Take a Pause before You Jump On the Hemp Bandwagon For Natural Remedies
Before last year, I received a gig for writing on CBD hemp oil from one of the many emerging hemp oil firms. I was more than elated to write about this highly raved oil.
The topics offered to me were CBD for ADHD, behavioral problems, CBD for opiate withdrawal, CBD for addiction, CBD for Sleep, CBD for concussions, and CBD topical cream for pain and arthritis.
After going through the pros and cons I choose the relatively safe topic – topical cream for pain and arthritis.
When I started going through research publications, I found impressive postulations on effectiveness of CBD in treating arthritic pain.
However, the findings came with a caveat – merits further investigation.
Furthermore, most of the findings were based on testing on animals. If at all conducted on humans, there were no reports on long term studies.
This made me skeptical so, I declined the offer.
I’m glad for doing that; because last time I checked their product promotion page, they have recommended their customers to take the dose used in animal studies, for arthritic pain (Unbelievable!).
What you need to know – the doses used in laboratory settings to test the efficacy of a compound for an ailment are much higher. You never know what may happen if you consume dose used in animal clinical trials.
Unless and until federal bodies such as FDA (Food drug and administration) approves a compound and its dosage for mitigating, curing or treating an ailment, it cannot be marketed as treatment or cure.
Fast forward to present day: FDA approves Epidiolex® (cannabidiol, or CBD) for the treatment of two severe childhood seizure disorders, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.
When federal bodies approve a drug for an ailment, the drug literature details –
dosage regimen,
route of administration (oral, parenteral, rectal, etc..),
form (tablet, capsule, syrup, drops, topical, etc..),
side effects,
antidote in poisoning cases,
precautions,
interaction with food, interaction with other drugs etc..
Most importantly, the drug passes the purity test and hence, with no likelihood of adverse reactions due to the other possible contaminants.
What you need to know before you gulp down herbal hemp CBD oil supplements:
The quantity of a compound named THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) present in cannabis plant separates hemp from marijuana. THC, the psychoactive compound causes the intoxicant effect associated with marijuana.
Hemp and marijuana plants contain another important cannabinoid: CBD. Hemp plants produce more CBD than THC, while marijuana produces more THC than CBD.
-Leafscience.com
Compound filed for investigation as a drug for an ailment cannot be sold as dietary supplement.
Therefore the hemp CBD oil was replaced with hemp extracts oil in most of the outlets and online stores.
Yet, the trouble still lies in the unregulated content of CBD and THC in oils and extracts. You can for yourself check on FDA website the warning letters issued to a hell lot of companies for their contents and claims on the hemp oil supplements.
In addition, there have been reports of psychological and gastrointestinal effects due to consumption of hemp oil high in THC.
Even if no immediate effects observed, gradual accumulation of THC increases the likelihood of addiction towards other prescription opium drugs
Your takeaways before you jump on the hemp bandwagon:
If CBD is what you are looking for in natural treatments as well as if you are savvy with what you consume then you better wait till FDA perhaps makes it available as over the counter medication.
If at all it gets approved to be sold as over the counter in retail stores, you can be rest assured as you will know the dosage, ingredients and all the necessary precautions.
Next best option is using top quality hemp extracts oil for external application rather than taking internally.
As for the supplements, fish oil still takes the top spot for safe and natural adjuvant for arthritis and joint pains.
5 Know-Hows for Choosing Foods to Lose Body fat | Mindful Snacking |
Snacking often has bad reputation given the fact that we don’t track the quantity or choose the right filling foods in between meals.
Surprising fact about snacking unknown to many is that snacking on right foods help burn body fat.
I recently came across a zen proverb which simplifies our call to action
“When walking, walk. When eating, eat”
So, start savoring every bite and you can materialize a concept known as mindful snacking for losing body fat.
Mindful snacking for losing body fat:
Isn’t it wonderful to know that by implementing mindful snacking we can have the best of both worlds? We need not starve ourselves till the next meal instead by choosing the right filling foods we can burn fat.
Before we delve into filling foods to choose, let us first understand the consensus backed by research on what determines our snacking preferences.
What influences our snacking preferences?
Your body mass index may influence your snacking preferences.
Have you ever calculated your BMI?
