Eyelashes are the little hairs which grow on the tip of of an individual’s eyelid. Eyelashes trap any foreign objects and keep them from entering the eyes of a person. As may understand, eyelashes are sensitive and react quickly. This quick response allows the eyelid to close when there’s an incoming particle.

Eyelash color depends largely on the color of an individual’s hair as eyelashes tend to be darker with dark haired people and lighter with light haired people. Further, eyelash length depends on a number factors one being genetic.

A majority of people have long eyelashes because this trait is “dominant”. Conversely, short eyelashes are a recessive trait and are therefore less often found. It is these people who often seek methods to assist them in eyelash growth.

Methods to Improve Eyelash Growth

1. Eyelash Growth and Consuming a Healthy Diet

   Before utilizing artificial products to improve hair growth, it is recommended to try a natural and logical method for getting your eyelashes to grow. Consuming healthy meals and maintaining proper levels of nutrition allows the body to operate efficiently. When this happens eyelash growth and hair growth in general may more easily occur. For eyelash growth one should consume foods rich in vitamins and nutrients. Vegetables, like carrots and other foods rich in magnesium, carotene and zinc are good choices.

2. Eyelash Growth and Natural Lubricants

   Eyelashes may get dry and need to be lubricated. Using lubricants like Vaseline and olive olive may help keep eyelashes moist thereby increasing growth. One may also apply vitamin E to eyelashes to stimulate their growth.

3. Eyelash Growth and Eyelash Trimming

   Scientifically there’s little or no evidence that may support this theory but some people have different opinions about the affect of hair trimming. Some people are convinced that eyelash trimming grow back longer than they were. Other people say this is only a myth.

4. Eyelash Growth Through Fake Eyelashes

   If you can not wait for natural eyelash growth then you may try fake eyelashes. There are many types of fake eyelashes available. Fake eyelashes vary in length. Don’t forget these are fake eyelashes that must be removed after use.

5. Eyelash Growth Enhancers

   There are many eyelash growth products available that may be used to improve the growth rate of eyelashes. One excellent example is Lash Allure MD.

6. Eyelash Growth and Eyelid Massage

   Massaging increases blood flow the area being massaged. Blood carries nutrients, thus massaging ones eyelids can improve the flow of nutrients to the eyelids thereby aiding in hair growth. It’s a no cost option that anyone can try.

7. Eyelash Growth and a Healthy Lifestyle

   Excessive amounts of caffeine and alcohol can retard hair growth. As a result, if you want to improve your chances of growing longer eyelashes you should consider healthy lifestyle options.

You may use a combination of the above steps to reach an optimum level of eyelash growth. Give it a month or two and see what happens.

This really is the first day of the rest of your life. It’s when new year’s resolutions start to become new year’s fact. Are you ready?

Let’s say you’ve decided to live more healthfully. Let’s look at ways to maximize the chances of success.

You can be specific. People are more likely to get in a 30-minute daily walk if they set specific goals than if they just say they ought to walk more.

Writing it down helps. With an action plan, you can see how you’re measuring up.

Falling short happens, too. But there are ways to deal. Acting Surgeon General Steven Galson advises allowing some flexibility:

“If you miss a day’s exercise or add extra calories, adjust by doing a bit more or eating less. And the next time, when you succeed, congratulate yourself.’’

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: January, 02 2008

A Pap test can spot signs of cervical cancer early enough to save a woman’s life. But a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says women from other nations especially are missing out.

Dr. Mona Saraiya looked at four years of data to estimate Pap testing rates. Her report is in the Journal of Women’s Health. Among immigrants, women from Asia, Southeast Asia and India were least likely to be tested, followed by women from South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and Central America.

Dr. Saraiya says problems common to immigrants may be barriers to testing:

“They risk being isolated by language and culture, and many face financial barriers to routine preventive services, such as Pap tests.’’

Dr. Saraiya says help is available by contacting state health departments or calling 1-800-CDC INFO.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: January, 02 2008

A study of people with high blood pressure finds dealing with the Internet can affect your blood pressure.

