Maintaining Your Beauty

Beauty. When we think of beauty, especially women, our mind might go straight to makeup, fashion, salon, or perhaps aesthetic plastic surgery (I'm totally against the last one!). All these things might help, but the best way to maintain our beauty (yes, maintain.. because every woman is beautiful) is to take care of our health, not only physical but also mental health.

Doing a regular exercise at least three times a week is recommended. It doesn't have to be a hard and exhausting exercise. A simple one that takes only 15-30 minutes but done regularly makes more impact to our body (and mind). If you usually go to work by a motorcycle, a car, or a public transportation, perhaps it's the time to shift to a bicycle! ;) Or if you usually take a lift to go up or down at your office or a shopping center, now is the time to start taking the stairs. In Indonesia, people often use motorcycles to go anywhere, even just to go to a shop that's not even 500 meters away! Let's use our feet, walking is not only healthy but could also be enjoyable (especially if you walk with your friends). I know the temperature is very hot there, but you can always use an umbrella (and sunglasses). :D Regular exercises will make you feel good, light, and fresh! Aren't these going to enhance your beauty? ;)

Besides exercise, our food intake also plays an important role. As I'm talking about beauty, skin beauty is obviously part of it. Weeks ago, I found a few articles discussing the types of foods that are good for your skin. The sources vary, but most of them I found from reading posts on social networking sites. I was trying to look for the sites again, but couldn't find them. So, here I'm just going to list all the foods (and beverages) that I remember. Here they are:

1. Berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and all other berries. They are rich in antioxidants! Not only good for skin, berries are also good to protect your hair. Tip: berries + yogurt = perfect snack :9
2. Avocado. It contains vitamin A and E, and the oil in them is usually used in many beauty products. Did you know that avocado is categorised as a berry? As mentioned earlier, berries are good for skin, so there you go. :)
3. Almonds. They are stuffed with vitamin E, which helps defend against sun damage. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, which is well known as an excellent substance for skin.
4. Salmon. It's rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are able to erase spots and reduce fine lines (wrinkle fighters). Besides salmon, flaxseeds also contain omega-3.
5. Tomatoes. They contain lycopene, which helps eliminate skin-aging free radicals caused by ultraviolet rays. Oh, watermelon also contains lycopene. ;)
6. Sweet potatoes. The vitamin C they have smooths out wrinkles by stimulating the production of collagen.
7. Spinach. They contain folate and iron, which are not only good for skin but also able to reduce the possibility of cancer-cell growth. Actually, all green vegetables are good for your skin as they contain plenty of fiber, loads of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.
8. Carrots. They are loaded with vitamin A, which is not only good for your eyesight, but also good for reducing blemish on your skin and reducing the development of skin-cancer cells.
9. Green tea. It's known to contain antioxidant with proven anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties.
10. Dark chocolates. (Yay! I love dark chocolates! :D) They have antioxidant that can reduce roughness in the skin and provide sun protection.

 If you want to know more about what other foods that are good for your skin are, you can always google. :D 

So, regular exercise and healthy foods should be our best friends. But on top of that, our beauty will shine brightly if we do these 2 things: let it go (forgive) and smile. :)

"I was smiling yesterday, I am smiling today and I will smile tomorrow simply because life is too short to cry for anything." - Santosh Kalwar -

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." - Thích Nhất Hạnh - 

* .. and the source of other people's joy :)

source of the picture: http://img2.timeinc.net/health/img/web/2013/01/slides/berries-for-heart-400x400.jpg.

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Homemade Treatment for Asthma

Hi, readers! :)

It has been more than 2 weeks I didn't update my blog. Now, I'm going to share some information I got from an Algerian brother, which might be useful for people out there who have asthma. The only ingredients you should prepare are fresh cloves.

This homemade treatment was discovered by a Sudanese engineer. He himself experienced attacks of asthma that were so severe. He noticed that cloves would help to cure the symptoms, so he did some experiment until he found a unique recipe that gave him a total relief. He recommended this treatment to his friend who was also suffering from asthma so severe that she needed to go to the hospital constantly for oxygen. After trying this treatment, she was cured. It was also useful for another friend who was on a breath inhaler.

This treatment is simple and natural way to cure or give relief to some people who suffer from asthma.

1. Take 6 stems of fresh cloves.
2. Remove the head of each clove and keep the stem (this is very important).
3. Put the stems in a 1/2 cup of cold water, cover it and let it sit over night.
4. First thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, drink the water and discard the stems.
5. Repeat this process for 15 days, continuously.

Hope this simple recipe works like a charm, and feel free to share this to your friends as a potential treatment for asthma relief. May you be blessed with health and happiness! :)

source of the picture: gizmodo.com.

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Age shouldn't stop you from being healthy..

This morning I went to a shop to buy milk and bananas. The shop's not far from my house, reachable by 5 minute walking. After getting what I needed, I stepped outside the shop and stopped for a while to arrange the 2L milk and 5 bananas in my hands since I didn't bring any plastic bag. Just for your information, a plastic bag here is not free. It costs you 22 cents.

While I was arranging my groceries, my eyes glimpsed something interesting not far from where I was standing. An elderly lady stopped at the traffic light, waiting for it to turn green. She looked very old, 60-70ish years old! I could tell from her hair color and the wrinkles on her face. What's interesting about that? Wait.. She was not driving or waiting to cross the road. She was cycling! Wearing a sport wear and a pair of comfortable sport shoes, she looked so energetic, not different to young people. When the traffic light turned green, she started pedaling again, enthusiastically! 

Witnessing that, no wonder the life expectation in this country (or other western countries) is high. People here understand the importance of maintaining health. They not only understand, but also apply it in their daily life. 

Your health is your responsibility. If you care about your health, you should have a serious commitment taking care of your health every day. Start from a small thing, start yourself, and start now! From this experience, I learned that regardless of your age, you're in charge of your own health. Do not let your age stand in your way of having a healthier life. Live healthier and feel younger! ;)

source of the picture above: http://aliki-ka.blogspot.com. 

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