There’s a connection between our skin and the food we eat. By eating certain superfoods rich in antioxidants and beneficial phytochemicals, the experts at You Beauty say you can improve the appearance and texture of your skin and create a younger-looking, more beautiful you!
Put These Superfoods on Your Menu
- To reduce age spots, always wear a broad spectrum sunscreen to protect your skin from both UVA and UVB rays. Sun damage can lead to facial lines and wrinkles. You can increase your skin’s natural resistance to sun damage by eating foods rich in lycopene, which is found in tomatoes and tomato products, watermelon, pink grapefruit and red peppers. The polyphenols in fresh-brewed green tea may help repair sun damage.
- For soft, supple skin, indulge yourself with dark chocolate—the higher the percentage of cacao the better. Chocolate bars and cocoa have to be at least 70% cacao to provide any benefit.
- To minimize blemish breakouts, cut back on high-glycemic foods that stimulate the oil production that leads to clogged pores. To fight the inflammation and bacteria that turn clogged pores into nasty pimples, increase zinc in your diet. Zinc is found in lean red meat, lentils, pumpkin seeds and kidney beans.
- Support good bone structure by eating foods high in calcium such as fortified low-fat yogurt, milk, soy milk, spinach, tofu and kale. Also good for your bones are vitamin K2 found in chicken and low-fat cottage cheese and magnesium found in whole grains, leafy greens and almonds.
If continue to be dissatisfied with the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on your face even after changing your diet, it may be time to consider Botox or facial fillers. To find out more about Botox, download our free Botox/Dysport Patient Guide.
Your mom wasn’t wrong when she told you, “You are what you eat.” There’s a powerful connection between what you put in your mouth and how your skin looks. You can improve the health and condition of your skin, minimize wrinkles, banish blemishes and make your skin look younger and more radiant by eating certain superfoods.
Nutritionists call them superfoods because they contain powerful antioxidants with the ability to strengthen, repair and rejuvenate skin cells. You Beauty experts recommend including the following foods in your diet for your skin to look more youthful and radiant.
Put These Superfoods on Your Menu
- For fewer wrinkles, load up on soy, a rich source of isoflavones that improve skin elasticity. Elastic skin “bounces back” when it’s creased so smiles and frowns are less likely to result in wrinkles. Soy is found in tofu, tempeh, edamame and other products made from soybeans.
- To give your skin a healthy glow without risking damaging sun exposure, eat foods rich in carotenoids. Carotenoids are the phytochemicals that give red, yellow and orange vegetables their color. To boost your carotenoid intake, munch on carrots, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, apricots and leafy greens.
- To minimize puffy eyes and reduce bloating elsewhere in your body, cut down on salt and processed foods which are full of sodium. Salt pulls water from our cells into the surrounding tissue, which is what causes skin to look puffy. In addition to taking it easy on the salt shaker, you can counteract sodium by increasing consumption of potassium, which helps strip excess sodium from your body. Potassium rich foods include bananas, sweet potatoes, cooked lentils and avocados.
To be continued
If a change in diet doesn’t improve fine lines and wrinkles on your face, you may want to consider Botox or facial fillers. To find out more, download our free Botox/Dysport Patient Guide.
In the time before there was a health club on every corner and a treadmill in every basement, people stayed fit and trim by performing daily tasks. Outside of the military calisthenics field and school gym classes across the country, it’s only fairly recently that “exercise” has been popularly redefined as something done for its own sake and not as part of everyday activities.
Power to the Machines
We’ve brainwashed ourselves into thinking that the only exercise that counts is machine driven. We find it hard to believe that running up and down the stairs to change the laundry a couple times a day could be as beneficial as 20 concentrated minutes climbing the Stairmaster at the gym, but it is!
In a new study, Oregon State University researchers found that the everyday activities we do at home and work can provide the same exercise benefit as running on a treadmill or circuit training. In other words, your body doesn’t care if you deliver your 30 minutes of exercise in short one and two-minute bursts or a single 30-minute workout. It’s total sweat time that matters, not how it’s achieved.
