Vitamin Deficiency and Your Skin

Although taking your vitamins doesn't mean you'll never need to wash your face or exfoliate again, making sure you're not deficiency in particular vitamins & minerals can definitely go a long way in helping your skin care routine. Combined with the good old basics of skin care, proper nutrition could give your skin the boost it needs!

Here are some common symptoms of mineral and vitamin deficiency:

• Acne: Acne lesions can be triggered by deficiencies in vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, biotin, and zinc.

• Dry Skin: Focus on the proper intake of vitamins A and C, which will replenish and rejuvenate your skin from the inside out.

• Oily Skin: This is a similar symptom to acne breakouts and lesions, but if your skin is excessively oily, it is best to focus on your vitamin B2 intake. This is a common deficiency that can cause oiliness in the complexion, often creating painful acne lesions or making it difficult for your makeup to stay on all day long.

• Rosacea: Rosacea is exacerbated by a vitamin B2 deficiency. Having a proper vitamin B2 intake will work to balance complexion and prevent the redness and swelling that is so common with a rosacea flareup.

• Stretch Marks: If you want to minimize stretch marks in your skin, focus on vitamins E and B6, as well as an ample intake of zinc.

Dead Sea Salt: Is it really better?

Today we take a look at one of the ingredients I use in my B&B products: Dead Sea salt!

Dead Sea Salt refers to salt extracted or taken from the Dead Sea. It is a popular ingredient of many common bath products including bath salts, salt scrubs, foot scrubs, body wraps, bath bombs, soaps, and a wide variety of other cosmetic products, including makeup.... but is it all it's cracked up to be? It appears so!

Dead Sea salts have been reported to have the following benefits:

• Rheumatologic Conditions – Dead Sea salts can be effective in balneotherapy of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic Arthritis, and Osteoarthritis. The minerals are absorbed while soaking, stimulating blood circulation.
• Common Skin Ailments – Research has demonstrated that skin disorders such as acne and psoriasis are relieved by regular soaking in water with added Dead Sea salt. The National Psoriasis Foundation recommends Dead Sea and Dead Sea salts as effective treatments for psoriasis. One study concluded that the high concentration of magnesium in Dead Sea salt was instrumental in improving skin hydration and reducing inflammation. Another study conducted at the University of Negev, Israel also looked into the claims of Dead Sea Salt and found that although common salt provides benefits to psoriasis suffers, Dead Sea Salt does a slightly better job at reducing it's symptoms (when soaking it salt baths regularly).
• Allergies - The high concentration of bromide and magnesium in the Dead Sea salt can relieve allergic reactions by cleansing and detoxifying.
• Skin Aging – Further research into Dead Sea salt benefits has shown a 40% reduction in the depth of wrinkling.

Easy Green & Natural Polisher You Can Do at Home!

Although I've never tried it myself, I've read that pineapple is natural skin polisher that comes with a clinical proof of efficiency! Apparently, just rubbing your skin with a slice of pineapple works magic on dilated pores and minor skin flakiness.

So what is it about pineapple that makes it so special? Bromelain! Pineapples have an abundance of this enzyme that is clinically used as a skin debrider (dead tissue remover) when treating burns.

Additionally, I found out that in a study done by the University of Honolulu, the researchers found that bromelain interferes with growth of malignant cells (essentially slowing down the growth of these malignant cells ) while also decreasing inflammation! Now that's some sweet stuff :)

Natural Focus: Herbs That Help with Anxiety

Passionflower - an ingredient that is often used in natural medicine, alleviates hyperactivity, anxiety, insomnia, nervous tension -- and is even sometimes used to treat Parkinson's Disease. Passion flower soothes and calms and can lower high blood pressure.

Lemon balm - a general restorative for the nervous system, can reduce blood pressure and also calm the digestive system.

Lavender - an excellent anxiety treatment and one of the best natural panic attack treatments. Lavender is a general tonic for the nervous system and a natural relaxant.

Valerian - a popular natural ingredient that can be used as a sedative and a painkiller. It is often effectively employed as a treatment for anxiety and for insomnia, as well.

Why Your Eyes Get Puffy

Awakening to puffy, swollen eyes is frustrating, especially when you know there’s no simple 10-minute solution that will get you out the door looking brand new. Puffiness or bags under the eyes can be caused by several factors: fluid retention, irritation causing inflammation, loss of skin firmness and elasticity as we age, allergies, eye disorders secondary to medical disorders, fat deposits, and fatigue. Several of these triggers come from poor sleep.

