Category → Health
Emotional Eating: A Prime Ingredient for Obesity
Sandra found her weight ballooning 60 pounds after her separation from her husband. While part of the weight gain was apparently tied to the medication she was taking, the rest appeared to be the result of what can be described as emotional eating. In recent years, greater attention has been focused on the problem of emotional eating for both women and men. In fact, some experts have gone so far as to claim that most weight gain can be blamed on emotional eating. According to Women Today magazine, it has been estimated that as much as 75 percent of overeating is attributed to the emotions.
For a number of people, overeating stems from anxiety. For instance, if you find yourself consuming an entire bag of potato chips, it’s possible that anxiety is the cause. While many people realize that alcohol and illegal drugs are not an antidote to anxiety, they may not understand that indulging in comfort food in order to combat anxiety can be dangerous as well.
In other cases, overeating may be the result of depression. If you feel tired, hopeless, and have lost interest in your normal activities, you may be suffering from a depressive episode. In order to deal with these uncomfortable feelings, people may turn to food in an effort to cheer up. The problem is that the food can lead to weight gain, which can lead to further depression.
At times, overeating may be a symptom of boredom. An individual may figure that he or she has nothing better to do than overeat. This can be particularly true when one is watching television or surfing the Internet. Rather than trying to determine a cause for the boredom, an individual may just try to “fix” it by indulging in high-fat, high-calorie food.
How do you know if you are an emotional eater? Ask yourself some key questions: Do I tend to eat when I’m worried? Scared? Sad? Do I find that eating lifts my spirits? Am I spending more time eating than engaging in other activities I enjoy? Do my binges come after I’ve suffered disappointment? Am I turning to food in order to deal with the death of a loved one…a divorce…or the defeat of my favorite team? If the answers to any of these questions is “yes,” you may be overeating purely for emotional reasons.
After you’ve identified yourself as an emotional eater, you’ll need to take steps to correct your behavior. Perhaps the most effective technique is diversion. In other words, if you find yourself reaching for the cookie jar, find another activity to engage in. The answer could be taking a walk, kickboxing, or dancing. Or it could be something less physically demanding, such as needlepoint or crochet. The idea is to get your hands…and perhaps the rest of your body…moving. In time, you might find the urge to overeat subsides as you become involved with other activities.
Another effective step you can take is to identify the triggers for your emotional eating. Do you tend to binge in mid-morning, mid-afternoon, or right before bedtime? Are you snacking while watching television, while at the computer, or when you’re sitting in your favorite chair? By asking yourself these questions, you can identify the time of day when you overeat, as well as the location for your binging. With this information, you can learn to re-direct your behavior to less fattening pursuits.
Yet another helpful technique is to develop a support network to help you combat overeating. The members of your support team could include your spouse, children, parents, friends, or other over-eaters. You may even consider joining a support group which specializes in helping those who engage in binge eating. If you feel the need to overeat, contact a member of your support team. Talking through your emotions could provide you with the emotional release you need, making overeating unnecessary.
If your anxiety or depression persists, consider seeing a psychotherapist. He or she can help you develop more effective coping mechanisms. If you find it difficult to talk to friends or family about your overeating, a psychotherapist can provide you with the talk therapy you need to overcome your problem.
What is Laser Acupuncture?
In the United States there is currently an obsession with research that needs to go into the study of acupuncture in order to realize just how beneficial the process can be. However, even before the full benefits of acupuncture could be realized within the United States the whole process of the therapy is about to change. Even though this change has not been real widespread, one of the major changes within the acupuncture world is the fact that lasers have now been added to the already overly-complicated technique of acupuncture. There are many reasons why lasers have been added to the process and some of those reasons will be focused on within this article. But the fact of the matter remains that the whole face of acupuncture has changed, but whether it has been for the better or for the worse still remains to be seen.
