Archive for October, 2007

Vitamin C is Good for Skin Care

Recent studies confirmed that vitamin C and its derivatives used in manufacturing skin care products can truly enhance the quality of skin in a few different ways. Vitamin C has anti-oxidant property which confirms its ability to fight against free radicals that are directly associated with ageing process and its apparent symptoms. Free radicals in particular refer to unstable molecule that can profoundly contribute to different symptoms associated with ageing. This article explores different essential qualities and functions of vitamin C for skin care.

Functions of Vitamin C

Vitamin C effectively protects our skin against free radicals. We develop free radicals due to exposure into sun, environmental pollution and cigarette smoking. Vitamin C promotes the production of collagen in the skin. Collagen refers to an important protein element that is essential for our skin’s firmness. So, as we can see, vitamin C encourages the production of collagen, and collagen is effective for skin toning. Thus we can easily understand how important vitamin C for skin care is.

In fact, when collagen is not produced in sufficient amount, that means, there is a deficiency in vitamin C in the body. It makes the skin starts becoming dull and gradually it will lose all its liveliness. Collagen plays a significant role in developing and maintaining connective tissues in the body. As vitamin C promotes the development of collagen, it means that it is essential to make your diet rich in vitamin C for skin care. It helps you to achieve a better skin all over. It definitely rejuvenates your skin from deep-root level and it reduces the wrinkles, one of the significant symptoms of ageing.

Availability of Vitamin C

In order to take the advantages of vitamin C for skin care, you need to make your diet full of citrus fruits like strawberries, kiwi and cantaloupe. There are plenty of vegetables that offer high amount of vitamin C such as cabbages, green peppers, broccoli, and spinach. It is always recommended that you should have plenty of these foods in your regular diet. However, if you are really serious about considering vitamin C for skin care, you may need to depend on vitamin C supplement as well, because our body does not posses the ability to produce vitamin C on its own.

Vitamin C for Skin Care

There are really a bunch of reasons that may compel you to make your diet rich in vitamin C for skin care program. But that does not mean that you eat a bag full of oranges every day. It does not necessarily bring about the skin you are longing for. To have a healthy skin and to make its glow visible to the outside world, it is a must that you need to organize your diet in such a fashion that it contains a healthy balance between different useful nutrients including vitamin C for skin care.

However, it is not so easy to implement especially when we search for the components to include for preparing skin care products for external use. Recent scientific studies have found the different derivatives of vitamin C for skin care products, which essentially offer almost the same advantages as natural vitamin C does with less consumption of ingredients particularly needed for the desired output.

There are plenty of beauty products available in the market that claim to contain vitamin C. Most of these beauty products offer skin care in terms of providing increasing protection against harmful ultra-violet rays. Some of these products are effective in increasing the production of collagen. Products rich with vitamin C have the ability to offer support against fine lines and pigmentations that are vital symptoms of ageing. However, one should not use them drastically prior taking advice from expert health practitioner. It’s the health practitioners, especially dermatologist who can guide you about using specific product depending on your skin type and quality.
About the Author: Dr John Anne is an herbal specialist with years of experience and extensive research on herbs and alternative health. If you are looking for more information, read about Vitamin C Benefits and Vitamins Overdose. Visit http://www.healthvitaminsguide.com for useful Information on Vitamins, Minerals and Amino Acids
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

How to Beat the High Cost of Dental Insurance

The cost of dental insurance has gone through the roof in recent years. It’s now a proven statistic that approximately 70% of American have no dental coverage at all because of this. However, the most disturbing thing about this is that most dental insurance plans really don’t provide much coverage. Many people aren’t even aware of what they’re buying until they get to the dentist and have their claim denied because the procedure that they need to have done is considered to be pre-existing and dental insurance won’t cover anything that’s pre-existing. That means that if your spouse or daughter is in pain right now and you don’t already have insurance you are on your own.

The best way to beat the high cost of dental insurance is to join what’s called a discount dental plan. Many of these discount plans offer savings of as much as 60% off on most major dental care, as well as preventive care, such as cleanings, x-rays, etc. Since discount plans are not an insurance policy you can be seen for any reason, pre-existing or not. There aren’t any exclusions, no age limits, no co-pays, no headaches.

This is how discount plans work. Find a dentist in your area that is a member of the discount network. Join the plan by paying the low annual fee. This is usually under $100.00 for an individual, which is much less than insurance.

