spring clean your mind

Its that time of year again... the clocks have changed, the sun has re-appeared, the bulbs are coming into flower.... 

We start to spring clean our homes - sort out winter clothes, shop for summer clothes and get the BBQ out ready for the forthcoming summer evenings. 

However, its not just your home and garden thats need a sort out... now is a great time to spring clean your mind and get rid of old thoughts and feelings which may be holding you back....

How on earth do you do this? What difference will it actually make? Isn't that all a bit 'new-age hippy' stuff?  Actually its really straight forward and can make a real difference in your life and relationships.

Here's how

·       Spend time with those people in your life who are true friends.  These friendships take time, work, energy, forgiveness and understanding, but they are the relationships you rely on when life is hard.  Its not about being a doormat but having relationships which are balanced and reciprocal. 

·       Start by changing with something small.  Write down something which causes you stress and break it down into the baby steps you can take to resolve it.  It might be something simple like tidying your desk, but if it helps to simplify your life its worth it.

·       Learn to say no!  How many of us say yes when in our heads we are saying no?  You don’t have to be harsh or rude – be diplomatic and say that you have too much going on right now to comit to something else.  Although that person might be disappointed, they will respect you for being honest and you wont feel overburdened or resentful at more time being taken up by something you didn’t want to do in the first place!

·       If you feel you have too much to do - take a 60 second break every hour to stretch and drink some water or herb tea. Walk up the stairs and ignore the lift, or take a walk in your lunch break - you’ll perform better afterwards.

Improve your skin with nutrition

Yes it's true - you can help your skin by being aware of what you eat, not just by using an expensive face cream and hoping that will help...

Adjusting the level of the nutrients in your diet can help skin regain some of its natural glow - its not a quick fix or a facelift, but neither is it as expensive or traumatic!

This is a new area of research, but a recent study published in The American College of Nutrition (Martalena br Purba et al, 2001) concluded that people who ate a diet rich in vegetables, fish, pulses and olive oil and low in dairy products and sugar had less skin wrinkling in sun exposed areas.

So what can you do?  Essentially eat the well balanced diet we all know we should eat... but here's the blurb if you want to know the details.....

Vitamin A
Eat more oil rich fish and egg yolks to boost your vitamin A. This normalises the production and life cycle of skin cells, as well as having an antioxidant effect to fight skin damage. Vitamin A can be found as Retinol in animal products and beta-carotene in plants.

Beta-carotene
Along with Lycopene (found in tomatoes), beta-carotene has been shown to protect skin from the sun. Eat more carrots, sweet potatoes, peppers, mango and green leafy vegetables.

Vitamin C
This is essential for the production of collagen which acts like skin elastic. Once it begins to break down through ageing and skin damage, we get sagging and wrinkles.... Boost your diet with dark green leafy veg, citrus fruit, kiwi, tomatoes and peppers.

Vitamin E
This is a powerful antioxidant which helps repair damage to collagen. It also promotes skin healing so potentially could help dry, cracked skin to heal.

Selenium
Another antioxidant, which along with vitamin E helps neutralise free radical damage from pollutants in the air which can trigger enzymes which damage skin. Eat brazil nuts, whole grains and shellfish.

Zinc
Speeds up healing and supports our immune system. Eat seafood, chicken, eggs, nuts and seeds.

Omega-3 fats
These fats help cells stay hydrated, so skin looks less dry and wrinkled. Additionally it works as an anti-inflammatory so helps with dryness and chronic skin complaints such as psoriasis.


You should reduce:
- Alcohol consumption - too much increases the signs of ageing as it breaks up collagen. Try the Mediterranean style small glass of wine with dinner to get the benefits and minimise the risks.
- Processed foods especially carbohydrates. Processed food which is high in sugar may increase spots, as well as potentially containing trans fats which are bad for your overall health and your skin. Trans fats are those such as hydrogenated vegetable fat or oil.


In summary

Eat a diet which is high in green leafy veg and red and orange fruit and vegetables, nuts, oil rich fish and whole grains to keep your skin at its best.  Additionally remember that any moisturiser or foundation you wear should also contain SPF to protect your skin from damage by the sun, even in the Winter.