#HealthFix: Top Tips To Boost Your Wellbeing
Tips for acne, improving hair health, getting a goodnight's sleep and more
Dry No More
“Acne medications are often drying, so you may need more moisturiser, not less, when you’re fighting break-outs,” says New York City dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD, author of The Mind-Beauty Connection. Otherwise, over dryness may trigger inflammation, which causes more acne. Just be sure to buy a lotion that’s labelled non-comedogenic or oil free. Moisturize acne prone skin with a hydration formula, rather than an emollient one, preferably one with hyaluronic acid. Also avoid washing your face more than three times a day or else oiliness can get aggravated in skin’s reflex back mechanism.
Tress Distress
Iron deficiency lowers levels of red blood cells, which are crucial to the health of hair follicles. Hair saver: Iron supplements paired with Vitamin C, which aids iron absorption.
Sole Purpose
Insoles and orthotics help ease foot pain. However, clinical studies have proven that they also provide pain relief for osteoarthritis in the back, hips, and knees.
Food Boost
Cranberries, green tea, and fish oil can boost your immune system. “I’ve done about 50 studies on marathon runners—who are 6 times more likely to get sick after a race—and learned that immune cells functioned abnormally for a day or so after extreme exertion. We found that a combination of quercetin (an anti-oxidant in cranberries and red onions), the green tea extract EGCG, and fish oil helped combat oxidative stress, thus warding off illness. For the average person, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, green tea, and fish should keep the immune system in shape,” says David Nieman, Dr PH,Human Performance Lab director, North Carolina Research Campus.
Sleep for Sniffles
A goodnight’s sleep isn’t just about hitting the ground running in the m...
Dry No More
“Acne medications are often drying, so you may need more moisturiser, not less, when you’re fighting break-outs,” says New York City dermatologist Amy Wechsler, MD, author of The Mind-Beauty Connection. Otherwise, over dryness may trigger inflammation, which causes more acne. Just be sure to buy a lotion that’s labelled non-comedogenic or oil free. Moisturize acne prone skin with a hydration formula, rather than an emollient one, preferably one with hyaluronic acid. Also avoid washing your face more than three times a day or else oiliness can get aggravated in skin’s reflex back mechanism.
Tress Distress
Iron deficiency lowers levels of red blood cells, which are crucial to the health of hair follicles. Hair saver: Iron supplements paired with Vitamin C, which aids iron absorption.
Sole Purpose
Insoles and orthotics help ease foot pain. However, clinical studies have proven that they also provide pain relief for osteoarthritis in the back, hips, and knees.
Food Boost
Cranberries, green tea, and fish oil can boost your immune system. “I’ve done about 50 studies on marathon runners—who are 6 times more likely to get sick after a race—and learned that immune cells functioned abnormally for a day or so after extreme exertion. We found that a combination of quercetin (an anti-oxidant in cranberries and red onions), the green tea extract EGCG, and fish oil helped combat oxidative stress, thus warding off illness. For the average person, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, green tea, and fish should keep the immune system in shape,” says David Nieman, Dr PH,Human Performance Lab director, North Carolina Research Campus.
Sleep for Sniffles
A goodnight’s sleep isn’t just about hitting the ground running in the morning. If you get the seven to nine hours, experts advise, you can expect these added benefits.
Fewer sniffles: People who get less than seven hours per night are three times likelier to catch colds, according to a JAMA study. Reason: sleep boosts immunity; too little impairs it.
A trimmer waistline: People who logged seven to nine hours a night had an average BMI (Body Mass Index) almost two points lower than the average BMI of those who slept less, University of Washington researchers found. Too little sleep may throw off hormones that regulate appetite.