Aromatherapy Candle and Relaxing

If you desire for comfort and relaxing rest time after your tiring day, providing aromatherapy candle in your home could be a great idea. This certain candle is surely different with any ordinary candles that are used for illuminating the dark. Aromatherapy candle is made to spread certain scent to your entire room every time you burn it. Since mostly it is made in beautiful design, a lot of people also love to buy it as collection other than just gaining its benefits.

Actually, this certain form of aromatherapy works in the same principle with essential oils. It is burned in order to secrete certain scent to give soothing and healing effect for the users. Besides, it is also used to improve the mood of the users and to improve their health conditions. Usually, people take its effect to get relaxed after their tiring day. Some people use it for their bath time, and some other use it in their bed time. Just choose which one you prefer the most. If you choose to use this candle in your bath time, you can burn it and enjoy the scent while you are soaking your body in warm bath water. If you want to use it during your sleeping time, you can simply burn it and enjoy the scent until you are fallen asleep.

Surely, you can gain a lot of benefit from aromatherapy candle. The continuous stream of floral or other herbal essential oils are released into the air of your room. When the oil molecules enter your respiratory system, they will do their magic works in preventing and treating some illness in your body. Besides, the molecules also work well to help increasing your mood, reducing your stress, and relaxing your mind. Usually, aromatherapy candles have different scents that could bring different effects to your physical and psychological state.

There are a lot of types of fragrance and scent available in the market, and each of them offered different effects for your body. You can have basil candle if you want to improve your concentration level well. Lavender could help people to relieve from fatigue and depression. This certain fragrance will be perfect to be chosen if you want to enjoy scent with calming and relaxing effects.

For people who want to get rid of cold, sinus infections or allergies, eucalyptus will be perfect choice. This certain fragrance is used as decongestant so you can breath easier. Besides, this scent is also energizing people who inhale the aroma. Then, you can also use citronella to keep away insects and other unwanted eight legged animals at bay. Therefore, candles with this certain fragrance are found being lit to entertain guests outdoor.

Surely, there are still many other fragrances that offer a lot of different effects. When you are buying aromatherapy candles, do not forget to ask the seller about the specific benefits or advantages of the scent. Therefore, you will not take the wrong choice so you can gain the specific effect you want to have

Five Ways to Make Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is a great way to lose weight, improve your mental state, and is excellent for your heart as well. But it can get very boring. Sitting on an exercise machine or walking or running on a tread mill gets boring very fast for many of us. Here are a few ways to make aerobic exercise fun, less boring, and easier.

1) Watch TV. I'm not a big TV watcher, but watching is a great way to pass the time. For example I've been watching rock documentaries at the gym while on the treadmill lately.

2) Read. You can't always read, for example if running or biking, but I did a fair amount of reading last winter while on an exercise bike.

3) Join a class. Many people greatly enjoy aerobics classes and wouldn't consider doing it any other way. Also if you've signed up for a class you are less likely to skip it.

4) Do it outside. Especially in summer, the idea of indoor aerobics is foreign to me. I bike, hike, run, swim, and chase my kids and dog around outside. This is never boring.

5) Listen to something. I occasionally listen to music, but more often listen to educational material. Podcasts and more have a wealth of information worth checking out, and mp3 players are cheap these days.

Walking on a treadmill is boring unless you add something else. There are plenty of something elses and no reason why aerobic exercise ever need be boring! Try the suggestions above and your aerobics time will soar, and hopefully your fitness will improve while your weight goes down.

How to Cure Insomnia with Acupunture?

Finding insomnia remedies that work without resorting to drugs, can be difficult. To find natural insomnia remedies is in the long run preferable to taking sleeping pills.

Not getting enough sleep, or not getting good enough sleep, can be extremely frustrating. It can even be dangerous, causing daytime sleepiness whilst driving, for example, and it can also lead to sleep apnea.

