Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Britney Spears Acne Woes Posted by Eric Williams at 10:30 PM

When Britney spears sang "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", may be she was referring to her acne issues that arises usually in among teenagers. Britney has a history of acne, right from her teens to her time of pregnancy. Even with all the possible air brushing that showed her as a healthy women with peach and cream complexion, it’s been hard for Britney to hide her acne from the paparazzi. Time and again, the acne keeps coming back to haunt her.This just goes on to day that with all the money and fame, even a stare lik Britney is not immune to such skin disorders.

Causes of acne

• Blockage of The Skin Pores: Blockage of the skin pore results in trapping of the oil within. This could occur due to and overactive oil gland enlargement which results in excess production of oil. The pores get blocked by dead skin, dust and grime.
• Activity of Normal Skin Bacteria: The skin has a healthy growth of the bacteria propionibacterium acne that protects the skin against other bacterial infections. When oil is trapped in the skin, it promotes proliferation of propionibacterium acne. These bacteria, in the presence of oil produce chemicals which cause inflammation.
• Inflammation: Inflamed skin is characterized by redness, swelling, warmth and discomfort. This is basically a response of the body’s immune system to get rid of unwanted foreign substances.
• Heredity Can Play a Role: Studies show that there can be history of acne in the family which means that there can be genetic basis to acne.

Tips to cure acne

1. Drink water- Water is the best source of detoxification. It also helps to keep the skin healthy and glowing.
2. Wash your face with an antibacterial facewash or soap to kill bacteria.
3. Add fruits to your diet as they contain antioxidants that help fight acne. Green tea is also a healthy alternative.
4. Have green, leafy vegetable and salads as they are a good source of multi vitamins and salads.
5. Maintain hygiene- Wash your pillow case often as they absorb the bacteria and oil and you get exposed to them every time you sleep. Also wash your towels as often as possible.
6. Avoid make up as they block pores and prevent your skin from breathing out.
7. Keep you hair dandruff free as dandruff flakes can also block the pores and result in acne
8. Do not keep touching and pricking your pimples as they increase the sebum production. It also causes the membrane to rupture and increases the chances of infection.

Jhonny Depp’s Hair Transplant Posted by Eric Williams at 10:24 PM

Johnny Depp is known for his versatility as and actor. Depp has played many characters in his career, and sported different looks and hair styles for each of them. His commendable performances such as the show from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy and once Upon a Time in Mexico saw him grow by leaps and bounds as an actor. In that same year he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” playing a character that only a star like Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Capt. Jack Sparrow. In this role, he wasn’t just celebrated for his performance but also for his appearance. The unique Jack Sparrow hair style did not go unnoticed.

With time, Johnny Depp experienced hair loss which was noticed by his fans and criticized by the critics. With the stardom, he also had to change his hair style and hair color which involved his hair getting exposed to a lot of chemicals and hair colors. His hair density became scarce with his scalp being exposed, whenever he opted for a middle parting.

Lately, the media has noticed that his hair is looking well again, with a normal heap even in the front. Grapevine has it that Johnny opted for a hair transplant to get back his normal look again. Though it’s not been confirmed by Depp himself, but people who have seen his before and after images swear by the fact that Depp has gone under the knife to get this effect. By the look of his photographs, looks like his doctors have done a fantastic job as it’s hard to figure out that he wasn’t born naturally with the hair that he is sporting nowadays.

Friday, June 25, 2010 Victoria Beckham Suffers from PCO’s Posted by Eric Williams at 6:13 AM

Victoria Beckham is one of the most glamorous names in Hollywood who suffers from one of the most painful gynecological disorders called PCO’s (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). This singer, entrepreneur and lyricist is married to ace footballer David Beckham and has three sons from him named Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

While they were planning a fourth child, she discovered that she was suffering form PCO’s. The symptoms of irregular periods were already there but a visit to the gynecologist reconfirmed that fact that indeed, she was a victim of this disorder.
As of now, more that 10-15% women suffer from this health issue which is more common among overweight women, though there have been incidences of lean and healthy girls also experiencing this at an early age.
Symptoms of this disease are

• Repeated appearance of acne
• Excessive growth of hair especially on the upper lip and under the chins. The hair tends to be thick and coarse
• Loss of hair- Though there is excessive hair growth on the face, the scalp losses hair, leading to receding hair lines and thin, scarce hair.
• Infertility. - PCO’s is said to be one of the leading causes of infertility in women with an alarming rise in the past ten years.
• Weight gain- One of the most common symptoms of this disorders is that women tend to put on weight though doctors have also observed exceptions that thin women also encounter this issue.
• Irregular menstruation- Women with this problem also suffer from irregular, heavy and painful menstrual cycles. Some patients of this disease suffer for more than a month’s lapse in their menstruation while some observe just a few weeks.

Though this disease mostly afflicts women in the child bearing age, it’s also cropped up in some women post menopause.

Thursday, June 24, 2010 Janet Jackson’s Fitness Secret Posted by Eric Williams at 10:29 PM

Janet Jackson is famous for her “yo-yo” image where she tends to put on weight and loose weight rapidly. The way she loses her weight very fast and simple, she just works hard at it. When Janet is in weight loss mode she works with her personal trainer and does power-walking, jogging, weights and cardio. She has revealed that she orders her food from a place in LA which offers calorie packaged all organic food. By self confession she quotes that she has an eating disorder which disrupts her weight management regime.

Since she is in the glamour world constantly under the media scanner, she understands the intricacies and importance of looking good. Janet has her workout routine designed by her personal trainer Tony Martinez which lets her do intense work out to stay in shape.

