Women who suffer from spider veins are more likely to hide their legs behind long skirts or stockings in order to avoid the embarrassment of showing off their marked veins. This problem is preventable, though.

Spider veins tend to appear mainly on the legs, although technically, they could occur on any part of the body. They look like a fine web of dark red, purple or even blue lines under the skin and are not as pronounced as varicose veins.

However, they still can cause considerable discomfort. Some women complain that they are extremely painful.

Keeping up great circulation in your legs is the first step to being able to prevent spider veins. You can do this by not using tight clothing on your legs, which might cut off the circulation and encouraging blood flow to the legs. This might be in the form of a daily leg massage or exercise. Simply walking or jogging a little each day reduces your risk of developing these unsightly veins.

Your mother may have told you that crossing your legs would cause varicose veins. She was right. Cutting off the circulation to your lower leg and foot is the perfect way to create a varicose vein problem, since both spider and varicose veins are caused by lack of blood flow. Increasing the blood flow to the areas most at risk will help prevent problems later on. This is good advice to follow even if you are very young, as it can prevent spider veins once you get older.

Maintaining your weight at a healthy level is also very important since extra weight puts extra pressure on your legs and may result in spider veins. This is particularly true during pregnancy when you would gain anyway. Keeping the weight gain to the recommended amount during pregnancy ensures that you are spider vein free after the baby is born.

Avoiding salt in your diet can keep swelling and hypertension to a minimum as well. These conditions often go hand in hand with spider veins and varicose veins. Adding more Vitamin C and E is also a great natural way to reduce swelling in the legs and may work to prevent vein disorders.

If you do end up with spider veins, despite all your attempts to keep your circulation high and eat well, there are still alternatives. Surgery is the most invasive, where the veins are actually removed. This is usually reserved for problem veins that don’t respond to other treatments.

Another treatment is to inject the offending veins with a special liquid that causes the veins to scar up and close. This forces the blood to be redirected and leaves the area clear. The procedure is painless, but may need to be repeated several times. Also, laser surgery may prove effective and is the least invasive of all treatments for spider veins.

If you wish to prevent or treat spider veins, try the tips above before heading to your doctor. While the preventions given are usually quite effective, it really depends on you and your lifestyle as well as your genetic makeup.

Healthy sex involves the conscious and positive expression of your sexual energy so that it enhances your self esteem, physical health and emotional relation.

Healthy sex is beneficial to both the partners and does no harm to anyone. Sex education is limited to reproduction, birth control and disease prevention. Some information on preventing sexual abuse, sexual addiction and sexual dissatisfaction is necessary.

Information on how to overcome problems caused by past sexual hurts and sexual abuse so that we can experience healthy sexual intimacy with your partner is also very essential.

You are always bombarded with images of unhealthy sex from movies, books, on TV and magazines. You may be exposed to many episodes of impulsive and forced sex. Persons are treated as sex objects and sex is portrayed as a form of power and control over your partner.

No wonder many of us have experienced the tragic consequences of mischanneled sexual energy. This could be sexual abuse, compulsive sexual behavior, sexual exploitation, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and chronic sexual unhappiness.

You should spend some time together and get to know each other before you become physical. You both should have a lot of honest and open communication. It will be very helpful if you became good friends first before becoming lovers.

Healthy sex is based on some basic conditions which should be met by everyone.

1. Consent: you are comfortable and can stop the activity at any time during the sexual contact in case you are not comfortable
2. Equality: neither is dominating and each one enjoys equal pleasure
3. Respect: there is loads of positive regard for yourself and your partner. You have mutual respect for each other
4. Trust: this involves physical trust and the emotional one.
5. Safety: you feel secure and safe with your partner and are comfortable about when and how the activity takes place
6. Comfort: it is very necessary as it affirms and sustains partners with closeness, familiarity and predictability

Long term relationships:- People in long term relationships often complain about the lagging sexual energy. Hidden energy can be found when you know where to look for. You should be deeply sexual over time with your life partner as it produces both joy and anxiety that promotes erotic energy.