Excess fluid (edema) under the eye is one of the major causes of eye “puffiness,” and an increase in blood pressure is the likely culprit for many as a direct consequence to sleep deprivation. An elevated blood pressure causes vessels to constrict and invite fluid retention. Many of the known sleep disorders can also cause excess fluid or edema to occur not only in the eye area but in several parts of the body.

Is it possible for a person with retained fluid to reduce that baggage and puffiness under the eyes with getting a good night’s sleep over time? Certainly. And if you can reduce the fluid retention, you’ll also change the surrounding tissues for the better, especially since the accumulated excess fluid in the under-eye area may cause additional inflammation and swelling.

Medical conditions can also change the appearance of the eye, particularly thyroid problems like hypothyroidism (which can also be linked to sleep apnea). For most, however, getting enough sleep is all that’s necessary. Avoiding excess alcohol will also alleviate eye bags (as well as disrupted sleep!).

Attention allergy sufferers : Those with allergies typically have issues with puffy, inflamed eyes. They also face the challenge of getting quality sleep when bothered by allergies during the night. Sometimes taking anti-histamines can help to reduce baggy eyes, but this can come with a hefty price-tag because these medications can cause daytime sleepiness. What’s worse, the act of coughing and sneezing itself can cause forced air to escape through the sinuses. This, in turn, pushes air behind the fat pockets under the eyes, which then causes those fat pockets to protrude forward. Ask your doctor how best to manage your allergies so they don’t interfere with sleep, and neither does your medication.

{from Dr. Michael Breus, PhD, author of the book Good Night: The Sleep Doctor’s 4-Week Program to Better Sleep and Better Health.}

Rosacea Skin Care

Wondering if You have Rosacea?
Rosacea is a frustrating skin condition that begins subtly, with the intermittent appearance of redness along the cheeks and nose. If left untreated, rosacea almost always worsens. Read More

Here are the signs to look for:

• Red flushing over the cheeks and nose
• Consistent, though random, and often extreme skin sensitivity
• Acne-like bumps (but the bumps are not acne)
• Flakey skin, sometimes accompanied by oily skin
• Visible tiny blood vessels that may become more noticeable over time
• Other concerns, which can still be present: dry skin, wrinkles, sun damage, and skin discolorations
• Almost anyone can get rosacea, but those affected most often are lighter skinned women. Men are less likely to have rosacea, but when they do, they have more noticeable problems, including swollen bumps along the nose called rhinophyma.

What causes rosacea?
Although the exact cause of rosacea is unknown, various theories about the disorder's origin have evolved over the years. Facial blood vessels dilate too easily, and the increased blood near the skin surface makes the skin appear red and flushed. Various things -- called trigger factors -- can increase this redness response. Acne-like bumps appear, often in the redder area of the central face. This may be due to factors related to blood flow, skin bacteria, microscopic skin mites (Demodex), irritation of follicles, sun damage of the connective tissue under the skin, an abnormal immune or inflammatory response, or psychological factors. None of these possibilities has been proven, although potential inflammatory pathways have been identified in recent ongoing research -- including an immune response triggered by a type of antimicrobial protein known as cathelicidin. A recent study also found that certain bacteria present on otherwise harmless Demodex mites could prompt an inflammatory response in rosacea patients.



What You Should Eliminate from Your Skin-Care Routine:
If you have rosacea, it is critical that you eliminate the parts of your normal skin-care routine that increase inflammation, and make skin redder, such as the following:

• Harsh cleansers such as "beauty bars" that contain detergents
• Drying liquid or lotion cleansers (again, that contain detergents)
• Toners with alcohol and fragrance
• Abrasive scrubs
• Rough washcloths
• At-home facial peels
• Using too many products at the same time.

What to Eliminate: Specific Ingredients
Skin-care ingredients that make rosacea worse include the following, and, shockingly, they often show up in skin-care products whose labels claim they are specifically for those with rosacea:

• Fragrant plant extracts such as cinnamon, rosemary, lavender, and rose
• Some Synthetic fragrances
• Lemon, lime, menthol, peppermint, pine, and cedar
• Alcohol
• Witch hazel

Acne: Adult Acne and Smoking

Most people assume that only teenagers and young adults should be concerned with acne. But that might not be so if you smoke.

