The human body is amazing but a bit complicated system that could empower self-regeneration with a little help from medical science. You can naturally maintain and enhance the beauty of the human body by first taking care of your skin using organic skin care products without harmful ingredients.

Most people try to achieve smoother glowing skin that looks fresh and spotless. No matter what you think and what it takes, it is never too late to attempt to have a sexy silky smooth glowing skin. However, most people are reactive when it comes to skin care than being proactive. They tend to choose and enjoy quick results in fighting skin imbalance for convenience. They would rather hide imperfections with cosmetics than scrubbing with sea salt and massaging with virgin olive oil.

The problem with skin care and maintaining smooth glowing skin is time. You really need to devote time to maintain a youthful looking skin. Organic skin care is the best way to nourish your skin and save your time. There are many organic skin care products in the internet that you can order for delivery. Save time and give less effort maintaining a young looking smooth glowing skin – use organic skin care!

The Egyptian fennel with rosemary and mint face cream is a good organic moisturizer that contains natural ingredients such as evening primrose oil, shea butter, and rice bran extract. The evening primrose oil contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is one type of fatty acid needed by your body for treating and preventing eczema and other itchy or scaly skin allergies. This is easy to apply and does not involve much time for the application.

Source: http://organicopulence.blogspot.com/

Unfortunately, we do not all get to welcome spring with the same feeling of joy… For some of us, the spring months mean the arrival of certain allergies. Pollen the powder found in flowers, is the number one cause of this situation. A spring allergy manifests itself in such symptoms as a runny nose, constant sneezing, watery eyes, itchy and inflamed skin, coughing, difficulty breathing and a wheezy chest.

Dr. İlkay Keskinel from the Department of Pulmonary Diseases at Memorial Suadiye Medical Centre describes allergies as “the body’s acute reaction to environmental factors that are not considered harmful”.

The substance that causes allergic reactions in people who are susceptible is called an ‘allergen’. In people with a genetic tendency, environmental factors can bring on an allergic reaction.

Pollen allergies

In springtime, the wind carries pollen through the air, spreading it over a large area. This powder is in fact the male seeds of plants. Generally speaking, the large pollen in colorful fragrant flowers is transported by insects that are attracted to the plants. As it is not dispersed in the air, it is unlikely to cause allergies. But small pollens, because they are carried in the wind, can cause an allergic reaction in people situated miles away from the actual plant.

Lecturer Prof. Dr. Ahmet Rasim Küçükusta from the Department of Pulmonary Diseases at Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine states that pollens from trees such as alder, hazelnut, olive and poplar and from plants like timothy grass, mugwort, barley, wheat, oat and rye are the most allergenic.

Allergies tend to be caused by tree pollens from February to May, plant pollens between May and June, and weed pollens from mid-summer until autumn. The amount of pollen in the air is greater in the morning. People suffering from pollen allergies are more at ease on rainy days as a result of reduced levels of pollen in the air, while the diffusion of pollen increases on hot and windy days.

Hay fever

Pollen can trigger symptoms of hay fever (allergic rhinitis). Patients suffering from hay fever may think they are experiencing a microbial respiratory tract infection. If symptoms persist for more than 1-2 weeks, one should see a doctor. The first step in protecting oneself against hay fever is to find out which type of pollen one is allergic to. This is done through quick, easily administered skin tests and sometimes blood tests. Once the cause of the allergy is determined, the patient needs to stay well clear of it. Anti-allergy medications may be used in treatment. When appropriate, treatment with injections may also help in reducing symptoms.

Asthma in spring

Asthma is a chronic disease that occurs as a result of the tightening of our airways, the bronchi, in reaction to certain stimuli. Both environmental and genetic factors cause asthma. There are many different types of asthma but the two main types are allergic asthma and non-allergic asthma.

Asthma, whose symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, phlegm expectoration and chest tightness, can often be triggered during springtime by the increase of pollen in the air. Complaints from asthma patients suffering from pollen allergies can increase in the weeks or months during which the pollen to which they are allergic is most prevalent.

The main characteristic of allergic asthma is that the patient is sensitive to one or more allergens (like mites. domestic pets, pollens and moulds). The level of a patient’s sensitivity can be shown with an IgE measurement through skin or blood tests. The first symptoms of allergic asthma are generally experienced during childhood. Allergic rhinitis, eczema, allergy to medication. food allergies and other allergies are commonly found in the patient or their family. Allergic asthma responds well to treatment through medication and injections. The medication used for treating such patients may need to be altered during the spring months.

Beware of cross-allergies!

Some people are allergic to pollen. These people may have an allergic reaction to plants in the same family as the plants they are sensitive to. This is called a ‘cross-allergy’. For example, people who are allergic to pollen produced by the birch tree may experience itching in their lips and palate when eating apples, pears, carrots celery and tomatoes.

