Tag Archives: healthy life

Diabetes and your body

November 19, 2018 lleteam 1 Comment

When you hear the word “diabetes,” your first thought is likely about high blood sugar. Blood sugar is an often-underestimated component of your health. When it’s out of whack over a long period of time, it could develop into diabetes. Diabetes affects your body’s ability to produce or use insulin, a hormone that allows your body to turn glucose (sugar) into energy. Here’s what symptoms may occur to your body when diabetes takes effect.

Diabetes can be effectively managed when caught early. However, when left untreated, it can lead to potential complications that include heart disease, stroke, kidney damage, and nerve damage.

Normally after you eat or drink, your body will break down sugars from your food and use them for energy in your cells. To accomplish this, your pancreas needs to produce a hormone called insulin. Insulin is what facilitates the process of pulling sugar from the blood and putting it in the cells for use, or energy.

If you have diabetes, your pancreas either produces too little insulin or none at all. The insulin can’t be used effectively. This allows blood glucose levels to rise while the rest of your cells are deprived of much-needed energy. This can lead to a wide variety of problems affecting nearly every major body system.

Types of diabetes

The effects of diabetes on your body also depends on the type you have. There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 – also called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is an immune system disorder. Your own immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, destroying your body’s ability to make insulin. With type 1 diabetes, you must take insulin to live. Most people are diagnosed as a child or young adult.

Type 2 – is related to insulin resistance. It used to occur in older populations, but now more and more younger populations are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This is a result of poor lifestyle, dietary, and exercise habits.

With type 2 diabetes, your pancreas stops using insulin effectively. This causes issues with being able to pull sugar from the blood and put it into the cells for energy. Eventually, this can lead to the need for insulin medication.

Earlier phases like prediabetes may be effectively managed with diet, exercise, and careful monitoring of blood sugars. This can also prevent the full development of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes can be controlled. In some cases it can even go into remission if proper lifestyle changes are made.

Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that develops during pregnancy. Most of the time, you can control gestational diabetes through diet and exercise. It also typically resolves after the baby is delivered. Gestational diabetes can increase your risk for complications during pregnancy. It can also increase risk of type 2 diabetes development later in life for both mother and child.

Endocrine, excretory, and digestive systems

If your pancreas produces little or no insulin – or if your body can’t use it – alternate hormones are used to turn fat into energy. This can create high levels of toxic chemicals, including acids and ketone bodies, which may lead to a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. This is a serious complication of the disease. Symptoms include extreme thirst, excessive urination, and fatigue.

Your breath may have a sweet scent that’s caused by the elevated levels of ketone bodies in the blood. High blood sugar levels and excess ketones in your urine can confirm diabetic ketoacidosis. If untreated, this condition can lead to loss of consciousness or even death.

Diabetic hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS) occurs in type 2 diabetes. It involves very high blood glucose levels but no ketones. You might become dehydrated with this condition. You may even lose consciousness. HHS is most common in people whose diabetes is undiagnosed or who haven’t been able to control their diabetes. It can also be caused by a heart attack, stroke, or infection.

High blood glucose levels may cause gastroparesis — when it’s hard for your stomach to completely empty. This delay can cause blood glucose levels to rise. As a result, you may also experience nausea, vomiting, bloating, and heartburn.

Kidney damage

Diabetes can also damage your kidneys and affect their ability to filter waste products from your blood. If your doctor detects microalbuminuria, or elevated amounts of protein in your urine, it could be a sign that your kidneys aren’t functioning properly.

Kidney disease related to diabetes is called diabetic nephropathy. This condition doesn’t show symptoms until its later stages. If you have diabetes, your doctor will evaluate you for nephropathy to help prevent irreversible kidney damage or kidney failure.

Circulatory system

Diabetes raises your risk of developing high blood pressure, which puts further strain on your heart. When you have high blood glucose levels, this can contribute to the formation of fatty deposits in blood vessel walls. Over time, it can restrict blood flow and increase the risk of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the blood vessels.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, diabetes doubles your risk of heart disease and stroke. In addition to monitoring and controlling your blood glucose, good eating habits and regular exercise can help lower the risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

You should also consider quitting smoking if you’re at risk for diabetes. Diabetes and smoking are a very bad mix. It increases your risk for cardiovascular problems and restricted blood flow.

