Free Health Tips

* Go backpacking. Carrying a heavy pack and walking around a lot will help you shed a lot of pounds.
* Exercise 3 times per week.
* Exercise: any kind any time. Sure there are better times and better exercises for fat burning, but they all beat sitting on the couch.
* Cardiovascular training in the morning before you eat breakfast. This forces your body to utilize stored body fat for energy rather than carbohydrates, since you are in a carb-depleted state after having not eaten for 8-10 hours.
* Regular aerobic exercise helps, for a period of at least 40 minutes.
* If you can’t run, start slow by walking for 9 minutes and jog for 1 minute. Do that a couple of times and then slowly exchange the minutes walking for minutes running.
* Buy a pedometer and try to get 10,000 steps per day in. That’s about 5 miles +/- depending on your stride length.
* Walk everywhere (carrying a baby while you walk also helps a lot).
* Swim, swim, swim.
* Find fun exercise. Join a softball team, commute to work on a bike, whatever. Your strategy should be time-sensitive - only make choices you can see yourself committing to for years, be it gym, dieting, whatever - temporary won’t work.
* If you are resistant to exercising, consider volunteer labor. Walk dogs at the animal shelter. (Find a shelter at Petfiinder.com. Do beach or riverside clean-ups with a local environmental group. Volunteer on building and repair projects.)
* Replace your least favorite TV show with mild calisthenics for 30 or so minutes.
* Get an active dog! They will force you to get outside every day, and they make the best exercise companions.
* Make friends (if you haven’t already) with very physically active people. If you have very active friends, you will be exercising without even noticing it because you will be having fun with friends.
* Do squats while brushing the back sides of your teeth and calf rises while brushing the fronts. Then you get in at lease some exercise and also brush long enough.)
* Take the stairs. Walk or bike ride that short distance instead of driving.
* Use those multi-colored stars on the calendar for each day you’ve achieved your goal — exercise, diet, whatever it is. Gives you something, small as it may be, to look forward to.
* Start walking outside to get fresh air, which translates into better mood. If rains, use treadmill. But walk fast, no sissy stuff.

