I belive I can fly

Sometimes we just want to be alone with ourselves. Put your thoughts in order, relax and unwind in silence.

But the secret to success is not to enjoy being alone as often as possible, or, if you enjoy socializing, spending time with other people. Studies show that here, as in any other area of ​​life, the rule of the golden mean works. In other words, your daily “social diet” should be balanced.

The connection between communication and well-being
Scientists analyzed the social habits of about 400 Americans who kept a diary during the study, recording the time they spent with others and the time they spent alone. They also reported how they felt during the day.

Having systematized and analyzed the data obtained, the researchers traced the patterns that link social interaction and well-being. In 2019, the results were published in the journal Human Communication Research.

Social ecosystem
The researchers used the term "social biome" to describe the complex of interactions and loneliness. Typically, our social biomes are a combination of three types of states: shallow communication with strangers, spending time with friends and family, and loneliness.

To maintain your well-being and be successful, you need to balance these three well.

The ideal social diet
Geoffrey Hall, professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas, developed a theory called "Communicate Bond Belong." Its essence consists in two statements. First, we are motivated to interact because we are interested in creating meaningful relationships. And second, we cannot interact constantly, because we have a limited amount of energy.

Chatting with other people is good, but if you do it all the time, you will be exhausted. We all know that even the smallest talk "about the weather" can be tiresome.

According to Jeffrey Hall, the most enjoyable conversations are with friends with whom you are easy: you do not need to worry that you will be misinterpreted, and you can always be sure that they treat you with sincere goodwill.

Such friendly contacts are not an obligation and usually do not require a lot of effort. There is another kind of contacts that we are obliged to maintain for our work and various matters. However, both are important for a harmonious life and development.

Solitude is another important part of the social diet.

“It's about proportions and proportions,” says Hall. - Sometimes you need to be in silence, take a nap, meditate, relax, etc. Such time alone is necessary to maintain the system of relationships in balance. "

Every woman who has reached the age of 50 must take vitamins for women's health. If there are enough of them in the body, then not only the physical condition of the woman will improve, but also her mood. She will be able to cope better with stress, will be less tired and lead a richer life.

vitamins
vitamin complex
How to recognize a vitamin deficiency
The lack of vitamins is indicated primarily by the weakening of the immune system - a woman suffers from a cold several times a year. Other signs include dull, weak and brittle hair, peeling nails, the appearance of new wrinkles, depression, rapid fatigue, and daytime sleepiness. There is no need to hope that all this will go away by itself - even if one of the signs of vitamin deficiency is found, a woman needs to immediately think about strengthening her health.

vitamins
The most important vitamins for women over 50
It is difficult to obtain all the necessary vitamins in sufficient quantities only from food, so a woman should start taking high-quality vitamin complexes. You can buy them in the online store of the AMRITA company - its products are already very well known to Ukrainian buyers.

A woman at the age of 50 first of all needs vitamin E. Thanks to it, the skin will become more elastic and elastic, wrinkles will not be so noticeable. Good sources of this vitamin are sunflower oil (it is better to buy unrefined, cold pressed) and walnuts.

raspberries
Vitamin C is needed to strengthen immunity and to stimulate collagen production. It also helps to strengthen hair. To get this vitamin, a woman should eat more kiwi, cranberries, citrus fruits, drink a decoction of rose hips.

To slow down the aging process, you should eat foods containing vitamin D. It is abundant in oily sea fish, but it can also be synthesized in the body. To do this, you need to walk in the sun for at least 10-15 minutes a day.

After 50 years, the bones become more fragile, and to strengthen them, the female body needs to get more vitamin K. They are rich in greens and fresh vegetables. And in order to improve metabolism, you need to eat more foods containing vitamin F. It is found in red fish, avocados and nuts. If necessary, a woman should visit a nutritionist, who will draw up the correct diet depending on the state of the patient's body.

* Commentary: the editors are not responsible for the content and opinions expressed in articles marked with a Ⓟ.

You've probably heard that you need to move more throughout the day, and usually around 10,000 steps are considered normal. Today, many people track their steps with fitness bracelets or smartphones, and use the 10,000-step rule as a marker for a healthy lifestyle.

