Home remedies for acne and pimples

Acne is a skin condition that usually affects young adults or teenagers. However it can also occur among children and older people. Acne manifests itself in the form of pimples or “zits” which include whiteheads, blackheads, cysts and inflammations on the skin. Acne or pimples occur when the pores of the skin get blocked because of over-secretion of oil in the glands of the skin or due to dirt and chemical build-up on the skin surface. These skin eruptions and inflammations usually occur on the face, neck, back and shoulders but could also appear on other parts of the body like arms, trunk, legs, buttocks etc.

Home remedies for acne and pimples are the safest method of treatment for this skin condition. Not only are these remedies easy to prepare and administer they are also totally natural and do not have any harmful effect on the skin. Chemical ingredients in medications can further damage the skin but home remedies for pimples and acne address the problem from the root, avoid the side effect of drugs and cure and heal naturally. Regular use of natural remedies made at home will not cause any damage to the skin and will give you a healthy and glowing skin.

While pimples or acne are not a serious medical problem, they tend to scar the skin especially if they have been scratched or the surface has been broken. Scars look ugly and cause a lot of emotional problems for the sufferer and create a sense of low self-worth. Rather than undergo such trauma, it is advisable to treat this problem using natural home remedies that are more effective than medicines and drugs for skin problems of this type.

There is very little knowledge on what causes pimples and acne to occur. They happen due to a combination of circumstances like hormonal imbalance ( during puberty, menstruation and pregnancy), consumption of greasy, oily food, low intake of water, poor hygiene in particular insufficient and incorrect skin-care regimes, use of oily cosmetics, excessive sweating, stress.

However this condition can be treated with homeremedies for acne which include plant-based ingredients that help in not just curing pimples but also preventing them from occurring. A diet with lots of fresh vegetables and fruits that are rich in Vitamin A and B-Complex (e.g. green leafy vegetables, red pepper, apricots, berries, cereals, yeast, carrot, cantaloupe) is particularly beneficial in keeping the skin healthy and beautiful. Drinking lots of water and avoiding greasy, rich food will  go a long way in caring for your body and skin. Finally, proper skincare and hygiene is also necessary to prevent acne and pimples from occurring – this would include regular washing of the face and body, shampooing the hair and scalp, avoiding over-exposure to the sun and to chemical-based cosmetics.

Shift back to home remedies

The last few years have seen a shift back to home remedies for treating common ailments. In earlier days, all families depended on natural ingredients and natural remedies to deal with health issues. Every family had its own favourite homeremedies to cure minor illnesses like colds, coughs, headaches, indigestion and others. With the progress and development in modern medicine, these traditional methods of treatment took a backseat while strong drugs and antibiotics became more popular. However in recent years, people have become aware of the side effects of modern medicines. This, along with the increasing costs of drugs, have made people look for alternate methods of treatment that are effective and yet not harmful in any way. 

Consequently, conventional old-fashioned home remedies have once again come into focus. In many cases they have been seen to be more effective and quicker acting than modern medication and can be administered safely instead of over-the-counter pills and tablets and syrups. They are inexpensive in comparison to medicines and thus save you a lot of money that would otherwise be spent on medical treatment and doctors’ fees.

What are home remedies? They are exactly what they sound like – simple treatments for common ailments and health problems that can be easily prepared at home with natural ingredients. Most of the constituents are available at home, in your own backyard – in your kitchen, in your vegetable garden. The main constituents of these natural home remedies are elements from your daily diet. They include vegetables, fruits, nuts, cereals, herbs and spices – which you use regularly and which can be bought at any local store.

The biggest advantage of home remedies is that they are 100% natural. There is no use of chemicals or harmful additives in their preparation. Furthermore they are also extremely easy to make. All food that we eat have naturally occurring chemicals in them. Natural home remedies make use of these very chemicals to treat illnesses – they are easy to digest and can be absorbed by the body without any problem. Traditional home remedies are thus an organic and non-toxic way of dealing with everyday health issues. They tackle medical problems at the root and work in synergy with the body’s systems to keep you healthy and fit. Most minor ailments can be treated effectively with these simple cures. Not only that, these treatments also help to boost immunity. They can be used to treat a wide range of common illnesses like colds, coughs, sore throat, indigestion, bad breath, fevers, skin disorders, hair and scalp conditions, headaches; they can also help patients overcome stress and mental tension, fatigue and exhaustion. These treatments not only heal but also act as preventive measures if combined with massages, exercises and cleansing techniques.

