Face Good

Do you sometimes feel that even with the richest lip gloss around town, your lips are still prone to dryness and chapping? Especially during this festive season when you’re either busy with preparations or rushing work to finish up in time for your long weekend leave, it is likely that you may not be drinking much-needed water to replenish your body’s moisture.

In Singapore’s tropical weather, it is quite rare for people to have chapped lips – that tends to happen in colder weathers - so if your lips are dry or even peeling, your lack of moisture is rather serious.

Like dry skin, lip dryness isn’t something that you can improve or cure overnight, but by incorporating certain foodstuffs in your daily diet, you’ll find soon find that those succulently luscious lips that you always wanted is not a dream!

According to the study of Traditional Chinese medicine, there are certain foods with ‘heaty’ effects, ‘cooling’ effects and neutral effects. The more obvious examples of food with heaty effects are durian, fried food and spicy food. These are the type of foods that cause you to fall sick from fever and sore throat, especially if you have a heaty constitution. Examples of ‘cooling’ food include mangosteen, green bean soup and herbal teas. These are the things you eat to combat the heaty effects. Heaty foods are generally drying, so food with neutral or ‘cooling’ effects is recommended for people lacking in moisture.

Vegetables: Spinach, mustard, radish, eggplant, bamboo shoot, tomato, winter melon, cucumber, luffa, bitter gourd, mushroom, green bean, soybean

Seafood products: Seaweed, jellyfish, clam, crab, black fish, oyster

Meat and protein sources: Pork, Duck meat, duck meat and eggs, goose meat and eggs, milk

Beans and grains: Sesame, Black bean, millet, wheat, barley

Fruits: Sugarcane, Banana, Water melon, mango, pear, Luo Han Guo, persimmon, coconut, pineapple, water chestnut

Others: Lotus root, lotus seat, lily, wolfberry, chrysanthemum, honey, tea leaves, rock sugar, table salt

Ensure that you’re drinking sufficient fluids daily (8 glasses) and avoid coffee and smoking. Good luck in your quest for juicy lips!

Recently, the flu virus has been rampant! I've just recovered from it and now my mum's on flu medication while my dad is showing signs of having succumbed to the virus! Porridge has been the only thing we've been eating at home so far, so I've been on a porridge diet. I did some research to find out what other porridges I could make other than the typical fish, pork and chicken porridge, and now I bring to you... the cucumber porridge! It's healthy, promotes healthy skin, and most importantly, tasty! I wouldn't mind having more of it even after my pesky phlegm has cleared out!


For 1 serving of porridge, you will need:
Rice, ¼ of a normal-sized cucumber, a pinch of salt, a few slices of ginger (skin removed), 1 egg (optional)

Directions:
1. Wash and skin the cucumber. Remove the seeds and slice cucumber into very thin strips.

2. Mince the ginger (you can do this by smashing it with your knife).

3. Put the rice to cook. Crack an egg into it. Add the minced ginger. When the porridge is boiling and soft enough for your liking, add the cucumber strips, followed by salt. Turn off the stove and it’s ready to be served!

Note: Cucumber strips should not be added in before the porridge is cooked. If cooked too long, vitamins from vegetables will escape. Furthermore, cucumber is crunchy and refreshing when eaten raw.

For best results, have a warm bowl of cucumber porridge once or twice a day. It helps in moisturizing skin, bringing down cholesterol and thus helping with weight loss, and lightening freckles. Cucumbers are rich in Vitamins C, B1 and B2, glucose, protein, sylvite, Renieratene, phosphorous, iron and other important minerals. Regular consumption of cucumbers is highly encouraged to maintain healthy skin!

I adore fruit juices because they look and taste delicious, are rich in vitamins, healthy and have beautifying effects! But there really is a lot more to fruit juices than people usually perceive. Not all fruit juices can be drunk anytime or have the same values. Here are tips on how you should incorporate juices into your diet so you can enjoy their optimum effects!

1. Don’t drink fruit juices on an empty stomach
After a night of sleep, blood in your body coagulates because the body has been working to dispel toxins from the various organs. Nutritionists encourage people to drink a glass of plain water in the morning to dilute body fluids. If you drink fruit juices first thing in the morning, not only does it not help to dilute your body fluids, it also burdens your stomach.

2. Fruit juices as a source of energy and vitamin C
Many people, especially corporate workers and students, have hectic mornings and barely eat breakfast. This causes the body to have a shortage of vitamin C and energy. After a busy morning at work, remember to drink a glass of fruit juice to replenish your energy and vitamin C!

