Note: I’m not a doctor so don’t blame me if things went wrong. In every case you think there is something wrong with your body/breasts, please go to a real doctor or hospital.

When you regularly examine your breasts (by yourself), you’ll be familiar and trusted with how they feel and you will recognize the different bumped spots. This is the way you recognize what is normal. If there is any changes you’ll notice it much easier. Moreover you can describe the change more clear at your family doctor/physician. This helps your physician setting a diagnose of what the problem can be.

If you decide to self examine your breast regular, then you can do this the best one week after menstruation. In general the breasts are less swollen then before you are menstruating.

Maybe you are already be familiar with the routine of self-breast examination – but for they they don’t, here some simple steps:

Go stand for a mirror to see if there any changes in your breast:
• In the size or the form of the breasts?
• At the skin, for instance wrinkles, swellings, pits or colorations?
• At the nipple, for instance an abrogation, separation or eczema?

Now lay your hands behind your head and view again if you see one of the named changes.

For women with large breasts it’s better to do the examination while lying down. Check while lying down (or standing) the nipple en the area around it. When you carefully pull the nipple forward,  it has to give in gently.

A  tip for when you begin your examination. Use some body lotion so your fingers will slide easier along your breasts.

Hold your left arm behind your head and hold your right hand on your left breast. Make sure your breast muscles are relaxed. In your mind, you divide your left breast  in four different parts.
Start on the top right corner with your examination, next check the bottom right, then the bottom left and end in the top left corner. Make with four closed and stretched fingers of your right hand small circular motions of the edge of your breast to the nipple. Move calm with light pressure. Check also the nipple and the surrounding area.

Bow forward and let your left arm relax hang below (so they hangs in front of you).
Apply some pressure with the palm of your right hand so your breast will move to the center. Check with stretched fingers your armpits for irregularities. Start on top of your armpits and let your fingers slide slowly to the bottom.

I want to say that Scientific research shows that self research doesn’t result in less breast cancer victims. Other recent research showed that not with all women that check their own breasts regular, cancer will be found in an early stage. 
This investigation above remains on own risk! !
Picture credits to: KWF kankerbestrijding

And otherwise, did you know that other parts of your body can tell you if something’s wrong with your health?

Women’sHealthMag gives women a little preview of some daily self-exams that they can do right of their homes.

Because prevention is better than cure,  I’ll show you one example about examining your armpit. If you see a patch of rough, dark skin – this could be a sign of diabetes. The skin also feel thicker.
 

A simple blood test can determine if you have this disease.
 

The ’signs’ from your armpits (neck or groin) means that there are excess insulin in your bloodstream .
 

The list from Women’sHealthMag  comes complete with daily self-exams for your nails, eyelids, knees, elbows, scalp, belly, tongue and eyes. Check them out.
 

As long as you recognize the earlier symptoms, you probably save yourself from a worsening disease!
 

Previously I don’t like green tea, cuz I found the taste not "special" enough. But now I really like it. Not only because it is healthy , but it is relaxed too!. 
 

Ten reasons to drink green tea:

* it raises the immune system

* it lowers the chance on heart-and vascular diseases

* it is refreshing and comforting

* it prevents infections

* it strengthens the hair root

* it decreases cholesterol

* it works liquiddrifting (don’t now exactly if it is the right English word for it)

* it raise your concentration and stimulates the thought process

* It is delicious!  

TIP: Drink your green tea without sugar for the best effect!
 

Your eyes will find it also very delightfully when they wanted to be spoiled sometime with a caring eye mask. Normal facial masks are in general not very good suited for the eye zone.

When you use foundation, choose for an hydrating foundation. Nowadays they are so advanced that they take care of and protect  your eyes and face against the cold and air pollution. Ofcourse you bring the foundation on your whole face for a natural effect. If you have an oily skin, go for a less rich foundation as an oil free foundation with a less shine effect.

Clean your eyes with soft, hydrating eye lotion or eye gel. Avoided products with alcohol that dry out your skin. Choose for an ingredient as almond oil for a soft cleaning.

Daily I receive mails with the question or there are special facial masks for Winter. The answer is yes. Therefore I have decided to describe a number of self-made winter masks for you women that you can try this Winter.