Not being able to go to sleep, or waking up during the night, is thus a familiar subject. The task is to research which cure for insomnia that works well for you out of the myriad of methods available.

The easiest way is to just take a sleeping tablet. Of course medication works well if it is a temporary solution, but as a long term therapy it will not work.

Your body will gradually get used to the sleeping pills so you will need to increase the dosage.

So most of us look for alternative, "natural" methods. Common suggestions involve abstaining from stimulating foods and drinks in the evening, making sure the bedroom is dark, quiet and cool, learning to "wind down" and learning techniques to relax.

In this article I will introduce an alternative method, closely related to acupuncture. This is an age old method that is often used to cure insomnia.

It is safe and has no side effects, Conventional Western medicine is not quite sure how it works, but there is an increasing tendency for doctors to refer people with insomnia for acupuncture, precisely because it is drug free.

Acupuncture will usually work very well, but it does demand you make several appointments, which can be difficult to fit into your lifestyle, and there can obviously be financial considerations as well.

One variation of this is the "acupressure mat". It is an acupressure mat, that has thousands of stimulating points, some of which will work on the same spots that an acupuncturist would target.

The effects are almost instantaneous - most people who try an acupressure mat report that they relax and fall asleep within the first 5-10 minutes!

A modern acupressure mat has been developed in Sweden, drawing on experience and research carried out in Russia and in the US, and has been a phenomenal best seller in Sweden.

Acupressure is a form of acupuncture which doesn't require needles, originating from India. It is a success story in Sweden, where it has been the health product of the year the two last years. If you want one of the most natural insomnia remedies available then this is the product for you!

Women's Health

Nowadays, women's health and fitness has become a bigger issue than ever before. Sedentary lifestyles and daily Fast food are robbing women of their good health and stripping them of their self-esteem. Every woman has a right to stay fit and strong in their life. Therefore, for this we are offering some of the basic Health and fitness tips that benefits the women a lot their life.

• The first and foremost fitness tips, to eat healthy fruits and green vegetables daily.

• Go for a walk daily at least for 30 minutes.

• Next, if you a familiar with the drinks, then it's an advice to you to take red wine drink daily. This is one of the great fitness tips.

• Always try to reduce and mange stress because stress is the only failure of Human organism. • Be excited when you wake up each morning. It helps you stay happy whole day.

• Always try to go for a trip to a hill station or other. This is anther great important health and fitness tips.

• Always try to opt those things that enjoy you and always make you happy.

• Always appreciate what you got and you will get more.

• Maintain a healthy body weight. Need not to over eat.

• Take balanced and nutrition diet and avoid junk foods.

• Go for exercise daily and push and pull heavy things.

• If you want to get, it's better to give someone.

• Drink plenty of water. It helps you to remove harmful toxins from your body.

• Take regular 8 hour sleep

• Always try to learn and find new technologies.

• Spend lots of time with small kids whether you have or not. This will stays you happy all the time.

Women's Health

Nowadays, women's health and fitness have become a bigger issue than ever before. Sedentary lifestyles and daily Fast food are robbing women of their good health and stripping them of their self-esteem. Every woman has a right to stay fit and strong in their life. Therefore, for this, we are offering some of the basic Health and fitness tips that benefit women a lot in their life.

• The first and foremost fitness tip, is to eat healthy fruits and green vegetables daily.

• Go for a walk daily at least for 30 minutes.

• Next, if you a familiar with the drinks, then it's advised to you to take a red wine drink daily. This is one of the great fitness tips.

• Always try to reduce and manage stress because stress is the only failure of the Human organism. • Be excited when you wake up each morning. It helps you stay the happy the whole day.

• Always try to go for a trip to a hill station or other. This is another great important health and fitness tip.

• Always try to opt for those things that enjoy you and always make you happy.

• Always appreciate what you got and you will get more.

• Maintain healthy body weight. Need not to overeat.

• Take a balanced and nutritious diet and avoid junk foods.

• Go for exercise daily and push and pull heavy things.