Bedroom talk:- Most of the times, it is difficult to understand how to satisfy your partner sexually. The basic problem is that we all feel we are experts and know what pleases and our partners. But the fact is, sex is like any other skill. You will have to learn it and practice as every one responds differently to sex and sexual arousal. You may get turned on by some thing and your partner may find the same things unpleasant or uninteresting.

To prevent this you can have a nice chat with your partner. You may come across different topics and know more about each others likes and dislikes. The more you communicate, the more relaxed you will feel and it will boost your confidence. When you are saying some thing it helps to be positive, honest and demonstrative. Ask for a feed back and inform your partner what you are going to next.

Healthy sex is always:

1. A controlled energy
2. Has a choice
3. Is nurturing and healthy
4. Expression of love
5. Sharing with your partner
6. Sex is a part of who I am
7. Enhances who you truly are
8. Private, respectful, honest and mutual
9. Intimate, safe, responsible and empowering
10. Reflects your values
11. Enhances your self esteem

You should know healthy sex from other forms of sex. Healthy sex will empower you and bring more happiness into your sex life.

Without sufficient sleep your body is simply unable to function effectively. It is generally accepted that most of us need at the least seven hours each night.

However, getting these hours isn’t always easy, even when you go to bed at a reasonable time. So with this in mind here are some top tips to help you get a deep, restful night’s sleep…

Eat to sleep

Foods containing the amino-acid tryptophan have been shown to encourage the body to fall asleep. When you consume this chemical your body releases niacin (vitamin b) which helps to produce serotonin which in turn effectively calms the brain and relaxes the body. The best sources of tryptophan are dairy products, poultry rice, lentils, peanuts and whole grains.

Pick a Pattern

The best way to get a good night’s sleep is to go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning. This helps your body adopt a constant sleeping pattern

Coffee and Chocolate

The caffeine in coffee, chocolate and, to a lesser extent, tea is a stimulant that, if taken in the hours leading up to your bedtime, will make it very hard for you to get to sleep and stay that way.

Temperature

Research has shown that having a warm bedroom is unlikely to result in restful sleep. Your body temperature should gradually drop through the night to around 17°C (63°F).

Exercise

You might think exercising before bed would tire you out and therefore encourage a good night’s sleep. But in actual fact the opposite is true. Physical exercise raises the internal body temperature well above the ideal levels for a restful sleep.

The nonprofit advocacy Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently tested 21 cleaners used in schools, including a few that are also sold for household use. They sent products used in 13 California school districts to an air-quality lab, where levels of air pollutants were checked after the products were used according to instructions. Among the 21 tested cleaners were four household cleaning products that you may have underneath your kitchen sink.

Here are the test results for those four cleaners, and some alternative cleaning strategies that will leave you with clean indoor air instead of a hazy fog of pollutants:

#1: Febreze Air Effects (Hawaiian Aloha)

Ingredients listed on the bottle: Odor eliminator, water, fragrance, nonflammable natural propellant, quality-control ingredients.

What EWG found: 89 air contaminants, including ethyl acetate (toxic to the brain and nervous system), acetaldehyde (a known respiratory irritant and possible human carcinogen), and butylated hydroxytoluene (a preservative that’s toxic to the immune system and suspected of interfering with hormones). “We were very concerned about this, given the large number of air contaminants detected, many of which haven’t been tested and we don’t know what they do to us,” says Rebecca Sutton, PhD, an environmental chemist and senior scientist at EWG, who authored the report.

What to do about it: Fix the source of the odor, rather than masking it with a cloud of hormone-disrupting chemicals that may or may not bear any resemblance to a Hawaiian aloha. Household air could be musty because of a leaky pipe, and that stench in the closet could be sweaty gym shoes. To get rid of tough kitchen odors, boil a pot of water with some orange peels, cloves, and cinnamon sticks and leave it simmering on the stove for a while (it could freshen up your whole ground floor).

Parent’s have an important role to play in the case of obese children. Children learn from their parents. Parents should be an example to them by displaying discipline, being physically active, taking part in games with them, encouraging them to go out and play, eat a healthy diet, avoid eating fast foods.