Why Lasers Were Added
There are many theories on the issue why laser acupuncture evolved into the United States, but the most popular theory and perhaps the most reasonable one, states that laser have been added to the acupuncture process in order to be more accurate in the treatments of patients. For example, many people already know that sticking and pricking needles into a body can be a hard process to duplicate over and over. However, with lasers that are added to the process they can be pricked into the body through the use of a laser beam and computer. The laser beams are not only beneficial to the whole process of acupuncture because the lasers can be adjusted to each individual’s body, but they have also been beneficial because it is the quickest way to undergo acupuncture therapy.
How Lasers Have Changed Acupuncture
Many traditional people who have been advocates of acupuncture for quite some time in the Chinese culture have said that the addition of laser therapy to acupuncture techniques have been great for the growing number of people that have shown an interest in the healing technique. On the other hand, there have also been acupuncture professionals who have said that combining two totally different forms of therapy should never have been done. The main reason that laser therapy is guarded against when using acupuncture is the fact that the whole acupuncture process has not yet been mastered by many people in the United States. This addition to the whole process will not only complicate matters, but it will also make the original procedure of acupuncture a lot more difficult to perform.
All things considered, though, it is definitely true that many people agree that laser therapy, combined with acupuncture therapy, are two totally different therapies that should or should not have been added together. Even though there are plenty of differentiating opinions on the matter, what matters most is whether the process of acupuncture and the effectiveness of the treatment is any different with the lasers added. Many people say that it has taken away the effectiveness of acupuncture, but it is ultimately up to the person to realize whether or not acupuncture has changed!
Body Building Supplements
Introduction:
Bodybuilding supplement consists of various substances including proteins and amino acids, metal replacement products, prohormones, testosterone boosters and are taken by boy builders and sports persons to help building muscle or supplement fat loss. These bodybuilding supplements are also suitable for improving sports performance.
Amino acids, Branched chain amino acids, glutamine and protein:
Protein consumed by our body metabolizes into amino acids. The bodybuilders prefer most commonly three branched chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine. Muscles metabolize these branched chain amino acids. Additionally these branched chain amino acids are assumed to have resistance towards muscle breakdown.
Although soy protein, a naturally occurring complete protein may sometime exhibit estrogenic activity and is therefore avoided by many of the bodybuilders, however egg protein is preferred as it is also a complete protein. Casein, another richest protein source of amino acid glutamine is preferred as it contains casomorphine additionally, which releases amino acids at regular intervals.
Bodybuilders prefer to take protein just after exercise or as a replacement of meal. Protein powders are available in the market and right quantity of these at recommended helps in making muscles, as muscles are primarily made of protein and protein also helps us in repairing and growth of muscles.
Whenever you purchase a protein packet, you must look for total serving in the pocket and gram protein, gram carbs, gram sugar and gram fat per servings. If you are lactose intolerant, you should select a protein packet, which does not contain lactose. On the basis of all these information you must select the right product suitable for you.
Metal Replacement Products:
The metal replacement products are either available in powder form or in bar form. Powder form can be mixed with water, milk or juice and can be taken thereafter, however bars can be consumed straight away.
These are made available for complete meal replacement and contains high amount of proteins, moderate amount of carbohydrates and also contains various vitamins and minerals.
Various manufacturers of metal replacement products claim to have added soy protein, egg albumin, whey protein or micellar casein as source of protein. For replacement of carbohydrates ingredients derived from oat fiber, wheat flour or maltodextrin have been added. Some may contain essential fatty acids substitute and other mineral substitutes. Some other products such as glutamine peptide and additional amino acids are also added by some of the manufacturers.
Creatine Monohydrate:
Creatine monohydrate is one of the essential organic acids. It is one of the few products suitable for making healthy muscles. Creatine monohydrate is useful for sports persons engaged in weight lifting and short-range sprinters. Creatine monohydrate works in our body and plays a vital role in making and replenishing of ATP. It is also occurs naturally in beef, pork, and salmon.
If you are on creatine, you may notice a weight gain as creatine has a volumizing effect and draws water and various other nutrients to muscle cells.
