But for some of us, certain foods can derail your health in very serious ways.

Dr. Terry Wahls, author and creator of The Wahls Protocol, has some very helpful advice that may come in handy over the coming holiday season, and it’s about your very own personal food story. Being able to tell your food story can help you maneuver through difficult situations, like helping Aunt Peggy understand that even though her bread pudding is famous in three counties, just one bite could leave you in misery for several days.

Last year, before the holiday season began, Dr. Wahls, who changed her diet to overcome the debilitating symptoms of multiple sclerosis, shared this advice…

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What is your food story?

How do you eat the right foods and avoid getting pressured or seduced into eating foods that will likely provoke trouble for you or your health? This can be tricky, especially during the holidays and on special occasions. Sticking with the food choices you know are best for you is much easier if you know how to gracefully share your “Food Story” with others. Your “Food Story” explains why you choose to not eat certain foods and why you stress specific types of foods in your diet. When others understand your “Food Story,” they are more likely to stop pressuring you to eat foods that are harmful to you.

My daughter Zebby is gluten- and dairy-free and is now old enough to make her own choices about what she will and will not eat. Though it has taken her a few years, she has learned how to navigate her “Food Story” with friends and family who don’t always understand gluten sensitivities. When she was younger, one of her biggest challenges was Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at Grandma’s house.

Grandma believed that a little of her special Thanksgiving food wouldn’t hurt anybody. However, knowing what my body could and could not handle, I made an equivalent dairy- and gluten-free meal for small family. Zebby, however, felt bad that no one was eating Grandma’s food, so she had dressing, gravy and two servings of green beans, saying how delicious the food was. The gluten and dairy trigger migraines, often accompanied by vomiting, that can last for days, sometimes a week. So I was not surprised that Zebby woke up the day after Thanksgiving with a severe headache, light sensitivity and vomiting. It made the five-hour drive back to Iowa miserable for everyone. She ended up missing almost a week of school because of the severe migraine.

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When we went back to Grandma’s for Christmas, Zebby ate only gluten- and dairy-free food. She explained to Grandma that the gluten in wheat triggers terrible migraines, which can last for days and are often accompanied by vomiting. She told Grandma that she missed a week of school because of the migraine and didn’t want to risk getting that sick again. Even though it was difficult, my daughter learned how to communicate her “Food Story” to Grandma, who understood why Zebby had to avoid certain foods.

It’s like that for all of us — even I have eaten the wrong foods on several occasions early on in my journey back to health. Because eating gluten or dairy gives me a flare of my severe facial pain within 48 hours, I receive very prompt feedback on my food choices. This has made it much easier for me to commit to being meticulous about my food choices. I tell family and friends who invite me for a meal that I will bring some food to be sure I have something I feel safe eating, and typically bring a big batch of greens. It is also helpful to eat before going to an event that has questionable food so that you will be less tempted to make a poor food decision.

You can learn more about the work of Dr. Terry Wahls from her website: www.terrywahls.com.

The post Making the best of holiday meals when you have special diet needs appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

That’s why we typically begin to notice the earliest signs of aging in our skin — a few fine lines here and there — as we approach our mid 30s.  By the time we reach 40 our skin is no longer producing collagen and begins to lose elasticity. As we approach 50 we begin to see the more profound effects of aging, like deeper wrinkles, sagging and skin that is much thinner and prone to damage and infection.

So, then, it’s no wonder that a variety of moisturizers, serums and thick, goopy night repair creams containing collagen line the drugstore shelves. But are they effective? Many dermatologists question the effectiveness of combatting the visible signs of aging by applying collagen directly to your skin. There is some debate about how well the collagen in these products is absorbed into the skin, if it is even usable at the molecular level, and if the body’s immune system may even see it as an invader and attack it.

All the more reason to boost your body’s own collagen stores. Fortunately there are quite a few ways to help your body naturally produce more collagen and improve the look and health of your skin.

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#1 Beauty begins on the inside

The old saying “beauty begins on the inside” — like most old sayings — is grounded in some truths.

A body that takes in clean healthy food as part of a well-balanced nutritionally sound diet tends to be healthy on the inside — and that often translates to beautiful healthy skin. But eating a perfectly healthy diet is not always easy to do and there’s no guarantee that your skin won’t sag or become wrinkled.

However, there are certain foods that are reported to stimulate collagen production and incorporating some of them into your diet could be pretty simple. Besides, the payoff — firmer younger-looking skin — could be all the motivation you need!

Research supports the collagen-boosting benefits of some foods, but I decided to visit several dermatology and aesthetician sites to see what they recommended. Over and over again I saw the same foods listed as collagen boosters, starting with…

1. Red vegetables—like tomatoes, peppers and beets contain the antioxidant lycopene which acts as a natural sunblock and increases collagen production.
2. Dark leafy green vegetables—like kale and spinach, are rich in vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that protects collagen.
3. Orange vegetables—like carrots and sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A, which restores and regenerates damaged collagen.
4. Citrus fruits—are high in amino acids lysine and proline which convert to collagen.
5. Garlic—is sulfur food and is necessary for the production of collagen. It also contains lipoic acid and taurine that help rebuild collagen.
6. White tea—has been found to protect skin proteins, specifically collagen. 

