Modern Beauty With Natural Ingredients Of The Past

For centuries, women have been blending a variety of ingredients in pursuit of an elixir that will promote radiant, youthful skin.

For example, women in search of beautiful skin in ancient Egypt used whipped ostrich eggs, olive oil and dough mixed with resin and milk. And today, one of the world's top beauty companies has paired a traditional, time-tested ingredient-royal jelly-with cutting-edge technology to help prolong skin vitality and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

What Is Royal Jelly?

Royal jelly is produced by young bees and used to nourish and prolong their queen bee's life. Long considered a "fountain of youth," it's a rich treasure chest of proteins, carbohydrates, essential lipids, fatty acids and vitamins. This elixir is so unique that it cannot be entirely reproduced in any laboratory.

Royal jelly's regenerative properties were first discovered in ancient China to promote longer life. The Egyptians saw royal jelly as a "sacred youth elixir" and saved it for the pharaoh and his queen. The Romans called it the "sweet juice of life" and the Mayan civilization considered it a "youth tonic for vitality."

Vital Ingredient

Studies show that JAFRA's reformulated Royal Jelly products help prolong skin vitality, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and help skin retain its soft and youthful look. These numerous benefits, combined with customized essential ingredient complexes, are actually backed by scientific studies.

Extensive research supports the age-defying impact these products have on the skin. After two weeks of use, consumer tests revealed:

• 80 percent saw a reduction of fine lines and wrinkles;

• 81 percent felt an improvement in skin firmness;

• 89 percent saw significant skin radiance; and

• 92 percent felt immediate moisturization.

JAFRA's Royal Jelly collection-the company's signature line- includes Milk Balm Advanced, Milk Balm Original, Body Complex, Lift Concentrate, Milk Bath, and Vitamin Tablets Dietary Supplement.

Today's beauty products combine modern science with ancient, time-tested ingredients to help prolong skin vitality.

Glucosamine may reduce pain, is considered safe

I've been taking 1,000 mg of glucosamine daily for a couple of years. It has done wonders for my cartilage trouble, and now I do not get water on the knee. Should I be worried about taking it over the long term?

Unfortunately, there's no reliable information available to answer your question. Without long-term scientific research, it's impossible to know whether stopping or continuing glucosamine is the better choice.

There have been some very good studies of glucosamine in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Studies suggest its use is associated with reduced pain from osteoarthritis of the knee similar in magnitude to an anti-inflammatory medication (such as ibuprofen or naproxen). For unclear reasons, glucosamine may improve moderate or severe symptoms more reliably than it does for mild joint pain.

As for other forms of arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, or for osteoarthritis affecting joints other than the knee, we have even less information about glucosamine's effectiveness.There is significant controversy and skepticism about claims that glucosamine has benefits beyond reducing knee pain from osteoarthritis. It's unclear whether glucosamine can help heal damaged joints or prevent future joint damage. Regarding joint swelling, or "water on the knee," this is not one of the proven benefits of glucosamine. It's possible that you would have improved even without the supplement.

Drug resistant TB 'rising in UK'

Drug resistant tuberculosis is posing a growing threat in the UK, probably fuelled by immigration, say experts.

A Health Protection Agency team examined 28,620 TB infections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2005.

They found the proportion of cases resistant to any of the first-line drugs rose from 5.6% to 7.9%.

The British Medical Journal study also found a small increase in cases of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB).

However, although the number of people becoming infected with drug-resistant TB has almost doubled, from 170 in 1998 to 336 in 2005, they still make up a small proportion of the total number of TB infections.

The HPA researchers found a significant increase in resistance to one particular drug, isoniazid, outside London.

Many of these patients came from sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent, where they may have developed immunity to the drug.

The researchers said measures to control outbreaks of TB among prisoners and drug users were not up to scratch.

They said the shortcomings of the current system were illustrated by the fact that an outbreak of drug resistant TB among prison inmates and drug users which began in London in 1999 was still producing new cases.

US warns of health concern from chemical in food containers

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Bisphenol A, a chemical component used in making baby bottles and other food containers, could be linked to hormone and neurological problems, a US panel has warned.