Some of the common and minor side effects associated with intake of creatine include stomach upset and gastrointestinal distress. Although, some of the recent studies on creatine shows that it has a positive influence on our heart health and it lowers our lipid profile.
Prohormone Supplements:
Prohormones are precursors to both male and female hormones. Body builders are only interested in the supplements capable to increase male hormone testosterone as at elevated level testosterone will lead to improved muscle growth. Studies carried out on various prohormone have not given the desired results. Some of the horhormone are not significant and effective and may have side effects.
8 Proven Strategies For Maximum Muscle Gains
There is so much conflicting information out there when it comes to the topic of building muscle, and sometimes it can be very difficult to know where to start. If you’re an average beginner looking for some basic guidelines to follow in the gym, the following 8 points will start you off on the right track.
1) Train With Weights and Focus On Compound, Free Weight Movements.
If you want to make solid, noteworthy gains in muscle size and strength, you absolutely must train with free weights and focus on basic, compound exercises. A compound exercise is any lift that stimulates more than one muscle group at a time. Examples of these lifts are the squat, deadlift, bench press, chin up, barbell row, overhead press, dip and lunge. Compound movements allow you to handle the most weight and will stimulate the greatest amount of total muscle fibers.
2) Be Prepared To Train Hard.
One of the biggest factors that separates those who make modest gains from those who make serious gains is their level of training intensity. In order to stimulate your muscle fibers to their utmost potential, you must be willing to take every set you perform in the gym to the point of muscular failure.
Muscular Failure: The point at which no further repetitions can be completed using proper form.
Sub-maximal training intensity will leave you with sub-maximal results, plain and simple.
3) Track Your Progress In The Gym From Week To Week.
Our bodies build muscle because of an adaptive response to the environment. When you go to the gym, you break down your muscle fibers by training with weights. Your body senses this as a potential threat to its survival and will react accordingly by rebuilding the damaged fibers larger and stronger in order to protect against any possible future threat. Therefore, in order to make continual gains in muscle size and strength, you must always focus on progressing in the gym from week to week. This could mean performing 1 or 2 more reps for each exercise or adding more weight to the bar. Keep a detailed training log to track your progress as your strength increases over time.
4) Avoid Overtraining.
Overtraining is your number one enemy when it comes to building muscle size and strength. When most people begin a workout program, they are stuck with the misguided notion that more is better. They naturally assume that the more time they spend in the gym, the better results they will achieve. When it comes to building muscle, nothing could be farther from the truth! If you spend too much time in the gym, you will actually take yourself farther away from your goals rather than closer to them. Remember, your muscles do not grow in the gym; they grow out of the gym, while you are resting and eating. Recovery is absolutely vital to the muscle growth process. If you don’t provide your body with the proper recovery time in between workouts, your muscles will never have a chance to grow.
5) Eat More Frequently.
The main area where most people fail miserably on their muscle-building mission is on the all-too important task of proper nutrition. Training with weights is only half of the equation! You break down your muscle fibers in the gym, but if you don’t provide your body with the proper nutrients at the proper times, the muscle growth process will be next to impossible. You should be eating anywhere from 5-7 meals per day, spaced every 2-3 hours in order to keep your body in an anabolic, muscle-building state at all times. Each meal should consist of high quality protein and complex carbohydrates.
6) Increase Your Protein Intake.
Of the 3 major nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) protein is without a doubt the most important for those who are looking to gain muscle size and strength. Protein is found in literally every single one of the 30 trillion cells that your body is made up of and its main role is to build and repair body tissues. Without sufficient protein intake, it will be physically impossible for your body to synthesize a significant amount of lean muscle mass. If your body were a house, think of protein as the bricks. A general guideline is to consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day from high quality sources such as fish, poultry, eggs, beef, milk, peanut butter and cottage cheese.
7) Increase Your Water Intake.