Lifestyle Exercise
Researchers call all the things we do in the course of a day to burn calories “lifestyle exercise.” So the next time you drag out the vacuum or spend time pulling weeds, remind yourself that you’re exercising. Knowing that you’re burning calories may not take the drudgery out of chores, but it will make you feel better about yourself.
Check out these surprising ways to burn 50 calories:
- Laugh out loud for 10 minutes
- Pick up litter for 8 minutes
- Iron clothes for 10 minutes
- Vacuum for 10 minutes
- Spend 20 minutes typing emails
- Chew gum for 4 hours
If daily activities aren’t getting rid of belly fat or love handles, Smartlipo TriPlex can remove stubborn fat pockets. Click here to download our free guide to Smartlipo TriPlex.
Makeup and sweat don’t mix. Makeup simply isn’t made to stand up to an energetic workout. At best, you’ll find your eyeliner trickling down your cheek and your foundation smeared across your sweat band. At worst, the two will form a chemical soup and cook up a blemish-inducing batch of bacteria that will challenge your skin care routine. Either way, you lose.
Despite the challenges, some women simply feel naked without makeup or they may work in an environment where sweat is part of the job. If this summer is as hot as last year, you’re going to face a few sweaty situations no matter what you do.
Here’s how to keep your makeup looking cool and fresh even when you feel like you’re melting:
- Minimize the amount of makeup you wear when exercising. Avoid potential blemishes by limiting makeup to waterproof eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss.
- If you’re uncomfortable without foundation, use a tinted moisturizer or look for lightweight, oil-free, silicone-based products with low transfer resistance and long-lasting staying power.
- Applying a primer before makeup will help keep makeup in place.
- Protect your skin from sun damage with a water-resistant, broad-spectrum sunscreen such as Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch or SkinCeuticals Sport UV Defense. SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense is a tinted sunscreen that can take the place of foundation.
- Don’t forget to protect your lips from sun damage and chapping with SPF 15 lip glosses or tinted balms.
- Before a workout, spritz your face with an oil-free finishing spray that helps keep makeup in place, like Skindinavia.
- Blot once or twice during your workout to banish shine and keep makeup from caking.
- Always wash your face after a workout to prevent blemishes.
Professional skin care treatments can help soothe and rejuvenate skin, giving your face a fresh, rosy glow and making makeup unnecessary when you exercise.
There are tricks for camouflaging your body’s problem areas. Last time, we shared tips on hiding tummy bulges. Today, we tackle the hips and thighs! However, if you’re tired of choosing your clothes for their ability to camouflage problem areas, maybe it’s time to consider cosmetic surgery.
To camouflage full hips and thighs
Avoid slim pencil skirts and skinny jeans that cling to hips and thighs, drawing more attention to problem areas. Full, gathered or pleated skirts that emphasize width at the hips should also be avoided. Flared pants should also be banned from your closet because they add unwanted width to lower body lines. And don’t try to hide wide hips or thick thighs behind long jackets or tops. Rather than elongating your body, they actually draw the eye to the problem areas you are trying to hide. For clothes that flatter full hips and thighs, shop for these styles:
- Structured A-lines, straight and trumpet-shaped skirts are particularly flattering if you have full hips. Slim on top with a flare at the hem, trumpet skirts draw the eye down and away from the hips.
- Bootcut jeans and straight-legged pants with contoured waistbands create a more vertical leg line.
- Wide-necked boatline tops, as well as tops and jackets with strong shoulder lines, balance hip width attractively. Cropped tops and jackets that pull the eye up to the waist are also flattering.
Banish Problem Areas
Don’t let your body limit your style. If you’re tired of choosing your clothes for their ability to camouflage problem areas, maybe it’s time to consider cosmetic surgery. Smartlipo TriPlex is the revolutionary new form of laser-assisted liposuction that allows expert Cleveland cosmetic surgeons to remove stubborn fat pockets responsible for problem areas. Minimally invasive, Smartlipo results in less bruising and promotes faster healing times than traditional liposuction. (Visit our website to hear what actual Smartlipo patients have to say about their procedures.) With Smartlipo TriPlex, you can have the sleek, sexy body you’ve always wanted – and the stylish wardrobe to go with it!
