redness around your nose, or the lines forming near your eyes?

Redness Around Nose
How do you treat redness around my nose and eyes.I believe I had a allergic reaction yet it it is not itchy, but the area is beginning to dry

Environmental conditions influenced by unnatural forces such as being in an airline cabin or the heat emitted by a furnace is also likely to cause dryness around the eyes and nose. If the skin remains dry for a significant period of time, it is likely to develop wrinkles as a result of the loss of elasticity. Dry skin is becoming more of a common issue given the highly polluted state of the natural atmosphere. It is only normal for a number of dust particles to accumulate over the surface of the skin, making it seem very dry and dirty.

Since the condition is very common and has a significant impact on the aesthetic features of an individual, a number of home remedies have been developed and perfected in different parts of the world over the course of a few decades.

* For example, you could try creating a puree of 1 papaya and 1 banana and apply it over the skin. Leave it on for about 20 minutes before you wash it off with the help of warm water.

* Apply a good moisturizing lotion such as margarine or natural vegetable oil for best results.

* You can also grate a piece of cucumber and apply it all over the affected area. The juice is known to be extremely beneficial for the skin around the eyes making it tighter and refreshed. It also has a very cooling effect on the skin.

* Another option would be to massage some amount of mayonnaise into your skin and leave it on for about 15 to 20 minutes and wash it off thoroughly with the help of some warm water.

* Vitamin E is considered to be one of the most beneficial healing agents for dry skin and the application of some vitamin E oil directly to the dry skin will show quick results.

Sex thrice a week, a must!

Trainers have been suggesting that their clients and visitors to the gym have sex thrice a week. Sex has been known to burn calories but how many and depending on what factors. Here's an insight into it.

Some may call it synchronized gymnastics and others choose to call it "making love", but it all just eventually boils down to a three letter word s-e-x. The age old practice we so proudly flaunt as our own since the advent of the Khajuraho Temples to the ultimate guide to sex called The Kamasutra, we have always been known to be the pioneers in innovative and complex love making.

We transcend from being flamboyant, curious teens to more experienced and well-read adults. Giggles and sniggers prevail over new found discoveries after endless surfing over the net, reading dirty magazines and receiving the dirty bits from experienced friends. We live in a country where we proudly wear the fact that we wrote the sex book but we also live in times where it could be taboo, making us complete aliens in the society. Well, heads up for what's coming then. It' not the million crunches and squats you do that help you burn up your calories, its much more than that! Don't be surprised if your fitness charts read, "Sex thrice a week" because that's exactly what trainers have been advising their clients to get down to their business.

A Human Movement specialist states that sex is aerobic in some parts and anaerobic in others. "Sex unfortunately as practiced today, as an act of pent up stress, an act of lust etc will burn calories. But that by itself is not sufficient to replace jogging". Badrinath focuses on the fact that jogging, running and other forms of aerobic activity actually help people to have better sex that last longer, helps them recover faster after climax and have more energy and endurance to last. When his trainer asked him to turn up the heat, Gokul Govardhan, a fitness was under the notion that he would have to increase his workout sessions and get into a more rigorous routing. Little did he know that his trainer was actually asking him to have sex thrice a week. "I didn't think it was not possible.

I believe in what my trainer tells me to do. Sex removes the fat content that sticks on to the body and wipes out all the toxins". Gokul has been working out under the same trainer for the last 2 years and he believes if this is a solution for burning calories, then be it! Shreya, another regular visitor of the gym says that sex is an amazing way to lose weight and it also defies the statement "no pain, no gain". "I don't see anything wrong in having sex thrice a week, if not everyday.

It's a great cardio and ab workout." Hollywood celebs have sworn their toned bodies on amazing sex and that is proof enough to say that trainers are right about this. "The trainer is my guru and according to me, the teacher is always right!" says Shreya.

The calories burnt of course depends on a lot of factors like age, duration of sex, foreplay, and the intensity with which the act is done.

Calories burnt (depends on factors like age and gender)

On average 170 calories or more are burnt in the age group of 18 to 25.

On average 135 calories or more are burnt in the age group of 25 to 40

If a man's not doing much work, then he burns about 120 calories, in the age group of 40 plus Indian male.

Women burn more calories only if they're doing the work during sex. On an average, men and women burn about the same because the work they do is similar.

Movement analysis:
If you were to do a movement analysis of one nights sex - 5 to 10 minutes goes in foreplay (basically kissing, touching and caressing) caloric output is negligible (20 cal).