If you want a simple, easy and highly effective way to maximize your muscle gains, drinking more water is it. Water plays so many vital roles in the body and its importance cannot be overstated. In fact, your muscles alone are made up of 70% water! Not only will drinking more water cause your muscles to appear fuller and more vascular, but it will also increase your strength as well. Research has shown that merely a 3-4% drop in your body’s water levels can impact muscle contractions by 10-20%! Aim to consume 0.6 ounces for every pound of bodyweight each day for optimal gains.
Be Consistent!
Consistency is everything. Those who make the greatest gains in muscular size and strength are the ones who are able to implement the proper techniques on a highly consistent basis. Simply knowing is not enough, you must apply!
Building muscle is a result of the cumulative effect of small steps. Sure, performing 1 extra rep on your bench press will not make a huge difference to your overall results, and neither will consuming a single meal. However, over the long haul, all of those extra reps you perform and all of those small meals you consume will decide your overall success. If you work hard and complete all of your muscle-building tasks in a consistent fashion, all of those individual steps will equate to massive gains in overall size and strength.
7 Tips For Beautiful Skin
For most women, part of the morning and evening routines involve a skincare regimen of applying creams, moisturizers, tonics, lotions, and the like. Why do women put themselves through this? They do it primarily to combat the signs of aging, and to maintain youthful looks and beautiful skin! It is a safe bet, however, that most women haven’t put much thought into what is in the products that they are using.
Some women probably do not realize that what they are putting on their skin may actually be undermining what they are trying to prevent to begin with. In fact the average woman puts twelve products on her skin daily, most of which contain harmful chemical preservatives. Dr. Myron Wentz, founder and chairperson of USANA Health Sciences, has this to say about beauty in the company magazine’s June/July 2005 issue: “Some say that beauty is only skin deep. Nonsense! I believe that true beauty is a reflection of true health, and true health begins deep inside each and every cell in the body. But true health and true beauty have an outer component, which is why we require protection from environmental insults such as solar radiation, pollutants in our environment and the drying effects of air. . . The fact is you simply cannot contain a healthy body if your skin isn’t healthy. And your skin can’t be healthy if your are subjecting it to toxic substances that are ultimately absorbed into your body.”
So, what can women do? How can they combat environmental pollutants, the affect of solar radiation, and the drying effects of air? How can they be sure they are using the very best products on their skin so they can be healthy inside and out? Here are 7 tips to assist in this process:
1. Be very aware of what is in skincare products. Use products that are all natural as much as possible.
2. Look for products that contain Dermal Surface Renewal Technology. DSR smoothes away existing signs of aging such as laugh lines, crows feet, and dullness.
3. Use products that have regenisomes. Regenisomes penetrate the skin to speed cell renewal after sun exposure. They also use the light of photosomes to undo sun damage, and have ultrasomes to renew skin while sleeping.
4. Find products with Proteo-C and Proflavonol-T. These two vitamins protect the skin from premature aging caused by the sun, pollution, and other environmental factors. They also provide advanced nutrition to the skin to keep it appearing smooth and firm.
5. If possible, use products that are paraben free. Parabens are synthetic chemical preservatives that are widely used in personal care products such as shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products, make-up, facial masks, skin lotions and creams, and deodorants. They also are typically ingredients in baby lotions, shampoos, and other personal care products for infants and children. In addition, parabens are in many foods and pharmaceutical products. Researchers are beginning to find parabens in benign and malignant human breast tumors. While some studies have challenged their toxicity in many products and question their long term affect on humans, using products that are paraben free can eliminate the risk of exposure to this harmful chemical.
6. Drink plenty of water! Water hydrates skin and hair as well as flushes toxins out of the body.
7. Limit stress or learn to manage it effectively. Stress is harmful both emotionally and physically. Find that stress reliever activity that works best and use it on a daily basis!
Follow the above 7 tips to true beauty and health.
Bad Breath Cures
So you know that you have bad breath, and want to find a way to relieve it simply and quickly? The following bad breath cures work in the majority of cases, though if you have a really bad case or these cures make no difference, you should consult your physician.
Bad breath is associated with a dry mouth, so taking steps to not have such a dry mouth can reduce the smell.