We all have them. Those annoying problem areas that bulge here or stick out there, marring your figure and interfering with the sleek lines of the Mad Men-inspired pencil skirt you’d love to buy or the drape of that darling sundress that looked so fabulous on the mannequin but not so fabulous in the dressing room mirror. If you have a tummy bulge, little muffin top or thick thighs, you may have to pass on those cute, colorful skinny jeans that everyone is wearing; but you don’t have to give up on style to accommodate your body’s problem areas – you just need to learn how to camouflage them.
If you have a little post-pregnancy tummy
Avoid details such as embellished waist bands, pleats and front pockets that call attention to your waist. You may like the look of low-rise styles or find them comfortable because they don’t constrict your stomach, but there is nothing less attractive than flaunting an untamed belly. Avoid cropped tops for the same reason. Clingy fabrics that adhere to your stomach should also be banned from your closet. Remove problem clothes from your wardrobe and start looking for these tummy flattering styles:
- High-waisted, A-line skirts with wide, flat waistbands de-emphasize the tummy area.
- Stick with bootcut jeans and straight-leg pants which have an elongating effect. Pair them with a great pair of shoes in an eye-popping color to further direct eyes away from your stomach.
- Don’t try to hide your belly behind big, boxy tops. Tops that hint at your waist are actually more slimming. Look for jackets with a nipped waist. Longer tops with ruching, loose gathers or soft draping across the stomach area are great for hiding tummy bulges. The diagonal lines of wrap and bias-cut tops also have a slimming effect on poufy tums.
More tips next time
Find out how to banish problem areas. Download our free Smartlipo TriPlex Guide today!
Inspired by the amazing celebrity transformations witnessed on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (see our previous post), dance fitness offers a fun way to sweat off excess pounds and trim inches off your figure. From ballroom dancing to Zumba, women and men are turning up the tunes and taking to the dance floor.
If you want to dance away the pounds – and inches – check out these dance fitness workouts:
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Dancing with the Stars has sparked a series of DWTS dance exercise DVDs featuring the show’s professional dancers. Jive, samba, tango or mixed; pick your favorite Latin rhythm and get moving! The DVD series also offers workouts geared to strengthen cardio, burn fat and tone buns and abs. (Available from $14-$17 at DWTS’ online store.)
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Join a Zumba Fitness class or follow along at home with one of Zumba’s multi-disk shape-up systems which come with toning sticks and healthy lifestyle materials. Classes are available at Zumba Fitness centers (use the website location guide to find one near you), health clubs, park districts and community centers throughout the country. (Dance party CDs for $11; shape-up systems for $50-$85 available on Zumba’s website.)
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Top rated by WomensFitnessRatings.org, Brazil Body Now is designed to help you drop pounds and trim inches – quickly. The multi-disk program combines samba moves with body-sculpting techniques, beauty guides and online mentoring. (Available online for $97.)
Everyone has problem areas that don’t respond to exercise no many how many hours you put in on the dance floor. Smartlipo TriPlex is the amazing Cleveland cosmetic surgery procedure that melts away stubborn fat cells, leaving your body sleek and sexy. Visit our website to find out more about Smartlipo and click here to download our free Guide to Smartlipo TriPlex.
Now in its 13th season, ABC's Dancing with the Stars was a surprise hit when celebrities and their professional dancer partners first took to the dance floor to show off their moves. Celebrities will once again rumba, cha-cha, foxtrot and waltz their way to television fame in the lead up to the May 21st dance-off finale. The show now boasts a loyal following and has sparked renewed interest in ballroom dancing. But it is the weight-loss success of the show’s celebrities that has turned the show into a cultural phenomenon and launched a new dance fitness craze.
