YOU HAVE TO SLEEP MORE

Many of us try to sleep as little as possible—or feel like we have should. There are so many things that seem more interesting or important than getting a few more hours of sleep, but just as exercise and nutrition are essential for optimal health and happiness, so is sleep. The quality of your sleep directly affects the quality of your waking life, including your mental sharpness, productivity, emotional balance, creativity, physical vitality, and even your weight. No other activity delivers so many benefits with so little effort.

Sleep isn’t exactly a time when your body and brain shut off. While you rest, your brain stays busy, overseeing a wide variety of biological maintenance that keeps your body running in top condition, preparing you for the day ahead. Without enough hours of restorative sleep, you won’t be able to work, learn, create, and communicate at a level even close to your true potential. Regularly skimp on “service” and you’re headed for a major mental and physical breakdown.

The good news is that you don't have to choose between health and productivity. As you start getting the sleep you need, your energy and efficiency will go up. In fact, you're likely to find that you actually get more done during the day than when you were skimping on shuteye.

DO YOU LIKE EAT OR SLEEP

While we may not often think about why we sleep, most of us acknowledge at some level that sleep makes us feel better. We feel more alert, more energetic, happier, and better able to function following a good night of sleep. However, the fact that sleep makes us feel better and that going without sleep makes us feel worse only begins to explain why sleep might be necessary.

One way to think about the function of sleep is to compare it to another of our life-sustaining activities: eating. Hunger is a protective mechanism that has evolved to ensure that we consume the nutrients our bodies require to grow, repair tissues, and function properly. And although it is relatively easy to grasp the role that eating serves  given that it involves physically consuming the substances our bodies need eating and sleeping are not as different as they might seem.

Both eating and sleeping are regulated by powerful internal drives. Going without food produces the uncomfortable sensation of hunger, while going without sleep makes us feel overwhelmingly sleepy. And just as eating relieves hunger and ensures that we obtain the nutrients we need, sleeping relieves sleepiness and ensures that we obtain the sleep we need.

Scientists have explored the question of why we sleep from many different angles. They have examined, for example, what happens when humans or other animals are deprived of sleep. In other studies, they have looked at sleep patterns in a variety of organisms to see if similarities or differences among species might reveal something about sleep's functions. Yet, despite decades of research and many discoveries about other aspects of sleep, the question of why we sleep has been difficult to answer.

BENEFITS OF SLEEP BEFORE MIDNIGHT

Research suggests that sleep plays an important role in memory, both before and after learning a new task.
Lack of adequate sleep affects mood, motivation, judgment, and our perception of events.
Although there are some open questions about the specific role of sleep in forming and storing memories, the general consensus is that consolidated sleep throughout a whole night is optimal for learning and memory.

Our bodies regulate sleep in much the same way that they regulate eating, drinking, and breathing. This suggests that sleep serves a similar critical role in our health and well-being.

Although it is difficult to answer the question, "Why do we sleep?" scientists have developed several theories that together may help explain why we spend a third of our lives sleeping.

Understanding these theories can help deepen our appreciation of the function of sleep in our lives.
It may seem obvious that sleep is beneficial. Even without fully grasping what sleep does for us, we know that going without sleep for too long makes us feel terrible, and that getting a good night's sleep can make us feel ready to take on the world.

Scientists have gone to great lengths to fully understand sleep's benefits. In studies of humans and other animals, they have discovered that sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions. The features in this section explore these discoveries and describe specific ways in which we all benefit from sleep.

HOW TO TREATMENT OF HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTEROL

Treatment of high blood cholesterol consists of first reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet. Poultry and fish are low in cholesterol. Cereals, fresh fruit, and vegetables contain no cholesterol. Regular aerobic exercise--such as bicycling, running, and swimming--can further lower the cholesterol level. Medication should be considered only for people who are at high risk of heart disease and who have been unable to control their cholesterol with diet. Medications shown to reduce cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease include cholestyramine, colestipol, gemfibrozil, lovastatin, and niacin.

Clinical research trials have indicated that lowering the amount of cholesterol in the blood can reduce the risk of heart attack in middle-aged men who had no history of heart disease. In men and women with atherosclerosis, reducing cholesterol in blood prevents further narrowing of the heart arteries.

High blood cholesterol is treated with lifestyle changes and medicines. The main goal of treatment is to lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level enough to reduce your risk for coronary heart disease, heart attack, and other related health problems.