As many of you know I’ve post an article about self-made facial masks earlier. Many readers of this blog has tried these home-made masks that I’ve had wrote about. and I got amusing and positive reactions on that (thank you!).
I hope to amuse you also with this special winter edition

These 5 self-made (winter) facial masks will make you forget about the cold and nasty winter outside!

1. Banana Mask

Try a (softening) banana mask when your skin is suffering from winter elements.
It will moisturize, soften, smooth and nourish your skin whenever it is necessary.

What do you need for this?
Bananas
Sweet cream

Crush the bananas and mix with (fresh) sweet cream. Then put this mask on your face (keep your eyes free).  After 30 minutes you remove the mask of your face and wash it clean with hand warm water.

2. Oatmeal Mask

This mask is probably not your favorite mask (cuz it stinks ) but it is a great remedy for your skin for example by a cold wind. For all the people with a dry skin; An oatmeal mask has a lovely scrubbing effect  and is a good moisturizer too.

Needs for this:
raw oatmeal flakes
egg yolk
honey

The next step is to mix  the raw oatmeal flakes, egg yolk and honey together.
Let it absorb on your face for about 20 minutes, wash off with lukewarm water, and pat dry.

If you do it right, your facial skin should feel very soft, refreshed and reborn after the application.

3. Cultured Milk Mask

A cultured milk mask protect your skin  from negative influences of winter air and it restores the natural PH balance of your skin too.

It’s easy to make and this mask is an effective cure for the tired skin.

You need:
natural yogurt
buttermilk
sour cream or kefir

Bring on a little bit of natural yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream (or kefir) on your face. Please avoiding areas around the eyes!! 
Now you can relax for 10-15 minutes.  When the 10-15 minutes has been gone, wash your face with cold water. 

Because this mask has a rejuvenating working your skin will feel much softer after using it.

4. Avocado Mask

Lot of people have a dry or irritated skin in Winter, this can be very annoying.
This easy to make mask is perfect for dry skin because it is full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants  and soothing means that nourishing your skin. 

To make an avocado mask you need:
Avocados
extra-virgin olive oil

Then crush the meat /flesh of avocado with a fork, add a drop of extra-virgin olive oil. The mixture must look smoothly now. 
Put the fragrant mixture on your face and wait for 15 – 20 minutes.

These (used) constituents are necessarily to fight against the winter dryness and this is why it can protect your skin good.

5. Egg White Mask

An egg white mask is good for an oily skin.
This mask will refresh and tighten your oily skin and will make it look much healthier than before.

I honestly tell you that I haven’t  tried this facial mask my self.

The only thing you need is an egg.
Separate the egg yolk from the egg white.

I know it sounds awful but hey, you must do something to look well  
Spread beaten egg white over your face, let it absorb for half-an-hour, and rinse off with warm water.

Some people say that  it will create a natural barrier in Winter to protect your skin from hard/ bleak winds and frost.

* Foto credits to:
- For the Kefir grain picture: flickr user muckster
- For the egg white picture: chefspencil

(I don’t know these persons, but I used a photo they had make that I found on the Internet, So I think a credit is on the right place )

It’s almost flipflop time again  wiihoe. Not only because I love summer time but I am a real shoe- and flipflop addict   I can say that I own dozens of pairs of shoes and flip-flops. There is a big chance that when you walk into my room, that you stumble over a few shoes of mine. If it were up to me I’d walk on flip-flops the whole year thru. But unfortunately the weather in Holland do not permit this  )

Today I saw an advertisement about healthy flipflops, called Fitflops. Marcia Kilgore (personal trainer) came with the idea to make a shoe that burns your fat, take care for a better posture, ánd strengthens your muscles.(developed by Darren James and Dr David Cook at London South Bank University) This wonderful and definitely great idea came reality and are now the UK’s hottest fitness shoe’s.

I saw this flipflops today (03 may 2008) just for the first time but they already exist since 2007. . Meanwhile already in various variants and color to obtain and now also for men!
This evening I told about these fitness shoes against my boyfriend, maybe he can write about it on his own blog if he like.

Note: I have not tried the shoes yet, but all I have read about is very positive and I think to buy some pair of them.

