Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Acne No More

No more distressing cosmetic aspect for teenagers than is acne.
Acne is inflammatory lesions localized on the face, arms and upper part of the chest and back. Acne is emerged as a result of an abnormal response of the skin of male and female teens to normal levels of male sex hormones.The skin that is vulnerable to acne may have predisposing factors like, hypovitaminosis, anemia and inherited pattern of metabolism. Diet may play a role in exacerbation of acne, though not yet certain.

Acne starts through a phenomenon known as"Seborrhoea oleosa" which predisposes skin to acne, seborrhoeic eczema and alopecia. This phenomenon starts by increased secretion of oil by sebaceous glands in the hair follicles present in the skin. As a result, the skin becomes greasy and the oil fills the pores and may solidify to make black heads or "comedones". The oil may build up around the hair and the hair root and becomes infected with bacteria normally present in the skin.The bacteria break down the oil to irritant and inflammatory chemicals which causes redness, pus formation and pain in many acne patients.The pus can be spread deep in the skin either normally or through manipulation or squeezing the spot. This deep rooted inflammation and infection results in scarring and cyst formation frequently seen in acne patients.

Acne may be alleviated by high doses of female sex hormones, and worsened during pregnancy and pre-menstruation times due to hormonal imbalance.
Some dermatology scholars attribute a great part of the problem of acne to the impaired catabolic metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.

From our biochemical background, we know that the key element of catabolism of both carbohydrates and fats is Coenzyme A, which is formed by enzymatic coupling of the vitamin, Pantothenic acid and theamino acid Cysteine.
* Panthenol is better absorbed by the skin and is converted in the body into Pantothenic acid.
* Cysteine can produce some allergic reactions in some patients throughits free -SH group, yet it can be generated from methionine.

Bearing these notions in my mind, I tried solving the problem of acne through supplying the biochemical agents needed to accelerate catabolism of carbohydrates and fats in a local form to acne patients.The formulation revealed marvelous response in tens of acne cases.

Revising the ingredients of the formulation shows how far I put safety in the first position, and these are the ingredients:
* Panthenol(dexPanthenol-USP or d-Panthenol):
It is available in powderand liquid forms in different concentrations. Calculations are made so that the formula contains %2-4 d-Panthenol, e.g. if panthenol %50 is used, we should include what equals 4g panthenol, that means 2 teaspoonful of powder or liquid.
* L-Methionine: it is available in powder form in concentrations up to%99.5. Calculations are made to include %1-2 L-Methionine, that is 1 teaspoonful methionine %99.5.

The Formula
d-Panthenol 2-4%
Chamomile powder 1 %
Aloe vera powder 1 %
Bee honey 20 %
Propolis 2 %
Glycerin 70 %
To be applied once daily on the affected spots.

Another alternative is to add 1g L-Methionine to panthenol cream 50g, few drops Aloe vera liquid, few drops Chamomile oil and 1g Propolis.

Enjoy no more acne.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Honey Home Made Cosmetics

Honey is made by the worker bee which is a female. She seems to know exactly what the females need and how to formulate it.You can avoid petroleum derivatives present in synthetic cosmetics by utilizing the know-how of a great pharmacist (the bee), through simply mixing some natural ingredients to her ready-made product (honey). You will get high quality beauty-care products which really nourish your skin, the largest organ in your body.The first woman who used honey in her beauty care was Cleopatra of ancient Egypt.

Now let us to go to work.
Face Masks
Mask is the best form that complies with the consistency of honey. it nourishes the skin and keeps it moisturized. Regular use of them keeps skin juvenile and retards wrinkle formation.To mix the ingredients you can use mixer. They are left for about 1/2 an hour, then removed using a gauze and warm water and then washed.

Cleopatra Mask
Honey 1 teaspoonful
Milk 1 tablespoonful
Egg White of 1 egg
If you use milk powder, calculate the water percentage.

