Shea Butter as a Moisturizer and Emollient

Shea butter is natural fat extracted from fruit of the shea tree. It is especially known for its cosmetic properties as a moisturizer and emollient. Shea butter is a popular ingredient in many products.

It is so safe that shea butter is edible. It can be consumed in foods and is also used in the manufacture of chocolate as a substitute for cocoa butter. The two kinds of shea butter available are unrefined certified organic and chemically refined. Unrefined shea butter is processed without chemicals. The chemically refined shea butter is bleached, heated, and solvent extracted using a petrol-chemical. Purist claim the chemically refined version lacks the healing properties found in unrefined organic shea butter.

Shea butter is also a known for its anti-inflammatory properties. It is also used for treating skin conditions such as burns, rashes, fading scars, eczema, severely dry skin, and in reducing the irritation of psoriasis. Shea butter provides some natural UV sun protection although the level of protection varies and should not be relied on.

Shea butter is available in many expensive moisturizing skin products. It is also used in high quality hair conditioners to add moisture in dry hair, and reconditioning split ends. This butter has been used for centuries by the people of Africa to moisturize and protect their skin from sun, wind, heat and salt water. Shea Butter is also used as hairdressing to moisturize a dry scalp and encourage hair growth. It is also used to hold hairstyles and lightly relax curls.

One of the richest emollients available, scarcities of the supply of shea butter results in an erratic market price Shea Butter is frequently used in massage to create a frictionless surface on the skin, allowing for therapeutic deep tissue work. It also acts as excellent base for the addition of medical and cosmetic ingredients. It is a key ingredient in the most reputable beauty products and soaps, only recently gaining recognition in the United States in products like Revitol. Shea Butter can actually help stimulate collagen production in the skin, making it very effective in helping to reduce wrinkles, burns, and scars.
The anti-inflammatory properties of Shea butter have been studied for medical use. It has been found to be useful in cases of arthritis and in cases of rheumatism. Shea butter has also been studied as a nasal decongestant by application to the inside of the nostrils. It can also be helpful in cases of eczema and dermatitis and can help reduce skin bruising and soreness.

For more information learn how this Revolutionary Product can work for you.


To Your Continued Health and Success!
Miss Julia

JuliaGrayOnLine.com

How Resveratrol Can Enhance Your Weight Loss Program

Resveratrol and Weight Loss

Resveratrol Antioxidants and Weight Loss: A Good Pairing?The golden rule in weight loss is pretty simple: take in fewer calories than you expend in exercise. However, as any dieter will tell you, it’s far from easy. Americans spend billions of dollars a year on weight loss supplements, exercise programs and other diet aids—and still we can’t seem to win the battle of the bulge—even when we get desperate enough to try risky surgery or fad diets.

Recently a new product has come to light that may help people trying to lose weight stay on the healthy end of the spectrum: Resveratrol Select, which is unlike many diet supplements in that it uses a combination of natural and herbal ingredients designed to help the body stay healthy while losing weight. How? By mimicking certain aspects of the Mediterranean diet.

Studies have shown that part of America’s war with weight lies in the uniquely modern American combination of stressful lifestyle and fast-food consumption, and that the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle seem to be more conducive to healthier weight levels and longevity. In fact, much as been made on the news in recent months of the purported “French Paradox,” (how the French eat a high-fat diet, enjoy rich desserts, drink wine and still have better cardiovascular health than the rest of us).

One of the biggest differences between the American and French diet seems to be the wine consumption, and red wine (a staple on most Mediterranean tables) contains one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, resveratrol, which is a key ingredient in Resveratrol Select.

In addition to wine, resveratrol is also found in grape skins, blueberries, cranberries and other plants, and recent animal and in vitro studies indicate that it can have a positive effect on helping to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, supporting insulin health and optimizing metabolic and immune pathways that protect cells and improve mitochondrial function. One capsule of Resveratrol Select includes as much resveratrol as 200 glasses of wine—without the added calories that alcohol can add to the waistline.

