I have written before about Protect & Perfect (An Anti-Aging Cream That Really Works).

If you read this previous post you will see that it has been scientifically tested and shown to reduce lines.

There was a test by The University of Manchester that showed significant reduction of wrinkles and lines in those study participants who used the cream, but not in those who got a placebo. Check out the article and pictures. They are pretty convincing.

There are two choices for the face Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum and Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum. Both have been shown to reduce wrinkles. The Manchester study was on the Intense Beauty Serum.

Interestingly the price is cheaper in the US than it is in the UK. Boots is the name of the drugstore (called a chemist in the UK). It was started by John Boot in 1849. Their No7 of skin and makeup products is the number one selling brand in the UK. Boots was the company that developed ibuprofen in 1960.

The Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum is $22.99 and there is a buy 2 get 30% off the third offer. The original Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum is $19.99.

There is also a Protect & Perfect Moisturising Body Serum for $19.99.

For something that actually works, I think the prices are really low. How many $70+ creams, lotions and potions have we all bought, that were totally useless?

It works and it feels great on your skin. My mother has been sending me supplies from the UK; which with the postage makes it much more expensive.

I am so excited I have already placed my order. I got some Intense Serum and some Body Serum.

Technorati Tags: Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Body Serum, Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum, Protect & Perfect Body Serum, wrinkles, reduce wrinkles, lines

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First a little history.

Studies of rates of cardiovascular disease in different countries found that those with the traditional Mediterranean diet had the lowest rates. Since much of this research was done in the low fat era, this was quite a surprise, since the traditional diet is not low fat.

The most quoted fact is probably the long life expectancy of the people of Crete. Cretan men low rates of heart disease. Further research on the Mediterranean diet have shown that is also a much lower risk of diabetes and slow increases in blood pressure (hypertension).

Recent research suggests that Mediterranean style diets are effective for weight loss.

A book that has information about foods, diet plans, menus and recipes is The Omega Diet. The book is subtitled “The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete”. The main author is Artemis Simopoulos, an MD, who grew up in Greece and is involved in nutritional research.

The book is easy to read, with thorough explanations and several diet plans (weight loss and maintenance). The plans and recipes used regular food. It is more a change of ratio of foods that are eaten. (The only foods which you may not be so familiar with, that you should eat more of, are greens and flaxseed meal. For greens try chard first, it has the mildest flavor and is totally yummy. You can buy flaxseed meal in most supermarkets. I throw a tablespoon onto all kinds of things.)

The Omega Diet emphasizes omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated oils (mainly olive and canola) vegetables and fruits, moderate amounts of dairy products, fish and poultry, low amounts of red meat, desserts and baked goods.

Overall the book “The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete” provides a realistic, easy to follow approach to eating in a more healthy way. At the time of writing the book in $10.17 on Amazon – a bargain.

Technorati Tags: The Omega Diet, Mediterrranean diet, Crete

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Pin is available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/ht_pin_sp.htm

Home page

You can also download a pdf The Healthy Heart Handbook for Women ’07 – 20th Anniversary Edition.

It has information about lifestyle and prevention, heart attack warning signs and if you have heart disease, information about screening, medication etc.

Also check out the American Heart Associations website Go Red For Women

Technorati Tags: women , heart disease, swarovski pin

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Did you know that two thirds of people aged 45 and over, have blood pressure that is above 120/80?

I got an email today from Amazon.com saying that Omron blood pressure monitors are reduced by $10. Having an interest in all thngs cardiovascular including blood pressure, I thought their prices were already quite reasonable, particularly with no tax and shipping charges.

Check out the blood pressure monitor promotional page.

The offer applies to all Omron blood pressure monitors costing $49 or more, not just the ones shown on this page. There are also a couple of body fat monitors and pedometers.

The offer lasts for the whole of the month of August. The promotion page has all the details.

If you wish to see what features are available and a comparison of some popular blood pressure monitors check out the blood pressure monitor comparisons at Info: Blood Pressure.

Pretty much everybody gets “white coat hypertension”, that is increased blood pressure, in a health care setting. My diastolic (lower number) goes up much more than my systolic (upper number) for some reason. Find out what your resting blood pressure really is, and then if necessary take some action.

Technorati Tags: omron, blood pressure monitor, offer

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Both products contain kinerase or N6-furfuryladenine. The lotion, but not the cream, also contains retinyl palmitate, which is a retinoid that is converted in the skin to retinoic acid (retin-A). The lotion therefore packs more power but for some people may be more irritating unlike the cream.

N6-furfuryladenine is found in most cells of the body. Originally it was isolated from plants but has been found in nuclei of cells including human. Another common name is kinetin. In the scientific literature, kinetin is the name that is used.

Studies of keratinocytes (skin cells) and fibroblasts (also found in skin) have shown that kinerase treatment delays aging, particularly in the presence of high levels of calcium. In human studies there is some evidence of improved skin tone and more even pigmentation, and reduction in minor wrinkles. Recently kinerase has been found to be helpful for rosacea.

As well as being a signaling molecule that plays a role in regulation of maintenance and repair of cells, kinerase has been shown to have antioxidant effects. Additionally there is evidence that N6-furfuryladenine may improve the skin barrier and so reduce the loss of moisture from the skin.