A study reported in British journal of nutrition outlines that people with BMI greater than 25kg/m2 have propensity for choosing sweet snacks, chocolates, ice creams and crisp snacks.
People with BMI below 25kg/m2 usually tend to choose healthy snacks such as those containing yogurt and nuts.
It seems to be an obvious link between BMI and snacking preferences. Regardless of your BMI value by starting to be mindful of your choices, you can influence your mind-gut connection.
Because, human gut is considered as second brain with a hub for around 20 different hormones interacting with our brain regulating diet, moods, overall mental and physical health.
In the long run, you will by instinct choose the healthier options for snacking.
Your Body fat and waist circumference influence your snacking preferences:
Body fat distribution correlates with your snacking preferences. Two people having same BMI in healthy range may differ greatly in their body fat distribution with their food choices being the major determinants.
Women with higher body fat and waist circumference have tendency to snack on crisps, ice creams, sweets, chocolates and fried foods more frequently as compared to those with normal body fat.
By changing your snacking choices by being more mindful, you can consequently lose excess body fat.
Stress and mental health influence your snacking preferences:
We don’t need any confirmation to the fact that most of us during stress or emotional phases tend to snack on fast foods high in salt, fat and sugar e.g., chips, desserts, sugar sweetened beverages.
Yes, these foods may momentarily elevate your mood and act as stress reliever. But these foods prompt release of stress hormones by altering the mind-gut signaling.
This in turn affects your cognitive abilities, increases tiredness and reduces your attention span. In short, these foods negatively influence your mental health.
How to choose the right filling foods to lose body fat?
If you search on net for filling foods then you will surely get suggestions ranging from low calorie filling foods to the trending foods to burn excess body fat
Most of the times the recipes mentioned may not be native to your culture and personal preferences. Or maybe those trending healthy snacks found on shelves in other countries are not even manufactured in your country.
As a result, I decided to outline points to consider while making or choosing filling foods to lose body fat.
1. Select whole foods over fast foods to lose body fat:
A research study reported in the journal of food and nutrition research says that consumption of whole foods increases the total number of calories we burn in a day whereas, consumption of fast foods decreases it.
Whole foods have macro and micro nutrients in a complex matrix and body burns calories to digest them. Therefore, whole foods promote fat loss.
Processed foods have refined grains, simplified sugars, fat and added nutrients in a simple matrix which require very few calories for digestion. Moreover, the net gain of calories from them is very high.
In a nutshell, foods that decrease the expenditure of calories promote weight gain with women being more susceptible to weight gain compared to men.
2. You need to snack on protein and fibre rich foods to burn excess body fat:
Macronutrients such as proteins utilize more energy for digestion and metabolism compared to fats and sugars. Additionally, proteins resists its conversion to fats whereas excess carbohydrates eventually gets stored as fat.
Fibre in foods slows absorption of glucose that stabilizes blood sugar levels by providing satiety.
As a result, having foods rich in protein and fibre can help you burn calories.
Additionally, if you regularly do light cardio or any low intensity exercises then foods rich in protein and fibre can in fact help you first lose your belly fat.
Furthermore, snacking on foods high in protein and fibre not only makes you feel full as well as helps you work without distractions till the next meal. To understand about role of satiety in healthy eating read my post
Easy to follow 2018 guide to stop mindless snacking
Best protein and fibre snack foods that are easily available:
Specific fruits such as Bananas, oranges, kiwi, Guava, Avocado, apricot, blackberries, Cantaloupe, peaches, raspberry etc, have high protein and fibre content.
If breakfast is not your favorite meal of the day then for mid morning snacks combine these fruits with yogurt.
We tend to focus on the fat content of yogurt instead pay attention to protein and sugars in it and choose the variety that is high in protein and low in sugars.
Not everyone would like yogurt with fruits for mid morning snacks. If you prefer having light biscuits and cookies then search for fibre enriched biscuits.
To be more specific search in your nearby stores for biscuits made with barley flour enriched with beta-glucan.
If you love to have sandwiches for mid morning snacks, make bite size sandwiches using bread made from oats and barley. Whole grain breads are rich source of fibre and beta-glucan. Hence, the best foods to lose body fat.
3. What to choose as mid afternoon snacks to lose body fat?
At my former work place, I noticed that by mid afternoon, my teammates start online food ordering for pastries, sweets, crisps and fried foods.
