Choosing the Best Eye Cream for Yourself

In a market where there are many choices for those looking for eye creams, making the right choice is vital, as the wrong choice could lead to damaging the skin, or a product which does not benefit the eye. Bags around the eyes, fine lines, puffiness and dark circles are all signs of ageing which eye creams should be targeting, and will be your first reference point in choosing the right eye product.

 

It is important to know that there are unscrupulous companies who would release a product which is a moisturizer, and market it as an eye cream, without considering the effect on the consumer. The features of an eye cream and those of a moisturizer mean they are two different products, and if you want a moisturizer there are plenty available, but an eye cream has to work as an eye cream, not just look like the real thing.

 

When taking the cost into consideration, ensure you have a budget in mind, and then seeing if the product matches it should be a consideration, as you should need an important reason to choose a product which is more expensive than others which are more competitive.

 

To avoid being the victim of a scam, you should look into the compounds found within the eye cream, as there will usually be studies associating these with eye treatment. Ensuring the product you’re looking at has the right concentration of ingredients to be effective is also important, as the more opportunistic producers will use minimal amounts of some ingredients to reduce their production costs, and then emphasize this in their advertising.

 

Newly-developed products with innovative ingredients will naturally have less published research about them, and in this instance searching for reviews of these creams can give you clues as to what they do to the skin around the eyes. Larger numbers of positive reviews from consumers should give you an indication a product is worth trying, whilst negative reviews from users could suggest you ought to look for another product.

 

However, a product is advertised, or however flashy the packaging, make sure that you judge the cream on the results and how it deals with the signs of ageing, which is why you are buying the cream in the first place. After all, a colored bottle or an impressive promotion doesn't improve the results of the product.

Changing Your Look With Coloured Contact Lenses

The 21st century very well may be remembered as the point in history when people made rather drastic changes to their physical appearances on what might be considered something of a whim. Plastic surgery -- once a relatively uncommon procedure -- has become commonplace. However, such drastic changes really are not for everyone.

 

One avenue through which a person can make a less invasive and far from permanent physical change is the use and wearing of coloured contact lenses. As technology in regard to contact lens coloration has advanced over the course of the past ten years, an individual desiring a striking physical change can accomplish his or her goal through the use of coloured contact lenses.

 

When coloured contact lenses first hit the market, they were designed in such a manner that only subtle eye coloration changes could be had. All of that has changed in recent years. In this day and age, it is now possible for a brown eyed person to sport blue eyes and for a blue eyed person to make the rounds about town with brown eyes.

 

In addition to changing a person’s eye colour from one naturally occurring hue to another with ease, it is now possible to make even more drastic changes to one’s appearance through the use of what might be considered pretty unusually contact lens designs. For example, if a person were so inclined, he or she can now obtain contact lenses designed in such a manner that a person’s eye appearance can be altered to look like tiger or lion eyes. These types of contact lenses were first used on movies sets. In time, such lenses have become available to consumers generally.

 

While a person most definitely can make a fashion statement with coloured contact lenses, it is important to remember that contact lenses are invasive. By that it is meant a contact lens -- when all is said and done -- is a foreign object on a person’s eye. With this in mind, it is vitally important that if a person is inclined to utilize contact lenses for fashion reasons, it is important for that person to visit a trained and licensed eye doctor. In obtaining contact lenses for fashion purposes, it is incumbent upon a person to undergo the same types of initial and follow up examinations that are necessary when contact lenses are obtained for matters relating to improving vision.

Can I Wear Contact Lenses If I Need Bifocals?

As we age, the lens in our eye starts to lose its elasticity, and the muscles that control the lens shape get weaker, resulting in a form of farsightedness called presbyopia. There are several other factors besides age that can accelerate the onset of presbyopia, including eye injury, diseases such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis, drug use, gender (women tend to get it at a younger age than men), and occupation (if your job requires a lot of close up work, presbyopia may occur sooner). While you may be able to control some of the risk factors, there is no known way to prevent presbyopia and it is considered part of the natural aging process. If you find yourself having to hold books and other reading material farther away from you to read it, you may be developing presbyopia and need bifocal vision correction. Contact lenses are now available for people who need bifocals and after a discussion with your eye care professional, you can decide if contact lenses are the right choice for you.

