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Female doctor measuring heart rate of young girl
 by Victoria Santalesa

ID Health Warning Signs With These Health Checks

You’ve got a significant other with significant needs, kids with busier schedules than most adults, a boss who has you on speed dial, and a mother who’s always, well being a mother. Sometimes you need to look out for number one. After all, when it comes to your health, no one’s going to be able to function if you can’t. If your hectic life has you too busy to see a doctor, you need to take matters into your own hands, Here are a few diagnostic tests that can help you make sure you can your machine running clean so you can make sure everyone else’s is.

Eye Check
When your checking your eyes, you want to see firm clear eyes with even lashes looking back at you. If you see redness or irritation on the surface of your inner eyelid, it could be Ectropion, which is an age related condition causing drooping of the lower lids and exposure of the inner eye. Ectropion can lead to damage of the cornea and should be treated.

Bumps on the eyelid and missing lashes could be cancerous. Look out for bumps that increase in size and grow thicker and darker.

Skin Check
Check your skin by running your fingertips and eyes over your skin, and have a family member check your back. Look for an even texture over individual body parts and consistency in skin’s appearance. If you see a new mole, or one that has changed color of shape, take note. Asymmetrical growths, growths with uneven coloring and borders, or growths larger than a pencil eraser should be examined for melanoma.

Small sandpapery patches of skin could indicate actinic keratosis. Be safe rather than sorry, and see a professional; ten percent of actinic keratosis develops into skin cancer.

If you see a shiny brown or pink bump with a rolled raised border that wasn’t there before, have it checked out. It could be basil cell carcinoma.

vine vera banner ID Health Warning Signs With These Health Checks

Balance Check
While checking your balance requires a bit of exertion, it may be worthwhile. Stand on a flat surface, folding your arms across your chest. Stand on your favored leg and raise the other foot on a few inches from the ground without resting it on the other leg. Time yourself to see how long you can maintain the position without losing your balance. Do the test one time with your eyes open, and one time with your eyes closed. If you can’t hold the position with your eyes closed, you may want to consider consulting a doctor. A study of 53 -year- old women and men found that those who could balance on one leg with their closed for over ten seconds had a lower risk of death in the 13 years after the study than those who could not.

Hair Check
While hair loss or thinning is normal, especially after 50, quick changes can indicate an underlying condition. If your hair loses density at a fast rate, over a rate of about three to six months, it may mean anemia, thyrhoid disease, or iron loss. Says dermatologist Chris Adigun, if you “notice more hair in your brush, in the shower drain, and on your pillow,” it may be a cause for concern.

Heart Check
A DIY heart check can be done by placing two fingers on the side of your windpipe. Count the beats for fifteen seconds and multiply that number by four. This should give you your beats per minute. A resting heartbeat of 60 to 100 is normal. If your heart rises at work, or when you think about work, it may mean that stress levels are high. High stress may lead to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. A rate exceeding more than 100 may mean a doctor’s appointment should be scheduled. Tachycardia, or rapid heart rate can be caused by anxiety, cardiac issues, to alcohol, among other factors.

Are you keeping tabs on your health? Let us know how your doing your DIY checkups and how they’re helping you!

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Halved avocado on wooden table
 by Victoria Santalesa

The Health Benefits of An Avocado A Day

According to the story of Adam and Eve, the corruption of the first couple occurs when the members eat an apple. For this, they are banished from the Garden of Eden. Eve is punished with the pain of childbirth, Adam receives a death oracle. That must have been some apple! Of course, the apple is an extremely praiseworthy fruit and one hopes it was worth the price Adam and Eve paid for having eaten it, but if the first humans were willing to risk lifelong punishment over an apple, one can only wonder what they would have been willing to risk if it had been an avocado.

It has been said that happiness is an avocado, and this may well be an absolute truth. After all, what else is actually good for you and tastes like creamy magical natural butter improved tenfold? You don’t need a reason to eat an avocado a day, but just in case you want to hear some, let’s look at a some of the health benefits of avocado.

Avocados Are Nutrient-Rich
Also known as the alligator pear, avocados contain 20 different vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C, K, B5, B6, E, potassium, and folate. A single serving provides 2 grams of protein and 15 grams of healthy fats, and, although the avocado has 9 grams of carbohydrates, 7 of those come from fiber. This makes for 2 “net” carbs, qualifying avocados as low-carb. They are also sodium and cholesterol-free and low in saturated fats.

Avocados Lower Cholesterol And Triglyceride Levels
Tests done on human participants reveal that avocados can significantly reduce cholesterol levels, lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol by up to 22% and increasing HDL cholesterol by as much as 11%, while reducing blood triglycerides by as much as 20%. In addition, one such study showed that the inclusion of avocado in a low-fat diet lead to improvements in the all over cholesterol profile.

Woman presenting avocado

People Who Eat Avocados Are Healthier
According to an analysis of over 17,00 participants, people who ate avocados had a higher nutrient intake than those who did not. They were half as prone to metabolic syndrome, a well-known risk factor for diabetes and heart disease. Avocado eaters had a lower BMI, maintained lower body weights and had less belly fat from those who abstained.

