Health, Beauty & Fitness

The connection between health and beauty is intuitive. On some level, we all understand that living a healthy lifestyle improves our appearance, and that the health of our skin is an indicator of our overall health.

WHO with its predominantly biomedical agenda has produced one of the most holistic definitions of health that it is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being

WHO mentioned health and beauty as social, psychic, moral and even economic conditions of life and

approaching health as a ‘positive’ state that not merely the absence of disease and have often taken a broader view that emphasizes interconnections between mind, body, and society.

This broader understanding of health aims to include socio-economic determinants of disease, as well as the more elusive idea of ‘mental health’ – an often neglected area in government and international development health budgets

PRIMARY FACTORS:

Food, water, stress management, and sleep are the more important factors than cosmetics and skincare products. Properly managing these four key ingredients will not only have us looking and feeling our best, but also improve our health in ways we can’t see.

FOOD:

Heathy food nourishes skin and body and provides good health and enhances skin beauty and external appearance.

Foods containing excessive Sugar , processed foods, refined carbohydrates and canned foods can cause inflammation of our body’s tissues. Breakouts in our skin are just one symptom of the destructive nature of these substances in our bodies. They can often wreak havoc in our digestive tract and other body systems as well.

Eating more fresh foods including fruits and vegetables, especially green vegetables that contain nutrients and antioxidants that fight systemic inflammation.

WATER:

Water is most essential obvious ingredient to keep our body healthy and beautiful. Our bodies are composed of somewhere around 60% water

Well hydration allows the nutrients to more easily reach our cell

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that, for people living in a temperate environment, an adequate daily fluid intake is about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters, or 125 oz) of water for men and about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters, or 91 oz) of water a day for women. Intake of water can come from multiple sources such as juices and the like excluding such as soft drinks which have advesre effects on health.

Well hydration is necessary for glowing skin to enhance beauty.

Stress Management and Exercise

When we’re stressed our endocrine system releases cortisol, a hormone that causes inflammation, which can manifest in our skin as acne, eczema, and other disorders. Everyone manages stress differently. Exercise is one good way to do it.

Regularly exercising improves our vascular system and blood circulation which can increase cell turnover (replacement of dead cells with new ones), and improve skin tone by delivering more oxygen to our cells.

Other ways to manage stress include meditation, yoga, walking, and stress-free activities such as reading a book or just spending some time outside.

Stress management decreases the release of hormones which affects body our immune system which improves of well being.

Regular exercise toned the body muscles and increases flexibility of joints and beatifies body by keeping one slim and beautiful.

Sleep

Sleep gives our bodies a chance to heal. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s guidelines, adults should get between seven and nine hours. Lack of sleep leads to metabolic diseases, irritability and lack of concentration and reduced immunity etc.

Adequate sleep is needed to keep our body mentally and physically fit which enhances one’s beauty.

SECONDARY FACTORS:

So, we know being healthy helps us look our best. Looking our best also helps us be healthier. As it turns out, taking a few moments to put on make-up, get our hair and nails done, or care for our skin may actually add years to our lives.

When we look good, we feel good.

The psychological experience of feeling good about ourselves is known as subjective well being (SWB) and has been shown to have significant long- and short-term health benefits. When we have SWB, we tend to eat and sleep better, with regular health check ups, have increased immunity, and generally take better care of ourselves.

Studies have shown that SWB can even extend our longevity, adding up to seven and a half years to our lives. When we take care of our skin, when we look our most beautiful we enhance our SWB, which in turn promotes other self-care behaviors. Over time, this thought>action cycle leads to personal habits that can impact our overall well-being. For example, when we have a positive attitude, we tend to smile more, walk taller, have a confident stride and make more direct eye contact. We make time for ourselves. We exercise, take baths, get manis and pedis, and as a result, we feel and look more relaxed. Greater confidence and relaxation fuels a positive sense of self, which reinforces SWB.

Positive behaviors and attitudes also lead to more satisfying interpersonal experiences. Compliments about how we look are called affirmative feedback. This reinforces our positive self image and the desire to continue to take care of ourselves.

The habits we form are part of what’s called a cognitive-behavior loop, (a habit forming tool actually used by cognitive behavior therapists). When we develop this cognitive-behavior loop, it keeps the beauty-health connection going: self-care and relaxation > positive attitude > improved health > increased attractiveness > affirmative feedback > reinforcement for self-care and relaxation > and repeat. This feedback cycle leads to long-term well being, goodness, and a healthier us that results from all that goodness.

Nowadays women are showing more concern for beauty than for health. This tendency is possibly influenced by several factors – social processes, role of advertisements and mass media, local and global trends in the fashion industry, and adoption of foreign cultural practices. The obsession for beauty, argues for more research into this phenomenon and calls for the development of health promotion programmes to ameliorate this trend.

Health and Beauty are interrelated and balancing and nurturing the both with equal importance, which nurtures and optimises them at highest.