Where did this number come from?
Dr. Greg Hager, professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University (USA), took a closer look at the 10,000-step rule and found that using it as a standard could do more harm than good to some people.

"It turns out that in 1960 in Japan, it was determined that the average Japanese person taking 10,000 steps a day burns about 3,000 calories, which is what the researchers think the average person should spend, so they chose this number of 10,000 steps." - said in a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

According to Hager, the recommendation to walk 10,000 steps every day can be harmful, for example, for the elderly or for those with health problems. He also noted that it is easier for those with short legs to reach the goal of 10,000 steps than the goal to walk a certain distance, since they need to take more steps to overcome it than people with long legs.

The bottom line is that 10,000 steps may be too many for some and too little for others. This is partly due to age. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, looked at older women and the number of steps that can help maintain good health and prolong life. The study involved about 17,000 women with an average age of 72 years.

The researchers found that women who took 4,400 steps a day were 40% less likely to die in the next four years, compared with women who took 2,700 steps. Women who walked more than 7,500 steps each day did not see an additional increase in life expectancy.

The point of such research is not to prove that we should stop counting steps and fitness trackers altogether; it's great that more and more people are paying attention to how much they move each day. The key is to find the individual number of steps that will benefit your health. You can consult a doctor, physiotherapist or fitness instructor about this, and then use the fitness tracker to achieve your goals.

What We Can Learn From Serious Walkers
The researchers examined the physical characteristics of postal workers in Glasgow, Scotland, comparing the difference between the health of those who delivered the mail and those who worked in the office. Office workers had higher body mass index (BMI), wider waists, and more sugar and cholesterol problems than those who walked, a trend that continued even after scientists adjusted for age, gender, family history and other factors. that are known to affect health.

The biggest difference was when the study focused on postmen who walked at least 15,000 steps per day, which is the equivalent of about 11 km. They had a lean physique, normal BMI and metabolic data, which meant that they were practically not at risk of heart disease. The results were published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Although the study involved a small group, the result could be a good motivation for healthy enough people to walk up to 15,000 steps, the researchers said.

"It takes an effort," Dr. William Tigbe, lead author and public health researcher at the University of Warwick, told The New York Times. According to him, 15,000 steps can be taken in about two hours of brisk walking.

Tigbe clarifies that you do not need to do this amount in one go. Try 30-minute walks in the morning and for lunch and short 10-minute walks throughout the day.

Lead your way
If you want to improve your health and if your doctor gives the go-ahead, you can use the fitness tracker in the following way. First, wear the tracker for one week to track the number of steps you usually take each day. Then try to increase this figure by about 1000 steps every two weeks. So, for example, if you are currently walking 3,000 steps every day, you should set a goal of 4,000 steps a day and stick to it for two weeks before setting the next higher goal.

Fitness trackers are great tools that can help you improve your fitness. However, make sure these devices are tuned to your body's needs and set the right fitness goals to help support your health.

Modern people struggle with various stressors - coronavirus, financial difficulties, work chores, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. All this can lead to such changes in the body as:

increased blood pressure;
increased heart rate;
slowing down digestion and metabolism;
release of chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream;
muscle strain.
Stress and heart problems
The link between stress and heart disease is not fully understood, but chronic stress is known to affect blood pressure and heart rate, according to the American Heart Association. These problems, in turn, can lead to the development of cardiovascular disease. In addition, many people tend to “manage” stress through unhealthy behaviors such as drinking and smoking, which can also cause heart problems.

The link between stress and heart disease has been found in several studies. The Swedish study was published in the journal BMJ. During it, 137,000 people with stress disorders were tested, as well as 170,000 of their siblings. The researchers found that participants with stress disorders had significantly higher rates of heart problems - including heart attacks and cardiac arrest - compared to their siblings, who had similar parenting and genetics, but did not have anxiety disorders.

Some studies have shown that people who report high levels of stress - either from work or personal reasons - are at greater risk of heart attacks throughout their lives.