Great  number of children growing in the United States are obese. How can parents keep their kids from becoming obese without triggering an eating disorder, particularly in young girls?

Walk the talk. Without question, the best way to prevent or treat obesity in children is for parents to set the example themselves—eating healthfully and increasing physical activity. Parents must focus on healthful behaviors, not weight or looks.

Teach the 80/20 concept: Make healthful choices 80 percent of the time and treat yourself 20 percent of the time. While caloric reduction is mandatory, deprivation and rigid restrictions of food do not work as a healthful long-term strategy for children.

Here are some additional recommendations to prevent obesity and inactivity in children:

• Target for no more than a 2-pound weight loss per week, and work toward a target weight that is in the lower 85 percent BMI range for the child’s age and gender.

• Consume at least three to five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

• Allow no more than one hour of television or computer games per day.

• Exercise either individually or in a group activity for one hour at least five days per week.

If the whole family incorporates subtle evolutionary—not revolutionary—changes, everyone will benefit from a healthful environment at home.

…And science tells us that the way we handle life’s problems can have alot to do with our level of health. That’s why it’s so critical that we learn how to handle problems as well as we possibly can.

So here are a few drug-free ways to reduce the pressures of daily living:

Natural Stress Busters:

• LEARN TO SAY “NO”: In other words don’t “bite off more than you can chew”. Learn your limitations and don’t commit to more than you can physically or mentally handle.

• START A REGULAR EXERCISE PROGRAM: This is a great way to release tension and it has many other health benefits. Even something as simple as a regular walking routine can do the trick. Just don’t overdue it whatever you decide to take up and always warm-up before doing any vigourous exercise to avoid injury. (ALWAYS CONSULT A LICENSED PHYSICAN BEFORE STARTING ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM.)

• DON”T SPEND MORE MONEY THAN YOU MAKE: More and more Americans fall into debt every day. This can really take a toll on your peace of mind and your nerves. Ask yourself a question before you buy something: DO I REALLY NEED THIS? Also, if you are in serious debt, there are different organizations that can help you consolidate it so you can get your life back. Look into your options.

• DON’T PROCRASTINATE: Always waiting to the last minute to do something you could have done at an earlier time just causes unnessesary stress and tension that you don’t need in your life.

• GET A PET: Studies have shown that pets can have a calming influence on their owners and help relieve stress. (IMPORTANT NOTE: You should only get a pet if you KNOW you can properly take care of it and give it the loving attention and care it deserves.) If you have the right circumstances, there are many lonely cats and dogs looking for good homes. Check with your nearest shelter.

• TAKE UP A HOBBY: You might want to learn to play a musical instrument or take up painting or even start playing tennis. Whatever you think you would enjoy, just give it a try. This could really help take your mind of your problems and help you relax occassionally.

• HAVE A LAZY DAY: Sometimes you just need to take a day off and just relax . Maybe sleep late, go to the beach, read a good book, go see a movie or whatever you feel like doing. You deserve it once and awhile, especially if you’re a workaholic. Everything in moderation.

• AVOID NEGATIVE PEOPLE WHEN POSSIBLE: When you can, try to associate with people who have a positive outlook on life and avoid negative people who bring you down and wear you out.

• PERFORM A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS: You’ve probably heard the Biblical expression: “There is more happiness in giving then there is in receiving.” Science backs this saying up.

When you do things for others, it causes a positive chemical reaction in your body that lifts your “spirits” and just makes you feel good about yourself. This helps relieve some of the tension in your life and gives you a chance to forget about your problems for awhile. Your kind act could also really help someone else have a better day.

• GIVE YOURSELF SOME QUIET TIME: Try to take some time each day to relax in a quiet spot somewhere. (It could be in your bedroom or at a park or a sandy beach) Even if it’s just for 15 minutes a day to gather your thoughts. You might want to try some visualization techniques. Some find it relaxing to visualize themselves doing something they enjoy or visualizing a time in their life when they were really happy. The more emotion you put into it, the better you will feel. Your mind will begin to actually think it’s a reality and not just your imagination. This is a simple but very powerful technique.