Your risk for heart disease and heart attack goes up as your LDL cholesterol level rises and your number of heart disease risk factors increases.

Some people are at high risk for heart attacks because they already have heart disease. Other people are at high risk for heart disease because they have diabetesexternal link icon or more than one heart disease risk factor.

Talk with your doctor about lowering your cholesterol and your risk for heart disease. Also, check the list to find out whether you have risk factors that affect your LDL cholesterol goal:

• Cigarette smoking
• High blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or higher), or you’re on medicine to treat high blood pressure
• Low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (less than 40 mg/dL)
• Family history of early heart disease (heart disease in father or brother before age 55; heart disease in mother or sister before age 65)
• Age (men 45 years or older; women 55 years or older)

You can use the NHLBI 10-Year Risk Calculatorexternal link icon to find your risk score. The score, given as a percentage, refers to your chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years.

CANCER DRUG THERAPY

Drug therapy, also called chemotherapy, is used against a wide variety of cancers. Chemotherapy has proved especially effective in treating leukemia, lymphoma, and testicular cancer. Cancer cells divide much more rapidly than normal cells. Therefore, many cancer drugs are designed to interfere with cell division.

Chemotherapy causes side effects by injuring the normal body cells, especially those that divide most rapidly. Rapidly dividing normal cells include blood-forming cells, cells that line the intestines, and hair-forming cells. Damage to blood-forming cells may increase a patient's risk of developing anemia or an infection. Injury to intestinal cells may cause nausea and vomiting. Disruption of hair-forming cells can cause hair loss. Researchers work constantly to develop drugs that reduce harm to normal cells.

Effective chemotherapy usually involves combinations of drugs. Doctors combine drugs that have different methods of acting on cancer cells and that produce different side effects. Combination therapy reduces the chance that cancer cells will develop resistance to the drugs. It also helps avoid serious side effects from large doses of a single drug.

Treatment Methods

Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Treatment
Suggested questions for cancer patients to ask their doctors about treatment choices and the possible side effects of treatment.

Types of Treatment
Information on chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapies, and other cancer treatment methods.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies used in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer care.
Cancer Treatment Scams
Information from the Federal Trade Commission for cancer patients about how to spot false health claims and the importance of talking with their physicians about treatments they are considering.

Cancer Treatment Facilities

How To Find a Doctor or Treatment Facility If You Have Cancer
A fact sheet that offers suggestions for choosing a physician and facility for cancer treatment.
NCI-Designated Cancer Centers
NCI-Designated Cancer Centers develop and translate scientific knowledge from promising laboratory discoveries into new treatments for cancer patients. They are at the forefront of NCI-supported efforts at universities and cancer research centers across the United States. Find a center near you and learn about their research capabilities and patient services.
Cancer Clinical Trials at the NIH Clinical Center
A fact sheet about cancer clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

CHOLESTEROL AND HEART DISEASE

A variety of things can affect cholesterol levels. These are things you can do something about:

■ Diet. Saturated fat and cholesterol in the food you eat make your blood cholesterol level go up. Saturated fat is the main culprit, but cholesterol in foods also matters. Reducing the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in your diet helps lower your blood cholesterol level.

■ Weight. Being overweight is a risk factor for heart disease. It also tends to increase your cholesterol. Losing weight can help lower your LDL and total cholesterol levels, as well as raise your HDL and lower your triglyceride levels.

■ Physical Activity. Not being physically active is a risk factor for heart disease. Regular physical activity can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels. It also helps you lose weight. You should try to be physically active for 30 minutes on most, if not all, days.

Things you cannot do anything about also can affect cholesterol levels.
These include:
■ Age and Gender. As women and men get older, their cholesterol levels rise. Before the age of menopause, women have lower total cholesterol levels than men of the same age. After the age of menopause, women’s LDL levels tend to rise.
■ Heredity. Your genes partly determine how much cholesterol your body makes. High blood cholesterol can run in families.

In adults, a cholesterol level of less than 200 milligrams per 1 deciliter (3 ounces) of blood is considered desirable. Above that level, the risk of heart disease increases dramatically. Adults also are at an above-average risk of heart disease if they have an LDL-cholesterol level of more than 160 milligrams per deciliter of blood or an HDL-cholesterol level of less than 40 milligrams per deciliter.