A word of caution, though - while home remedies work wonders for many common ailments, it is however advisable to check with a medical practitioner in case symptoms persist or if the complaint is of a serious nature.

Home remedies - Simple treatment for common ailments

Homeremedies are exactly what they seem to be – simple treatments for common ailments that are made at home with natural ingredients. And the best place to look for these ingredients is your kitchen or back-yard garden. Homemaderemedies are made with fruits, vegetables, cereals, nuts, herbs and spices that are locally available. They are completely natural, easy to prepare, have no side effects and save you a fortune in medicines. 

All foods have naturally occurring chemicals in them. Home remedies make use of these very chemicals to treat ailments since they can be easily absorbed by the body. They can be used to treat a wide range of health problems such as colds, coughs, sore throats, indigestion, bad breath, fevers, skin disorders, hair and scalp conditions, headaches; they can help patients overcome stress and mental tension, fatigue and exhaustion. Home remedies tackle health issues at the root and treat the problem from inside to keep you fit and healthy. Natural cures can tackle most minor ailments and regular usage helps boost immunity too.

While home remedies work wonders for many common ailments, it is however advisable to check with a medical practitioner in case symptoms persist or if the complaint is of a serious nature. 

These home remedies have been in use for ages – from before the advent of modern medicines. In earlier days, all families had a compendium of recipes for homemade remedies which were resorted to in order to deal with most minor health issues.  Over the years these homemade remedies have been pushed into the background and there grew a tendency to depend over much on strong drugs and antibiotics, even though the use of home remedies is very often more effective and quicker-acting than these medications. 

Traditional home remedies are an organic and safe way of tackling ill-health and they can very often substitute for over-the-counter medicines. Lately, due to growing awareness among people, of the side effects of strong medication coupled with the rising costs involved, there has been a shift back to  the once popular and effective alternative methods of treatment for common ailments such as homemade remedies and natural cures.These treatments not only heal but also act as preventive measures if combined with massages, exercises and cleansing techniques.

Child Abuse

Most of us dismiss child abuse as stories we see on the news on the T.V. set, the Internet, in newspapers, or learn about through other media sources. Child abuse is not that. It is happening next door, down the street, and within our own community. And it’s time the problem is taken seriously.


Child abuse wouldn't be such a problem if people acknowledged it instead of living in a world where they believe that it doesn't exist. Many people think child abuse either does not exist or exists only among poor households and in movies. This is because there is a fine line between punishing a child and child abuse. When grown ups hit children with knives, wood, glass, cups, high heels, it hurts. But it goes beyond that for some children, the abuse reaches beyond physical pain when the adult uses verbal abuse.


Even a few month old infants are not spared. Shaken baby syndrome is a form of child abuse caused by someone, in most cases by a parent or a care giver, vigorously shaking an infant or small child.


Reaching epidemic proportions



Child Abuse in our troubled world is reaching epidemic proportions. Child abuse is an uncomfortable issue most of us don't want to deal with. We hear the screams of a child at night and believe that the child is only throwing tantrums. We take bruises on a child as some kind of health problem and leave it to their parents to solve. We see a child, skinny and sickly, who never plays with other children and pay no attention to him. If we see a child in dirty clothes we blame the parents for not taking adequate care of him

Even parents, don't want to deal with it. It can't happen to our kids, they say. But it does. Children are under threat of abuse wherever they go -- to the school, the playground,in the own bedrooms and on the internet. The only way forward is --

• 
  To become conscious that abuse happens.
  


• 
  To empower children to recognise the warning signs of abuse.
  


• 
  To understand and learn how to create a truly safe environment for children.
  


• 
  To create an open environment in which children are able to tell parents or caregivers that they are being abused.
  


• 
  To understand how best to deal with abuse if it has already happened.
  

What Is Child Abuse?


Child Abuse refers to the harm, or risk of harm, that a child or youth may experience while in the care of a person they trust or depend on, including a parent, sibling, other relative, teacher, caregiver or guardian. Harm may occur through direct actions by the person (acts of commission) or through the person’s neglect to provide a component of care necessary for healthy child growth and development (acts of omission).


To make this simpler, child abuse is of two forms neglect and abuse.While abuse is more active in the way it is inflicted, it is abuse when something is actually done to harm the child. In the case of neglect, harm comes to the child because something is not done which should have been. Thus sexual molestation of a child is abusive whereas depriving a child of adequate food and exercise is neglectful. One similarity between abuse and neglect is that both if carried far enough, can be fatal.