The act itself lasts for 20 minutes (100 calories), cool down and sleep (10 calories)!

If you have multiple sex (2) or intercourse in one hour then you may look at 300 calories

The additional 60 cal could get you back into the game and passion also increases the body temperature.

3-4 cups of coffee can cut stroke risk by 17 pc: research

Drinking three to four cups of coffee a day can make us 17 per cent less likely to suffer a stroke, a new research has found.

Antioxidants in the drink stop blood clots in the brain as they protect against cholesterol build-up, the report said.

Scientists came to this conclusion after looking at data from eight studies on consumption from the past 45 years, a media report said.

Meanwhile, researchers found those drinking two cups a day were 14 per cent less likely to suffer a clot in the brain than non-drinkers.

Caffeine addicts who get through six or more cups a day only see a reduction in risk of around 7 per cent.

But the Swedish study admitted coffee “may have both beneficial and harmful effects”.

The research has been published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

How to keep a healthy heart

Celine Dion may have to change the title of her famous love song - My Heart Will Go On, for according to medical experts with each passing day, our hearts are ageing faster than other parts of our bodies and are finding it difficult to go on. Your heart age can be different from your actual age.

A sedentary lifestyle, stress, long work hours, a growing appetite for junk food, excessive smoking and drinking are some of the factors that can make your heart older a lot faster than you actually age.

Age: Just a number?
You may know the shape of your heart, but there are sites online which claim to calculate the age of your heart (see box). However, cardiologist Dr Hasmukh Ravat says you shouldn't rely on them, "There is no way to calculate the age of your heart. When doctors use the term 'ageing heart', what they are referring to is a tendency among young people who would otherwise have a very low risk of heart disease now grappling with cardiovascular disease, which is largely prevalent at later stages in life."

Teens under attack
Heart age is an estimated 'age'of the heart as compared to a person's chronological age. It's based on the influence that physical and lifestyle factors have on heart health. The age group of people suffering from heart disease now includes teenagers, claims Ravat. He says, "I have had cases of 17 and 19-year-olds coming to me with heart problems."

It's essential that you measure your risk of heart disease and make a plan for how to prevent it in the near future. Shailesh Trivedi, a 21-year-old working professional, who suffered a heart attack a year ago, adds, "I was lucky to survive. Often, we do not realise the toll junk food and a stressed environment can take on your heart. I had to get an angioplasty done to rectify the damage to my heart. Counselling, quitting smoking, regular exercise and modifications in my diet helped me get through it."

Whatever your age, keeping your heart healthy is well worth it, because a strong heart is ultimately what keeps you young and vital.

Here's how to keep a healthy heart
If you have high cholesterol, avoid red meat Avoid fried, junk, salty and oily food Exercise regularly, go for a brisk walk, for 45 minutes to an hour, three to four times a week. It helps increase good cholesterol Avoid drinking too much alcohol. Drinking in moderation is not harmful. One or two pegs a day, two or three times a week, is okay Check your weight and maintain it Quit smoking and control BP and blood sugar levels.

Test your heart age
The heart forecaster reveals your age after getting your heart numbers, which are your blood pressure and your cholesterol ratio. With a few simple questions, the Heart Age Forecast will estimate the current condition of your heart. It will also give you insight into how healthy your heart is and also the effect that your lifestyle has on your body. You can do the test on heartagecalculator.com.au/. If you want to have very accurate answers, you need to submit your cholesterol levels and blood pressure. However, it will also do the calculations based on average numbers for your age and other risk factors.

Children's Nutritional Needs

A survey of 1,800 school-aged children to find out what they consumed in a typical day.

15% of the students did not eat any vegetables
40% ate only potatoes or tomato sauce (aka French Fries and ketchup)
20% of the students did not consume any fruit

Currently, children ages 6-12 eat an average of 2.5 fruits and vegetables a day, only half of the recommended servings. These poor eating habits have made today's children susceptible to heart disease and obesity and a prime target for improved nutrition and increased education. It is important to monitor your child's fruit and vegetable intake and find creative healthy ways to help increase fruits and veggies in children's diets.

Children need a variety of foods to grow strong and healthy. Their appetites decrease or increase as they go through growth spurts.

Men think about food, sleep more than Sex

The saying, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, seems to be true, as a study has shown that men, who are believed to have a one-track mind, actually think more about food and sleep than they do about sex.