If you want more visualizing techniques, go to your local bookstore and buy a book that explains it more thoroughly.

• SMILE MORE: It has been shown that just the act of smiling can have a positive effect on your body chemistry. It releases certain chemicals in your body that relieve tension and reduce stess.

• AVOID PERFECTIONISM: You should always take pride in everything you do. However, don’t expect more from yourself and from others beyond a resoanable point. Do the best you can and move on to other things that need to get done.

• LAUGHTER TRULY IS THE BEST MEDICINE: Try to bring more laughter in your life. Hang around with friends that make you laugh or watch a good sit-com to reduce stress and release some pent-up tension you may have. Scientific studies have shown that laughter adds years to your life. Laugh as much as you can.

• TAKE A NATURAL B VITAMIN COMPLEX SUPPLEMENT: When you are under alot of stress it depletes your body of B vitamins. It’s important to replace these important nutrients.

• GET A PROFESSIONAL MASSAGE: Very few things can help you relax like a nice professional massage. If you are overstressed, you may want to give it a try.

• MAKE SURE YOU GET PLENTY OF SLEEP: Everyone handles life’s challenges much better when they are not overtired. Don’t stay up too late watching the late, late, late show.

TAKE A NICE RELAXING VACATION: All work and no play makes for a very stressful life. Plan a trip to somewhere nice that you’ve always wanted to go. Take it easy for a while. You deserve it.

Applying a few of these tecnniques can really help you reduce the level of stress in your life and could also help you to improve your general well-being. Don’t underestimate the effect your emotions have on your overall health. Even though we all face stress daily, we can learn to cope with it better.

Almost 500, 000 different women lose their lives to heart disease annually: Women who are moms, grandmas, aunts, sisters, and daughters. The good news is that heart disease is the most preventable cause of death in women. Heart disease prevention is easy, if you follow a few simple tips:

1. Don’t smoke or if you already do smoke, quit. Smoking is the leading cause of heart attacks and other heart diseases including hypertension or high blood pressure. If you smoke, think about it: Do you really want a cigarette to decide when it’s time for you to go? Start today to take steps to quit smoking.
2. Exercise, exercise, exercise At least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity such as walking or other aerobic activities, on most days helps prevent heart disease. If thirty minutes is too long for you, start with 10-minute increments during the day. Increase your exercise time by 5 or 10 minutes every other week or as often as you fell comfortable. Believe it or not, before you know it, you’ll actually look forward to your exercise time.
   Tip: If you have high blood pressure when you begin regular physical activity, make sure that you monitor you blood pressure regularly. You’re new; healthier, physical condition may mean that you no longer have high blood pressure. Never stop blood pressure medication without see your healthcare provider, first.
3. Eat a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight. A healthy diet is one that includes plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, and dairy. This is an essential part of heart disease prevention, as well as overall good health. Read the USDA’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines http://www.healthierus.gov, and use the tools available at MyPyramid.gov to learn how to follow an individualized eating plan and exercise routine.
4. Use alcohol only in moderation. Women should limit themselves to one alcoholic beverage per day. Of course, not drinking alcohol at all is even better.Following the four steps outlined above will reduce your risk of heart disease substantially. Another benefit of following these heart disease prevention steps is that you’ll also be preventing or reducing your risk of obesity, stroke, high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, and many types of cancer.

You may not think much of it, but once someone takes more than a passing glance at you, most likely he or she will look at you from head to foot. So it is important for you to take care of yourself and to look immaculate from your hair down to your toes.

Speaking of feet and toes, the heat of summer may have reduced you to wearing flip-flops and open-toed shoes most of the time to make the heat bearable. More than likely, the skin and soles of your feet have hardened due to constant exposure. How ironic it is that the one way to make your feet feel comfortable in the summer heat is also a way that will make your feet dirty and unsightly!

