Natural Beauty Tips for Women

The most beautiful women in the world know the genius of being beautiful. These women are the neighbors, co-workers, friends and relatives who know and apply this genius; and this genius is the one beauty tip that delivers results.
The Genius of Being Beautiful
This genius is not a new make up foundation or a new beauty treatment to erase the signs of aging. The genius in appearing more beautiful does not involve thousands of dollars in cosmetic procedures. It is in caring for the body, consistently, through the little things done each day.
The genius to being beautiful - consistent care of the body through healthy habits - includes maintaining a healthy diet and staying active. Specifically, drinking more water, eating a natural diet and increasing daily activity. These three specific actions, done consistently, contribute to a more beautiful appearance.
Drinking Plenty of Water
One of the easiest ways to increase beauty is by drinking plenty of water each day. Not only is water necessary for the body to function properly, it also contributes to detoxifying the body and improving the skin's condition. Water also aids the body in eliminating toxic chemicals ingested through foods, drinks and the environment. Digestion also improves when water intake is increased daily.
Simple Ways to Increase Water Intake Daily

• Switch from drinking soda or juice during the day to drinking water with lemon.
• Drink a full glass of water first thing in the morning before coffee or tea.
• Drink a full glass of water after exercise, even if there is no thirst.

Eating a Natural Diet
Processed foods include additives and unnatural ingredients that contribute to illnesses, allergies, weight gain, skin problems, fatigue and other unwanted conditions. Food items in packages are often processed foods; it's a good indicator that unwanted ingredients are included. The best course of action: buy items as close to their natural state as possible. Also, read the ingredients on the packages when in doubt.
Simple Ways to Decrease the Amount of Processed Foods in the Diet

• Switch from canned juice and soft drinks to unsweetened teas and water.
• Switch from potato chips and other bagged snacks to natural popcorn.
• Avoid packaged foods by doing most food shopping at vegetable markets.

Increasing Daily Activity
Increasing daily movement does not equal hours at a costly gym. Exercising at home with a video or purchasing a book for exercise instruction, such as beginners Pilates or yoga, are ways to increase daily movement. There are other ways as well. The point here is to make the effort to move more and get the body burning additional calories. This not only prevents unwanted weight gain, but it also contributes to feeling good.
Simple Ways to Increase Daily Movement

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator, whenever possible.
• In a parking lot, park as far from a store's entrance as possible.
• Walk to a local store or coffee shop instead of driving.

Beautiful Women Smile Often
It was Oscar Wilde, the famous writer, who once said "beauty is genius." Simple and true, this genius is in caring for the body each day, consistently. That gives a woman plenty to smile about. And, with a smile, that beauty is magnified and radiated for all the world to see.

By Timothy I Ng

Breast Cancer - 10 Ways to Prevent Breast Cancer

"Your biopsy tests positive for breast cancer." These is a sentence feared by all women. In 1971 President Nixon declared war on cancer. Since then billions of dollars have been spent on fighting cancer. It seems the only arsenal this war has come up with are the antiquated weapons of poison, slash and burn. There is still no cure. Very little of the money used for the war on cancer is used for cancer prevention. Yet it is far easier to prevent cancer than to cure it.
Cancer is a systemic disease. This means that even if the cancer has manifested itself in your breast tissue, the actual problem is system wide. Because of this, breast cancer can't be prevented solely by specifics. It requires an entire lifestyle change.
Having said that, there are number of changes you can make to your lifestyle that will reduce your risk of getting breast cancer (and all other cancers). I have chosen, what I consider to be, the most effective to share with you.
Before I list them for you, it would be helpful for you to understand what cancer actually is. Jane Plant, "Your Life in Your Hands", describes cancer as "Cells behaving badly." Our cells operate under the control of the genes in our DNA. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The DNA of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. These mutated cells thrive in an anaerobic environment and get their energy from metabolic waste. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumour.
By definition, a cancer cell is a normal, healthy cell that has undergone genetic mutation to the point that it can live in an anaerobic surrounding (an environment where oxygen is not available). In other words, if you deprive a group of cells of vital oxygen (their primary source of energy), some of them will die, but others will manage to alter their genetic software program and mutate in a most resourceful way: the cells will be able to live without oxygen and derive some of their energy needs from such things as cellular metabolic waste products.
Only five to ten percent of all breast cancers are due to genetic predisposition and over 70% of all gene mutations are caused by environmental factors. This puts you in a very powerful position to be able to significantly reduce your risk of the gene mutations that cause breast cancer.
I have listed the suggestions starting with the most important and most effective:

1. Eat a whole-food, plant-based diet with lots of raw foods: Diet is the most prevalent cause of genetic mutation. It can also provide the greatest protection against cancer. But which diet? Studies carried out by Dr Dean Ornish show that our blood has powerful anti-cancer compounds. That's a good thing. Even those on a Standard American Diet (SAD) have blood that fights cancer. However, the blood of vegans (those who consume no animal products what-so-ever) decreased cancer growth by nearly 8 times over the blood of those consuming the Standard American Diet. Another study conducted at Loma Linda University found that vegans have 34% lower rates of breast cancer to other women. Other dietary factors include: sugar consumption processed foods, gluten, chemical additives, transfats and over-eating.
2. Give up drinking alcohol: One alcoholic drink per day increases your risk of getting breast cancer by seven to ten percent. Not only that but breast cancer survivors who consume three to four drinks a week increase their risk of a recurrence by 34%.
3. Give up smoking: Although smoking is usually associated with lung cancer, the carcinogens in cigarettes affect the whole system. Women who smoke are 24 times more likely to get breast cancer. The risk doubles if those women start smoking before having their first baby and increases to 61 times more likely if they start smoking before their first mentrual period.
4. Engage in a high level of physical activity: Women who exercise for more than three hours a week reduce their risk of breast cancer by 25%.
5. Don't take Hormone Replacement Therapy: As many breast cancers are estrogen dependent, it makes sense to minimise your exposure to estrogen. Two studies published in 2002 and 2003 link HRT to a higher incidence of breast cancer.
6. Supplement wisely: Three quarters of all women with breast cancer are vitamin D deficient. Maintaining optimal vitamin D levels decreases your risk by 45%. Ensure your vitamin D levels are optimal through regular blood tests and if they're not take a supplement. Those with diets rich in DHA Omega 3 fatty acids are two thirds less likely to get breast cancer. We usually think of fish for our Omega 3. But flaxseeds have shown special protective factors due to their content of dietary lignans, a class of phytoestrogens, which have an anti-estrogen effect. Conversly, artificial folic acid (in the form of supplements) has been shown to increase a woman's risk of breast cancer. So obtain all your follic acid from natural, food sources - green leafy vegetables.
7. Watch your weight: Obesity is said to be the primary cause of 17% of all breast cancers, especially after menopause. Luckily, if you follow the dietary and exercise suggestions listed here, reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is easy.
8. Don't fry or grill foods: Cooking at high temperatures without water or steam creates acrylamides in carbohydrate foods (eg.chips) and heterocyclic amines in meat (especially chicken). Both these substances are highly carcinogenic.
9. Have two or more children and breast feed them for up to two years each: When we are pregnant and breast feeding we are exposed to lower levels of estrogen, which in turn, lowers our risk of breast cancer.
10. Avoid unnecessay radiation: This includes radiation caused by imaging tests, such as xrays (including mammograms), CT scans, PET scans and bone scans. Remember that mammograms are not preventative and cumulative radiation exposure over a person's life time includes exposure from this breast cancer detection tool. Alternatives to mammograms, that are not publised or encouraged by the medical profession for breast cancer detection, include: thermography, MRI and ultrasound. If you are serious about preventing breats cancer, this is something you should look into and discuss with your doctor.

My hope is that these suggestions will not overwhelm you but empower you to start making changes and keep making them.
Remember that permanent change is best accomplished with baby steps. This is what holistic health coaching can help you with by providing information, encouragement and accountability to keep you moving forwards towards your health goals.
By Cath King