The research also found that contrary to popular belief, men do not think about sex every seven seconds, and that in reality, it is more like once every waking hour.

Professor Terri Fisher, a psychologist at the Ohio State University in the U.S. carried out the study on 163 students, both male and female.

They were asked to carry around a chart and mark it every time they thought about sex, food or sleep.

It was found the numbers varied widely, as one student recorded only one sexual thought a day, and another male wrote down 388 in 24 hours.

But on average, men thought about food and sleep more often than they thought about sex, but they thought about all three more often than women did.

"Men are more aware of need-related states such as being hungry or tired or sexually aroused, and focus on those," the Daily Mail quoted Fisher as saying.

"They are also better at detecting these states in themselves than women and more willing to express their thoughts," she revealed.

She added that even the student who thought about sex 388 times in a day was only thinking about it every 158 seconds - far fewer than the "every seven seconds" that myth suggested.

"When people hear about some of these differences, I think sometimes they don't question it because it fits the stereotypes we have of men and women," Fisher said.

"When you stop and take a closer look at the origins of some of these alleged differences, they sometimes have no empirical support," she explained.

Behavioural Psychologist Jo Hemmings, author of How To Have Great Sex, explains why men are so preoccupied with their stomachs.

"There tend to be more trigger mechanisms to thinking about food,"

"The sights and smells associated with eating, as well as simple hunger or thirst, tend to be more commonplace in everyday life than the trigger mechanism for thinking about sex, so inevitably we think more about it,"

5 Teas that make you slim!

The brew that energises can also help you lose weight. Here's how...

It's widely known that just one cup of tea can prevent strokes, arthritis, tooth decay and even keep cancer at bay. While it's regarded as nature's tranquiliser for its soothing properties, the brew also has another great benefit - it helps shed weight. Scientists have shown that tea has high levels of compounds that battle the absorption of fat.

Here are 5 teas that can result in a slimmer you...

1. Star anise tea: promotes digestion
Star anise, the fruit of a small evergreen tree (Illicium verum) native to China, can be used in the treatment of digestive troubles such an upset stomach, diarrhea, nausea etc. One may drink a tea made from it by steeping a whole pod in one cup of hot water for 10 minutes. Strain this and sweeten it if required. Sip on this slowly when an upset stomach occurs.

2. Peppermint tea: controls what you eat
If you like peppermint tea then try and rotate that with a green tea drink as both speed up digestion and thus help you burn more calories. The peppermint leaves can be used to make a light, refreshing tea, which can be drunk either hot or chilled. To prepare the tea, take a tablespoon of fresh or dried leaves and add them to boiling water and let it steep for four to five minutes. Strain and add honey, if needed.

3. Green tea: builds metabolism
Research says the chemical EGCG found in green tea that speeds up the body's metabolism, is responsible for helping people lose the kilos - it can burn a whopping 70 calories a day! Green tea also raises the level of antioxidants. It's believed the antioxidant catechins in green tea boost metabolism and helps burn fat (can burn a whopping 70 calories a day!) Steeping time for the tea: two to three minutes at 85 Degrees Celsius.

4. Rose tea: prevents constipation
One of the oldest flavouring teas available, rose tea - made by mixing fresh roses and the bud of the tea - has a major therapeutic effect on the human body. Apart from clearing toxins and beautifying the skin, rose tea contains vitamins A, B3, C, D and E and is known to act against infections. It also prevents constipation and helps one lose weight.

5. Oolong tea: guards against obesity
Research reveals that oolong, a semi-fermented tea may have a stronger effect than even green tea. It promotes fat burning is said to help reduce cholesterol and the concentration of fat in the body. About two cups per day is recommended. Steep oolong tea anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes, for a more full-bodied cup.

Nimbu paani for good health!

Lemon juice has more benefits that you'd ever imagine. Lemons have five per cent of citric acid, which gives it its unique taste.

Rich in vitamin C, it also has vitamin B, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, proteins and carbohydrates.

Here are some benefits.

- Suffer from indigestion? Mix a few drops of lemon juice with warm water and sip on it. This is useful for treating nausea, heartburn, diarrhoea, bloating and burping.

- Since lemon is a natural antiseptic, it is great to cure skin problems. It clears your skin and also acts as an anti-ageing agent by eliminating wrinkles and blackheads.

- Have a toothache? Apply fresh lemon juice where it hurts. If you have bleeding gums, applying lemon juice can curb the bleeding and stop bad breath.