    * Water water water. It kick-starts your metabolism. Stop drinking soda.
    * Make one change at a time. Don’t cut everything out at once. For example, cut out fried foods. When you’re used to that, cut out soda, etc.
    * Lay off the rubbish food, apart from one day a week where you can eat what you like - it’ll help you stick to it and you won’t have the temptation to eat rubbish all the time.
    * Eat according to the Glycemic Index, sticking with low and medium index foods.
    * Be mindful of what you are eating. Keep a food journal or diary. Seeing it in writing always gives it weight and helps reveal patterns or triggers.
    * Stop the evening eating. You don’t want to eat and then go to sleep. All those calories just sit there unused while you sleep.
    * Eat mostly raw fruits, veggies and nuts.
    * Brush your teeth early in the evening rather than just before bed. It keeps you from snacking if you’re not really hungry.
    * Cut wheat-flour based products out of your diet. Wheat is surprisingly easy to replace when you start thinking about it - rice, oats (still some gluten there, but a lot less), more vegetables.
    * Portion control used with a 20 minute wait time — wait 20 minutes after eating the sensible portions, and then see if you still feel hungry. Nine times out of ten, you won’t. If you do, get a little more.
    * Cut out sugar.
    * No fast food. Period.
    * Commit to one diet — and stick to it for life. Start by making a list of low-calorie foods that you love, that you find satisfying; and when you’re hungry make sure you eat lots of those foods.
    * If you’re a parent, don’t absorb “invisible” calories by eating your kids’ food.
    * Snack between meals - starving yourself for 6 or 7 hours at a time between lunch and dinner means you will overeat at dinner.
    * Eat slow and you will only eat as much as you need to be full.
    * Whenever you eat, think about how much food you would waste by overeating. Your body doesn’t *need* all the food that’s on your plate, why waste it? You could eat the leftovers for lunch the next day and save yourself some money, or you could split it with your loved one and have company while you eat. You could give it to the homeless guy down the block who REALLY needs it. Any reason you find not to waste that food is a good one.
    * Lentils.
    * Everything in moderation. If you really want French fries and a hamburger, or ice cream, or a cookie… it’s OK to indulge a little occasionally. Key word is occasionally. Better to indulge a little, than to binge later.
    * Learn to cook, from scratch. That way, you control what you are eating.
    * Don’t buy into the idea of “diet” foods. It’s better to eat the original food that has been less processed and only eat less.
    * Observe your hunger patterns. Choose a bedtime that’s early enough to keep you from after-dinner snacking. Stick to that bed-time. If you must snack before bed, have a something small and healthful. Maybe a tiny portion of whole grain cereal with milk.
    * Eat lots of fiber, it’s surprisingly filling compared to that cupcake.
    * Eat as soon after you get up as possible. This gets your metabolism working at a higher rate sooner in the day.
    * Cut out alcohol or reduce your intake to one or two glasses a week.
    * If you are hungry between meals, try eating a small portion of food that is high in protein. It can be more effective to eat one piece of cheese or some yoghurt or nuts than to eat bread or crackers or other snack foods.
    * Go to bed early and get up early. If you stay up late, you will overeat, guaranteed. It doesn’t matter if you are a night person; change into a morning person. When you go to bed early, you don’t think about food all night.
    * Instead of counting calories, concentrate on reducing your fat intake. Fat that you eat converts more readily into body fat than does protein or carbohydrate.
    * Try to enjoy your food, eat it slowly and consciously.
    * Only diet on weekdays. Don’t binge on weekends, but save two days a week to eat the yummy things. Also, because many people really can’t break that chocolate addiction, calculate one treat every day into your calories.
    * Positive change is easier than negative change. Instead of thinking of foods that are “bad” and that you feel like you need to cut out, think about all the new recipes and foods you will get to try if you start experimenting with more vegetables, more beans, more spices, etc.
    * Don’t count calories after you each them, count before.
    * Create a routine for what you eat - for a month, do not think of food as something to be enjoyed, think of it as fuel.
    * Take one of the three meals a day, and make it healthier (veggies, fruits, whole grains, etc.). Combine this with drinking ONLY water when at work, and it’s quite the effective method to lose a few pounds.
    * Eat a varied diet. Only, half your usual portions.
    * Eat nothing that you have not bought yourself, cooked yourself, and cleaned up after. This way laziness works in your favor. If you don’t feel like going to the store, or if you have stuff but don’t feel like cooking it or cleaning up afterwards, you are less likely to eat.
    * If you’re a stress eater, try sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Lots of chewing, not many calories. Just don’t spit the seeds on the floor.
    * Reduce the intake of three white things - white flour (all purpose flour), salt and sugar. Get rid of white flour completely if possible.

Eat Eggs: New research shows eating eggs for breakfast could result in a 2lb a month weight loss

Drink Your Milk: New research shows that calcium, in particular milk and dairy products, can be an aid to weight loss.

Get Motivated: WLR’s Dietitian Juliette Kellow gives her weight loss motivation tips

Get Your Mind Right: Is the key to successful weight loss all in the mind? WLR’s Helen Griffiths gets the views of psychologist David Moxon and nutrition expert Dr Christine Fenn.

Give Up Smoking Without Gaining weight: Gaining weight seems to be a likely side effect of giving up smoking - but there are things you can do to minimise weight gain, here’s the why and how.