Lack of blood flow can eventually affect your hands and feet and cause pain while you’re walking. This is called intermittent claudication. The narrowed blood vessels in your legs and feet may also cause problems in those areas. For example, your feet may feel cold or you may be unable to feel heat due to lack of sensation. This condition is known as peripheral neuropathy, which is a type of diabetic neuropathy that causes decreased sensation in the extremities. It’s particularly dangerous because it may prevent you from noticing an injury or infection.

Diabetes also increases your risk of developing infections or ulcers of the foot. Poor blood flow and nerve damage increases the likelihood of having a foot or leg amputated. If you have diabetes, it’s critical that you take good care of your feet and inspect them often.

Integumentary system

Diabetes can also affect your skin, the largest organ of your body. Along with dehydration, your body’s lack of moisture due to high blood sugar can cause the skin on your feet to dry and crack. It’s important to completely dry your feet after bathing or swimming. You can use petroleum jelly or gentle creams, but avoid letting these areas become too moist.

Moist, warm folds in the skin are susceptible to fungal, bacterial, or yeast infections. These tend to develop between fingers and toes, the groin, armpits, or in the corners of your mouth. Symptoms include redness, blistering, and itchiness.

High-pressure spots under your foot can lead to calluses. These can become infected or develop ulcers. If you do get an ulcer, see your doctor immediately to lower the risk of losing your foot. You may also be more prone to boils, folliculitis (infection of the hair follicles), sties, and infected nails.

Unmanaged diabetes can also lead to three skin conditions:

eruptive xanthomatosis, which causes hard yellow bumps with a red ring
digital sclerosis, which causes thick skin, most often on the hands or feet
diabetic dermopathy, which can cause brown patches on the skin

For diabetic dermopathy, there’s no cause for concern and no treatment is necessary.

These skin conditions usually clear up when you get your blood sugar under control.

Central nervous system

Diabetes causes diabetic neuropathy, or damage to the nerves. This can affect your perception of heat, cold, and pain. It can also make you more susceptible to injury. The chances that you won’t notice these injuries and let them develop into serious infections or conditions increases, too.

Diabetes can also lead to swollen, leaky blood vessels in the eye, called diabetic retinopathy. This can damage your vision. It may even lead to blindness. Symptoms of eye trouble can be mild at first, so it’s important to see your eye doctor regularly.

Reproductive system

The changing hormones during pregnancy can cause gestational diabetes and, in turn, increases your risk of high blood pressure. There are two types of high blood pressure conditions for pregnant women to watch out for, preeclampsia or eclampsia.

In most cases, gestational diabetes is easily controlled and glucose levels return to normal after the baby is born. Symptoms are similar to other types of diabetes, but may also include repeated infections affecting the vagina and bladder.

If you develop gestational diabetes, your baby may have a higher birth weight. This can make delivery more complicated. You’re also at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes several years following your baby’s delivery.

How Do I Manage My Blood Sugar When I’m Sick?

What Should I Eat? When Should I Call the Doctor?

When you have diabetes, sick days often mean more than a runny nose and sneezing. An illness like a cold, the flu, or any condition that makes you throw up or gives you diarrhea can also boost your blood sugar. So can an infection.

That means you have to stay on top of your blood sugar levels. Here are some guidelines:

Check your blood sugar every 4 hours;
Test for ketones if you have type 1 diabetes and your sugar level is above 240mg/dL — or if your doctor tells you to. Ketones are a form of waste that people with type 1 make when they’re under stress (like an illness). Call the doctor if you find ketones in your urine. Depending on how sick you are, he may suggest you go to the emergency room;
Check your temperature regularly;
Drink liquids if you can’t keep solid food down. Have one cup of liquid every hour while you’re awake to prevent dehydration. If you can’t hold down liquids, you may need to go to the emergency room or hospital;
Don’t stop taking insulin, even if you can’t eat solid food. You may need to eat or drink something with sugar so that your blood sugar doesn’t drop too low;
You may need to stop taking medicines by mouth for type 2 diabetes while you’re sick. Check with your doctor if you’re not sure what to do;
If you need an over-the-counter drug to control symptoms like cough and nasal congestion, ask your doctor or pharmacist for a list of sugar-free products.

