5 Ways to Reduce Dandruff

5 Ways to Reduce Dandruff

Dandruff is detected by the itchy and flakiness of the scalp. You can always check with your dermatologist to identify the problem and for remedies that help cure it. You may not even have dandruff; your current hair product including shampoo and conditioner could be irritating your scalp. So, try switching your product first to a non-dandruff fighting shampoo and conditioner. See if the flakiness goes away. Stress can be a main cause for dandruff, so make sure that you try relaxing techniques daily to reduce your stress level. 

1. Shampoo
Wash your hair with warm to cool water. Try a mild shampoo for a few weeks, and if you do not see any results, use an anti-dandruff shampoo. You should notice improvement in 4-6 weeks. Avoid alcohol based products, or any other styling products until the dandruff subsides. Instead use a leave-in conditioner to maintain shape.

2. Aloe Vera
You need to soothe your scalp because it is red and irritated, so try Aloe Vera. Rub the gel onto the scalp and keep it on overnight. Be sure to replace your pillowcase.

3. Apple Cider Vinegar
Try pouring two tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar onto your scalp, or lemon juice, or even try a mixture of both. Leave it on for as long as you like about 20 minutes to an hour should work and then shampoo.

4. Coconut Oil
Coconut Oil is a mild and soothing choice in relieving dandruff. You can chill it and work it through your hair. After a few days the dandruff should be gone.

5. Herbal
You can use various herbs including ginger, rosemary, tea or thyme. You can combine ginger and rosemary with olive oil, separately and rub onto the scalp. Tea can be made and then rubbed into the hair and shampooed. The oil from Thyme is an antiseptic and can be boiled and left on your hair.

You can also try to eliminate dandruff from the inside out. Cut back on junk food, or eliminate it completely from your diet. Try eating yogurt. Also, include more fruits and vegetables and incorporate milk.

If the dandruff problem persists, or any of these remedies make the problem worse discontinue and seek medical attention. You want to be sure it is in fact dandruff you are seeking. If it is another skin condition, it will be treated using different remedies.

TEN WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR CRAVINGS

TEN WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR CRAVINGS

Cravings usually occur when your body lacks certain nutrients, including some important vitamins and minerals. This happens when people don't allow themselves the food they need. They will skip their breakfast and eat a tiny salad for lunch and then go home and head for the things like potato chips, burgers, sweets and chocolates. These not only have a lot of calories, but also lack the necessary nutrients; vitamins, minerals and micronutrients that our body needs on a daily basis thus making the person not only put on unnecessary weight but will also make them feel very weak, lethargic and prone to infections.

The following are a few tips as to how to reduce the tendency to develop cravings and thus automatically contribute to reducing weight.The person is asked to  avoid sugar  in all forms, since it tends to triggers unstable blood sugar levels and thus increase the cravings.

1. Suck a sour pickle when you feel a craving for sweet. It will help you to eliminate that craving.
2. Eating enough protein helps to reduce the craving. Small amounts of protein throughout the day are the single best strategy for balancing blood sugar and energy levels and to eliminate the cravings.
3. A really strong craving for sweets can be overcome by eating a peppermint followed by a glass of fruit juice or a few nibbles of a fruit, like an apple or a pear.
4. Use herbs and spices liberally for added flavor plus the blood sugar balancing effects they have. Cinnamon (tuj), cardamom (elaichi) or nutmeg (jaipher), added to yogurt or skimmed milk, will help satisfy a sweet tooth, since these spices add a sweet flavor without the calories.
5. Moderate exercises like brisk walking, swimming and aerobics tend to activate the cells. It helps to decrease the cravings by helping the cells to respond better to insulin and also helps to increase the level of free fatty acids in the blood that can be used for energy.
6. Chocolate is a rich source of magnesium, which most people lack and so develop a craving for it.  So if you crave chocolate take in more of magnesium through either supplements or its sources. Magnesium is found  especially in apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, brewer's yeast, brown rice, dairy products, figs (anjeer), garlic, green leafy vegetables, kelp, meat, nuts, peaches, seafood, sesame seeds, tofu, wheat and whole grains. 
7. Keeping yourself absorbed in hobbies that you like (like stitching, gardening, painting, teaching, etc.) will make you feel good and creative and plus deviate your mind off the cravings. So the next time that you feel like reaching for a chocolate cake or a bag of chips, reach out instead for the newspaper or your knitting set. 
8. Increase the intake of flaxseed, walnut and canola oil, which contains essential fatty acids. This will also help to decrease the cravings.
9. Make sure to get enough of trace minerals like zinc picolinate and chromium  picolinate, which balance the blood sugar by helping the insulin to work more effectively. So they are very useful to reduce the craving plus to reduce the weight. 

5 WAYS TO USE YOGURT AS A NUTRITIOUS SUBSTITUTE

5 WAYS TO USE YOGURT AS A NUTRITIOUS SUBSTITUTE 

Yogurt is one of the most versatile foods, especially for children who love dips and toppings. It can be used as a substitute for many high-fat foods. Here are some suggestions.

1. Use yogurt in place of mayonnaise. Non- fat, plain yogurt contains less than ten percent of the calories, less than one percent of the fat, and around three percent of the cholesterol of an equal amount of regular mayonnaise. Combining equal amounts of low-calorie mayonnaise and low fat yogurt works well for many dishes, including potato salad, coleslaw, pasta salad, tuna salad, dips, and appetizers.

2. A favorite with toddlers. Yogurt makes a tasty and nutritious dip for toddlers, who love to dip their exploring fingers into new foods. It is also a favorite topping for toddler foods and a time honored bait to entice toddlers to try new foods.