Where to escape from immediately?

In streets lined with tall buildings, the surface of the buildings attracts pollen because of static energy. On the other hand, very little pollen is found by the sea. Much research shows that air pollution increases peoples’ sensitivity to pollen. People living in areas where traffic is heavy and where they are exposed to diesel particles and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) develop sensitivity to pollen more easily.

Allergy skin tests

Dr. Küçükusta states that the most common method of diagnosis for allergic diseases is skin tests. The allergens to which the patient is sensitive can be ascertained through these tests. Allergy skin tests are a simple, reliable, quick, easily repeatable, low-cost form of diagnosis. These tests should be administered and read by people who have been trained and are experienced in this field.

Before testing is performed, detailed information is obtained from the patient about their illness. Information about allergens that the patient may be exposed to, factors causing their symptoms, the patient’s occupation. Hobbies, household pets and types of pollen found in the area in which they live must be obtained from the patient.

Skin tests are carried out either on an area of the back or on the inside of the forearm. There are two main procedures performed for skin tests. Scratch test [epidermal): A drop of allergen is dripped onto the skin and the skin is then either pricked with a special needle or scratched to allow the allergen to get under the skin’s surface. Intradermal test; the allergen is directly injected under the skin with the use of a thin needle.

Allergy shots

Treatment through allergy shots, or immunotherapy, is the most basic form of treatment against allergies. In immunotherapy, injections of the allergen to which the patient is sensitive are administered in gradually increasing doses. This method does not involve the injection of any type of medication.

Dr. Küçükusta states that immunotherapy is the treatment needed for allergic rhinitis. Many changes occur in the immune system of patients on whom this treatment is performed. Thanks to this, aside from desensitizing the patient to certain allergens, the allergic inflammation in the nose also regresses. As a result, this also relieves the symptoms of rhinitis (runny nose) and reduces relapses, eliminating the patient’s need for medication.

The effect continues post-treatment and lasts for many years or even a lifetime. The success rate is much higher for children, adolescents and in cases where treatment is performed early on in the disease. As well by injection, the treatment can also be introduced into the body orally or in the form of nose drops. The best results are seen in patients between five and 50 years old.

There are phobias so severe that they can prevent you from leading a normal life. For example, not going outside because you are afraid of cats, not being able to walk in crowds or having a fear of water are phobias that can make life very difficult, simple though they may seem.

Then there are things that cause pain, that are a result of past experiences and affect the future, like the trauma caused by losing someone or the heartache caused by a break-up. What if we were to tell you that these types of fears and emotional pains could be effaced in just one to two hours?

With EFT or Emotional Freedom Techniques this is possible. What is more, it does not require that you go inside a machine out of a science fiction film that erases all the data in your brain. By tapping important points on your body your fears or past are addressed and these fears and memories are wiped out.

EFT, which was introduced in Turkey just seven years ago, is a method that was developed by American engineer and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) expert Gary Craig, based on American clinical psychologist Roger Callahan’s ‘Thought Field Therapy’.

Roger Callahan’s story goes like this:
“For many years, Callahan researches Eastern philosophies and techniques in addition to conventional psychotherapy. When a patient he is treating with a water phobia tells him, ‘Just the thought of water makes me feel sick to the stomach!’ he comes up with the idea of tapping the meridian that is linked directly with the stomach. Tapping this meridian, located just beneath the eye, immediately rids the patient of his nausea. What is more surprising is that the patient’s water phobia, for which he has been receiving treatment for one and a half years without much success, disappears miraculously. Unable to believe this, Callahan proposes that his patient go to the nearest swimming pool. The patient, who was previously unable to go anywhere near water, excitedly splashes his face with the water from the pool. Thus Callahan develops this method. Gary Craig, for his part, simplifies it and looks for a solution whereby a single technique can be used to cure all problems.

I first applied the method to myself

We spoke to İpek Cihan Bilgin, one of the first people to apply the technique in Turkey, about EFT.

She told us how she became acquainted with EFT:
“I first discovered the technique in a book. Then I tried the method on myself and I saw that it yielded miraculous results. You use it against negative feelings and all your anger is lost instantly. I decided to get training for the method and help people with it. Reiki was known at that time but people did not know EFT. Gary Craig trained me in technique.”

When you learn this technique, can you apply it to yourself?

After you receive training, you can apply what you have learned wherever you want for the rest of your life. All you need in order to do this are your fingers. You can learn the technique in just one day. The human being is an entity that consists of energy; it is made up of atoms and molecules. Everything is connected. Negative emotions get trapped in this field of energy. EFT is about releasing this. The thing we call anger is actually trapped energy. EFT allows it to escape and turn into light. There are certain meridian points in the body and EFT uses 14 of these. These points are found on the fingers and face. Every topic has a specific sentence that goes with it. The sentence needs to be formed according to the emotion you want to rid yourself of.