Egg White Mask
Honey 1 teaspoonful
Glycerin 1 teaspoonful
Egg White of 1 egg

Egg yolk Mask
Honey 1 teaspoonful
Glycerin 1 teaspoonful
Egg yolk of 1 egg

Quick Mask
Honey 100 g
Alcohol 25 ml
Water 25 ml
N.B. The alcohol content may compensate for diluting honey, regarding preservation.

Fairness Mask
Honey 10 g
Distilled water 155 ml
Alcohol70% 30 ml
Borax 4 g
Bergamot oil 3 drops
Orange oil 2 drops

Hands Care

You can use any of the previous masks, yet there are some more convenient forms for use for hands.
1- Emulsion for hands
Honey 2 teaspoonful
Almond oil 1 teaspoonful
Perfume few drops
Massage your hands, leave for a while and wash if you need.

2- Paste for hands
Honey 10 g
Wheat flour 6 g
Water 4 g
Massage your hands.

Total Body Care
Besides the orally taken stuff, you can care about the skin of the whole body by making some modification of the bathing water:
Add 200-250 g of honey to the Bathing water.If used once in a while (e.g. every 2 weeks), it will keep on a good turger of the cells and nourishes the skin.
Cracked Lips
Honey 10 g
Lemon juice 10 g
To be used concomitantly with lip moisturizer containing Panthenol.

Go ahead, nourish your skin and don't plaster it.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Honey for Diabetes?

Diabetes patients suffer a reduced amount of Insulin secreted in response to any glucose introduced into their blood. Consequently, they have a restricted food amounts and varieties. The restrictions put on their food deprive them of many elements in their natural form.
Diabetes patients are banned from sugar, yet they can't abandon sweeteners. To replace sugar in their food and drinks, diabetes patients use synthetic sweeteners like Aspartam which is a synthetic chemical agent without any nutritive value, and sometimes it is combined with starch derivatives which releases glucose into the blood.

In many countries, diabetes patients use honey in place of sugar.
Apart from the debate about the compared absorbed amounts of glucose after ingesting sugar or honey which favours honey to avoid high concentration of glucose after eating sugar, I will stress 2 points in honey, these are:

1- CALORIE CONTENT:
Honey is 3 times as sweet as sugar, then if one needs 30 g of sugar, he may replace them with 10 g of honey. The needed amount of sugar (30g) produces 120 Kcal, while the equivalent honey amount(10 g) produces 32 Kcal.

2- MICRO-NUTRIENTS: These are subdivided into 2 categories:
l- Vitamins:
Some vitamins are highly needed by diabetes patients and are recommended by physicians to all diabetes patients, they are vitamin B1,B6, B12 ,C ,E and Biotin.
Honey - specially the unfiltered summer honey when the bee only uses nectar to make honey - is a good source of most of these vitamins, at least to supply a part of the RDA in natural form. There was vitaminized honey in the former USSR, where the bee was fed fruits and vegetables juice to produce this sort of honey, otherwise synthetic vitamins were added to honey to be used by diabetic patients.

ll- Trace elements:
* Chromium is a critical nutrient in diabetes. It is presented as a supplement for people with, diabetes, pre-diabetic glucose intolerance and women with diabetes associated with pregnancy.
* Manganese is present in diabetics in 1/2 its amount that is present in normal individuals.
* Magnesium is significantly lowered in diabetes patients.
* Vanadium given to diabetics proved to decrease their Insulin needs.
* Zinc deficiency has been suggested to play a role in the development of diabetes in humans. It is involved in virtually all aspects of Insulin metabolism, synthesis, secretion and utilization.
* Potassium supplementation yields improved Insulin sensitivity.

Honey contains all elements present in the soil, specially if it is not deprived of pollen grains.
If you cut 40-50 g of your carbohydrate intake daily and replace them with honey, you will make a great favour to your body.

Living with Type II Diabetes?

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