Tips to prevent hair loss

 

Hair care tips

Beautician Shahnaz Husain gives you suggestions on how to prevent hair loss

Hair loss

The problem of hair loss seems to be very common these days. Some of the most common causes of hair loss are stress, nutritional deficiencies, dandruff, excessive oiliness of the scalp, illness, thyroid imbalance, as well as hair damage caused by procedures like hair colouring/dyeing, bleaching, straightening, perming, etc.

Hormonal imbalances during menopause, or post pregnancy can also cause hair loss. In men, hair loss can be due to hormonal factors. It is called "male pattern baldness." Doctors believe that the male sex hormone, testosterone, is an important factor in male pattern baldness.

If you are facing hair loss, try to find out which causes apply to you. For instance, your age may be an important factor. Older women face the problem of thinning hair during the menopausal years. Men should find out if hair loss is hereditary in the family. Both men and women should also consider if they have had any illness recently, or if there is a problem of thyroid imbalance. Regular use of permanent dyes can also lead to hair loss.

Beautician Shahnaz Husain says, "I am often asked, how often the hair should be washed and if washing hair regularly can lead to hair loss. It is not washing of the hair, but the products one uses, that can have a detrimental effect. The hair should be washed according to hair type and season. In hot and humid weather, the hair should be washed more often, in order to remove sweat and oil deposits, along with dirt. If the hair is oily, it should be washed three or four times a week. For dry hair, wash twice a week. This is important in order to remove dirt and chemical air pollutants."

It is also important to choose the right products. Harsh hair products disturb the normal acid-alkaline balance and also stimulate the scalp further, leading to a build-up of dead cells on the scalp, aggravating problems like dandruff. If your work entails travelling long distances, hair should be washed frequently, using very little shampoo. If there is excessive oiliness, a hair rinse should also be used.

What are the products which help hair care?

First of all, one needs a shampoo or hair cleanser, along with conditioner or hair rinse. If the hair is oily, a hair rinse is better. For dry hair, a creamy conditioner may be used. Leave-on conditioners are also available. Apart from these, you would need hair oil, herbal hair tonic and hair pack. One should select products containing herbs like amla, reetha, brahmi, bhringaraj, arnica, trifala, hibiscus (gurhal or javakusuma), bael, neem, sandalwood, etc. Such ingredients not only have powerful healing properties, but offer an element of safety. Husain adds, "We have found that Shatone, a non-oily herbal hair tonic, containing Ayurvedic ingredients like trifala, amla, brahmi, etc, has helped in controlling hair loss. In fact, brahmi helps stress-related hair loss."

As nutritional deficiency is one of the most common causes of hair loss, the diet is very important. A nutritious diet helps healthy hair growth, since the hair is actually fed by the nutrients in the blood stream. You should include a small bowl of sprouts daily in your diet. Sprouts contain amino acids, which are very beneficial to the hair. Also include fresh fruits, raw salads, leafy green vegetables, whole grains and curd in the daily diet. If the scalp is oily, or if there is dandruff, drink plenty of water. Add the juice of a lemon to a glass of water and have it first thing in the morning. Ask your doctor to prescribe vitamin and mineral supplements.

Try to reduce stress. Learn yoga and practice it daily. Learn relaxation techniques. They help to reduce stress and thus control hair loss.

Eat out and still lose weight

 Adults not having fruits

 

Eat out and still lose weight

Contrary to what many believe, people can frequently go out to eat and still shed those extra kilos, researchers say.

Investigators from The University of Texas at Austin enrolled 35 healthy, perimenopausal women aged 40 to 59 years who eat out frequently.

Participants took part in a 6-week program called Mindful Restaurant Eating, a weight-gain prevention intervention that helps develop the skills needed to reduce caloric and fat intake when eating out.

The focus of the programme was on preventing weight gain in this population, not weight loss. It is important to prevent weight gain in this population as increasing abdominal waist circumference from weight gain is greater during the perimenopausal years, which in turn increases the risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Even though the focus was on weight maintenance, the researchers found that participants in the intervention group lost significantly more weight, had lower average daily caloric and fat intake, had increased diet related self-efficacy, and had fewer barriers to weight management when eating out.

"Although the intention of the intervention was weight maintenance and the majority of participants were not dieting with the intent to lose weight at the start of the study (69 per cent), on average the intervention group lost 1.7 kg during 6 weeks," said Dr. Gayle M. Timmerman, PhD, RN, the principal investigator of this study."

"The number of times that participants ate out, as captured in the 3-day 24-hour recalls, did not significantly decrease from time 1 to time 2, indicating that participants were able to successfully manage their weight while continuing their usual, frequent eating-out patterns."

"Overall, the participants in the intervention group reduced their daily caloric intake by about 297 calories after completing the intervention, which would explain their weight loss. Only part of the calorie reduction (about 124 calories) can be accounted for during eating out, indicating that fewer calories were also consumed at home," Dr. Timmerman added.