- Make sure that you drink sufficient quantities of water so that you’re not generally dehydrated.
- Dieting or missing can reduce saliva and dry the mouth, so be sure to eat at regular intervals.
- Chew on special sugar-free gum, to cause salivation.
- Don’t drink excessive alcohol as that dries the mouth.
- Smoking dries the mouth, and is also bad for a number of other well known reasons.
Bad breath also has a component that comes from lack of hygiene.
- Teeth should be brushed after every meal Be sure to be thorough and remove all the food particles.
- While you’re brushing your teeth, brush also the roof of your mouth and your tongue, using regular toothpaste, as this will help to clean adverse compounds.
- You should also floss between the teeth at least once a day, to dislodge any entrapped particles.
What you eat can cause troubles for various reasons.
- Eat a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
- Avoid too much meat and protein, as the protein is fuel for the bacteria which cause bad breath.
- Avoid particular smelly foods, such as garlic and onions. When these get to the stomach, the smell transfers to the bloodstream, and the air you breath out picks up the smell from the lungs.
Visit your dentist to discuss the matter. Bad breath may be caused by dental problems, including gum disease (periodontal disease), and your dentist will be able to advise, and may save you more pain and expense in the long run. You should visit your dentist regularly, at least once every six months, for a regular checkup and cleaning. This will dig out the stubborn food particles that your brushing and flossing have missed.
You can use a mouthwash for temporary relief of the bad breath smell. Be aware, however, that many mouthwashes have alcohol content, which is detrimental. If you seek temporary relief by sucking a breath mint, like Altoids, you should also note that the high sugar content is a disadvantage.
Why Your Body Needs a Detoxification
Gasoline smells and fumes, road construction smoke that enters your car when your windows are down, second-hand cigarette smoke that comes from a smoking stranger nearby, paint thinner fumes, highlighters, unknown substances that burn while cooking, fast food hamburgers and cheeseburgers, as well as many other foods and random fumes that we are exposed to make a certain impact on our bodies. All of these impacts are usually negative. On the flip side, though, there are several ways in which one can overcome these negative affects. One sure-fire way to rid yourself and your body of all the unknown substances that enter your lungs and your body is a total body detoxification. If you have never heard what that is before then you may just be in for a surprise. But it turns out, though, that a true body detoxification will really help your whole health in the end and it is a practice that everyone should engage in.
Creating a Healthier Body
As mentioned, there are plenty of unknown fumes and ingredients that we come in contact with on a daily basis that literally destroys our bodies. Whether we know it or not, we are all victims and offenders of destroying our bodies. For example, the amount of fat in a typical fast food hamburger is enough to feed somebody for a week, however, it is all used up in one simple meal that won’t even sustain us for the rest of the evening. As this situation illustrates, there are plenty of ways in which we make poor decisions in our life. Because of this, though, is why everyone needs to experience a total body detoxification.
Positive Effects of a Detox
Creating a healthier body, though, is not just the only reason that we should be engaging in total body cleansing. One positive effect that a detoxification can have on the body is to improve our body odor. Many people don’t realize that body odor can become a major problem and that detoxification is able to overcome it. Another positive effect that detoxification can have is that it can clear our minds. Once our physical bodies become detoxified then our mind becomes clear and we can think and engage in mental activity better than we could before. All of these things will help us do whatever work we need to engage in throughout the week.
Another major effect of a detoxification process is that our organs will also be cleaner. Not many people think about the fact that our colon, kidneys, liver, as well as many of the other organs that we have all do rigorous work day in and day out. This is something that we take for granted, however, detoxification can change everything and make all of our organs cleaner in order to function properly.
As you can see, detoxification is truly important in the lives of everyone. Even though not everyone has been used to the detoxification process, it is literally our responsibility to keep our bodies clean. Following a cleansing process will definitely help use through every facet of our lives!
Want to Gain Weight Fast?
