Friday, October 7, 2016
How Collagen Strengthens Natural Hair
Collagen for strengthening hair? Wait a minute... collagen is a protein? Many are not even aware that collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body and this hard, insoluble and fibrous protein is found in the skin, bones and connective tissue of not just humans but animals as well.
Most of us are familiar with it being pumped into lips and even the face but while some find it necessary for fuller lips or removing wrinkles, others see it as a viable option for strengthening hair and staving off breakage. Proteins for har keep hair healthy, strong and protected from manipulation, heat, the elements and even Here's why you need to be using proteins in your natural hair routine and why collagen is a great one to try.
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What Is Collagen?
Collagen is a protein our body naturally produces and pretty much the glue that holds our bodies together. It gives our skin and hair strength, elasticity and actually helps to replace dead skin cells.
"Collagen comprises a family of genetically distinct molecules, all of which have a unique triple helix configuration of three polypeptide subunits known as alpha-chains...In the middle layer of the skin - the dermis - collagen helps form a fibrous network, upon which new cells can grow. Collagen is also required in the replacement and restoration of dead skin cells. Some collagens also function as protective coverings for delicate organs in the body such as the kidneys."
Do We Need To Use Products With Collagen?
Something so pivotal in a healthy body must be sustained but with age our collagen production declines and that's why we see sagging skin, wrinkles and weakened hair. Just like most proteins, collagen is just too big to be applied "as is" to hair to properly assist and must be broken down by hydrolysis to bond to hair.
Collagen directly and positively affects hair growth through hair regeneration. This keeps hair strong, fights off free radicals and improves hair volume by increasing the diameter of each individual hair giving hair a fuller look.
Popular Protein Treatments With Collagen
Simply Smooth Xtend Keratin Reparative Magic Potion
OGX Thick & Full Biotin & Collagen Shampoo
ApHogee Balancing Moisturizer
Ouidad Tress Effects Styling Gel
For My Protein Sensitive Naturals
Many women believe they are protein sensitive if their hair does not care for protein but know there are several types from collagen to keratin to silk. Assuming your hair will respond badly to all since it did to one type of protein is premature and you may just need to give another one a try. Not everyone must use a protein treatment, but if your hair is limp, and in need of strengthening, make sure to try a different protein until you find one that works.
5 NATURAL REMEDIES FOR THINNING HAIR
Remember this journey is most about trial and error and realizing it takes more than a few tries to find your Holy Grail products and routines.
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7 Easy Jumbo Bun Styles for Natural Hair
Here are 7 easy jumbo bun styles that you can try yourself, or ask your hair stylist to create for you.
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Textured Flat Twist & Low Bun Style. Transition your old twist out to a new style with this textured flat twist & low bun style. To give the bun a larger look, I used a foam bun styler to give it more volume. You could also use hair extensions as well.
Simply and Easy Fan Bun Style. This is slight variation on a traditional bun, and is a great option if your hair isn’t that long. In the video, I’m creating the style without any hair pins – just using a non-metal ponytail holder. If you want to make this jumbo bun even fuller, you could use a fan shaped bun styler.
Simple Braided Low Bun. If your hair is long enough to put into a low ponytail, than you can do this style. So this style is a great options for hair of various lengths. It is also a great protective style.
Jumbo Top Bun. Again, if your hair is long enough to put into a high ponytail, you can do this style. For this style, she uses clip in hair extensions but you can use extensions without clips as well.
Top Knot High Bun. Here’s another tutorial on a top knot high bun with a similar look to the fan bun. You can do this style with an old twist out to give your hair a new start. Secret: In this video, she uses a pair of pantyhose as her ponytail holder. I’ve done this as well, and it works especially if you have a lot of hair.
French Braided Bun Updo. I love this style – it’s serious in the front, and a party in the back with this french braid. Using braiding hair gives this bun it fullness. What a cute way to show off your undercut too.
Queen Bee Bun. This is the classic bun on textured hair. If you have long hair like hers, then you can do this style without extensions. But if not, you can put your hair in a pony tail like in the other tutorials, and use hair extensions. It’s all about how your place the hair in the bun that gives each variation it’s own look.