In a recently published study in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology, acne was found to be more prevalent among women who smoke than among women who do not smoke. Smokers comprised 66.3 percent of the total group that was studied. Two types of acne were observed: comedonal post-adolescent acne (CPAA) and papulopustular post- adolescent acne (PPAA).

CPAA acne is a type of acne that consists of non-inflammatory issues like whiteheads and blackheads that mostly affect areas of the forehead, along the jaw-line, and chin. Of the smokers in the group studied, nearly 73 percent suffered from comedonal acne.

PPAA acne is acne that consists of inflammatory issues like pustules (zits that appear as red circles with white or yellow centers) and papules (small, red, and tender bumps with no head). Only 29.4 percent of the group actually suffered from papulopustular post-adolescent acne. Being a smoker seemed to increase comedonal acne (CPAA), while it had little effect on papulopustular acne (PPAA).

Another study published by the Dermato-Endocrinology Journal in 2009 found similar results. Out of 1000 women studied, 277 (27.7 percent) were smokers. Of those women who smoked, an astounding 42 percent had acne! Less than 10 percent of nonsmokers in the study suffered from acne.

Acne may be more prevalent in women who smoke due to an increase in sebum (oil) excretion and a decrease in vitamin E. Vitamin E is beneficial for skin health and overall complete health, so obviously a decrease in this vitamin can be bad news.

Does Cranberry Juice Help With Urinary Tract Infections?

Cranberry juice has long had an anecdotal association with fighting urinary tract infections (UTI). UTI are largely the result of E. coli bacteria, which affix themselves and colonise the bladder and urinary system. Recent research has however confirmed how effective cranberry juice fights bacteria and infection at the molecular level.

The US-based Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) found that the little hooks which E. coli use to affix themselves to the lining of the urinary tract are susceptible to cranberry juice exposure, and lose their ability to attach effectively with extended exposure. This makes them more likely to be swept away with the passage of urine in the urinary tract. Furthermore their ability to attach was found to be directly related to the concentration of cranberry juice in the urine.

The bottom line: YES! Add cranberry juice to your regular diet but make sure it's the SUGAR FREE kind.

Your Skin's Natural First Aid Kit

Keep these natural solutions on hand to treat minor injuries.

Cuts and scrapes

Tea-tree oil, lavender essential oil

Natural antiseptics, tea-tree oil and lavender essential oil can be directly applied to minor wounds to help prevent infection

Splinters

Banana peel

The enzymes in a banana peel help draw the splinter to the skin's surface, making removal with tweezers easy. Apply a small piece of peel pulp-side down and affix with a bandage; wear overnight.

Bruises

Arnica cream or tincture

Arnica is believed to increase circulation, helping the body clear blood from bruised skin. Apply topically to the affected area.

Minor burns

Aloe vera gel, chamomile tea, lavender essential oil

Aloe will cool burns and speed healing. A clean dressing soaked in cool chamomile tea will also ease inflammation. Lavender essential oil has been known to help minor burns; blend a few drops with an ounce of a neutral oil (like almond or olive), and apply topically.

Insect bites and stings

Mashed papaya and oatmeal

Papaya contains the enzyme papain; applied topically, it breaks down the proteins that cause itching. Spreading cooked oatmeal on the affected area will also ease the itch.

Getting Enough Sleep is Worth it!

Many of you who know me well know I take my sleep seriously! After struggling with insomnia for over 10 years due to health complications, I'm finally able to sleep and I take advantage of that fact at every chance I get! I'm extremely blessed to be able to work from home on my own schedule because most of the time this allows me to sleep when I need to and for as long as I need to (I average 10 - 12 hours at a time!); this in turn helps me cope much better with the symptoms of AS & fibro that I experience on a daily basis. I know many of you don't have the luxury of being able to sleep as much as you would like - or even WHEN you would like - and I feel for you! I know how much better I feel when I can get a good night sleep (or in my case, a good day sleep!). I'm sure you've heard how important getting enough sleep is to your health but I wanted to share that importance with you again because I think it's especially important as we move into the busy holiday season. Please don't sell yourself short by skipping out on sleep! Not only will this impact your physical health, it can also be detrimental to your emotional health, your relationships, your work, and your overall happiness. If you're having problems sleeping, trust me, I've been there! There were a number of reasons that I experienced insomnia for so long and it took a long time to get each of those reasons figured out and dealt with, but I'm telling you, it was worth the continued fight and frustrating because the pay off of being able to sleep (and sleep well) is worth it's weight in gold! If you're having problems sleeping more often than not, I urge you to talk to your health care providers! It may take a while for them to figure out what's keeping you from dreamland, but stick with it and be an advocate for your own health! If you don't, nobody else will and please know that your physical and emotional well being is worth fighting for!