Consuming resveratrol alone isn’t enough to help with weight loss—so the manufacturers of Resveratrol Select also added a different type of antioxidant, Green Tea Extract (EGCG), which could make a big difference. Over time, green tea consumption helps increase metabolism, burn fat and reduce fat storage due to its caffeine and L-theanin content, which can be pivotal in helping to maintain energy for exercise.

Resveratrol Select combines these two powerful antioxidants with yet another energy boosting ingredient, Chromium, a niacin-based mineral that plays an important role in how the body uses insulin to burn sugars, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for energy.

Although relatively new to the market, Resveratrol Select seems to be making a big splash, and many people are taking advantage of the free trial offer to see how well the product works for them.

The trial offer also includes two bonus tools to help with weight loss: an e-book with over 70 weight loss tips, and a weight loss visualization audio.Of course, consuming fewer calories while burning more is the most efficient form of weight loss, and it’s always a good idea to inform your doctor before taking a weight loss supplement, but this new combination herbal supplement is worth a look for those concerned about maintaining good health while losing weight.

For more information on Resveratrol Select’s free trial offer and bonus materials, follow this link to Healthy Weight Loss .


To Your Continued Health and Success!
Miss Julia

JuliaGrayOnLine.com

SURVIVING MENOPAUSE (Who Turned Up the Heat?) Part 4~Healthy Living During Menopause

Improve Your Health Whether You Use Hormones or Not

There are a lot of ways to stay healthy during this time in your life. These steps are more likely to keep you healthy than just taking hormones.

Be active and get more exercise. Try to get at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. Try weight-bearing exercises, like walking, running or dancing. If you smoke, quit. Ask your doctor for help.

Eat healthy. Eat lots of whole-grain products, vegetables, and fruits. Choose foods low in fat and cholesterol. Get enough calcium to keep your bones strong. Before menopause you need about 1,000mg of calcium per day. After menopause you need 1,500mg per day. If you drink alcohol, limit it to no more than one drink per day.

Control your weight. Ask your doctor what a healthy weight is for you. Talk with you doctor and get regular checkups.

Discuss bone health. Ask if you're getting enough calcium and vitamin D. Get a Bone Density Test if you are older than 65, or if your doctor says you have a high chance of Osteoporosis. Ask about taking medicine to help preserve bone and slow down bone loss.

Have your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar checked. Have a breast exam and a breast x-ray (mammogram)

Researchers used to think that thin women have the worse menopausal symptoms. But researchers are now finding that the opposite is true ~ the heavier the woman, the worse some menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes or night sweats, actually are.

Who should NOT take hormone therapy for menopause ~

Women who

• think they are pregnant
• have problems with vaginal bleeding
• have had certain kinds of cancers (such as breast and uterine cancer)
• have had a stroke or heart attack
• have had blood clots
• have liver disease

Just remember menopause is a normal change in you life. You can feel better by learning all you can about menopause and by talking with your doctor about your health and your symptoms. If you want to treat your symptoms, he or she can teach you more about your options and help you make the best treatment choices.

Part 1 - What's it all About Any?

Part 2 - Treatments for Menopause

Part 3- Practical Ways to Help Your Symptoms

Part 4 ~ Healthy Living During Menopause

To Your Continued Health and Success!

Miss Julia

SURVIVING MENOPAUSE (Who Turned Up the Heat?) Part 3 ~ Practical Ways to Help Your Symptoms

In this article we will discuss ways other than hormone treatment that can help your menopausal symptoms.

OTHER WAYS TO HELP YOUR SYMPTOMS

• Hot Flashes ~ A hot environment, eating or drinking hot or spicy foods, alcohol, or caffeine, and stress can bring on hot flashes. Try to avoid these triggers. Dress in layers and keep a fan in your home or workplace. Regular exercise might also bring relief from hot flashes and other symptoms. Ask your doctor about taking an antidepressant medicine. There is proof that these medicines can be helpful for some women.

