Health & Fitness « Learn About Natural Skin Care and Health in JUARA Skincare’s Blog

Health & Fitness

Top 5 reasons why your sunscreen might give you a false sense of security – Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

Ah… summer… we’ve been waiting for you for so long. T’is the season to go to the beach and enjoy, until you realize one day your skin is hot, red and damaged. With store shelves filled with masses of high-SPF sunscreen bottles and sprays, how is it that people still end up with serious sun damage year after year? Here are the top 5 reasons why your sunscreen may give you a false sense of security:

1) Trusting a high SPF

SPF30 is better than SPF15 but it does NOT give you double the protection. SPF15 filters out about 93 percent of the UVB rays; SPF30 filters about 97 percent of UVB rays. Once you go above SPF30, the added protection gets even more marginal. Some dermatologists even suggest not going above an SPF30 because the added skin-irritating chemicals of a higher SPF outweigh the benefits of the added sun protection.

2) Trusting that SPF is the end-all be-all

SPF only protects from UVB-rays so read labels carefully. A sunscreen that sports an impressive SPF but contains no UVA-protection in the form of Avobenzone (Parsol 1789), Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide or Ecamsule (Mexoryl) will not shield your skin from the rays that age your skin, and as we now know, also cause cancer.

3) Not using enough sunscreen

You need about a 1-ounce shot glass full of sunscreen to properly protect the skin on your body. If you buy a 4-ounce bottle of sunscreen, the bottle should be empty after 4 applications. So that person who pours a dime-size into their palms and rubs it all over may feel protected, but really isn’t.

4) Not re-applying often enough

Heat and humidity in the summer make us sweat more. All of that perspiring makes the sunscreen on our skin less effective. Add to that a dip in the pool or ocean and drying your skin with a towel, and you probably have hardly any sunscreen left on your skin. Doctors recommend reapplying every 2 hours or after being in the water.

5) When enough is enough

Once you feel the heat and stinging in your skin, you’re already well on your way to a burn. No amount of sunscreen can stop that process. It’s time to just get out of the sun, period.

What are your favorite and most trusted tips and tricks to protect your skin from the sun?

At Work / Health & Fitness / Lifestyle — No Comments
19
Apr 10

Sometimes it’s OK to lose… – Metta Murdaya

I usually consider myself, being a frequent flyer across the world, a successful non-victim of Jet Lag because frankly, I don’t have time for it with my schedule. I have my bag of tricks – stay up the night before, plan to arrive in the daytime, stay hydrated, schedule meetings/activities the first day there so no passing out, (ok, so I lean on adrenaline as a crutch,) sleep intermittently on the plane

Sometimes you just can't beat it... and it's OK.

to start the timezone adjustment, and hope for the best. Most of the time it works. But this time, something was different. Jet lag came at me with a vengeance – like that mad unstoppable truck you see slamming into a crowded intersection in a blockbuster movie, or that dam that finally burst to the raging water who just got fed up with being held back. I’m not sure why now – not staying up the night before? Not having a meeting to roll into right from the airport? (Although that can’t be it since I did have a wedding I rushed to straight from the airport, including a quick superman change from Grungy Plane-Wear to Heels & Satin in a bathroom stall… Elegant? No. Effective? Why yes…) But still, I was out like a light by 6pm, with a cancelled a meeting and another appointment I totally slept through in the wake of my napping destruction, while still ending up wide awake at midnight. (Doh!) Perhaps this time it’s the human tendency to not be immune to what should be a natural occurrence (like resting when tired, duh) getting to me. Yes, constant work and not allowing yourself to take some time off – ah, the common crimes I see entrepreneurs commit against themselves… So instead of fighting it this time, I am going with it. I just bought a novel, calculated that I could take 2 days off of work with no major repercussions (I think it’s called a weekend…), and so far, it’s been wonderful – the forced leisure since well, my body won’t have it any other way. I like to look at it as concentrated me-time. This time, my family is out of town and my friends all conveniently are out too, so like it or not, I have to embrace my calendar-free days with reckless (and frightening) abandon. Eat when I want to. Sleep when it calls. Watch episodes of South Park at 3am. Nap at 3pm. Read a book in between when the brain is awake but the body is not. Get a facial at 2pm. Try not to fall asleep during it. Write this blog entry at 5am and trust it will all be ok… I feel naughty breaking all the “Don’t Let Jet Lag Beat You!” rules, but I think I’m liking it so far, and I can feel my body naturally adjusting to the time zone here. But now sadly, now that I’m used to it, I only have about 24 hours left of this grand let’s-not-be-so-hard-on-yourself spree, but I’m enjoying the ride. So what’s next? A JUARA event in Jakarta with amazing designer Ardistia Dwiasri (http://ardistianewyork.com/) and a series of other meetings on the horizon. Am I ready for it? Absolutely. Probably more so than I would have been had I not taken my unchosen break. Here’s to being human and giving yourself some TLC!