Avocados Help You Absorb Nutrients
Some nutrients, such as vitamins A, D, E and K and antioxidants like carotenoids are fat soluble. That means that they need to be combined with fat in order for them to be moved them from the digestive tract and into the body. How can this be done? Studies show that including avocado or avocado oil in your meal can increase the absorption of antioxidants by 2.6 to 15 times.

Avocados Protect Your Eyes
Avocados contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which are vital nutrients for eye health and have been found in studies to significantly reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.

Avocados Help You Lose Weight
A study was done involving two groups of people, one of which was instructed to eat a meal containing avocado, the other of which was not. Polling results showed the former group reporting 23% greater satisfaction of appetite and a 28% lowered desire to eat within the next 5 hours than the avocado deprived. Avocados are also low in carbs and high in fiber, two attributes commonly associated with general weight loss.

So, what are you waiting for? Unlock the guac! Let us know your favorite avocado recipes and your favorite ways to get in your daily avocado!

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Portrait of woman
 by Victoria Santalesa

Keeping Your Eyes Healthy

We owe so much to the eyes; they are our vision, our mirror to the soul, the place we apply some of our best makeup, and the inspiration for some of the best songs ever. After all, if not for eyes, would Van Morrison ever had written “Brown Eyed Girl?’ Would Kim Carnes ever have sung about Betty Davis’ peepers? Would Billy Idol have crooned over, “Eyes Without A Face?” And, perhaps most distressing to consider, wherever would we be if Survivor had never written, “Eye of the Tiger?”

Because our eyes are so inspirational and so useful at the same time, many of us would agree that we need to take special care in maintaining them. Let’s look at some of the ways in which we can keep out eyes healthy.

1. Foods For Healthy Vision
Maybe we should call this section ‘see food.’ (joke) When it comes to protecting the eyes, nutrients like lutein, zinc, Vitamins C and e and omega-3 fatty acids are at the top of the list for avoiding vision problems related to age, such as cataracts and macular degeneration. Next time you’re at the supermarket, load up on oily fish, like salmon and tuna, meatless proteins like nuts, beans,and eggs, citrus fruits, oysters, pork and leafy greens.

2. No Smoking
Smoking increases your risk of developing cataracts, macular degeneration, and damage to the optic nerve. Don’t quit trying to quit. The more attempts you make, the higher your likelihood of success.

3. Sunglasses
Keep rocking’ those shades. They look great and they block UV rays which can make you a candidate for cataracts and macular degeneration. Look for a pair that blocks 99-100 percent of UVA and UVB rays. Wraparounds (favored by Jon Bon Jovi, circa 1990) will also shade your peripheral vision and polarized lenses reduce sun glare when driving.

4. Turn Off The Computer
While the Siren’s call of social media may be hard to resist, staring at computer screens for extended amounts of time can cause blurry vision, trouble focusing, eyestrain, headaches, dry eyes and neck, shoulder and back pain. If you wear glasses or protective lenses, make sure your prescription is not out of date and effective for computer use. You may need a special prescription to help with glare, eye strain and contrast.
For the least amount of eye discomfort, make sure your computer is positioned so that the top of your monitor is at level with your eyes, allowing your to look slightly down at the screen. Avoid glare on your screen from windows and lights and invest in an anti-glare screen if needed.

5. Visit The Eye Doctor
When it comes to eye care, this is the man. Eye exams can provide early detection of eye diseases like glaucoma, which has no symptoms. Vision tests can also test for nearsightedness and farsightedness, astigmatism and age-related vision changes, or presbyopia. Make sure to talk about medical history and mention anything you think may be worrying or relevant.

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Women getting her skin examined at the doctors.
 by Victoria Santalesa

Understanding the Two Types of Melanin

Hair dye.  How we love our hair dye.  Because of hair dye, we don’t have to hit the genetics lottery. Little girls born with  brown hair can grow up to be blondes and red heads. Blondes can grow up to be goth chics. From the bleach blond of Marilyn Monroe to the honey blonde of Beyonce, from the jet black of Nikki Sixx  to the sometimes blue of Katy Perry to the sometimes pink of, well Pink, we have to have our hair dye and are willing to take some extreme measures to make sure we have it.  For years, men and women would prefer to  damage, torture and strip their hair rather than have it be (gasp!!)  their natural color.  Even though many of us would rather trade their natural hair color for, well almost anything else,  melanin is the pigment that is responsible for it. Melanins are also responsible for our skin and eye color.  Most melanins are dark, from black to brown, but other melanins are reddish or yellowish.Animal melanins are divided into two groups, eumelanin (eu = good) and pheomelanin (pheo +cloudy or dusky)

Skin
In her book, “Skin: a natural story, Dr.Barbara Jablonski says,  “In Homo sapiens, skin colors make up an exquisite palette varying in almost imperceptible degrees from the palest ivories to the darks browns.”  pheomelanin is usually  found in large quantities  fair skinned redheads and is also, interestingly enough, found in freckles, lips, and nipples. (Julianne Moore must have a bunch.) Eumelanins are more common in humans, predominantly darker skinned people.  High concentration can be found in moles.  (Think Cindy Crawford) Because people with red hair are less capable of producing eumelanin, their skin is more susceptible to burns and aging.