These choices by instinct stem from the pressure due to the impending work for the day. Although processed foods high in sugar and fat when consumed as mid afternoon snacks perks up mood, it affects your productivity.
On top of that, you may start having hunger pangs much before your dinner time as processed foods offer low satiety.
Supposing in breakfast or mid morning snack you didn’t have yogurt with fruits then you might have it as your afternoon snack.
For a period of 1 month every time you think of snacks have yogurt with fruits or yogurt with walnuts, almonds and pistachios. Make this part of your daily snacking then you will no longer pine for fast foods.
Alternatively, have prunes, dried plums, apricots, nut based crackers, and multigrain cookies.
4. Snacking choices to lose body fat for crisps lovers:
Potato chips, taco chips and French fries, the mostly loved crisps increase your sodium intake. Daily sodium intake should be within the range of 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams.
To mention a few examples:
100gms of Potato chips of barbecue flavor has 642mg of sodium
100gms of Potato chips of cheese flavor has 600mg of sodium
100gms of salted Potato chips has 480mg of sodium
100gms of Potato chips of sour cream and onion flavor has 541mg of sodium
Also to get the crunchiness crisps such as French fries are made using oils high in trans fats that increase your risk of heart problems. Hydrogenated soybean oil, the commonly used oil for frying to get the crispiness.
You will find many suggestions on healthy crisps but make sure you check the sodium content of the packs. Choose baked crisps over the conventional ones.
To mention a best available option, bake your own shiitake mushroom crisps and within no time they will become your favorite snacks. I have linked to the recipe of Shiitake crisps
Mushrooms such as shiitake, maiitake, oyster varieties are good sources of beta glucan. Snacking on beta glucan rich food lowers the bad cholesterol aka LDL in blood.
5. Snacking to lose body fat for cheese lovers:
I love cheeses so much that just a picture of dripping cheese makes me hungry. Health conscious people often stay away from cheeses given to the gross generalization of cheeses as unhealthy.
In my post why fat in dairy is good for you, I have cleared most of the misconceptions on having fat rich dairy foods.
How to differentiate natural from processed cheeses?
Cheeses will help you burn calories provided you pick natural cheeses rather than processed cheeses. Natural cheeses are must-have foods to lose body fat. The best part is that you can go for full fat cheeses when you pick natural cheeses.
Processed cheeses have whey and emulsifiers and are made by mixing varieties of cheeses or by mixing portions of the same type of cheese at different stages of ripening.
In general, label of natural cheeses will have these ingredients:
Pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto (vegetable color), Natamycin (A natural mold inhibitor).
Label of a processed cheese will most likely have these ingredients:
Milk, whey, milk fat, milk protein concentrate, salt, calcium phosphate, sodium citrate, whey protein concentrate, sodium phosphate, ascorbic acid as a preservative, apocarotenal (color), annatto (color), enzymes, vitamin D3, cheese culture.
Quick summary for choosing filling foods to lose body fat:
- Your body mass index and body fat influence your snacking choices. So, start being mindful of your choices to reduce body fat.
- Eating less won’t reduce your belly fat instead you may start losing muscle. Therefore, snacking on right filling foods in between meals can promote burning excess body fat.
- Whole foods comprising nuts, whole grain breads, natural cheeses, fruits, salads can help you burn body fat. Processed foods reduce your body’s efficiency in losing fat.
- Snack on high protein and fibre foods such as yogurt with fruits and nuts at least once in a day.
- Select baked crisps over fried ones. Check for sodium content and trans fats on the labels.
Easy- To-Follow 2018 Guide to Healthy Eating And Stop Mindless Snacking
Have you ever wondered why our plans to opt healthy eating and efforts to stop mindless snacking don’t last long? We get sucked in by the claims of health and wellness industry offering us perfect body and health.
It is tough to overlook pictures of models sitting smugly next to a pile of vegetables advertising the fat-free, less-carbs tempting us to right away start whatever popular diet plan is on buzz.
Nevertheless, within a month or so we get back to munching anything and everything our heart yearns for.
What’s worst is the mindless snacking during our stressful days or when bored during long hours of journey! Here is an easy-to-follow guide that will help you in your understanding and implementation of healthy eating and stopping mindless snacking.
Why our resolve for adapting healthy eating patterns weakens so easily?