• If you want to get it, it's better to give someone.

• Drink plenty of water. It helps you to remove harmful toxins from your body.

• Take regular 8-hour sleep

• Always try to learn and find new technologies.

• Spend lots of time with small kids whether you have or not. This will stays you happy all the time.

Wellness & Diet

Hollywood Diet

Calories limitation is 600-800 calories per day. Information about what you can and can not eat you can find in Internet. One can do Hollywood diet once or twice a year not to do any harm to health. After each dieting you can lose around 5 kilo. But everything you lost will fast get back if you wont change the whole your lifestyle.

Calories limitation is 600-800 calories per day. Information about what you can and can not eat you can find in Internet. One can do Hollywood diet once or twice a year not to do any harm to health. After each dieting you can lose around 5 kilo. But everything you lost will fast get back if you wont change the whole your lifestyle.

Japanese Diet

This famous diet is done in 13 days. For 13 days you exclude sugar, salt, alcohol, floury and confectionery products and drink not limited water. All your diet will be strictly fixed by meals. You can find diet plan above.

Day 1

Breakfast: black coffee.

Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs, salad made from fresh cabbage with vegetable oil, one glass of tomato juice or one fresh tomato.

Dinner: fried or boiled fish, salad from fresh cabbage with vegetable oil.

Day 2

Breakfast: black coffee with dried crust.

Lunch: fried or boiled fish, salad from fresh cabbage with vegetable oil.

Dinner: boiled beef 200gr, one glass of Keefer or yogurt.

Day 3

Breakfast: black coffee.

Lunch: raw egg, 3 big boiled carrots with vegetable oil.

Dinner: apples.

Day 4

Breakfast: black coffee.

Lunch: one big root of parsnip or parsley fried with vegetable oil, apples.

Dinner: fruits.

Day 5

Breakfast: salad from raw carrot with lemon juice.

Lunch: one big fish (500gr) fried or boiled, one glass of tomato juice.

Dinner: fruits.

Day 6

Breakfast: black coffee.

Lunch: 500gr of boiled chicken, salad from raw carrots or cabbage.

Dinner: 2 hard boiled eggs, salad from raw carrots with vegetable oil.

Day 7

Breakfast: tea.

Lunch: boiled beef 200gr, fruits.

Dinner: any dinner menu from above except day 3.

Day 8

Breakfast: tea.

Lunch: 200gr of boiled beef, fruits.

Dinner: any dinner menu from above except day 3.

Day 9

Breakfast: black coffee.

Lunch: half of boiled chicken, salad from fresh cabbage or carrots.

Dinner: 2 hard boiled eggs, glass of salad made from raw carrots with vegetable oil.

Day 10

Breakfast: salad from raw carrots with lemon juice.

Lunch: one big fried or boiled fish, glass of tomato juice.

Dinner: fruits.

Day 11

Breakfast: black coffee.

Lunch: one raw egg, three big boiled carrots with vegetable oil, 15gr of hard cheese.

Dinner: fruits.

Day 12

Breakfast: black coffee with dried crust.

Lunch: one big marrow fried in vegetable oil, apples, black coffee, dried crust.

Dinner: 200gr of boiled beef, glass of Keefer or yogurt.

Day 13

Breakfast: black coffee.

Lunch: hard boiled eggs, salad made from boiled cabbage with vegetable oil, glass of tomato juice.

Dinner: boiled or fried fish.

Day 14

Breakfast: black coffee.

Lunch: boiled or fried fish, salad from fresh cabbage with vegetable oil.

Dinner: 200gr of boiled beef, one glass of Keefer or yogurt.

Mentioned diets can help you lose 5-10kilo (10-20 pounds), some people could manage to lose 20-30 kilo (40-60 pounds) in 3-4 months. It impresses allot, but as we already know it is not hard to lose weight but to keep it small. After stopping diet person gets back 30-50% of lost weight in a first year. More than that diets are hard to maintain and can cause Keats's, skin dryness, hair losing and in 25% of cases develops cholelithiasis.

