More and more these days, the aging process is being pushed back. We constantly hear phrases such as “40 is the new 30,” or, for more ambitious people, “50 is the new 30.” While these phrases are of course not literally true, they are strongly indicative of a growing idea that numerical aging should not slow people down. Women in particular seem to be going to greater lengths these days to ensure that they stay sexy and beautiful as they begin to age. There are a number of ways for women to accomplish this feat, from exercise and dieting to surgical improvement, and everything in between.

A lot of women begin with their breasts in the movement to stay youthful and attractive in appearance. It is a simple fact that breasts tend to lose some of their shape and firmness over time, meaning that a lot of women choose to do something to reverse or deter the changes. For example, a lot of women, at some point, consider breast augmentation surgery, in order to enhance or improve their breasts. However, it is important not to assume that this decision necessarily means that a woman will have large implants put in. In fact, a breast augmentation can do any number of things for a woman, meaning that it may be useful whether you are looking to go from a cup to c cup breasts, or whether you would like a larger enhancement, or even a reduction. You should have plenty of options.

Many women who begin to see themselves aging physically also start to notice facial wrinkling that can appear unattractive at times. This is a natural element of the aging process, but it does not have to be permanent, or detrimental to your appearance. There are actually a number of procedures that plenty of women turn to, from collagen and botox injections to facelift plastic surgeries, which can reduce or even completely get rid of facial wrinkles. This can keep your face youthful and attractive, even as you begin to grow older.

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I found a great new resource for those trying to lose weight to share helpful tips with each other! Read and learn, or post an article to help someone else. Here is one that will probably hit home with all of you who love eating out!

It’s stocking stuffer season so I thought it very appropriate, and indeed quite clever, to time this particular post about stockings for the very time of year that you are buying small gifts for stockings! And have I got the best idea for you! GOGO hose, tights, and trouser socks are my new favorite undergarment and fitness/health aid!! In colors like Winter White, Black, Cocoa, Coal, Navy - you can’t go wrong!!

It used to be that the only people who knew what compression hose are, were 1) your grandma who used them after surgery or due to an ailing circulatory system to prevent blood pooling in her lower legs, to avoid  swelling and varicose veins. 2. The owner of the home medical supply store who delivered them to her, along with her toilet stabilizing rails, and 3. your mom - the one you turned to everytime her mom came over, and asked, “why does grandma always wear those ugly looking pantyhose?”

Compression hose later evolved and became one of the weapons in many a pregnant woman’s arsenal against varicose veins and swelling. As PDRHealth.com explains, “Swelling in the ankles and legs commonly occurs during the later stages of pregnancy. As the uterus enlarges, it puts pressure on the vena cava, a large vessel that returns blood to the heart from the rest of the body. This pressure then backs up through the circulatory system, causing increased blood pressure in the legs, ankles, and feet. Ultimately, this pressure causes fluid to leak into the surrounding tissue.”

Nowadays though, compression technology has gone mainstream - as it should have! And aren’t we better off for it? I’ll answer that for you. Yes we are!

First of all, who among us doesn’t want to either prevent varicose veins or keep them from getting worse, without throwing away fashion and sex appeal right along with our belief in Santa? Aren’t we all on a quest to hide the fact that all the holiday eating from Halloween on, is making our bellys rival that of Santa’s?

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After much research and personal experimentation, I am more than convinced that the key to longevity, vitality, and aging gracefully is through the proper balancing of the body’s alkaline and acid pH levels. 

Here are what some of the experts say:

Writer Sang Whang in his book “Reverse Aging” proposed a Theory of Aging: we age because we gradually accumulate organic acid wastes. These wastes show up as uric acid, urate, sulfate, phosphate, kidney stones and other organic wastes often surrounded by cholesterol. Cellulite is a gel-like substance made up of fat in which are trapped acid wastes in pockets below the skin.

Dr Robert Young, author of “The pH Miracle” has been saying for years that “Obesity is an acid problem, the fat is saving our lives.” Why? Because the body creates fat cells to carry acids away from your vital organs, so these acids literally don’t choke your organs to death. Read more here.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that alkalizing diets improve bone density and serum growth hormone concentrations; the acidosis resulting from acidic diets contributes to bone and muscle loss.

Why? Because calcium is the body’s most potent alkalinizing agent. When you drink an acidic soft drink, for example, the body reacts swiftly by drawing huge amounts of organic calcium from the bones and teeth and pouring it into the bloodstream to neutralize the excess acid so that it can quickly restore alkaline balance. 

So how do you change your body’s pH? It’s all in what you eat and drink. Big culprits are things most people consume everyday: coffee and sodas. Here is a list to print out and keep on your refrigerator. It shows which foods have an alkalinizing or an acidifying effect on the body. If you want to stay fit and healthy in your thirties, forties, and beyond, you will do it easily by eating from the left side of this chart as much as possible! And if that list doesn’t seem user friendly to you, here’s another chart.

Bariatric surgery has become very popular among those people with large amounts of weight to lose. A new study out of Sweden now finds that cancer risk among women who do, is lowered by 42%!!! Read the article on HealthNews here.