Kinds of Child Abuse


There are five types of child abuse:

1. 
   physical abuse
   


2. 
   sexual abuse
   


3. 
   neglect
   


4. 
   emotional harm
   
5. 
   

exposure to family violence

Emotional child abuse




Emotional or psychological abuse, though the most common and damaging, is the least understood and hardest to prove form of child abuse. A child is said to be emotionally abused when he/she undergoes serious physical or emotional neglect caused by acts or omissions of the child's parents or other persons responsible for the child's welfare.

A child is said to be emotionally abused when she is suffering under any of the following conditions:

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  Inadequate physical care
  


• 
  Absence of medical attention
  


• 
  Inadequate medical care.
  


• 
  Cruel or abusive treatment
  


• 
  Improper supervision
  


• 
  Exploitation of the child's earning capacity
  


• 
  Unlawfully keeping the child out of school
  


• 
  Exposing the child to criminal or immoral influences that endanger her/his morals.
  

It is estimated that 90% of the time, parents are responsible for committing child abuse, including emotional abuse and neglect. Fathers and mothers are nearly equally responsible for committing emotional child abuse and neglect. Of course, caretakers and other family members can also commit emotional child abuse and neglect.


There are many reasons why parents abuse their children. Most abuses take place when unhappy parents project their day-to-day frustrations on their children. Such neglectful parents are isolated and have difficulty forming relationships or are burdened by anger and sadness because of unmet childhood needs and difficult current circumstances.


Source: Child Abuse

How “food scare” originated

The healthy, wealthy, comfortable middle classes of the late twentieth century discovered “food scare.” Even a small theoretical risk based on studies of, say, a 'known' carcinogen in rats is enough to spread panic across the globe. And a new food scare is born, even if there is no death and the outcome in humans is unproven.

To top it all, a plethora of organizations, including the news media, have a vested interest in making the story run and run. For instance, a vegan pressure group might commission a study proving all meat is unsafe.

Thus we found reports of a study in an American journal that salmon contain 'significantly higher' levels of cancer-causing pollutants than wild salmon. And headlines like 'Coffee drinking linked to higher miscarriage risk' in The Daily Telegraph

Information on food labels

These growing incidences of food safety scares are making consumers, especially in the Western countries, increasingly turn to the information on their food labels. There was a time when people died for lack of food. Today food is among the bigger killers. Main reasons:

• Increase in cut-price food

• Intensive factory farming

Food scare to end all food scares: The Mad Cow Disease

Food scare dug roots with the Mad Cow Disease. Though the disease was first recorded as far back as 1732, it was not until 1995 that it became a serious problem for humans, as the practice of using meat by-products in cattle feed became increasingly common. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, more than 100,000 cattle were diagnosed as having the disease and, in 1995 the first case of BSE-related CJD in a human was reported.

E. coli poisoning followed and the scare intensified.

Then came genetically modified food

Then came genetically modified (GM) food. Some scientists fear that genetically engineered plants may contaminate wild plant populations, exacerbating weed problems.

It is also feared that engineered fish may alter ecosystems and even drive some wild populations to extinction. It is also feared that GM food could produce new allergens or toxins. But supporters say that GM plants can produce bigger yields and better, longer-lasting crops, and that crops modified to resist pests reduces farmers' dependence on chemicals.

And the current debate over GM food is likely to rage on for years, if not decades, to come. Till we come up with something new to engage ourselves with.

A glass of red grape juice for better heart and head

For long nutritionists were baffled at the low rates of heart disease among the French. Successive studies found the answer in the red wine that the French favour. The benefits of red wine and also red grape juice hit both the head and the heart

High intensity exercise can speed up ageing. Such exercises bring on oxidative stress, where free radicals attack tissues. Research had found that grape juice and grape extracts are linked to improvements in oxidative stress markers after excessive exercise. In 2006 researchers from San Antonio Catholic University in Spain, showed that a drink containing black grape, raspberry and red currant concentrates reduced protein oxidation by 23 per cent following excessive exercise.

Oxidative stress has been linked to an increased risk of various diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's, and cardiovascular disease.

New study of red grape juice

A new study, said to be first report of its kind in humans, dietary supplement of red grape juice may reduce the activity of an enzyme linked to cardiovascular disease. The new research further found that red grape juice also increased HDL cholesterol levels.

The report of this research has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition http://www.ajcn.org/

Earlier, an animal study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found that a flavonoid found in grapes improve blood flow in the brain by 30%, thus greatly reducing the risk of stroke.

Animal Factories Replacing Traditional Farms

Animal Factories Replacing Traditional Farms