Besides cholesterol levels, other factors increase the risk of heart disease. These factors include cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, a family history of premature heart disease, and being a male over 44 years of age or a female over 54. Individuals with two or more of these factors have high risk of heart attack, particularly if they also have atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries because of fatty deposits).

COMPLICATIONS OF OBESITY EFFECT OF WEIGHT LOSS

The TLC Diet. This is a lowsaturated- fat, low-cholesterol eating plan that calls for less than 7 percent of calories from satrated fat and less than 200 mg of dietary cholesterol per day. The TLC diet recommends only enough calories to maintain a desirable weight and avoid weight gain. If your LDL is not lowered enough by reducing saturated fat and cholesterol intakes, the amount of soluble fiber in your diet can be increased. Certain food products that contain plant stanols or plant sterols (for example, cholesterollowering margarines) can also be added to the TLC diet to boost its LDL-lowering power.

Weight Management. Losing weight if you are overweight can help lower LDL and is especially important for those with a cluster of risk factors that includes high triglyceride and/or low HDL levels and being overweight with a large waist measurement (more than 40 inches for men and more than 35 inches for women).

 Physical Activity. Regular physical activity (30 minutes on most, if not all, days) is recommended for everyone. It can help raise HDL and lower LDL and is especially important for those with high triglyceride and/or low HDL levels who are overweight with a large waist measurement.

Complications of obesity. Obesity impairs the function of many organ systems in the body, such as the circulatory system. The risk of serious medical conditions increases with higher BMI values. In addition, obesity reduces quality of life, complicates recovery from surgery, and causes premature death. There is also discrimination against obese people. Obese people often have less social success than thinner people and find it harder to get jobs.

Effect of weight loss. Weight loss in obese people improves or eliminates obesity-related medical conditions and improves quality of life. Many of the results are directly related to the amount of weight lost. Beneficial health effects are even seen after modest weight losses and increase with greater weight loss. Obese people do not have to become lean to benefit from weight loss. Weight loss of as little as 10 percent of total body weight can produce significant health benefits, even in people who remain obese.

GUIDELINES A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH FOR FAVORABLY ALTERING CHOLESTEROL LEVELS WITH REGULAR EXERCISE

The amount of cholesterol in the human body is controlled by cellular molecules that are called LDL-receptors. These molecules allow LDL-cholesterol to attach to and be used by the cell. LDL-cholesterol accumulates in blood in large amounts when the LDL-cholesterol in the body far exceeds the number of available LDL-receptors. This condition most commonly occurs in people whose diets are high in cholesterol or in saturated fats. Saturated fats are found primarily in animal fats and in certain vegetable fats, such as coconut oil and palm oil.

People also may have high cholesterol levels if they have an abnormal gene that prevents a full number of LDL-receptors from forming. This inherited disorder is called familial hypercholesterolemia. Other factors that can cause high blood cholesterol include a malfunctioning thyroid gland, kidney disease, diabetes, and the use of various medicines, including certain diuretics.

Here are guidelines that outline a systematic approach for favorably altering cholesterol levels with regular exercise:

• If you have a less-than-desirable cholesterol level, or your doctor has indicated you have a cholesterol disorder, have your physician establish your cardiovascular health status before engaging in a vigorous exercise program. Your physician may elect to perform additional blood tests (e.g., C-reactive protein) and/or a graded exercise test with an ECG (treadmill stress test) on you first.

• Choose dynamic forms of exercise that tend to last at least 20 to 30 minutes and are performed at moderate intensities. Moderate exercise intensities would be an approximate effort of four to seven, on a scale of one to ten with ten being near maximal exercise.

• In general, for exercise to significantly lower cholesterol levels, a relatively high volume of exercise is recommended (e.g. 1,500 kcal or more per week). In 12 to 16 weeks this volume of exercise can reduce total cholesterol by 10 to 20 percent. Fifteen hundred calories expended during exercise is equivalent to three to four hours per week for the average unfit person performing moderate-intensity walking, swimming, walk-jogging or cycling.

This volume of weekly exercise is approximately the same volume of physical activity required to lose weight. As a result, fat weight loss tends to be associated with increases in HDL-cholesterol and reductions in total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels, especially fat lost around the waist and abdomen. A sample program would be to start with walking 20 minutes per day, four days a week. Over six to eight weeks, graduate this program to one hour, six to seven days a week of walking over hilly (variable) terrain or walk-jogging over relatively flat ground.