What about fasting days? Fasting days are good. But only if you do them not more that once or twice a week. In one fasting day you can lose from 500gr to 1 kilo. It is very convenient to use them if you know that you over eat a bit everyday and can not change it. There are seven days in a week, it is OK to make one of them a fasting day. Is it possible to lose weight only by doing fasting days and do no harm to your body? No.

Some Secrates Sunglasses You Don't Know

An unmistakable popular icon and a timeless fashion accessory, prescription sunglasses have become a preferred choice for many users. Thanks to the rising number of manufacturers and designer brands offering their own designs, prescription sunglasses are now available in myriad designs and range over a wide spectrum of colours. These sunglasses effortlessly radiate different kinds of appeals and as every individual is different, they can find the right pair of sunglasses to portray their personality. But these popular prescription sunglasses also have certain secrets which can help lead to wiser decisions.

First of all, you should be wary about the cheap sunglasses which you get at any optical store. In the quest of saving money, you end up buying a cheap pair of prescription sunglasses which might be damaged, or considered disqualified after the production process.

These prescription sunglasses, even though they save money, are a serious danger to your eyes and vision. To understand the risk, you have to first know the mechanism of how a pupil works. When the brightness is high, the pupil contracts to protect from the glare, and the light is soft, it dilates for a clearer vision. Now, in case you are wearing a malfunctioning pair of prescription sunglasses, the tint of the lenses will reduce the light and intuitively the pupil will get dilated. But the faulty UV coating won't be able to block the harmful UV rays, thus more UV rays will reach the eye as your pupil is dilated. Thus, it is better to not a pair of prescription sunglasses at all than wearing a faulty one. Wearing discarded prescription glasses for a cheap price will make you end up in spending more money.

Secondly, a popular misconception among prescription sunglasses is that the tint of the lenses actually determines the ability to block the ultra–violet rays. The colour of the lenses do have a direct relation to the amount of shade it offers to your eyes, but the UV coating is generally same on the kind of colours. The colours which are known to offer the best shade are brown, light grey and coffee. The next ones which come in efficiency are green, blue or amber coloured lenses. It is known that the lighter the tinge of the lenses, the lesser efficiency they have to offer your vision shade. An easy way to check whether the tinge on your lenses are lighter than what is required is to stand in front of a mirror and if you can see your eyes through the lenses then you will need darker lenses.

Supplements & Vitamin

Precisely because there are many brands to choose from, it really is not at all astonishing to discover men and women scratching their heads as to exactly what form of nutritional vitamin supplements they ought to shop for - whether they should select the tablet, liquid or sub lingual (under the tongue) forms of nutritional vitamins. However, just how much you are able to benefit from supplementation does not just depend on the type of nutritional vitamin supplements you pay for, but also on numerous additional factors as well

Here are some tips on choosing the right kind of vitamins:



1. Do you have a medical condition?

If you notice, there are different vitamins for pregnant women, recovering patients, and children. Each of these vitamin types are uniquely formulated to cater to the needs of their intended market. For example, vitamins for pregnant women are enriched with folate for the baby. Check with your doctor on which type of vitamins would be best for you.

2. Check for how well they're absorbed by the body Some vitamins brands are actually notorious among US-based nurses because go out the way they came in - the tablet practically intact and with the brand still visible. Ideally, you should be eating enough fruits, vegetables and grains to be healthy. But in today's ever busy world, this rarely happens, and so we need to supplement.

However, most vitamin and mineral supplements have a molecular structure that is totally different from the vitamins and minerals found in natural foods. This is the big reason why most of the nutrition found in vitamin supplements simply pass through our intestines and out of the body's system.

This may be cause some debate, but the best type of vitamin-mineral supplements are the ones that have been chelated in the manufacturing process. Chelated minerals are coated with amino acids that make it easy for them to pass through the intestinal walls and into the bloodstream.

