As I mentioned in one of my previous post on the benefits of Flaxseed in your diet . Studies have recently shown that taking flaxseed can really improve dry and sensitive skin. Researchers assigned 45 nonsmoking women with these skin issues to take 2.2 grams of flaxseed oil for 12 weeks.

After the initial 12 weeks all experienced improvements to their skin, including sensitivity, redness, hydration, scaling, and roughness. Flaxseed oil is rich in fatty acids which help to reduce inflammation to the skin. I continue to include flaxseed in my diet everyday and have already started to feel the benefits.

Here’s to beautiful skin in 2009!

xx,

Beth

“Did you know that what you eat is reflected in the health of your hair? All of the hair-revitalizing shampoos in the world won’t help if you aren’t nourishing your body. Here’s how the Healthy Hair Diet can help:

• Just like your body, your hair needs a balanced, nutritious diet to stay healthy. That’s why this food plan contains a rainbow of fruits and vegetables that are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, whole grains for minerals, nuts and seeds for minerals and vitamins, and lean protein for iron. A fortified breakfast cereal will help your body get all of the other good stuff it needs.

• Water not only hydrates your body, but helps keep your hair silky and shiny. This diet includes eight to 10 glasses of water and juices a day for maximum hydration.

• The fiber from fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes is good for your body and your hair. This meal plan features lots of fiber-containing food as an option at each meal.”

Not only will your hair benefit, the rest of you will do so as well. And if that means more veggies, I will just have to live with it lol… Actually I don’t have a choice. I have a daughter that chops fresh veggies for us whether we want them or not!

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There was a time when we could eat anything we wanted and not gain an ounce. And then it got a little harder, but bringing up kids burned calories pretty quickly. Well, now we don’t have little kids to run after anylonger and our metabolism is slowing down. One of the best ways to keep our weight in check is to practice portion control and adding exercise to our day. It’s really not that big a deal if you are serious about it. And there is no excuse about having no time. I just left the computer, made the bed and did fifty sit-ups. Lunch which is a half hour away will be a sandwich with lots of veggies on the side and a yogurt. It’s all about filling up with things that are good for you, so when you want to sneak in something decadent, you can!

At the moment, we have a lemon meringue pie sitting in the fridge and I plan to have some! It’s all about portion control.

With all the situps that I’m doing, I think that I have it under control, but this little chopping board should make it that much easier. I had no idea that this even existed!!

Now is this cool or what. Slide your food into the circle and it actually weighs your food for you!

Did you know…

“Carrots are one of the best sources of carotene which is a strong antioxidant. But carrots also contain other phenolic compounds that are antioxidants. Many people do not realize that numerous phenolic compounds are located in the skin of fruit and vegetables, many of which are removed by peeling prior to processing.

Is it worth the effort to try to get your kids, or yourself for that matter, to eat spinach? Absolutely. Eating spinach will help you meet your daily need for a number of nutrients, including calcium, iron, folate and vitamin A… And that’s just for starters. And just in case you can’t stand it cooked (like me) it makes a kick ass salad! Who needs lettuce??

And then there is broccolli. It’s not as bad as I expected. And then when I saw what it could do for you, I was convinced. This is right up there with miracle foods.

Note to self… eat more veggies even if you are sick to death of them! You will grow to be a very old lady with gorgeous skin!

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“If you’ve been trying to include salads as a regular part of your diet, kudos to you. Salads are more than just gorgeous to look at and a treat for your palette. Load up on dark leafy green lettuces and mixed vegetables and you’ve got a plateful of nutrients, disease-fighting antioxidants and fiber, with few calories. The problem is, the fastest (and easiest) way to ruin a good thing is to pour on fat-laden dressings. High-fat dressings can be a salad’s worst enemy, making any nutrient accolades fall quickly by the wayside in favor of waist-busting, artery-jamming fat. Not to worry. Looking Good Now! scoured the salad dressing aisle to find the best, most-flavorful, healthy choices on the market. These dressings not only make excellent toppings for your fresh greens, they serve as fantastic dips, sandwich spreads and marinades for beef, poultry, fish, and shellfish. And don’t forget, most light and fat-free dressings are the perfect substitution for mayo in pasta, rice and potato salads. ”

Just an extra reminder… not only is the dressings that you use important, what you actually make the salad from is important. Remember, the darker the color of the vegetables, the better they are for you!

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I have seen the term “antioxidants” mentioned in books and magazines numerous times, but rarely does it explain in layman’s terms, exactly what they are? I have done my best to come up with a definition that makes sense to me.

Antioxidents are like super-vitamins that destroy pollutants that are floating around in the body known as “free radicals”. Introducing lots of fruits and vegetables into your diet is a great way to stock up on antioxidants, not to mention, control your weight.