Is EFT certain to succeed?

The success rate is very high, from 80-90 percent. The individual’s willingness is extremely important in this technique.

In which areas can EFT be employed? Its uses are wide-ranging. It is particularly effective on phobias. You can use it against any type of negative emotion. You can rid yourself of phobias towards cats, dogs. Flying or heights with EFT. It is also useful in separations. For example, someone who is suffering because of a separation from their spouse or partner can rid themselves of emotional pain using this method. People who lose someone close may experience traumatic bereavement.

The method is also effective against this type of trauma. With EFT you can get rid of everything from anger or guilt to feelings of missing someone. It is also effective on additions like chocolate, cigarettes or alcohol. It is possible to be rid of these within a matter of minutes, or a maximum of one or two hours. It is also used against school-related stress. It is very effective at dealing with negative situations related to a child’s approach to school, such as a phobia towards mathematics or anxiety about exams.

It is different from other techniques

EFT is a very quick technique. It can rid an individual of their issues within minutes, without the need for years of therapy. Of course the length of the process depends on what the person has been through and what they want to achieve. Another difference is that one is not dependent on another person; one can perform the technique on oneself. The other advantages are that it does not have any side effects and that the emotions it renders positive are of a permanent nature.

What is it good for?

For example, people suffering from a cat phobia generally cannot go out to eat. This leaves a major void in their lives. After using this method, some people are even able to touch cats. The psychological aspect of alcoholism can also be cured. It is necessary to see a doctor about the physical harm it causes, but the reasons behind the addiction can be cleared away. There are even people who are addicted to ice cream who use the technique. They may eat up to two tubs of ice cream a day. The feeling of loneliness is usually what lies beneath this problem. This feeling can be made to disappear. EFT is also recommended as a complimentary treatment for people who suffer from panic attacks.

Concerning the past…

Techniques besides EFT are used to clean the life space. For different reasons, energy fields can contract. While it is possible with EFT to get rid of fears, addictions and anger stemming from life experiences, another technique, called ‘Spreading Light into the Life Space’. Is used for ‘bad’ habits that run in the family genetically. So the excuse “What can I do. I was raised this way’ leaves our lives for good. What is the purpose of the technique? We live in a time where everything happens so quickly that it is incredibly difficult to keep up. There is a great need for healing. The first step is to be aware of these things. It is absolutely crucial that people are aware of themselves and their emotions. These methods help people find solutions to their problems. If people are self-aware, they can achieve a more comfortable life without great difficulty. The goal is to establish a more peaceful and pleasurable life. The techniques are just a means to achieve that goal.

Alternative medical practices that remain outside of classical Western medicine are commonly tried throughout the world. They are increasingly in demand, in spite of all the scientific and technological advances and the miracles worked by medicine. The characteristics of these practices, which are generally called ‘alternative medicine’, can vary widely according to countries’ geographic location and cultural substructure. As for their general features, instead of practices based in scientific proof, as In the case of classical medicine, they usually have roots in folklore; some are learned through master-apprentice relationships and some are formulas that are passed down from generation to generation. Experts stress that whilst alternative methods can be deemed safe administered in the right doses, according to guidelines dictated by the Ministry of Health and under the supervision of a doctor, they can be life-threatening in the hands of ignorant or self-seeking people.

Cardiology specialist Dr. Nevrez Koylan answered our questions on this sensitive topic.

Why do people feel a need for alternative treatments?

People have both negative and positive motivations for opting for alternative treatments. Among the negative motivations are: being unhappy with health practices and medical results; the side effects of medicines and treatments; peoples’ wish to have the final word on their own health (wanting to be free of doctors domination); the overuse of medical technology; and the fact that going to the doctor is time-consuming. The reasons that make these treatments attractive are: the hope of having a full recovery from chronic diseases; the wish to use ‘natural’ products; feeling strong as a person; and the feeling of mental and emotional weli-being.

How much can alternative medicine be trusted?

It is very helpful to divide the topic of reliability into several main sections. The first is the issue of separating alternative medicine from complementary and integrative medicine. The term alternative medicine comes from an understanding that completely rejects existing Western medicine and replaces it with entirely different systems such as Chinese medicine or Native American-shamanistic medicine.

Whereas the terms complementary and integrative medicine should refer to treatments that support existing medical practice. In such practices as herbal remedies or manual treatment, it is useful to correctly evaluate whether the therapy is complementary or alternative. At this point, the dangers of alternative or complementary medicine need to be split into two. The first is direct harm. Which can be the toxic effect of a prescribed herbal remedy, the emergence of new injuries following manual treatment by inexperienced and untrained individuals (the most typical example of which would be Injuries caused by bonesetters) or situations where complementary treatments replace real treatments.

