Mandeep Falco Media

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foods that feed the skin, hair and nails, and nourish the body
Beauty on the outside begins – naturally – on the inside. To have glowing skin, strong nails and shining hair you must feed your body the right foods so it can thrive. What kinds of foods are these? They are whole, raw, nourishing ones. Cooked whole foods can do wonders for your body but often raw foods deliver more nutrients and hydration and obviously – less processing is required.

Fruits and greens are the most important foods to eat raw. Vegetables, beans and grains can be cooked gently (preferably without oil). If you want to achieve natural, radiant beauty, you need to eat wholesome, honest foods that will build that beauty for you. We literally are what we eat; if you eat processed junk food, it will show in your skin!

Excellent methods of getting the most nutrition out of your food are juicing and blending. Juicing extracts just the liquids so the nutrients from the foods enter your blood stream within minutes. Blending helps make digestion easier because your food is already ready to be absorbed!
The first step to finding your unique, special beauty is creating a foundation of health by eating healthful foods. When you fuel your body properly and respectfully, it will thank you. By eating right and exercising regularly you can achieve your ideal weight and look amazing. When you look amazing – you feel even better. Real beauty is confidence, and confidence starts with health and happiness... so let’s get started!

When you want lustrous hair, strong nails and radiant skin, all you have to do is eat foods that nourish your body! You want foods that are hydrating, with large amounts of vitamins, healthy fats and minerals.
Vitamin C plays a role in building collagen which keeps your skin smooth and tight; so citrus fruits and other fruits and veggies are excellent for healthy skin. Examples are grapefruit, bell peppers, oranges, and lemons.

Vitamin A is an antioxidant and therefore it helps with anti-aging and cell repair. Foods with vitamin A are usually red, orange or green (think sweet potatoes, carrots, peppers, and leafy greens).

Moving on to those healthy fats! Nuts, seeds and avocados contain vitamin E as well as Omega 3’s; they are excellent at keeping the skin youthful and soft by protecting it from sun damage and keeping it moisturized. Almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, quinoa and h**p seeds are excellent choices.
Some minerals that are necessary for healthy skin, hair and nails are selenium, zinc. Selenium maintains your skins elasticity can be found in mushrooms and whole grains. Zinc protects cell membranes and plays a role in collagen production; great sources of zinc are nuts (peanuts, cashews, pine nuts, etc.), beans (chickpeas, black beans, etc.) and whole grains like brown rice.

If You Do Only One Thing For Your Anxiety – Make It This
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately one in five adults in the United States – approximately 43.8 million – experiences mental illness in a given year and approximately one in 25 adults in the United States – 9.8 million – experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits their ability to do normal activities.

In other words, if you suffer from anxiety or depression or another form of mental illness, you are not alone. Unfortunately, the statistics are quite as gruesome for children, and the question many of us have in health care is “Why?”

Why are so many people plagued by anxiety?
We may not have a concrete answer to this question, but it could just be that more and more people are living in large, busy cities, where noise and air pollution, high stress, business, and lack of nature are the rule rather than the exception. Indeed, observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, sleep disturbances, sleepiness, an increased incidence of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren.

Air pollution has been associated with psychological distress and social isolation. Along with a lack of exposure to nature, it is not surprising that more individuals living in cities—which are usually loud, busy, crowded, and polluted—find themselves more depressed or anxious than those individuals who reside in more rural environments. If this pertains to you, don’t fret. A dose of nature might just be the best thing you can do to combat your anxiety.

Is nature really the best thing for my anxiety?
fMRI studies show that nature works by stimulating the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain like dopamine, which help you feel happier. Studies also show that the closer to you live to green space, the better you are at bouncing back from stressful situations. Immersing yourself in nature has been associated with less activity in fear centers of the brain, lower levels of stress hormones, steadier heart rate, lower blood pressure, and reduced muscle tension. You can’t get that from one single supplement!

Now, you might be wondering whether you should be moving out into the country to save your mental health. And while that is one solution, luckily, there are a ton of ways to bring more nature into your life. These tips will help soothe your nervous system, combat anxiety, and support optimal mental health:

1. Make time for nature.
Prioritize time away from your busy life to visit a national park, beach, or forest. Whether it is taking a hike for the day, camping, or luxuriating at a spa in a natural setting for a weekend, aim to do it at least once a week—or once a month if it’s a weekend.

2. Bring plants into your home.
To get a daily dose of the outdoors, bring nature into your home with plants, photographs of nature scenes, or by listening to guided meditations that involve scenes of nature. There are a ton of great meditation apps out there, and many of them incorporate scenes and sounds of nature.

3. Start a garden.
Start a garden outside or inside, taking 20 minutes a day to nurture the soil, water the vegetation, or simply admire what you’ve sown. If and when what you have created does grow or bloom, eat it! Eating something you have grown yourself will tie you closer to nature and make you feel more connected.

4. Head to the farmers market.
Spend time at farmers markets, which are held once a week in most towns or cities. Laze around, ask the farmers questions as you find out more about produce and how it’s grown. Buy the fresh fruits, vegetables, or meats for your home and savor the homegrown flavors. The closer your diet is to nature, the healthier your microbiome will be, which also has a strong influence on your mental health.

5. Take your workout outside.
Exercise, walk, meditate, or simply relax in the nearest park. Most cities have now designated parks for people to relax, play, and stroll. Take advantage of these areas with the aim of walking mindfully, while engaging all of your senses to be in the experience, for 20 minutes daily.