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Boost Your Beauty With These Foods

Nutrition & Supplements

You know good nutrition leads to better health. But did you know it can lead to a more beautiful you?

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Fit Beauty - Creating a fabulous fall face

If your make-up routine consists of little more than a little powder for shine and a swipe or two of mascara, you're probably not too concerned about fall make-up trends. However, by adding just a product or two, you can really update your look for the season.

I've always been of the opinion that a new lipgloss is far cheaper than a new pair of trendy boots. And, most likely, that lipgloss will be of use the following season, and possibly even the following year, while trendy boots can look dated within months.

Cosmetics for Your Fall Face(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Trend: MetallicsTrend: LuminescenceTrend: Deep, rich, dark colorsTrend: Dark lipsTrend: Embellished Naturals

The problem is that so many people get flustered when it comes to cosmetics -- how do they know what'll work for them? I'm giving you my best tips in the gallery, so whether you are a makeup maven or just want to freshen up your face for fall, there's something for you!

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Daily Fit Tip: Put an end to chafing

Daily Fit Tip

Trying to become a runner? Take some advice from seasoned vets and solve a common problem with something that's probably in your medicine cabinet.

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Fit Beauty: Gorgeous, healthy nails

Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements

Looking great and feeling great often go hand in hand. Partly, that's because good nutrition truly shows -- your hair, your skin, and your nails all look their best when you start by eating the right foods. And so, if your current beauty goal is to grow long, beautiful nails, start at the dinner table by eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to get the necessary vitamins.

Now that you've got the nutrition aspect under control, let's talk about some other things you can do for healthy nails. According to ehow.com, there are five steps you can take to get your best nails ever.

Click through the gallery to learn more about the vitamins you need and to see the steps -- but don't break a nail!

All You Need For Gorgeous Nails(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Get ready!Vitamin AVitamin CZinc and ProteinVitamin B12

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Making sure your spa is safe

Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Motivation

Oh... a day at the spa. Sounds like a relaxing bit of heaven, doesn't it? How does a nail infection sound? Or a lethal overdose of hair-removal treatment? Spas offer a variety of services nowadays -- not just the run-of-the-mill facial and massage. So you should check your spa out as thoroughly as you would check out a new physician. Here are some tips:

  • Don't make your first appointment over the phone. Visit the spa, ask for a tour, and see if it appears professional, organized, and sanitary.
  • Ask questions! Ask if the staff is licensed and what their training was. You can also ask about the years of experience. If you're getting treatments such as Botox (and if you are, really, think twice) make sure whoever is administering it is a licensed physician or a nurse under a doctor's supervision.
  • Ask friends if they've been to the spa before and see if the spa has an online rating.
  • The spa should have a questionnaire or verbally ask you questions about existing health conditions, allergies, and so forth. If you don't feel an appropriate question has been asked, speak up! You have to advocate for you own health.

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Who Knew: Three health myths uncovered

Diet & Weight Loss

My radio station co-hosts debunked a few health myths yesterday morning and some of the truths they shared surprised me a bit. What do you think about these?

We should drink eight full glasses of water each day. Nope. This myth dates way back and has long been perpetuated. But most of the water we need comes from our food -- if we're eating the right foods, of course -- and so consuming loads of water simply is not necessary. How much is the right amount? It depends on the opinion of the person you consult.

We only use 10 percent of our brains. Not true. Never has it been proven that 90 percent of our brains sit dormant. Imaging tests on a normal healthy brain will consistently light up all over the place, indicating function in all areas.

Reading in dim light will harm your eyes. It might cause some strain but won't lead to permanent damage or vision loss.

Does turkey really make us tired? Do our nails and hair continue to grow after we die? To uncover the truth about these questions and more, give a glance to this MSNBC article.

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Fake nails: Dangerous?