The presence of highly palatable foods, a characteristic of high-fat foods, could activate the pleasurable senses which would persistently promote higher appetite and more calorie intake.
When stuck at work, having deadlines to meet or heavy workload in either case we tend to look for distractions to help us relieve from the mounting stress. Subconsciously we reach out for food to distract us.
Crispy, crunchy, melts in mouth, burst of flavors, dripping cheese, dripping fudge etc…Words fall short to describe our comfort foods. On top of that, those highly appealing commercials by fast food joints add up to our cravings.
We indulge in mindless snacking yet the quantity of subsequent meal remains the same. Technically you are supposed to eat less as you already had “food high in sugars and high in fat”.
Therefore, to get a plausible explanation take a step back and let’s analyze the two important inter-related factors playing a major role in our resolve for healthy eating.
- Satiety 2) Energy density of foods
Satiety- the key to your self-control for stopping mindless snacking:
Satiety is the feeling of fullness after having a meal that helps you from stop eating further. It does appear as something so trivial but it has a lot of science related to hormones, type of food, sensory perceptions all working together behind the scenes.
Yes, you read it right, I mentioned hormones and the best part is that you can balance them with simple inconsequential efforts that can help you adapt to healthy eating routine.
Leptin, the satiety hormone has been the most widely researched. Though there is another equally touted hormone Ghrelin, researchers often dismiss it as not as important as it was originally assumed to be.
What role leptin – (the satiety hormone) has in our diet plans?
Fat cells in our body release the hormone leptin. This hormone in turn controls body fat mass, food intake and makes our body responsive to insulin.
Most importantly, It cuts the production of fat from the glucose stores of our body.
How important is balance of satiety hormones for adapting healthy eating?
Leptin works by sending signals to brain about satiety. Post meal leptin level increases, giving you a feeling of fullness. These cues stop you from over-eating.
However, in situations where we unmindfully gain weight due to negligence or work stress, the level of leptin remains low, which indicates our mind-gut connection, has gone wary.
This gives us false cues of hunger making us eat more than our usual quantities.
On the other side surprisingly, in obesity levels of leptin were found to be high suggesting the development of insensitivity to leptin.
Is there a way to prevent imbalances of satiety hormones to promote healthy eating?
Yes, what you eat itself can balance these hormones. A little focus on foods that positively influence the prompt send to your brain by your gut can in fact stop you from reaching out to that chips packet lying on your desk.
Your morning meal plan plays a huge role in your resolve for healthy eating:
If you regularly workout or at least do light cardio such as walking, jogging or aerobic exercises then what you eat before or after your workout regime makes a lot of difference:
For those who do intense workout having easy to digest carbohydrates such as white bread, 1 or 2 bananas will be helpful. Most people opt high protein and high fat diet but body needs easy to digest carbohydrates before workout.
For light cardio you can do it on empty stomach after having a glass full of water. In either case being hydrated is important.
Your breakfast:
Tip of the day
What we eat in our breakfast controls the cravings for unhealthy options throughout the day. Breakfast high in proteins and fibre increases satiety and controls the false hunger signals. It also effectively aids in weight management.
Fibre in your breakfast:
When we talk about fibre invariably we think of oats. If you take oats/oatmeal in your breakfast you are on a right path towards your goal for healthy eating.
Fibre containing foods increases body’s sensitivity to the hormone leptin. With this, in your 11a.m office breaks, you will no longer pine for donuts.
If you belong to my category who detests oats for breakfast, well I found even tastier options to increase fibre in breakfast; add any one or more of these to your breakfast: Apples, banana, oranges, strawberries, figs, guava, raisins, almonds, pistachio nuts and whole wheat bread.
Fruit or fruit juices for breakfast?
People duped by the “detox by juicing” claptrap habitually pick the fruit juices marketed as natural and healthy for breakfast as well as during work hours if they plan on skipping meals.
“I haven’t seen any research or science paper to support that cleansing is happening from juicing,” says nutritionist Jennifer Barr, RD, of Wilmington, DE
Commercially sold fruit juices have added sugars in addition to the natural fruit sugars. Additionally, if you choose fruit juices of bitter fruits such as cranberry then you are most likely to consume more than necessary added sugars.
“Skip fruit juices and eat whole fruit itself” says Colette Heimowitz , MS, Director of Education and Research for Atkins Health and Medical Information Services.
