Swathy and Sky

Your hands tell your age

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You might have noticed that your hands would seem to need more care than your face. Though, we often forget to do that. If you do not take proper care of your hands, they can make you look older than you actually are. This is because our hands are the most exposed and abused parts of the body. So, taking a regular and proper care should assure youthful hands. Have you ever seen beautiful hands? They look beautiful because they do not have varicose veins showing. Instead, they are as fleshy as any other part of the body and no wrinkles at all. Perform this activity after a long day just before sleep.
How to do a manicure?
  • Wash your hands properly. Remove any rings or bangles or bracelets you wear.
  • Dip your hands for 5 minutes in hot water (as hot as you can bear) to soften the skin and open the pores.
  • Use a body scrub to cleanse the hands gently.
  • Wash thoroughly by dipping in hot water again. 
  • Make a hand pack from raw honey and ripe banana. Blend them into a smooth mixture. Banana moisturizes your hand in the best way. Hands tend to be drier than other parts of the body. Apply a thick layer of this pack on the back of your hands. You may cover it with any plastic gloves you have or leave them as it is for 15-20 minutes.
  • After the stipulated time, dip your hands in a bowl of milk or oats water on a table. 
  • Remove the mask in the bowl only by gentle rubbing. Let your hand be dipped for 10 more minutes for extra smoothness. 
  • Wash your hands in cold water finally. 
  • Now, apply your favorite oil on your hands. Almond oil is the best choice as it is high in vitamin E. Massage your hands and wear gloves if you can sleep with them on. In the morning, your hands would be soft like never before. 
  • You might want to take care of your nails too during this process.
Regular care would ensure your hands will never give away your age.

    Health Benefits from Honey

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    Honey, undoubtedly, has many beauty uses. But, that is not all honey has for us. It is abundant with health benefits. For one, we all know, that consuming honey eases sore throats and cold. It also is great antiseptic for wounds and helps healing the mouth ulcers. It helps with obesity, high cholesterol and blood pressure, arthritis, asthma, nauseous feeling, vomiting and indigestion, fever, abdominal pains and helps in proper blood circulation in the body. Over and above all these benefits comes the feather in its cap. It helps reducing the cravings for smokes or cigarettes. So, all those looking out for quitting smoking, honey can be of a lot of help.

    But, there is one hitch in all this. It is said that raw honey is extremely good for body but the commercial honey is a slow poison. This is because of the refinement process honey undergoes for packaging. The heat strips it of all its nutrients and rather changes its molecular structure. And, this change in the molecular structure makes it stick to the arteries and clog them instead of being absorbed by the body easily. Cooked honey is equally bad for the body due to the same reasons. So, if you are a fan of honey, hunt out for a beekeeper or check the bottles of honey in supermarkets for the specification of “raw”.

    Update: Read this article from TOI which states the usage of antibiotics and other impurities in Honey which are extremely harmful for us. This is indeed a sad state for India.

    Is Extra Virgin Olive Oil actually Virgin?

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    Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is supposed to be the undisputed leader of oils with its abundant health qualities. But, are the brands being sold as Extra Virgin Olive Oil really that pure as they claim to be? Probably a time for reality check.

    According to this article, a study done by University of California claims that most of the popular and leading brands producing Olive Oil do not meet the requirements of being purely virgin. They are said to be adulterated with low quality oils like hazelnut, safflower, soy bean and even low grade lamp oils. So, we are forced to think that the money spent on imported oils to India whose quality stands to question is really a value for money. Yes, EVOO is really good for us but are the adulterated oils really good?