Change Your Mood
* Remember to keep your goals in sight to motivate yourself.
* 5 Word Diet Plan - and the only one that works: Eat Less and Move More!
* Doing the Zen Habits 30-day challenge to make something a habit really helps make exercise a no-brainer. The first step is getting yourself to do it, after that, the gains are much easier to make.
* To be successful you need to change your life. You need to take control of the bad habits you have turned into an unhealthy life. You need to be excited about it too. And you have to believe that you can do it. Dreams turn into reality very quickly when you work hard.
* Don’t try to lose weight. The number one indicator of excessive weight gain in the future is attempting to lose weight in the past. Don’t diet, it won’t last. Instead get up and go get more exercise.
* Ultimately weight loss is about the balance between calories taken in and calories burned. Take the weight you want to be and the activity level that you maintain and calculate the number of calories that you should eat to maintain that weight. Now you have to eat fewer calories than this number, on average, over time to lose weight and achieve your target. Keep a food diary with full daily calorie calculations. Write down everything.
* Never, never, never eat between the 3 main meals. Then eat what you want when it is time to eat.
* Avoid processed food, or at least food where you can’t pronounce the ingredients. Keep it as natural as possible.
* Stop watching the scale every day. If you weigh yourself, do it just once a week — as soon as you wake up, after you use the bathroom.
* No matter how much you want a change in your life, nothing will happen until you DO something. You can talk about starting an exercise regiment and eating healthier foods all you want, but nothing will change until you START DOING IT.
* Change your schedule, if possible. If you exercise in the afternoon but overeat while while watching TV at night, try exercising at night. Go to work earlier, come home later, schedule your walks during times you know you’re vulnerable to snacking. Switch things up to help break bad habits.
* For people who want to lose 100+ pounds, dealing with the underlying issues of self medicating depression or anxiety is going to be a lot more effective then anything else. Feeling bad about being fat and trying to lose weight, or putting yourself in exercise situations you don’t feel comfortable in are not going to really help until the underlying issues of using food to treat boredom or anxiety or depression. After treating this underlying problem, the good habits will come without nearly so much struggle.
* Start small. Changing your lifestyle overnight is very bad for your body and your mind. You’ll get sick of eating oatmeal 3 times a day, or grapefruit. Your life should be enjoyable and healthy!
* Tell people around you what you’re doing. This will keep you motivated to continue. Don’t ask for their support, but say “I’m on this new thing where I’m going to kick my butt at the gym/road/bike today and” whatever.
* Be aware of self-deception. It can sneak up on you from any angle. Examples of food deceptions: Breaded/fried chicken breast does not constitute an optimally healthy protein source, compared to simple grilled chicken breast. Potatoes do not constitute a viable vegetable source (they are a carbohydrate source).
* Derive your self worth from something other than a number on a scale and instead gift yourself a body that will function well to serve your noble life’s goals.
* Never give up, even after you have failed a few times. When you fail, start over. Watch those TV programs like “The Biggest Loser” or “Celebrity Fit Club”, because they are great motivators.
* Rewards! New clothes make awesome rewards for weight loss. Going out with friends (but not for anything food related) is a great reward.
* Weigh yourself but also take your measurements. Sometimes your scale won’t budge but your waistline will.
* Get enough sleep - that’s the first and most important step. Without sleep, it’s harder to plan your meals, to exercise, or to consciously eat healthy.
* Tell others your goals. Not only will you then have someone else also expecting you to perform but you’ll gain a cheering section!
* Focus on one thing at a time. Everything we do is based on habits. If you’ve got to both get into the habit of eating great AND exercising daily, you run a big risk of getting overwhelmed when you’re not seeing results or you slip a little.
* Find motivation other than within yourself. Workout FOR somebody else that you care about (your kids, loved ones, friends etc.). When you don’t feel like working out, remember that you’re doing it for them.
* Focus on health and NOT weight loss. It is far more important that you live a happy, healthy life than look good naked. You’ll thank yourself when you are 80 and still lead an active life.

There are 3 key areas that I like to focus on. They’re called the 3 M’s. Master these and you will be well on your way to reaching your weight loss and fitness goals.

Moderation - What you put in your body more than anything else will determine how much and how quickly you will lose the weight. This section will focus on healthy eating and improving your habits.

Motivation - Nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes and need a good hard kick in the pants from time to time. Here you will learn the negative side effects of being over weight. As well as where and how to find positive motivation to reach your goals.

Motion - Get your body moving! Whatever little amount you can do, just get up and do it. Motion creates energy and will speed up your weight loss efforts. All things exercise related are in this section.

Where to start? Well, to get down to where you want to be, you first have to know where you are. So, I suggest starting by finding your current stats. Namely your BMI (Body Mass Index) and your body fat %. You might also want to have a look at the Ideal weight chart and see what your ideal weight should be.

Next Step - You are going to need a way to track your progress. There are many different ways to do this other than the scale. Some of the most effective methods are listed here.

Finally a Simple Plan

If you really want to drop the weight you’re going to need a simple, effective plan that you can fit into your busy life. Continue Reading »

Weight Loss Information and Tips for Getting Started

Calories per Hour offers the following tips to help you lose weight to look better, feel better, and live a healthier life. These tips are short and sweet and are intended as a starting point or quick reference for individuals seeking to lose weight by using the resources offered on Calories per Hour. Read the related tutorial topics to learn more about the topics discussed in these weight loss tips

   1. How Did I Get Here?

      Do you simply need help learning how to eat better? Probably. But if you eat poorly as a result of emotional, mental, or spiritual problems, they may have to be addressed before you can make any real progress with weight loss.

      Even people who don’t feel they have an eating disorder often turn to food for comfort. To learn to eat well and exercise regularly, you may also have to learn to handle the problems life throws at you without turning away from healthy eating and exercise.