Extra: There is a lot advice online on how to beat jet lag, but the one post that summarizes what I have found to be the most effective is here. Do you have tips of your own?

Eating & Drinking / Family & Friends / Health & Fitness / Uncategorized — 6 Comments
11
Apr 10

Supplement tips for new moms – Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

What supplements are good for new moms?

If you are a new mom like me, you probably read up a ton on nutrition during pregnancy and took your prenatal vitamin religiously. What happens after the baby is born? All of a sudden, you are completely overwhelmed with trying to figure out how to take care of an infant. Equally important, however, is how to take care of your own health and your body’s healing process after the stress of pregnancy and labor. Eating balanced meals and exercising is very important but what about supplements? I asked my friend Douglas Taurel, NYC based personal trainer and Charles Poloquin Bio-Signature coach (and also new father to an adorable, healthy 9 month-old boy) about what he recommended:

“The most important supplement I believe through experience and training that pregnant women and new moms should supplement with is Fish Oil. I suggest it to all my clients, women, men, pregnant and golden age that they should supplement with fish oil. Omega 3 is what we are after.” Aha! Here it is again, Omega 3 – remember how we were told during pregnancy to take lots of Omega 3! Douglas gave me a whole list of benefits, which made me run to the vitamin shop to get some. As Douglas explained, women should be close to pre-pregnancy about 12 weeks after giving birth. Omega 3 fish oil can help because it helps the body burn more fat AND it actually reduces the body’s tendency to store fat. In addition, Omega 3 increases Serotonin in the brain which is a very strong antidepressant and helps with anxiety, panic attacks and reduces carbohydrate cravings – very important for those experiencing the postpartum depression. It helps reduce inflammation in the body, obviously very important in the body’s healing process after pregnancy. Omega 3 also assists the body in putting on muscle, so if you’re breastfeeding, upping your Omega 3 intake will help your baby grow stronger and healthier.

Motherhood can be crazy, especially if you are also working, but no matter how chaotic the day gets, I stick to my supplements: a good multivitamin, extra fish oil for Omega 3 and calcium. Thanks Douglas! (Check out www.taurelfitness.com)

Eating & Drinking / Health & Fitness / Uncategorized — 12 Comments
31
Mar 10

Duking it out: Chia Seed vs. Flax Seed – Jill Sung

What seed am I?

Metta came back from Expo West natural trade show with promises of improving our nutritional health and renewed vigor to turn a “pretty healthy” diet into “Healthy!” One of the healthy additives that she’s been raving about is Chia seeds, which I’ve been eyeing at the health food stores with a personal interest to try once my flaxseeds are used up. I currently add a tablespoonish of golden flaxseeds (I heard, though unconfirmed, that golden has more vitamins than red) to my almost daily smoothie. I experiment a bit, but it’s more a healthy smoothie of convenience consisting of Scobie Bryant’s (my Kombucha’s nickname) miracle tea, an apple (skin included), frozen berries if no other fresh fruits of the season are gracing my kitchen, yogurt/milk if available and it cuts the light vinegar taste of the Kombucha, and that tablespoonish of flaxseeds. But let’s get back into the ring…

FLAX SEEDS: high in Omega-3 fatty acids, lignans and antioxidants, B vitamins, and fiber, minerals: folate, manganese, magnesium, copper, etc.

I use whole flaxseeds because they can be stored up to a year whereas flaxseed meal can only last up to a week at room temperature because the unsaturated oils can go rancid easily. But I grind the flaxseeds before using them because that releases the goodies. Toasting flaxseeds is helpful too because it breaks down the small amounts of natural cyanide in them (also found in cashews and some beans). And according to US agencies and research, the recommended safe dose is anywhere from 2-6 tabespoons a day. Just don’t go overboard as both of these are high in fiber! If you’re a fan of the oil, just remember it does not contain the phytochemical antioxidants or the fiber.