An alternative would be to walk 50 to 60 minutes three days a week and take an aerobics class three days a week and perhaps two to three sets of singles tennis on the seventh day. It is important to know that lower volumes of weekly exercise can still produce many other benefits, such as improved fitness and overall health, reduced blood pressure and increased psychological well-being. An ACE-certified Clinical Exercise Specialist can help you make the connection safely and effectively.

CATEGORY AND TREATMENT HIGH CHOLESTEROL

The main goal of cholesterol-lowering treatment is to lower your LDL level enough to reduce your risk of developing heart disease or having a heart attack. The higher your risk, the lower your LDL goal will be. To find your LDL goal, see the box for your risk category below. There are two main ways to lower your cholesterol:

Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC)–includes a cholesterol-lowering diet (called the TLC diet), physical activity, and weight management. TLC is for anyone whose LDL is above goal.
Drug Treatment–if cholesterol-lowering drugs are needed, they are used together with TLC treatment to help lower your LDL.

Category I, High Risk, your LDL goal is less than 100 mg/dL. You will need to begin the TLC diet to reduce your high risk even if your LDL is below 100 mg/dL. If your LDL is 100 mg/dL or above, you will need to start drug treatment at the same time as the TLC diet. If your LDL is below 100 mg/dL, you may also need to start drug treatment together with the TLC diet if your doctor finds your risk is very high, for example if you have had a recent heart attack or have both heart disease and diabetes.

Category II, Next Highest Risk, your LDL goal is less than 130 mg/dL. If your LDL is 130 mg/dL or above, you will need to begin treatment with the TLC diet. If your LDL is 130 mg/dL or more after 3 months on the TLC diet, you may need drug treatment along with the TLC diet. If your LDL is less than 130 mg/dL, you will need to follow the heart-healthy diet for all Americans, which allows a little more saturated fat and cholesterol than the TLC diet.

Category III, Moderate Risk, your LDL goal is less than 130 mg/dL. If your LDL is 130 mg/dL or above, you will need to begin the TLC diet. If your LDL is 160 mg/dL or more after you have tried the TLC diet for 3 months, you may need drug treatment along with the TLC diet. If your LDL is less than 130 mg/dL, you will need to follow the heart-healthy diet for all Americans.

Category IV, Low-to-Moderate Risk, your LDL goal is less than 160 mg/dL. If your LDL is 160 mg/dL or above, you will need to begin the TLC diet. If your LDL is still 160 mg/dL or more after 3 months on the TLC diet, you may need drug treatment along with the TLC diet to lower your LDL, especially if your LDL is 190 mg/dL or more. If your LDL is less than 160 mg/dL, you will need to follow the heart-healthy diet for all Americans.

TREATMENT AND PREVENT HEART ATTACK

Almost all heart attacks occur when a blood clot suddenly and completely blocks a coronary artery. This condition is called a coronary thrombosis, or simply a coronary. The part of the heart muscle nourished by the blocked artery becomes damaged by lack of oxygen. Unless blood flow returns within minutes, muscle damage increases. Heart cells begin to die after four to six hours without blood. The damage can affect the heart's ability to pump and may cause the patient's death. If the clot can be dissolved within four to six hours, damage to the heart can be reduced.

Recovery. Many doctors perform stress tests on patients who have had a heart attack to determine their risk of having another attack or dying suddenly. Patients with abnormal stress tests may be advised to consider angioplasty or bypass surgery. People without complications are sent home for recovery and rehabilitation. Rehabilitation seeks to restore good health through a program that includes gradual increase in exercise and proper diet. The program may also include drugs to control such conditions as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Most patients can do light work in 30 days. Complete recovery from an attack that leaves thick scars on the heart may take up to three months.

If you've had a heart attack, you will probably go home from hospital with lots of new medicines. This can be confusing. If you're not sure what they all are, ask your doctor. The medicines you are most likely to take are listed below.You will probably need to take them for many months, and maybe years.

Aspirin makes your blood less sticky, so you are less likely to get a blood clot that could cause a heart attack. Research shows taking one low-dose aspirin every day cuts your risk of having another heart attack by about a third. If you're allergic to aspirin or can't take it for some other reason, your doctor may give you another drug to stop your blood clotting, for example clopidogrel (Plavix) or dipyridamole (Persantin).

