Microneedling-Should You Do Microneedling on your Own

Dr Pen for microneedling at home on your own is a cost-effective solution for collagen therapy and skin improvement. However, care should be taken to follow all instructions carefully. Also it is better to get expert advice from your health care professional.

In order to improve the appearance and texture of the skin, you can try many methods from natural to highly advanced one such as micro needling. It is a cosmetic procedure that involves using a device called a dermaroller or a microneedling pen that contains fine needles to create controlled micro-injuries on the skin’s surface.

Why is Micro needling done?

It is commonly used to address various skin concerns, such as

  • Fine lines and wrinkles
  • Acne scars and other types of scars
  • Uneven skin tone and texture
  • Stretch marks
  • Large pores
  • Hyperpigmentation or melasma

Should we use Microneedling pen at home?

Microneedling is generally considered safe when performed by a qualified professional. However, like any cosmetic procedure related DIY kits, we have DIY microneedling pen for home use as well. It all depends on the individual’s skin care needs and severity of the issues that are being taken care of. What is really important is to follow post-procedure instructions provided by the manufacturer to ensure proper healing and maximize the benefits of the treatment after each session. If those are followed properly, then we can say reliable DIY miconeedling kits such as Dr. Pen Ultima A6S Professional Kit can be used without much risk.

How Dr Pen Microneedling is used

  • Clean the area of the skin when you micro needling is planned
  • Apply a numbing cream, though optional it is recommneded
  • Use a hydrating serum such as Hyaluronic Acid
  • Make sure that your Dr Pen’s battery is fully charged so do not need to stop midway
  • Use a brand new cartridge
  • Work on small area first, gradually cover large area
  • Use light pressure and do not drag
  • Follow post needling instructions carefully to get the desire results.

Spirulina – 8 Health Benefits and 4 Side Effects

Spirulina, the so called superfood offers a lot of health benefits such better heart health, better diabetes management, weight loss and more. However, make sure that you buy high quality spirulina to enjoy these benefits. Side effects are also possible if contaminated Spirulina is consumed.

Though spirulina has been consumed in Mexico, Africa and the USA for centuries, it was only in 70s that Spirulina became available in the form of supplements. Today it is available in the form of Spirulina powder, capsules and tablets as well. There are many health benefits of Spirulina and by simply adding it your diet can make you healthier.

Spirulina-What Exactly is this?

Spirulina is a protein, vitamin and mineral laden algae. Not just that, it is also known to have ample quantities of flavonoids, polyphenols, carotenoids and antioxidants. A combination of all these ingredients make is a a powerful superfood that promises many health benefits and healthier heart is one of them. As cardiovascular diseases have become so common across the world, that anything that can provide relief in or lower the CVD symptoms are accepted without any doubt. That is what makes Spirulina a favorite of today’s health conscious generation as well as those of older generation.

Health Benefits of Spirulina

  • Protection against Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Prevents inflammation and oxidative stress
  • Improves gastrointestinal or Gut health
  • Lowers LDL cholesterol levels and promotes HDL cholesterols
  • Reduces fat and improves BMI
  • One of the best non-pharmacological approaches to manage high BP
  • Helps in prevention and better management of Diabetes
  • It also have anti-cancer properties

Possible Side-Effects of Spirulina

  • Contaminated spirulina can cause liver damage
  • Some people may be allergic to it may develop rashes or swelling
  • It can worsen auto-immune system
  • Nausea and stomach pain can be noticed if contaminated spirulina is consumed

It is very important to consume high quality Spirulina if you want to enjoy its health benefits.

Low Blood Pressure- Hypotension Symptoms, Risks and Prevention

Low blood pressure can be managed easily by following some simple steps and lifestyle changes.

We often hear a lot about high blood pressure, its impact and risks associated with it. Comparatively low blood pressure is considered less risky and manageable which is far from truth. Low blood pressure can be as risky or more risky than high pressure or hypertension. We’ll discuss a bit about the symptoms, risks and home remedies of low blood pressure or low BP.

Hypotension- Low Blood Pressure

Lets quickly recap what blood pressure is, for those who may need clarity on it. Essentially, the blood that flows through our body needs some pressure to move back and forth to and from our heart. This pressure is called blood pressure and the normal pressure is defined as 120/80 Hg where higher number is systolic pressure ( pressure during the contraction of heart muscle) and lower number is diastolic pressure ( when heart is relaxed). If your blood pressure is lower than these numbers, then you are suffering from low blood pressure, symptoms of which are below.