 

Bifocal contact lenses are available across the whole range of contact lens materials, from rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses, to traditional soft contact lenses, to the new silicon hydrogel soft contact lenses, which allow much more oxygen to reach the eye. They are also available across the spectrum of wear schedules, from the RGPs which can last several years, to daily disposables.

 

The location of the distance and near correction in bifocal contact lenses varies with style. Some, called aspheric, have near and distance correction dispersed around the contact lens, and the eye will learn to use the part it needs at the correct time without you being aware of it. In others, called concentric, one type of correction is found in the middle of the contact lens, while the other kind of correction encircles it around the outside of the lens. Translating lenses work much like bifocal glasses, with one type of correction on the top, and the other on the bottom. Another option for people with presbyopia is to have the different corrections in different eyes, called monovision. In other words, in one eye you would wear a prescription to correct near-sightedness, and in the other, you would wear on to correct farsightedness. You will probably not even notice the difference, and because the lenses are less specialized, it may be more economical to purchase contact lenses this way if it is a style that works for you.

Are Disposable Colour Contacts Good?

There are many reasons that a disposable colour contact is a good choice for your needs. Today, most contact lenses that are purchased are disposable and there is good reason for this. No matter if you are new to contact lenses or looking to add them to your ability to look perfect with these fashion accessories, you need to know why disposable colour contacts are a better choice.

 

These contacts are ideal for anyone that is looking to change their eye colour. They can be made in both prescriptions and non-prescriptions. They will provide you with a wide range of benefits as well. For example, the disposable products are often able to provide a more healthy atmosphere for your eyes. Because they are thrown out, they do not allow for the break down and dysfunction that happens over time.

 

They are also more affordable to purchase in the short run. They are offered at a lower price in most cases. But, in the long run you may pay more for them than other versions of contact lenses. Of course, if you just want to have them to provide you with a fashion accessory need, make sure to dispose of them as you should to keep your eyes healthy.

 

Disposable coloured contacts allow many people to change the colour of the eyes easily. Most of the time, these are ideal because they are throw away which means a lower price for them. It also means that you need to insure that you get the right product for your eyes. You should always have a full eye exam and measurement before you purchase any of these. In any case, disposable colour contacts are often a good, or the best, choice for eye needs. They are available throughout the web for even lower and more affordable purchases as well.

About Omega 3 Fish Oils

Question: What’s all the fuss about Omega 3 fish oils? What do they do for my body?

 

Answer: Omega 3 fish oils are a substance that can be found in the bodies of fish. However, eating fresh fish is no longer recommended. The mercury levels that are prevalent in almost all fresh fish these days can be very detrimental to your health. However, companies have manufactured fish oil that is mercury free by processing the oils that naturally occur in the fish. Omega 3 is a type of fat that is essential for human health. Omega 3 contains two fatty acids that benefit the human body greatly, which are known as DHA and EPA. 

 

These fatty acids have been linked to helping prevent heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases. DHA is also required by the human brain. Low levels of DHA in the brain have been linked to depression, schizophrenia, memory loss, and an increased chance of being stricken with Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, the regular and repeated consumption of Omega 3 fish oils can greatly help affect the quality of your life for the better. 

 

The American Heart Association recommends the use of fish oils to help your hearts performance as long as you keep your dosage under 3 grams per day, suggesting an amount roughly between 0.5 to 1.8 grams per day. Clinical trials conducted have shown that Omega 3 fish oils can reduce cardiovascular events including heart attacks, strokes, and even death.

 

Also, research has shown that fish oils can help decrease the risk of arrhythmias, decrease triglyceride levels, decrease the growth rate of atherosclerotic plaque, and even slightly lower blood pressure! With all these facts, there is no doubt that the regular and responsible use of Omega 3 fish oils from supplements can be of great benefit to your health.