Causing medical treatment to be abandoned altogether. As for indirect harm, it is harm caused to a person without directly resulting in illness. Examples of this are over-reliance on alternative or complementary medicine and, as a result, spending large amounts of money on useless procedures and treatments, the weakening of the immune system through unfounded diets, and mental health breakdowns resulting from placing too much faith in religious healers or Indian medicine, reiki, hypnotism and similar practices.

For these reasons, the most important thing is to never abandon medical treatment and for alternative and complementary therapies to be carried out under the guidance of a trained and informed expert. In many countries complementary and integrative medical practitioners carry out these treatments under the supervision of the health authority and again with certificates obtained from that authority. Unfortunately we are very far from having that in our country.

Should alternative medicine be monitored?

The most effective way to deal with this issue is for the health authority to step in and monitor such practices by determining training and certification standards in the light of scientific data, neither rejecting nor encouraging such therapies. The absence of such an intervention leaves the field open to people who claim to come from China and hang indecipherable Chinese writing on walls around the room, people from Central Asian countries who carry out meaningless rituals saying they are ‘using bio energy”. Underground ozone therapy centres, religious healers and bonesetters.

How right is it for alternative medicine to be a competitor to medical and surgical methods for the treatment of chronic diseases?

Of course it is not. In the case of chronic diseases, one should only make use of the additional benefits of complementary and integrative treatments within certain restrictions. And then only under the guidance of a specialist in that field. There are very beneficial modalities available, provided they are used in the right place and in the right way; these can noticeably improve the quality of life and speed up recovery, if used responsibly.

Eating three meals a day

Dilara Koçak, Diet and Nutrition Expert:
“Research illustrates the importance of 6 meals a day. made up of 3 main meals and 3 snacks. for controlling weight. One shouldn’t stay hungry for more than 3 hours as this slows down the basal metabolic rate. Supporting main meals with snacks increases metabolic speed, and thus speeds up weight loss. also maintaining blood sugar levels and helping us to feel fuller faster. This way. we don’t feel so hungry between meals.”

Dr. Ayça Kaya, Internal Diseases Expert:
“According to recent research; food shouldn’t be consumed at set hours of the day, but in accordance with what our body telis us. Hunger is a physiological need. just like feeling sleepy or having to go to the toilet. Just as we don’t go to the toilet or sleep at a set time. it’s wrong to eat just because ‘the hour has come’. Another thing that doesn’t work is limiting the number of meals we have in a day. One should eat when hungry. This doesn’t necessarily require a very elaborate meal; 1 glass of ayran (yoğurt drink), 1 piece of fruit and half a packet of diet biscuits could suffice.”

Dr. Yavuz Furuncuoğlu, Internal Diseases Expert:
“One should eat 6 meals a day, includiço 3 mains and 3 snacks. The goal is to balance insulin secretion in the body to prevent you taking in too many calories in one go. If you split the daily amount of calories that need to be consumed into 3, you could experience an extreme rise in Insulin secretion. Therefore, splitting the intake of calories into as many small meals as possible is the best way. Snacks should not exceed 100-200 calories.”

Start the day with a balanced and hearty breakfast

Dr. Ayça Kaya, Internal Diseases Expert:
“Start the day with breakfast, but if you’re not that hungry, don’t feel you have to eat cheese or bread. Let’s not forget that fruit yoghurt or milk with a banana Is also breakfast.”

Selahattin Dönmez, Diet and Nutrition Expert:
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We know that people who don’t eat breakfast have difficulty concentrating and are less productive in their daily activities. A balanced breakfast Increases overall performance levels and assists In maintaining a healthy weight. However, the content of the breakfast is of key importance; ideally consisting of a combination of quality protein sources, fresh vegetables, fruit and wholegrain cereals.”

Dr. Yavuz Furuncuoğlu, Internal Diseases Expert:
“If important to define what we mean by “rich’. An ideal breakfast must contain ali the necessary nutrients; carbohydrates. protein, fat. vitamins, and trace minerals. However, take çare not to exceed the calorie limit prescribed by your doctor or dietician.

Herbal products to assist weight loss are safe

Selahattin Dönmez, Diet and Nutrition Expert:
“Nothing in life is safe. Even too much fruit consumed during the day can raise blood lipids. Looking at it from this perspective, herbal products could create serious problems for health and weight control. Also, there are lots products on the market whose effects haven’t yet been proven. These kinds of herbal products should only be added to a regular diet if prescribed by a doctor for metabolic diseases like a lack in carnitin and cellular problems.”

Dr. Ayça Kaya:
“Not ali herbal products are beneficial. Products that haven’t been approved by the Ministry of Health and products consumed without guidance can harm the body, even if they’re natural.”