What Should I Eat?

Eat or drink 30 to 50 grams of carbohydrates every 3 to 4 hours. That will keep your body nourished, stop if from making ketones, and prevent your blood sugar from dropping too low.

If you’re having trouble eating, try bland foods like the ones listed below. Each equals one carbohydrate choice.

1 cup clear soup or broth
1/2 cup regular gelatin
1/2 cup regular soft drink, like 7-up or Sprite
1/2 Popsicle
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup apple juice
1/2 cup sports drink, like Gatorade
Choose calorie-free liquids like water and 1/2 cup of broth or bouillon.

When Should I Call the Doctor?

Contact the doctor’s office if:

Your blood sugar stays higher than 180 mg/dL or lower than 70 mg/dL;
You can’t keep liquids or solids down;
You have a temperature over 101 F;
You have diarrhea or are vomiting.

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Health

Body Mass Index (BMI)

November 18, 2018 lleteam 1 Comment

Maintaining a healthy body weight can protect you from a variety of illnesses. By assessing your body’s healthy weight and maintaining it as much as possible, you will be armed with an additional tool to stay in shape!

In order to reach optimum health, it is recommended that you calculate your healthy body weight using the Body Mass Index (BMI) in combination with your waist circumference.

Calculation method

To calculate your BMI, you must divide your weight in kilograms by your height in square metres. Let’s take the example of a person weighing 68 kg and measuring 1.65 metres tall:

Weight (kg) ÷ height (m)2 = 68 kg ÷ (1.65 m)2 = 24.97

Thus, this person has a BMI of 25.

To calculate your waist circumference, you must measure your abdomen at hip height with a tape measure.

Optimal BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.9 if you do not have any other conditions that influence the results (for example, if you are pregnant). Your waist circumference should be approximately 80 cm for women and 94 cm for men.

Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight can be beneficial to you in the long term. Below are some of the benefits of maintaining a healthy weight:

Reducing the risk of heart disease;
Reducing the risk of stroke;
Reducing the risks of developing some forms of cancer;
Controlling non-insulin dependent diabetes;
Relieving back and joint tension;
Increasing energy levels;
Optimizing the immune system;
Reducing the risks of osteoporosis;
Reducing infertility risks;
Reducing the risk of anaemia;
Having more self-esteem;
Increasing energy and welfare levels.

Below are several tips to help you maintain a healthy weight:

Make educated food choices. Avoid foods that contain sugar, fats and high calorie levels.
Eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.
Practise physical activity at least 3 times a week. Walk rather than taking the car whenever possible. Use stairs rather than taking the elevator, etc.
Introduce good lifestyle habits, such as drinking lots of water, getting enough sleep, etc.
Limit your alcohol consumption.
Weigh yourself on a regular basis using a bathroom scale on a flat surface, preferably at the same time of day and without clothing.

Here’s why BMI may not matter

It’s important to recognize that BMI itself is not measuring “health” or a physiological state (such as resting blood pressure) that indicates the presence (or absence) of disease. It is simply a measure of your size. Plenty of people have a high or low BMI and are healthy and, conversely, plenty of folks with a normal BMI are unhealthy. In fact, a person with a normal BMI who smokes and has a strong family history of cardiovascular disease may have a higher riskof early cardiovascular death than someone who has a high BMI but is a physically fit non-smoker.

And then there is the “obesity paradox.” Some studies have found that despite the fact that the risk of certain diseases increases with rising BMI, people actually tend to live longer, on average, if their BMI is a bit on the higher side.

Should we stop giving so much “weight” to BMI ?

That’s exactly what’s being asked in the discussion generated by a new study. For this study, researchers looked at how good the BMI was as a single measure of cardiovascular health and found that it wasn’t very good at all:

Nearly half of those considered overweight by BMI had a healthy “cardiometabolic profile,” including a normal blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.
About a third of people with normal BMI measures had an unhealthy cardiometabolic profile.

The authors bemoaned the “inaccuracy” of the BMI. They claim it translates into mislabeling millions of people as unhealthy and also overlooking millions of others who are actually unhealthy, but are considered “healthy” by BMI alone.