Hair
Eumelanin is predominant in black and brunette hair.  There is brown eumelanin and black eumelanin.  Contrary to what you may presume, brown eumelanin without other pigments actually causes blonde hair.  pheomelanin is found in red hair. While people with dark hair may produce pheomelanin it is usually hidden by the dominant eumelanin. Blond and red and auburn streaks are usually the results of the pheomelanin showing through.  Grey hair contains only a few melanin granules, white hairs contain none.  The apparent whiteness is a result of the way they reflect light.

Eyes
Eye color is  dependent on the ratio of eumelanin and pheomelanin in the outer layer of the iris. People with darker colored eyes have more melanin in general, and more eumelanin than pheomelanin. People with light colored eyes(blue or green) have less melanin and more pheomelanin than eumelanin.  (Bet you’re thinking, “Why don’t we have yellow eyes?”)Hazel eyes are in between.  Eyes appear blue and green rather than red and yellow because of light scattering off proteins in the eye.

In conclusion, it seems that melanin has a whole lot to do with our appearance and making us who we are.  Of course, new technologies allow us to change our pigmentation at will, be it using hair dye, colored contact lenses or even photoshopped. Here’s hoping you love your blue/black/brown/pink/freckled/mocha/moled/orange/yellow hair/eyes and skin just the way it is!

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Woman with bright makeup applying mascara.
 by Mayank

Resveralife Look Well: Beautiful Shades to Try for Spring

Trends change from season to season and year to year. One trend that remains constant each year is that spring means the return of color. Spring is the perfect time to experiment with different hues in everything from your clothing to your eyeshadow. This spring, beuaty editors and bloggers are loving unique colors. Luckily, spring 2015 has a color for everyone whether you feel like going bold and bright with your makeup or you want to remain a bit more neutral. This Look Well Guide from Resveralife highlights the super hot shades to try for spring.

Eye shadows with lilac shadow

Lilac
Last year one of the hottest colors for spring was lilac. This shade stood the test of time and is making a huge return this year. The great thing about lilac is that pretty much all eye colors can rock this universal shade for spring. Lilac looks especially enticing on brown, green or hazel eyes, though don’t shy away from trying it if you are blue-eyed. This color can be worn on the eyes as a sheer wash of sweet purple, or can be deepened to be a vibrant purple.

Woman with mint makeup on her eyes.

Mint
Most people agree that spring is the perfect time for pastel colors. These soft yet fun colors are great to experiment with and one of the most popular spring pastels is mint. Mint may seem like a daunting choice for your eyes, but there are several ways to try out this trend without looking like Shrek. As with lilac, perhaps the easiest and least scary way to wear this color is to use a small amount on the lids for a sheer pop of color. If even that sounds like too much for you, try using a mint liner on your lower waterline. You know that a nude or peach liner on the lower waterline brightens the eye and mint will do the same. Using mint this way is a subtle, yet fun way to bring a bit of color to your eye makeup.

Woman with electric blue makeup on her eyes.

Baby Blue and Electric Blue
This color may conjure up scary images of the 80s, but the baby blue picked for spring 2015 is a bit softer and more metallic than the shocking blue popular in the 80s. Additionally, beauty experts suggest using this on the lid, close to the lash line and blending out with a more neutral color for the most wearable look.

Electric blue may be a bit harder to work into your everyday routine if you work in a conservative setting or if you are a bit too timid for bold colors. For those brave enough to try, you can use electric blue shadow all over the lid or grab a liner. The ever-popular feline flick looks super modern when completed with an electric blue pencil.

Woman with rose gold eye makeup and a yellow rose on her hair.

Rose Gold
Rose gold is the perfect eyeshadow choice for those who favor more neutral colors such as taupe and champagne. This shade compliments the romantic vibe that spring brings. It’s also great for those with dress codes at work or those who want to make another facial feature the focal point of their look. Try rose gold eyeshadow with an almost neon pink lip for a flirty spring look and a beautiful glow.

Woman with olive green eye makeup.

Olive Green
Olive green, like rose gold, is an excellent choice for those who want to play with colors but aren’t quite ready to commit to a shocking blue. Olive green is a great transition into the world of color and can be worn on any eye color. Apply all over the lid and blend out using a soft brown.

Though spring is usually associated with lighter, more pastel leaning colors, that fact doesn’t mean you have to store your darker colors. One of the biggest trends for spring 2015 is finding deep colors that have a duotone effect. This gives you double the interest on your eyes without adding any time to your morning routine. Additionally, peacock green and burgundy are colors that beauty experts are raving about for this spring. Resveralife recommends you to experiment with different colors, techniques and refresh your beauty routine.

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