But one important thing: you must not OVERUSE them because this can damage your health. Doctor Barry Francis says “people wear flip flops all the time they are constantly scrunching their toes up into a claw. ‘That can cause problems such as tendonitis and even shin splints. People go to work in them and stand in them all day. They are also extremely unstable so you are more likely to trip over and hurt yourself. “

But for summer periods it’s ok to wear flipflops, fitflops or flat shoes. Make sure you save them for the beach and replaced with shoes with backs or proper straps to hold the foot in place.

So, if you are too busy? Is there no time to go to the fitness but do you really want to sports daily? Then these FitFlops are perhaps something for you!

Why wearing FITFLOPS?

1. FitFlops give you a workout while you walk.
2. They challenge hard to reach muscles more.
3. Every step you take in your FitFlops helps tone and trim your legs
4. FitFlops work your bum muscles more. FitFlops have been clinically proven to increase the amount of time that the gluteus maximus muscle is ‘activated’ during every single step. 
5. FitFlops have been shown to have a significant effect on the toning muscles of your thighs: The rectus femoris muscle (one of the large muscles in the group of muscles in your thigh) is activated for a longer period of time while walking in FitFlops than while normally shod or barefoot.
6. Walking in FitFlops is like walking barefoot, but a little bit better
7. FitFlops make it easier to stay in shape.

Wanna know where to buy these lovely fitflops? Or in wich styles you can get them?

Check the official fitflop site at http://www.thefitflop.com for more info and get yours today!

Actually a burnout is nothing more or less than a warnings signal of our body.  Your body can’t take the psychological pressure that reaches us of all sides any longer, it’s become too much and the body reacts to this.

How do you recognize a burnout?

If you want to recognize a burnout early you’ll need to be alert to the signals below, only then you can prevent worsening.

·         Bad sleep

·         Waking up earlier

·         Tired very quickly

·         Restless and hurried feeling

·         listless

·         concentration problems  

·         Vague physical complaints

·         Addictive behaviour  

·         Lot of  worry and puzzle over

·         Forgetful

Frequently it starts with overwrought and overstrained feelings. The characteristics are mostly the same: bad sleeping, tiredness, concentration problems and depressive/low spirit. When we do nothing about it, these symptoms can lead to an exhausted feeling.

Complete burnout
This variant of a burnout is quite serious. As person you feels emotional exhausted, weary (nights of 12-14 hour its no exception), and the pleasure in work and life is (totally) disappeared. Sometimes this goes coupled with other physical complaints. Mostly a burnout is assigned at work, but quite often privately-factors plays also a role.

Prevent
To prevent a burnout we must do something with the causes. Only relaxing is not enough, we must change our live and way of thinking to prevent worsening. How about work? And our relationships? What do we do with the plenty of choices that we need to make? 

Cure
To cure of a burnout we need to go a step further. Finally we’ll must be aware of our subconscious, to become process of our unprocessed experiences and there for the cure of a real burnout is most often a good accompaniment of a physician and/or a psychologist indispensable. Finally we need to change our total life: How we work, what we eat, our leisure activities and other (business) activities.

Broccoli

Good news for the broccoli fan!
Broccoli keeps your brain in top shape. According a research done by King’s College in London, it improves your memory and a good “side affect” is that it helps in the aging process of the brain. Not is keeping broccoli your brain in top shape, it also helps your brain to stay young. Be sure to eat it regularly.

 Chocolate
Chocolate is not only very delicious its also make you happy and is it more than only an aphrodisiac. It also works excellent as brainfood. Scientists of the university of Nottingham have discovers that eating pure chocolate stimulates the blood supply to the brains. Chocolate also contains numerous chemicals that have a positive reaction on the brain. After eating significant quantities of pure chocolate by a test panel they spontaneously became more alert, better concentrated and remembered more information.

Fat fisch
We can classify under fat fish: haring, tuna, mackerel, salmon and sardines. Fat fish is good for your blood vessels and your heart, but also for your brains.  According the scientists of the Rush University Medical Center, The omega 3-fatty acid that is in fish  can make you years younger. Older people who eat a lot of fish or at least once a week, are physically aging less fast than their friends who are the same age and do not eat any fish. And besides this; eating fish is reducing the chance on a Stroke, Dementia and Alzheimer. So if you do eat fish you can pat yourself on the shoulder.

