Pimples, breakouts and face mapping

A few days ago I had breakout on my chin; it had been a while since I broke out so severely. It had me thinking as to why I was breaking out in that area only. I usually have one or two pimples on my cheek but not as bad as this particular episode. I was very sure that there was a reason, so, google to the rescue. 

Dermatologists have what is called face mapping; a combination of  ancient Chinese practice  and modern day dermatological science used cure acne through identifying parts the face that are linked to other parts of the body. 

The face is mapped out into different zones; break out in different zones correspond to different problems. So, with this “map” as your guide, you can address the underlying causes of blemishes/break out and not only make the unsightly zits vanish but also treat a primary health problem in time.

Zone 1 & 2 indicates problems with Digestive System — recommendation is to -eat less processed or junk food, reduces the amount of fat in your diet, step up water intake and opt for cooling foods like cucumbers.

Zone 3 indicates problems with Liver — recommendation is to cut -out the alcohol, greasy food and dairy. This is the zone where food allergies also show up first, so take a look at your ingredients. Besides all this, do 30 minutes of light exercise every day and get adequate sleep so your liver can rest.

Zones 4 & 5 indicates problems with Kidneys — recommendation is to DRINK UP! Anything around the eyes (including dark circles) points to dehydration. ……Drink up!

Zone 6 indicates problems with the Heart — recommendation is to check your blood pressure and Vitamin B levels. Decrease the intake of spicy or pungent food, cut down on meat and get more fresh air. Besides this, look into ways to lower cholesterol, like replacing “bad fats” with “good fats” such as Omegas 3 and 6 found in nuts, avocados, fish and flax seed. Also, since this area is chock-full of dilated pores, check that your makeup is not past its expiry date or is skin-clogging.

Zone 7 & 8 (the other ear area) indicates problems with Kidneys — recommendation is, again, drink up! And cut down on aerated drinks, coffee and alcohol as these will cause further dehydration.

Zone 9 & 10 indicates problems with Respiratory system — Do you smoke? Have allergies? This is your problem area for both. If neither of these is the issue, don’t let your body overheat, eat more cooling foods, cut down on sugar and get more fresh air. Also keep the body more alkaline by avoiding foods that make the body acidic (meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, sugar) and adding more alkalizing foods like green veggies and wheat grass juice. Another thing that most of forget – dirty cell phones and pillow cases are two of the top acne culprits and this area is what they affect the most!

Zone 11 & 12 indicates problems with Hormones — This is the signature zone for stress and hormonal changes. And while both are sometimes unavoidable, you can decrease their effect by getting adequate sleep, drinking enough water, eating leafy veggies and keeping skin scrupulously clean. Another interesting point: breakouts in this area indicate when you are ovulating (and on which side).

Zone 13 indicates problems with Stomach — recommendation is to Step up the fibre intake, reduce the toxin overload and drink herbal teas to help with digestion.

Zone 14 indicates Illness — Zits here can be a sign that your body is fighting bacteria to avoid illness. Give it a break, take a yoga class, take a nap, and take time to breathe deeply, drink plenty of water and know that everything always works out!

I recently discovered the amazing power  tea tree oil; it works magic on breakout. Best part is it also helps reduce the appearance of spots. You can apply the diluted essential oil  all over your face or just on the pesty zits. 

30 is not the new 20- Meg Jay

Okay, this saddened me a little but hopefully it will help someone else. I wish I had some of this knowledge at 24; I would be on a much better life path now. It may never be too late to make changes to one life but one would have lived a better life if the right changes were made earlier.

11 Benefits of lemon or lime water

Why lemons?

Lemons are packed like a clown car with nutrients, including vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. (Fun fact: they contain more potassium than apples or grapes!)

Because of how hard lemon juice can be on the enamel of your teeth, it’s important to dilute it with water of any temperature (though lukewarm is recommended). Drink it first thing in the morning, and wait 15 to 30 minutes to have breakfast. This will help you fully receive the benefits of lemon water, which are listed below.

11 Benefits of Lemon Water

1. Gives your immune system a boost.

Vitamin C is like our immune system’s jumper cables, and lemon juice is full of it. The level of vitamin C in your system is one of the first things to plummet when you’re stressed, which is why experts recommended popping extra vitamin C during especially stressful days.

2. Excellent source of potassium.

As already mentioned, lemons are high in potassium, which is good for heart health, as well as brain and nerve function.

3. Aids digestion.

Lemon juice not only encourages healthy digestion by loosening toxins in your digestive tract, it helps to relieve symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, burping, and bloating.

4. Cleanses your system.

It helps flush out the toxins in your body by enhancing enzyme function, stimulating your liver.