According to a recent study report presented in the Annual Scientific Journal of the American College of Cardiology, heart attack survivors who are frequently exposed to mental stress are at risk of having another heart attack or even dying of heart failure.

Stress and memory loss

Cortisol, like adrenaline, helps us deal with stress, but too much of it can harm the body.

Young people and middle-aged people who regularly experience stress may develop memory problems before they turn 50. The results of the study, published in the journal Neurology, show that people with high cortisol levels have more memory impairments (compared to people with moderate cortisol levels).

The researchers looked at health data from 2,231 people with an average age of 49 who did not have dementia. Their memory and thinking abilities, as well as their blood tests, were examined again after 8 years, and those with higher cortisol levels received lower test results. The MRI showed that their brains even shrank.

“Our study found memory loss and decreased brain size in middle-aged people before they started showing symptoms. Undoubtedly, people need to find ways to reduce stress, such as getting enough sleep, doing moderate exercise, incorporating relaxation techniques into their daily lives, and asking their doctor about their cortisol levels and, if necessary, taking drugs to lower their cortisol levels, ”writes the author. research by Dr. Justin B. Echuffo-Cheugu of Harvard Medical School.

Adrenal stress and exhaustion
Research has linked cortisol to fat accumulation around the belly, which in turn can lead to heart disease.

Too much cortisol in the blood can lead to depletion of the adrenal glands. Some doctors believe that adrenal depletion (people feel tired and tired) is the main cause of any chronic illness. Dr. Lawrence Wilson is not alone in his opinion that some doctors do not consider adrenal depletion a real threat to health.

The depletion of the adrenal glands affects such functions and systems of the body as:

hormonal;
the musculoskeletal system (the body will not be able to effectively burn fat and build muscle);
immune (damage to the immune system);
digestive (stress slows down digestion, chronic digestive problems may occur);
cardiovascular (depletion of the adrenal glands can lead to heart palpitations and other problems).
Stress and obesity

People who suffer from long-term stress may be more prone to obesity, according to a London study published in the journal Obesity. During the study, the level of cortisol in hair samples was examined.

As lead author of the study, Dr. Sarah Jackson, explains, analyzing cortisol in hair samples is a relatively new method that helps to more easily identify chronically high levels of cortisol concentration in weight studies and therefore may help further advancement in this area.

Stress and relaxed

Hair loss is a common problem that everyone can face. It can be associated with various reasons that are important to establish and treat. No one can specify the exact number of hairs dropped per day, some believe that there are about a thousand of them per day. You can always find minoxidil for men to help fight hair loss.

hair
Special nuances of hair loss
There are early signs that a person may be talking about hair loss. It happens that after washing the head, the hair in the bathroom becomes larger, with each combing, bundles of hairs remain, and if the hair falls out along with the bulb, then we can also talk about problems with the scalp.

There are many reasons for hair loss, including seasonal hair loss, pregnancy, immune system disease, hormonal imbalance, and severe stress. It can also be serious reasons, such as taking medications, it can also be heredity, bad habits, chronic diseases, work associated with stress.

It is imperative to visit doctors, only they can tell you how severe hair loss is, and will prescribe a specific treatment regimen. However, a therapist, gynecologist, endocrinologist and only then a trichologist will help you. He will examine the scalp. It has already been proven that there are many remedies to combat hair loss. However, minoxidil has long been recognized as one of the most effective. This is a hair product that was originally developed to combat diseases of the stomach and blood vessels. However, in fact, he had a side effect, namely, the hair began to grow more actively and became thicker. They decided to use this drug as a fundamental one.

hair
The main benefits of minoxidil
In fact, the drug improves blood microcirculation, oxygen sends special nutrients to the follicles. It easily restores hair growth and metabolic processes. The composition of minoxidil is clear, harmless, and completely environmentally friendly. First of all, it is purified distilled water, ethanol, cruciform minoxidil. On the basis of this substance, not only shampoos are produced, but also ointments, lotions. They help not only fight baldness, but also carry out prevention. The tool accelerates blood flow, fills the follicle with nutrients. Hair begins to grow active. All cells receive the missing nutrition, saturation and hair will begin to grow more actively.