• Vaginal Dryness. Use an over-the-counter vaginal lubricant. There are also prescription estrogen replacement creams that your doctor might give you. If you have spotting or bleeding while using estrogen creams, you should see your doctor.

• Problems Sleeping~ One of the best ways to get a good night's sleep is to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week however, avoid a lot of exercise close to bedtime. Also avoid alcohol, caffeine, large meals, and working right before bedtime. You might want to drink something warm, such as herb tea or warm milk. Try to keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature. Avoid napping during the day and try to go to bed and get up at the same times every day. Natural sleep aids are also available.

• Memory Problems~ Ask your doctor about mental exercises you can do to improve your memory. Try to get enough sleep and be physically active.

• Mood Swings~ Try to get enough sleep and be physically active. Ask your doctor about relaxation exercises you can do. Ask your doctor about taking an antidepressant medicine. There is proof that these can be helpful. Think about going to a support group for women who are going through the same things as you, or consider counseling to talk through your problems and fears. Share with a trusted friend.

These practical methods along with the help and advise of your health care professional should help you through this time.

Stay tuned for Part 4 ~ Healthy Living During Menopause

Part 1 -"What's it All About Anyway"

Part 2- "Treatments for Menopause"

Part 3- "Practical Ways to Help your Symptoms"

Part 4 ~ "Healthy Living During Menopause"

To your Continued Health and Success

Miss Julia

juliagrayonline.com

Surviving Menopause (Who Turned Up the Heat?) Part 2~ Treatments for Menopause

TREATMENTS FOR MENOPAUSE
Overview
For many women, symptoms may go away over time without any treatment. Treatments include prescription drugs that contain the hormones estrogen and progesteron that your ovaries stop making around the time of menopause; as well as natural treatments such as herbal, or plant-based products.

HORMONE THERAPY
Hormone Therapy can contain the hormone estrogen alone or estrogen with the hormone progestin (for a woman who still has her uterus). Estrogen therapy is usually taken by pill, skin patch, as a cream or gel, or with an intrauterine device (IUD) or vaginal ring.

How estrogen is taken will depend on its purpose. For example, a vaginal ring or cream can ease vaginal dryness, leakage of urine or vaginal or urinary infections however, it does not relieve hot flashes. If you are trying to prevent bone loss, you should speak with your doctor about treatments other than hormone therapy to treat your bones.

Benefits and Risks of Hormone Therapy

Benefits- Hormone therapy can help with menopause by:

• reducing hot flashes



• treating vaginal dryness



• slowing bone loss



• decreasing mood swings and depression

DO NOT use hormone therapy to prevent heart attacks, strokes, memory loss, or Alzheimer's disease.

Risks- For some women, hormone therapy may increase their chance of getting:

• blood clots



• heart attacks



• strokes



• breast cancer



• gall bladder disease

If you decide to use hormones, use them at the lowest dose that helps and for the shortest time needed. Check with your doctor every three to six months to see if you still need them.

Because of both benefits and risks linked to hormones, every woman should think about these in regards to her own health and discuss these with her doctor. Long and short-term effects of hormone therapies on women's health is still being studied.

NATURAL TREATMENTS

Some women decide to take herbal, natural or plant-based products to help their symptoms. Some of the most common products include:

• Soy - This contains phytoestrogens (estrogen-like substances from a plant). However, there is no proof that soy or other sources of phytoestrogens--really do relieve hot flashes. Any risks of taking soy, especially the pills and powders, are not known.



• Other sources of phytoestrogens. Include herbs such as black cohish, wild yam, dong quai, and valerin root.



• Bioidentical hormone therapy. Some women visit alternative medicine doctors to get a prescription for these products, which are made from different plant hormones that are like those in a woman's body. Each prescription is hand-mixed, and the dose can vary from patient to patient.

Make sure to discuss herbal products with your doctor. You should also tell your doctor if you are taking other medications to avoid any interactions with the herbal products.

Stay tuned for Part 3 ~ we will discuss Other Ways to Help your Symptoms.