CHIA SEEDS: high in soluble fiber, Omega-3 fatty acids, minerals: potassium, calcium, amino acids

The soluble fiber in gluten-free chia seeds is so evident that if you mix up a cup of water and tablespoon of powder, you can get a gel in half an hour! That’s great for controlling food intake, carbohydrate to sugar absorption conversion, and diabetics where blood sugar level is particularly important. Plus chia seeds help keep you hydrated because they absorb water (a must for healthy skin and inner body health/healing). More than 20% protein, chia seeds are filled with a good mix of essential amino acids that your body doesn’t naturally make. Recommended dosage varies, but 3 tablespoons, 3 times a day is commonly recommended. Excellent place to purchase online: http://salba.com

Incidentally, a great website for checking out nutrition data is www.nutritiondata.com. It covers everything and has useful tables and comparisons.

So the winner? Undeclared. After researching both of these, I’d love to incorporate both; they serve different purposes and complement each other well. So my future smoothies will have both… It’s a win win for everyone.

Beauty & Skincare / Eating & Drinking / Family & Friends / Health & Fitness — No Comments
23
Mar 10

4 things that actually make life easier when you have a baby – Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

Chowing down a sandwich at Bouchon Bakery

As a first-time mother to a baby daughter, Asami, I now comprehend what other people were talking about when they said life as a new parent is tough. But in addition to the rewarding feeling of seeing your baby smile and grow, I have actually found a few things that are – surprise – much easier now that I have to take care of a baby:

I always have perfectly luscious lips

With my baby daughter, I have to change diapers every couple of hours. Right before I apply some ointment to my baby’s bottom, I take some Aquaphor Healing Ointment out of the big tub and apply it to my lips. Voila – Luscious Lips!

No need for annoying upper body strength training

As a bottom-heavy person, I’ve always sacrificed my upper body strength training for doing lower body work outs. Now I have to lift a 12-pound baby so many times a day, my arms have naturally become more toned and strong. I don’t have to even have to motivate myself to do an arm work out. And the weight will naturally get heavier without my having to push myself!

Breastfeeding – the best weight loss program ever

You can eat pretty much whatever you whenever you want in whatever quantities you want and you STILL lose weight! Need I say more?

Peace of mind – for the most part

Pregnancy and even more so motherhood sweep through your brain and make you forgetful, thus the term new mommy brain. But along with important names and sales figures, you also forget and frankly stop caring about a lot of petty things that used to clutter your brain. What is left is peace of mind – for the most part…

Eating & Drinking / Health & Fitness / Uncategorized — 3 Comments
1
Mar 10

Secrets of Tea – Jill Sung

We love to drink tea at JUARA. Not a day goes by where the statement, “Who’s going to make tea today?” doesn’t find its way into office conversation. But tea wasn’t always our drink of choice. In the past, we survived off pots of coffee. But after several of us read “Skinny Bitch” (I’ll admit it), we had a cold turkey reckoning, and tea and water became our new best friend. (And Kombucha – but you’ve already been enlightened on our love of that healthy beverage.)

Although we had all grown up drinking different types of tea, few of us knew much about tea beyond the fact that it can have caffeine and has healthy antioxidants that help skin and body fight age-inducing free radicals. We’ve also all heard that tea can prevent cancer, calm the stomach, improve immune function, decrease cardiovascular risk, etc.

But did you know that tea comes from only 1 plant – the Camellia sinensis plant and that the different types of tea: White, Green, Black, Pu-erh, and Oolong differ based on the amount and type of processing each tea undergoes? All “teas” that come from other plants are “herbal teas” – but tasty nonetheless. Examples of the different types of teas:

White (air dried buds, natural oxidation): Silver needle
Green (air dried leaves processed by steam or wok-fire, natural oxidation): Hojicha, High mountain tea
Black (rolled leaves, fully oxidized): Keemun, Darjeeling, Pekoe, Ceylon, Breakfast
Oolong (partially oxidized by baking for different flavors): Tie Guan Yin, Oolong
Pu-erh (cave-aged large-leaf, better with time, classified by age and region – like wine!): sheng (green/raw) types, shu (ripened/cooked)

Something new I learned recently, the caffeine in tea doesn’t create that “crash” that so often happens with other caffeinated beverages, it’s a smooth and energy lifting awareness. Something I’ve experienced, but never realized. Also, I’ve always heard that green tea has more caffeine than coffee, but I didn’t realize that a typical serving has far less caffeine because tea is brewed more “weakly” than coffee. Plus, color is NOT an indicator for caffeine content.

Other fun facts: you can brew tea with the same tea leaves multiple times, just add hot water. If you like it sweet, add agave or honey instead of sugar. Agave doesn’t spike your blood sugar levels (thus preventing the sugar high and crash) and honey is naturally immune-boosting. No milk? Try soy milk. And sometimes, when I’m tired of the millions of teas we have in our cupboard, I mix teas. Chai with herbal mint tea. Herbal antioxidant Rooibos with black tea. Choco-mint with Thai Chai. So let’s drink to your health!