Eating whole fruit rather than juicing will provide not only fibre but also the natural sugars in pure form.
Yay! We can skip going extra lengths for making juices early in the morning. You may say pureed juices or smoothies contain fibre.
Yes, but when studies were conducted on assessing satiety they found that eating whole fruit rather than smoothies or juices in breakfast will help in reducing over consumption of meals during lunch time or subsequent meals.
For staying hydrated all day long- Water is your best friend.
Nonetheless, if you love smoothies you can make your own and carry in stainless steel container. By carrying your own homemade smoothies you can be saved from picking out satiety decreasing high-calorie drinks.
My personal favorites are those posted by fellow blogger Wendy in her blog aroundmyfamilytable.
I have linked to the recipe that has my favorite coconut water as the main ingredient:
Homemade Energy Drink by Wendy
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Protein diet in breakfast can stop you from unwanted snacking during work hours:
Proteins when digested release those nutrients aka amino acids that signal the brain to not only give the feeling of satisfaction but also promote utilization of fat reserves of our body.
Whey- the highly nutritious protein effective in weight management and in satiety:
Whey was found to decrease triglycerides, the high amounts of which in blood pose a risk factor for heart diseases. It was also found to control the spike in levels of glucose post meal in type-2 diabetes patients.
Study published in British Journal of Nutrition reported that breakfast containing whey protein drink or a carbohydrate drink can help in improving performance in mental tasks at work.
For getting benefits of whey you can make your own whey protein at home. Or else having the following can provide you proteins additionally with the necessary fats:
- In most of the asian families we make our own yogurt. By doing so we can avoid consuming extra added sugar found in commercially sold flavored yogurts.
Make your own yogurt parfait. The liquid sitting on top of yogurt constitutes the whey protein so stir in it before eating. For parfait layer your plain yogurt with berries, nuts, and breakfast cereals.
- Every 1 tablespoon of Chia seeds has 2.5gms of protein and 5gms of fibre. Check the link below to know the recipe of Berries and Chia seeds parfait by my favorite food blogger shanazrafiq. Berries & Chia Seeds Parfait
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Every 100 ml of Coconut water has 4% carbohydrate. This can be the best healthy carbohydrate drink to help you perform better at work. You must surely check the facts on drinking this nature’s fluid of life.
Let’s get real for devising healthy meal plan:
You must have heard enough of going fat-free or low fat diets and low carb diets.
Fact remains you need fats more specifically healthy fats and carbohydrates as much as you need proteins and fibre.
Fat in food stimulates appetite; it makes food tastier and palatable. It provides the creamy texture to salads and recipes that triggers the want to eat. Add controlled amounts of healthy cheeses such as mozzarella, ricotta and gouda type cheeses.
Lean meat, cheeses and fat from fermented dairy must be part of our healthy meal plans. Including dairy in meal plan on daily basis or on alternative days provides a balanced nutritious diet. In my post Reasons why fat in dairy is good for you , I have tried my best to clear out common misconceptions on dairy.
Hi, the second part of the guide is posted. Read to know on Mindful snacking: 5 know-hows for choosing filling foods to lose body fat
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4 Simple and proven ways to deal with work stress
People holding corporate jobs spend around 10 hours of a day in commercial buildings with little or no exposure to natural environment. Most of the corporate buildings are designed so as to improve energy efficiency, thereby reducing the outdoor air ventilation. In addition, gadgets like computers, televisions and microwaves emit electromagnetic radiation that ionizes the air. Bad acoustics, absence of sunlight and improper humidity increases the psychological problems like work stress or dissatisfaction, poor interpersonal relationships and bad ergonomics at work place.
Moreover, no interaction with nature for longer periods of time in a day is going to have its repercussions psychologically.
Being an employer or an employee you practically can’t do much about the building infrastructure if it has poor ventilation and bad acoustics. But you can surely do a lot at personal level, more so at your work desk and in your office zone.
Indoor plants can relieve you from work stress:
Place indoor plants on your office desk. Studies involving office workers proved that active interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress. Participants were asked to interact with indoor plants by engaging in some transplantation activity and it was found that interaction with plants suppressed sympathetic nervous system activity and diastolic blood pressure. It also had soothing and calming effect on their persona.