Sassy all tried out after last Halloween!

What Exactly is Sleep?

Physiologically speaking, sleep is the daily restful state all humans need to assume on a daily basis in order to replenish and live another day. It is a reduced state of motor activity in which consciousness of the surrounding world is suspended due to the diminished sensory stimulation response that occurs when a person lies down and closes their eyes.

Science has now revealed that sleep is fact a dynamic process in which the brain continues to work while we sleep. Some of these activities include:

• The production and release of certain proteins essential to growth (especially in children) and tissue repair.
• Replenishment to areas of the brain responsible for emotional and social functioning throughout the day.
• Helping the mind learn complicated tasks by retrieving knowledge potentially forgotten throughout the day.
• The preservation of emotional memories, whose components become unbound throughout the sleep process.

Brain Activity in Sleep

Brain activity plays an important role in the sleep cycle. It directs the chemicals responsible for nerve signaling (neurotransmitters) to act on nerve cells in different areas of the brain whether the person is asleep or not. These nerve cells (brain cells otherwise known as neurons) control sleep by inhibiting the other parts of the brain that keep an individual awake.

Princess & Drew catching a nap on the couch :)

5 Good Reasons to Get Enough Sleep

Memory and learning – the sleep cycle helps the brain in committing new information to memory via the process of memory consolidation. Scientific studies have also linked higher test results to students that had slept after learning the particular task being tested.

Weight and metabolism – a disturbed sleep cycle and chronic states of insomnia have been linked to a disturbance in metabolism and consequent weight gain. This can be attributed to its affect on appetite-controlling hormones and the ways in which carbohydrate is stored and processed.

Safety – daytime errors and mishaps such as falls, medical errors, air traffic mishaps and road accidents can statistically be linked to disturbed sleeping patterns prior to the event taking place.

Mood – a disturbed sleep cycle can cause an imbalanced amount of hormones and neurotransmitters, causing irritability, impatience, moodiness and concentration difficulty.Cardiovascular Health – Science has linked disrupted sleep and sleep disorders to conditions harmful to cardiovascular health, including irregular heartbeats and hypertension.

Disease – A lack of sleep directly affects the activity of the body’s killer cells and therefore depletes the body’s immune system. Recent studies have also shown good quality sleep patterns may play a part in the fight against cancer.

How Much Sleep is Enough?

Adults: 7-8 hours per night (although some adults may function better with 5-10 hours of sleep a night)

Teenagers: 9 hours per night

Infants: 16 hours throughout the course of the day and night.

Pregnant women: need increased amounts of sleep, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Noel using me as a pillow!

Easy Ways to Relax and Combat Stress

Relaxation is important and being able to let go of the stress of everyday life and recharge is what can make the difference between striving and thriving! This is especially important as we head into the busiest time of year for most people - the Christmas season. If you're already feeling stressed out, it's particularly important for you to get a handle on that mental strain now before you feel completely overwhelmed and start looking for cave to hibernate in!

There are many different ways the body can relax and which one you choose will depend on the amount of time you have, what you are comfortable with and what you enjoy. Read on for some great relaxation methods.

1. Relax Your Muscles

One great way of relaxing the body is using progressive muscle relaxation. This is easy to do:

• While sitting quietly and comfortably, close your eyes and slowly breathe in and out.
• Bend your right hand back at the wrist, briefly hold it and relax.
• Do the same with the left wrist.
• Form fists with your hands, hold them and feel the tension spreading up towards the elbow before relaxing.
• Bend both arms up at the elbows and raise your hands towards your shoulders, tightening the biceps.
• Hold and then relax.
• To relax the face, first raise your eyebrows as high as you can, hold and relax.
• For the eyes, squeeze your eyelids shut, holding and then relaxing.
• For the jaw, just bite down, hold and relax.
• To relax the neck, bend your head forward, feeling the tension at the back of the neck and then relax.
• Raise your shoulders, hold them, drop them and relax.
• To relax the chest, you will need to take a deep breath and hold it while trying to touch your shoulder blades together by pulling your arms back.
• To relax the stomach, just pull it in, hold and relax.
• Relax the back by arching away from the chair and holding it for a bit before relaxing.
• The next step is to place your feet flat on the floor and press down to feel tension, holding it and then relaxing.
• For the thighs, raise first the right leg and hold it for a little before relaxing.
• Do the same for the left.
• To relax the feet, bend the toes up and then relax.
• Provided you have stayed calm and still, your body will continue to relax and your mind will follow. Think of pleasant places and things so that your mind does not wander back to more mundane thoughts and worries.

2. Play Music

Music is actually one of the most common ways for people to relax and de-stress themselves. There are specific types of music that are geared towards relaxation but all types of music are capable of helping you to relax. By listening to music that you enjoy, the sound receptors trigger the brain to release dopamine, which is associated with elevated mood and pleasure.

3. Reduce Stimulation

Too much stimulation can actually cause stress to the body and make it difficult for it to relax. This could be caffeine from tea, coffee or soft drinks, loud noises, sudden movements and so on. Cutting these out of your lifestyle and replacing them with healthy alternatives such as softer sounds, slower movements, and healthier water, herbal tea, and juices can keep your body on a quieter, more even keel.

4. Breathe Deeply - Batty's fav!

Deep breathing is actually one of the most important things that we can do to help our bodies to relax. By focusing on your breathing, your mind automatically starts to quieten. Deep breathing also helps you to get more oxygen into your body and expel more waste products, so you start to feel more invigorated. The extra oxygen also helps to reduce stress and makes you feel better.

5. Meditate

Meditation is extremely beneficial to the body, with relaxation being just one of the benefits. There are different types of meditation to choose from but in general, meditation is about calming and taming the mind, so that you are no longer thinking about stresses, anxieties and worries. It is about quieting the mind and dissolving stress. Meditation can be done anywhere whenever you have a few spare moments.

6. Do Gentle Exercise

Exercise not only helps with your physical fitness, it can also help you to relax as well. For exercise to be beneficial for relaxing, you don’t need to go on a long run or do be vigorous. Gentle exercise such as walking, swimming or cycling will help to release the body’s feel good chemicals called endorphins, reducing stress and leaving you on a natural high.

7. Look at your Lifestyle

Your lifestyle can actually have a significant effect on how stressed you are. If you are always going out to your next appointment or obligation, only grabbing takeaways when you have a few spare moments, and so on, your body becomes run down and finds it harder to deal with stress. Try having a few nights to yourself a week, where you can sit down and not have to be anywhere or answer to anyone. If you can’t manage a whole night, try to fit in an hour or two just to yourself. Eating a healthy diet filled with fresh vegetables, fruits, balanced proteins, and healthy carbohydrates can also be of tremendous benefit, strengthening the body and supporting the mind.

8. Think Positively

It may sound simplistic but thinking positively can make a huge difference to how stressed you feel and how relaxed you are overall. Negative emotions and thoughts can cause stress to build up in the muscles and make you feel on edge mentally. Thinking that you can instead of you can’t makes a whole lot of difference. You will feel better able to cope with the pressures of everyday life and your mood will be a lot lighter and happier. Another advantage of positive thinking is that putting out good things in the universe will tend to net you good things in return.

Peppermint Sick Trick

In this video I share one of the tricks I've picked up during a previous flare up. I have Ankylosing Spondylitis as well as Fibromyalgia and have learned main ways to coping during a flare up of symptoms. In this video I share with you one of my tricks for dealing with a flare up of extreme fatigue caused by Fibro.



-------------------------------------------------------------



*~*~*~* Helpful Links & Links Mentioned in the Video*~*~*~*



Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS):

http://battysbath.blogspot.com/2010/0...



Fibromyalgia:

http://battysbath.blogspot.com/2010/0...



Batty's Bath on Etsy - http://battysbath.etsy.com

Where to get the product I mentioned in this video



-------------------------------------------------------------



*~*~*~* Sound Clips in this Video Are From: *~*~*~*



Rodney Atkins - If You're Going Through Hell

Leona Lewis - Whatever it Takes

Taylor Swift - Fearless