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| You can eat your antioxidants or put them on your face. |
So this time of year seems to be
when everyone’s New Year’s resolutions start faltering. As a rule, I try and
not make resolutions but the fever is all around me to try and be healthy. So I
am going to list a bunch of totally vain reasons to keep your get healthy
resolutions. And I am not talking about the I am going to be a size two so I am
living on nothing but cayenne pepper for the next year weight loss “health”
resolutions. I am talking about the kind of healthy that comes from doing
everything your mother told you to do like eat your fruits and veggies, sleep
and exercise kind of healthy. The hard, boring kind, in other words, that is
really hard to maintain while partying down. So here are the reasons to keep
(or make) your healthy resolutions:
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| Smoking is Ageing |
Quit Smoking
Smoking is bad, and cancer
causing and stuff obviously, everyone knows that. A lot of people tell me they don’t
quit smoking because it keeps them from gaining weight and to heck with the possibility
of cancer. But did you know smoking causes wrinkles? Which would you rather, a
few pounds or some permanent wrinkles? Smoking reduces circulation to skin,
reducing blood flow, depriving the skin of oxygen so short answer, it breaks
down. Also the chemicals released from the cigarette smoke itself are free
radicals that further damage the skin and all the anti-oxidants in the world aren't going to help. Plus there is no avoiding the inevitable smokers’ lines around
the lips that are very hard to rid yourself of, and the finger nicotine
staining. There is also stained teeth and very attractive gum disease. The list
goes on and on. There are more beauty related reasons to quit smoking than to
smoke. I am sure you know this by now.
Drink less Coffee/Alcohol
Although caffeine is great in an
eye cream, ingesting tons of cups of Joe isn't a great idea. Caffeine gets all
of your body going faster; it is a diuretic, which means it causes water evacuate
your system a little faster than it normally would. Too many cups of coffee
(and many trips to the bathroom) cause dehydration. Dehydration is a bad thing;
in the short term, it causes you to lose your glow and bounce in your skin, in
the long term, it can cause wrinkling, splitting of nails and anything else dry
skin related.
Alcohol has this same dehydrating
action on the body, only more of a severe one. Anyone who has ever woken up
with a hangover knows that all you want is a big glass of water. The body is
trying to move the toxin (the alcohol) out of the body, through the liver and
kidneys as fast as possible. The body is trying to cope and supposedly is less
able to clear out the regular toxins like pollution as easily then. I am all
for a glass of wine, but moderation is key.
Eat More Fruit & Veg
This is my resolution, if you
could call it one. Eat less sweet potato fries and eat more non-fried fruit and
veggies (mmm smoothies) and let the rest sort itself out. Fruit and veg are
packed with those wonderful antioxidants that I talked about in my ingredients post. They also are full of the vitamins you skin needs to regenerate. Don’t rely
on a cream, work on healthy skin from the inside out.
Exercise
Same goes for exercise
unfortunately. I am not a huge fan of exercise, but I know I have to do it.
This is one where I definitely have trouble practising what I preach. But it is
very good for you. Along with working on a hot bod, exercise increases
circulation in the skin giving you that rosy glow. Sweating supposedly also
gets toxins out of your system (warning: do wash your face after a workout so
that all that sweat and grime doesn't get trapped back in the skin in the form
of acne!). Exercise also is supposed to…
Reduce Stress
Whether you are one of those
crazy people that just loves the release of a good run or if you would rather
sit around and read your books (or this blog) try to find a way to relax. This
to me would be the hardest resolution you would ever make because there is
really no way to will yourself into reducing stress. Stress does wreak some of
the most havoc on the body, inside and out. Since we are talking beauty here
cortisol in high levels, one of the main hormones involved with stress, can
cause acne (as I discovered before Christmas) and pre-mature ageing. Reducing
cortisol is Michelle from Beauty Editor’s resolution and it is worth looking at
(she has some good suggestions). Try having a warm bath, do a mask or cruise the Pintrest
humour section. Whatever helps you cope.
Get More Sleep
Another hard one, getting a good night sleep
is something our mothers always want us to do, and barely any of us actually
do. It is important! At night, the body is way more able to repair because it
is not busy trying to “keep the lights on” so to speak. It is healing, so you
get way more effectiveness out of any beauty product; serum, night cream, acne treatment, anti-ageing treatment, etc. You also avoid puffiness
and dark circles around the eyes by getting more sleep. Notice you always look better after a good nights`rest. They call it beauty
sleep for a reason. Get some.
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| Be one and maybe your prince will come |
So how many out of 6 do you manage?
Or are you super human and live healthy all the time?
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