      Be particularly careful about all-or-nothing thinking. A common tendency when failing to stay on a diet is to abandon it altogether. Instead, try to learn from your mistakes and do better in the future.

   2. Are You Ready to Diet? Again?

      Diets entice us with promises of quick weight loss. But focusing on quick weight loss can lead to unhealthy eating and only short term success.

      While most diets produce quick weight loss at the outset, they often cause your metabolism to slow. The result is that you have to eat less and less to keep losing weight. You quickly become discouraged, give up, and start eating like you used to. But now, with a slower metabolism, you regain all the weight you lost, and more.

      Focus instead on improving your health, and you will become slim and healthy.

   3. Take Control of What You Eat

      There are few things that we have complete control over, but what we put in our mouths is one of them. We don’t have to lose control in a restaurant or a friend’s home, and we don’t have to eat everything that’s put in front of us.

      Consider this:  We love fat because it carries flavor, and restaurants aren’t as interested in whether we’ll be around in 30 years as whether we’ll be back next week. And what about our friends?

   4. Eat Frequently, and Eat Slowly

      It is important to understand what happens when you skip a meal or go on a crash diet. When you skip a meal your metabolism slows to conserve your energy. And when you lose weight too quickly for a few days, your body thinks it is threatened with starvation and goes into survival mode. It fights to conserve your fat stores, and any weight loss comes mostly from water and muscle.

      Never skip a meal, especially breakfast, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs and the binges that follow, provides consistent energy, and may be the single most effective way to maintain metabolism efficiency.

      Eating slowly gives our bodies time to tell us they are full before we’ve eaten more than we need.

   5. Eat More Fruits, Vegetables and Whole Grains

      People who eat healthy, mostly unprocessed foods, including fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and limited amounts of lean animal protein, often find that they can eat as much as they want without gaining weight. If they are switching from a diet containing lots of processed foods, they find that they can eat more yet consume fewer calories — and they lose weight.

      Historically, the Chinese ate mostly rice and vegetables with a little lean meat for protein and flavor, nothing like the American Chinese restaurant dishes of deep fried sweet and sour pork. A step back to more natural foods would improve our health and waistlines.

   6. Eat More Fiber

      Fiber makes us feel full sooner and stays in our stomach longer than other substances we eat, slowing down our rate of digestion and keeping us feeling full longer. Due to its greater fiber content, a single serving of whole grain bread can be more filling than two servings of white bread. Fiber also moves fat through our digestive system faster so that less of it is absorbed.

      Refined grains like white rice and those used to make white bread and sugary breakfast cereals have had most of their fiber and nutrients stripped away. They turn into blood sugar (glucose) so fast that, like sugar itself, they can cause a spike in our insulin level. This tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it.

      Eating foods with plenty of fiber will help keep our blood sugar at a more consistent level.

   7. Cut Down on Sugar

      Be careful about sugar in coffee and soda pop. It can add up quickly, and these drinks aren’t filling.

      Watch for “hidden” sugar in processed foods like bread, ketchup, salad dressing, canned fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, and soups. And be careful with “fat-free” products. Sugar is often used to replace the flavor that is lost when the fat is removed. Fat-free does not mean calorie-free.

      The greater concern with the insulin spike (above) is not that it tells our body to start storing fat. Whatever we eat and don’t burn up eventually gets turned into fat anyway.

      The greater concern is that the insulin spike is followed by a drop in insulin level that leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more. The unfortunate result of this scenario is that it makes us want to eat something else with a high sugar content. When we do, we start the cycle all over again.

      Regulating your blood sugar level is the most effective way to maintain your fat-burning capacity.

   8. Too Much of a Bad Thing

      Foods like cheese stand out as among the most fat-laden, with a great number of calories coming from fat. But as important as it is to select the healthiest foods, it is also important to consider how they are prepared.

      Fried foods, especially deep-fried, contain a great amount of fat. While chicken and fish are usually leaner than beef or pork, they can contain more fat when they are fried. Look at how the number of grams of fat in a chicken breast changes depending on how it is cooked:

      Cooking Method Fat
      Meat Only, Roasted 3.1
      Meat Only, Fried 4.1
      Meat and Skin, Batter Fried 18.5

      “Fried food? All I eat is salad and I still can’t lose weight!”