Part 1- "What's it all About Anyway"?

To Your Continued Health and Success!

Miss Julia

juliagrayonline.com

Healthy Being LLC: Natural Health & Wellness Tips, News & Recommendations: Top 10 Foods Women Should Eat More Often (Fruits, Veggies, Fats, Omegas, Nuts)

Healthy Being LLC: Natural Health & Wellness Tips, News & Recommendations: Top 10 Foods Women Should Eat More Often (Fruits, Veggies, Fats, Omegas, Nuts)

Menopause Symptoms and Memory Loss

While you may experience the misery of hot flashes and mood swings as you enter menopause, one thing you can't blame on the "change" is memory loss.

In the latest study that exonerates menopause as a cause of impairing the ability to recall, Taiwanese researchers compared the memory of hundreds of women before they had any menopausal symptoms to their memory as they entered menopause.

They found the women who were going through the menopausal process scored as well or nearly as well on five different cognitive function tests. Results of the study are to be presented Oct. 4 at the American Neurological Association annual meeting in Toronto.

"When women go into peri-menopause, they don't need to worry about cognitive decline," said Dr. Jong-Ling Fuh, an attending physician at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and an associate professor of Yang-Ming University School of Medicine.

The researchers said the myth of memory loss during menopause is a perception some women have because as they went through menopause, they felt their memory wasn't as sharp as it had been before. Studies suggesting that hormone replacement therapy might protect against dementia strengthened that belief. However, a large study later found that in older women, hormone replacement therapy not only didn't help protect women from dementia, but could actually increase the risk.

To try to answer the question of whether menopause did have any effect on memory, Fuh and her colleagues studied nearly 700 pre-menopausal women living on a group of rural islands between Taiwan and China. The Taiwanese government restricted access to these islands until the 1990s, so the authors report that the study's population was nearly homogeneous, which would help rule out other potentially causative factors of memory loss.

The women were between the ages of 40 and 54. None of them had had a hysterectomy, and none took hormone replacement therapy during the study.

All took five cognitive tests designed to assess their memory and cognitive skills at the start of the study, and then again 18 months later.

During the study period, 23 percent of the women began to have symptoms of menopause.

The researchers then compared the memory of the women who had entered menopause to those who had not, and found very little difference. In four of the five tests, there were no statistically significant differences in the two groups of women.

Only on one test was the difference statistically significant, and that difference, said Fuh, was very slight. This test was designed to assess verbal memory and involved showing the women 70 nonsensical figures. Some of the figures were repeated during the test, while most were not. The women were asked whether they had seen the figure earlier.

"For women, menopause does not mean you'll develop memory loss," said Dr. Raina Ernstoff, an attending neurologist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. As you're going through peri-menopause and experiencing symptoms like hot flashes, she said, you may feel lousy and have trouble sleeping, which might temporarily affect your cognitive skills.

"I don't think declining estrogen levels are what causes memory loss," said Dr. Steven Goldstein, an obstetrician/gynecologist at New York University Medical Center in New York City. "It's not like your memory is bopping along, doing fine and then takes this big dive during menopause, like bone density can."

Both Ernstoff and Goldstein said they weren't aware of many women who believed that menopause might cause significant memory loss. They also both felt that results from this group of women who were so homogeneous might not apply to different groups of women, such as those living in more industrialized society. And they both said that other factors that weren't studied could play a role in memory loss, such as hypertension, which can contribute to vascular dementia.

Ernstoff also pointed out that the education backgrounds can play a large role in memory loss. Fuh acknowledged the researchers did attempt to control the data for educational differences.

SOURCES: Jong-Ling Fuh, M.D., attending physician, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, and associate professor, Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Steven Goldstein, M.D., obstetrician/gynecologist, New York University Medical Center, and professor, obstetrics/gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York City; Raina Ernstoff, M.D., attending neurologist, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich., and member, Alzheimer's Board of Detroit; Oct. 4, 2004, presentation, American Neurological Association, Toronto.