Tip: Every time you feel stressed and disorganized, spend some time nurturing and caring for the little plant on your desk. As they grow transplant them to bigger pots and place them at your home or permissible areas in your office. Secret lies in you doing the entire transplanting and nurturing work of your plant.
Simply gazing at flowers can relieve you from work stress:
The calming effect of nature on us is indisputable. The relaxing effect of natural stimuli is considered more advantageous compared to any other stimuli. Stimulating the parasympathetic nervous activity is effective for the relief from stress and gazing at roses has found to stimulate the same. Flower arrangements are best way to bring nature into daily life as it offers contact with nature within the constraints of time and space.
Tip: When stressed gift yourselves roses. If you are allergic to them then good news is that even gazing them from a distance will do the trick, provided you place real flowers not artificial ones.
A walk can relieve you from work stress:
A brief walk in park shifts sympathetic/parasympathetic balance and improves mood state.
Tip: Your work deadline is approaching and you feel like you are all over the place with absolutely no idea on how to deal with the stress. The best therapy is to leave aside the work, get out of your work place for a few minutes and take a stroll in an area with trees and lawns. You can also have replenishing drink offered by nature
Forest bathing at your rescue:
This is something you ought to take up at weekends. It is also known as shinrin-yoku which was originated in Japan. You don’t literally have to take a bath in forest; it is just taking a short, leisurely visit to a forest for health benefits. An experimental study reported that forest bathing increased natural killer cell function and improved immune function.
Tip: You need not fret if visiting forests are practically not feasible for you. Basically just being in the presence of trees drinking coconut water does the trick.
So, start off with a trip to a nursery and decorate your office desk with indoor plants. Make it customary to gift each other plants and roses rather than the banal stuff.
You can check this links if you wish to order few indoor plants right now!
Decorative Office Desks Foliage Plants
Pearl Chlorophytum Seeds Potted Plant
Sandalwood Saffron Face Mask from Skin Yoga – What you need to know
Note: Not a sponsored post. I believe in providing authentic information to my readers
During my adolescent years I never really invested my time in skin and hair care as I assumed my skin problems namely acne and uneven skin tone will get resolved on their own after my teenage years.
But to my dismay it never happened. Seeing me constantly fuss over it, my family suggested me to try Sandalwood. I discovered at my home an age old Sandal wood stick and stone grinder which was preserved by my grandparents. I was pretty much excited on seeing it as it was an authentic sandalwood stick.
My mother showed me how to make a paste using the Sandalwood stick and grinder. Surprisingly, the paste when applied to skin acts as coolant and quick remedy to alleviate the redness of skin or any painful acne.
My disappointment was that it took a lot of time to make a good amount of paste. Moreover, I was unable to make the most out of such an amazing age old panacea.
Hence, I started looking for Sandalwood face packs at all available shopping sites. I tried few brands but they weren’t satisfactory and I felt they weren’t authentic or first-rate. Besides, few brands sell Sandalwood powder mixed with Muller’s earth.
Finally, when I came across Skin Yoga- Sandalwood Saffron Face Mask I knew I have found what I have been looking for all this while. I couldn’t have been more elated after going through the ingredients’ list:
Sandalwood Powder, Saffron and Walnut Seed powder.
It is a high end luxury product given 50gms of the product costs INR1395
SkinYoga Sandalwood Saffron Face Mask
Ingredients:
I love a subject known as Pharmacognosy. It is a branch of science concerned with medicinally useful products obtained from plants and other natural sources. I went through few papers on Pharmacognosy to understand constituents and benefits of the ingredients.
Sandalwood Powder: alpha-santalol and beta-santalol present in sandalwood are known for their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Recent studies have determined chemo protective properties of Sandalwood against harmful UV rays.
Saffron: I averse the idea of Sandalwood mixed with fuller’s earth (multani) as it doesn’t suit all skin types. But presence of Saffron in a skincare product indicates it is a high end product. Saffron improves the skin tone and used for its moisturizing and anti aging properties.
Saffron has carotenoids, derivatives of vitamin A. Read my post on what your skin needs, to understand the importance of carotenoids. The safranal present in saffron is the essential oil that is responsible for moisturizing and soothing properties of saffron
Walnut Seed Powder: Walnuts are beneficial even when used topically. They are composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly alpha-linolenic acid, linoleic acid and oleic acid. These fatty acids are known to have sebum restoring properties.