      Be careful with salad dressings, mayonnaise, and other condiments that are high in fat content. They greatly increase the calorie count and can negate the healthy aspects of a meal. Replace mayonnaise-based condiments with fat-free alternatives like fat-free yogurt, mustard, ketchup and barbecue sauce.

      And remember, a gram of fat contains more than twice as many calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrate.

   9. Too Little of a Good Thing

      But don’t try to eliminate fat altogether, as dietary fat is necessary to maintain a healthy body. It is a vital component for building body tissue and cells, and it aids in the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Many people eat too much of the bad fats, but also eat too little of the good fats required for optimal health.

  10. Exercise Regularly

      People who exercise regularly not only lose weight faster, they are more successful at keeping it off. Exercise makes it possible to create a calorie deficit and lose weight without starving your body and slowing your metabolism.

      At home, at the gym, or playing sports, participate in both aerobic and strength building activities on a regular basis. Not only does the exercise itself burn calories, but your body will continue to burn calories at a higher rate even after you’re done exercising.

      If walking is all you can do, then walk because it’s great for you. But muscle burns more calories than fat, so put on a little muscle if you can and you will burn more calories just sitting there… looking good.

      But don’t sit too long. The human body is good at adapting. If you dig ditches without gloves, you will develop calluses to protect your hands. If you sit too long, you will develop extra padding to keep you comfortable!

  11. Take It Easy

      Unless you are excited to be following a very specific diet and exercise plan, do not try and change too much too fast. If you have been eating poorly and not exercising, both your body and your mind will have a lot of adjusting to do.

      All the sugar and fat were actually quite enjoyable, and sitting on the couch didn’t feel too bad, either. If you try and change everything too quickly the odds are greater that you will feel bad, get discouraged, and give up. So be patient.

      A time will come when a healthy snack will taste as good as the junk food you felt bad about eating, and you will look forward to your regular exercise.

  12. Begin Now

      You can achieve your goals, but it won’t likely happen as a result of the next fad diet. Or the one after that.

      Learning to eat well and exercise is the only solution to long term weight loss.

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Tip 1: Find out how many calories you need

Tip 2: Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day
Fruits and vegetables are packed with beneficial fibers, vitamins and antioxidants. They fill up your stomach fast so you feel full earlier. They are also low in calories and helps to keep your calorie count low.

Tip 3: Watch for Portion Size
One serving of pasta means 1/2 cup of cooked pasta. However, most restaurants serve a pasta dish with 4 servings of pasta!!! You do not need to finish and clean off the plate every time. You can simply ask to take home the leftover.

Tip 4: Do not Skip Meals
Eating small frequent meals help to balance your calorie intake throughout the day and also keeps your blood sugar level balanced. Instead of eating 3 big meals, try to eat 5 - 6 smaller meals throughout the day.

Tip 5: Go for wholesome fresh foods
If possible, purchase fresh foods and avoid package (processed) and convenient foods such as fast food. Packaged and convenient foods are often higher in sodium and fat content. Many people we spoke to are amazed that they can easily lose weight by packing a home-cooked lunch to work instead of eating out.
Tip 6: Don’t be overly-restrictive
Everyone has his or her favorite treats. Simply allow yourself a little indulgence, but watch out for the frequency and the quantity. Having a small treat once in a while can be rewarding to your weight loss experience. Cutting too much of your favorite treats usually lead to an early relapse.
Tip 7: Understand Food Claims and Labels
A product labelled with a fat-free claim does not mean that it is low in calories. Similarly a product labelled as low-sugar or low-carb does not mean it is low in fat or calories. Always read the nutrition label on the packaging.

Tip 8: Watch for the sugary drinks
Juices, pop, cream & sugar in your coffee or tea all add up. Opt for drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. In addition to providing hydration to your body, it will also help you feel full.

Tip 9: Keep a food journal
Keeping a food journal helps you pin point your eating pattern and will enable you to easily modify it. If possible, have your Registered Dietitian review your journal.
Tip 10: Exercise, period
Most authorities recommend 30 - 60 minutes of physical activity a day to stay healthy. Also try adding weight-bearing exercises at least 2 times a week. This will help burn some of the unwanted calories.

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Hair holds great importance for beauty and has been called our “crowning glory.” Society has placed a great deal of cultural importance on hair and hairstyles. Unfortunately, many conditions including disease and improper hair care result in excessive hair loss. Those who notice excessive hair loss after brushing their hair, or after a shower, or hair strands on pillow should consult a good dermatologist. A correct and timely diagnosis will result in the reversal of the problem.