Actually, this should come as no surprise. BMI, as a single measure, would not be expected to identify cardiovascular health or illness; the same is true for cholesterol, blood sugar, or blood pressure as a single measure. And while cardiovascular health is important, it’s not the only measure of health! For example, this study did not consider conditions that might also be relevant to an individual with an elevated BMI, such as liver disease or arthritis.

Bottom line

As a single measure, BMI is clearly not a perfect measure of health. But it’s still a useful starting point for important conditions that become more likely when a person is overweight or obese. It’s a good idea to know your BMI but it’s also important to recognize its limitations.

after all…

Once we learn about all the benefits to be had from reaching a healthy weight, we understand the importance of adopting measures to avoid obesity, as much among children and adolescents as among adults. If you feel you could stand to lose some weight or are concerned about the effects that excess weight could have on your health, speak to your pharmacist or doctor.

You can also call upon the expertise of other professionals, such as a nutritionist, to help you establish an action plan to maintain your healthy weight.

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Fad diet helps you to lose weight faster

Logic

Fad diets are comprised of only 800 to 1000 calories which is difficult to follow. It has many adverse effects in the long run. One should always avoid this kind of diet.

Fact

Fad diet is that kind of weight loss diet which actually results in weight gain

Fad Diets

There are many different diets that promote weight loss. Unfortunately, not all diets help you over time. Learn how to identify a fad diet.

What are fad diets?

Hundreds of diets are being promoted as the best approach to losing weight. Unfortunately, many of these diets involve eliminating foods that contain necessary nutrients. Some diets even cut entire food groups. These are fad diets.

For example, fad diets may include those that are fat-free, very-low-carbohydrate, or high protein. Some fad diets focus on a particular food, such as grapefruit or cabbage. Some have you eliminate certain foods at specific times of the day. Others allow you certain foods, as long as you eat them along with certain other foods.

Many of these diets may lack major nutrients, such as dietary fiber and carbohydrates, as well as selected vitamins, minerals, and protective phytochemicals. By not receiving the proper amounts of these nutrients, you can develop serious health problems later in life.

For the food groups that these diets do permit, the amounts are either well above or well below those recommended by major health organizations like the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — as well as the Surgeon General and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Common claims these diets make include blaming particular hormones for weight gain, suggesting that food can change body chemistry. Or they may hype or ban a particular food.

However, all have one thing in common: a temporary solution to what for many people is a lifelong problem. Once the diet is stopped, the lost weight is usually regained quickly, since none of the diets teach behavior modification (changing how you eat).

How do I spot a fad diet?

While there is no set approach to spotting a fad diet, the following guidelines can help. Fad diets tend to have:

Recommendations that promise a quick fix.
Claims that sound too good to be true.
Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study.
Recommendations based on a single study.
Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations.
Lists of “good” and “bad” foods.
Recommendations made to help sell a product.
Recommendations based on studies published without peer review.
Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups.
Elimination of one or more of the five food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy).

What is still the best method to lose weight and keep it off? Exercise regularly and eat a variety of foods with moderate portions dear LLET friend.

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Health

Weight – Maintain it, Don’t Gain!

November 17, 2018 lleteam 1 Comment

Maintaining a healthy weight is important for health. In addition to lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure, it can also lower the risk of many different cancers.

Move more, eat less. Turning off the television and skipping the sugary drinks are two ways to get started.

Your weight, your waist size, and the amount of weight gained since your mid-20s can have serious health implications. These factors can strongly influence your chances of developing the following diseases and conditions:

Cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke
Diabetes
Cancer
Arthritis
Gallstones
Asthma
Cataracts
Infertility
Snoring
Sleep apnea

If your weight is in the healthy range and isn’t more than 10 pounds over what you weighed when you turned 21, focus on maintaining that weight by watching what you eat and exercising.

Because most adults between the ages of 18 and 49 gain 1-2 pounds each year, stopping and preventing weight gain should be a priority. Gaining weight as you age increases the chances of developing one or more chronic diseases.

Middle-aged women and men who gained 11 to 22 pounds after age 20 were up to three times more likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and gallstones than those who gained five pounds or fewer.

Those who gained more than 22 pounds had an even larger risk of developing these diseases.

Another analysis found that adult weight gain – even after menopause – can increase the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Encouragingly, for women who had never used hormone replacement therapy, losing weight after menopause – and keeping it off – cut their risk of post-menopausal breast cancer in half.