Astounding Weight Loss
There’s a reason the professional dancers on the show look so good in their skimpy costumes. Dancing engages your entire body, from the core to the extremities, providing an intense, muscle-building cardio workout. It also takes hours of practice to perfect a single routine which has led DWTS celebs to drop an astounding number of pounds while trimming unwanted inches from their frames. They may start out a little pudgy and out of shape; but after 10 weeks of quick steps, glides and turns, the stars are transformed, their bodies toned, trimmed and gorgeous! (Click to watch the Huffington Post slide show.)
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Kirstie Alley dropped an inspiring 100 pounds and 10 dress sizes.
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Gladys Knight left the show 60 pounds lighter.
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Marie Osmond lost 31 pounds, trimming 5 inches off her waist and hips.
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Kelly Osbourne lost 20 pounds on the show, adopted a healthier diet and lost 30 more.
Inspired by former participants’ weight loss, some of the show’s newer celebrities now sign on hoping to meet a personal weight-loss goal!
Next time: How you can dance yourself slim
Visit our website to find out how liposuction can eliminate stubborn bulges and smooth your figure after weight loss.
Men tend to take a pragmatic approach to life. They see a problem, determine the best solution, and act. That “get it done” philosophy may be behind the rise in male cosmetic surgery procedures. No longer the embarrassed lone wolf in a room full of women, men seeking cosmetic surgery are finding solidarity in bands of brothers as men line up to push back the march of time and revitalize their appearance.
What Men Want
Women still make up the majority of cosmetic surgery patients, but board-certified Cleveland cosmetic surgeon Dr. J. Vicente Poblete says men frequently outnumber women in his waiting room. Last year, men underwent nearly 1 million cosmetic procedures, 10% of the total and an increase of nearly 20% over the previous year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The most popular surgical procedures for men in 2012 were:
- Liposuction
- Tummy tuck
- Eyelid surgery
- Breast reduction
- Ear surgery
Rhinoplasty (nose surgery) is also popular with men, and facelifts are a growing area of male cosmetic surgery interest. The number of men using Botox and dermal fillers also continues to increase. Last year, Botox topped the list of men’s favorite non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
Look as Young as You Feel
Men are living longer, working longer, living a more active retirement life, and dating later in life due to divorce or the death of a spouse. Not only do men want to look as young as they feel, but they want to maintain their competitive edge both during and after office hours. The desire to maintain a youthful appearance seems to be driving an ever-increasing interest in male cosmetic surgery -- and the women in their lives are all for it! Couples cosmetic surgery appointments are gaining popularity as wedding, anniversary and holiday gifts.
To find out more about Cleveland cosmetic surgery for men, click here to download our free Men’s Guide to Cosmetic Surgery.
We love our grandmothers, but we don’t want their lips. “Granny lips” happen when age and sun damage ring the lips with dozens of fine lines, seeming to freeze the lips in a permanent pucker. Unfortunately, you don’t have to have grandchildren to get granny lips. Some women begin to experience the formation of fine lines in the cutaneous lip (the mustache area) as early as their late-20s, although the first signs of granny lips more typically begin in the late-30s to 40s.
As the years go by, lines multiply and the condition worsens. Unless you take action to slow or halt the process, tiny lines will eventually form a ring around your mouth and you’ll find yourself with granny lips!
What Causes Granny Lips?
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Normal repetitive motions are the primary cause of fine lines in the cutaneous lip area. Talking, eating, sipping through a straw, pursing your lips and other normal facial movements cause underlying tissue to stretch and break down over time.
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Unprotected exposure to the sun’s UV rays damages deep tissues, breaking down the elastin fibers that keep skin taut.
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Chronic stress releases the hormone cortisol which degrades the collagen that plumps up skin.
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Smoking causes the skin to age more rapidly, accelerating the formation of wrinkles, especially around the mouth due to the repetitive motions that accompany the act of smoking.
How to Stop the Pucker
Restylane, Perlane and other cosmetic wrinkle treatments can replace lost volume and smooth away fine lines around the mouth. Sometimes a combination of fillers offers the best solution. Dr. Poblete was the first Cleveland-area physician to develop the “layering” technique to simultaneously treat deep and surface facial wrinkles. To find out more about Cleveland wrinkle reduction, download our free patient guide to Botox, Restylane and other cosmetic fillers.