Sebum is the natural oil produced by our skin. Imbalances in sebum production leads to either dry skin or oily skin. For better understanding of how natural oils can help us revive our skin read the post: Oils For Skin.
Experience: Directions for use are simple. Take the mix add some water to make a paste. Apply all over your face and neck. Leave it for few minutes and then rinse it off.
As I previously read the reviews, I was cautious on how to use this mask in a way that suits my skin. If you have oily or acne prone skin, then don’t leave the mask for longer time.
Instead take some water wet the dried paste on your face and gently massage it all over for a minute and then rinse it off.
The powder is coarse and hence it works as scrub while you are rinsing it off. Though it makes your face oily don’t panic. Rinse again with water and then apply aloe vera gel.
Result: First noticeable result was remarkable glow on face which was commendable. It even tightens the pores and gives a perfect fresh feel to the skin. For dry skin and combination skin ladies this mask deserves your attention. And oily skin, acne prone skin beauties the quantity, consistency of the paste and the time you leave it on will make all the difference to decide whether this pack suits your skin or not.
This mask gives a salon treated look. So, I have decided to include it in my weekend skin care regime. Perhaps it will be beneficial even in the long run.
If you have acne prone skin then exfoliation is important. You must have heard people suggesting you otherwise. But I urge to go for gentle exfoliation. To understand the reason behind my advice, I suggest you to read my post on exfoliating acne prone skin.
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Green Tea Face Mask – from Skin Yoga
Have you ever heard of Fab bag? It is a site where you can subscribe for 1 month or more to get a “fab bag” full of surprises. Well, who doesn’t love surprises? As for me the moment I got to know of this I placed a subscription of 3 months.
Every month I would eagerly wait to get my fab bag. The bag had several cosmetic and skin care products of various brands. The brands are usually the ones unknown to me or say those that have been recently launched and are giving out sample gifts.
I was not really happy with the shades of lip color or nail paint though. Of all the skin care sample products I received what caught my interest was this brand “Skin Yoga”. The sample product I received from this brand was Almond-Orange face scrub.
This Scrub had Almond meal, Orange peel, Chickpea flour and turmeric as its ingredients. This scrub acted not only as cleanser but also imparted instant skin glow. If you have an important event to attend and no time to get a salon clean-up then I suggest you use this scrub. If you have oily skin follow up with Aloe Vera gel.
Green tea face mask:
Ever since I got to try this Almond-Orange face scrub I started exploring other products sold by Skin Yoga.
To treat my skin acne I opted for green tea face mask by this brand. Before using any masks, I suggest you to gently exfoliate your skin. I used to avoid exfoliation of my skin because I have acne prone skin. But after thorough studies of scientific papers related to skin, I finally started skin exfoliation. Before deciding on any skin care regime, I request you to read my insight on Importance of exfoliation of skin irrespective of skin type
Even before I started using skin yoga products the packaging won brownie points. The scrubs, masks and powders are so aesthetically packed giving you a complete feel of a luxury product.
I opted for Skin Yoga’s set so that I could try my hands on its different products. And so the quantity is of 5.67gms. Whereas the full size pack is of 50gms. So far this brand lives up to its claims. Though the pricing is on high end it indeed offers luxury skin care and once you start using the products, you realize it is worth it.
As mentioned on the leaf let the composition of this mask is inspired from Japanese skin care routine.
It is said that Japanese Beauties traditionally not only drink cups and cups of green tea but also use the extract to apply on acne. Other than green tea this mask also has Rice flour which again is vouched by Japanese women for its anti- wrinkle and flawless skin properties.
At this point, I would like to mention to my readers, solely depending on green teas and external applications won’t revive our skin instead healthy eating and avoiding mindless snacking is as well very important.
Green tea from skin yoga mask has Oat meal, Green tea powder, Rice powder, Neem powder (in decreasing order). You can try making your own green tea Japanese mask at home.
Saponins present in Oat meal serves as natural cleansing agent and has anti-inflammatory properties.
And coming to neem words fall short to describe its benefits for skin and health. Here in this mask Neem serves to treat acne, blackheads, scars and pigmentation. All in all I am pretty impressed with the formula of this green tea face mask.