Within 1-3 days you can see a participating dentist. Once you get your activation notice, simply make an appointment, get a check-up and x-rays, determine what needs to be done and what you can afford to pay that day and then get the work done. It’s just that easy.

If you’ve been looking for affordable dental insurance I can tell you that it just doesn’t exist, if you consider what you’re actually getting for your money. I encourage you to look at both dental insurance (make sure to look at the “Exclusions”) and discount dental plans. I think you’ll be shocked at what you find.

About the author: Wait A Minute! Discover The Truth About Discount Dental Plans And Get Your Free 10% Off Coupon Right Now At Discount-Dental.net or by clicking on Dental Insurance. Joe Stewart is a former Life & Health Agent that now works independently and provides expert information to others.
Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

Down’s syndrome

Down’s syndrome is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome number 21 in the cells of the developing baby. About one in every 700 babies are born with Down’s syndrome. Usually it is not inherited and so a baby can be affected even if there is no history of Down’s syndrome in the family.

Down’s syndrome is the most common cause of severe mental handicap and is often associated with physical problems such as heart defects or difficulties with sight and hearing. It is not possible to access the degree of handicap before the baby is born. Nine out of ten babies with Down’s syndrome will survive their first year and nearly half of these will reach 60 years age.

What are open neural tube defects?

The two main kinds of neural tube defects (NTDs) are spina bifida and anencephaly. Babies with spina bifida have an opening in the bones of the spine which can result in damage to the nerves controlling the lower part of the body. This causes weakness and paralysis of the legs and sometimes bowel and bladder problems. Babies with spina bifida are also more likely to have a collection of fluid in the brain, called hydrocephalus, which can be treated surgically but can lead to mental handicap.

Babies with anencephaly have a large part of the skull missing and the brain is not properly formed. They always die before or very soon after they are born.

In about one in every five babies with spina bifida the spinal opening is covered with skin or thick tissue. This is called close spina bifida and will not be detected by blood test. This condition is usually less severe than open spina bifida.

What does the serum screening test involve?

A sample of the blood is taken between 15 and 20 weeks of pregnancy (16 – 18 weeks is the best time to the screen for open neural tube defects). The stage of pregnancy is the best estimated by an ultrasound dating scan. The levels of three substances in the blood will be measured and compared with the average levels for the same stage of pregnancy. The substances are:
1. AFP
2. uE3
3. β-hCG
The concentrations of these three substances are used with the maternal age to estimate the risk of Down’s syndrome in the pregnancy. The level of AFP is also used to determine if there is an increased risk of spina bifida or anencephaly.

What is the risk?

A risk is the chance of an event occurring. For example: a risk of Down’s syndrome of 1 in 100 means if 100 women have this test result, we would expect that one of these women would have a baby with Down’s syndrome and that 99 would not.  This is the same as a 1% chance that the baby has Down’s syndrome and 99% chance that the baby does not.

What does a screen negative result mean?

If the risk of Down’s syndrome, based on the maternal age and the levels of the three blood markers, is lower than 1 in 270 and AFP level is not high, then the result is called Screen-Negative and a diagnostic test would not be offered.

What does a screen positive result mean?

A screen positive result means that you are in a higher risk group for having a baby with Down’s syndrome or a neural tube defect. If your result is in this group, you will be offered a diagnostic test.
The result is called screen-positive if

1. The risk of Down’s syndrome in your pregnancy is 1 in 270 or greater. About 1 in every 20 women screened will be in this group. Or
2. The AFP level is more than two and a half times higher than the normal level.
About 1 in every 40 women screened will be in this risk group.
Most women with screen-positive results do not have a pregnancy with Down’s syndrome or a neural tube defect. For example : Of 50 women with screen positive results for Down’s syndrome, only one would actually have a pregnancy with Down’s syndrome.

Can any other abnormality be identified?

The risk of Trisomy 18 (a rare and a usually fatal abnormality) can be estimated using AFP, uE3 and β-hCG. In cases where risk is high this is reported.

Why do you take age into account?

Any women could have a baby with Down’s syndrome, whatever her age, but likelihood of this happening does increase as a woman gets older and so we use age as one of the factors when working your risk of pregnancy with Down’s syndrome. It also means that an older woman is more likely to have a result in the higher risk group (screen-positive) and so be offered a diagnostic test.

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