The Health Department's National Toxicology Program (NTP) said in its preliminary report released Tuesday on Bisphenol A that: "there is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants and children, at current human exposures."

"The NTP also has some concern for Bisphenol A exposure in these populations based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an earlier age for puberty in females," the report added.

But "these studies only provide limited evidence for adverse effects on development, and more research is needed to better understand their implications for human health," it said.

Still "because these effects in animals occur at Bisphenol A exposure levels similar to those experienced by humans, the possibility that Bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed," it stressed.

The chemical is common in containers used for food such as baby bottles, dishes and food storage containers meant for microwave use.

5 ways to look younger

Get an extra hour of sleep each night
There is a reason it is called "beauty rest." Sleep deprivation gives you dark circles and dull skin. It can also cause weight gain, diminished immune response and foul moods. The key to sleeping more is simple: go to bed earlier. Here¹s how:

* Establish a new bedtime: Go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night for four nights in a row, and get 20 minutes of bright light every morning to help regulate the hormones that will make you tired in the evening (either outdoors or from a light box). Then stick to your new bedtime and wake up call.
* Go dark: Exposure to light, even at the level in most living rooms, can suppress the release of melatonin, the sleep hormone, making it difficult to doze off. An hour before bedtime, dim the lights, turn off the TV and computer and make your room as dark as possible.
* Release tension: Consider taking a warm bath an hour before bed. Beyond feeling relaxing, the rise and subsequent fall in body temperature slows the heart and makes you drowsy.

Raise your hands
A woman's hands look younger when she wears rings and nail polish, according to a recent study. Also, many women don't realize hands often show your age before your face does.

* People always forget to apply sunscreen to their hands every day. Use a hand cream with SPF of at least 15
* Pick a nail color that makes your hands look young (not taupe, not dark blue or deep burgundy). Bright reds look great on short, rounded nails, but make sure to choose an orange-y red and not a bluish red‹the blue makes veins in your hands look worse. You can't go wrong with a low-key, soft pink. We like OPI Bubble Bath, a creamy pink.

Protect your neck
The neck is actually more prone to aging than the face, which is supported by a cushion of tissue. You can make your neck neck look much younger with the right creams.

* The most crucial treatment is prevention with a broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen. Apply it every day.
* You don't need to buy specific creams for the neck: Face creams with the right ingredients work just as well.
* An antioxidant cream used daily will protect skin from environmental damage that causes wrinkles. Product: Dermatologists recommend idebenone (Prevage or Priori Smooth Lines) CoffeeBerry (Revale Skin) Green Tea, Pomegranate or a combination of vitamins C and E.

Perfect your skin with foundation
Some people think foundation looks like a mask, feels like shrink wrap, and magnifies every line and wrinkle. But when it¹s done right, it can actually make skin look brighter, more even, and more youthful. Here is how the pros do it:

* Choose a liquid foundation -- it's more moisturizing and less likely to cake than a cream or powder on. Test shades on your jawline, in natural light.
* Before applying, always use moisturizer‹makeup blends more easily on moist skin.
* Use a makeup sponge. Use it dry if you want full coverage; damp (wet it and squeeze it) if you want a sheer result.

Bring youthful volume back to your hair
As you age, hair, like skin, gets thinner. Here are some tricks to bring the volume back:

* Wash with a volumizing shampoo, then apply a lightweight conditioner to the ends only (conditioner on the crown is a recipe for limpness).
* Rub a bit of mousse into the roots to give volume and blow dry.
* Dry your hair in sections, wrapping the top sections around large Velcro rollers, pulling slightly toward the face. Let cool for at least ten minutes.
* The old upside-down move really works, flip your head over, shake hair with fingers at the roots.

Irene Stein Offers Anti-Aging Royal Jelly For Diseases

Tel Aviv ----September 18....... Back in the early 16th century there was an Indian health legend doing the rounds of Puerto Rico that a magical Fountain of Youth existed somewhere in the environs, whose curative powers would restore the health and youthful vitality of any old person who bathed in it.