Health & Fitness / Uncategorized — No Comments
29
Jan 10

Get Your Groove On – Jill Sung

I received an invitation the second week of January for a healthy brunch amongst friends. Little did I know what I was getting myself into! Three weeks later, I’m semi-regularly updating my exercise habits on a shared Google spreadsheet seen by friends and acquaintances, while being offered weekly encouraging communications from my “encouragement partner”, Amy.

The first email was a little bit tricky, I saw the words “brunch” and ”get-together”, and without reading the fine print, jumped on the food-wagon…who says no to brunch?! Okay, in re-reading the email, it wasn’t tricky. I’m just no good at details.

THE DEAL: set 2 attainable weekly goals (eg. sleep by 11pm, exercise 30 minutes 3 times a week, eat green veggies 7 meals a week)

TIME FRAME: 2 months (that’s 8 whole weeks of discipline! longer than most gym attendance memberships…)

THE METHOD: check in regularly to log your “success”, support a partner with similar goals, meet up at parties/brunches/yoga/events 2 times a month

Wish me luck in my goal of 20 minutes of solid exercise 3 times a week and no sugary snacks 3 times a week. And I’ll see you in 5 more weeks. Hopefully by then, I’ll have formed new habits and can start anew on other personal projects!

Eating & Drinking / Health & Fitness — 1 Comment
13
Jan 10

My 5 New Year Resolutions – Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

Each year, I embark on my new year resolutions with fresh motivation. My resolutions are never outlandish… the usual “eat healthier”, “exercise more” or “be a kinder person”… this year, it’s all about “can I really live up to my resolutions”. We shall see in 3 months how I do. My top 5 resolutions for 2010 are:

Keep healthy eating in perspective

We all know what’s bad, what’s good and what’s better. I feel fortunate that I rarely crave junk food or soda, but what about that last mile of “goodness” where you have to choose between healthy and enjoyable? For 2010, I will maintain good habits, but I draw the line where my pleasure in food is truly compromised. Example: Brown rice is better than white rice and brown rice tastes pretty good. But do Sushi rolls with brown rice kind of miss the point? I remember my mother’s horrified look when she saw brown rice sushi rolls at Wholefoods for the first time. Japanese people are one of the healthiest people on earth with the highest life expectancy. A lot of them still eat white rice instead of brown. I’d say, it’s ok to eat white rice as part of a healthy diet, and let’s face it, it often tastes a lot better than brown rice.

Don’t exercise if it feels like a chore

I’ve tried many tricks to get motivated to hit the gym: “Visualize a healthier, fitter self!” Or “Imagine how GOOD you will feel after the work out.” It may work a couple of times, but really, I think it’s torture to have to coax myself to exercise like that for a whole year, let alone the rest of my life. My resolution: I will only work out if I feel naturally excited or at least motivated to do so. And to trick my mind, I will incorporate as much “accidental” or “hobby” exercise into my daily life as possible. Take the stairs, walk to the subway, do the vacuum cleaning myself, run to make a light, go dancing. No more blank stares on the treadmill in 2010!

Get more sleep

Healthy eating and sufficient exercise has become almost a question of social status these days. People that live on junk food and are couch potatoes are considered… uncool! That consciousness has not reached the topic of sleep yet, even though it’s been shown that chronic lack of sleep affects our health just as much as if not more than what we eat and how much we move. Lack of sleep results in inflammation, messes with your blood sugar and your heart health. In 2010, I will make sure I get enough sleep on the reg, yes, at the expense of work or exercise!

Keep in touch more

Feeling connected to people is a major source of peace and happiness in life. It’s so easy to become consumed by work and your own life’s chores, so for 2010 I vow to keep in touch more with friends and family. Yes, at the expense of work or exercise!

Keep it simple

This is less concrete but probably my most important resolution. From the clothes I keep to the goals I set, I vow to keep my life simple and free of clutter, literally and metaphorically because simplicity is key to a serene mind, especially when you are about to embark on parenthood.

Let’s touch base in 3 months and see how I fared!

Eating & Drinking / Health & Fitness — No Comments
31
Dec 09

New Decade. New You. New US. – Jill Sung

New Year’s is around the corner, and this time it’s the start of a New Decade. 2010. This past year was a difficult year for almost everyone I know and tons of people I don’t know…so I’m hoping that 2010 will be amazing. Trite, but you know what I mean. It’s a new decade, so it’s a double new beginning this January 1. I guess that means it carries twice the hope a normal new year brings.

