The Yin and Yang of beauty
The Chinese believe that when the body is balanced, the body will be healthy
and beautiful. Healthy skin is beautiful skin. Health gives you that radiant
glow that is beautiful.
The 3 most important steps to beauty are
 | detoxification |
| digestion |
| regeneration |
Detoxification
Eat foods with detoxifying properties. Examples are apples, watermelons,
walnuts. cucumbers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes. watercress, tofu, barley, honey
and milk.
Tip: For a delicious dessert
| Wash and skin a sweet potato. |
| Slice it into cubes. |
| Boil it in some water until tender. |
| Add honey or rock sugar to taste. |
| Serve with the water. |
Digestion
Some foods that help with digestion include apples, bananas, lemons, olives,
pineapples, carrots, spinach, potatoes, tofu, ginger, peppermint and wine.
Looks like the adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" appeals
to the Chinese as well.
Regeneration
For regeneration, get plenty of sleep.
Foods that help you sleep include apples, papaya, sweet potatoes, tofu,
barley, chamomile, honey and rose hips.
Tip: A delicious drink can be made by boiling rose hips with a little rock
sugar to taste. Cool and refrigerate. It is very rich in vitamin C.
If you have problems sleeping, try these
In addition, some foods that are good for promoting healthy skin include
asian pears, bananas, melons, cherries, red and black dates, bean sprouts,
brocolli, sweet potato and brown rice.
Balancing the Yin and Yang
Yin is the cold or cool energy. Cooling foods like aloe vera, honey,
cucumbers and peppermint are examples of Yin foods.
Yang is hot or warming energy. Hot foods like chilli, beef and cherries are
examples of Yang foods.
When your Yin and Yang are in balance, you skin and hair are at their best.
Oily skin, Yang
A person with oily skin, a tendency to break out in pimples and a hot temper
tends to have an excess of Yang, not enough Yin.
Pimple, boils and the like are due to toxic heat. Smoking and stress also
aggravate the situation. Note that stress can lead to acne and dry skin at the
same time.
If that sounds like you, the best food for you would be the cooling food.
Food like carrots, cucumbers, peppermint, honey suckle, apples, bananas and
chrysanthemum are great for cooling the 'fire'.
Like wise, use cooling herbs and ingredients in your skin care. Lavender,
peppermint, aloe vera, barley, lemon and honeysuckle are great for oily skin.
Here are some ideas.
all use such cooling ingredients.
Dry skin is Yin
If you have parched, dry skin, wrinkles, a tendency to gain weight, hands and
feet that are cold when other people feel warm, chances are that you tend
to be more Yin than Yang.
For your case, go for foods that are more yang in nature. Also eat some food
with good oils, like walnuts and avocado. You skin needs the oil.
You should eat avocado, papaya, soybeans, honey, ginger, royal jelly, ginseng
and sunflower seeds.
A good way is to season meat with ginger and soy sauce, and stir fry with
garlic.
For natural skin care ingredients, go for honey, oatmeal, ginseng and sweet
almonds and star fruit.
Some ideas
Sensitive skin and your intestines
If your skin is sensitive, your large intestine is out of balance. Work on
detoxifying your body.
Green mung beans, honey, honeysuckle and chrystanthmum flowers help with this
condition.
Skin care ingredients that would help include milk, honeysuckle, avocado and
kaolin.
Ideas
Back to Natural Beauty
These skin care products from Japan combine the oriental knowledge of yin and
yang with modern technology.
Shiseido
skin care
Kanebo skin
care
kose skin care
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