BENEFITS OF EATING STRAWBERRIES:

# Nature’s alternative to Botox: Strawberries are your skin’s best friend, packed full of anti-ageing antioxidants. Not only do the nutrients improve circulation to the skin which results in a youthful and attractive glow, they protect against sun damage, one of the major culprits for premature ageing of the skin.

# Burn fat and lose weight: Strawberries are one of the top fat-burning foods. If you want to lose weight ensure that berries are part of your daily diet. A large 300g punnet of strawberries has the same GL (glycaemic load) - the same effect on your blood sugar and weight - as one single date, ten raisins or one third of a banana.

# Get some attention during all that summer sport: Feed your man British berries and reap the benefits. Zinc-rich strawberries will help to keep his libido in peak condition, meaning you’ll both be happy during the month of June. Zinc is also essential for healthy sperm, so if you’re hoping to get pregnant then strawberries and raspberries are a conception boost.

# Put a stop to sugar cravings: Berries contain the slowest-releasing natural sugars, meaning that you’ll be less tempted by that mid-morning chocolate bar and less likely to suffer from mid-afternoon burn-out.

# Increase vitality: Berries have the lowest glycaemic load rating which means they give you a consistent energy level. Reaching for sugar-laden goodies is the energy equivalent of a yo-yo - your body goes into overdrive, a quick peak followed by a sharp slump. Eat berries by the handful, summer and winter, to keep your blood sugar on an even keel.

Additionally, psychologists have proved that red fruit sends energy-boosting messages to the brain. Give yourself a wake-up call by eating strawberries.

# No more hangover hell: Rich in phytonutrients, berries promote effective liver function; great news for detoxing with the added benefit of making hangovers less painful and more short-lived.

# Boost your immune system: Packed with folic acid and Vitamin C, berries have the highest antioxidant power of any fruit - giving a powerful boost to your immune system and helping your body fight off infection. Five strawberries contain more antioxidant power than three apples or four bananas, and more Vitamin C than an entire orange.

# Reduce the risk of cancer: Berries contain a number of powerful anti-cancer nutrients not found in any vitamin pill. Strawberries have been shown to inhibit development of cervical, oesophageal and oral cancer.

# Alleviate allergies: Fed up with applying steroid creams and/or puffing on an inhaler? The high quercitin content in strawberries can bring respite for eczema and asthma sufferers.

# Improve memory: Berries are your brain’s best friend, not only because of their high antioxidant status but also because they are the best fruit source of folic acid. Extra intake of folic acid can reverse memory decline and sharpen concentration.

Source: http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/mostpopular.var.2333863.mostviewed.strawberry_fields_forever.php

Originally posted 2008-06-10 21:02:03.

Eczema is one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases of childhood in developed countries and the number of children who have eczema has risen over the past few decades. Even though it is unclear why this is happening, it is now believed that food allergies could be one of the culprits. The possible reason for this could be that so much of our food is exposed to chemicals, preservatives and additives causing our immune system to react.

It is quite common to hear that someone has food allergies or food intolerance, but what is the difference between the two? Simply put, if you have a food allergy, you will react almost immediately on eating a particular food with symptoms such as skin rash, itchy nose and eyes, wheezing, itching and swelling. This can be a serious condition which needs immediate medical treatment. Common foods that can trigger an almost immediate allergic response include eggs, milk, peanuts, fish, shellfish, strawberries and tomatoes.

In the case of a food intolerance, your reaction will be delayed, usually between six and twenty-four hours. Having a food intolerance is rarely harmful, but may cause uncomfortable symptoms such as nausea, bloating, belly pain and diarrhea. Many of the foods that people become food intolerant to are those that are part of their everyday diet. Foods like milk, eggs and wheat products are found in nearly everything that we eat. Quite often you can eat these foods for years and not have a response, and then suddenly you can have a reaction. It has been noted that if you crave a particular food, you may be intolerant to it.

Drinking coffee can also be a trigger factor. It has been reported that when heavy coffee drinkers with eczema avoided coffee, their eczema symptoms improved.

If you think you or your child has a food allergy or intolerance, then there are various steps that you can take to identify it.

1) Keep a note of the trigger foods

The first thing you can do is to record your eating habits in a notebook. It would be useful to write down what you ate, when you ate it and how much you had. It may seem tedious at first, but by keeping a detailed record you can identify which foods are possible culprits.

