Foods That Make You Beautiful

Want to make yourself  look beautiful naturally?? Here are some tips courtesy of  Dr. Oz's Show. Read on...

Stop buying drugstore creams and potions that promise whiter teeth, healthier hair and brighter skin – you can achieve your beauty goals by changing your diet. Beauty comes from within, so treat your body right and eat your way to better looks with these healthy foods.

Whiter Teeth: Celery
Want to brighten up your smile? Swap your whitening strips for a crunchy midday snack. Celery contains fibrous cellulose which scrubs away teeth stains as you chew it. For more natural teeth whitening solutions, click here.

Strong Nails: Walnuts
Brittle nails that are soft, thin and easily torn are a problem for many women. The solution is biotin, a B vitamin that helps strengthen nails. Before opting for a biotin supplement, try snacking on walnuts. As well as being an excellent source of biotin, walnuts are rich in other beauty enhancers – like wrinkle-reducing omega-3s.

Healthy Hair: Beans
Any well-balanced diet should contain a substantial amount of protein but this is particularly true for those looking to improve the state of their hair. Try eating protein-rich beans for stronger, healthier hair that won’t break. Click here for a list of foods that fight the effects of aging.

Flawless Skin: Squash, Liver and Salmon
The key to flawless skin is what you put into your body – not what you smear on it. The antioxidants responsible for glowing, youthful skin – called carotenoids – can be found in squash and other colorful fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids fight free radicals and help to protect skin against damage and disease, while vitamin A-rich foods like liver will help prevent dry skin.

For the best defense against wrinkles make sure to pack your diet with omega-3 fatty acids. Found in great quantities in food like salmon, omega-3s reduce inflammation in the body as well as reinforce cell membranes, improving their ability to retain water, yielding softer, smoother skin. To learn more about omega-3s click here

Daily Dose: Omega-3

Reaching 50 and with no exercise your joints will start to give away especially the knees. Here's an article from The Dr. Oz Show which could enlighten us on  the functions of Omega-3 which is often talk about nowadays.

It's good for your joints, skin, vision, brain, heart, helps lower bad cholesterol levels and even boosts fertility. It's an anti-ager and an anti-inflammatory. It's found naturally in a variety of delicious foods including walnuts, salmon, tuna, olive oil and avocados. It's omega-3 - and it's time you got to know the daily dose that's good for just about every single part of your body.

Omega-3 fatty acids are the brain-boosting, cholesterol-clearing good fats (monounsaturated). Dr. Oz lists them as 1 of the 5 critical vitamins every woman should take, 1 of 5 daily nutrition needs and as one of the most important steps expecting mother's can take to promote their baby's healthy development. There are 3 basic forms of omega-3:

• Alpha-linelenic acid (ALA) found in English walnuts and vegetable oils like flaxseed, soybean and olive which the body eventually, but in small quantities, converts to DHA.
• Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found primarily in fish oil, this is the ultimate form of fatty acid in humans. Most people get far too little of this all-important fatty acid, especially since the conversion of ALA to DHA is slow and minimally yielding. Getting a daily dose of of DHA (600 to 1000 mg) from supplements is preferable to reap the health benefits. You have a choice of taking a fish oil supplement or one derived from algae or krill, a shrimp-like crustacean.
• Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is also found in fish oil, so it's absorbed if you're taking a daily dose of DHA omega-3.

What to look for when buying fish oil supplements:

• Fish oil supplements vary in the amounts and ratios of DHA and EPA they contain. For example, salmon oil naturally contains more DHA than EPA; a supplement derived from algae may only contain DHA. Krill oil contains significant amounts of both EPA and DHA. Read the labels and remember whatever supplement you buy, it must have at least 600 mg of DHA.
• Be aware that only about one-third of the oil from fish is rich in EPA and DHA. Many supplements also contain vitamin E or other antioxidants to stabilize the oils and prevent them from becoming rancid. If you choose to buy a fish oil supplement, check the label carefully to see if it recommends refrigeration to prevent spoiling.
• Most brands of fish oil have been proven safe, free of detectable traces of mercury, and do not contain unsafe levels of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), a toxin and pollutant believed to pose various health threats. To avoid contaminants in an unrefined supplement, it's best to choose a fish oil supplement made from small, oily fish like anchovy, sardines or menhaden.

Here's how a daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids can improve and protect vital aspects of your body's daily functioning:

• Lubricates joints Helps provide the lubrication joints need to function at an effective level. By keeping joints lubed, you experience less grinding and less overall wear and tear - and thereby - less pain as you age.
• Decreases inflammation in inflamed joints.
• Fights wrinkles As we age, fat cells in our skin's third layer thin out and tend to get a bit bumpier; omega-3s help make that layer thicker and smooth. The effect? Wrinkles go away and skin becomes fuller.
• Protects Vision Our eyes' retinas are a membranous structures and the whole eye is covered in a soft double layer of membranes, making your eyes' health dependent on the liver (who knew?). The liver helps metabolize fat-soluble vitamins that feed and maintain those membranes. If you're deficient in DHA, it affects how we see by delaying the system that converts light into neural energy in the retina.
• Pumps the heart Where to begin?! Omega-3s reduce triglycerides, stabilize your heartbeat, make platelets "less sticky" and can even lower blood pressure. The EPA you get with your daily DHA dose helps prevent artery-blocking clots. In the Iowa Nurses Study (and 3 others), 1 ounce of nuts a day decreased the incidence of heart disease between 20 and 60%.
• Attacks Acne It may surprise you to know that an inadequate intake of omega-3 fatty acids contributes to breakout-prone skin. Trade sugar (and meat) for avocados, walnuts, salmon or trout to help control acne.
• Clears Cholesterol Boosts levels of HDL (the good cholesterol) and helps clear your arteries.
• Boosts the Brain In keeping your arteries clear, you're immediately improving brain function. They also alter your neurotransmitters to help reduce depression.
• Enhances Fertility Improves fertility rates in both males and females by improving sperm's swimming ability and the environment for implantation in women.
• A Pregnancy Prerequisite Omega-3 fatty acids directly affect brain development, making it crucial for expectant mothers. Additionally, research indicates they decrease a mother's risk of depression. When the mother doesn't have enough of these essential fatty acids, the baby borrows from her. Some prenatal vitamins now include omega-3s, so be sure to check the label or grab a handful of walnuts each day.