3. Try whole plain yogurt as a healthy alternative to sour cream. It is much lower in calories, fat, and cholesterol. If you're adding it to a sauce in place of sour cream, heat it over very low heat so it doesn't curdle. After a while, switch to lowfat.

4. Try yogurt in baking recipes. Plain yogurt can often be substituted for milk, buttermilk, or sour cream in recipes for waffles, pancakes, and muffins.

5. Substitute yogurt for ice cream. Yogurt shakes and smoothies are a low-fat alternative to ice cream.

18 Ways to Stay on Top of Stress

18 Ways to Stay on Top of Stress

So the stress of the holidays is over, but now you might be catching up on missed work and dwelling on the tear-flavored ham and mimosa binges. Well, don’t worry too much about that, because crying while eating is actually a healthy way to reduce stress. 
All this craziness and high-speed living isn't going away. Since we can't change our genes, we have to create a map to navigate this crazy life. What can you do to try and stay on top of the stress so it doesn't affect your health, happiness, or waistline?Want to know more ways to stay on top of stress? Just keep reading! 

1. Exercise. Amen for endorphins. Believe me, they've helped me many days with my perspective. If you

have to work out, then go take a brisk walk and get that blood flowing. It isn't about working out to lose weight it's about being healthy and staying sane.

2. Eat the real stuff. Crappy food (fast, processed, and loaded with sugar) doesn't help your chemical brain and body handle stress. Living food, real food, helps support your mind and body while it's trying to deal with the million things coming its way. Every time I reach for the chocolate, I'm looking to feel something from it. Don't get me wrong if it's just a little here and there because I enjoy the taste of it, great. But if I'm using it the minute I feel overwhelmed, then that's when that food is no longer OK to eat. It doesn't make the problem go away, and then I just feel bad about eating the food to pacify myself. Grab green food instead. Put things in your mouth that are going to support your immune function and keep you levelheaded.

3. Notice. Try not to let the stress overtake you. Recognize the situations that cause the stress and notice them coming your way. You have a better shot at fending off the full effects of the stress when you can anticipate it.

4. Get it off your chest. Talk to a friend or partner about the stress. Sometimes just getting it off your chest can help unload some of the burden.

5. Keep your sense of humor. If you do have the chance to talk about it, try to see the irony and humor in the wacky bits. I think someone is dead in the water once they lose their sense of humor.

6. Stay grateful. My daughter has large lungs and verbal skills she likes to display. Just when I start to wishfully think about her being quiet, I remind myself to be grateful that she can talk to me at all. In almost all of our problems are boatloads of blessings. "Oh, I don't feel like going to the gym." Well, Amen that you have the means and the health to even be able to wrestle with the idea of going to work out. Make a habit of saying thank you. You will notice the sunny spots a lot more often, and not just the gray skies and storms.

7. Ask, "What's the hurry?" Have some fun. We're always so busy going somewhere, we miss just enjoying

the moment. If an opportunity comes your way to do something fun, take it.

8. Take a deep breath. When you feel the stress getting to you, take a moment. Get away, even if it's just for an hour, to be with yourself and your thoughts. Some people like to take a walk, meditate, lock themselves away in a beautiful bath, or go to church. Find the peace and the silence.

9. Keep it simple. Simplify where you can. Does Junior really need to be in 78 activities at the age of 5? Do you have to go to every little party or gathering you're invited to?

10. Turn of the TV. A lot of it is bad news anyway, and it robs us of hours that we could use to be getting other things done. Since everyone complains that they have no time, get some by unplugging from the tube.

11. Sleep. If you're rested, you have a better shot at handling things. Not to mention, you may not stress out as easily if you have a chance to recover at night.

12. Drink water. I have said it before: Americans consume 21 percent of their calories through liquid consumption. Hydrate with water. Help you entire system function better just by drinking enough water. Oh, and by the way, if you don't think that weight loss and proper hydration have a relationship, think again. Shift the paradigm on its side -- don't think about exercise and nutritional eating just as something you have to suffer through to get into those jeans. Instead, think of them as armor that will protect you in this crazy world, with all of the bazillion details you deal with every day.

13. Don’t go to work. Avoiding what I call “hot spots” of stress is key to not having stress. If work is stressing you out, don’t go. If your marriage is stressing you out, don’t go home. If school is too stressful, drop out. You don’t need school to get where you want to be. Look at me, I didn’t go to school and I’m a doctor.

14. Complain to anyone who will listen. Are you lonely? Don’t keep it inside! Tell your wife, tell your State Farm agent like I do, tell that dude at the gym. When we bottle our emotions it’s like bottling a beer: it’s worthless until you open that bottle of beer and let it out.You have to open yourself and let people hear your tasty sad stories.

15.Enjoy natural sunlight, especially in the winter. It can be depressing to be stuck indoors during the shortened days of winter, but a brisk walk in the sunshine can be a real mood enhancer.

16. Keep up your journal every day. Self-monitoring your food, fitness, and emotional feelings is an excellent way to become more aware of your triggers and behavioral patterns.

17. Relax. Give yourself 15 minutes each day of peace and quiet, a time to be reflective, meditate, or simply unwind. Soaking in a hot bubble bath can help release your troubles into thin air. Breaking free from the family, a breath of fresh air, or escaping to a quiet room will energize and empower you.

18. Be good to yourself. Have a list of motivational sayings that inspire and strengthen your resolve. Use affirmations daily to help you feel good about yourself and your mission to lose weight.