An Anatomy Of Leafy Greens And How They Serve Good Health

No diet is truly optimized without a healthy amount of leafy greens. These plant foods are truly a miracle of nature, and are loaded with vitamins and minerals; they also are low in calories so you can eat plenty of them without gaining weight. Leafy greens can be eaten in sandwiches, be part of casseroles and can be eaten in numerous types of salads.  

 

What are leafy greens?

 

There are both common and relatively uncommon leafy green vegetables available to you.  Most you can get at the produce department at your local supermarket but others you may have to grow in containers in your house or in a garden or visit a store like Whole Foods. 

 

Leafy green vegetables include:

 

• Spinach
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Red and Green Leaf and Romaine Lettuce
• Cabbage
• Edible Green Leaves: dandelion, red clover, plantain, watercress and chickweed 
• Mustard greens
• Dandelion greens
• Swiss chard
• Escarole
• Turnip greens

 

What makes leafy greens so special?

 

Disease Prevention

 

It seems that Mother Nature knows what she’s doing, as leafy greens contain disease preventing plant-based substances that may help protect from diabetes, heart disease and even various cancer mainly because of the powerful antioxidants they offer. Kale for example, is a great source of vitamins A C, K, calcium and also supplies folate and potassium.

 

Weight Loss

 

These vegetables have so few calories that they hardly even count and lettuce, kale and spinach can be eaten in abundance. These are also high fiber foods and so they keep you full longer and allow you to eat less. Another benefit of the fiber is that it helps to stabilize blood sugars, and that results in less out of control cravings for sweets and other junk.

Vitamin K

 

Different leafy greens have different properties but all of them can be considered good for you. They contain vitamin K, which is essential in helping the body to properly clot blood. Vitamin K also helps prevent several conditions related to advancing age and can help prevent bone loss, arterial calcifications, kidney damage and heart disease. Just a single cup of most leafy green vegetables will provide you with more than enough vitamin K for your system per day. Kale is especially helpful, providing about six times the recommended intake of vitamin K. 

 

Lower Cholesterol

 

You can actually lower your cholesterol by eating leafy green vegetables. The bile acids produced by the liver which help fats digest from the gastrointestinal tract are bound by the fiber in the leafy greens. The bile acids pass through the body along with the residue of leafy green vegetables, forcing the liver to use up even more cholesterol to make bile acids. This reduces your endogenous cholesterol level. There was one study in the Nutrition Research journal that indicated that slightly steamed kale and mustard greens did the best job of binding bile acids.  

 

Eye Health

 

Leafy green vegetables are good for the eyes. The best leafy greens to eat for eye health are mustard greens, Swiss chard, kale and dandelion greens because they are high in carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin. Carotenoids help filter the high energy light caused by sun and therefore prevent sun-induced cataracts. These carotenoids also improve overall visual acuity.  

 

Vitamin B5

 

A cup of raw escarole can help your body by adding pantothenic acid, also called vitamin B5. The B vitamins together help carbohydrates break down into glucose to be used for cellular fuel. The body cannot store B vitamins each day so you need to find a daily source for these vitamins. What better way than to incorporate escarole in your diet.  

Calcium For Bone Health

 

Leafy green vegetables contain large amounts of calcium. It’s the calcium that gives these foods their slightly bitter taste. While leafy greens do not give you alone the amount of calcium you need in one day (about a thousand milligrams of calcium per day for women between 30 and 50), they provide easily absorbable kinds of calcium.  A half a cup of dandelion greens will give you about 75 mg of calcium, while mustard greens can give you 55 mg calcium. 

 

Considering that these are virtually fat free foods they give high fat dairy foods as a source of calcium a run for their money.

 

Prevent Colon Cancer

 

Kale and mustard greens can help prevent colon cancer by being part of the group of vegetables that includes cabbage and broccoli. In a study in one dietetic journal, those people that ate more of these leafy greens suffered a lower risk of developing colon cancer.

How do you eat leafy greens?