Dr. Ender Saraç:
“There are herbal products that are safe and beneficial, and ones that aren’t. For instance. has the product been approved by the Ministry? Is it sold in chemists? Has it been approved by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)? These are three points that are crucial for reliability. If the person doesn’t have a serious illness and is only a few kilos overweight. there’s no harm in them using these products. But anyone with food allergies. stomach ulcers. hypertension. diabetes or psychological problems should f irst consult a doctor. Otherwise. not only might you not benefit from the products, it could even potentially harm your health. Another Important point to bear in mind is that you shouldn’t buy these kinds of products online because of potential risks.”

Don’t eat carbohydrates and protein In the same meal

Selahattin Dönmez, Diet and Nutrition Expert:
“Absolutely not. The American Dieticians Foundation has presented scientif ic evidence pointing to the fact that the diet needs to contain suff icient vitamins and minerals tor healthy weight loss. When considering that many foods containing protein or carbohydrates are also sources of vitamins and minerals, refraining from protein and carbohydrates in the same meal is a definite step towards unhealthy weight loss. My research has analysed the results f rom many of the most popular diets followed by adult women and I was able to conclude that limiting intake of carbohydrates and protein, or not eating them at the same time, did not have any long-term Impact on weight loss. Limiting daily calorie intake is sufficient to lose weight.”

Dr. Ender Saraç:
“There are many disagreements around this. But when I look at people who follow this diet. I observe that their digestive system works better and they lose weight more easily. I’m on the fence on this one.”

Dr. Yavuz Furuncuoğlu:
“Wrong. For healthy weight loss. the only thing you need to calculate is your daily calorie intake. And here. what makes a difference is what a person does for a living and how active they are. A person’s calorie Intake should Ideally comprise of 50-60% carbohydrates. 10-15% protein, and 20-30% fat. The proportions are split between 3 main and 3 snacks. A person’s daily energy expenditure is calculated. The ratio between the energy Intake and energy consumed determines weight loss or gain. Therefore. it doesn’t matter whether or not we have protein and carbohydrates in the same meal. This doesn’t have an impact on weight loss.”

Deciding whether to start a family is a major decision in any woman’s life, and it is well established that having children can have a long-term impact on career prospects. But there is growing evidence that as redundancies rocket in the worst recession since the 1930s, women taking maternity leave face even worse discrimination than in happier economic times.

In one high-profile recent case involving the troubled Equality and Human Rights Commission, Brid Johal told a tribunal that while she was off on maternity leave her role at the commission was downgraded, and the man covering for her was promoted over her head, leaving her feeling “mistreated, penalised and pushed out”.

Johal’s case made headlines because her employer’s mission is to eradicate discrimination at work. But she is not alone. Even when the economy is in good shape, tens of thousands of pregnant women and working mothers are the victims of discrimination, and there is mounting evidence that the credit crunch is making it much worse. Charities, legal firms and campaign groups report a sharp increase in complaints from women of unfair selection for redundancy, as well as covert techniques used by their employers to drive them out, such as altering working hours or refusing flexible working requests.

Despite protective legislation, an estimated 30,000 women lose their jobs as a result of pregnancy every year without factoring in the economic downturn, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. No firm data exists on the impact of the credit crunch because the government is not compiling statistics and it is too early to identify an uptick in tribunal cases. But lawyers and campaign groups say the numbers suffering discrimination are rising sharply because employers see pregnant employees and mothers as soft targets. Those who complain are likely to be the tip of the iceberg, as many women are reluctant to make a fuss for fear of being branded a troublemaker.

Rosalind Bragg, director of charity Maternity Action, says: “We have seen an increase in the number of women being chosen for redundancy because they are pregnant, which is unlawful. We are very concerned that some unscrupulous employers are using the recession as an excuse to unfairly target pregnant women and women on maternity leave.”

She adds that women are reporting that they are being given no reason why they are being selected for redundancy, or given reasons that appear to constitute unlawful discrimination, such as the employer’s preference for full-time employees over part-timers.

Citizens Advice has seen an influx of women who believe they have been mistreated. They include one young mum in her twenties, who wishes to remain anonymous, who was granted flexible working when she returned after maternity leave on the understanding that she worked the occasional Sunday. She is now being asked to work three in a row, despite having no childcare, and feels she is being bullied.

Another Citizens Advice client, a young pregnant woman in her twenties, signed off sick for a week and received a text from her employer saying she should not come back as he needed people who would come in consistently every day.

In some ways, this is nothing new. It is no secret that motherhood has an immediate and dramatic impact on most women’s pay and professional prospects. Gender equality campaign group the Fawcett Society found in a recent report, entitled “Not having it all”, that women of childbearing age – whether or not they actually have children – were routinely regarded by some employers as unreliable, unable to cope with job demands, and a potential liability.