Her work out regime includes

• She works on her legs, twice a week with workouts that include reverse lunges, toe touches and leg press where she pushes back her legs at a 30 degree angle.
• She works on her upper body twice a week and does push ups, pull downs, chest flyes, biceps and triceps supersets with shoulder lateral raises.
• The rest of the three days she does ab trainings.
• She also includes 5-6 days of cardiovascular workouts which include kickboxing, basketball, tennis, baseball, jumping rope and running.

Post this, she worked with her Nutritionist David Allen and cut down on her calorie intake to just 1,150 and 1,450 calories, having food in very small portions, with just enough food to satisfy her palates and keep her moving and active. The meal was also balanced to keep her healthy and thin. She omitted the junk from her food and cut out processed foods, white sugar and white flour, alcohol and sodas. She drank at least 2-3 liters of waters in a day to keep her body detoxified.

Loose Weight like Oprah Winfrey Posted by Eric Williams at 5:26 AM

Few know that this dark beauty and one of the most successful women in the world was once overweight. She had confessed that this was due to her eating disorder due to underlying depression. The result was a fat, ungainly Oprah who was shy of stepping out in the public and suffered from low self esteem. Oprah took a firm decision to lose weight after her doctor warned her of dire health problems if she continued to carry so much of weight around. She made full commitment to lose weight and signed a contract with herself stating that she will follow her diet program and today boasts of a fit and toned body.

Here is what she did to look ravishing even at the age of 50.

• No to any food that’s white- Oprah gave up anything that looked white in her diet. This included flour, potatoes and sugar. All these are common in processed food such as bread.
• Oprah hired Bob Greene, her personal trainer who helped her shed all those extra pounds by constantly motivating her, pushing her to go the extra mile on the tread mill and warning her off the calories in food. He did not just advice her on losing weight but also about maintaining it and Oprah had the will to follow it.
• Athletic- she runs marathon, and stays fit through strength training, cardio and Pilates.
• She suffered from a lot of emotional upheaval and termed that as the cause of her habit to over eat. She worked through her emotional baggage and was finally able to overcome the habit to binge when it came to food.
• No alcohol- She was smart enough to realize that consumption of alcohol will only disrupt her weight loss program and controlled the urge to drink.
• She stopped eating after a set of time. Post dinner and snacking in between meals were avoided.
• Water- she increased her intake of water and drank lots of it during the course of the day.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Drew Barrymore’s Fitness Regime Posted by Eric Williams at 5:24 AM

Drew Barrymore was always pleasantly plump with an hour glass figure and heavy assets. She drew a lot of flake for her weight during the 2006 golden globe awards. With a height of just 5 ft 4 inch, it was hard to hide the flab. Losing weight was no easy job for her as she admits that she was very lazy when it came to work outs. She was also adamant that she won’t join a gym so she started working out at home.

She attacked her excess weight very intelligently by opting for healthy diet coupled with work outs. In 2006, she was heavier by 20lbs, but smart weight management got her back in shape in no time.

Drew Barrymore’s fitness secret
Exercise – Drew worked out more just 3 to 4 days in a week, lest she gets bored. Even the work out regime was a different one each day, so that she enjoyed them. She juggled between jogging, swimming, dancing, yoga and Pilates.

• She started off with jogging for at least three miles in a week. Jogging helped her build her stamina and helps in quick loss of surgery.
• Swimming – Besides the fun of splashing in the water, it also helped her get rid of the fat on the back while making her arms and legs toned and strong.
• Dancing- The most fun way to lose weight, it also proved to be a complete work out.
• Yoga-This helped her relax and manage stress through breathing techniques.
• Pilates- Like most celebrities, Drew found Pilates very helpful while losing weight. It strengthened and toned her muscles and increased her endurance. Since it’s the one of most balanced work outs, it did not bulk her muscles.

Food- Drew loved food, so she did not give up on her favorite food altogether, but started having smaller portions of it. Later she switched to more organic vegetables with occasional food like taco and low fat desserts as a treat.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Angelina Jolie’s Goes Slim Even After the Second Pregnancy Posted by Eric Williams at 1:41 AM

For celebrities, it is very important to look good even in unreal circumstances such as a few days post pregnancy. Angelina Jolie, mother of three biological children and three adopted children was back in shape within weeks. As she had caesarian section for both the pregnancies, getting back into shape was quite a challenge particularly after the birth of the twins.

After the second pregnancy, she attributed her weight loss to her children’s computer games. Her son Maddox introduced her to the games of Nintendo DS online which included “Lets Pilates”. Post this she tried to get an hour of Pilates three times a week resulting in the svelte figure that she flaunts now.

What are Pilates?

Pilates is program that focuses on core postural muscles that provide support to the spine. It is an easily adaptable exercise program that trains the body's mind and muscles to work in unison. The core postural muscles are the internal muscles of the abdomen and back. Developing core strength is the basics of this exercise .Pilates trains the muscles to perform better and strengthens them such that they support the spine better. This exercise makes the person more aware of his breathing and corrects the alignment of spine.

Post pregnancy, the abdominal muscles are stretched and lose much of their tone which results in loose, ugly flab. The lack of muscles can make women susceptible to back injuries. Pilates focus more on the core muscles hence they are perfect to shed off the excess fat that women garner post pregnancy. Women who have been practicing Pilates before and during pregnancy bounce back much faster than those who start afresh after child birth.

These sets of exercises work also work very well for athletes, dancers and senior citizens. Pilates make the body stronger, leaner and able to perform heavy work with grace and ease. In case of caesarian section, the post natal Pilates should start after six weeks.