As you can see, the options for creating your own unique jumbo bun are plentiful. Which one of these jumbo bun styles will you be trying next?
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Thursday, October 6, 2016
Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life
By: Kevin Rose
“Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” is a highly-recommended workbook written by Steven C. Hayes and Spencer Smith. It’s also a helpful phrase to remember and remind us all to … Read the rest
The post Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life appeared first on Steadfast Counselling.
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6 Reasons Why Mistakes Are Important for Success
When we think of success, our minds naturally zero in on the desired outcome. Success is the ultimate goal, the end product, the final result we wanted all along. While successfully attaining an individual outcome is gratifying, there’s the whole process from desire to result that we tend to gloss over, not to mention the bigger perspective we get on what’s possible to desire (and achieve). Mistakes are an essential part of any transformation. Not only do they underscore the whole fallible humanity we’re working with, but they bust open the entire process of transformation, helping us break through into deeper dimensions of commitment while redirecting us toward more constructive pathways.
The challenge is to learn to accept the messiness of change—health change, career change, family change, lifestyle change. We can, of course, take a lesson from history here. Life is and has always been trial and error. Human—and all of—evolution was one massive set of false starts and broken lines with only a few (and their progeny) getting out alive. There’s perspective on the five pounds you gained over the summer.
It’s simple really. If we can just accept the patchy, errant nature of progress, we have a better chance of using our mistakes to propel rather than sink our success. Here are a few thoughts on that.
1. Mistakes move us to learn
Sure, failure smarts, but when the sting wears off, we find ourselves more open to the feedback of the experience (hence the saying, “There is no failure, only feedback.”) Mistakes knock us off our rigid axis, freeing us from the delusion that the way were doing it was the best way, let alone the only way. Although we of course knew this intellectually, mistakes help us absorb this truth very quickly.
We land in a place of teachability, a place in which we’re more receptive to new influences and perspectives. Call it necessity or humble pie.
Maybe we’ve been stuck in a fitness routine that served us well in our 30s and 40s that doesn’t meet our needs in later decades, and it took an injury to finally realize it. Maybe we thought after five years of being gluten free that eating a stack of pancakes wouldn’t be a big deal for our IBS. The feedback makes a grand statement we won’t soon forget.
After the inevitable regret, the point here is that we become willing to learn, willing to do it a different way, willing to build resolve. We’re motivated to avoid injury. We’re committed to give up foods or stressors that don’t serve us. Our brains themselves are even supercharging these efforts, operating at heightened sensitivity. Research shows we have a unique form of memory known as error memory, which helps us perform motor tasks differently. Likewise, serious food reactions can result in instinctual aversion. Far from mere avoidance learning, we can take on a mindset that makes the whole blunder feel like a positive move when we put it in context or see how we can use the information to move our health forward.
A saying I’ve heard attributed to a few people is “I never lose. I either win or learn.” Make this your mantra, and be willing to always ask what the lesson is.
2. Mistakes give rise to healthy self-compassion
It’s a truth that’s unfortunately lost on too many people. In contrast to the stereotypical drill sergeant model of continual butt kicking, showing ourselves self-compassion is a key motivator to keep progressing toward our goals. Research confirms that compassionate acceptance of our own mistakes enhances our enthusiasm and determination to move forward toward our goals.
A junk food binge won’t, in fact, help you improve your health or lose weight. But stressing about or abusing yourself over it won’t either. Use the chance to detach from the choices, offer up compassion, and take a nonjudgmental but discerning look at what set the chain in motion and what the real effect was. (It probably wasn’t as enjoyable as you thought when it was all said and done.) What did you need that you weren’t getting? What reserves (of patience, of self-care, of sleep/rest, of solitude, of activity) were running low? How can you take better care of yourself next time? A bit of kindness goes a long way in making the best of a situation and applying it for your benefit in the future.