- A sore throat can be cured by gargling with lemon juice and water regularly.

- Nimbu paani is high in potassium, which controls high blood pressure, dizziness, nausea and reduces stress. It also cures respiratory disorders like breathing problems and asthma.

Bucket lists, rude tweens and more

On raising a tween who has taken a turn for the rude: As difficult as you find those moments to be, you and your child are both practicing for higher-stakes separations in the future. One of the key elements that will make those conversations easier is skill — especially your child’s. Rather than responding to his affect in the moment, take an emotional step sideways. Don’t engage; observe. In a level voice, say, “I have no idea what you want right now, and you’re not going to get it by being rude to me. What do you want? Why? How much? When you figure those things out, let’s talk, but bring your best skills if you expect me to listen. You’re 10 now.”

What he really wants in that moment, by the way, is power, and he’s getting it by making his parent go off like a rocket whenever he wants. Please eliminate that reward and help him become more adept at finding his own power.

Half of U.S. adults will be obese by 2030, report says

Based on trends, half of the adults in the United States will be obese by 2030 unless the government makes changing the food environment a policy priority, according to a report released Thursday on the international obesity crisis in the British medical journal the Lancet.

Those changes include making healthful foods cheaper and less-healthful foods more expensive largely through tax strategies, the report said. Changes in the way foods are marketed would also be called for, among many other measures.

A team of international public health experts argued that the global obesity crisis will continue to grow worse and add substantial burdens to health-care systems and economies unless governments, international agencies and other major institutions take action to monitor, prevent and control the problem.

Changes over the past century in the way food is made and marketed have contributed to the creation of an “obesogenic” environment in which personal willpower and efforts to maintain a healthful weight are largely impossible, the report noted.

It also laid out a new way of calculating how many calories to cut to lose weight, giving what it said is a more accurate means of estimating projected weight loss over time.

The common weight-loss wisdom is that reducing calorie intake by about 500 calories a day “will result in slow and steady weight loss of about 0.5 kg (about a pound) per week.” That rule doesn’t take into account the way the body adapts to the change. In particular, as anyone who has actually lost weight can attest, the less you weigh, the fewer calories you can consume if you wish to lose more weight or maintain the loss.

The report said that weight loss should be viewed over a longer period of time and proposed a new “approximate rule of thumb” for an average overweight adult. It said that “every change of energy intake of [about 24 calories] per day will lead to an eventual bodyweight change of about 1 kg (just over two pounds) . . . with half of the weight change being achieved in about 1 year and 95 percent of the weight change in about 3 years.”

Though the report acknowledged that it’s ultimately up to individuals to decide what to eat and how to live their lives, it maintained that governments have largely abdicated the responsibility for addressing obesity to individuals, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations. Yet the obesity epidemic will not be reversed without government leadership, regulation, and investment in programs, monitoring, and research, it said.

The report, issued in a four-part series published in the Lancet, was released in advance of the first high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly focused on noncommunicable disease prevention and control, which will take place in New York next month.

Weight gain hits women after marriage, men after divorce

Tying or untying the knot seems to affect men's and women's waistlines differently: A new study shows that women are more apt to pile on excess pounds after marriage, while men add the weight after a divorce.

"Clearly, the effect of marital transitions on weight changes differs by gender," lead author Dmitry Tumin, a doctoral student in sociology at Ohio State University, said in a university news release.

His team looked at weight gain in the two years following a marriage or divorce among more than 10,000 people in the United States surveyed from 1986 to 2008.

Both men and women who divorced or married were more likely than never-married people to have a small weight gain in the two years following their marital transition, the team found.

In most cases, the weight gain was minor and not a serious health threat. But the risk of incurring a large weight gain was higher among men after a divorce and among women after getting married.

"Divorces for men and, to some extent, marriages for women promote weight gains that may be large enough to pose a health risk," Tumin concluded.

The study didn't examine the reasons why major weight gain is more likely for men after a divorce and for women after marriage, and the research did not go beyond the two-year marital transition period. But the findings fit with previous research.

"Married women often have a larger role around the house than men do, and they may have less time to exercise and stay fit than similar unmarried women," study co-author and sociology professor Zhenchao Qian theorized in the news release. "On the other hand, studies show that married men get a health benefit from marriage, and they lose that benefit once they get divorced, which may lead to their weight gain."