I’ve got one more nutritional recommendation for you, and even if you’re the pickiest eater or busiest person on the planet, this addition to your diet is so easy you’ll have no excuse. And keep reminding yourself of the payout—youthful skin…

#2 Collagen hydrolysate

Let’s start with the big guns: In one recent large study, women who took 50ml of a specific brand of hydrolyzed collagen peptide once a day for 12 weeks experienced a significant increase in collagen density and skin firmness. After 60 days they experienced a noticeable reduction in skin dryness and wrinkle depth. Additionally, production levels of procollagen (the body’s precursor to collagen) in these women skyrocketed.

Hydrolyzed collagen peptides are readily available as collagen hydrolysate — a form of gelatin. Gelatin is collagen protein derived mainly from the bones of animals. It’s one of the reasons there has been a huge renewal in interest for bone broth.

But if you’re not into boiling bones in your kitchen, you could try collagen hydrolysate in a powdered form that easily dissolves in cold water or other drinks like juice or smoothies. It’s also available in supplement form that may be powder or liquid—as was the case with the brand used in the study I mentioned above. (You can click the study link to get the brand name if you’re interested.)

Hydrolyzed collagen peptides don’t gel like gelatin therefore it’s easier to digest. For this reason it’s believed to be a very bioavailable form of collagen that your body can quickly absorb and put to use right away.

It also provides glycine, proline and lysine — amino acids required by the body to build healthy tissue. These important building blocks for connective tissue are found in most other protein sources but in much lower amounts. You may not know it, but collagen is just as important to your joints, muscles and bones as it is to your skin!

There are brands of collagen hydrosolate you can find online that verify their products come from grass fed and humanely raised cows, and that would be my only recommendation.

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#3 The red light that will stop wrinkles in their tracks

Lower-level laser light therapy that produces red and near infrared light has been found to stimulate, heal and restore skin, and the studies that back up these claims go as far back as 1987. Red light therapy is able to penetrate deep enough that is stimulates the production of collagen and elastin — exactly what we need for plumper, firmer skin — without causing any visible damage at the skin surface level. No healing. No downtime.

Red light therapy is available at clinics and salons, and even at some tanning salons (though if you jump into a tanning bed after red light therapy you’re undoing any benefit your skin would have received!).

There are also plenty of choices for at-home red light therapy devices ranging in prices anywhere from $30 on up. Just do an internet search for “red light therapy at home devices.”

#4 Exfoliate to activate

I knew exfoliating was good for my skin, but was a skeptic about just how much of an impact it can have until a recent spa visit. For mother’s day this year, my daughter, who works at an upscale salon, gave me a gift card for a facial. And the difference in my skin was like night and day.

On my way home from the appointment, I could not stop touching my face. I could not recall a time when my skin felt so new and smooth. I became a believer and have been a daily exfoliater since.

Exfoliation helps kick start collagen production because creating mild irritation to your skin triggers a healing response. Part of that response is fibroblast cells that begin to synthesize collagen fibers. Exfoliation also increases cell turnover in your skin, which slows with aging. If you help remove the dead cells, you make it easier for newer cells to come to the surface.

Exfoliation can be as easy as using a washcloth with a little more pressure along with your preferred cleanser. There are also cleansing brush devices, cleansing pads, and my preference which is exfoliating scrub cleansers.

If you choose an exfoliating scrub cleanser steer clear of the ones that contain plastic microbeads. The plastic waste caused by microbeads are not filtered out during sewage treatment and are damaging water ecosystems, including marine life.

Instead, go with something that uses natural materials. Some natural exfoliators used in products includes sodium barcarbonate, corn meal, oatmeal, sugar and ground nut shells or fruit pits. It also helps to look for a scrub cleanser that contains salicylic acid (which occurs naturally in plants) to expedite cell turnover.

Some may say our desire for youthful skin is a self-centered search for a Holy Grail. But if you think about it, we don’t think the same way about keeping our heart or liver healthy. Your skin is your body’s largest organ. Keeping it healthy keeps you healthy. So why not be as comfortable in the skin you’re in as long as you can?

Sources:

1. White Tea Could Keep You Healthy And Looking Young — Kingston University
2. Daily consumption of the collagen supplement Pure Gold Collagen® reduces visible signs of aging — Clinical Interventions in Aging

The post 4 ways to boost collagen and love the skin you’re in appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But at the end of the day, many of us find ourselves looking into the mirror, straining to see the slightest sign that anything has actually worked.

We are obsessed with halting the signs of aging. Though there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look younger, it’s important to understand there’s a limit to what products can do, and surgeries can be risky. We’ve all seen the pictures of the cosmetic surgery addicts and none of it is pretty.