3. Mistakes free us from sabotaging fears and help us take more positive risks
It’s amazing the number fear can do on our health efforts. When we fear a certain outcome (e.g. regaining the weight, injuring ourselves, not training adequately for a race, coming in last with something, doing anything we felt pressured to take on, etc.), we give it energy and attention. Our mind at times can even compulsively get wound around it. We become so entranced with trying desperately to tread the edge that we end up falling right in.
And then it’s done. Having hit up against the thing we have feared the most, there’s a certain relief. The biggest bogey isn’t trying to break down the psychic door. It’s here on the couch sitting next to us. And suddenly, it doesn’t seem like such a catastrophe to live with. Not our first choice, but not the complete disaster we stressed so much about averting.
There’s a certain fearlessness that comes with “failure”—as in multiple failures, time and time and time again. It’s one way elite athletes actually build resilience and hone discipline. Because the more fearless we are, the less inhibited we are, and this opens up major possibilities.
The cliche (but still insightful) question goes, “What would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail?” A better version might be, “What would you attempt if you realized that failure didn’t matter and wouldn’t be the last word?”
Because if we’re not making mistakes, we’re not taking big enough risks…
4. Mistakes reboot our motivation
It might seem counterintuitive. What knocks us on our duff is what’s going to help us win the race? With a little resilience, yes. We admit we haven’t been living up to our healthy ideals, and it’s taken a toll. Even when we’ve been chugging along in the usual routine, it’s easy to get complacent, easy to check out. We might have discipline to keep going with whatever healthy behaviors we’ve put into place, but we can drift away from the core of what we’re doing.
Hitting a major snag changes that. Suddenly, we’re not operating on autopilot anymore. We have to think once again about what we’re doing. We have to be solution-minded, and to do that we reinvest.
If we find ourselves in the midst of a panic attack because we’ve let our stress levels skyrocket, if we take a spill on the treadmill because we’re overtired from staying up late too many nights, if we realize our waistline has crept up because we’re trying to eat the way we did a decade ago when hormonal reality was different, we’re going to have to get creative and commit.
5. Mistakes move us from an improvement mindset to an expansion mindset
This is big. And maybe the point people most commonly miss.
Mistakes move us out of the small view of success as honing a skill to (supposed) perfection and into a enlarging perspective that embraces success as living into encompassing actualization and fulfillment. To move on from them, we view mistakes against the larger backdrop of the vision we have for our lives. Doing so helps us see them in right proportion (i.e. not a big deal in the grand scheme). We surrender the loss, in other words, to re-affirm the vision and gather ourselves to keep pushing forward.
Success can be bench pressing a particular amount, but that’s a situational, limited view. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a performance goal, but it focuses on a skill, not a life.
Most of us want a successful life.
That means not just improving what already exists, what we’re already operating out of. Mistakes keep us nimble and creative, open to a larger picture, focused on expansion rather than perfection. They might disappoint us in the moment but ultimately remind us of the overarching design we’re aiming for.
6. Mistakes remind us that it’s all a grand experiment
Finally, mistakes oblige us to remember that all of our efforts, whatever they come to or don’t come to, are how we meet the game of life each day. The more passionately we play, the more we get out of it. But that invariably means more, not fewer, screw-ups and even some errors of colossal proportion.
Mistakes keep us flexible and attentive. Engaged with life rather than with routine. And which life would you rather have?
Thanks for reading today, everyone. Share your thoughts on mistakes, failure and rebooting below.
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Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Why the Variety of Your Protein Sources Matters
Another common piece of advice is “eat protein.” And yeah, that’s true. We need protein to survive. It’s probably the most essential nutrient in existence because we can’t make it ourselves. But sometimes digging a little deeper pays off.
Not all protein is created equally. Protein is composed of up to 20 different amino acids. Every protein source contains some or all of those amino acids in different proportions, so each source of protein really is different. When we digest protein, what our body actually absorbs and utilizes are those amino acids. Each one plays a different role in the body, from building and repairing various tissues, performing vital metabolic processes, acting as progenitor for essential compounds, and even regulating gene expression. We need amino acids to live.