Low Blood Pressure Symptoms

  • Lightheadedness or Dizziness quite often
  • Nausea or vomiting sensation not actual vomiting
  • Sudden and quick loss and regain of vision frequently or blurriness
  • Loss of consciousness and regaining it in less than a minute
  • Low energy after waking up and feeling dizziness during morning chores

Why Low BP is Caused

  • Dehydration or lack of water and fluid in the body
  • Specific Vitamin deficiency or overall lack of nutrition
  • Low salt consumption
  • Pregnancy
  • Allergy to specific medicine or anything
  • Stress or tension

The list goes on and there can be several other reasons of low blood pressure. Depending upon your lifestyle and eating habits reasons can vary slightly. If you notice any of symptoms, then read on. There are many prevention methods and home remedies for low blood pressure.

Home Remedies- Low Blood Pressure

Drink a lot of water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated. In fact this is more of a lifestyle change than any remedy to keep your blood pressure within normal range. Following are a few quick home remedies

  • Drink water or salted water or lemonade with salt
  • Coffee can help raise blood pressure quickly
  • Raisins or dry fruits in general help manage your blood pressure
  • Dairy products- consume a lot
  • Leafy and green vegetables
  • Regular exercise and deep breathing.

By making these simple changes in your lifestyle can bring down your blood pressure within normal range.

iNCOVACC Nasal Vaccine as Booster Dose

In a majority of case, Coronavirus enters human body through the nose. Fighting and stopping the virus at the entry point is quite logical and should be effective. Keeping that in mind Bharat Biotech, developed and got approved the much awaited nasal Covid 19 vaccine booster that has shown impressive results in tests and trials.

Intranasal Vaccine – Fight Against Covid gets a boost

As new variants of Covid 19 are spreading like anything and reports from China are scary, the development of something more powerful and effective to fight the virus, was on high priority. The developers of the drug took the challenge and produced a seemingly game changer in the form of iNCOVACC intranasal vaccine. Obviously, it is needle-free and painless. It is the first nasal vaccine to be administered in drops.

Breaking the Cycle of Transmission

Nasal Mucosa is the first place where viral infection occurs, multiplies and spreads. The nasal vaccine attacks the virus then and there and prevents the spread immediately. As the cycle of transmission breaks at the entry point, the it reduces the chances of mutation remarkably.

Not a replacement of intramuscular vaccine

However, it must be remembered that iNCOVACC is not going to be the replacement or substitute of existing intramuscular vaccine. It is just an addition protection or a booster that will strengthen your immunity and help you fight the new variants of Covid 19 virus more effectively.

When to take iNCOVACC

Ideally this nasal vaccine booster dose should be taken after 6 month after completion of the primary schedule of both doses of either Covishield or Covaxin.

Tips for Staying True to Your Wellness Goals

Here at Health, Happiness, and Holidays, we love to see people live their best lives all year round, so we have some tips for goals you can set and ways to achieve them.

Set Goals for Health and Happiness image source;Unsplash

We all want to improve and live healthier lives, but sometimes the goals that we set for ourselves end up falling flat. The issue may be that you aren’t setting the right goals or taking the right steps to reach the outcomes that you hope to achieve. Here at Health, Happiness, and Holidays, we love to see people live their best lives all year round, so we have some tips for goals you can set and ways to achieve them.

Choosing Your Wellness Goals

The first thing you need to do is think of a goal that you want to accomplish that will help you to live a healthier and happier life. Many people want to lose weight or get into exercise, and you can accomplish those goals with time and determination. You may want to set a specific fitness goal, like running a 10k marathon by the end of the year. Research the best ways to get to that point and start working on it today.

Other people have different wellness goals, like deciding to declutter their homes. When your house is clean and clutter-free, it is good for your mental health because when your home is messy, then subconsciously, you may feel like you are losing control of your environment. So, take charge today.

Your Goal May Be to Evolve in Your Career or Return to School

Then there is the group of people who want to improve their professional life by excelling in their career and reaching the next milestone at work that can help them to earn more money and give them more purpose. If that is your goal, then you can approach your boss about a promotion or look at the different departments at work and request a transfer.

Another idea that could really transform your life is to return to school. Better yet, if you need to continue to earn a paycheck, you could take online courses. In many cases, this could be the ticket because you can take your classes and sharpen your skills on your own time. There are many great degrees that can help with your career, including many in the field of education, including elementary education. Plus, if you really love teaching, then you could find a new career that can truly make you happy.