As people get older they are more likely to become calcium deficient. Since, as stated above, high calcium levels added to the effect of kinerase, it may be that as well as reducing the rate of osteoporosis, calcium may help slow aging of skin too.

Kinerase Cream and Kinerase Lotion can be found at my favorite online skin store Dermadoctor.
Currently they have free shipping on domestic orders over $49.

Technorati Tags: kinerase, kinetin, N6-furfuryladenine, skin, pigmentation

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The Bodylastics system with variable resistance bands is one alternative. It consists of a number of color coded resistance bands with different strengths, handles, door anchors, a manual, a DVD and one year membership to the “Strength Band University”, which has videos and instruction for exercises. As the website says, Bowflex, Total Gym and even Bally’s have a $50 alternative – Bodylastics!

The main reason I bought the basic set was for something to take with me when I travel. Stuck in a hotel room, bored, with time on my hands is one time that I really do manage to do some workouts. At home there always seems to so much competing for attention, and so it is so very easy to put off trying to keep in shape. Spending my hard earned cash I want to get something that was not heavy or bulky, so I could use it at home or anywhere.

The one negative for me was that though the bands are very smooth there was one exercise, that I tried, where the bands under tension moved over the skin on the back of my arms that I found unpleasant. Must have wimpy skin.

Take a look at the website. It is a well laid out site and shows a range of exercises. If you are in the market a resistance type product, for the quality, I don’t think you could do better than these for $49.95.

In summary: This product pretty much lives up to the hype. It is not unique; there are certainly other resistance band systems out there. However it is very well designed and sturdy, and excellent value for money. Certainly worth considering.

Technorati Tags: resistance bands, variable resistance

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The Fitness DVD Grab Bag Set was originally $63.00 and is now $6.95! It is described as a clearance grab bag with pilates, toning and cardio.

I figure it probably contains 4 DVDs so even if you don’t like one, or even two it is still a great bargain. Give the unwanted/extra DVDs as a gift.

They also have a Memorial Day Sale that ends on June 3rd.

Technorati Tags: fitness DVD, pilates, toning, cardio

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They are becoming popular with those on low carb diets and calorie-restricted diets. An 8 oz package of House Foods Shirataki Fettuccine is listed as having two servings. Each serving has 20 calories, 3 g total carbohydrate (0 g sugars), 2 g fiber, 1g protein and 15 mg sodium. As is often the case the serving size is quite small, but even eating the whole package would have only 40 calories and 6 g total carbohydrate.

The noodles contain oriental “yam”. These yams are not related to those found in a western supermarket, but are Amorphophallus konjac *, commonly called konjac. Some of the local names are quite colorful and include elephant yam, devil’s tongue, snake palm and voodoo lily *.

Konjac is grown predominantly in Korea, China and Japan and is very high in fiber and is high in glucomannan, which is a polysaccharide that is used as a jelly and thickening agent. The most commonly available noodles in the US, including the ones described above, contain some tofu too. The tofu makes the noodles more similar to regular wheat noodles in texture and adds the protein and some of the carbohydrate.

The noodles are found in the chill cabinet at the supermarket, often in the natural/vegetarian section. The noodles are already cooked, so they just need to have the storage liquid washed away, and then be heated through, usually in the microwave. They are pretty tasteless so go well with any source. Currently they are a little pricey (about $1.80 per small pack), but as they gain popularity and there is more competition the price is sure to drop.

Give them a try.

{{* Amorphophallus and some of the local names are certainly an interesting. They are descriptive of the plant – but not the tuber(root) instead the flower (inflorescence). Amorphophallus means shapeless phallus. A plant in the same genus is Amorphophallus titanium is also called the corpse plant. This plant blooms infrequently and quickly, and the flower really smells bad hence the name. Check out the VA Tech website for pictures and other info.}}

photo credit: miheco

Technorati Tags: shirataki, noodles, yam, konjac

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The wedge tips the pelvis forward. Recent studies have shown that the optimal position for sitting is with a greater than a right angle between the body and legs. The optimal angle, if the upper legs are parallel to the floor, would be leaning back. However, this is awkward for using a desk or computer. With the Tush-Cush your legs point more towards the floor, so your back can be straight up, perpendicular to the floor. This is comfortable and practical for using the computer, writing, reading etc.

Another plus is that, unlike many other furnishing items, it does not seem to be a magnet for my dogs hair.

They also make a Car-Cush. I don’t drive very much but if I did I would probably get one of these too.

Technorati Tags: tush cush, car cush, back

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One of these Printed Yoga Mats should get me back into being good, and doing yoga again. I love them all. Why do yoga mats have to plain? Click on the image to get to a page for higher resolution.

I was doing beginners yoga in a once a week class close to my home, run by the local school district. I found it physically and mentally helpful. Unfortunately the teacher decided to take a break from evening teaching, and the replacement teacher moved the class to the other side of town at an earlier time. Since I had a couple of things coming up including a trip to England, I thought I would wait a month or so and then sign up somewhere else. Well the month has become many.

I am trying to make up my mind which mat to get. It is a hard decision I like all three of them. At the moment I am leaning towards the one with koi, though I really like the green one too.

Technorati Tags: yoga mat

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