Does Being Overweight Reduce Mortality?

You may have seen news coverage of a study claiming that being overweight and obese may reduce mortality but a panel of experts discussed why the general public should not rely on these flawed study findings.

The main flaw of this study is that the normal weight group, which showed an increased mortality risk compared to the overweight group, included more heavy smokers, patients with cancer or other diseases that cause weight loss, and elderly people suffering from frailty. There was no distinction made between these unhealthy normal weight people and lean healthy individuals. The overweight and obese groups did appear to have a lower mortality rate than this mix of healthy and very unhealthy normal weighted individuals, and this flaw led to false conclusions that overweight and grade 1 obesity carry no risk and may offer reduced mortality.

What Causes Weight Gain?

Diet: The quantity and quality of food in your diet has a strong impact on weight.
Genes: Some people are genetically predisposed to gain weight more easily than others or to store fat around the midsection.

Genes do not have to become destiny, however, and studies suggest that eating a healthy diet, staying active, and avoiding unhealthy habits like drinking soda can prevent the genetic predisposition to risk for obesity.

Physical inactivity: Exercising has a host of health benefits, including reducing the chances of developing heart disease, some types of cancer, and other chronic diseases. Physical activity is a key element of weight control and health.
Sleep: Research suggests that there’s a link between how much people sleep and how much they weigh. In general, children and adults who get too little sleep tend to weigh more than those who get enough sleep.

For example, in one Study researchers followed roughly 60,000 women for 16 years. At the start of the study, all of the women were healthy, and none were obese; 16 years later, women who slept 5 hours or less per night had a 15 percent higher risk of becoming obese, compared to women who slept 7 hours per night. Short sleepers also had 30 percent higher risk of gaining 30 pounds over the course of the study, compared to women who got 7 hours of sleep per night.

There are several possible ways that sleep deprivation could increase the chances of becoming obese.

Sleep-deprived people may be too tired to exercise, decreasing the “calories burned” side of the weight-change equation.
People who don’t get enough sleep may take in more calories than those who do, simply because they are awake longer and have more opportunities to eat.
Lack of sleep also disrupts the balance of key hormones that control appetite, so sleep-deprived people may be hungrier than those who get enough rest each night.

What You Can Do?

Maintaining a healthy weight is not always easy. The key to success is making changes in daily eating and physical activity habits that can be maintained over one’s lifetime.

Our weight is a result of the combination of the energy one takes in (through foods and beverages) and the energy their body uses (through engaging in physical activity). To lose weight, an individual needs to use more calories than they consume. To maintain a healthy weight, one needs to balance the calories they use with those they take in. Some ways to create a caloric deficit are:

Spend less time in sedentary activities (e.g., watching television, internet surfing)
Engage in daily physical activities (e.g., walking, bicycling, gardening, housework)
Eat more fruits and vegetables and reduce food portion sizes.

An interesting study has highlighted gender difference amongst people trying to reach their ideal body weight. According to a study, women tend to consider ideal weight for their height and age lesser than what is medically recommended. This forces them to resort to yo-yo diets to achieve their target. On the other hand, men tend to lean towards the higher range, and to achieve that they work on building more muscle through supplements or a high protein diet.

You can get your ideal body weight that is specific to your age, body type and lifestyle without having to starve yourself by following the balanced healthy diet and regular workout.

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Health

Good Health – The most important thing in Life

November 17, 2018 lleteam 1 Comment

Health is not valued till sickness comes.

You appreciate the real value of your health only after it’s lost. In its absence, when you fight the never-ending health problems, you understand how tough life can be without it. Realizing this, every time you get sick you act out of fear so that things don’t get worse. Yet, as soon as you get well, most often, you stop maintaining your health. This brings up the question: Why don’t you realize the importance of health maintenance, in living a good life, before your health is worsening?

If you don’t understand this simple concept, your body won’t protect your health at its full potential. As a result, your body will be prone to develop all kinds of pains in the joints, back, legs, etc, which will make your life even harder. Unfortunately, suffering from body aches is not an enjoyable living.

The good news is that there is an alternative.

You could eat healthier, exercise, and remove the bad habits out of your lifestyle, which would maintain your health strong. This kind of lifestyle will prevent your health from the sicknesses of tomorrow.