 Coffee
It seems to be the perfect braindrink. Faithful coffee drinkers swear by their black  gold. And for them, there is good news: coffee is allowed. Caffeine give your short term memory an boost and raise your reaction speed. The caffeine is in your blood within four minutes, so it even Works fast. Of course you’ll stay awake longer and more focused. The perfect drink during a busy day on the work or an important examination.

1. the best thing you can do is WALK!
When you are in the office get out of your comfortable chair and go visit your colleagues in or from a different department instead of mailing or phoning them. Use some time during your lunch break to take a refreshing walk in a nearby park.

2. Park your car a few blocks apart from the place you are going to and take a brisk walk to your office, grocery store, or a shopping mall.

3. Intend to walk at least 30 minutes every day. (if you have a dog, go take him/her with you for an extra walk or a longer walk.)

4. Try to take the stairs instead of an elevator.

5. As you probably already know, our body needs minimum 1,5 liter water a day to fill the water that we daily lose through evaporating and sweating. A good thing to burn more calories besides this important fact is to several times during the day, drink natural coffee or green tea without sugar to boost metabolism. 

6. At dinner, choose a steak instead of pasta. The more you chew, the more calories you burn!

7. Eat frequent small meals, especially if they are not loaded with sugar or white flour,  this is more stimulating for your metabolism than stuffing yourself with big meals two or three times a day.

8. Choosing spicy dishes is another way to burn more calories during the day.

9. While you’re watching TV, do not use remote control. Instead, every time you need to switch channels, get up and do it manually. Or adopt a habit of moving your feet, stretching your legs, or squeezing a rubber ball while you are sitting. Can you believe that such simple movements can burn up to 500 calories a day?

10. In the winter, turn down the heat in your room, especially at night, and sleep under a lighter blanket. And in the summer, turn on an air conditioning. A colder environment makes your body produce more heat and, therefore, facilitates the utilization of calories.

Do you feel tired and spiritless and can you use a fresh boost?
Expensive masks are not always necessary. You can make them quite cheaply yourself and they have the same effect. Do you want to know how? Than it’s now time to get busy in the kitchen and create one of the following self made masks.

(Warning: if you have a very sensitive skin or if you have problems with allergies then do be carefully!  When the mask is irritating, wash the mask of immediately.)

A mask close and tightens your skin, this results in a better blood flow. Because of this the toxins (waste product) and dead skin cells are transported.

It’s not recommended to use a facial mask every day but  one or two times a week can’t harm you. You will see that your skin is feeling tight, soft and brand new when you’ve used a mask.

Before starting make sure your skin is completely clean. This means that your make-up is totally removed and your skin is properly washed. Then tie up your hair in a tail or carry a hair tie; most important is that there is no hair in front of your face. Now you are ready for the first step: making a scrub.

What do you need for this?
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sea salt
3-5 drops essential oil (for example lavender or tea tree)
(for a dry skin you can use 1 tablespoon sugar in stead of sea salt.)

Mix these ingredients through each other and scrub your face with this mixture. Don’t do this too hard, but with soft turning around movements. But remember: Do not scrub more often than 2-3 times a week!!
Now your skin is thoroughly cleaned, you can try one of the following masks…

For the dry skin
3 tablespoons olive oil
the egg yolk of 1 egg
1 tablespoon warm honey
1 tablespoon pureed avocado
1 teaspoon sour cream

For the greasy/oily skin solution 1
1 pureed peach
1 tablespoon yoghurt
2 tablespoons oats
1 tablespoon honey

Or

Solution 2: mask of yeast (gist)
Solve a teaspoon bakers yeast in some warm milk. Wait till it foams and bring it on at your skin. 

For the normal skin
½ pureed cucumber
2 teaspoons yoghurt.
2 tablespoons powder milk

Against blackheads: egg masks
Mix foamed egg white with some drops of lemon juice

Mix all ingredients through each other and bring the mixture as equal as possible on at your face and neck. Be sure to keep the skin area around your nostrils, lips and around your eyes free.
Let it absorb for about 15-20 minutes and wash it off with lukewarm water. A baby towel should be ideal to wash of the remainders along your hair line, ears and nostrils.

Dab your face dry.

Does your skin feel tense?  Spread some day crème on your face and you’ll see (and feel) it works.

I also wrote a Winter edition, because your skin need some extra attention and care. So when you want to know more about how to make a winter facial mask, just click the link and you jump automatically to the article.