My Fitness My Life

When reaching the age of puberty, acne can be a menace to both boys and girls aged between 12 up to 25 years old. However, men and women in their 30s and 40s are sometimes not spared of this skin problem that look as ordinary as blackheads, whiteheads, red or yellow spots, or greasy skin to scars.

Acne typically affects the skin of the face, back, neck, chest and arms and the severity of the condition can vary. It affects people of all skin colours and the processes that cause acne are exactly the same in people with black or brown skin but the impact is altered by the skin pigmentation.

The surface of the skin has lots of small sebaceous glands just below the surface. These glands make an oily substance called sebum that keeps the skin smooth and supple. Acne is caused by the over activity of the sebaceous glands that secrete oily substances onto the skin.

In more severe inflammatory acne, cysts develop beneath the skin surface. These acne cysts can rupture, spreading the infection into nearby skin tissue and can result in scarring.

Acne is easily recognised by the appearance of the spots, and by their distribution on the body.

There are several varieties of acne and your doctor will be able to tell you which type you have after examining your skin. For most teen-ager and adults alike, acne may cause considerable emotional distress but there is a range of acne treatment options to help you tackle the problem.

No acne treatment will completely cure it but the aim is to prevent new spots forming, to improve those already present, and to prevent scarring.

For simple acne treatment at home, it is important to keep spot-prone areas clean, so wash the affected area twice a day with an unperfumed cleanser. The skin needs a certain amount of oil to maintain its natural condition, so avoid aggressive washing with strong soaps.

There are a number of over-the-counter remedies available from pharmacies to treat mild acne. These usually contain antibacterial agents such as benzoyl peroxide and along with its antibacterial effects, it can dry out the skin and encourage it to shed the surface layer of dead skin. Together, these effects make it harder for pores to become blocked and for infection to develop.

Benzoyl peroxide can cause redness and peeling, especially to start with but this tends to settle down if you reduce the number of times you use it. You can then build up your use gradually.

Remember that no home acne treatments will work immediately. It can take weeks, if not months, for significant effects to be noticeable. If home treatments have not worked after two months, or you have severe acne, you should visit your dermatologist or physician, who may start again your treatment by prescribing a preparation containing benzoyl peroxide. If this does not work, or if you have more severe acne, there are a range of other treatment options that you can either rub onto your skin (topical) or take in tablet form (oral).

An alternative to benzoyl peroxide is azelaic acid and this may not make your skin as sore as using the former. There is also the topical retinoids that are based on vitamin A, which are rubbed into the skin once or twice a day. They work by encouraging the outer layer of skin to flake off.

A topical antibiotic lotion applied to the skin can be used to control the P. acnes bacteria and the treatment needs to continue for at least six months.

Finally, there are several oral treatments you may be prescribed including oral antibiotics (tablets), such as tetracycline for inflammatory acne. They should be taken daily for around three months, although it might take four to six months for the benefits to be seen. The success of this treatment can be limited because the strains of bacteria are often resistant to the common antibiotics. Antibiotics do not prevent pores from becoming blocked so treatment to prevent blackheads, such as benzoyl peroxide, is often also prescribed at the same time.

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For most men, the true joy of sex is between the time of penetration and ejaculation. However, it is very unfair to consider this phase of penetration and ejaculation as the main part of sexual activity. The importance of foreplay can not be pushed aside if we want to see sex from the perspective of women. However, most men for the penetration and, finally, ejaculation is the end all and be all hot sex.

Ask any man what is thye one thing he wants to last longer and longer during sex, then in all likelihood, their response will be to increase the time between these two stages of penetration and ejaculation. Even the so-called super stud that claim to stay longer than anyone else, also has a secret desire to last more minutes. The problem begins when a man discovers that he is not fully enjoying sex and the time between its two preferred phases penetration and ejaculation has become very short. Truly there is nothing more depressing and disappointing for a man than to deal with their partner unsatisfied after a rapid ejaculation.

We need to understand a few things very clear on this issue. In particular, the variation in the time between penetration and ejaculation - and premature ejaculation itself - is common and normal. However, when the time before ejaculation is really short for any attempt at sexual intercourse, the cause of premature ejaculation can neurobiological, medical and / or psychological. This situation can ideally be defined as a case of premature ejaculation.

Since the time and ejaculation in men varies, it is not possible to specify an ideal time to ejaculation for everyone. In this context, it would be appropriate to distinguish between premature ejaculation as a normal problem of men and premature ejaculation as a syndrome that needs urgent care.

If we see that there is a variation of time in an ejaculation of men and only occasionally it happens too quickly then it can be considered as a variable natural premature ejaculation. These normal occurrence of premature ejaculation are very frequent and almost all men experience them at some point in their time in their lives.

There are many factors responsible for these moments of premature ejaculation that affect the duration of the phase of sexual arousal. Some of these factors include age of participants sexual novelty of the sexual partner or situation, and how often the man has had sex in the recent past. The premature ejaculation in such cases does not require treatment and the man found his power to stay long his own.

However, there are many cases where Premature Ejaculation becomes a syndrome. It occurs in men where premature ejaculation is present from the very first sexual encounter and occurs every time they have sex, and maybe very soon after penetration. Such cases of premature ejaculation are diagnosed as cases of premature ejaculation of a lifetime.

These types of cases needs systematic and regular treatment to overcome premature ejaculation. However in these cases also, the main cause is psychological and there is no apparent physical cause, which can be cured with almost one hundred percent success rate.

Apart from the above two “normal” and “lifelong” cases of premature ejaculation, there are men who say that they ejaculate prematurely even after a reasonable period, for example, perhaps 5 to 10 minutes after the insertion. Certainly men who ast ten minutes in bed are completely normal and can not be said to have any form of premature ejaculation

But even if such men complain about an early ejaculation then we can assume safely that their problem is actually a psychological problem than a real one. Probably they need consultation and education to understand what is considered normal during sex play.