I used to wonder if women in other countries were as age-obsessed as American women. I have not travelled extensively outside of the U.S, other than a trip to a family wedding in Italy.  But I have a close friend from Slovakia and also helped host a group of visiting Russian teachers when I worked as a fundraiser for an international center.

The thing that struck me about my Slovakian friend and the Russian teachers was their natural beauty. The teacher’s ages ranged from their early 30s to early 50s. They came from different areas of Russia, but most talked of harsh winters. And despite this, their skin was porcelain-like and beautiful. They wore very little make-up, and when they did it was just a bit of lipstick for a finishing touch.

The ladies in their 50s had the same youthful glow as the younger teachers too, which I found fascinating. Of course I had to ask them how they maintained their radiant skin. And that’s when I learned about the Russian banya.

The banya is a steam bathhouse, and for Russians, it is a centuries-old tradition practiced to boost the immune system for the cold winters ahead. But my Russian friends revealed it also holds beauty secrets as well—revealed in this old Russian proverb: The day you spend in the banya is the day you do not age.

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Detoxify and destress to beautify

The banyas have a few different rooms including the parnaya, a steam room similar to a sauna where you sit on wooden benches while the steam opens pores allowing you to sweat out impurities and stress.  A good old-fashioned steaming is followed by a cold shower, and then the whole process is repeated at least one more time.

While steaming and relaxing, Russian women enjoy a yogurt and honey facial. It’s a simple as it sounds. You simply mix honey and yogurt and slather it onto your skin. Then just lick it from your fingers—no yucky chemicals!

To combat cellulite, coffee grounds are available to be massaged into problem areas while you steam.

Next comes a “no pain-no-gain” ritual many Americans may find odd. After steaming and showering, a specialist gently flogs your body with a “bath broom.” These are brooms made of bundles of leafy twigs of birch, eucalyptus, oak, maple, or birch. The brooms are dipped in cold water and briskly smacked against your body and are reported to have a detoxifying effect.

Next stop would be the predbannik. In this room, people gather to sip on herbal teas, relax and talk to each other—something most Americans would never consider doing with complete strangers. And no one carries their smart phone with them.

The bayna seems magical, but its benefits are really quite sensible if you think about it, and I can definitely see how more Americans could benefit from a similar experience.

The Russian people believe the banya helps them fight sickness and the steam makes their skin soft and smooth. It reduces stress. It removes impurities and toxins.

It is said that the banya experience brings people together. I imagine the entire experience would be quite spiritually and physically rejuvenating. And if that doesn’t make your skin glow, I’m not sure what would.

At-home banya experience

Creating your own banya experience wouldn’t be very difficult at all. Here are my tips. All you need is some quiet time at home to pull it off:

1. While running a hot shower, sit on a towel at the edge of the tub. Place a relaxing eucalyptus-scented aromatherapy tablet under the running water. You can find these at most drug stores.
2. After steaming, take a cool, refreshing shower.
3. After showering, make your own yogurt and honey mask. Wrap your hair in a towel and apply the mask. Use plain, unsweetened yogurt and local honey if available.
4. Sip a cup of calming chamomile in a quiet room of the house, while your mask rejuvenates your skin.
5. When done, top the experience off with a good night’s sleep.
6. Make time to experience your own personal banya at least twice monthly.

The post Age-defying secrets of a Russian beauty appeared first on Easy Health Options®.

But there’s a technique men have been employing for years that women are adopting, that may prove to be more effective.

Men seem to get fewer wrinkles than women—and women have noticed. Could that one daily habit most men partake in be the reason why? That’s exactly it. Shaving every day constantly exfoliates men’s skin by shaving away the outmost layers of skin and encouraging the production of new layers.

According to esthetician Kerry Benjamin in an online interview, “Shaving your face can have somewhat similar results to a professional dermaplaning procedure.”

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Dermaplaning is simply the shaving of the skin using a scalpel with a No. 10 blade, performed in a dermatologist’s office. Typically the skin is cleansed before the procedure with cleanser containing mild beta or alpha hydroxyl acids. This procedure produces a more refined, smooth skin surface for people with rough, dry skin, superficial hyperpigmentation (dark spots), mild acne scarring, or fine lines and wrinkles.

But won’t shaving make any hair on your face (of course women only have peach fuzz), grow back thicker and darker? Benjamin says this is only a myth.

Ms. Benjamin is a fan of shaving at home herself and provides these tips if you want to try it yourself:

1. Choose either the type of razor you’d normally use on your legs (preferably not yet used), or a women’s facial hair trimmer or eyebrow shaper.
2. Apply very little pressure.
3. Shave on clean, dry skin.

As far as shaving technique, she suggests pulling the skin taught and shaving downwards in short strokes with the razor at a 45-degree angle against the skin. And shaving just twice monthly should be enough to see positive results.

Before you turn your nose up at the idea of shaving, you should know it’s rumored that legendary beauties Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe shaved to remove fine fuzz from their famous mugs. Could that have been their beauty secret? We’ll never know but I, for one, may give it a shot.

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