The study has been recently published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Top 5 Foods for Healthy Hair

 

 While external care (shampoo, conditioner, keeping the scalp clean etc.) are a must for keeping the hair healthy, a balanced diet containing hair-friendly nutrients is also of paramount importance.

Minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, selenium, magnesium etc. play a vital role in keeping the hair and scalp healthy. Protein is also crucial for ensuring good healthy hair growth.Protein deficiencies or low-quality protein can produce weak and brittle hair, and can eventually result in loss of hair color.

Let’s take a look at five super foods for hair:

 

 Whole Grains

It is widely known that whole grains have more nutrients per unit than their refined counterparts. Add to this the large quantities of fibre they have which makes them really good for our digestive system. They can be easily digested, contain a lot of antioxidants and help keep chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity and constipation at bay. All these qualities also make them ‘super-foods’ for healthy hair.

 

Vitamin C Foods

Vitamin C is brimming with collagen, a protein which helps in maintaining hair follicles, blood vessels and scalp. Fruits like oranges, lemons, pineapple, strawberries, guava etc are great sources of vitamin C. Green leafy vegetables also contain vitamin C and iron which is another great nutrient for healthy hair.

 

 Brown Rice

It is a good source of protein and it gives your hair the shine you’ve always wanted. Apart from this, it makes you feel full for longer durations and helps suppress your hunger pangs. Brown rice is also rich in vitamins and fibre.

 

 Dal

Legumes are widely accepted as rich sources of protein. An ½ cup serving of dal can easily offer about 6 gm of protein. Besides, dals are rich in minerals like potassium and magnesium. However, you should not solely depend on dal for your daily protein intake.

Calcium-rich Foods

Calcium is also a key nutrient for maintaining hair health. Now a lot of calcium is used up by daily wear and tear and one needs to consume adequate calcium-rich foods to replenish lost calcium. Dairy products are excellent sources of calcium. So are grains. Calcium also makes your hair shine and not to forget that it also gives you healthy, stronger bones.

Yellow eyelid marks are 'early warning sign of heart disease'

Yellow marking in the skin around the eyes can be a sign of heart disease, according to scientists.

A study of almost 13,000 people found people with the patches, known as xanthelasmata, were more likely have a heart attack or die within 10 years.

The spots are deposits of cholesterol which are soft and painless. They don't interfere with vision and people often get them treated at a dermatologist.

However, people with xanthelasma should go to their doctor as well, according to the research published online in the British Medical Journal.

The heart disease link was most acute in men aged between 70 and 79. Those with xanthelasmata were 12 per cent more at risk than others without the condition. The corresponding risk for women in this group was eight per cent.

However, the raised yellow patches around the eyelids was a more reliable sign of heart disease in women because of their lower overall risk

The yellow markings (seen just above and below the corner of the eye) are deposits of cholesterol

'However, presence of xanthelasmata was a slightly better predictor of heart attack and heart disease in women than in men, and in those aged under 55 years compared with those aged 55 and over.

'This might be explained by the fact that male sex and age are both well known risk factors for heart attack and heart disease, so the presence of xanthelasmata just adds to this predetermined risk in men and in older people.

'In women, who have a smaller inherent risk of developing heart attack and heart disease, presence of xanthelasmata has a correspondingly larger predictive value.'

They said their results 'clearly establish for the first time that people with xanthelasmata have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.'

!!~~ assist a heart attack victim~~!!

here's how you can help a friend or a relative when he/she suffers from a heart attack.

1. Call an ambulance. That should be the priority.

2. Don't panic. Ask the person suffering from the attack to try and relax. This will help reduce the damage to his/her heart.

3. Give the person an aspirin (300mg). Ask him/her to chew it or keep it under the tongue. If consumed with water, the tablet will take longer to react. Aspirin will reduce the aggression in the blood platelets (cells) and improve circulation.

4. You could also give the patient Sorbitrate (5mg). This tablet again, should be kept under the person's tongue. If the chest pain persists, you can give up to three tablets within the interval of five minutes. It is advisable for a person with heart-related disease to carry Sorbitrate (5mg) tablets with him/her. The tablet could reduce blood pressure and cause giddiness. If the patient feels giddy they should stop taking the tablet.

5. Other symptoms of a heart attack are vomiting and a burning stomach coupled with pain in the chest and upper arm. Do not confuse it with acidity.

6. Do not let the patient walk to the doctor. Always wait for the ambulance to arrive or a neighbour or a relative to help drive the person to the nearest hospital/nursing home with an intensive care unit (ICU).

7. If the patient collapses, revive him/her with CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Lock lips with the patient and gently exhale air into his/her lungs.

8. If the person gets sweaty or weak, get him/her to lie down and support his legs with two pillows.

9. Most importantly, even if the attack subsides, make sure the person is taken to the nearest nursing home/hospital with an ICU where an ECG (Electro cardiogram) can be taken. The doctor will then give him/her an injection to dissolve the blockage or conduct an angioplasty depending on the severity of the attack. Taking the patient to the nearest hospital an hour within the attack will reduce the amount of damage to his/her heart.