intake of sugar apart from taking in high calcium foods.

· To minimize the damage by bleach to your skin, apply a layer of petroleum jelly before bleaching.

· To condition hair naturally, mash a ripe banana and spread the puree through your hair. Leave on for 15 minutes and wash off after 15 minutes.

· Get rid of a tan by mashing a ripe papaya and applying the puree on your face. Leave it on for 10 minutes and wash off your face with cold water.

· Pregnant women are advised to include tomatoes in their everyday diet. A regular intake of the juicy fruit helps in dealing with morning sickness.