2) Exclusion Diet

You could also try an exclusion diet where you avoid foods that you think you are allergic or intolerant to. For example, if you think you are allergic to milk, you should exclude milk and all milk products from your diet until your symptoms disappear. You could then reintroduce the food into your diet and if the symptoms return then you know for sure that you are intolerant to this particular food. In fact, research has shown that a strict avoidance of suspected culprits, can improve atopic eczema where conventional treatments have failed. If you are thinking about trying an exclusion diet, this should be done with the full knowledge of your healthcare practitioner because there could be risk, especially in children, of malnutrition.

3) Allergy Testing

To know for sure whether you have particular food allergies or food intolerances, you could have an allergy test. There are so many types of allergy testing available, some of which are expensive and not particularly effective. It is probably best to starting by consulting your GP who can advise you on the best course of action.

The fact cannot be ignored that the rise in the prevalence of atopic eczema in childhood is now being linked to food allergies. Now that you are aware that certain foods can contribute to eczema, you can use any of the various methods suggested in order to identify them. By doing this you will be able to avoid these foods and keep eczema symptoms at bay.

For many people who suffer with eczema, there seems to be no apparent reason for a flare-up. However, there are several factors that are known to aggravate eczema and some of the possible triggers and irritants are listed below with tips on how to avoid them.

House Dust Mites

House dust mites thrive in moist and damp environments and feed on flakes of shed human skin. Dust mites are so small that you can’t seem them with the naked eye. They love to live in places such as your bed, furniture, soft toys, soft furnishings and carpets. There are various steps you can take in order to get rid of dust mites:

• Use a dust mite cover for your mattress
• Buy a latex mattress which is mold and dust mite resistant
• Use a non-toxic, chemical-free, hypo-allergenic pillow. Dust mites don’t like this.
• Get rid of carpets and have wooden floors
• Regularly use a vacuum cleaner with an allergen filter.
• Use a damp-cloth when cleaning surfaces
• Wash bedding regularly in hot water (55 degrees C or higher)
• Avoid furry toys and soft furnishings since these trap dust
• Keep your house well ventilated.

Pets

Many people have an allergy to animals, causing problems such as asthma, wheezing and runny nose. It has been found that contact with furry animals can increase the risk of developing eczema. If this is the case then you should:
• Avoid having contact with animals, especially of the furry kind. Many people have an allergic response to the animal’s fur and dander
• If you have a dog, make sure that you shampoo him regularly
• Try removing your pet to another home for a while to see if symptoms improve
• Keep your house free from fur and dust.

Clothing

Certain types of material can cause skin irritation. In order to avoid uncomfortable itching, you should:

• Wear clothing which allows the skin to breathe.
• Avoid wearing tight-fitting or heavy materials that makes you hot and itchy
• Ideally wear 100% cotton clothing, but other smooth man-made materials such as soft acrylic and viyella may also be fine
• In summer wear cool, loose-fitting clothing
• In winter wear cotton clothes next to your skin and warmer fabrics over the top.

Toiletries and Detergents

Toiletries and detergents use thousands and thousands of different chemicals. Constant exposure to these chemicals can cause an allergic response. The best thing you can do is to avoid exposing yourself to these chemicals by:

• Using vegetable- and glycerine-based soaps and mild shampoos
• Using products which are 100% free of synthetic chemicals such as perfumes, alcohols and preservatives
• Washing clothes with a non-biological laundry product. Biological products contain enzymes which can cause itchiness and irritation. Powdered laundry products contain bleach which can also cause irritation to the skin. Try using liquid laundry cleaners since they do not contain bleach.
• Wear rubber gloves with a cotton lining when using detergents or working with other similar chemicals.

Other possible factors which may trigger symptoms, or aggravate symptoms, include pollens, fungi and moulds, particular foods, tobacco smoke and extremes of temperature.

Now that you are aware of these possible triggers for eczema, you can try to avoid or reduce your exposure to them.

The rise in baby eczema has become more and more widespread in recent times and can cause a lot of distress, especially for a new parent. Nothing could be worse than to see your lovely baby covered with red, dry, or scaly skin which he or she can’t stop scratching. When you have eczema one of the hardest things to do is to stop scratching, and as hard as you try sometimes, you just have to have a hard scratch.

Trying to stop your baby from scratching his eczema can be a real problem. The major concern is that the constant scratching may lead to the condition getting worse and an infection developing. Not only that, in more severe cases, baby eczema can be so itchy and irritating that it may even disrupt baby’s sleep which is not only distressing for your baby, but also for you as a parent.

The good news is that baby eczema is easy to treat and there are several steps you can take to help. Here are some tips that may go some way to reducing itching, improving the condition of your baby’s skin and indeed avoiding further flare-ups.