We need some amino acids more than others. We can synthesize or convert some of the amino acids we need, but there are 9 amino acids that we cannot make or convert. These are the essential amino acids, and we must consume foods that contain them.
Another category is the conditionally essential amino acids. These are the amino acids that we can synthesize or convert, but certain conditions and contexts increase our requirement for them. In many cases, people don’t eat enough of these conditionally essential AAs. They are therefore essential for most people.
For the most part, animal-based protein contains adequate concentrations of all the essential amino acids. Furthermore, animal muscle meat is roughly identical in amino acid composition. Whether you eat chicken thighs, lamb chops, pork loin, salmon filets, or ribeye, you’ll be getting the same basic pattern of amino acids in your diet—including all the essentials. The same thing goes for almost all animal-derived foods, like eggs and dairy. They’re all complete proteins—they provide the essential amino acids.
Plant proteins are incomplete–they’re usually missing one or more of the essential amino acids. That’s why cultures that rely heavily on plant protein end up with staple food combos carefully curated to provide all the essential amino acids, like beans with rice or beans with corn.
Eating a variety of protein sources ensures you’re getting all the amino acids you need to perform basic physiological processes. So here are a couple reasons why balancing your protein intake from different sources is important.
Methionine/Glycine
I’ve written about this before. The crux of the matter is this:
Most animal proteins are high in methionine, an amino acid critical for growth and development and overall robustness but also implicated in unchecked growth of cancer cells. The calorie restriction with optimal nutrition (CRON) crowd tends to avoid methionine like the plague, pointing to animal studies in which animals on high-methionine diets die earlier and get more cancer and other degenerative diseases than animals that restrict methionine.
What I and people like Denise Minger have suggested is that glycine—an amino acid found abundantly in connective tissues but not in muscle meat—can counter the anti-longevity effects of methionine. A study (the abstract of which is sadly no longer free to view; wonder why) from 2011 found that giving glycine to rodents on a high-methionine diet extends lifespan and emulates the effect of methionine restriction.
If that’s true in humans, then expanding our protein intake to include both muscle meats (methionine) and connective tissue (glycine) will make us healthier.
And although scientists haven’t looked at the topic very closely yet, we have inklings that glycine is important for humans. In one recent study, the relationship between red meat and diabetes was abolished after controlling for low-glycine status. People with low glycine levels and high meat intakes were more likely to have diabetes; people with higher glycine levels could have higher meat intakes without any issues. In another study, low circulating levels of glycine also predicted diabetes risk.
We do know that glycine is a conditionally essential amino acid. We can make it from proline, but evidence shows that we can’t make enough to cover all the tasks glycine performs. So if we want to sleep better at night, maintain the structure and integrity of our ligaments, tendons, and cartilage, keep our skin taut and firm, and balance out our methionine intake, we’d better start eating skin, tendon, bone broth, and other gristly bits.
Increasing protein variety to include collagenous materials will balance out our meat intake and make us healthier.
Plant Protein
If we’re gonna have to eat animal protein or assemble complex combinations of plant proteins that provide all the requisite amino acids, why eat plant protein at all? Why not just eat a few ounces of steak instead of the perfect proportion of rice and beans?
Variety can be good for its own sake. Some people get bored eating the same thing every day. Opening up an entirely different genre of protein—plants—will only increase variety.
And as I laid out a couple weeks ago, legumes—the most popular and dense source of plant protein—offer other advantages: prebiotic fiber, minerals like magnesium, copper, and manganese, and vitamins like folate and B1.
Plus, plant protein is usually cheaper than animal protein. Obtaining a portion of your protein from plants offsets the cost and allows you to focus on quality protein from grass-fed and pasture-raised animals. A pound of steak doesn’t offer any distinct advantages over 3/4 pound of steak with a half cup of black beans. If anything, the latter offers a bit more nutrient variety.
Increasing protein variety to include plant sources allows more freedom when planning meals, offers fiber, minerals, and vitamins we can’t easily get from animals, and makes it easier to afford high-quality animal protein.