I keep hearing that not only are chia seeds good for the skin but they are good for overall health. So, in an effort to keep you beautiful at 30 and beyond, I am passing along an article from one of my favorite skin health blogs Highonhealth.com related to Chia Seeds! Who knew the Chia Pet could be eaten? Here’s the article:

I’ve been talking for a while now about the benefits of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), and in particular flax, fish and evening primrose oils. But some new research is emerging on flax seed oil and its possible link to estrogen dominance, which perhaps makes it a questionable oil to consume on a regular basis.

Estrogen dominance is becoming a huge problem all over the world. We’re consuming way too many estrogens from both obvious and hidden sources which is elevating our estrogen levels by way too much. And it’s not just a female problem either, this is a problem no matter what gender you are because men naturally have the estrogen hormone too.

Before I get onto Chia seeds (which is what this article is supposed to be all about), I’d like to first talk about plastics, because plastics are the biggest culprit of all containing a lot of hidden estrogens. And unfortunately plastic is everywhere and we use so much of it everyday. It may surprise you that all plastic contains estrogens. And the more flexible the plastic the more estrogen it contains.

So if you can, store your food in glass containers, use a glass drinking bottle, and never ever heat your food in a plastic container. I was using those little plastic sandwich bags for a while to store almonds and cashews in my handbag. I’m not going to do that anymore because the flexible plastic bag contains a lot of estrogens. And if you think the estrogens cannot get into your food or liquid, think again because they can.

Why is there estrogen in my flax seed oil?

When I was in sixth or seventh grade, the most popular girl in school, T____ who got all the boys’ attention, started to have to share the limelight when a new, equally pretty girl named N____ came to school mid-year. Feeling the lapse in attention didn’t make T feel good, and in an effort to bring the focus back on herself, she started resorting to extreme, attention-grabbing measures. She’d wear flashy clothes and when that didn’t steal N’s thunder, she’d break out the dramatic makeup look - you know the one- the blue shadow and Tammy Faye mascara.

Before too long, the school’s attention turned to a canned food drive, and with everyone engrossed in their own struggles to get ahead in the contest to win an ice cream party, less attention was payed to the girls. Soon, both girls were desperate to recoup their audience.

It was like a bad episode of The Facts Of Life with dueling popular girls competing for the number one spot on their peers’ radar with Mrs. Garrett playing referee. N would show up Monday with a crazy hair do, and by Friday, T would counter with a half-shaved head. N sported a fake tattoo of a butterfly, T responded with double-pierced ears and big hoop earrings. 

Now, imagine the girls as magazines named Time and Newsweek. The playground is the news stand. The boys’ roving eyes are the diverted attention from magazines onto electronic media. The other peers in the school are all of us, called potential readers. The canned food drive distraction is today’s poor economy (causing attention and expendable income to be drawn away from the dueling mags). Instead of Mrs. Garrett as referee, it is the rest of the media. (Today Show mentions Time magazine article- 2 points! Larry King mentions Newsweek article - 3 points!). And of course, the flashy glitz and glam getups of the dueling girls are equivalent to overblown or sensationalized controversial stories about two of the most popular “kids” (topics) in “school” (America), pushed out by skilled marketing and PR teams. 

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Here’s the scene: Boy meets girl. Boy asks girl out. Boy and girl go to a nice Italian restaurant. (Or, since the boy is on a budget or thinks Olive Garden is a nice Italian restaurant, they go to Olive Garden.) They view the menu. Girl really wants to order the creamy, cheese stuffed ravioli and instead, when the waiter arrives to the table, she orders the low calorie chicken marsala. Why? Because she doesn’t want to look like a pig. Or, she at least wants to appear to be somewhat health conscious.

We’ve all done it. Don’t pretend you haven’t. And now there is a study that proves that to be true, and confirms what we already knew about men - they eat whatever the hell they want regardless of who they are with - male or female.

Here’s the study in a nutshell: Meredith Young, PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior, studied students at three universities in natural eating environments in cafeterias. All cafeterias had a wide variety of food and companion options. 

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A couple of new studies seem to confirm what has been rumored in the past - that chewing is more than just a mechanical process necessary for satisfying hunger and filling our bellies.

The first study involves gum. And yes, it was funded by Wrigley, but it was done at Baylor University and seems to be legitimate. We’ve all heard that chewing gum may be a good dieting strategy because it can keep you from putting, other, more fattening things in your mouth. But the study seems to prove that it’s not just an issue of keeping the mouth busy, chewing gum seems to actually remove your craving for snacks. 

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Nancy Pelosi Under The Knife

The question of the day is: Will your liposuction and facelift be funding healthcare reform? 

So for those of you who have been debating between diet and exercise or lipo, your choice might be getting easier if politicians get their way. By the time Senators get done with our healthcare reform bill, dieting may not sound so bad compared to a proposed 10% luxury tax on cosmetic procedures such as fat reduction enhancements like tummy tucks, liposuction, and breast reductions.

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