It also reported that mothers pay a heavy penalty for absence from the workplace, starting with their loss of income after giving birth, and continuing to affect future earnings. For each year a mother is absent from the job market, the Fawcett Society reckons her future wages will be cut by 5%. When women do return to work, they often go back to lower-paid and less secure work than before. Women are already facing an unacceptably high penalty at work for becoming mothers, according to the society. But thousands who are having babies in these tough times face even harsher consequences, unless rogue employers using the recession as an alibi for discrimination are brought to book.

Losing a job while pregnant or with a young baby is a particularly harsh blow at the moment: campaigners say that, as well as the psychological stress, it is also harder to arrange childcare to attend interviews and more difficult to find a new post in competition with male applicants and women unencumbered by family responsibilities.

Analysts believe there is a risk that pregnant women who lose their jobs now could suffer a permanent loss of income and status as they struggle to re-enter the workplace at a comparable level – meaning that the economy loses out on a huge pool of female talent.

Sandra Lawson, senior global economist at Goldman Sachs, says: “If you are losing people who have been in the workforce for 10 to 15 years, who have developed great skills – that is a loss, regardless of gender. These people can’t get back into work.”

The charity Working Families says that even before the recession it was receiving an unacceptably high number of calls from women who believed that they had been discriminated against over pregnancy or maternity leave.

Catherine Rogan, who advises women on their rights, says: “When there is a redundancy situation and someone is on maternity leave they have to be offered any suitable vacancy that exists. A lot of employers are overlooking this or delaying redundancy until a woman gets back from maternity leave. During the recession generally, we have seen employers paying less attention to what they should be doing. They are taking the attitude that women that go on maternity leave are an expense… They are less patient. When some women tell their employers they are pregnant they are given all the bad shifts to do and rubbish jobs … They are gradually freezing them out.”

Her views are echoed by Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC. He points out that even if women are not made redundant, there is evidence of managers making their lives harder by being less sympathetic to their childcare needs. Some employers, including British Airways, British Telecom and accountant KPMG, have brought in flexible working as a response to the recession by offering extra unpaid holidays, shorter working weeks and the like, but others have gone in the opposite direction and become more rigid.

“A lot of pregnant women and women on maternity leave have been targeted for redundancy in the recession and many have also had their flexible working arrangements changed,” Barber says. “Some union officials and workplace representatives are reporting that people who previously had set work arrangements around childcare have now been told that they have to work Saturdays or work in a location that is further away from their home or childcare arrangements. It makes life very difficult.”

In some cases, Rogan says, this amounts to employers driving women out of work – which can result in their losing out on statutory maternity pay and working families tax credit. “They are deliberately forcing women out by changing their hours,” she claims.

A spokeswoman for the Andrea Adams Trust, a charity set up to combat workplace bullying, says that more than 70% of its callers are women. “Bosses can push people and they put up with it because they want to keep their job,” she says.

As well as pregnant women, single mothers are particularly vulnerable in the recession. Kate Bell, director of policy at single parents charity Gingerbread, says: “We are hearing from single parents, nine out of 10 of whom are women, who are losing their jobs and are worried. Some parents who are working part-time are being asked to reduce their hours, which means they don’t get their working families tax credit. If you have children, you can get the credit when you work 16 hours or more but if you are working less, it’s not worthwhile.”

Bell adds that it is not just managers who are making mothers feel uncomfortable. As staff numbers are cut and remaining employees are forced to work harder, parents are attracting resentment when they leave on time. Annoyance on the part of the child-free, who feel they are being forced to work harder while colleagues with children slope off, is a familiar feature of office life, but, again, the recession is making it worse.

“One single parent wrote to us that she’s treated differently by her colleagues because she has to leave on time every day. In a difficult jobs market, her colleagues think she should be working harder and staying late but she has to go and pick her children up,” says Bell.

Law firm Leigh Day & Co, which specialises in pregnancy discrimination, has received such a substantial increase in inquiries it has set up a new helpline offering 10 minutes of free advice to any woman facing redundancy that she thinks may be related to pregnancy, maternity leave or part-time status.

Camilla Palmer, a partner at the firm, says: “There has been an enormous increase in the number of women in the calls we’ve had. What I’m seeing is if there are 10 people in a department and one women who is pregnant or on maternity leave, then she is the one who gets made redundant.”

She says some employers are doing the “sensible thing” and offering flexible working schemes but others are exploiting workers’ feelings of insecurity and asking them to work more for the same money.

Many women working part-time believe that is a factor in them being made redundant; Palmer even mentions one example of a woman who was let go after her employer discovered that she was hoping to have children.