For women, this drug is good because it completely stops hair loss, and also stimulates the growth of new hair. They become firm, strong and thick. Trichologists also recommend these drugs for men, because they often lose hair, partially or completely in certain areas of the head.

This drug is able to restore bald spots, it promotes and makes the hairline thicker. A positive result is possible in 80% of cases, it turns out that Minoxidil for women is suitable for different cases, including the adaptation of hair due to poor ecology, with age-related hair loss, with a lack of vitamins, with hormonal disruption.

Many of us work energetically most of the day, “putting out small and large fires,” “juggling” schedules, coping with traffic, and generally trying to keep our lives and the lives of our families on track. But levels of the stress hormone cortisol may remain elevated because we cannot fully effectively deal with stress and return to a state of calm.

High cortisol levels increase the risk of health hazards. First, it creates food cravings that make us rush for chips and cookies. That same cortisol can also trigger an enzyme in fat cells to convert cortisol into more cortisol. Fat cells in the abdomen have more cortisol receptors than regular fat cells, which means that high cortisol levels can lead to more belly fat, which in turn increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Certain foods can help restore tranquility in our lives. I'm not talking about comfortable food, which only gives a fleeting sense of peace when we need emotional relaxation.In fact, we often feel guilty or angry with ourselves after eating ice cream, since the calories obtained are hardly worth the received from it. satisfaction.

These are foods that are soothing because of the nutrients they contain, such as folic acid, which reduces stress. They also provide stable energy. These are balanced foods that help reduce stress and restore inner balance.

So if you want to calm down a little, eat these foods as often as possible.

Asparagus
The stems of this plant are rich in folic acid. A study in 2,608 adults found that people who eat foods high in folate have a lower risk of developing depression than those who eat less.

Avocado
Avocados not only contain more folate than any other fruit, but they also contain healthy fats and powerful antioxidants like glutathione, lutein, beta-carotene and vitamin E, which fight free radicals that damage cells. Alas, they are a little high in calories, but even a few slices of them in a salad (leafy greens are also soothing!) Or on a sandwich is all you need.

Berries
Berries are an excellent source of vitamin C, which has long been used as a stress reliever. One double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that 500 mg of vitamin C reduced anxiety in high school students. Another study found that vitamin C is effective in reducing anxiety in people with type 2 diabetes.

Chamomile tea
This herbal tea is a good and proven way to help you feel calm. Two studies from the University of Pennsylvania help illustrate this benefit.

In an initial 2009 study, 57 adults with anxiety, or anxiety and depression, received either chamomile extract or a placebo for eight weeks, and those who took chamomile experienced a clear anti-anxiety effect.

In a follow-up study from 2012, scientists determined that chamomile also has antidepressant effects and reduces anxiety.

To enjoy chamomile tea, steep two to three tablespoons of dried chamomile (or buy chamomile tea bags) with a cup of boiling water and leave for 10 minutes. Chamomile tea can also be served over ice.

Dark chocolate
You may have breathed a sigh of relief when you approached this meal. It turns out that dark chocolate is more than just food: it can increase serotonin levels, lower blood pressure, and provide significant amounts of antioxidants in the form of flavonols and polyphenols. Moderation is the key to success when it comes to chocolate, however, so remember to consume small amounts of chocolate occasionally.

Fermented foods
A healthy gut means a healthier, more relaxed brain. This is because there is a direct connection between these two areas of the body - the brain-intestinal axis. Hence, fermented foods - probiotics that contain beneficial bacteria - can have a direct effect on brain chemistry through your vagus nerve.

In fact, a September 2016 review in Canada noted "clear psychological benefits of taking probiotics." Be sure to choose foods with verifiable probiotics, or better yet, make your own fermented foods, kefir, yogurt, and sauerkraut.

Greens
Kale, spinach, Swiss chard, mustard greens, and other leafy greens are excellent sources of folate and magnesium, which are soothing nutrients. If you make a salad with leafy greens, asparagus, and a few slices of avocado, you are taking a stress reliever.

Oatmeal
Oatmeal can be said to reduce stress in two ways. First, it's inexpensive and easy to prepare, poet

What is rosacea? This is redness of the face, which can turn into inflammatory changes (rashes, peeling, itching, soreness).

