Theo

It’s well-known that smoking causes destruction to the body’s internal systems, but you may not have considered what it’s doing to your external structures, such as your skin. The skin is the body’s largest organ, and is the first line of defense against bacteria and foreign invaders. It also plays a large role in our body aesthetics, with drooping skin and wrinkles occurring as we age.

Smoking can speed up this aging process, causing you to look older than you are. Here, we’ll cover five ways your smoking habit is affecting your skin. You might be surprised to learn just how damaging this habit can be!

1. Drooping

Collagen and elastin are two proteins that help give skin its unique elasticity. Normal skin is firm yet elastic, allowing for minimal stretching while retaining its shape and elasticity. This amazing quality is what makes the skin such a unique organ, but it’s also something that can be damaged by excessive smoking.

A single cigarette is home to about 7,000-ish chemicals. Many of these are toxic to skin cells and proteins, especially collagen and elastin. Once you’ve been smoking for a number of years, these break down, causing the skin to sag and droop, especially around the eyes and mouth. You’ve probably noticed the “bags” under a smoker’s eyes. This is from destruction of collagen and elastin.

Skin drooping can make you look years older than you actually are. The cigarette’s chemicals are wreaking havoc on your skin cells from the outside and on your body’s internal structures and systems simultaneously.

2. Smoker’s Lips

Have you ever noticed the tell-tale wrinkles around a smoker’s mouth? This is usually a sign of a heavy smoker, as smokers develop these wrinkles by contracting specific muscles when they take a drag on a cigarette. This can cause deep wrinkles to develop around the lips and mouth that non-smokers probably won’t have.

The loss of elasticity and firmness are what cause this aesthetic problem. You can develop these lines at just about any age if you’re a heavy smoker, which can give you the appearance of a much older person. If you’re 25, you could look like you’re in your early 40s with enough skin sag from smoking. It’s a safe bet that no one wants to look 15 years older than they actually are.

Some smokers have chosen to move away from cigarettes to keep their looks intact. Luckily, there are products available that still deliver a nicotine punch without smoking. Companies like Black Buffalo create tobacco-free alternatives that can help you ditch the habit and preserve your skin.

3. Discoloration

If you’re a heavy smoker, you probably noticed that the tips of your fingers are a dingy yellowish-brown color. The tar from cigarettes can stain your skin permanently given enough time; not to mention the thousands of other chemicals your fingers will come in contact with each time you take a drag.

Smoking deprives the skin of precious oxygen and other nutrients, which can cause discoloration or uneven coloring. You might notice a certain paleness in smokers or patches of darker or lighter coloring on their skin (or on yours).

This discoloration can give you sickly appearance, and in fact, your body is sick if you’re a smoker. Your systems are struggling to filter the thousands of chemicals you’re throwing at them on a daily basis, and your immune system is also compromised.

4. Skin Cancer

Frequent skin contact with the chemicals found in cigarettes can increase your risk of developing skin cancer (not to mention the other cancers inside the body that you’re at risk for). Chemicals such as formaldehyde in cigarettes are toxic to humans and can cause abnormal cell growth.

Skin cancer is usually treatable, but it certainly has the potential to be life-threatening. Why would you want to risk cancer at all? Aside from the obvious health risks, cancer can be a financially devastating condition, even if you have insurance coverage. It’s also incredibly unpleasant and treatments can be painful.

5. Healing

Your skin’s ability to heal minor abrasions or bruises can be compromised when you’re a heavy smoker. Since smoking constricts the blood vessels, wounds won’t be getting an adequate blood supply rich with white and red blood cells; which can also mean wounds are at a higher risk for infection. Doctors recommend that you quit smoking before any major procedures, as a compromised immune system can lengthen the healing process and put you at risk for further complications.

Conclusion

Smoking is one of the most destructive habits you can adopt, and it wreaks havoc on the body both inside and out. Protect your skin, immune system, and internal functions by giving up the habit once and for all. With thousands of on and offline resources available at your disposal, you can find the help you need to finally quit smoking.

Nobody wishes to suffer injuries, but it happens unexpectedly. Personal injuries often occur when you least expect them. These injuries can be minor or severe, depending on the magnitude of the accident. Unfortunately, this interferes with your life and can be costly to treat. If you are suffering because of someone else’s negligence, it may be challenging to know where to start. No matter the insurance company you are dealing with, it is integral to hire a personal injury attorney to start your claim process.

If you are an injury victim, the following scenarios could help.

Types of injuries 

Most emergency rooms in hospitals are full of accident injury victims. Unfortunately, most of the injuries are due to someone else’s carelessness like negligence to safety. Severe injuries may include broken bones, deep cuts, head injuries, and much more. These injuries are caused by:

• Slip or fall injuries;
• Motorcycle or truck accidents;
• pedestrian accidents;
• Dog bites;
• Bicycle accidents;
• Medical negligence;
• Corrosive or harmful products.