 

Leafy greens can be eaten raw in salads or can be steamed and mixed with things like herbs, other vegetables, or added to stir fry. Generally, it is advisable to have as little heat applied to these vegetables as possible to keep their nutritional content intact. Kale and spinach both are at risk for overcooking very fast because they cook so quickly. 

A good rule of thumb when cooking is to only steam to a bright free color, such as the case with broccoli, once it turns a dark green color it is likely overcooked and has lost valuable nutrients.

 

Eye Gymnastics: 9 Easy Exercises to Protect Your Eyesight

 

Eye fatigue, headache, loss of sight, it's time to be alarmed! Our eyes are more and more in demand and tired by the screens. To keep them fit on a daily basis, it is important to maintain your vision through a few simple exercises of eye gymnastics.

 

1.    Blink

 

It is the simplest, but also the most essential exercise to protect your sight when in front of a screen. When a luminous point is fixed, there is a tendency to lessen the blinking of the eyelids, which tires the eyes. To moisten them, every quarter of an hour, blink intensely for a minute. You will feel much better quickly.

 

 

2.    Close your eyes

 

It is important to rest your eyes when they are too close to a screen. Close your eyes and place your palms on your eyelids to block the light. Your hands allow you to achieve complete darkness and recharge your eyes with their heat. Consider deep breathing during this one-to-two minute rest session. If you are suffering from a migraine, close your eyes and lean backwards with your head against the back of your chair.

 

3.    Move your eyes

 

When looking at the screen, eyes quickly get tired. Regular breaks and a little eye gymnastics are essential. This exercise is easy to do when you have little time. Look in front of you and make circles clockwise with your eyes. Perform the same movement in reverse. This way, you maintain your visual acuity and you strengthen your eye muscles.

 

4.    Do the pencil exercise

 

After hours of work in front of the screen, this exercise is ideal to strengthen your eye muscles. Ophthalmologists sometimes use it during check-ups to test the vision of their patient. With one hand, stretch a pencil at the level of your eyes, but at an arm's length. Without ever taking your eyes off the pencil, bring it closer to your nose and, then, move it away. Lift it up and lower it in turn. Repeat these movements several times. It is an excellent gymnastics for the eyes.

 

5.    Do the sign of infinity exercise

 

Also called "lying eight," this exercise is a more elaborate variant of the preceding one. Draw the infinity sign in the air with your thumb starting from the center and proceeding from top to bottom. Follow your finger with your eyes to soften your eye muscles and improve your peripheral vision. Repeat the exercise three times.

 

6.    Follow the blank spaces of a page

 

Do you spend hours reading intensively to the point that your eyes are coming out of your head? This exercise can help you improve your reading skills. Fix your gaze on a page of text, but, instead of focusing on the black text lines, follow the blank spaces. This is effective for taking a break from reading without losing concentration.

 

7.    Massage your eyes

 

Most headaches are due to eye strain. Turn off your screen for a few moments to offer yourself a small eye massage session. Place the tip of your index finger on your temples and perform slow circles for thirty seconds. Then, rub your eyes circularly with your fingertips following the contours of an imaginary mask. Finish by pinching the edge of your nose. These movements will make it possible to improve the circulation at the level of your eyes, but also to relax the frontal muscles.

 

8.    Do eye acupuncture

 

It is possible to relieve visual fatigue and relax your cervicals through some acupuncture points, and it's so easy you can do it yourself. With your right hand resting on your navel, press the pulp of your left thumb over your sternum and perform a circular massage for 30 seconds. At the same time, move your eyes from right to left and up and down. This exercise will relax you and increase your concentration abilities.

 

9.    Do eye yoga

 

Some yoga postures can help you improve your vision. For this exercise, you must be standing and have sufficient space to move. With your legs more apart than your shoulders, and knees flexed, stretch your arms in all directions, alternately following the movements of both hands. Not only do these movements allow you to relax your body, but they improve your peripheral vision. You also become aware of the space around you, which teaches you to better deal with spatial indications.