Health & Happiness

Self Image

Why are we all obsessed with the idea of being as slim as possible? Most people may not be surprised that popular culture promotes body image and self image for women AND men which has sometimes adversely affected the well being of men and women.

What may surprise you is that this is not a new phenomenon.

Is it part of modern society to push young girls and women down the path of starvation and malnutrition, eventually heading for anorexia and bulimia, all in the name of trying to keep up with the absurdly thin images of models in magazines and papers?

Actually, No.

It was back in the 1920s that Western countries had the fixation of extreme slimming, thus causing many women of all ages to try to attain that wafer thin body, starving themselves and exercising frantically to achieve this goal.

It was not until the time of the depression that the fuller figure reappeared in a fashion sense, but again in the 60s, fashion models such as Twiggy promoted the idea of extreme thinness being equated with beauty.

Body Pores and Sweating

Your skin is the largest organ of your body (despite what some men may think!). As such, it plays a vital part in satisfying the breathing function. The skin has the capacity to soak up many things which can be absorbed into the bloodstream. To get a feel for this, allow some peppermint oil to come in contact with the underside of your feet. Within a quarter of an hour, you will be tasting peppermint! Nicotine patches and those used for HRT and other medical reasons work exactly the same way, on the absorbency of the skin.

The skin can not only absorb smells, liquids, etc, it can also excrete waste products, which is the reason for possible body smells.

Given the fact that the skin acts like a semi-permeable membrane, you might wonder about the sense in writing labels for various preparations for the skin which states 'caution, must not be swallowed' or 'not for internal use'. Well folks, what you put on the skin does get to the rest of the body system, so be aware of what you readily apply to your skin.

Weight Loss Supplements

Should you take weight loss products that are designed to curb your appetite? The answer is a resounding NO!

If foods are hard for the body to process, then the body is more likely to convert those foods to fat. Your body gives you hunger signals when it needs more fuel. If you eat the wrong foods, i.e. those that have poor nutritional value, then your body will keep telling you that you need more food so that it gets the vital ingredients. If you eat even less of the same foods you will get even less body nutrition and you don't want this. You can get away with this over a short time, but if you do this over a long period of time, your health will suffer. This is the reason that weight loss supplements are not generally recommended by dieticians.