Set Short-Term Goals

Whatever your goal may be, the key is to set realistic short-term goals. It is easy to set a lofty goal, like running that marathon or losing 50 pounds, but if you try to accomplish it the first time around, you could fall short and eventually give up. Instead, set reasonable goals. If you want to run that marathon, then start by setting a goal of running a mile and then two, and then eventually, you will have the endurance to run that marathon. If you want to lose a certain amount of weight, then break it down into more manageable goals, like losing a few pounds every week or month. Then, when you reach these smaller milestones, you will be more encouraged to keep going.

Reward Yourself to Stay Motivated

Even if you set short-term goals, you may find it hard to keep up, especially if you have a major goal, like running a marathon. When you reach your short-term goals, reward yourself by listening to your favorite song or eating a healthy meal that you really like. Sometimes, knowing that you have a great reward coming up is enough to keep you going. If you don’t accomplish your short-term goal, then don’t beat yourself up too much, but just try again, and you will get there.

In the end, if you stick to your guns, you will achieve your wellness goals in the new year. Remember to set reasonable expectations, reward yourself when necessary, and consider returning to school if that is what you need to truly be happy. If you would like to learn more about how to feel better about life, then check out Health, Happiness, and Holidays and read our blogs!

Keto Snacks || Keto Diet Plan

The number one Keto Diet Plan is the one that you can stick to. There is no point in having all types of Keto Snacks if you have no plan to achieve your weight loss, waist size reduction or general fitness goals. As they say that failing to plan is planning to fail, the same is true for any diet plan as well.

Dropping 4 Jeans Sizes

Yes, it is possible to lose 4 jeans size if you are ready for it. See, Keto diet is not just something that you can try out for a few days or weeks and come back to you old eating habits and lifestyles. That is exactly what kills the whole plan and you end up concluding that plan is not effective. First and foremost you have set your goal, such as how many pound you have to lose and within what timeframe. That is just the beginning. The real test starts now. If you can stick to it, you can achieve it. Read the story of how two women started together but only one of them could achieve the results using the same Keto Diet Plant while the other one failed.

Incorrect Implementation Means Health Issues

It goes without saying that if you do not implement the plan correctly, you are bound to have incorrect results, harmful effects or simply no effect. However, usually it is often noticed that those trying to lose weight have many health issues, which may often get worse.

Correct Implementation – Dramatic Results

Once you kickstart your keto diet plan, you start noticing the difference from 1st week itself as you start transforming. Essentially your lifestyle get changed if you implement the plan correctly. If you are not ready for that transformation, you’ll be disappointed. If you embrace these changes, you’ll get dramatically positive results within a month. You can give it a try for 28 days, risk free.

Take the 28 Days Keto Challenge- Do you have what it takes to achieve the results

Plant-Based Meat for Vegetarians

How about being a vegetarian and enjoying the taste and benefits of eating meat? Well, I have no intention of promoting non-vegetarian food or meat eating. All I want to say that now plant based food that resembles almost perfectly with real meat, is available. Whether you are a vegetarian or want to be one, you can still enjoy the taste of meat.

What is Plant-Based meat?

Similar to Tofu products that mimic the taste and texture of real dairy products, plant based meat is produced to mimic the taste, texture, smell and even appearance of real meat products. You will be surprised to know that ingredients of these products are obtained from legumes, soybean, lentils, peas and many other plant foods. The final products have exact meat-like texture and taste . It is gradually becoming normal to get these food items at super markets easily.

Benefits of Plant-Based meat

The benefits are obviously like those of eating vegetarian food with higher levels of protein, fiber and other nutrients. Some of the major benefits of plant-based meat are

  • Improves the health of your gut and overall digestion
  • More fiber helps in absorption of nutrients of other food as well
  • Helps in lowering cholesterol
  • Stabilizes blood sugar and promotes good heart health
  • Added B12, zinc and iron gives more health benefits
  • Helps in weight loss without making you compromise on your taste

Drawbacks of Plant-Based meat

  • You never know the quality of ingredients used.
  • High amount of sodium and preservatives
  • High amount of saturated fat
  • Artificial fool colors may not suit everyone
  • Still not available as easily as natural meat and may also be expensive

Though substitute is always a substitute and not the real product, giving plant-based meat a try and using in place of real meat can significantly improve your health.