But there are ways of keeping your feet nice, soft and pretty, without having to spend so much on foot spas and salon pedicures. It is only a matter of good grooming, of keeping your feet clean and moisturized on a day-to-day basis.

When you take a shower, rub the hardened skin of your soles, as well as the calluses of your feet, with a pumice stone. Yes, you read that right, a pumice stone. Pumice stones are more effective at exfoliating skin than those fancy foot scrubs available at the market. Just remember to wait till your feet are softened by the water before you stone it.

After you have gleefully rubbed the hard spots off your feet, follow it up with a good foot cream or moisturizer. Dry your feet thoroughly and then apply a generous amount of moisturizer on them. Do this before you go to bed and sleep with your feet encased in socks. You will have soft and smooth feet when you wake up.

Lastly, keep your toenails well-groomed. This means clipping your toenails regularly, never letting them grow too long, removing the cuticles and painting them. Nothing is more unsightly than toenails that are long, have chipped paint and are dirty-looking. If you cannot give yourself a pedicure, make it a point to visit a nail salon every two weeks or so. If you are one of those women who do not like putting nail polish on, then make it a point to buff your toenails with a nail brush.

Since we are on the subject of foot care, do not hesitate to indulge yourself in a good foot massage every now and then, maybe once or twice a month. Not only is a good foot massage very relaxing, Oriental alternative medicine has it that reflexology massage that applies pressure to certain parts of the hands and feet do wonders to your overall health.

A beautiful woman glows inside and out, and is clean and well-groomed from head to foot. Always keep your feet healthy, happy and beautiful.

Puffy and dark circles under the eyes can make us look tired and appear older beyond our years. Women approaching their thirties and older generally address this area first when they try to rejuvenate themselves, because puffy and dark circles under the eyes are one of the more obvious indicators of aging.

What causes us to form dark circles under our eyes, also known as eye bags? We have to recognize and accept it with ourselves that having dark circles under the eyes is part of the natural aging process. Also, we could be genetically pre-disposed to develop them earlier. Dark circles under the eyes can also develop from factors from our own environment, such as pollutants and allergens in the air. In addition, crying our eyes out is a sure-fire ticket to having dark circles under the eyes.

Not a few women think that undergoing cosmetic surgery or using expensive creams are the only ways of dealing with dark circles under the eyes. This is not so. While it is not possible to be able to remove them completely all the time, there are ways that we can take to combat them, or at least to make sure that they do not get worse over time.

One of these ways of fighting dark under eye circles is to keep our bodies hydrated by drinking plenty of water and fruit juices every day. Eight glasses or two liters of water is the recommended amount. Water flushes out the toxins in our body and acts as a natural moisturizer for the skin.

Another way of doing it is to get plenty of sleep every night. We should get around seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Sufficient sleep allows the body to repair and rejuvenate itself. When the body is able to repair itself properly every day, the skin appears younger and healthier, including the skin around the eyes.

If you are a smoker, you would do well to stop smoking. Smoking robs the body of nutrients and dries out the water in our cells. It is not just our skin that suffers from smoking; the entire body suffers from the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke.

Dark under eye circles home remedies:

• Resting your eyes for thirty minutes or so with a slice of cucumber over each eyelid.
• Putting on an eye pack that spent time inside the refrigerator before going to sleep.
• Chilling a couple of used teabags with most of the water squeezed out of them and then taking a nap for fifteen minutes with the teabags on your eyelids.

Getting dark circles under the eyes is a part of the aging process, but you do not have to go under the knife just to be able to get rid of them.

Medical tests such as a pregnancy ultrasound can help your health care provider monitor your baby’s development, while more specialized pregnancy tests such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) can help detect conditions such as Down syndrome and cystic fibrosis.

The woman’s body is wonderfully complex and delicate. However, multiple roles as the mother, daughter, wife, homemaker, wage earner can be physically and mentally quite taxing. As a woman, you might share some common health risks with men, such as heart disease, but because of your special reproductive role, you are at risk of some distinctly female disorders.