Nutrient Co-riders
Another reason to vary your protein intake is that different sources of protein are accompanied by different nutrients. A mussel might give you similar amino acids as a chicken thigh, or a cup of yogurt, but the similarities end there. The mussel provides manganese, selenium, a ton of B12, and some folate. The chicken thigh provides less B12, some niacin, a little more magnesium. The yogurt offers probiotics and calcium. You’re better off eating some of all three rather than an equal amount of one.
Eating a variety of protein sources grants access to different co-riding nutrients.
Like for Like
Some traditional medicine systems have a concept called “like for like.” If you want to improve your masculine vigor, you eat tiger penis. If you want to promote kidney health, you eat stir fried pork kidneys. That sorta thing.
Is there anything to it, or is that superstitious mumbo jumbo?
While I can’t speak to the libidinous merits of consuming tiger penis, I can speak to the benefit of some other examples.
Livers are extremely high in folate and choline, two important nutrients for liver function.
A lamb brain is full of omega-3 fats. A 3 ounce portion of cow’s brain has a full gram of omega-3s. Since we need omega-3s for optimal brain development and function, eating an animal’s brain can help our brains.
Animal skin is made up of collagen, the densest source of glycine. Our bodies use glycine to build and repair collagenous tissues, including skin, cartilage, tendons, and other connective bits. Eating skin can improve the health and appearance of your skin.
A can of bone-in sardines contains easily-digested bone. Compare that to another bone friendly food, dairy. You’re getting all of the bone, not just the calcium. If there are any nutrient co-factors that help bone mineral density, they’re probably contained in the bone itself—the bone that you’re eating. I haven’t found any studies examining the effect of eating bone-in sardines on bone mineral density or osteoporosis, but I bet it helps.
If you’re just eating the same cut of steak every day, you’ll miss out on the “like for like” mechanism.
To sum up, protein variety is important for many reasons:
It helps you obtain all essential and conditionally essential amino acids.
It helps you balance out methionine intake with glycine.
It increases the range of co-riding nutrients you obtain.
It makes it easier to afford higher-quality, pasture-raised, and grass-fed animal products.
It increases food variety and makes your diet more enjoyable and sustainable.
It allows you to follow the “eat like for like” rule when applicable.
What are some other good reasons to vary your protein intake?
Thanks for reading, everyone. Take care!
The post Why the Variety of Your Protein Sources Matters appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.
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Have Several Seats (At the Table)
On Friday, she released her fourth studio album, A Seat at the Table. And it is LIT.
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"My husband, Alan, and I wanted to represent black sisterhood, strength, pride, and elevate the black man and all of his beauty and glory," Solange told Vogue. "This was our way of contributing to that narrative." With guest appearances by Lil Wayne, Master P, Tweet, and more, and the stunning visuals in two videos released on Sunday night, Solange is snatching edges. But don't touch her hair.
"In “Don’t Touch My Hair” I wanted to present this super majestic and regal image of black people, black culture, and black street culture...Two of my biggest inspirations throughout the album were Patrice Rushen and Syreeta Wright, who both wore their hair with these beautiful beaded braids. This was my nod to them. It was about creating looks with the hair that were iconic black hairstyles, but also presenting them in a way that felt very me."
"Although I wanted the album to have those moments of grief, and being able to be angry and express rage, and trying to figure out how to cope in those moments. I also wanted it to make people feel empowered and [that] in the midst of all of this we can still dream, and uplift, and laugh like we always have," she told Fader.
Both Mama Tina and Matthew Knowles add their voices to the album, with pieces on “Interlude: Dad Was Mad” and “Interlude: Tina Taught Me.” In an interview with her mom, Solange spoke about how the racial climate in the US influenced the album.
"When I felt afraid or when I felt like this record would be so different from my last, I would see or hear another story of a young black person in America having their life taken away from them, having their freedom taken away," she said. "That would fuel me to go back and revisit and sometimes rewrite some of these songs to go a little further and not be afraid to have the conversation.”
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