Apart from the obvious distress to women from being laid off when they are pregnant or on maternity leave, it can be harder for them to find another job.

John Philpott, chief economist of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, does not believe the recession is affecting women particularly badly, but agrees that they may need tailored help to enable them to deal with unemployment and return to a job. As he points out, the income pressures on single mums are likely to be severe and women looking for work have childcare needs.

The recession may also have intensified an existing backlash among some employers against enhanced maternity rights at work. Parental rights were extended in 2004, provoking an outcry from small firms, which claimed they could not bear the expense; the changes led to fears that it would deter employers from taking on women.

The Ukip politician and small business owner Godfrey Bloom once said: “No self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of childbearing age. That isn’t politically correct, is it? But it’s a fact of life. The more women’s rights you have, it’s actually a bar to their employment.”

Bloom may be outspoken, but it appears that plenty of other employers are in silent agreement. A YouGov survey in 2007 found that 20% of company directors admitted anonymously that they avoid hiring women of childbearing age. Two-thirds also saw the extension of maternity and paternity leave as part of an increasing legislative burden that posed “a serious threat” to their businesses.

Sylvia Tidy-Harris, founder of the business and celebrity speakers’ agency Womenspeakers.co.uk, says: “If you left work [on maternity leave] in July of last year and decided to take a year off, you are coming back into a whole new business world. We’ve had a major credit crunch. Anybody who treats someone in a discriminatory way is stupid because they know the rules – there are enough of them. However, all employees have to face the fact that times are tough.

“I choose not to have to deal with maternity leave [in the office]. It costs too much to cover these women with agency staff and it is unfair to ask other employees to take on extra work for so long. I avoid it by taking on the people I want on by word of mouth and not through advertising. I employ chaps and women who already have families. Mature people need jobs as much as younger people.”

In previous recessions, men have been the biggest victims because the hardest-hit industries were predominantly masculine domains such as heavy industry. This downturn will hit women as well as men, since it is sweeping through the retail, services and finance sectors, as well as manufacturing. Women have enjoyed some degree of protection so far because a high proportion are employed in the public sector, where the axe has yet to fall heavily – though job cuts there look inevitable.

Campaigners fear that unless the impact is monitored and addressed, it could severely set back advances towards equality, particularly in professions where women are already poorly represented. The UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, for instance, is concerned that female job losses in those areas may result in women losing critical mass, leaving those who remain isolated and unable to challenge male-dominated cultures.

Having a baby should be a happy and hopeful time in a woman’s life. But the recession means the pressures on employers are greater than ever – and new mothers are paying the price.
‘No one will give you a job’

“I went on maternity leave in March 2007. I wasn’t replaced when I was on maternity leave because they couldn’t afford it. That’s why I was surprised when two months later a colleague forwarded me a job ad very similar to mine.

“My company didn’t tell me about the job and at the time I didn’t do anything about it because I’d just had my son.

“When I went back to work a year later I found out that the job advertised had been given to a man who was on 50% more than me. Before I went on maternity leave, I used to report to the company director but on my return I had to report to this man.

“When they agreed to let me work part-time, I thought they were being so nice, but when they were making job cuts a year later my boss decided to get rid of my job and I’m now in the process of being made redundant.

“I can’t do anything about it and to make things worse I’m pregnant again. No one will give you a job if you’re pregnant. Basically, I’m looking at more than a year of being unemployed. It happens to so many people. I’m not the first person at the organisation to be treated this way.

“When you work part-time and work at home you can’t go for lunch or to the bar with your colleagues. You’re completely out of the loop. I used to work 12 hours a day, but you can’t do that when you have a family.

“I feel very vulnerable. I just don’t know what I can do because I can’t afford legal advice.”

Guardian

Hair removal may be classified by different criterions, for example, location (facial, body, bikini), removal type (waxing, shaving, plucking) or by type of hair (vellum or terminal). Knowing what type of hair you will be removing will help you choose the way of performing the procedure.

Vellum hair is soft, fine and short. This type of hair usually appears on women back, chest or face and they are so small that the removal is only optional, unless you have a darker complexion, which can make them more visible. Terminal hair is coarser, darker and longer. It’s the hair that grows on your head, legs, armpits and bikini zone.

Laser hair removal, plucking or waxing is the most recommended methods for vellum hair removal. It might be more painful, but the effect will last longer and hair won’t get thicker (the effect shaving causes).

Terminal hair can be removed by using such methods as shaving, plucking, depilatories, waxing, electrolysis, laser and prescription treatment. The choice of methods depends on your ability to deal with pain, area you want to clean and your financial capabilities.

Shaving is cheap and won’t cause you any pain. Yet the effect won’t last so long (1 to 3 days) and you’ll have to do it again and again. It is very comfortable in a way that you do not have to make any appointments with anybody. The major drawback is that you can’t shave them until they reach a certain length.