Healthy living is a lifestyle, not a short-term goal

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not easy when you have a day job, a family, or both.

It adds up so many tasks on your part that you hardly find time for yourself. By the end of the day, when the working day is over and kids are sleeping, you can finally have some rest and watch TV.

In your gut, you feel that you need to live healthier, but you don’t know how.

Despite the lack of time, you decide to go on a two-week diet and, after that, you plan to attend the gym for another 3 months. This should bring your body in good shape by summer, but it is not enough to keep you healthy for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, the two-week diet and the three-month exercising program are not enough to say that you follow a healthy lifestyle.

To follow a healthy lifestyle, the first thing you need to do is to give up on bad habits. From there, you’ll gain more willpower to exercise and eat healthier.

Healthy living prevents disorder in life

Life is an ongoing process that impacts important aspects of it. If you don’t control these changes, life gradually declines into disorder.

Your health is also under continuous change and if you don’t keep it under control, it may gradually worsen.

Let’s take the human body, as an example. As it ages, the hair grays out, the skin loses its elasticity, wrinkles appear on the face, health slows down, etc. These changes become noticeable as you grow and are a sign that your health requires your attention.

Healthy living slows down the decline of your health into disorder. It provides a living with fewer health-related sufferings. It improves self-confidence and self-esteem. And it feels good when you can enjoy life.

You have complete control over your lifestyle

Your health is the gift given to you at birth. You choose how to spend it. Will you have it burn fast? Or, let your health serve you as long as possible?

You have total control over your lifestyle and the kind of lifestyle you live has a certain impact on your health.

The ability to control your health by tweaking your lifestyle is the distinctive aspect of health. You don’t have such control in other aspects of your life.

For example.

Relationships: you can’t have somebody involve in a relationship with you if that person doesn’t feel anything for you. You can’t have control over someone’s feelings.
Money making: to improve your financial status you need to have skills that you can sell. It takes years to gain skills but in the end, the customer decides whom to hire.
In sport: if you want to become a champion in karate you must beat your opponent. Unfortunately, if you don’t have control over your opponent’s training process to be able to influence it somehow.

The man who earns a million but destroys his health in the process is not really a success. Our health is something we often take for granted. But, there are some things in life that should never be taken for granted.

Take care of yourself dear LLET friend … It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver !!!

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Cosmetics

What beauty means to us?

November 16, 2018 lleteam 1 Comment

Scientists are still trying to figure out what beauty means to people and to figure out what makes things and people beautiful. In some ways, it’s like asking whether your vision of “red” is the same as someone else’s — there’s just no way to know for sure.

Still, there’s plenty to explore in neuroscience and psychology when it comes to what people find beautiful, to what extent people see beauty in themselves, and what role beauty plays in society.

Beauty and the brain

Regardless of culture, there appear to be certain patterns of brain activity associated with viewing something you find beautiful.

The only factor common to all that people find beautiful in art and music is activity in the brain’s medial orbital frontal cortex, part of the reward and pleasure center of the brain.

There are cultural trends in what in art and music people find beautiful — for instance, there’s a Japanese preference for asymmetry, compared to a Western ideal of symmetry. This does not apply to faces, however, as it seems that universally people prefer symmetrical faces.

It’s also not well understood why people adapt to certain objects of beauty after many exposures, but not others. For instance, you might be bored of a pop song after a few listens, but listen to an opera dozens of times, over a period of years, and still feel emotional about it. Or perhaps there’s a painting that you’ve always admired, whereas another painting loses its splendor after a few viewings.

That makes sense, since we see every single blemish in ourselves, whereas there are plenty of people we consider beautiful to whom we don’t get close enough to examine all the little flaws. Perception of beauty may weaken when we do start to recognize those defects.

Brain imaging has been done with facial beauty, too. Self-evaluation of one’s own facial attractiveness may be related to self-esteem, based on common patterns of brain activity.

Beauty in the face

When it comes to facial attractiveness, there are reasons to believe that specific features and biologically based factors guide our assessment of beauty.