In this case, not raise it. Lower it.

Dr. Beverly Green of the Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle says patients doubled their chances of controlling their blood pressure when they worked with their pharmacist from home via the Internet. The patients used a home blood pressure monitoring system, with training and advice from their pharmacist through a secure Web site.

“In those that received the blood pressure monitors, web training, and the pharmacist assistance, 56 percent of them had their blood pressure controlled.”

Green encourages people with high blood pressure who have Internet access at home to use email when they work with their health care team.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 21 2008

Eating healthy vegetable oils and fish regularly can help your heart. These foods have special fatty acids called omega-3. The body does not make omega-3 by itself, so it’s important we make them a part of our diet.

Omega-3s are in some vegetable oils, as well as in fish and walnuts.

Dr. Hannia Campos of the Harvard School of Public Health says even small amounts of omega-3s could help.

She led a study in Costa Rica, where people get much less omega-3s than we do in the United States.

“We found that high levels of omega-3 fatty acid were linked with a 59 percent reduction in the risk of getting a heart attack.”

The study in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 20 2008

Do good Monday through Friday on your diet, and what do you get?

The weekend, and that’s not good.

Susan Racette of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that. She says most dieters have trouble losing weight on the weekends, when people don’t pay as much attention to what they eat.

These findings help explain why diets don’t always work like we want them to.

Racette says dieters should weigh themselves daily so they know how they are doing.

“If you’re going to be out running errands, or if you’re going to be at your child’s sports events, and you’re going to be at the field all day, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy but grabbing a few things on your way out the door to have some healthy, lower-calorie choices can be very helpful.”

She also says dieters could plan ahead by packing their own food.

The study in the journal Obesity was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 22 2008

Kids need to be physically active at least an hour a day. But are they?

A researcher checked, by having about 1,000 kids wear a device that kept track of their activity.

Philip Nader of the University of California, San Diego says younger kids did well. At age 9, they averaged about three hours a day. But by age 15, they averaged 50 minutes a day during the week and barely more than a half hour a day on weekends.

“The basic take-home message is that kids, just like adults, are getting less and less active as they get older.’’

Kids need to be active to control weight and to set healthy habits for adulthood – even just walking.

The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 25 2008

Smells can be a window into feeling. Julie Mennella of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia noticed that among 5- to 8-year-old children of mothers who drank.

Mennella asked the mothers why they drank; some said it was to relieve tension or worry. And she asked the children to smell beer and other odors, including one like rotten eggs.

Mennella says children of mothers who drank to reduce tension or worry preferred even the smell of rotten eggs to beer.

Mennella finds a lesson here for the mothers:

“Even if you hide the bottle of beer or glass of wine, children are smelling these odors in the home or emanating from your breath, and they are forming associations with your moods and the reasons to why you drink.’’

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 26 2008

“This same low-risk lifestyle may have prevented between 65 and 80 percent of coronary heart disease and 90 percent of diabetes within these same populations.’’

The healthy five: * Not smoking * Maintaining healthy weight * Exercising 30 minutes or more a day * Eating lots of fruits and vegetables, fiber, chicken and fish, and not a lot of processed meats. * And drinking alcohol in moderation

The study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 27 2008

Being overweight may be something that a kid does lose sleep over. A study finds overweight kids sleep less than healthy-weight kids, and spend less time in REM sleep, the stage linked to hunger control and burning more calories.

Erika Forbes of Pittsburgh’s Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic measured sleep for three nights by kids ages 7 years to 17 years.

The study found overweight kids slept on average 22 minutes less a night, and had less REM sleep.

“Sleep is part of the picture – but, of course, so is being active and eating healthy food, and we recommend those. And you can’t control the amount of REM you get, but total sleep is important.’’

The study supported by the National Institutes of Health was in Archives of General Psychiatry.

Health Tip courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Last revised: August, 28 2008