The above injuries are preventable if safety measures are put in place to ensure no one is harmed. This includes avoiding carelessness, negligence, and ignorance that could lead to accidents causing injuries.

When should you contact a personal injury attorney

Accident injury victims, especially those with minor injuries, become reluctant to seek legal help. If the accident didn’t cause injuries, then you and the at-fault party can sort things out amicably. Your insurance should ensure your car is repaired. However, for serious injuries and damages, you will need a skilled attorney to help you. The lawyer will help you even if the at-fault’s insurance firm is arguing your claims. The legal options will help you make well-thought decisions. Also, your injury lawyer will ensure your insurance company doesn’t take advantage of you and that your rights are met. The at-fault party should cater to your medical care and other losses you incurred during the accident.

What you should know about insurance companies

Do not rush to agree with your insurance company if they rush to settle your claim. They may take advantage and compensate you less than you deserve. The at-fault’s insurance company may also take advantage of you by offering the lowest settlement. Most of them shift the blame to the victim of the accident to limit your compensation or remove their liability. Instead, seek a personal injury attorney to ensure you get your worth since an insurance adjuster may take advantage of your information and use it against you.

Accident injury investigations

After an accident, a comprehensive investigation must be done to determine the cause and the at-fault party. However, it requires resources to ensure police departments and insurance companies investigate your claim and come up with a comprehensive report to start your case. Your injury attorney can do the same investigation to ensure nothing is corrupted to interfere with your case. This includes obtaining video surveillance footage, and any crucial evidence to build a strong case.

What to know about permanent disabilities

Some injuries can interfere with your daily duties and enjoying life. These injuries are usually severe and require a dedicated personal injury attorney to pursue your injury lawsuit. This will help you obtain your compensation to cater for your future medical care and lost future earnings.

Injuries suffered by someone else’s negligence require an attorney’s assistance to ensure you get your compensation for the losses incurred. For a stronger case, the police may gather eyewitness accounts and build a report of the accident, which can help the Naqvi Injury attorneys compile a solid case for your accident. You will get maximum compensation for whatever injuries or damages you suffered during the accident.

 

There is nothing more fun in life than walking around in a cute outfit enjoying living in a body that is completely strong and healthy that goes jogging every morning and that looks great doing it. There is a lot more to vanishing that fat covering your abs into thin air than following the traditional rules of diet and exercise. So you are doing everything right; Your fridges are stocked with all of the healthy low-fat commercial foods on the market, as well as three heads of iceberg lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries and yogurt; If the experts say it is healthy and low fat, you got it in your fridge.

Along with all this healthy eating, you go to the gym for an hour a day four days a week and live it up on the treadmill with your Spotify playlists of cardio pumping motivating songs going to 16th beat time signature music. Still, the clothes are not getting bigger and the scale is not moving. You have to put the work in, And you have to be selective on which sources you take advice from.

Cardiovascular Exercising

Cardiovascular exercising burns fat. Everybody knows that; and everybody knows that walking, running, bicycling, dancing among a thousand other daily activities can be transformed into a cardiovascular workout. To shred fat and see those abs you have to get the heart pumping until you feel your muscles accumulating lactic acid build-up, it will feel like your muscles are tightening. Do not measure your time unless you are on your lunch break but instead go until muscular failure.

Weight or Resistance Training

Fitness professionals are not trained to promote weight-bearing exercises for weight loss but muscles strengthened through consistent exercising routines raises the metabolism dramatically. Ankle and wrists weights can be strapped on while on the treadmill, stair master or walking outside.

Super Setting

Supersets will instantly cause that layer of fat hiding those shredded muscles to vanish like magic. Supersets will get that cardio moving and metabolism going like a fire engine. The super setting is exercising two muscle groups at once. Example; Using a barbell does an overhead lift than when you bring the barbell down, do a lunge on each leg.

Cut Sugar

You can eat all the calories you want especially if you are living it up at the gym as long as the calories are not made of sugar. Sugar is a water retainer more so than salt. Artificial sweeteners will allow you to get muscle definition whereas regular sugar blocks it. Although artificial sweeteners are a good replacement it is better to pinpoint why you crave something sweet.

For most people, the sugar cravings are conquered by adding something to their diet and usually all they need to add are raw green leafy vegetables. Simple iceberg lettuces leaves will do the magic trick.

Supplements

Taking the right supplements is essential when you are putting extra demands on your body through physical exercising and especially for anyone choosing a vegan diet. You cannot depend on food along to give your body adequate nutrients while you are demanding more of your body through physical exercising, or you will oversleep and get common colds more often. L-carnitine is an effective supplement for converting fat into energy. Your body already has L Carnitine constantly converting fat into energy.

