You ever gone to Whole Check Whole Foods and just starting throwing random stuff in your cart? I need to stay far far away from that place because sometimes I just loose control. I think Erykah Badu said in an interview that Whole Foods is where she splurges.

Anyway, during my last visit I picked up a bottle of Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar drink in “Apple Cinnamon”. I used to drink that ACV cocktail a couple of years ago and I did it daily so it’s no biggie for me to down a product like this, but this was a bit much. It was $5 for a 16 ounce bottle.

What’s cool about the drink is that it’s only 30 calories. What’s not so good is that it isn’t yummy. I could probably down this in a shot glass or one of those medicine caps because the health benefits of drinking acv are amazing. Especially if you’re consistent. I’m kind of over drinking it. So I’m probably just going to pour the remanding 9/10 of the bottle on my hair. Cinnamon can lighten your hair if left on for an extended period of time, that’s not what I’m going for so I’m just going to use it as a quick rinse. I can’t see myself drinking it anymore.

If you decide to try this be sure to use a straw or drink it like a shot because acid erosion is no joke.

Author: Susan Katchur

There are numerous benefits of honey.  This natural substance has been used from a tasty delicacy to health and beauty treatments. Honey is a natural, rich golden, liquid made by honeybees and stored in honeycombs.  Honey contains a variety of vitamins, minerals and sugars.

HONEY AND SKIN CARE:

• Fights infection; burns, wounds, cuts
• Antiseptic
• Antibacterial
• Antioxidants benefits
• Anti-inflammatory & Pain Reliever; helpful for arthritis
• Reduces scarring
• Provides acne relief
• Relieves Athlete’s foot fungus
• Safe for sensitive skin
• Moisturizes and conditions skin and hair
• Helps to prevent hair loss
• Used for yeast infection
• Aids in healing skin tissue

The healthiest form of honey is raw honey. What is the difference between raw honey and commercial honey?  Raw honey is unfiltered. It has textured crystals, particles of bee pollen, honeycomb bits, propolis and broken bee wing fragments.  It is low in moisture and high in antioxidants benefits.  It has a, naturally, milky appearance containing the most nutritional value with the concentrated enzyme, amylase.

On the contrary, commercial honey, found at grocery stores or supermarkets, has been heated and filtered. This process allows a cleaner, smoother, more eye-appealing product to store on shelves for purchase.  When the commercial type of honey is heated and filtered, its natural enzymes are partially destroyed. These enzymes are the natural activators for its vitamins and minerals.  Although commercial honey may have an eye-appealing appearance, it is not as healthful or nutritious as raw honey.

Honey contains healthful, natural, vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6 and C. Its natural minerals include:  magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron, phosphate, copper, iodine and zinc.   Its sugars include glucose and fructose.

There is a natural, heavy, foot scrub that penetrates down deep where the skin is still alive, relieving cracked heels and calluses. This homemade skin care product is a penetrating, soothing, conditioning, moisturizing and pain-relieving, natural, foot scrub.  It is perfectly handcrafted with natural goat milk soap, raw honey and Dead Sea salt. It provides for, absolutely, beautiful feet!

OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS OF HONEY:

• Helpful for bad breath
• Aids in sleep disorders
• Anti-tumor properties: prevents carcinogens
• Boost Immune System
• Excellent substitute for sugar
• Cleansing for body
• Used in alternative medicine
• Delicate aroma
• Aids in digestion

Nearly one million tons of honey is produced, worldwide, annually!  It can be used in a variety of homemade skin care products, hair care products, or commercial products.  It can be used as a tasty delicacy in foods and drinks.  It is used for alternative medicine or natural cures for a variety of ailments. The health benefits of honey are numerous!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/benefits-of-honey-homemade-skin-care-3622780.html


About the AuthorFind a, natural, foot scrub handcrafted with the benefits of honey, at:  www.natural-goat-milk-soap.com/benefits-of-honey.html

1. Freshness – Locally grown fruits and vegetables are usually harvested the same day as they are purchased. Produce from across the country can’t be that fresh.
2. Taste – Produce picked and eaten at the height of freshness has more flavor. Taste the difference.
3. Nutrition - Fresh, fully ripe produce contains more nutrients than food that is past its peak of freshness or was harvested before it ripened fully.
4. Variety – Farmers selling locally are not limited to the few varieties that are bred for long distance shipping, high yields, and shelf life. Often they raise and sell wonderful unusual varieties you will never find on supermarket shelves.
5. Environment – The environmental impacts of growing and shipping produce, sometimes halfway around the world, are enormous.
6. Local Health – Buying seasonal produce from your farmers’ market or from neighborhood farms supports your local economy, increasing the local quality of life for everyone.

Ladies, today is the first day of fall 2010. Are you eating in season? Here are a few fruit and vegetables that are at their best during fall.

I wrote this post back in May 2008.
I got this weird urge to use coffee in my hair. I am not a coffee drinker, but I use a coffee body scrub and I wondered what it would do for my hair. Well, I did some online research and I found many interesting things I thought I’d share with you.

• can be used as a rinse to cover gray
• can be the cure for male pattern baldness by inhibiting DHT applied topically
• can be used with yogurt as a conditioner
• can be used with eggs as a conditioner
• caffeine actually stimulates the growth of tiny follicles in the scalp in men who are starting to lose their hair
• Alpecin, a UK based products claims it’s caffeine based product actually extends the hair shaft’s growth phase longer genetically predisposed
• remove odors (cool if you are using smelly ayurvedic herbs)
• adds sheen to hair
• caffeine was proven to increase hair growth in a study

I’m into trying anything especially if it’s natural. I think this would be a good pick me up with a morning shower. I think it might be a good look for my hair regimen too.