3. Check for trace co-factor mineral content

Many vitamins actually need a mineral co-factor to work properly inside the body. For example,Vitamin A is actually poisonous if you don't take Vitamin B12 along with it.

Another example of a co-factor mineral at work is the trace mineral Zinc.

Zinc is important for the processing of carbohydrate, fat, and protein. It is also important for DNA and RNA replication. Without zinc, Vitamin A would be useless in maintaining healthy eyesight,

On the other hand, without magnesium, calcium won't be able to do its job of maintaining healthy bones and teeth. For your information around 70% of the magnesium inside the body is stored in the bones and teeth.

How to Improve Sleep Naturally and Relax

According to the National Sleep Foundation, short sleep duration is linked to all of the following health conditions and diseases:

Obesity
Diabetes
Heart problems
Depression
Poor short-term memory

So how many hours of quality sleep does a person need per night on average? Sleep needs per individual do vary and there is no hard and fast rule; however, it is generally believed that an adult should be getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Getting more or less than this may put you at greater risk of death. It should be noted that the research is less conclusive that getting too much sleep will pose problems while there is a much stronger link that getting too little sleep will.

Let's look into why sleep deprivation may contribute to two of the conditions mentioned above obesity and heart problems, and then we will talk about a few ways to help you overcome your poor sleep issues without medication.

Sleep Deprivation and Weight Gain
When you get too little sleep, hormones that regulate your hunger are affected in ways that make you feel hungrier than normal. As a result, you are more likely to eat food even when you don't need the calories. Some studies suggest that you are more likely to crave carbohydrates in particular and if you are craving such carbohydrates as sugar, potatoes, and bread, you are definitely not doing your waist line a favor.

Sleep Deprivation and Heart Problems
There are laboratory studies that suggest sleep deprivation may also contribute to various conditions that affect the heart negatively. When you get too little sleep, stress hormones in your body elevate, blood pressure increases, and your body moves into an inflammatory state. All of these factors put you at greater risk for heart disease.

Now let's talk about some of the key actions you can implement starting tonight to improve your sleep naturally without medication. Most sleep issues are caused by noise. The three types of noise that may be preventing you from sleeping are bed noise, body noise, and mind noise.

Bed noise has to do with the bedroom environment. Is it conducive to sleep? Is your bed comfortable? Is it quiet? Is it dark? Is the temperature cool enough? If you have an issue in this area, make the appropriate changes soon.

Body noise has to do with physical discomfort. Sometimes it is difficult to get to sleep because you are experiencing pain. Perhaps you have leg cramps, your back aches, or you are feeling sick. If this is the reason you are struggling to sleep, you need to find a way to lessen your physical discomfort or uncover what the root cause of your discomfort is so that you can address it.

Mind noise is when your thoughts are racing through your head a mile a minute. The best way to calm the mind is to do a relaxation exercise while in bed and focus on your breath. One that I sometimes use while in bed follows:

1. Lay on your back with your eyes closed

2. Put your arms to your side, slightly away from your body, palms facing up

3. Spread your legs slightly

4. Start focusing your mind on your breath without trying to control it and notice what it feels like as you draw in a breath and then exhale. Do this for a minute or two.

5. Next, take in a deep breath through the nose and with your mind send this breath down the right side of your body all the way to your right foot and toes. When you exhale, visualize your breath removing all the tension from your right toes, foot, and leg and let the tension leave your body with the breath.

6. Move on to the left side of the body with the left leg, foot and toes.

7. Next move on to the center of your body followed by your arms and then your shoulders, neck and head.

8. At the very end, take a deep breath and allow your breath to travel through your entire body. When you exhale remove every last piece of tension by exhaling the tension out into the atmosphere.

Your mind will be quiet now, and you will be ready to sleep oh so peacefully once again.