This section deals with answers to some common problems like, menstrual disorders, pregnancy, breast feeding etc. Information on Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Contraceptives too have been included.

Symptoms of Pregnancy

For a woman having a regular monthly cycle, the earliest and most reliable sign of pregnancy is a missed period, or sometimes women who are pregnant have a very light period, losing only a little blood. Other signs are:

• Feeling sick, not necessarily in the morning, but at any time.
• The breasts may become larger and tender. Veins may become prominent and nipples may darken and stand out.
• Increased frequency in passing urine.
• Tendency for constipation.
• Tiredness.
• An increased vaginal discharge without any associated complaint.
• A metallic taste in the mouth.
• Dislike for certain things like tea or coffee or fatty foods.
• Increased liking for certain things like spicy foods.

Pregnancy test can be carried out on urine samples, as early as from the first day of a missed period-that is, about fourteen days after the conception.
A positive test result is almost definitive of pregnancy. If the test is negative, it is less reliable. It can be repeated after a week, or a doctor can be consulted.

What you should eat?
Pregnancy puts additional nutritional demands on your body. You require to eat judiciously to meet the demands of the body. Make sure that you eat a mixture of different foods each day in order to get all the various nutrients that you and your baby need.
Your diet should have plenty of fruit and vegetables which provide vitamins, minerals and fibre. Eat them lightly cooked or raw. Let starchy foods like bread, potatoes, rice and breakfast cereals with vegetables form the main part of any meal.

Eat some good sources of nutrients like fish, eggs, cheese, beans, and lentils every day. Dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt are important as they contain calcium and other nutrients needed for your baby’s development.
Avoid sugar and sugary foods like sweets, biscuits and cakes and sugary drinks like cola. Cut down on fat and fatty foods as well.

Mineral and vitamin supplements
A large number of pregnant women suffer from varying degrees of anemia so additional iron supplementation is provided by pills. Also tablets of Folic acid (a vitamin necessary to prevent certain spinal disorders in the growing baby) along with Calcium are generally prescribed by the health care providers.

Pregnancy and weight
Most women gain between 10 -12.5kgs (22 – 28lbs). Weight gain varies a great deal and depends on your weight before pregnancy. Weight gain significantly more or less than the average could be an indicator of a problem, so you must monitor your weight gain carefully. Also if you weigh more than 100kg or under 50kg your health care provider may have special advise for you.

Smoking during pregnancy
Try to stop. When you smoke, carbon monoxide and nicotine passes into your lungs and blood stream. This means that: a) your baby gets less oxygen and cannot grow as well as it should, and b) the nicotine makes your baby’s heart beat faster. Constantly breathing in other people’s smoke may also have a harmful effect.

Babies of mothers who smoke are, on average, 200g (about 8 oz) lighter than other babies. These babies may have problems during and after labour and are more prone to infection; it will be better for your baby later too if you stop smoking. Children whose parents smoke are more likely to suffer from illnesses such as asthma; and there is an increased risk of cot death.

Alcohol
It has now been shown that even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful to your baby. Alcohol has adverse effects on the baby’s development and can produce a lot of anomalies generally termed as ‘Fetal Alcohol Syndrome’. So to be safe avoid alcohol totally during your pregnancy.

Pills medicines and other drugs
You should be very careful while taking any kind of medication, specially in the earlier part of the pregnancy. Majority of drugs have some effects on the growing fetus and the first three months are crucial. You would be better off asking your doctor about any medications you want to take. Make sure your doctor or dentist knows you’re pregnant before prescribing anything or giving you treatment.

At the same time it is important to remember that if you on treatment for some chronic conditions like epilepsy or diabetes you consult your doctor and continue your medications because control of such conditions is vitally important for you as well as the pregnancy.

Suggested Reading –
Pregnancy and your Feet – “Oh, my aching, swollen feet!” Most pregnant women, already handling so many changes in their bodies, find themselves echoing this complaint.

Ultrasound Images of Pregnancy – Every would be parent is curious to see how the baby is growing inside the mother. Here are some very good Ultrasound images of a growing fetus.