UPDATE
For my experiment I used brewed coffee. I don’t do this anymore. I remember it was incredibly messy and my hair was unusually frizzy. I might experiment with this in the future, but I haven’t been into mixing stuff lately. Apparently there are caffeine powders, coffee oils and coffee butters. It’s all very interesting. If you’re info caffeine and coffee mixing for your hair, please share your experience in the comments.

Winter 2007, I was obsessed with Carrot Juice. Here’s what I posted.

I’m adding organic carrot juice to my diet. I started today with Bolthouse Carrot Juice. It was yummy. I plan on doing fun stuff like mixing other juices with it. I did some research about Carrot juice and decided it would be an awesome addition to my diet. Carrots give you natural energy. It’s a root vegetable so it’s packed with minerals. Carrots are an awesome source of vitamin A, vitamin C, B complex, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium. Your skin may have a yellow tint to it, but it’s harmless. Your skin will become softer and some say it has the power to make your hair grow. I’ll be drinking one 4oz. glass per day. I’ve been doing this since September and let me tell you, it does make a big difference. I notice it mostly with my face. I skipped a week and I broke out, but the next day I went back to my 4oz. of carrot juice and it was gone. If you have issues with acne, this is amazing! Don’t sleep on carrot juice!

UPDATE
I can’t remember the last time I had carrot juice. This is something I definitely don’t do anymore. It’s one of those things I did for a few months and lost interest. I remember being excited about it and that it made changes in my skin but I can’t remember the specifics. A reader warned me that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered a recall of Bolthouse Farms “100 per cent Carrot Juice” and other Bolthouse Farms products because of several cases of botulism, but after researching it I found out that the recall happened well before I started drinking the product and that was deemed to be safe by The US Food and Drug Administration. When I’m in the mood, I might figure out a clever way to use carrots in my daily smoothies.

When I began growing out my relaxer, I tried just about anything under the sun that I thought would help my hair to grow faster. I spent a ton of money on vitamins and they didn’t do anything for my hair. I was super consistent. I would take a specific brand of vitamin for at least 6 months to notice if they made a change. I would take them religiously. I even purchased a pill box with days of the week to make sure I stayed on top of my vitamin regimen. If anything, I noticed that they increased my appetite. Biotin made me break out horribly. Biotin breakouts are the worst because they create these huge hard cystic zits that take forever to go away. This doesn’t happen for everyone, but it definitely happened to me.  I would go to my estheticians and they wouldn’t even mess with them saying that they had never seen anything like it before. The secret I learned while taking biotin was to ease it into my body. I would cut one vitamin into 4 parts and take fourths of the vitamin for a couple of weeks, then I would cut the vitamin in half and take halves for a couple of weeks and eventually move up to taking one whole vitamin. I also drank tons and tons of water. This helped with the breakouts. Now, I only take iron supplements because I am iron-deficient and they were prescribed by a doctor.

Here’s what I wrote back in September 2007 about a vitamin switch that I made…

Today I switched from Nature’s Plus Ultra Hair Plus to GNC Women’s Ultra Mega. I’m also taking 5000 mcg of biotin, but only once a week until my body gets used to it and then I’ll up my dosage to twice a week. Why did I make the switch? I wasn’t getting any iron and not enough zinc in Nature’s Plus. Also, Nature’s Plus had 200% Daily Value Vitamin A which is a little bit much considering that I am on my Carrot Juice kick. That could become toxic. The GNC has 50% vitamin A in one vitamin,which is better. I am losing out on MSM, but I don’t care. Essentially I have made the switch from a hair vitamin to a more complete multivitamin. I think this is a good move but we shall see.

Do you take vitamin supplements? Have they made a change in your hair?

By Guest Blogger Anita Grant of anitagrant.com.

• A great source of vitamin C.
• Low in calories (20 calories per one-half cup cooked, sliced okra)
• Fat-free
• A good source of vitamin a, calcium, fiber and vitamin c

Okra Nutrition (roughly half a cup of cooked Okra contains)
* Calories = 15
* Dietary Fiber = 2 grams
* Protein = 1.5 grams
* Carbohydrates = 5.8 grams
* Vitamin A = 460 IU
* Vitamin C = 13 mg
* Folic acid = 36.5 micrograms
* Calcium = 50 mg
* Iron = 0.4 mg
* Potassium = 256 mg
* Magnesium = 46 mg

If only I could get my hands on some more Okra Oil:

1. Slice 2 to 4 Okra
2. Add the Okra to 150ml of boiling water.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of Organic Blue Malva or Organic Marshmallow herbs
4. Let the mixture boil up really good
5. Turn off the heat once boiled
6. Leave it to cool until it forms a slimy and gelatinous liquid.
7. Remove the boiled Okra & herbs from the liquid
8. Smooth the nutrient rich slimy gel into a clean and sterilized jar
9. Store in the fridge when you’re not using it
10. Use within 2 to 3 days or add a synthetic preservative to increase it’s shelf life.

Optional:
Add a little freshly squeezed lemon juice or your favourite essential oil to the mix

Cayenne pepper/capsicum is said to improve blood flow which is crucial to stimulating hair growth. This may be beneficial to people suffering from alopecia, excessive breakage or those with bald spots. Its red color is due to its high vitamin A content. 


How people use it…
Some people mix 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper with 1 cup of EVOO to make a paste and massage into their scalp. They leave the paste in for a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes and then rinse. It is typically used 2-3 times per week.


The bad…
Many users complain that the mix burns and suggest using milk or conditioner to soothe the burning when rinsing. They also complain of sometimes seeing the pepper in their hair if they haven’t washed it thoroughly, but you can boil the pepper  and strain with a cheese cloth to prevent this issue.

If this seems remotely appealing to you, be careful and do a patch test.


Repost, Originally posted 2/7/08