Lectin Free Food- 5 Foods with Simple Twists, become Lectin Free

Sugar-free, gluten-free, cholesterol-free and now comes Lectin-free food that seems to be highly effective in fixing digestion issues. Once digestion is properly working, you can also see a remarkable difference in your obesity level.

What Exactly is Lectin?

Lectins are basically a type of protein found in almost all plant based foods. What? Does it mean that plant based food are harmful? It is not that simple, there is a catch. When lectin enters our body, it can bind sugar and carbohydrates. It can reduce our ability to absorb nutrients from highly nutritious food. Absorption of iron, calcium, zinc and many other nutrients can be reduced, IF WE CONSUME LECTIN IN EXCESSS QUANTITY. Here the catch is in excess quantity. If your intake is balanced, and you eat lectin in small quantities, it is beneficial.

Lectin free Recipes-Worth Trying for Weight loss

Can Lectin Be Eliminated from Diet?

That is what lectin-free diet is. But is it really practical and possible ? There is no enough data that suggests that completely eliminating lectin from our diet is good for our health. Eating in large quantities is of course harmful. So what are those food items that contain a lot of lectin and is it possible to eliminate them?

Tomato

Tomato contains a lot of lectin, but keeping in mind the Asian or Indian diet in particular, eliminating tomato completely from our food is next to impossible. What we can do is reduce the amount of raw tomato from our diet or salad. Cooking at high temperature, which we do anyway, works wonders for reducing the lectin content of Tomato.

Potato

Personally, for me it is impossible to eliminate potato from my diet. Give it a try, if you can. Potato is rich in lectin, in raw form. Do we eat it in raw form? I think we don’t, therefore we are safe. Fully cooked potato is almost lectin free. So don’t go for its semi-cooked version in any form.

Kidney Beans

In India, kidney beans, grams and many other sprouts are soaked in water overnight. There is a reason behind it. Soaking reduces the lectin content in them and then if is beneficial. If you don’t soak it, then probably you are consuming lectin with kidney beans based food.

Soybean

Again, semi-cooked version of soybean is full of lectin. Start cooking it at high temperature before consuming. There you go, you have started lectin-free diet with a simple twist. Give it try, if you eat soybean often.

Peanuts

Do you eat peanuts raw, semi cooked or half baked? That is the culprit. Stop eating half cooked peanuts for a while. Eat peanuts in cooked form or in roasted form. See the results in the form your improved digestion.

Home Remedies for High Sugar-Fighting Diabetes Naturally

There are many herbs for diabetes type 2 management. You can fight diabetes naturally if you want to.

If you have high sugar levels and you are looking for home remedies, then you have reached the right place. Suffering from diabetes or high blood sugar level does not necessarily mean that you compromise on taste and suppress your food cravings. How about fighting diabetes naturally or even unknowingly by using home remedies for high sugar?

Herbs for Diabetes Type 2

  • Bitter Melon or Karela : Even doctors recommend it. Those who eat Karela every day, know how effective it is in fighting diabetes naturally.
  • Fenugreek or Heeng : In India, it is very common to use fenugreek in all recipes. Read about fenugreek, the wonder herb for diabetes type 2
  • Ginger or Adrak: It is not just the aroma of ginger tea, but also its diabetes fighting capabilities that matter a lot if you want to manage your sugar level
  • Gymnema or Gurmar : The word Gurmar can be loosely translated as killer of Gur or Sugar. Found mainly in India and Africa, this humble herb can work wonders for managing your diabetes type 2
  • Cinnamon or Daalchini : Though quite popular in all spicy food, cinnamon is often not recognized as diabetes fighting herb. You won’t know how effective it is in sugar control, unless you use it.

Lifestyle Changes to drop Sugar Level

I assume that if you are reading this post, you are already aware that living sedentary lifestyle is the number one cause of high sugar level. Leading an active life can help you manage diabetes effectively, right? So, is that so simple? It is not but it can be, if you are determined and spare time for it. Research has proven that walking is one of the easiest ways to manage your blood sugar level. Make sure that you walk for at least an hour every day. Among other changes are dietary control, living stress-free and sleeping properly for 7-8 hours daily, preferably at the same time.

Diabetes Freedom-Easy and Practical

Diabetes does not mean compromise

Contrary to common belief that being diabetic means complete no to sugar or a lot of dietary restrictions or suppressing your taste buds, it can be just the opposite. If you are aware and willing to do what it takes then Diabetes Freedom is for you. Give it a try.