Beautiful After the Belly

For all us moms who want to look and feel good.

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February 19, 2009

Study raises hopes for omega-3 and female depression

I belong to a company called HealthProNutrient that distributes products to physicians only. They send me all the latest nutritional studies (not affiliated with them). Most of these studies do not get reported. The ones that do get reported?

The ones that tell us that herbs and vitamins etc are all crap and do nothing.

Study after study I have read -you can actually google studies based on the item (omega 3, stevia, etc) and the specific outcome (diabetes, autism, depression, etc) and get great study info – most of them reported only in journals. We only hear the ones the media is told to divulge.

The best ones are double-blind.

So anyway – I thought I would include some of these studies when it pertains to women and women’s health.
Here is a great one:

Higher intakes of omega-3 fatty acids and oily fish may reduce the number of occasions that women suffer depressive symptoms by about 30 per cent, says a new study.

Women with the highest intake of oily fish reduced their number of depressive moments by 25 per cent, while a high intake of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA reduced this number by 29 per cent, according to researchers from Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of California, San Francisco.

“Our results are consistent with […] other epidemiologic studies that have examined the association of fish intake or dietary omega-3 PUFAs with depressive disorders or mental disorders,” wrote the researchers. “In addition, several small, randomized, double-blind trials found that adjunctive treatment with omega-3 PUFAs improved depression.”

Study details
The researchers, led by Laura Colangelo, analysed dietary intakes of fish and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) amongst 3,317 African-American and Caucasian men and women. The average age of the participants at the start of the study was 35. Symptoms of depression were measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale.

Colangelo and her co-workers report that, for the population as a whole, EPA, DHA, and EPA plus DHA were associated with reduced risk of depressive symptoms at the ten-year stage.
The effect was more pronounced in women, they note. Indeed, the highest intake of fish was associated with a 25 per cent reduction in the risk of depressive symptoms, while the highest intakes of EPA, DHA, and EPA plus DHA were associated with a 34, 34, and 29 per cent reduction in risk, compared to women with the lowest average intakes.

February 17, 2009

The cheapest anti-wrinkle for your face

I have become very interested in Acupressure. My sister uses it as a physical therapist to an extent, We have used it with our son to help eliminate allergies, and I think that school of thought is fascinating. Lucy Lui has talked about how it helps with wrinkles (which as a 30-something is on my mind as preventative) so I thought I would see what I could find out.

Acupressure has literally been around for ages. In terms of anti-aging it is much cheaper than creams, serums, surgery, etc. In China it is believed that a wrinkle is actually caused by stagnant Chi (the word for life force energy). This first facial exercise is designed to naturally eliminate crows feet and tone the entire eye area. Try these with me and let me know how you like them. I am excited to try these as well!!


Facial Exercise for Toning Around the Eyes
Using your middle fingers work bi-laterally around each eye simultaneously. You may want to use some natural moisturizer or organic massage oil, and remember use slight pressure as you circle around each eye area.
First place your middle fingers at the beginning of your eyebrows. You are going to follow the top of your eyebrow to the end of your eyebrow and continue under your eye by pressing your fingers on the top of your cheekbones. Then continue to the inside corners of your eyes. Do this facial exercise in a circular motion around the eyes thirty times, and the complete set once daily.
Very few beauty professionals understand the crucial importance of how facial muscles interact to create our facial appearance. For example if you sleep on your stomach and smash your face into the pillow, over time you are going show signs of wrinkling wherever your face is continually stressed or squished. It is said that those who sleep on their backs often have younger looking faces with less wrinkling. With acupuncture you are not necessarily working each of the muscles independently, but you are stimulating the Chi, which in turn benefits and tones the muscles.
As you age, repetitive patterns cause some muscles to become over-exercised or pull on the face. This can cause jowls, turkey neck, baggy eyes and also premature wrinkles. So it is vital to stimulate the right facial muscles. Chinese regenerating face exercises can help the muscles remember your vital facial signature.


Facial Exercise for Revitalizing the Eyes
For this facial exercise we are going to stimulate the acupressure point at the side of your face about 1/4 to 1/2 inch beyond the outside corner of each eye. The second points to stimulate are directly under your pupil on the top edge of your cheekbone. This face exercise can soften fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes. Press each of the points bi-laterally for around three seconds, then release for a moment, and then repeat again for thirty counts. It is best to practice this pressure point exercise three times a day.

February 17, 2009

Acupressure and Anti-aging

Acupressure has been around for literally ages. It is believed in the Eastern school of thought that wrinkles are caused by stagnant chi. These simple exercises are much cheaper than creams and serums and surgery and sound great. The first exercise is designed to eliminate crows feet and tone the entire eye area. Try them with me and let me know how you like them!! I am excited to try them:

Facial Exercise for Toning Around the Eyes
Using your middle fingers work bi-laterally around each eye simultaneously. You may want to use some natural moisturizer or organic massage oil, and remember use slight pressure as you circle around each eye area.
First place your middle fingers at the beginning of your eyebrows. You are going to follow the top of your eyebrow to the end of your eyebrow and continue under your eye by pressing your fingers on the top of your cheekbones. Then continue to the inside corners of your eyes. Do this facial exercise in a circular motion around the eyes thirty times, and the complete set once daily.
Very few beauty professionals understand the crucial importance of how facial muscles interact to create our facial appearance. For example if you sleep on your stomach and smash your face into the pillow, over time you are going show signs of wrinkling wherever your face is continually stressed or squished. It is said that those who sleep on their backs often have younger looking faces with less wrinkling. With acupuncture you are not necessarily working each of the muscles independently, but you are stimulating the Chi, which in turn benefits and tones the muscles.
As you age, repetitive patterns cause some muscles to become over-exercised or pull on the face. This can cause jowls, turkey neck, baggy eyes and also premature wrinkles. So it is vital to stimulate the right facial muscles. Chinese regenerating face exercises can help the muscles remember your vital facial signature.
Facial Exercise for Revitalizing the Eyes
For this facial exercise we are going to stimulate the acupressure point at the side of your face about 1/4 to 1/2 inch beyond the outside corner of each eye. The second points to stimulate are directly under your pupil on the top edge of your cheekbone. This face exercise can soften fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes. Press each of the points bi-laterally for around three seconds, then release for a moment, and then repeat again for thirty counts. It is best to practice this pressure point exercise three times a day.

February 16, 2009

Here we go – no sugar until May!!!!!!

So I decided to do it – no sugar until MAY! I have been out of control lately on my sugar intake. I just can’t seem to do it in moderation. I am either sugar happy (6 cookies and 3 pieces of banana bread on Thursday – gag me!) or I am really good.

I have found if I make it past 4 days (the 3rd day is usually the hardest for me) without sugar, then I can go quite a long time. And for me, being a small frame, a little bit of extra sugar goes a long way of showing up on me, so I really have to watch it. Especially now I am in my (yikes) 30s!

Usually I go most of the winter without sugar because I just don’t get out to go exercising becasue Chicago winters suck. But because I am teaching fitness classes 4 times a week, I gave myself permission to be lax this winter. Well, 1 cookie turns into 6 apparently, and I usually go for the 2nd piece of pie, etc. So I am calling myself out of in it and inviting anyone who reads to also feel the power to go without sugar until May.

The first week is the hardest. If you are doing the sugar fast “Bonnie Wayne” style, you allow yourself 85% chocolate when everyone else is having birthday cake or whatever. It helps. Then you eventually find you dont really need it. Also, fruit smoothies can help as well. Try something with lots of antioxidants like berries, acai, or pomegranite to make it exciting.

OK SUGAR FAST – here we go!!!

February 14, 2009

Belly Fat or something else?

Well, we moms all have a little bit of “pinch an inch” on our bellies, right.

Would it go away if we trained for a marathon or worked out like crazy?

I have a marathon runner mom in one of my classes. She had a baby 1 year ago. She run 9 miles everyday. In chicago, that is very commendable.

She is super fit and trim. However, she has a 31 inch waist. What is that all about?

In her case her rectus abdominus split during her pregnancy to a 5, as in 5 fingerwidths, which is fairly substantial. So she looks perfectly trim except for what we call “the mummy tummy.”

I see this all the time with even my most fit and trim moms.

How do you tell if its belly fat? Well, if you look in the mirror naked and see a ‘spare tire” type of thing around your midsection – that is fat due to high insulin levels.

What if you see lots of skin, will this go away? Skin tautness is dictated from age and genetics. But there are some things you do to help with the tautness of your skin.

What kind of belly do you have? Most of us moms have a fun combination!!!

February 13, 2009

acai vs. blueberries vs. pomegranites

So ads about the acai berry are everywhere – facebook, hotmail, spam, etc.

So which really are the best bang for the berry?

There was a study with 50 different fruits and veggies, and of the 50 tested, blueberries by far had the highest antioxidant levels. So I was skeptical about acai being the in and the all of antioxidant power.

What is so big about antioxidants?

When we eat foods that OXIDIZE (AGE) our bodies, we need to counter it with something that will ANTIoxidize our bodies and thus stop the aging process from continuing too quickly. There are 7 MAIN classificiations of antioxidants, based on the color. Trying to get one of every color per day is the goal (red, orange, yellow, green, white-green, white, purple-red).

So anyway, based on one of the studies, here is what we get:

Per gram, the acai berry’s pulp, which is really all that is used of the berry, has an antioxidant potency of 167 while pomegranates have 106 and blueberries have 32. The high levels of acai’s antioxidants contribute to fighting premature aging, cancer and other health related issues. Much like the French attribute their low rate of cardiovascular diseases to red wine the people of South American can contribute their low rates of disease to the acai berry. The fatty acid ratio is also a contributing factor for lowering the risk of heart disease. Native Indians around the Amazon have relied on this berry for hundred of years. They even refer to the acai palm tree, which bears this fruit, the “Tree of Life” because it offers such a vast amount of berries with each plant.

I have had Acai from Hawaii, and it is really good. After i ate it in a smoothie, I just had this smile on my face because it just made my body feel, for back of a better word, just plain GOOD!

February 13, 2009

Do you have to "suck it in?"

Well, its a good question. I have heard some moms saying they are “tired of holding it in all the time.” Or “they feel no need to impress their spouse.”

However, it is a good idea when you are lifting things, doing exercises, reaching for something, getting out of bed, coughing, sneezing, or anything that is considered WORK for the body to do, to bring in the belly.

If not, we moms create bigger bellies being increasing our DIASTISES. This is where that cute 6 pack muscle we all want to look ripped- splits during pregnancy, and even during incorrect abdominals (CRUNCHES – YIKES!)