In fact the magic of lasting longer lies in identifying nature of our ejaculation - normal or premature, and to take necessary measures for its healing. Curing premature ejaculation is quite possible and, often, a little practice of some specialized techniques is sufficient to deal with it in its entirety.

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Vitamin C is probably the best known of all the vitamins, and is vital for many bodily functions. It performs these functions:

1. Repels undesirable bodily parasites.
2. Stimulates the production of collagen in the skin.
3. Assists anti-body formation.
4. Is a natural antihistamine, can reduce allergic reactions.
5. Naturalizes pollutants.
6. Maintains healthy skin.
7. Increases the rate of wound healing.
8. Turns food into energy
9. Fighting free radicals in its antioxidant role, which means it can protect against cancer and heart disease.

So many foods contain Vitamin C; here are a few examples: broccoli, cabbage, sweet pepper, watercress, spinach, strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, oranges, lemons, melon - and others.

However, it deteriorates quickly and, as the most unstable of the vitamins, it is easily destroyed by cooking, so ideally eat these foods fresh, and raw if possible. Adversely affected by: pesticides and toxic metals such as lead, aluminum, mercury and cadmium; also by alcohol, drugs, smoking, rancid oils, burning of food.

As we can use more vitamin C than is likely to be readily obtained from food, it’s best to take a supplement too. Experts disagree about the correct level to use. Many experts agree that the UK RDA of 40mg (at the time of writing) is too low, and reflects only the level required to prevent deficiency symptoms of frequent colds, easy bruising, nose or gum bleeding and lack of energy.

Only a limited amount of vitamin C is stored, and unlike most mammals, we do not produce our own supplies so it’s important to maintain a good supply from external sources.

My recommended dosage is 1,000mg a day, however, more can be beneficial. It is usually tolerated up to about 10,000mg per day (possibly more in the grips of infection) but beyond that loose bowels may cause problems. This is not a sign of toxicity, and will stop when the dose is reduced. Excess is discharged in the natural process of urinating. Our tolerance and usage greatly increases when fighting an infection.

WARNING: Take the advice of your medical specialist about vitamin C supplementation if you are having radiation, or during chemotherapy as high doses may interfere with cytotoxic drugs.

How does vitamin C promote good, healthy skin?

Continued use of beauty products incorporating vitamin C, is another method of obtaining supplies, in addition to supplementation and in the diet. On a note of caution, skin or beauty products do not usually include an ability to shield the skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun, so should not be used as an alternative to a sunscreen.

Benefits of skin products containing vitamin C include:

1. Perks up sun-damaged skin.
2. Minimize the effect of facial lines and wrinkles.
3. Improves skin tones.
4. UV aging is reduced, to achieve younger looking skin.
5. Effective when used under normal make-up or overnight.
6. Pores are unclogged.
7. Has a moisturizing effect.
8. Promotes collagen production.
9. Maintains an elastic effect on your skin.

To be useful and effective to the skin and body, vitamin C should be in the form of L-ascorbic acid. Once applied, it has been found by studies to remain in the skin for up to 72 hours.

Collagen Synthesis

Collagen is a protein found in connective tissue that allows skin tissue to resume its natural shape and to retain its youthful appearance. Vitamin C is the only antioxidant proven to increase collagen synthesis, it aids in the healing of minor cuts and wounds.

The body’s natural ability to produce collagen is reduced as you mature; in addition, the decrease is accelerated by the effects of photo aging. L-ascorbic acid, the natural form of vitamin C, sends a message to the collagen genes to manufacture more collagen. It is also a cofactor for enzymes vital in collagen synthesis.

Vitamin C and Sun Protection

Vitamin C also has a role as an antioxidant and free radical inhibitor. The harmful uv rays of the sun will promote free radicals, which are very reactive molecules.

Free radicals are stimulated by over exposure to UV radiation from the sun. As UV radiation deeply penetrates the skin creating free radicals as well as other reactive agents that hit and damage the skin’s lipids, vitamin C helps the body to neutralize these free radicals.

The production of collagen is affected when the skin is exposed to free radicals. The effect is the onset of early wrinkling and skin deformation.

Vitamin C and Melanogenesis

Research shows that vitamin C helps decrease melanin formation. Melanin is responsible for the skin’s dark pigmentation and studies clearly show that vitamin c contributes to skin lightening.

A preparation can be used to clarify and even out skin tone, as it lightens dark spots and skin blemishes.

Guidelines for checking out vitamin C brands:

1. Ask if the product contain L-ascorbic acid. There are certain products containing L-ascorbic acid within a vitamin C complex.
2. L-ascorbic acid should be at a low pH level, to effectively penetrate the skin.
3. Check out the stability of the product.
4. L-ascorbic acid, low pH and high concentration, is desirable in a product.
5. Do remember that when a label says “vitamin C”, it does not necessarily mean that it contains L-ascorbic acid.

Regardless of all the benefits vitamin C provides, one should note that it is important not to get stuck on just one antioxidant alone. Researchers suggest that due to the complex process of skin aging, despite the undoubted effectiveness of vitamin C, taking a wide range of antioxidants is the most effective way to address the effects of aging.

Other important ingredients in a skin-care product include natural extracts from vegetables and fruits to provide the maximum anti-oxidant and age defying blend of nutrients for the skin. Phytonutrients (beneficial chemicals found in plants) are known to be the strongest in the most colorful fruits and vegetables.

In addition to obtaining these from sensible eating, beauty products can be an alternative source, so, check the ingredients.

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