To Your Continued Health and Success!
Miss Julia



For more information visit: http://yournewlifeat50.com

Tips to Avoid Winter Skin Problems

Don't let Winter weather pose a new 'wrinkle' for you during this Winter season. Protect your skin with these tips:

• Shorten Your Showers. Frequent, long baths and showers can remove the lipids (fats/lubricants) which help retain skin moisture.

• Moisturize. In the shower, use soaps with moisturizers or add oils t bath water. After your shower, pat dry and replenish moisture with an overall moisturizer.

• Use Sunscreen. Casual sun exposure adds up over time, even in winter. Choose skin products with SPF 15 protection or add sunscreen to your routine.

• Make Your House Skin-Friendly. Use a humidifier, especially in your bedroom while you sleep. Also, avoid exposure to cigarette and cigar smoke as they can accelerate the skin's aging process.

• Stimulate, Exfoliate and Rejuvenate. Winter is a great time to pamper your skin. Scrub your face to remove old skin cells and use face creams with retinoids that can help reduce facial lines and wrinkles. Just don't overdo the scrubbing, too much can remove valuable natural lipids.

Please check with your Dermatologist to discuss your particular skin type and what may be the best recommendations for you to avoid the Winter 'doldrums' for Your Skin.


To Your Health !
Julia Gray, Licensed Practical Nurse
Your Personal Success Coach
Proud Member ~ My VM Team

Google Me ~~ Julia Gray Online

SURVIVING MENOPAUSE (Who Turned Up the Heat?) Part 1 ~ What's it all about Anyway?

Menopause ~ The Change of Life. Consulting with your physician, educating yourself and staying informed are the best ways to help you through this time. This 4 part series will help y0u understand what is going on, how to understand the symptoms, what treatments are available (both hormonal and natural) and finally, how to survive and get through this very significant 'period' (no pun intended) in our lives.

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT ANYWAY?
Changes and Symptoms
Menopause is a normal change in your life (when your period/menstrual cycle stops). This is why this stage is called "the change of life."

During menopause your body will make less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This generally happens between the ages of 45 and 55. You may know that you have reached menopause when you have not had a menstrual cycle for 12 consecutive months (providing there are no other reasons for this change).

As you near menopause your body may start to exhibit symptoms from hormonal changes. The majority of these symptoms are normal. Unless you have other underlying health issues, most of these symptoms are natural and normal. However always consult with your physician if things don't feel 'quite right'.

SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSE ~ Every women's period/menstrual cycle will stop at menopause. Some women may not have any other symptoms. However, other women may experience any, all or a combination of the following symptoms:

• Changes in your period/menstrual cycle ~ the time between periods and the flow from month to month may be different.
• Spotting or Abnormal Bleeding ~ while this is a common occurrence during menopause, if you have not had a period in 12 months and you experience "spotting" you should report this to your doctor to rule out other significant conditions such as cancer.
• Hot Flashes ~ This is the sensation of getting warm in the face, neck and/or chest.
• Night Sweats and sleeping problems may lead to feeling tired, stressed or tense.
• Vaginal Changes ~ The vagina may become dry and thin, this may cause sex and vaginal exams to be more painful. You also may develop more vaginal infections.
• Thinning of your bones (also known as Osteoporosis) may lead to loss of height and bone fractures.
• Mood Changes ~ mood swings may include depression and irritability.
• Urinary Problems ~ such as leaking, burning or pain when urinating, or leaking when sneezing, coughing, or laughing.
• Problems with concentration or memory.
• Less interest in sex and changes in sexual response.
• Weight gain or increase in body fat around your waist.
• Hair thinning or loss.

Remember, you may have one or a combination of these symptoms. However, the one all of us will have is YOUR PERIOD WILL STOP!!!!! Stay tuned for Part 2 ~ Treatments for Menopause (Hormonal and Natural).

To Your Continued Health and Success,
Miss Julia

JuliaGrayOnLine.com