Plucking lasts long (from 3 to 8 weeks), yet it’s really painful and takes time. As far as you can pluck only one hair at a time removing hair from your legs would probably take a whole day. Plucking is recommended on small areas such as eyebrows, upper lip and chin.

Depilatories are inexpensive and won’t cause you any pain. The effect lasts from several days to two weeks. They can be used on any area, yet you have to be very careful when purchasing one, because it usually has a lot of chemical components. It’s not recommended for people who have sensitive skin.

Waxing is probably the most painful method of hair removal, however, the effect is long lasting (from 3 to 6 weeks). For some people it may cause skin redness, inflammation and bumps, yet these effects will not take long to disappear, leaving smooth skin.

Electrolysis is permanent, yet it takes time for you to see the actual effect and you have to make appointments for that. It’s usually used only for small areas such as upper lip, eyebrows and underarms. The procedure is painful and may cause dry skin, scabs, scarring and inflammation. Also, electrolysis is expensive, being the only permanent hair removal method.

Laser hair removal is expensive and painless, with the effect lasting for about 6 months. The thing with laser hair removal is that your skin has to be light and the hair dark if you want to use this method. Before mak…

If you start your day by putting on a thick layer of makeup, abandon this habit for summer days. Use as little makeup as possible, because even if you use much of it, it will melt away. Skin pores can get blocked easily by sweat and dusts and other dirt during hot days and a layer of make-up makes it only worse. Let your skin breathe!

Make up helps us to highlight our beauty and hide imperfections; there’s no need to put all the make-up means away while it’s summer. However, make-up foundation is one thing that you should forget till the autumn comes. If you can’t live without it, replace it with tinted moisturizer. It is capable of hiding small skin flaws, but it is much lighter than a foundation and it doesn’t feel like something stuck on your face.

Dare to wear bold make-up colors, but keep those light: dark dramatic eye makeup may look like black eye if you choose a wrong occasion to wear it. However, your fingernails and especially toenails are different talk! Choose juicy colored nail polish and stun everyone! Remember to take care of your feet and hands before putting the nail polish on. Well groomed nails with fun color manicure and pedicure attract the attention easily while untidy nails attract attention as well but not in a way you should be cheerful about.

Waterproof cosmetics are great salvation for summer make up. This doesn’t mean you have to pack your regular cosmetics and put it away till the summer ends, but if you’re buying new makeup means, think waterproof. Waterproof cosmetics should be your best friend for hot weather; especially if you’re into dark colors. Otherwise you may look like a raccoon when great makeup smudges around your eyes. Choose bronzer for evening and blush anytime to create an image of sun-kissed cheeks.

The art of aromatheraphy was used by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Today essential oils can be found in a variety of natural products, including cosmetics, massage oils, skin care products, bath blends, perfumes, soaps and toothpaste. Essiantial oils make these every day items extraordinary.

A thousand years ago it was discovered how powerful essential oils are. On average, essential oils have one hundred components each, and some may contain many more. These varied components are what make the oils so useful in healing and perfuming.

Aromatherapy can be described as a healer of the body and the soul. Essential oils can be antiviral, antiseptic, sedating, uplifting, detoxifying, digestive, stimulating, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory, or vulnerary. This makes aromatherapy helpful for numerous ailments, cuts, scrapes, insect bites, skin conditions, emotional woes, and even captivating a lover.

In addition to essential oils, aromatherapy encourages the use of other complementary natural ingredients including cold pressed vegetable oils, jojoba, hydrosols, herbs, milk powders, sea salts, clays and muds. We will provide several examples of aromatic botanicals, which benefit well – being of our skin. They include Lavender (etc. normalizes any skin type and stimulates cellular regeneration), Sandalwood (etc. anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antiseptic and anti-aging), Geranium (etc. calming, refreshing, mildly tonic and astringent), Ylang Ylang (etc. softens, smoothes, balances skin and reduces oiliness), Patchouli (etc. decongestive, astringent, reduces redness), Cedarwood (etc. sedative, astringent properties; reduces skin eruptions and itchiness), Palmarosa (etc. immediately calms and refreshes skin; strong anti-aging properties) or Green Tea Extract (etc. rich in anti-oxidants, reduces under eye puffiness, antibacterial).

Introducing essential oils into our lifestyle can be quite easy, fun, and therapeutically beneficial. Next to the beneficial herbal skin care products, there are more ways which you are invited to try. They include room freshening, bug repellent, massage, bath or inhalation.

Considering all mentioned above, aromatherapy is the practice of using volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being. It works through our nose (etc. inhalation method) and our…

2 . Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.

7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage. Crosswords and Sudoku provide good exercises.

10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.