Smoking Stop and Method, Electric Cigrattes

You will discover several stop smoking

methods, however none of them truly seems to work. For long, there seemed to be totally no hope for compulsive cigarette users to kick the butt. But now there exists something that can help you stop smoking. Technologically-enhanced cigs, termed as electronic cigs, are fast replacing the tobacco-ridden ones, Therefore giving smokers a chance to stop cigarette smoking as soon as and for all.
Wondering if the electric cigarette actually assists you quit smoking? Is it a procedure that works? Maybe a little guide to what the item truly is will make it easier to realize this superior. An electronic cigarette is nothing nevertheless a battery-operated product created for cigarette smoking, built to reproduce the feel and essence of using tobacco an analog cigarette, although keeping the damaging outcomes traditionally associated with it at bay.

This is the biggest boon from the smokeless cigarette. Even ahead of it allows you quit smoking, it firsts protects you through the deadly outcomes from the carcinogenic substances and toxins that the regular cigs are filled with.
Smokeless cigarettes can assist you significantly bring down your big dependency on tobacco cigarettes, bringing you to the point exactly where you possibly can really quit making use of them at all. That is a single with the ways how to stop cigarette smoking wherever you're reducing the quantity of authentic cigarettes gradually. Nevertheless it's better than the other procedures. With most people, the electronic versions with the cigarette have helped them instantly curb their must smoke a actual 1 for as a lot of as two days correct at a stretch. Therefore, electric cigs provide you with the very best alternative to cut out tobacco from your life.
These cigs also give chain smokers some aid in terms of scaling down on costs, and hence, can assist them stay away through the regular cigs. Electronic cigs are a lot more very affordable options, considering that they are rechargeable and reusable.

The ingredients that an electronic cigarette is made up of are of no harm to you, considering that all that there exists, is water, propylene glycol, and synthetic flavoring. It truly is on the other hand advised, when you desire to stop using tobacco, to cut down on the nicotine levels as you move forward, to ensure that your addiction entirely subsides, and you do not need to crave a cigarette to smoke ever again.
So, there's a new and powerful weapon within the arsenal of stop smoking methods - smokeless cigarette. Great luck with quitting smoking as you'll be relieved in the tension and social stigma that comes with cigarette smoking whenever you after manage to stop.

Nose Surgery

Reconstructive male nose surgery is by no means a simple cosmetic procedure. Nasal contouring for men is distinctly different from that of women. It demands great skill and experience on behalf of the performing plastic surgeon to bring about the perfect masculine structure to the nose.

Reconstructive Male Nose Surgery for a More Attractive Nose

Men generally pay more importance to the shape, rather than the size of their nose. As such having a long, wide, bulbous nose or even a deviated septum which gives a crooked appearance to the nose can be quite frustrating. Fortunately this is not something which one is forced to live with for the rest of his life. Reconstructive male nose surgery can correct all such flaws.

There may be many reasons which would necessitate a nose surgery or rhinoplasty . Some of which are natural deformity, injury or even feminine appearance of the nose. In all nasal procedures, the plastic surgeon takes into account the bone density and structure of the nose as much of the result depends on these two aspects.

Corrective versus Aesthetic Nose Surgery

A corrective procedure is all about rectifying the minor or major flaws of the nose which may be causing impediments to the patient, whereas an aesthetic procedure focuses on providing a natural and at the same time, the best possible look for the nose. The fast paced advancements made in medical science have introduced safer surgical methods along with improved and superior technology. Unlike before, it is now possible to enhance the profile of the nose by way of augmentation. There may be slight irritation for a few days which can be well tolerated with medication but nothing amounting to intense pain or discomfort.

Reconstructive male nose surgery is a very delicate procedure and an experienced plastic surgeon can ensure the best aesthetic outcome. A reconstructed nose improves your good looks and can considerably boost your self confidence and esteem.

Twenty - Five ways to get your five day

Rich in nutrients, vast in variety, fruit and vegetables are a mainstay of the natural bodybuilding lifestyle. Try these tips to meet or exceed your recommended daily quota of nature's health-boosting bounty.