Smoking Fetish Of Women

According to one of the researches, it has been found that the smell and taste of cigarettes play a greater role in women's smoking behavior than in that of men. Another study found that cognitive-behavioral therapy aimed at changing attitudes about weight promotes smoking cessation by women. Even if we compare their stats with men, we'll be surprised to know that the guys who smoke are one out of every three. However, while smoking as well as smoking-related deaths from such diseases as lung cancer have been falling in men, they have been increasing in women. Smoking, in fact, takes a greater toll on the health of women than men; a smoking woman loses, on an average, 15 years of her life while a smoking man loses just over 13 years.
In the first half of the 20th century, lung cancer in women was extremely atypical. In addition to that smoking wasn't very ubiquitous. Unfortunately, that soon changed when the tobacco industry started targeting women. In 1964, the first Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health was released and it became clear that smoking was a deadly habit which engulfed 45 percentages of women all over. A media campaign followed and smoking rates began to fall, as did tobacco industry profits. But the rates declined more in men than women; the tobacco industry had started their own media campaign, once again marketing directly to women.
Lung Cancer
By 1987, lung cancer had outdone breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths in women.
Today, more women die each year from lung cancer than breast cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancers combined. In fact, lung cancer among women is now considered a scourge, killing almost 75,000 in the US last year. Women appear to be more vulnerable to lung cancer than men, and they tend to get it at younger ages.
Symptoms of Lung Cancer
o Shortness of breath
o Fever with an unknown cause
o Hoarseness
o Chest pain
o Wheezing
o Coughing up blood
o Chronic cough
o Weight loss & loss of appetite
o Repeated bouts of bronchitis or pneumonia
Other Smoking influenced Diseases in Women
While lung cancer might be the most lethal disease caused by smoking, it's not the only one. Smoking doubles the risk of having a heart attack, and increases the risk of dying from a heart attack within the first hour. This is an especially serious problem for women since women are more likely to die after a first heart attack than men. Women who use birth control pills; and smoke are at especially high risk of having a heart attack.
Smoking also increases the risk of other cancers, including breast, uterine cancer, bladder and oral cancer. Smoking also increases a woman's risk of low bone density and osteoporosis.
Smoking-Related Disorders in Women
o Heart disease
o Stroke
o Lung cancer
o Emphysema
o Oral cancer
o Uterine cancer
o Breast cancer
o Bladder cancer
o Rectal cancer
o Colorectal polyps
o Osteoporosis
o Infertility
o Early Menopause
o Miscarriages
o Stillbirths
Family Matters
Smoking is not just bad for women; it's bad for their families and future families as well. Smoking can cause infertility in women. If a woman becomes pregnant, smoking increases her risk of miscarriages, stillbirths and premature births. Mothers who smoke during pregnancy are also more likely to have babies with asthma, sleeping disorders and chronic ear infections than non-smoking mothers. The menstrual cycle phase has an effect on both mood and tobacco withdrawal symptoms for women trying to quit smoking -- a finding that clearly suggests that women could improve their success rate simply by starting their quit attempt during certain days of their cycle.
Cosmetic and Other Considerations
Ironically, teens and young women often think smoking is sexy and glamorous. However, the consequences -- such as stained fingers and teeth, tooth loss, gum disease, bad breath -- are anything but sexy and glamorous. Smoking also hastens the aging process most likely because of its adverse effect on estrogen. It can cause early menopause, facial wrinkling, and permanent voice lowering and urinary incontinence.
Old Habits Die Hard
Women and girls are not only more susceptible than men to the negative consequences of smoking; they are more likely to become addicted to cigarettes even when smoking comparable amounts.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to a man...and woman. Researchers are studying gender differences in smoking behavior and working to develop treatment plans that will help more women end their nicotine addiction. In fact, nicotine is considered more addictive than heroin or cocaine. And nicotine is more addictive for women than men.
The highly addictive nature of nicotine is a major reason why most people have difficulty quitting smoking, and women have a harder time quitting than men. Another thing that makes quitting difficult for women is the weight gain that, unfortunately, often accompanies quitting smoking. On the other hand, the weight gain, which rarely exceeds five pounds, can be reversed by a healthy diet and exercise.
More importantly, quitting smoking can also reverse many of the deadly consequences of the habit.
Weighing the Benefits
A woman who stops smoking reduces her risk of stroke to pre-smoking levels. Within a year, her smoking-related risk of heart disease drops by 50 percent. After three years, the risk of a heart attack is no greater than for a woman who never smoked. Within five years, her smoking-related risk of heart disease can disappear altogether. Clearly, the benefits of quitting outweigh the possibility of any weight gain. So think again...Are we going the right way?

Chris Read

Preventing, Diagnosing and Treating Cervical Cancer

HPV has even made its way into popular culture. In the first season of the controversial HBO series Girls, for example, lead character Hannah discovered that she had HPV and confronted her current boyfriend. Said boyfriend declared that she could not have contracted the virus from him because he had been tested and did not have it, and millions of women around the U.S. simultaneously yelled at their televisions. Viewers knew, even if Hannah didn't, that there is no test to diagnose HPV in men.
The HPV Vaccine
Prior to a few years ago, the only protection women had from contracting HPV was to limit their partners and use condomz during every  encounter. Even those precautions only helped a bit, though. Women who did both of those things very effectively still contracted HPV - even while using a condm, and even with their very first partners.
Young women today, though, have a much more reliable alternative: the HPV vaccine. OB/GYNs recommend vaccination for women before they become sxually active, so that they are protected from future cervical cancer risk.
Women Who Already Have HPV
Of course, the vaccine came too late for many women who already had HPV. For those women, the best hope is early detection via regular Pap smears.
OB/GYNs can detect cervical cancer in what's known as the precancerous stage. In other words, cells begin to show abnormal characteristics long before they develop into full-blown cervical cancer. In these cases, women may have the abnormal cells removed via a number of outpatient procedures that create minimal discomfort and very little recovery time.
Of course, removal of the abnormal cells does not treat the virus. Once a woman has HPV, she will always have it, and will need to keep up with her annual OB/GYN visits to watch for a recurrence of the abnormalities.
Cervical Cancer Treatment
If abnormal cells go undiagnosed for too long, they may turn into full-blown cervical cancer. When this happens, treatment becomes much the same as with other forms of cancer. Cancerous cells need to be removed (resulting in the loss of fertility for some women) and if the cancer has reached a more serious level, radiation treatment may be required.
There really is no way to predict the kind of treatment a woman will need for cervical cancer until there is a specific diagnosis and medical tests are performed. As with any cancer, the treatment will depend on how advanced the disease is when it is discovered.
Prevention and Early Detection are the Keys
Waiting for symptoms is a dangerous path, since they generally do not show up until the disease has become very advanced. That's why the HPV vaccine and regular OB/GYN exams offer the best hope for women in combating cervical cancer.
By Patrick T Langley