Faces that are more symmetrical and average-looking tend to be rated as more attractive in scientific studies. Symmetry in particular has been studied extensively, not only in the Western World but also in hunter-gatherer cultures removed from mainstream media. The Hadza of Tanzania, a remote group of hunter-gatherers, showed a stronger preference for symmetry than people in the United Kingdom. Men who were more often deemed good hunters especially liked symmetry in female faces. And Hadza women like symmetry in men’s faces even more when they were pregnant or nursing, periods when they may be extra cautious about foods and disease harmful to a child.

In fact, even babies respond more positively to attractive, symmetrical faces. But babies appear to respond more to faces deemed attractive than those that are purely symmetrical, suggesting there’s something else going on.

There are theories that specific proportions are the most naturally beautiful, with ratios of length and width being important.

And with the help of computers, it has become apparent that morphing a lot of faces together typically produces an end product that is highly attractive. The reasoning goes that this blending gets closer to the face “prototype” that may underline attractiveness — the ultimate idea of a face is the most average one.

So it may be that babies are drawn to faces that are most like the most basic concept of a face — that is, they are average.

Why should that matter? The theory goes that symmetrical features may be markers of genetic quality. Human ancestors evolved to find mates that would pass on good genes to offspring, so they would naturally be repelled by traits that would be detrimental to survival or indicators of poor health.

One study found that people with asymmetrical faces tended to come from more difficult and deprived childhoods than those with more symmetrical features. It appears that adversity in childhood is associated with facial features that are not perfectly aligned and matching, although there’s no proof that one of these phenomena causes the other.

And the kind of man that women are attracted to can vary according to phases of the ovulation cycle. Studies showed that during periods of high fertility, women are more drawn to more rugged, dominant-looking men. Subconsciously they may be perceiving beauty in accordance with evolutionary forces, since dominance can indicate genetic fitness. Incidentally, women also buy sexier clothes when they are most fertile.

A recent study found that women are most attracted to men with the strongest immune systems, which were associated with higher testosterone levels. But that was complicated in men who had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggesting that women may find stressed-out men less attractive.

Beauty also plays a role in friendship. Research has shown that women tend to have friends of similar attractiveness. These scientists found that, both in terms of one’s own perceptions of beauty and that of independent judges, a woman’s attractiveness correlates well with her friends’ attractiveness. And, if you’re a woman who’s the less attractive one in a friendship pair, you’re also more likely to view your more attractive friend as a mating rival. But this is a small study, and more research should be done to back up these conclusions.

Beauty in yourself

Sometimes people hook their self-worth on their appearance, tying beauty to their perception of themselves. We compare how we think we look to how other people look, and we make a decision about whether we’re much better or much worse.

That comparison can have negative or positive emotional and psychological consequences.

There’s scientific evidence to suggest that ideas about the importance of one’s own beauty get formulated in childhood. Parents give a certain level of praise to their children for their appearance, vs. the amount of effort they put into tasks and the activities they’re good at. Little girls in child beauty contests, for instance, receive the feedback that their appearance is highly valued. You can imagine that sets the stage for people to think about themselves in terms of appearance or abilities.

And when it comes to assessing beauty, many people are their own worst critics. Sometimes there’s a particular body part that becomes a focus of self-loathing.

It’s still socially unacceptable to say things to others that we would say to ourselves. We don’t filter our judgments of ourselves in the same way that we filter judgments of others.

When taken to the extreme, obsession over a particular aspect of one’s appearance has a psychiatric diagnosis: body dysmorphic disorder. It’s the reason some people get dozens of plastic surgeries, but are never satisfied with the outcomes.

On the flip side, you can view your body as a source of power — for instance, after running a first 5 kilometer race or even marathon, some people feel proud of what their bodies can do.

Beauty as power

Studies have shown that people who are perceived as being more attractive also appear more competent and successful. There’s presumably a strong cultural and learned dimension to all of these effects.

Other research has shown that physical attractiveness can also influence salary.

The legal system may even take beauty into account – a variety of studies have found effects suggesting that attractiveness helps when it comes to verdicts and sentencing. It may be that attractive people are less likely to commit crimes as serious as unattractive people, or that there is a societal view that pretty people are “good” and wouldn’t do bad things.

Or we can divide perception of beauty into three things: contributing factors from genetics, grooming and how people reacted to your appearance in early life. Early experiences of being the apple of your mother or father’s eye goes a very long way about how you feel about your own looks. But if your parent became more critical of you when you became less “cute,” you might feel less attractive.