Make a well-stocked fruit bowl the welcoming centre piece of your home. Top it up with the colorful bounty of the season, and encourage family and friends to treat it as a help-yourself snack bar, rather than an ornamental arrangement.

For a protein-packed anytime snack, spread a little peanut butter along the inside of a celery stick. Paste a line of raisins or dried cranberries on top, .and crunch to your heart's content.

Introduce a few leaves of fresh mint to a bowl of watermelon cubes, for an irresistible appetizer or summery salad.

Pop some seedless grapes into the freezer overnight. Serve as little bites of chilled dessert, or plop into a tall glass of water for an icy touch of flavor.

Lop the top off a leathery-looking granadilla (that's how you'll know it's ripe) and spoon out the seeds with a slurp. If you don't mind waiting a little longer for your fix, sprinkle the seeds over plain low-fat yogurt instead.

Peel and slice a paw paw into petals, and serve with a zesty squeeze of lemon for a breakfast treat.

Spread low-fat chunky cottage cheese onto granary bread, and top up with cherry tomato, thinly-sliced cucumber, grated carrot and sprouts for a filling snack.

Turn an ordinary sandwich into a culinary masterpiece by adding layers of fresh or grilled vegetables to your chosen filling.

Slice a big red apple into little strips, and cunningly serve as ‘apple chips' to your children.

Broaden your horizons. Try a fruit or vegetable you've never tried before, or try an old favorite prepared in a new and interesting way. If you're fond of steamed asparagus, for instance, why not try asparagus raw, with just a little balsamic vinegar and lemon zest on hand?

Tangy on the tongue, with just a hint of sweetness, the Kiwi fruit adds an exotic burst of flavor to a salad or dessert. But to really enjoy the fruit to its fullest, eat it like the Kiwis do: bite by juicy bite, with the skin on. Give it a good wash first, and remember, all that extra fibre is good for you.

Banana wheels on top of wholewheat toast? Try it. It's too good a treat to be enjoyed by five-year-olds alone.

Peel and cut a pineapple into hefty vertical slices. Slide onto society skewers, and sprinkle lightly with curry powder for an authentic street-stall treat.

Thread grapes, strawberries, and cubes of Kiwi fruit, paw paw, and watermelon onto skewers, and serve as tropical poolside kebabs.

Surround a dip-bowl of low-fat cottage cheese with alternating slices of fresh fruit and vegetables on a circular tray, and nibble at your convenience.

Start your day with a healthier sundae, by layering your muesli or high-fibre cereal with plain low-fat yogurt, slices of fresh fruit, and a sprinkling of nuts drizzled with honey.

Slice a banana lengthwise, and coat the inside with peanut-butter. Stick it back together, and serve it to your children as a Peanut-Butter Banana Boat.

Toast a pita bread, fill it up with vegetables - cherry tomatoes, grated cabbage, red onion rings, cucumbers, peppers - and voila, you've got a quick and healthy salad in your pocket.

A is for Artichoke, B is for Butternut, C is for Courgette...test your fruit & vegetable literacy by working your way through the alphabet of options on your 5-a-day plan. And if you get a little stuck when you get to ‘X', try xigua, which is the Chinese name for a variety of small watermelon.

Haul out the cookie cutters, call in the kids, and

spend some quality time crafting pretty vegetable carvings.

Painstakingly prepared from semolina or barley, couscous is a nourishing staple of African cuisine. But don't just eat it on its own: mix it with crispy roast vegetables, browned in their own juices, and add a topping of fresh green salad and lemon juice to make a meal on its own.

Spicy rice tastes even nicer when you mix it up with chippings of cold pineapple and cuts of mango.

Blend a banana with frozen berries, milk, and plain low-fat yogurt for a tasty fruit smoothie.