• Keep skin moist by applying a generous amount of moisturizer several times a day, especially after a bath. This helps to prevent the skin from becoming dry and itchy.

• Avoid using soaps, shampoos or other skin products that contain perfumes since they may irritate the skin. Look for products that are fragrance-free or hypoallergenic.

• Use a non-biological liquid laundry cleaner because these do not contain bleaches and enzymes which can cause irritation to the skin.

• Make sure your baby wears clothing that allows the skin to breathe. Ideally the clothing should be 100% cotton.

• Using cotton bedding will stop your baby from overheating. Overheating can aggravate eczema. Make sure that you wash the bedding regularly in hot water (55 degrees C or more) since this stops dust mites (a common trigger factor).

• Keep your baby’s nursery as dust free as possible by keeping furniture and soft toys to a minimum. Vacuum the carpet as often as possible, or even better get rid of the carpet and have wooden floors. Wash down furniture with a damp cloth rather than a dry one and avoid using any harmful cleaners.

• Keep your home as well ventilated as possible.

• Keep furry pets away from your baby as pet hair and dander are common irritants.

• Do not smoke near your baby as tobacco smoke has been found to increase the risk of eczema

• Breastfeeding your baby until they are at least four months old is one of the best ways to prevent eczema.

• Allergies to particular foods have been found to trigger eczema. The most common culprits are dairy products, wheat, seafood, soy products and nuts. If you are in the process of weaning your baby, try to introduce one food at a time so that you can notice if there are any reactions. Seek the advice your pediatrician if you find that your baby is allergic to any particular food.

• You can discourage scratching by making sure that your keep your baby’s nails short and by putting them in an all-in-one sleep-suit with attached mittens.

It can be very distressing to see your baby suffer with eczema, but the good news is that most babies grow out of it by the time they are two or three. Baby eczema is easy to treat, but takes a lot of hard work and patience on the part of the parent. By following some of these tips you will hopefully avoid baby eczema and have a happy and healthy child.

Do you realize that more than 5,000 chemicals are commonly used in our household and toiletry products. This could be one reason why the number of people suffering with eczema is increasing. Can you imagine how many chemicals we absorb through our skin everyday? It’s no wonder that our bodies are finding it hard to cope and start reacting to this toxic overload.

It is difficult to have control over outdoor pollution, but you can have some control over your indoor pollution. Within your home there are three main ways in which you can reduce pollution:

1. Break The Fragrance Habit
We are constantly exposed to various fragrances and smells from natural sources such as flowers, wet grass or cooking. Also, we are surrounded by synthetic fragrances from perfumes, shampoos, bubble baths, cleaning products, facial and body products. As fragrance is the most common trigger for contact eczema, it’s vital that you break the fragrance habit and go fragrance-free. You need to check out products individually because even so called fragrance-free products and natural plant extracts can irritate the skin and cause allergic reactions.

2. Stop Using Harmful Household Products
Look around your house and you will probably find that you have a variety of potentially harmful household products. These could be anything from air fresheners, toilet cleaners, floor and surface cleaners, washing up liquids, laundry liquid, fabric softeners and furniture polishes. All these products may contain harsh and harmful chemicals that can trigger off a skin problem. The solution is to stop using these products and find an alternative. Here are a few tips that will help:

• Open the window and let in fresh air
• Use pumps instead of aerosols
• Buy house plants which can help to remove unpleasant odours
• Keep your house clean by regularly wiping down surfaces. Hot water and elbow grease are all you need to keep your house clean
• Use ecologically friendly products that contain few harmful chemicals
• Make your own household cleaners using products such as distilled white vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice. Cheap and chemical free!

3. Stop Using Toxic Toiletries
Even toiletries that we use everyday such as soap, bubble bath, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, face cleanser, day cream, night cream, anti-wrinkle cream, shaving cream all contain potentially harmful chemicals. Even for babies we use potentially toxic powders and lotions. Simply put, you need to stop using toxic toiletries and start looking at more natural products. Here are a few tips:

• Use real soaps that are vegetable and glycerine based and fragrance free
• Choose a liquid castile soap such as Dr Bronner. This is a great product that can be used on body, face and hair
• Avoid aerosols
• Instead of expensive facial moisturizers and creams, you can use simple vegetable oils such as apricot and jojoba oil.
• Use products that are 100% free of all synthetic chemicals.

It certainly is alarming to know that you are exposing yourself to thousands and thousands of potentially harmful chemicals every day. It will take a lot of effort to reduce your environmental pollution, but using fragrance-free, non-toxic household products and toiletries will go some way to keeping eczema at bay.