Skin, a natural protective covering with the sense of touch is the largest organ of the body. Everybody desire to look great and most even go through expensive skin treatments, high end skin products and make up towards looking great.

Radiant, glowing skin is the first step to looking great. The secret to good skin is this that there is no secret. The skin looks good only when it is healthy and healthy skin requires a healthy diet. A well balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle will amend more than just skin.

Diet: A healthy diet with the required vitamins can revitalize the skin making it look younger and healthier.

(i) Vitamin A:

A diet with milk, cheese, eggs, butter, spinach, broccoli, carrot and fish oils etc is rich in Vitamin A that helps in preventing the dryness of skin and repairs the body tissue, thereby deferring aging. Vitamin A is fat soluble and its abundance will get stored in the liver, discretion is advised.

(ii) Vitamin B:

This water soluble vitamin is abundantly rich in cereals and green leafy vegetables. Yoghurt, brown bread, wheat germ and yeast are also good sources of Vitamin B. This vitamin rejuvenates circulation and skin color.

(iii) Vitamin C:

Strawberry, cabbage, blackcurrant, broccoli and all citrus fruit serve as rich sources of Vitamin C. This water soluble vitamin maintains the collagen levels for healing and keeping the skin smooth, firm and healthy looking.

Healthy habits pave the way to lead a healthy life. Drinking adequate water flushes out the toxins and keeps you fresh and clean. So try to drink at least 8-12 glasses of water daily. Avoid direct exposure to sunlight for a prolonged period of time especially when the sun is in its intense as ultra-violet rays can damage the skin which further results in wrinkles, dry skin, skin cancer (melanoma) etc. Try to wear sunscreen, cover up your body with long sleeves and protect your eyes thru sunglasses if you happen to go out in hot sun.

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disorder usually of allergic origin. It is a condition of the lung that affects the bronchial tubes or air passages and is characterized with variable and recurring symptoms like Airflow obstruction, bronchial hyper- responsiveness (bronchospasm), and an underlying inflammation.

Asthma is believed to be caused by a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors that can also influence its severity and responsiveness to medication. The condition is further classified into two general categories as extrinsic and intrinsic asthma depending on the stimuli of the attack.

(a) Extrinsic or Allergic Asthma: Asthma is extrinsic when it is triggered by an allergen. This is the most common type of asthma and is caused by pollutants, wood dust, smoke, chemicals, viral/bacterial infections, stress, emotion and even exercises that are capable of triggering the condition.

Most cases of Asthma in children are extrinsic caused by maternal smoking making the infants particularly vulnerable to allergic smoking. This condition is found more often in young boys than in girls.

(b) Intrinsic Asthma: Asthma is said to be intrinsic when it is not caused by any allergies/allergens. This condition is not likely to develop in children; its typical onset occurs after 40 years of age and is less responsive to medication when compared to allergic Asthma. The causes for this condition include respiratory irritants such as perfumes, cleaning agents, cold air, upper respiratory infections, and gastroesophageal reflux (GERD).

The above classification is further split into categories distinguishing one from another by means of severity and interactive response.

(i) Exercise induced Asthma (wheezing during physical activities.)
(ii) Nocturnal Asthma (respiring trouble while asleep, although the name relates to night.)
(iii) Occupational Asthma (work hazards, breathing chemical fumes and dust.)
(iv) Steroid resistant Asthma (unresponsiveness to medication as result of hyper-usage of steroids.)

Obesity is the corpulent condition of the body with an increased BMI (Body Mass Index) as a result of excessive food intake and lack of physical exercises. Although there are other cases of obesity with genetic and medical causes; those explained to be caused by the sedentary lifestyle are reported to be fatal associating with Diabetes, Cholesterol and other cardiovascular diseases.

Sedentary life style can be proved expensive, especially when it could cost a life. The victim off-guard to pay the price can be radically accessed by a weight reduction program that helps losing weight over a short term besides just creating awareness among the people. With obesity being one of the leading causes of preventable death; the ailment is often denounced with precautious dieting and healthy habits with extensive care failing which may require serious medical attention.

Reduce Obesity

A healthy way to reduce obesity is fitting into an active lifestyle rather than that of a dormant. Active exercises burn the additional calories and raise the metabolic rate, thereby increasing the efficiency of the body besides motivating weight reduction.

Diets can also promote weight loss when followed on a regular basis. An appetite with high fiber foods, fruits, vegetables, juices, sprouts, grains, nuts, seeds, and beans etc can supply healthy vitamins providing sufficient calcium, magnesium & potassium levels to boost the energy in the body.

Balanced fat free diet accompanied with routine physical exercises helps losing weight over a short term proving numerous weight reduction programs to be successful. However, the realistic goal of keeping the lost weight off is a higher responsibility that would require the following:

(i) A dietary management depending on the food preference and life style.
(ii) Behavioral modification avoiding hyper indulgence in food and alcohol.
(iii) Activities for physical and mental exertion.

Dandruff

Dandruff, a condition of having the scalp of the head flaking off the dead skin is though often not always caused due to dry scalp. The exfoliation of dead skin cells from the scalp is quite common to an extent which unless may require periodic attention.

Dandruff, either chronically or as a result of certain triggers is experienced with excessive flaking of dead skin mostly accompanied with redness and irritation. Although certain cases are easily treated with specialized shampoos, symptoms of seborrhoeic dermatitis, psoriasis, fungal infection or excoriation associated with infestation of head lice would require specific treatment.

Causes

Dandruff was earlier believed to be caused by Malassezia furfur, a fungus naturally found on the human skin until the discovery of Malassezia globosa, a scalp specific fungus that metabolizes the sebaceous secretions (sebum) to disturb homeostasis causing erosion of skin cells.

Dandruff can be caused by potential factors like lack of healthy food & proper rest, stress, excessive perspiration and climate etc. It can seldom be a manifestation of allergic reactions to hair products like hair gel, hair spray, hair oil or sometimes even dandruff medications.

The Riddance

Regular shampooing can easily wash away the scalp flakes; however elimination of the fungus shows better results. The following are the most common anti-fungal agents

a. Zinc pyrithione (Pert & dandruff control)
b. Ketoconazole (Anti-fungal drug)
c. Selenium sulfide (Anti-fungal agent against fungi & yeasts).

However, Anti-dandruff shampoos (Head & Shoulders, Nizoral and Selsun Blue) containing Ketoconazole (concluded the most effective anti-fungal agent) showed better results to that of other anti-fungal agents.

Although there are other home remedies like Oil soaks, Vinegar rinses and usage of Tea-tree oil/Coneflower with Red clover extracts; Prevention is always better than cure abiding healthy habits for a healthy living.