As per instructions after taking required amount, lukewarm water is to be added to activate the ingredients and make a paste.
Results: As I have combination skin. This mask gave results based on the skin area. It instantly worked for my acne prone areas on my face. And in dry areas of my face it made the skin drier. No, there was no instant glow but this mask offered a proper clean-up action. I have been using this for my forehead region where currently I am having a minor breakout. If you have oily skin then this mask is custom made for you. If you have dry skin with acne problem then apply the paste only on areas where you breakout more often.
Final Review: Oily skin beauties this mask is a must-have for you. Combination skin beauties use this mask as and when required. As for dry skin beauties with acne troubles make sure you follow up with Aloe-Vera gel after using this mask.
I would like to emphasize again external application alone of skin care products won’t give you long term beneficial effects. Have the right balance of using natural products as well as eating right to feed it what skin needs to prevent premature aging.
If you are looking for a natural traditional skin care regime then please check this post- Sandalwood face mask
Oils For Skin
My quest for finding a natural way out to cure my acne and other skin troubles brought me to the world of natural oils. Now you must be wondering how can an oil treat acne, which is something correlated to oily skin. Reasons and causes for acne presumed by many are mostly misconceived notions. Over the years I have received all sorts of suggestions like avoid oily/fatty foods to give up your love for makeup!! For me makeup is an art which I would like to explore. Enhancing your best features, trying different shades for eyes and lips , highlighting , contouring and the list goes on.. It is altogether a different world for someone who loves it.
So, the nerd in me would like to present to you some facts not myths:
No, oily food doesn’t cause you acne. In fact your dehydrated skin cells produce sebum to compensate for lack of moisture in your skin. This sebum produced is often in excess making your skin oily. Now you must be wondering what about people who have dry skin. People with dry skin have very low sebum production that causes loss of moisture when they get exposed to mild dry, cold air.
Whether you have oily or Dry or Combination skin the most important factor is skin has to be well hydrated. Moreover dehydrated skin is responsible for premature aging of skin. Linoleic acid content in the epidermal layers of skin is responsible for hydration of skin.It is an omega 6-fatty acid. It’s deficiency is correlated to the following: overactive sebaceous glands producing excessive sebum , impaired epidermal barrier allowing inflammatory substances that clog pores thereby causing acne. To put in simple words it’s deficiency has to be corrected to get an even skin tone and flawless skin which is every girl’s dream.
IF you check every available moisturizer in market the ingredients list consists of synthetic substitutes of naturally available emollients like lauric acid, myristic acid, Palmitic acid, Oleic acid. All these benefits can be reaped by using natural vegetable oils rather than going for products that have synthetic substitutes. Moreover the main moisturizing ingredient added in marketed products is mineral oil, Glycerin, or Silicone substitutes (dimethicone or cyclopentasilioxane). Usage of such Products on long term basis will be anything but beneficial to the skin.
Olay moisturizing cream :mineral oil and Cyclopentasilioxane (silicone)
Garnier Essential care daily moisturizer: Cyclopentasilioxane
Garnier Moisture rescue cream for dry skin : Glycerine, Dimethicone
Lakme Peach Plum Moisturizer : Mineral oil
If you are looking for skin care product not a makeup cosmetic then the moment you read mineral oil in ingredients’ list i suggest you keep the product back in the counter.
I didn’t come across any Indian marketed moisturizer that has incorporated the goodness of linoleic acid. The best natural way to get the benefits of linoleic acid is using vegetable oils. These oils used for skin are often referred to as carrier oils. Depending on the composition of oils its usefulness varies depending on the skin types and the need. Oils higher in linoleic acid that are good for the skin : Rosehip oil , Grapeseed oil . These two oils can be used irrespective of the skin type.
You can check these links to purchase..
Grapeseed Carrier Oil – Coldpressed
St.Botanica Grape Seed Pure Coldpressed Oil
Ladies instead of using lotions and moisturizers i suggest you to try these natural oils.Now that it is winter season I believe it is best time to experiment the oils best suited for your skin. You can start with jojoba oil.
My personal favorites are Grapeseed oil, Coconut oil, Tamanu Oil, Jojoba Oil.I am in complete love with these oils!! And each of these deserves a separate post and review.
US based people please check : Pure Jojoba Golden Oil-cold pressed
