The Beauty Diet (38 page)

Kukui oil comes from the candlenut tree. This rare Hawaiian plant oil is high in essential fatty acids for the maintenance of healthy skin. It is light and nongreasy and easily absorbed by the skin.

Avocado oil lubricates and nourishes the skin and is a rich source of vitamin E. Avocado oil has the highest penetration rate of any plant oil, making it an excellent base for skin preparations. It also is antibacterial.

Soybean oil has long been used in cooking, but lately this oil has grown in popularity for its use in cosmetic applications such as soap, body butter, lip and body balms, face creams and lotions, etc.

Soy butter is another delicious addition for the skin. You can use it alone or mix it in with your concealer. It is a soft material that spreads easily on the skin, making it easier for concealer to glide on.

If your eyes are prone to puffiness, try keeping your concealer and/or creams in the refrigerator. Coolness helps reduce inflammation.

A new lightening powder on the market comes from
Phyllanthus emblica
, or the Indian gooseberry. It is mostly helpful when dealing with hyperpigmentation. It can be added to eye cream or concealer to actually lighten dark circles. Significant lightening has been seen after 8 to 10 weeks of use.

Fitness—if it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body.

—Cher

So far I've shared my best advice for keeping your skin clear and smooth; maintaining your full, luxuriant, shiny hair; nurturing your long, strong, shapely fingernails; protecting your healthy, gleaming smile; and nourishing your bright, sparkling eyes. I've drawn on the latest scientific studies and offered you proven recommendations for enhancing your natural beauty from head to toe. I've provided you with vital information about nutrition, and in the chapter after this one I'll give you specific meal plans that offer an abundance of savory snacks and mouthwatering meals that all make use of my Top 10 Beauty Foods. If you read this book from beginning to end and follow my Beauty Diet, you will
begin to see wonderful changes in your appearance from the inside out, in as little as four weeks.

But adopting nutritional habits that enhance your health and beauty is only one part of the journey. The Beauty Diet would not be complete without mentioning some other aspects of daily life that play an important role in how you look and feel. I'm talking about your willingness to physically challenge your body and your ability to decompress from the various stressors that surround you. So, in addition to telling you about the best foods and nutrients to consume for optimal beauty, I feel it is pertinent to tell you about lifestyle factors that affect your appearance, including physical activities and behaviors that encourage and maintain your attractiveness and health. Here are the best beauty-enhancing lifestyle secrets I've found—and used myself!

As a woman concerned with beauty, you're probably pretty finely attuned to the changes you've seen in your body over the past few years. Maybe your body has adjusted to adult life with a little more sagging—a body your partner describes as "cushy." Maybe you've acquired some dreaded cellulite in areas you never could have imagined. And if these are unhappy thoughts, let your mind wander for a bit to the changes you can't see—changes that impact your overall health. To get the whole package—a boost in confidence, a higher energy level, antiaging benefits, and an all-around healthier and more beautiful body—you absolutely must add exercise to the mix.

In addition to offering various health benefits, exercise improves your posture, balance, and coordination. Being graceful is an
important part of being attractive! Exercise also burns calories, helping you stay slim and beautiful (see "Burning Calories with Exercise"). Bodies require a certain amount of energy to sustain life, but once you've fulfilled that need, the rest is just excess calories that get stored as fat, unless you burn them off. Weight-bearing exercise is particularly important because it builds muscle, and since muscle is the most metabolically active tissue in the body, the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn—even when you are sitting. By helping you stay slim, exercise not only keeps you looking fantastic but also fights obesity and all the health problems associated with it, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

A healthier and more beautiful body is just one dimension of the benefits of exercise. A whole other dimension lies with your state of mind. Exercise can lift your mood and is a great way to manage stress. Research has shown that exercise elevates levels of serotonin (a brain chemical responsible for feelings of calmness and relaxation) to provide an instant lift. Just 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise—done at 60 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate—has been shown to significantly improve both mood and energy levels. Exercise also stimulates endorphins, other neurotransmitters that provide natural pain relief and make you feel good all over.

The number of calories you burn during different activities depends on several factors, including your weight and how long and vigorously you exercise. Following are some figures for someone who weighs 150 pounds and spends 20 minutes on various activities. Note: these numbers should be used as rough estimates because technique can vary widely.

Data calculated on bodybuilding.com
.

Exercise doesn't have to mean endless hours of pain and boredom. In fact, it can be fun! It's
your
workout, so your job is to personalize it just as you would your home décor or your wedding. Following are some forms of exercise that I feel best promote beauty
and
satisfy the desire to have fun.

There are so many kinds of dancing that one of them is sure to suit you. Bellydancing? Irish dancing? Modern dance? Ballet? Jazz? Ballroom dancing has become increasingly popular with my favorite TV show "Dancing with the Stars"!

Wherever there's music, there's dancing. Take your dancing up a notch and you'll burn calories, tone your muscles, improve your circulation, and boost your mood and energy level. Dancing can increase your strength, endurance, and flexibility, plus it relieves stress and lets you be creative.

Dancing can be as convenient and affordable as you want it to be. You can sign up for private ballroom dance lessons (I take lessons with my husband, David) or just put on your favorite CD and boogie.

You'll get cardiovascular benefits from dancing three times a week for 20 minutes. If you goal is to lose weight, you'll need to stay on your toes a little longer. There are many different
ways to dance your way to fitness, so to make it fun, pick more than one.

Over the past 10 years, yoga and tai chi have established their own growing sector of the fitness world called
mindful exercise
. These forms of exercise are so wildly popular that they're often on the daily schedules at fitness centers. The reason so many women can be seen sporting their own yoga mats and shoulder bags on any given Saturday is that these are exercises that work your body while relaxing your mind.