Many people—who are basically into bodybuilding and those who want to sustain their good health—would want to gain weight fast in order to achieve their goal as soon as possible. Although it seems that there is nothing wrong in wanting to gain weight fast, many people don’t realize that there could be dangers especially if they are not guided correctly.
If you are one of those people who are looking forward to gaining weight fast, it is very important to take note of your actual gain weight just before you start gaining some more weight. Knowing this fact is very important because it will help you get started on the right track. Once you know your actual weight, you can now determine which weight gain program can give you the results that you want.
Aside from knowing your actual weight, it is also very important to take note or your height and your body type in order to know how much weight gain is perfect for you.
Here’s how
Once you have determined your ideal weight gain by identifying your actual weight and height, you can now proceed in gaining weight fast, easy, and safely.
1. Eat. This is the major factor that would contribute a lot to gaining weight fast. Why, because food is where people get their energies to move around aside from being the primary source of nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed by the body. If you want to gain weight fast, it is very important to plan out your meals carefully to ensure that you will get satisfying results. The most important thing to remember if you want to gain weight fast is that you have to load up on calories. And these calories should not come from just about any food but from those natural sources that will give your body the amount it needs.
It is recommended that people who are gaining weight should double their calorie intake to ensure that they have enough supply to burn. The ideal calorie intake should be from 300 to 500 daily—depending on the appetite and eating habits of the person. If you don’t eat a lot, you can still meet this calorie requirement by adding up a portion generously to your meals for the day.
To gain weight, you must also increase your meals but make sure that they are composed of healthy foods such as lean meats, beans, seafoods, poultry products, fruits and vegetables. You should also drinks lots of fluids such as water and other juices to replenish what you have lost during workouts.
2. Exercise. Having a regular set of physical activities such as exercise and workouts can help you gain weight faster because you are building and strengthening your muscles. The set of exercises that you should focus are those that promote muscle strengthening such as lifting, squats, bench presses, and the like. This is very important because it does not only build your muscles but also helps you in toning them down due to increased food intake.
3. Take some supplements. If you want to gain weight fast, then you should complement increased food intake and exercise with weight gain supplements. These supplements play a very crucial role in achieving fast weight gain because these helps the body to absorb the nutrients from the foods faster and also help the body to endure physical pains during rigorous sets of workouts and exercises.
Healthy Minds
Healthy minds and mental health is a revolutionary status that we all must face everyday. We all face many problems everyday including terrorism, child abuse, rape, and murder and so forth whether indirectly or directly. There is no escape, so who is really out in this world with a healthy mind? NO ONE! If you honestly think that you are an exception to the rule then you are on the path to destruction.
Even professionals are plagued with problems and if they say they are not, then you had better see someone else immediately. The fact is most psychological professionals go into the business trying to escape their own realities in life. Many professionals would rather help someone else while burying their problems under the surface.
Mental health related issues interrupt even professionals in the criminal system every single day. There is no one in this world excluded from mental illness.
There are all types of people in the world, starting with business related people who think they do not have a problem. Do you know what they do every night when they go home? Do you know how they handle their stressors? If you do, no need to read on, since I am out to revenge those that believe they have all the answers to each problem we face everyday of our lives, whether it is directly or indirectly.
I am out to avenge those that believe they are special and everyone around them has a problem. I am a realist, an expert in many fields and a woman that has gone all lengths to correct many opinions, theories, guesses and so forth. I do not believe that a person has the right to disregard another simply because they believe someone is imagining things. Rather, I will look closely at a person with mental illnesses and regard them before I will regard the so-called normal. Let me hit you with my best shot. Contributes to Pat Benetar, we can see that there are many individuals in life and all of us have our own state of mind.
We have schizophrenias, psychotics, bipolar, depressive, psychopathic, sociopath, and so forth. The problem is we are not agreeing on one belief. We have people that believe the law is right in all areas, but others that claim the law is controlling, which in fact, this second dis right in a large way.