Losing hair, thinning and going bald has been a problem for men and women since the dawn of time. Baldness is typically something only adults need to worry about but in rare cases, we see that teens lose their hair as well - and it may be a sign that something’s amiss. Hair loss during adolescence can mean the person is unwell and weak or maybe just not eating right. Some medications or medical treatments also cause people to lose their hair - e.g. chemotherapy treatment for cancer. On the other hand, people can lose their hair if they wear a hairstyle that pulls on their hair roots for a long time, such as braids.

Hair loss can be stressful because appearance really matters, as society demand it, but helpful facts are that hair loss that occur during teen years is often temporary because at any one time, about 10 percent of the hair on your scalp is in resting phase and after 3 to 4 months, this resting hair falls out and new hair starts to grow in its place. This growing phase lasts for 3 to 7 years. Each hair grows approximately 1 and half centimeter per month during this phase. About 90 percent of the hair is growing at any one time on your scalp and this is the Normal Cycle of Hair Growth and Loss. More often than not, the hair usually grows back, once the problem that causes it is corrected.

Basics of Hair

Here, we discuss basics of hair. Everyone should know that protein is necessary for hair and helps to grow new hair. Yogurt, eggs and pulses are useful proteins, but Keratin is the single most protein that is helpful in producing our hair, which is made up of the protein Keratin. A single hair consists of a hair shaft, a root below the skin, and a follicle, from which the hair shaft grows. At the lower end of the follicle is the hair bulb, where the hair’s color melanin, or pigment is produced.

Most people lose about 60 to 100 strands of hair a day but usually these are replaced - they grow back in the same follicle on your head. This type of hair loss and amount of hair loss is totally normal and not a cause for concern but if you’re losing much more than that, something could be wrong. The medical term for patchy or circular bald spots on the scalp area is alopecia (pronounced: ah-luh-pee-shia). If you have unusual hair loss and don’t know what’s causing it, a visit to the dermatologist might be a good idea. A doctor can determine reasons for falling hair and suggest a treatment that will correct the underlying problem, if necessary.

Causes of Hair Loss

Following are few reason for hair loss in teens:

*Medical conditions and illness is one reason for hair loss. Disease such as uncontrolled diabetes or thyroid can interfere with hair production and cause hair loss.
*Medications and drugs is another reason as some medications that have hair loss as a side effect. Medications related to chemotherapy drugs for cancer are probably the most well-known that cause hair loss.

*Hair treatments and styling are another cause of hair loss. Having your hair chemically treated, bleached, colored, premed or straightened can cause damage that may make the hair break off or fall out temporarily.
*Poor nutrition or poor eating can contribute to hair loss. This is the reason some people with eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia lose their hair as the body isn’t getting enough vitamins, protein, and minerals to sustain hair growth.
*Change in lifestyle is another cause where major events can alter the hair’s growth cycle temporarily. For example, having surgery, delivering a baby, or getting anesthesia can temporarily stop the hair growth cycle but this type of hair loss usually corrects itself.

Whatever the cause of hair loss, only one product has reliably provided relief by initially stopping hair loss and eventually re-growing lost hair over consistent use – Saini Herbal Scalp & Hair Conditioner. A totally natural, ayurvedic topical solution with natural DHT blockers and inhibitors with zero side effects.

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What is the normal cycle of hair growth and loss?

The normal cycle of hair growth lasts for 2 to 6 years. Each hair grows approximately 1 centimeter (less than half an inch) per month during this phase. About 90 percent of the hair on your scalp is growing at any one time. About 10 percent of the hair on your scalp, at any one time, is in a resting phase. After 2 to 3 months, the resting hair falls out and new hair starts to grow in its place.

It is normal to shed some hair each day as part of this cycle. However, some people may experience excessive (more than normal) hair loss. Hair loss of this type can affect men, women and children.

What causes excessive hair loss?

A number of things can cause excessive hair loss. For example, about 3 or 4 months after an illness or a major surgery, you may suddenly lose a large amount of hair. This hair loss is related to the stress of the illness and is temporary.

Hormonal problems may cause hair loss. If your thyroid gland is overactive or underactive, your hair may fall out. This hair loss usually can be helped by treatment thyroid disease. Hair loss may occur if male or female hormones, known as androgens and estrogens, are out of balance. Correcting the hormone imbalance may stop your hair loss.