There must be something more than just other peoples’ good favor for looks going on, since there are professional models with low self-image.

For models, there are unrealistic expectations of beauty all around — not only in magazines and television. The ones who do well are those who don’t assume they have to be perfect to be beautiful.

There’s a process that everyone goes through at some point, no matter how much or little you value your looks. The good looks of youth change, and no longer match your vision of yourself. But when you’re in a marriage or long-term partnership, you’re not actively having to worry about being beautiful to attract a new mate.

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Cosmetics

Why do women wear makeup?

November 16, 2018 lleteam 1 Comment

From the soot-rimmed eyes of the ancient Egyptians to the lead paint worn by the Elizabethans, women and girls have experimented with cosmetics throughout history. Indeed, according to the Roman playwright Plautus, “a woman without paint is like food without salt”. Shakespeare’s Hamlet was less keen but just as rude, telling Ophelia: “I’ve heard all about you women and your cosmetics too. God gives you one face, but you paint another on top of it…”.

So is makeup necessary seasoning, a conniving ploy by manipulative sexpots, or neither? Ask a group of women why they wear makeup and you’ll receive myriad responses. Some will say it makes them feel more confident, that they don’t feel completely “done” without it; others will say they love experimenting with looks and colours as a way of expressing themselves, that there’s a fun, theatrical element to face paint that allows them to channel different personalities and aesthetics.

But just as there are women and girls who wear makeup completely for themselves, there are those who wear makeup for the perceived benefit of others, or who feel as though they are unacceptable without it. Makeup can be a mask you hide behind that gets you ready to face the world, or something you deploy as a weapon – to attract a partner, to intimidate, shock and amaze. It is used as part of religious or cultural rituals, or to align yourself with a subculture. It can mask your insecurities or be used to enhance the bits you love the most.

Makeup is so ubiquitous in our society that for a woman to go without it has become, in some cases, a statement – the “no makeup selfie” being a case in point. Makeup is especilly important for female celebrities that you can find on covers of many fashion magazines. Some will say there’s a fun, theatrical element to face paint that allows them to channel different personalities and aesthetics.

Women receive messages from an early age that encourage us to believe that one of our primary functions is to be decorative and therefore appealing to men. Go into any newsagent and you’ll see little girls’ magazines that come with free gifts of lipgloss and nail varnish. Parents buy their daughters strange, disembodied dolls’ heads to practise on. The Disney princesses so many little girls model themselves on wear eyeliner, mascara and eyeshadow, and have perfectly plucked eyebrows. Considering the extent to which makeup is viewed as a process of adornment used for attracting a mate, to foist it upon girls so young is arguably more than a little creepy.

Evolutionary psychologists have it that, as with so many things, makeup comes down to sex. Women tend to have darker eyes and lips than men, and makeup enhances those sex differences. Furthermore, the desirable qualities a man looks for in a woman – largely related to reproductive fitness – are said to be amplified by makeup. Beauty ideals vary from culture to culture, but there are some universal markers of attractiveness. Facial symmetry and an even skin tone imply good health, while youthfulness denotes fertility. Plump lips and flushed cheeks, meanwhile, are signs of sexual arousal, so your scarlet lipstick and pink blusher might just be giving that random man in the bar the subconscious signal that you’re ready for a night of passion.

Cosmetics companies often rely on women’s insecurities – inculcated through years of exposure to images of physical perfection in mainstream media – in order to sell products, operating on the basis of “maybe she’s born with it, but probably not, so buy this concealer”. Its function as a means for covering up unwanted flaws or “unsightly” blemishes is hammered into us again and again. Many women spend hundreds of pounds each year on cosmetics, and as many minutes worrying about the way we look.

When the vision of beauty you are presented with is largely homogeneous, it’s only natural that you might resort to makeup as an attempt to “blend in” or to “pass”. But, as often with trappings of femininity, you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Studies repeatedly tell us that men are more attracted to women who wear makeup.

Perhaps, then, when it comes to makeup, we are our own worst enemies, believing that the world wants to see us in a certain way when in actual fact we’re fine the way we are. Why do women wear makeup? You could say it’s a pinch of patriarchy, a dusting of sex, a smattering of fun, and a whole, caked-on layer of misplaced insecurity.

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