Alternative & Green Health

I've worn fake nails exactly one time in my life -- on Halloween when I was a teenager. And all I can say about that experience is that I've kept my nails super short ever since. Typing, opening jars and even wiping your behind are just too much hassle with long nails, if you ask me. But if you've found a way to get used to acrylic nails, good for you. However, there are some things you should know about acrylic nails, according to my favourite beauty experts, the Beauty Brains:
  • Don't use your nails as a tool. Sure, your nails are a handy alternative to a screwdriver, but if you end up ripping it off? You real nail goes too. Ouch.
  • Acrylic nails can also expose you to some harmful chemicals.
  • Gel sculpted nails can react with some medications.
  • Nail polish remover can be harmful both to real and artificial nails.
Want to find out why? Read the original post. And tell us -- do you use acrylic nails? Have you encountered any problems with them?

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Hair, nails and skin: Some cheap(er) ways to get an expensive look

Alternative & Green Health

Manicures, pedicures, facials and visits to a salon for haircuts, coloring and hi-lites can be incredibly expensive. So what's a girl to do if she wants to maintain a polished, movie star look but obviously doesn't have the same kind of money to spend as a star? Well, you can try some of these tips on getting an expensive look for less.

The piece offers advice on how to keep hair looking shiny, keeping a just-polished look on finger and toe nails and getting celebrity-worthy eyebrows. Tips include not washing hair every day or using mousse as both will make your mane look dry and dull, shilling out for a really great, classic and personalized haircut a few times a year rather than opting for a trendy cut that needs maintenance every six weeks and buffing nails or using light, shimmery polishes -- like opal and taupe -- to keep nails looking like you've just been for a mani-pedi.

Let's face it, unless you've got too much money to throw around -- and most of us don't -- it's not really realistic to try to keep up with all of the treatments and styles that the stars favor, but these hints will help you look great without spending a fortune.

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Star style: Get hair like Natalie Portman, make-up like Reese Witherspoon and more

Alternative & Green Health

It's easy to feel jealous when you see magazine spreads of beautiful and seemingly flawless female celebrities, but it's also easy to forget that most of these women spend hours in the hair and make-up chair before those photos are taken.

With a little time and effort, and some help from top celeb stylists, you can look as fantastic as your favorite star. This spread in Glamour Magazine gives you the lowdown on how to copy hairstyles like Natalie Portman's thick and wavy look, Anne Hathaway's stylish updo, Julia Styles' sleek and straight mane and Mary J. Blige's loose curls, as well as Jennifer Hudson's perfectly manicured nails and Reese Witherspoon's fresh and natural make-up.

For step-by-step instructions on how to get these styles, take a look here.

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Top 10 Omega 3 food sources

Healthy Habits, Organic, Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements

Omega-3s have the medically proven ability to reduce the amount of fat in your blood and help lower triglycerides. Triglycerides are a huge risk factor in heart attacks. Not only are they good for the heart but they help with depression, type 2 diabetes, fatigue, dry and itchy skin, brittle hair and nails, joint pain and other inflammation in the body, and the inability to concentrate. Here are some top 10 food sources for Omega-3s. Start a healthy habit by adding some of these items to your daily diet and remember to buy organic when available.

Flax Seeds
Dried Ground Cloves
Walnuts
Salmon, Halibut, Cod
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Dried Ground Oregano
Mustard Seeds
Brussel Sprouts
Cooked Soybeans

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Common causes of brittle nails

Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Alternative & Green Health

The same way your hair has a major impact on how your face looks, your nails have a major impact on how your hands look. It seems like some poeple are naturally blessed with beautiful fingers and fingernails, while the rest of us struggle with brittle, peeling, cracking nails that break easily.

So what sets some people apart from others when it comes to long sleek nails versus short breaking ones? According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, some common causes are over-using nail products (nail polish, polish removers, hardeners, or other nail products and applications), low zinc or iron levels, or even thyroid problems.

And sadly, sometimes brittle nails are just a normal side-effect of the aging process.

Oh yay.

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Do you have healthy toes?

Diet & Weight Loss

Personally, I hate feet. They're ugly, they usually smell bad, and they're highly prone to fungal infections. And unfortunately, since (in my opinion) feet and toenails are already ugly it can be difficult to recognize the signs of a fungal infection.

Here are the major things to look for, according to the American College of Foot and Ankle Orthopedics and Medicine: yellow or discolored toenails, extra thick toenails that are hard to cut, crumbling toenails, or (I would hope this problem is obvious!) nails that have separated from the nail bed.

Happy examining!

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