In reality psychopathic and sociopath as well as other mental ill individuals are deemed GENUISES. Now we have a bunch of geniuses in life and a lot of average thinkers, so what are we going to do? When you are looking at geniuses verses common thinkers there are going to be conflicts, and each one will have their own state of mind devoid the other. We are talking CONTROVERSY!
Controversy? Let’s run like hell until we get there. When we do not understand something it is called IGNORANT. When we understand but refuse to accept it, is called STUPID. Now, if you think I am insulting, well, let’s take a closer look at what I am talking about and then you go ahead and judge me. OK. Ignorant, we have a problem; someone else does not see life the way we see life…HUM! Ok…I see it now.
You are different from the other person you are talking to, and I am not seeing why this person thinks this way? HUM! Is it possible this person lived more than I lived? Does this person have more experience? Is it possible this person has a medical related problem that is instigating their psychological impairment? Is it possible that the mind is affected and the body is not? What about the nervous system, how does it contribute to the mental status of the person? HUM! I am going to let you answer these questions yourself, since I do not have time to waste time.
But, after years of living, it should be obvious. We are talking about some real-life problems here and everyone is ignoring them, or disregarding them, stating that everyone should be treated the same. WRONG! Are you going to treat someone with Schizophrenia the same as you would treat a common mental ill individual? NO! IF you do, you are the one with more problems than the one that suffers Schizophrenia.
The fact is these people are suffering and if you continue to ignore them, you will suffer too. While you are sitting around blaming the victim, you might as well sit around and blame yourself.
There are many cognitive disorders that we will discuss in the next article, however understanding which is cognitive and what is not can help us to understand mental illnesses.
Apricot Kernel Oil
World over people use massage therapy to help promote healthy skin, nourish and strengthen the body, relieve stress, reduce pain, and encourage balance and well being. Massage opens and increases the flow of energy, balancing the entire nervous system and helping to release physical and emotional disharmony. The many benefits of massage are enhanced by the use of high quality massage oil.
Apricot tree is the member of the rose family originating from Central and East Asia. The fruit, rich in vitamins is used to produce the pleasant smelling Apricot Kernel Oil. Apricot Kernel Oil is very mild natural oil, often used in baby products because of its fine gentle nature.
Apricot kernel oil is cold pressed and refined from the dried kernels of the apricot fruit. It is light in colour with pleasant nutty odor and used in manufacturer of creams, balms, lotions and cosmetics.
Sought out for its high vitamin E content and skin softening properties, apricot kernel oil is known for its ability to penetrate the skin without leaving an oily feel. Apricot kernel oil is also popular as massage oil and it used as carrier oil when used with essential oils for aromatherapy.
Rich in essential fatty acids like oleic and linoleic acid, apricot kernel oil is high in vitamin A. Since it easily penetrates the skin, it is good oil for prematurely aged, dry or irritated skin. The excellent softening and moisturizing properties is great for face, hands and hair. Vitamins A & C are good for mature dry or sensitive skin. The apricot kernel oil helps skin retain elasticity, clarity, and suppleness. Crushed Apricot Kernels are commonly used as a facial mask to soften the skin.
In addition, Apricot Kernel Oil is used as an antitussive, anti-asthmatic and to treat tumors in traditional Chinese medicine. It helps to calm the inflammation / irritation of eczema and dermatitis. When combined with an equal amount of St. John’s Wort Oil, it is acts as anti-inflammatory and has a cooling effect.
Due to its moisturizing, nourishing and revitalizing properties, apricot kernel oil is widely used for massage therapy.
Face Mask Formula – A soft paste made of 2 drops each of frankincense, rose and neroli oils, 6 tsp of apricot oil, 1 tsp clear melted honey and finely ground almond makes a good moisturizing face mask.
For nourished, soft and supple skin, rub apricot kernel oil on your body daily.
Acne Fusion – Pour 1 ounce of apricot kernel oil, 12 drops of lavender essential oil, 7 drops of tea tree essential oil and 1 drop of geranium essential oil in amber coloured clean bottle. Close it tightly and roll the bottle to mix the blend. Apply a small amount of this blend to the acne affected area.