3. Freshly squeezed fruit juice is better than pre-packed juice.
Some people prefer getting fruit juice from the supermarket because it’s a hassle to squeeze your own juice. But squeezing your own fruit juice gives you the most nutritious fruit juice. So called 100% pure fruit juice from the supermarkets are really diluted for marketing and packaging appearances. Not only are a lot of vitamins lost in the process, to make the juices taste better, preservatives and flavourings are even added.

4. Fruit juices are not to be taken warm
Warm fruit juices may taste good in rainy weather or winter, but vitamin C gets destroyed by heat. If you use hot water to make fruit juice, you’ll be losing all the health and beauty effects that come with Vitamin C.

5. Fruit juices are not to be mixed with milk
Fruity milk shakes are delicious, but that’s all to it. Tartaric acid in fruits and protein from milk will react such that both nutrients will fail to be absorbed by the body. So if you think fruity milk shakes are healthy, that’s really not true at all!

Everyone wants smooth, tender skin, but sometimes our body just won’t comply with our wishes. With poor lifestyle habits, it’s not uncommon for skin to have uneven pigmentation or look pale and dull. It must be emphasized again that using good facial products and treatments help to improve and maintain skin quality on the surface, but if your health is poor, the problems are just going to keep returning.

The most effective way to improve your skin condition without compromising too much of your regular lifestyle is through eating more vegetables! Different types of vegetables are especially suitable for treating different types of skin conditions!

Red Face
By this, I don’t mean radiant rosy cheeks or the flushed cheeks you get from blushing or drinking, but red patches in various parts of your face. This is usually attributed to eating too much animal cholesterol and animal protein. To counter this problem, include a large amount (estimated 2 servings) of leafy green vegetables when having a meal that’s heavy on meat. Such vegetables include spinach, celery, and lettuce. They are more effective when eaten raw, but you can also make juice out of them.

Crimson Red Face
Similar to the red face, the pigmentation is spread in various parts of your face, but they look more pronounced. Fortunately, they aren’t permanent and only occur when your blood circulation is poorer i.e. during cold weather. Still, that shouldn’t stop you from looking your best at all times. There are two solutions to this problem. You can take warm baths and massage the red portions more often to quicken your blood flow. You should also take in foods rich in vitamin B1, C and D to allow the body to absorb protein efficiently.

Oily skin and dark pigmentation
This usually results from consuming too much oil – namely animal and vegetable oil (yes vegetable oil is still oil after all!). The solution is to reduce your oil intake by consuming less oily foods, and eat more leafy green vegetables. Before a meal, drink a glass of warm vegetable juice.

Freckles
Asians are rarely born with freckles. If you have freckly cheeks, one of the causes could be consuming too much salt. If your diet consists mainly of animal cholesterol and protein, this will affect your liver’s function negatively, causing freckles to become more obvious. You must include plenty of vegetables and fruits in your diet. Medical drugs are also bad for skin, especially sleeping pills, which result in the secretion of acid. Medication should be avoided when unnecessary.

Uneven dark pigmentation
Generally, consuming too much salt results in rough, dry and dull skin. Exposure to sunlight worsens the condition. If your skin is losing its radiance and turning dull and dark, it is a warning for your body to expel the salt. To improve the condition, you should reduce your salt intake and consume more water and fibre (from vegetables) to aid the colon to function more effectively so that the toxins can be passed out through waste. If you have a bath tub, soak in a warm bath until you perspire. This helps your body to detoxicate.

Hot summer days are approaching! And though our erratic weather isn’t making it obvious, don’t you think the heat’s getting more ‘in your face’ during the sunny days?

It’s time to shore up the defences in your immunity system and your skin. I’ve extolled the virtues of tea, the all-natural detoxification fluid, in some previous articles, so here are more healthy tea recipes that could do wonders to your health and skin! Because remember that good health is equivalent to good skin. Each tea serves different purposes and uses different ingredients. Take your pick on what you need and what you can make!

Constitution-strengthening tea

You will need: 5 g of dried Chrysanthemum, 5 g of dried wolfberry and 2 – 3 red dates.

Wash the wolfberries and dates thoroughly and shred them. Place all the ingredients into your boiling pot. Add warm water to rinse the ingredients, and then pour it out. Add boiling water to the pot and simmer for 10 minutes. It’s ready for consumption!

This tea detoxifies your organs, reduces body heat and nourishes your blood.

Detoxifying cooling tea

You will need: 4g of dried honeysuckle, 4g of dried Chrysanthemum and 2g of dried Jasmine.
Use the same cleansing and boiling process as above.
This tea detoxifies and reduces heat and body swellings and provides prevention against flu.