What is rosacea?
This is redness of the face, which can turn into inflammatory changes (rashes, peeling, itching, soreness).

Photo: Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology / Open-i (CC BY-NC 3.0)
Clinical manifestations of rosacea
The disease begins after 25-30 years. First, there is a tendency to frequent reddening of the face, less often the neck and décolleté. “Bursting vessels” (telangiectasias) appear. Then redness in some areas becomes persistent. Subsequently, at the site of persistent redness, inflammation, peeling, and rashes (outwardly resembling acne) may develop. Without treatment, the number of such elements increases. Dryness and redness of the eyes are common. A small proportion of patients develop with age the so-called rhinophyma, a thickening and overgrowth of the skin of the nose ("pineal bumpy nose").

Types of rosacea: A - Erythematous-telangiectatic rosacea, B - papulopustular rosacea, C - rhinophyma, D - ocular rosacea. Photo: Dermatology Reports / Open-i (CC BY-NC 3.0)
Rosacea is caused by impaired facial vascular tone and inflammation in the vascular wall. They can be caused by various factors: hormonal disorders, peculiarities of psycho-emotional status, diseases of the cardiovascular or digestive system, microbial factors. The doctor should understand the possible reasons for the development of rosacea in a particular person, analyze the degree of influence of a particular health feature. The main task is to minimize external and internal factors that aggravate rosacea, and to deal directly with the vessels of the face. The therapy regimens are chosen by the doctor, they are strictly individual in nature.

Photo: Dermatology and Therapy / Open-i
External factors in the development of rosacea
Temperature changes (sauna, heat, frost), prolonged exposure to the sun, strong winds. Physical activity, cooking hot food, use of decorative cosmetics.

Internal factors in the development of rosacea
Food: alcohol, hot drinks (above 60 degrees), spices, citrus fruits. "Acute" emotional reactions (anger, rage, tension, excitement, etc.).

Influence of microorganisms
Microscopy and culture of skin scrapings in patients with rosacea can detect both normal microflora and pathogenic microorganisms. Pathogenic microbes are not always found in patients with rosacea. In some cases, rosacea can be combined with demodicosis, a skin disease caused by the demodex mite.

What's going on in the skin?
Redness, regardless of what caused it, is an increase in blood flow to the skin. The vessels dilate greatly and contract with difficulty. Some of the fluid from the overflowing vessels can seep into the surrounding tissues - edema occurs.

Proteins and blood cells can also leak. The condition of the fibers of connective tissue and muscles, which help the vessels to contract and drain blood and lymph from the skin, deteriorates. In and around the vascular wall, stagnation and sluggish inflammation occurs. Conditionally pathogenic and pathogenic microorganisms can join this inflammation, weakening the defenses of the skin.

Rosacea treatment

Rosacea treatment with Intense Pulse Light (IPL) technology. Photo: BioMed research international / Open-i (CC BY 3.0)
Therapy for this disease depends on the combination of manifestations and characteristics of a particular person. There is a classic dermatological treatment for rosacea. These are antibiotics, metronidazole, retinoids, antihistamines, local therapy.

Topically applied creams, gels, ointments containing azelaic acid, metronidazole, retinoids, pimecrolimus, antibiotics. The treatment lasts several months. According to the doctor's prescription, various combinations of drugs, their alternation, can be used. Historically, ointments and pastes with ichthyol, tar, sulfur, salicylic acid have been widely used. Often they are still used now due to their low price, but all these funds irritate the skin.

The main treatment should be aimed at eliminating provoking factors and restoring the normal state of blood vessels. The provoking factors are individual, but the undoubted leader is excessive emotional reactions.

To normalize the condition of the vessels and skin of the face, it is necessary:
- to reduce swelling in the skin around the vessels;

- to strengthen the vascular wall;

- to normalize the work of the neuromuscular apparatus, which is responsible for the contraction of blood vessels;

- eliminate inflammation;

- to strengthen the local immunity of the skin.