I love “hope”. It’s what keeps people going. There’s a million organizations with “hope” in their name. It springs eternal. Hope is in love, religion, relationships, work, and the self….and almost every novel or non-fiction book I’ve ever read speaks of hope to some degree. I read a social science study which found that Americans lead the world in having “hope”! How cool is that? But I digress.

With the hope that the new year brings, comes New Year’s Resolutions. We love to hate them, hate to love them, and can’t live with or without them. (I’ve made resolutions yearly, biannually, monthly, biweekly, weekly…you get the picture. I’m a fixer-upper =) The to do list that keeps on going and never ends. Resolution bunny.) It’s a ritual that almost everyone around the world has performed. Every culture celebrates the new year – maybe not on this date, but it’s celebrated and looked on with hope and wishes for a better something.

Look back, evaluate, learn, look forward, improve, and repeat.

I looked around on the internet and even some top ten lists of resolutions exist. The best list I found is on the usa.gov site (best because it has links to how and why (America has a vast amount of resources we can enjoy)…and who doesn’t want to send health-e-cards?):

All variations of be healthy, live healthy and the golden rule. I thought to try to improve upon this list, since it’s a new decade, but all mine still fit within the be and live healthy, golden rule paradigm, so I figured I’d stick with what seems to work. And I’ve decided for the new decade to also follow the rules on how to stick to resolutions. Write them down, make resolutions with small achievable goals, re-evaluate regularly/daily, post them somewhere you look daily, get other people involved. That’s key – getting other people involved. Enlist help from family and friends. Make meaningful bets with someone with similar goals. Encourage each other. By having them help you, you help them. Community living in whatever community you live in. All of the old adages apply. Then pay it forward.

And although 2009 was a challenging year, I see positive changes all around. Here’s to a great 2010 and beyond!

Health & Fitness / Uncategorized — 2 Comments
20
Dec 09

Are you really drinking enough water?

Water We all know how important it is to drink enough water and to stay hydrated. It’s important for your metabolism, your skin, your brain, your heart, eyes, etc. etc. During pregnancy it’s even more important because you’re creating another human being. Generally it’s recommended that we drink at least 6-8 full glasses of water per day, 8 full glasses during pregnancy. With my generally pretty healthy lifestyle, I’ve been kind of assuming that I was in fact drinking enough water every day. So it came as a complete shock the other day when I had checked into the hospital because of contractions and nausea – I’m 8 months pregnant at this point – and was told that I was dehydrated and needed to be hooked on an IV for rehydration. Dehydrated? Me? This incidence prompted me to consciously take a closer look at how much water I was really drinking in a day. The discovery was sobering…

While I usually started off my day pretty well with a tall glass of warm water with lemon and finished my day with a big mug of herbal tea before bed, it turns out I actually didn’t do so well during the work day, especially when I had a meeting-filled or generally hectic day. On average I drank about 3-4 glasses of water or mugs of herbal tea during the day, not including my before-bed tea. That means I am consuming a total of 5-6 glasses of water on a normal day, and on most days, I am short 2-3 full glasses! Coffee does not count since it’s a diuretic. Well, first of all, when I’m really busy, I’m probably not consciously thinking about whether I could be dehydrated because I’m too amped up getting stuff done. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who forgets drinking enough during a busy day. It’s also very annoying to have to run to the bathroom so often, especially when you’re pregnant. But an even sneakier problem is that most people, including myself, wait to feel somewhat thirsty before they rehydrate. It’s a common misconception that you associate dehydration with thirst. Thirst, however, signals that in fact you have gone past that point already. So I was told after my dehydration incidence that it’s important to not feel thirsty in the first place by drinking water continuously throughout the day, which takes conscious effort and discipline. My doctor at the hospital advised me to keep track of how many glasses I drink throughout the day, either by always having a bottle of water or mug of tea, or by downing a full glass at set times of the day. I combine both approaches and keep track of how many glasses or mugs I finish. The bigger lesson for me though: I can’ take for granted that I am actually following certain healthy habits just because I know what they are and because they seem pretty easy to follow. To me, drinking enough through the day had seemed like the easiest of all healthy habits to follow until I learned the hard way that I wasn’t actually doing it. Same applies to other little things like good posture, proper breathing, minimum exercise, etc. etc. My advice: Take a step back once in a while and take an honest look at the basics your lifestyle.

Learn About Natural Skin Care and Health in JUARA Skincare’s BlogJUARA Skincare founders talk about life, work, and the musings of running a skincare company.