Detoxifying cooling sweet tea

For those who don’t like the subtle taste of Chinese tea, this recipe, which uses 30g of barley seeds, 60g of green beans, 1g of green tea leaves (or a green tea bag) and a table spoon of honey will appeal to you.
Rinse the barley seeds and green beans and place in a pot. Add 300g of water and boil at high heat for 15 – 20 minutes. Add the green tea and boil for another minute. Filter out the liquid and let it simmer. Add honey to it for consumption.

This tea gets rid of heatiness and removes swelling and toxins from water retention.

One of my greatest New Year resolutions with respect to beauty and health is to consume at least one apple every day, because apples have many health and beauty benefits as listed below:

1. Prevents Weight Gain
Compared to other fruits, fat level from apples is virtually negligible. Apples don’t contain protein. Every 100g of apple contains only about 60 calories. Apples are also rich in malate, which stimulates the dispersal of fats in the body, thus preventing weight gain.

2. Whitens Teeth
Apples are rich in cellulose, among which some have the ability of cleansing grime on and between your teeth. Smile as much as you like after enjoying an apple!

3. Detoxifies Intestines
Apples are rich in pectin, which promotes bowel movement. Its rich source of dietary fibre helps to expel toxins from your body, consequently improving your skin’s appearance.

4. Skin whitening
Apples contain plenty of Vitamin C, which helps to lighten freckles, age spots and keeps your skin rosy and supple.

Since apples are great for skin, why not use them on your face too! Here’s a simple recipe for an apple mask that you can do once or twice a week!

Skin an apple and mash it up into pulp. If you have dry skin, add milk or vegetable oil to the apple pulp. The amount you add depends on how watery you’d like your mask. Preferably it should of course not be too watery that it runs down your face. Personally I find a quarter of a glass to be pretty good. If you have oily skin, add egg white from an egg to the apple pulp. Stir until the mixture is even and apply all over your face. Leave it on for 20 minutes and then rinse off with clean water. This mask helps to lighten acne scarring, freckles and brown spots. You’ll feel that your skin becomes smoother, softer and whiter.

Do you also know that apples can help to reduce eye circles? Simply place a thin slice of apple under each eye. It works like cucumbers!

Always remember the old adage, “An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!” Skin doctors and dentists included too!

Eat Right!

Apart from ridding poor lifestyle habits like sleeping late and smoking, maintaining happy or calm emotions and selecting suitable beauty products, food also goes a long way in combating wrinkles!

Foods rich in collagen or nucleic acid help to maintain elasticity and radiance in your skin. Chicken skin (boiled, not fried), fish, caviar, oyster, animal livers, mushrooms, black and white fungus, and pollen are examples of such food that you should frequently include in your diet.

Prepare it right!

Food preparation methods affect nutritional content in your diet and ultimately, your skin too! Oily, fried food especially, contributes to facial wrinkles. Here are some tips on how you can still enjoy that oily meal once in a while without jeopardizing your skin.
When preparing fried food, you can coat it in a layer prepared by mixing flour, egg, sesame and coriander fillings.

When preparing fried meat, stir-fry it together with onions, coriander and garlic. When stir-frying fish or any kind of meat, you can wrap it in green vegetables to fry. You should also eat fried food with minced raddish or garlic as garnish.

The trick is to consume as little oil as possible and ensuring that you still eat your vegetables without turning your meal into a salad (not a bad thing for people who don’t mind their veggies, but for those who do mind, this will be useful).

For the most part, choose steaming over frying and avoid deep-fried, stir-fried and grilled/barbequed food. Try to consume fresh vegetables half-raw instead of fully-cooked, as fully-cooked vegetables usually have the least nutritional level. Vegetables should just be boiled to get rid of the germs. When eating grilled fish, have it with minced raddish. When eating grilled meat, have it with fresh, raw vegetables.

Foods that cause wrinkles

Canned beef, canned fish, typical mayonnaise / tartar sauce salad dressing (ah who says all salads are healthy?), food that has been frozen for too long, dried scallop, dried shrimps, chocolate, cake, instant noodles and fried food are examples of food that speeds up the wrinkling process.

Frying and freezing food are popular food preservation methods, but do not keep them past their expiry date as expired food can change for the worst and affect your skin in a big way.

Consuming a lot of salt also results in wrinkle formation.

You can also make masks out of certain types of food and fruits to reduce wrinkle formation! I’ll blog about it in my next post. Stay tuned!