Half-moon slices of a Granny Smith apple, served on a bed of celery stalks and leaves, with a topping of chopped walnuts. Yes, it's a Waldorf Salad, but some thing's missing: the mayonnaise. That's because all you need is a dash of lemon juice or olive oil to enjoy this crispier, crunchier, healthier version of the famous dish.

Raid your vegetable drawer to make a hearty soup or stew, and you're guaranteed to get your recommended quota of five healthy portions a day.

Hormones and Depression

Depressive and anxiety disorders have a lifetime risk of 20-26% in women and 8-12% in men. Cultural and psychological variables relating to the role of women may explain some of this difference. Documented risk factors have included childhood trauma/loss, unhealthy coping styles, limited support systems and conflicts in gender roles. The struggle to excel in multiple roles as a wife, mother, friend and sister while working two jobs would be an example of the latter.

However, this increaseed risk has been demonstrated in diverse countries and cultures, suggesting that biological variables are significant in addition to cultural and psychological contributions. Furthermore, depression has been associated more with hormonal transitional events such as menarche, pregnancy, contraceptive use, menstrual cycles, miscarriage, total hysterectomy,

promenades/menopause and hormone replacement therapies. Thus, much of the biological research focus has centered on estrogen and progesterone relationships with known neurotransmitters in the brain.

Estrogen and progesterone should be thought of as brain hormones, not just relevant to ovarian, uterine or bone issues. Receptors for both hormones are found in the amicable, hippo campus, circulate cortex, locus cerulean and rap ha nuclei. These areas of the brain comprise critical components of the Limbo system that manage the neurotransmitters serotonin, nor epinephrine and dopamine.

Deficiencies in these neurotransmitters have been associated with a variety of mood and anxiety disorders. Estrogen has been shown to increase neurotransmitter levels, stimulate nerve growth factors and promote neuronal communication via second messenger systems. In other words, estrogen can function as a &liquor;fertilizer&radio; of sorts for brain function for many women under normal circumstances. However, normal &liquor;circumstances&radio; can become complicated.

Under normal circumstances, estrogen acts as a substantial multiplier of serotonin function. Thus women would not need as much serotonin as men in order to get the same benefit due to this amplification from estrogen. In fact, women do synthesize serotonin at much lower rates than men, as a toxic reaction (serotonin toxicity syndrome) could occur if women made serotonin at the same rate as men. This is all fine and good as long as one maintained a significant estrogen level for amplification purposes.

In reality, estrogen, progesterone and other hormone levels fluctuate under normal conditions every month to allow for maximum fertility opportunities. Thus, there would be times when estrogen levels are higher in the first half of the month and decline toward to end of the month. Estrogen levels would also be low during other hormonal transitional periods such as postpartum and primeness/menopause.

The amplification would be lost then and the individual&risque;s serotonin system would have to speed up to compensate. The ability to speed up serotonin and other neurotransmitter functions is felt to be under genetic control. Thus, the ability to accelerate serotonin function in response to changes in estrogen function could be impacted by genetic wiring. Someone with a strong family history of depression, anxiety disorder, eating disorder or alcoholism may not be able to speed up their serotonin production enough to compensate for the lack of amplification and become symptomatic.

Estrogen was used as a treatment for depression in the distant past because of these issues. This was abandoned with the Women&risque;s Health Initiative study in 2002&MASH;better known as the &liquor;preempt study.&radio; This study sought to demonstrate the types of benefits that were afforded menopausal women who took hormone replacement therapy with a combination estrogen/progesterone treatment&MASH;preempt. The study demonstrated a higher risk of cardiac disease, stroke, venous thromboembolism and breast cancer in the women treated with preempt.

However, this study raised a number of questions about hormone replacement therapy that has led to this therapy no longer ranking as a good first line, long-term treatment. Antidepressants continue to have an important therapeutic role in female depressive states along with diet, exercise, proper sleep, stress management, psychotherapy and the most commonly used &liquor;complimentary and alternative therapy&radio;&MASH;prayer.