The best l carnitine supplements are the ones that contain glycine which is an amino acid that creates proteins in the body. It is extremely important that women are careful where they buy this product and research L-carnitine products thoroughly before taking them.

Keto Diet

The food choices and restrictions in the Keto Diet has been used by professional male and female bodybuilders for decades when they were 6 weeks out from the competition to shred. The Keto diet dramatically drops the amount of insulin in the body. Insulin is the most important necessity for creating fat and sending fat into the body’s cells.

The Keto diet cuts out carbs resulting in substantial and immediate weight loss. As the Keto diet diminishes fat cells the body is way more responsive to exercising for fat loss.

Run from Commercial Low Fat Products

In the late ’80s, the feds decided they were going to reform the fitness industry when it did not even need any fixing. Besides telling all of us that full situps caused back strain they invented the low-fat pandemic. The keywords “low-fat” were everywhere, and could not be avoided. And the obesity rates in people escalated. Joint lubricating fats were replaced with sugar.

Every one of us can walk around with under 20% body fat and feeling strong and healthy. But it does take effort and exercising that reaches beyond your body’s comfort zone. It is not going to happen automatically. These are 7 easy strategies that you can fit easily fit into your life and get started on it right now.

Every woman on our planet will eventually go through menopause. It is just one of those things that we all have in common. Characterized by temperature fluctuations in your body, unbearable mood swings, and the ceasing of your menstruation, menopause is seen as the bridge between two stages of life.

Dealing with the symptoms of ‘the change of life’ may make you dread it, but to continue a happy and healthy life, just incorporate these simple habits into your lifestyle. They are not difficult and will ease physical discomfort and also benefit your mental health.

1. Keep Active and in Peak Physical Form

Adding exercise to your daily routine is helpful in a lot of different ways. In addition, a vigorous and strenuous exercise regimen can ease your sleepless nights.

Exercise can be used to control your weight and establish a proper sleep schedule for you. As well as these physical benefits, exercising regularly can also improve your mood and have a beneficial effect on your mental state.

2. Practice the Ancient Art of Yoga

Yoga developed centuries ago as a way to practice an old religion. Today, it is used to improve flexibility, centre the mind and build up core strength. The increased flexibility and core strength are helpful in facilitating the pain of muscle cramping that often comes with menopause.

By allowing your mind to focus intently on what you are doing, you can develop a more mindful outlook on life and improve your mental health at the same time. Yoga is fantastic as a coping mechanism that works on many aspects of your life impacted by menopause.

3. Eat Healthful and Nutritious Foods, But Enjoy Yourself

Going through ‘the change’ can have quite the toll on your physical health, as well as your stress levels. Regulate your stress as well as any internal problems you may have by eating a healthy diet full of delicious, whole ingredients with all the vitamins and minerals that you need.

At the same time, you are transitioning to a healthier diet, however, it is important to be mindful of your desires and practice self-care by not entirely cutting out anything you regularly consume and enjoy. Speak to a doctor to design a menu that you both can be happy with.

4. Choose the Right Supplements to Take

While it is beneficial to take supplements no matter your age, they can supply you with minerals in which your body is deficient as it is going through menopause. It is recommended that you consult your doctor and design the perfect supplement regimen tailored to what your body needs such as calories, good energy levels & proper weight. You can not only use up those extra calories, but you may also control your menopause weight fluctuations.

Though every person’s body is different, it is especially good at making hot flashes less difficult to deal with by consuming supplements. If you find that you are dealing primarily with night sweats, a flaxseed supplement might be right for you.

5. Never Stop Challenging Your Mind

One of the most common symptoms of menopause is mood swings, which can also

cause sluggishness in your reasoning skills and difficulty with concentrating on tasks. One thing that can help with all of these problems is to keep your mind engaged and at work. To that end, you want to do puzzles or brain-teaser games that are designed to strengthen the muscles in your brain.

By doing things that require you to have focus and concentration, you can greatly improve your cognitive function and fight off those ailments that come with age.

6. Keep an Updated Catalog of Your Hot Flashes

You should keep track of your hot flashes. They can be set off by various environmental factors, such as a lot of stress or too much consumption of alcohol. It is important to recognize the things that will trigger your hot flashes so that you can take steps to remedy them.

It is helpful to establish meditation as part of your daily routine to deal with stress and balance your life in an effort to counteract these most pervasive of menopause symptoms.

7. Live Your Life and Be of Aid to Others

There are a great many studies that demonstrate a close connection between human interaction and superior health. We are naturally social creatures, so it makes sense that we thrive around other people. Not only can it lower our stress and make us more empathetic, but it makes us feel more connected to the human community.

Helping other people can give you a feeling of a job well done, an instant confidence boost that can work wonders for your self-esteem and how you view dealing with the problems that surround you.