5. Freshens your breath.

It also helps relieve toothaches and gingivitis (say wha?). Because the citric acid can erode tooth enamel, either hold off on brushing your teeth after drinking lemon water or brush your teeth before drinking it.

Oatmeal pancakes

So I have been toying around with the idea of substituting oatmeal for regular flour for cakes and pudding. Then I realized that I can use oatmeal flour for pancakes as well. Now this is not a new idea or recipe but it isn't one that is widely talked about in the clean eating circles or could it be that I just haven't heard of it? Shrugs*

So I gave it a try, adjusted my recipe after the first attempt and now I make pretty good oatmeal pancakes. Oatmeal is sort of dry, when cooked like this it tends to be a little dryer (for your consideration). So what will you need?

• half a cup of oatmeal
• milk
• one egg (if you want to really eat clean, take out the yoke and use just the whites)
• cinnamon to taste 
• a non-stick pan

I started off by mixing my egg and milk together, half a tea spoon of cinnamon then threw in my oatmeal flour. (I used regular oatmeal, put it in a dry mill and blended till it was fine and smooth like flour). When I was happy with the consistency, I began to cook them in a pan with no oil. You can use a little drizzle of olive oil but I prefer not to. I tend to leave the pancakes to cook a little longer on low heat because I feel oatmeal needs a longer  time to cook properly. When it was done I left to cool and packed them up for breakfast at the office.

The one on the left is a little brown cos the heat was too high but it was good all the same

This morning I had my oatmeal pancakes with honey and jam and a glass of water. I didn't feel like tea or coffee.

You can also add banana, strawberries, mangoes or cheese etc. to this recipe but the idea is to keep it as clean as possible with as few calories as possible. So be as creative as possible with this.

Do you think you will try this?

Best tip for cooking brown rice

So this year I got on my fitness horse again, started eating better (still very much a challenge) and working out more. TBH working out is fun for me I love sweating and pushing my body, but giving up my haribos has been very hard. Which is such a shame because for proper weight loss clean eating is 80% of the work; alas I still struggle but I am making improvements and I am seeing changes in my body.

So as part of clean eating I cook a lot of my meals especially my lunches for work. Meaning I eat a lot of the same thing lol I mean, I eat a lot of brown rice. Now brown rice isn't the tastiest and it can be chewy. I also eat a lot of beans, boiled yams, sweet potatoes and un-ripe plantains. Any ways back to brown rice, it's chewy and not so tasty, so I thought of a way to cook brown rice so that I would really enjoy it. I enjoy spicy, savory foods so most of my meals are packed with flavor, chilli, garlic, ginger and different spices. So one Sunday while prepping my meals for the week; I had some stock left over from boiling my beef for stew;(Nigerian style stew is most tomato, chilli and onions based) Not wanting to throw away the spicy beef stock it came to me to boil my rice in the stock; that way the flavors from the stock will get into the rice. And it was an amazing idea I tell ya..... with even more more amazing result.Once the rice was/is cooked it can almost be eaten on its own.  I then chop cabbage and/or carrots into the rice when it has been cooked and the heat turned off then I let the heat from the rice cook them.

Brown rice and beef stew prepped for the week

Half eaten lunch at work, I assure you it tastes better than it looks lol

So clean eating does not have to be boring, there are many creative and fun things to do with healthy food. I am unsure by how much brown rice is healthier than regular rice but I really believe in portions. You can eat most types of carbs because our bodies need to fuel but you have to really consider your portions and obviously no frying and oily stuff.

Castor Oil

I am not a big fan of castor oil but I do include it in my regimen. I use it to seal the ends of my hair; as the ends are most susceptible to damage I think it is better to coat them with a thick oil.

What really is castor oil ? Castor oil is derived from the seed of the castor oil plant that is found in most tropical parts of the world. The seeds of the plant are processed to get the oil. Most castor oils are processed so they have lost some of their nutritive properties. The purest type of castor oil is the Jamaican black castor oil, this oil has had little or no processing done to it so it retains almost all it's good stuff. Castor oils contain vitamin E, minerals, proteins, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.

A few benefits of castor oil:

• Is an excellent emollient and humectant for skin and hair

• Is a treatment for hair thinning and hair loss

• Prevents the dry and itchy scalp

It's anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties can be effective for treating skin/scalp infections like ringworm.

Castor oils can be very thick and viscous to make it more manageable for use you can mix it with other lighter oils also do not be too heavy handed when using castor oils as a little goes a long way.

As castor oils only helps to lock in moisture ensure that you hair and skin have been properly moisturized before you apply it. 

Do you include castor oil in you hair or skin regimen ?