An explorer Ponce de Leon was so entranced by this anti-aging myth that he got together three huge sailing ships and set out in search of this supernatural health spring, braving foreign waters and hostile locals and eventually ending up discovering North America and setting foot in Florida, US.

Your search for anti-aging solutions need not be so dramatic, for if Irene Stein is to be believed, an elixir of youth is available to you direct to your doorstep - and its name is Irena.

According to Irene Stein, Irena is a unique anti-ageing formulation that blends a myriad of health, herbal and natural ingredients that work independently and synergistically to optimise the overall effect of the compound on the body. The anti-aging formula is based on Royal Jelly, the nourishment of the queen bee that in itself is lauded for its multiple health benefits and has been used for healing and fighting diseases in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and throughout Asia for centuries.

Irene Stein's Royal Jelly anti-ageing health solution stands among many other health and disease-fighting natural cures including Korean Ginseng, known for its energy-giving properties, magnesium, potassium, zinc, an array of vitamins and glutamic acid, which is known to delay the aging process.

Irene Stein, who is credited with introducing the US, UK, England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Canada, Spain, Germany, France, South America, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Israel, Turkey, China, Japan and Italy to the health benefits of Royal Jelly back in the '70s, has dedicated a lifetime to her passionate pursuit of the anti-aging health cures of Royal Jelly and to creating her Irena formula.

For the better part of 30 years Stein has worked closely with eminent biochemists, herbalists and alternative health doctors to produce what she calls "the ultimate health supplement - 100% natural and non-addictive, and more potent than anything else currently available".

Understanding anger

Anger is every where. The message is everywhere – in our movies, politics and music. Why? Perhaps because it gives us feelings of certainty and power. Studies show that fear and anxiety are bad for our health, but getting moderately angry relieves some of our stress. There are plenty of very angry people around, and plenty of myths about anger. Venting your anger is healthy. Is that a myth? Men are angrier than women. It sometimes seems that way, but is it true? And we've seen the stereotype in movies like "Grumpy Old Men."

We'll also examine anger in families and how to deal with it. The Weinstein family had four out-of-control kids and a dad who frequently blew his top, until "Supernanny" Jo Frost came to help them. Frost shares practical advice on how families can resolve anger issues.

Plus, it's a rare person who can hit it really big – in the movies, in sports or even in business – without becoming a narcissist, with the rage that so often comes with it, according to Robert Millman, a professor at Cornell's Weill Medical College. Millman treats some of America's superstars and has become so familiar with what he describes as their narcissistic tendencies and insecurities that he has coined a syndrome unique to the celebrities: acquired situational narcissism.

"You can be a Saudi prince, for example, or you can be a baseball player or you can be a random billionaire and you can develop malignant narcissism by virtue of the situation," Millman said, adding that narcissism often leads to anger. "It's this huge rage that you're not as great as you could be, or you're not being perceived as great as you could be," he said.

Does that explain some of the destructive and outrageous behavior we've come to accept in celebrities? Perhaps, but it's not just the the stars. University of Michigan professor Brad Bushman says that narcissism is on the rise in America, and that the phenomenon is particularly striking in young people."There's something in American culture that seems to feed these narcissistic tendencies," he said.

Bushman says he has tested thousands of students and consistently found that the most narcissistic ones are the most vindictive if they don't get the praise and admiration they feel they deserve. Robert Thurman, the first American to be ordained a Buddhist monk, might make you think twice about anger as a solution.

His life is a lesson in how destructive anger can be. As a young Harvard student, Thurman had a fit of rage while fixing a flat tire and lost his eye. The trauma led him to drop out of school and travel to Tibet in a quest for answers about anger. He got some, and he thinks Americans should develop a more cautious approach to this toxic emotion.

"People will even kill themselves, you know," he said. "They'll like drive their car into something, they'll just get so flipped out. In other words, they won't even be careful with themselves, much less others, who they might love when they're normal and cool you know." What he learned in his journey, above all, he says, is that we can change who we are in relation to anger.

What Thurman says is supported by brain science, according to Dr. Richard Davidson at the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin. "We can change our wiring," said Thurman. "That's the key thing.