Physiotherapy has all these qualities.
The first stage of therapy, the longest, is to reduce edema and inflammation in and around the vascular wall. Two methods are suitable for this. Laser-magnetic therapy is a combination of red and infrared laser radiation with a constant magnetic field. A powerful anti-edematous and anti-inflammatory effect on the vascular wall promotes the outflow of excess blood and whether

It's no secret that a beautiful figure is based on two cornerstones: proper nutrition and dosed physical activity. Over the past years, they have been successfully helped, and sometimes replaced, by the third: aesthetic medicine. “Aesthetic” - because we are talking about beauty. "Medicine" - because beauty implies health.

A special computer program will help with choosing a diet
Glossy magazines and popular Internet portals are full of messages about new fashionable super-effective diets. Many of them actually work. But, as a rule, only at first glance. Then the lost kilos quickly return. And often with an "addition" in the form of exacerbation of chronic diseases, insomnia, ionic deficiencies, anemia and other troubles.

It is not difficult to create a low-calorie diet for yourself. But will it be balanced? After all, proper nutrition is, first of all, a balanced diet. Balanced in all positions: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, trace elements, the amount of liquid. Moreover, overweight is often not just overeating, but problems with the thyroid gland, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia and other painful conditions.

The task of a specialist in weight correction is, firstly, to exclude (or treat) pathology of internal organs, and secondly, to correct existing nutritional deficiencies using special means (vitamins, mineral and herbal supplements, polyunsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, etc.). and only thirdly, the selection or correction of an individual regimen and diet based on the daily requirement.

Do not forget about such reasons for excess weight as chronic stress and psychological dependence on "tasty".

Therefore, today a whole team of specialists (nutritionist, endocrinologist, psychotherapist) is working on the creation of an individual diet, and special software systems and computer technologies are used.

Cycling or swimming? "Sweat" or not? The doctor will help with the right choice
We are so used to talking about the benefits of sports that in our minds this term is inextricably linked with any physical exercise. But sport is a profession, it is a job, it is a colossal physical effort, sometimes at the limit of possibilities. Therefore, the term "dosed physical activity" appeared. This load is different for everyone.

Often, those who set themselves the goal of losing weight resort to the most seemingly simple and effective means - running. But with obesity of 2 degrees and higher, this will only lead to premature wear of the joints. Therefore, exercise should be selected and dosed individually, based on weight, age, concomitant pathology and other factors. For example, it is important to calculate and measure your heart rate during exercise.

A competent specialist must possess this knowledge in order to help the patient not only lose weight with a balanced diet, but also "spend" extra calories using an individually selected load. For some, it will be, for example, just walking, for some - swimming, and for some - interval cardio workouts. It is not for nothing that modern nutritionists receive additional education in fitness, and a special block has been introduced in specialized computer programs for calculating individual physical activity.

The key to the effectiveness of hardware body shaping is the correspondence of the type of device to the characteristics of the patient

Modern aesthetic medicine has the widest arsenal of hardware and injection techniques that allow you to bring the figure to the desired norm. So why, in the presence of, it would seem, only two of the most common complaints (for excess volume and for "cellulite"), figure correction programs can differ significantly?

The fact is that not only fat deposits can give extra volume to a figure. Often this can be fluid retention in the subcutaneous fat (edematous form of cellulite), which is especially pronounced in the hips, or hypotonia of muscles and / or skin, which is often observed in the area of ​​the anterior abdominal wall. Accordingly, the basic method of the complex program will be different: lipolysis, hemolymphatic drainage or procedures aimed at increasing the tone and elasticity of muscles and skin.

As for the notorious cellulite (gynoid lipodystrophy), it goes through several stages in its development and has a number of types and forms (soft, dense, edematous, mixed, etc.). And the therapy program will be different in each case.

That is why the correct medical diagnosis of the problems that caused the formation of cellulite is so important, which, in addition to the traditional collection of anamnesis, examination and palpation, can include various examinations. These are not only traditional laboratory tests and ultrasound, but also techniques specific to aesthetic medicine: measurement of fat and muscle mass, determination of skin turgor and elasticity by bioimpedancemetry, caliperometry to measure thickness