Oil Cleanse Beauty Tip!

Oil Cleansing Method


Though it sounds counter-intuitive, certain blends of oil are great for acne because they

 help break down grime on our skin without stripping it. This prevents the skin from 

overreacting and producing more oil. It's also thought that the avoidance of harsh drying 

soaps can prevent premature aging, so it’s beneficial for all skin types.  For general skin 

nutrition tips visit my blog on keeping your skin vibrant: 


http://therealfoodcoach.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/how-to-improve-skin-problems.html



The Method

1. Get your oil mixture, washcloth, and a hand towel.

2. Wet face with warm water.

3. Pour about 1/2 teaspoon of oil (quarter size amount) into your palm and rub hands 

together.

4. Rub fingers gently over your face in small circles for 30 seconds to 2 minutes to allow

 the oil to penetrate. Concentrate on areas with blocked pores.

5. Wet hand towel with slightly less than scalding water, wring out, and fold up to keep

 the heat in.

6. Quickly wet the washcloth with super-hot-but-doesn’t-burn-your-face-off water, 

wring it out, and spread it over your face.

7. Cover the washcloth with the towel to seal in the steam and to keep the washcloth 

from cooling right away. This is key.


8. Leave on until the towel and washcloth have cooled to about room temperature and 

then wipe your face with the washcloth.


9. Repeat 1-2 more times, but use the clean towel to wipe your face the second and

 optional third time.


10. Voila! You have oil cleansed. There should be a thin layer of oil still on your skin to 

balance and protect.


11. If your skin feels tight after, it is recommended to rub a small amount of the 

cleansing oil in. I prefer to use a food-grade skin balm or hydrating oil.


This tip was borrowed from my lovely friend Magdalena at The Thyroid Diet Coach.


Truly cleansing.


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Heal Your Emotions, Heal Your Body.

In Western medicine doctors are taught to treat the illness.  They know all about disease and dysfunction and how to treat it, but are taught nothing about being well and how to maintain it.  The body is not a time bomb waiting to go off, it is a magical place which can heal and regenerate in truly amazing ways.  In some cases drugs actually suppress disease by pushing it back down into the system and doctors rarely address the lifestyle issues which causes the disorder to surface e.g. stress, diet, lifestyle.


I have recently been reading a book called 'Women's bodies Women's Wisdom by Dr Chrsitiane Northrup. It interests me that a medical doctor has turned her back on the orthodox approach to medicine and put a  lot of time and research into producing a book about the effect of emotions on Women's health (there is no reason why her theories and observations cannot be applied to men too, but her area of medicine for 20 years was woman's health so that is where are interest lies)

She suggests that: "To improve our lives and our health, we must acknowledge the seamless unity between our beliefs, behaviour and our physical bodies."

This powerful quote summarises neatly what a lot of people are missing in their approach to good health.  She believes that by loving ourselves and accepting our bodies we give our physical body the right environment to heal.  If we are angry and resentful and hold on to negative emotions, then our whole system will be affected.  This can be seen in a physical way through the stress response.  If we become stressed then our body produces powerful hormones which start a domino effect of reactions in the body including a raise in blood sugar - to run from the threat!  If over time we are stressed daily and do not address it, our high blood sugar may lead to diabetes or  metabolic syndrome.  The stress response can be triggered by something as simple as reliving a stressful event, such as an argument with a friend.  The heart starts to race, the shoulders hunch and the body begins to react negatively by shutting down certain systems such as our digestive secretions.  

Our mind and our thoughts are part of our bodies and until we address them together and respect their connection, we will find it very hard to heal.  Recently doctors have been given the power to recommend certain self help titles on the NHS system such as 'Feel the fear and do it anyway' by Susan Jeffers.  This acceptance of mindset on health in mainstream healthcare is a fabulous thing and a sign that we are perhaps on our way to a more holistic approach to being well.

The most useful advice is simply to think good thoughts about yourself and others.

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Carbohydrates and Weight Gain.

Diet plans are designed to fail as they take away all the fun and make planning the day ahead seem like an arduous task.  A lot of diets include measuring amounts of food, cutting out all the fun stuff and reducing valuable fats.  

Food falls into three main groups; protein, fats and carbohydrates.  They all give us different levels of energy and are broken down by different enzymes and chemicals in the digestive tract.  When we eat carbohydrate based (starchy) foods, our body converts this into glucose which gives us a very quick burst of energy and our blood sugar rises considerably.  Our pancreas releases insulin which helps to transport the glucose into our cells to be used as energy.  

‘Simple carbohydrates’ such as fruit, white bread and white rice may escalate our blood glucose levels rather quickly.  This blood sugar high we experience is often followed by a plummet in the blood sugar levels because the simple carbohydrate food has released very quickly into the system and left us feeling tired, grumpy and craving more energy.  Unfortunately, because the blood sugar has dropped so quickly, we often reach for another quick fix high carbohydrate food and the cycle continues as our blood sugar spikes up and down throughout the day.  If we take in more energy than we need, then the sugar in our blood is converted to triglyceride fats and stored in the liver and then muscles and eventually all over the body once our initial stores are full.  Our pancreas is also overworked as it has to produce high levels of insulin throughout the day and this can result in related health issues.  

The other type of carbohydrate is called ‘complex carbohydrate’ and gives us a slower release of sugar into the blood which may sustain us for longer and keep our blood sugar levels more stable.  Examples of these ‘complex carbohydrates’ are porridge oats, quinoa and brown rice.  They have more fibre and nutrients so take more processing by the body.  If you combine proteins with these complex carbohydrates they will move even more slowly through the digestive tract and keep our blood sugar levels more steady.  This is because the protein stays longer in the stomach (2-3 hours) as it requires a longer digestive breakdown and this helps to slow the release of the carbohydrates which are eaten with it.  Therefore a balanced snack could be a pear with some almonds and a good slow release meal might be some salmon and brown rice with peas.  

So, it may not be as hard as we think to lose weight, by balancing your meals rather than limiting them, we may feel fuller for longer and stop craving sugary snacks.  It may be a good idea to have a mid morning snack such as an apple and a  few brazil nuts (4-5), a snack can help to keep your blood sugar levels stable between meals and prevent cravings for the wrong foods.  A balanced lunch with good quality protein may help to keep you going until an afternoon snack (e.g. a couple of oatcakes with hummus).  Your evening meal  should also be balanced with protein and it is a good idea to make sure that your plate is well balanced by having 1/3^rd protein, 1/3^rd complex carbohydrate and 1/3^rd vegetables as well as some fats or oils and herbs. 

So don't cut carbs out, just cut down on them.  We need carbohydrates to fuel our brain so taking them out the diet is a bad idea.  However, balancing them mindfully may be a very good start to weight loss.

Good Luck..

Josie

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