The researchers also found that people over age 30 were most likely to gain weight after marriage or divorce, and the risk grew stronger as people grew older.

This may be because they've settled into certain patterns of diet and physical activity, the researchers said.

"As you get older, having a sudden change in your life like a marriage or a divorce is a bigger shock than it would have been when you were younger, and that can really impact your weight," Tumin said.

The research was to be presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Las Vegas.

Suffer from grey hair?

We provide some home remedies to nourish your hair

Gooseberry is the best cure for hair fall and grey hair. Give your scalp a regular gooseberry paste massage to reverse the process of greying.

Soak 10 to 12 dried gooseberries in half a cup of water overnight and strain it the next day. Use this as a hair conditioner after your head bath. Leave it on for 10 minutes and rinse your hair with clean, warm water. This will make your hair smooth and shiny and also prevent premature greying.

A 15-minute, coconut oil and lemon massage is known to work wonders.

Soak about 10 to 12 rithas and three to four shikakai pods overnight in a pint of water. Boil for a few minutes the next day and strain. Use this liquid as a normal shampoo on your hair.

Apply a frothy mixture of castor oil and lemon juice evenly over your scalp and bathe after an hour with the shikakai and ritha shampoo mentioned above to reduce grey hair.

Take one cup of strong black tea mixed with a tablespoon of salt. Strain the tea once it's cool and massage on the roots of your hair. Leave it on for an hour and then rinse with cold water. Do not shampoo your hair after this.

Body Rap! (on iTunes)

Top Ten Foods for Glowing Skin Tips

Cottage Cheese

An antidote to dry skin, cottage cheese contains selenium and other essential minerals that are known to fight flaky skin and dandruff, helping your natural beauty shine through.

Mangoes

Sun damage is one of the major causes of dull, wrinkled skin. Mangoes, which are high Vitamin A, contain more than 80% of required vitamins known for restoring skin cells, says celebrity aesthetician Bella Schneider.

Green Tea

To reduce redness, swelling or irritation, Schneider says green tea is one of the body’s best allies in fighting off inflammation

Oysters

Loaded with zinc, oysters help fight sagging skin by boosting its elasticity to give it a more youthful appearance

Sea Buckthorn Berries

Dr. Mehmet Oz has been singing the praises of this Himalayan fruit. Packed with antioxidants, Vitamin C and the rare fatty acid Omega-7, the berries nourish skin and hair and help stimulate collagen production.

Red Wine

Red wine can help transform a dull complexion to its original glow. With thousands of polyphenols, it helps prevent cell oxidation that ages the skin.

Mushrooms

Containing lots of Vitamin B2, mushrooms can help dramatically repair damaged tissue, helping it look young and polished.

Coconut Oil

Similar to olive oil or avocados, virgin coconut oil is filled with good fats that help to restore skin’s moisture, says beauty expert Erika Katz. Once vilified as unhealthy, this cooking oil is making a comeback as scientists revise their former opinions, saying that in moderation it’s not a waistline killer.

Acerola Cherries

This fruit is Schneider’s favorite wrinkle fighter. Acerola cherries contain 100% of your daily Vitamin C quota and protect against oxidation, a major cause of wrinkles.

Sweet Potato

Dermatologist Audrey Kunin says sweet potatoes, which are rich in Vitamin A, speed cellular turnover and function like an internal anti-aging retinol.
source:Forbes.com

Forget gym, now burn calories by sexercise!

Forget running on treadmills or hitting expensive gyms to shed those extra pounds, as now a cheaper way to lose calories has emerged in the form of - sexercise.

A study has revealed that, women are more inclined to have sex after a long day if they think it will help them lose weight.

Research showed that 76 percent of women are more inclined to weave the nocturnal workout into their routines if they think they will burn calories.

And almost two thirds of women who do own gym memberships said they were happier to carry out such activities as having sex and even doing the vacuuming if they thought it would burn as many calories as a traditional workout.

According to Kerry McCloskey's book, 'The Ultimate Sex Diet', a half-hour session of lovemaking will burn about 150 to 250 calories, and even up to 350 calories, depending on just how active you are.

Simply kissing for an hour burns over 200 calories - equivalent to three HobNob biscuits.

"We are burning calories constantly as we go about our day to day business," the Daily Mail quoted Darren Linnell, creator of Aspire drinks who commissioned the survey, as saying.

"It's about being aware of the small things we can do to give us that extra boost," he stated.