Many women notice hair loss about 3 months after they’ve had a baby. This loss is also related to hormones. During pregnancy, high levels of certain hormones cause the body to keep hair that would normally fall out. When the hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, that hair falls out and the normal cycle of growth and loss starts again.

Some medicines can cause hair loss. This type of hair loss improves when you stop taking the medicine. Medicines that can cause hair loss include blood thinners (also called anticoagulants), medicines used for gout, medicines used in chemotherapy to treat cancer, vitamin A (if too much is taken), birth control pills and antidepressants.

Certain infections can cause hair loss. Fungal infections of the scalp can cause hair loss in children. The infection is easily treated with antifungal medicines.

Finally, hair loss may occur as part of an underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes. Since hair loss may be an early sign of a disease, it is important to find the cause so that it can be treated.

Can improper care of my hair cause hair loss?

Yes. If you wear pigtails or cornrows or use tight hair rollers, the pull on your hair can cause a type of hair loss called traction alopecia (say: al-oh-pee-sha). If the pulling is stopped before scarring of the scalp develops, your hair will grow back normally. However, scarring can cause permanent hair loss. Hot oil hair treatments or chemicals used in permanents (also called “perms”) may cause inflammation (swelling) of the hair follicle, which can result in scarring and hair loss.

What is common baldness?

The term “common baldness” usually means male-pattern baldness, or permanent-pattern baldness. Male-pattern baldness is the most common cause of hair loss in men. Men who have this type of hair loss usually have inherited the trait. Men who start losing their hair at an early age tend to develop more extensive baldness. In male-pattern baldness, hair loss typically results in a receding hair line and baldness on the top of the head.

Women may develop female-pattern baldness. In this form of hair loss, the hair can become thin over the entire scalp.

Can my doctor do something to stop hair loss?

Perhaps. Your doctor will probably ask you some questions about your diet, any medicines you’re taking, whether you’ve had a recent illness and how you take care of your hair. If you’re a woman, your doctor may ask questions about your menstrual cycle, pregnancies and menopause. Your doctor may want to do a physical exam to look for other causes of hair loss. Finally, blood tests or a biopsy (taking a small sample of cells to examine under a microscope) of your scalp may be needed.

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Aging can be hard on anyone, not just women. However, it’s them who always have to come up with ingenious ways of slowing down the passing of time or, if not possible, to make its marks less obvious for others. If plastic surgery is not an option, and neither are expensive spa treatments, there are a few things, simple things we can all do to take the years off our appearance, as the girls at AllWomenStalk point out.

For starters, hair is everything for a woman’s face. A bad ‘do can ruin even the prettiest of faces, not to mention the damage it can do to a middle-aged one. So, thicker bangs are in order in the latter case, to hide the wrinkles on the forehead and create the impression of a more youthful countenance, as it will no longer make the wearer look haggard on early mornings. However, a stylist must be consulted first before getting bangs, because they might not go with a certain type of face shape, so it’s best to play it safe.

When it comes to makeup, aging women must pay the utmost attention, stylists say. Dark shades of lipstick are no longer to be used, since they accentuate not only the lips, and whatever wrinkles are around it, but also the skin of the face, which can come off parchment white. Instead, stylists say we should use sweeter, more natural tones like peach, pearl, coral and other pinks. At night, a lipsalve is a must, useless to say if we don’t want our lips to give our age away.

The same amount of attention has to be paid to the eyebrows. This is the time to accentuate them as much as possible, so as to attract the attention to the area above the eyes and not that below them, where the wrinkles are. Stylists advise us to have the eyebrows professionally plucked, the only thing we still have to do afterwards being to make sure we keep them neat. For more contrast, we can use an eyebrow pencil the same shade as our natural color.

Speaking of coloring, stylists also advise us to get highlights. After a certain age, women come to the realization that not all shades work as they once did for their countenances. So, instead of choosing bold and strong colors like blue black or violet, which only accentuate the imperfections of the face, it’s best to keep it natural with neutral, soft shades with highlights.

One last thing we must bear in mind if we’re trying to avoid looking our age is to get our teeth professionally whitened. Forget about magical toothpastes and solutions that promise the world and deliver nothing, stylists advise us: the best way to get this done is to go to a specialist, who will make sure our smile will positively light up the room. And, since a pretty smile does make a pretty face, stylists also tell us to never forget to do so. Come to think of it, no one likes a woman who can’t but frown and sulk all the time, not to mention that smiling is known to efficiently fight wrinkles.

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