Beta-blockers slow your heart down and make it beat less strongly. Because it's working less hard, it needs less oxygen. This reduces your risk of having another heart attack. There are lots of different types. Some common ones are atenolol (Tenormin), carvedilol (Eucardic) and metoprolol (Lopresor).

Statins reduce the amount of cholesterol in your blood. They reduce the risk of heart attacks for most people. People who are at highest risk of having another heart attack seem to benefit the most. Some names of statins are atorvastatin (Lipitor), pravastatin (Lipostat) and simvastatin (Zocor).

ACE inhibitors keep your blood vessels from getting narrower. They are especially useful if your heart is not pumping as well as it used to. They should reduce your risk of another heart attack. But they're not used for everyone. Some names of ACE inhibitors are captopril (Capoten) and enalapril (Innovace).

All these drugs can cause side effects. As you read this, remember you won't get all of them. If you are troubled by side effects, talk to your doctor.You may be able to switch to another medicine, or a lower dose.

Aspirin can cause stomach upsets. Also, because it makes your blood less sticky, you may find cuts bleed for longer. There is a small chance you could get bleeding from the stomach. But this is not very likely, because the dose of aspirin is low.

Beta-blockers lower your blood pressure. This can make you feel tired, and you might feel dizzy if you stand up quickly. Some men find beta-blockers make it difficult for them to get an erection. And beta-blockers can make some lung problems worse. If you have asthma or chronic bronchitis, make sure your doctor knows before you take beta-blockers.

Most people don't get side effects from statins. But they can cause muscle pain or damage.Tell your doctor if you get muscle pain when taking statins. Some people taking statins have had liver and kidney damage, but doctors are not sure that the statins caused the problems.

Many people find ACE inhibitors can cause a dry cough.They may also cause low blood pressure and kidney problems.

Other treatments

Some people who have a heart attack have an operation called an angioplasty, to widen the artery that got blocked. It can be done as an emergency operation, instead of dissolving the blood clot with drugs.

If you didn't have an angioplasty, but tests show that your heart arteries are narrow, you might have an angioplasty at a later stage. This can reduce your chances of having chest pain (angina) and of having another heart attack. Or you might have an angioplasty if you start getting chest pain after you've gone home from hospital.

To carry out an angioplasty, a surgeon feeds a thin deflated balloon into your heart artery, through a tube into a blood vessel in your groin. When the balloon is in the right place, the surgeon inflates it, so it widens the artery. Then it's taken out again. Sometimes a small metal tube (called a stent) will be inserted, to keep the artery open.

HOW TO RECOVERY HEART ATTACK

If you think you are having a heart attack, seek help immediately. Do not ignore chest pain or discomfort. Time is of vital importance. Call 911 for emergency transport to the hospital. Do not try to drive yourself or being driven by someone else. If you have regular-strength or baby aspirin available and you are not strongly allergic, chew and swallow 1 regular aspirin or a baby aspirin.

• At this dose, aspirin may help maintain blood flow through a clot-filled artery by inhibiting blood clotting.
• Chewing gets the aspirin into your system faster than swallowing it whole.

If you have had angina and been given nitroglycerin, take as recommended by your health care provider. Exact instructions will depend on the form of the nitroglycerin. If you have had a heart attack before, or if you have several risk factors, the following steps may help prevent heart attacks and save you from severe disability or even death.

There’s good news for people who have had a heart attack. The worst is over, and soon you can do most of the things you used to do! Now is a good time to make healthy changes in your lifestyle. Heart disease can get worse unless you take steps to get your heart in good shape. After a heart attack, it’s common to worry a lot. Getting better and feeling good about yourself will take time. It helps to do as your doctor says and to learn about keeping your heart healthy. You may have many active years left to enjoy!

Are my feelings normal?

Most patients say they have bad feelings after a heart attack. These are normal and easy to understand. It’s a good idea to talk to someone about your feelings - don’t keep them inside. In time, these bad feelings should go away.

Fear:

• of dying
• of chest pains
• that you can’t have sex
• that you can’t work

Anger:

• that it happened to you
• at family and friends

Depression, such as thinking…

• “Life is over.”
• You might not be the same again.
• Others might think you are weak.

How will my family feel?

People who are close to you will also “feel” your heart attack. Instead of keeping bad feelings in, you should all talk about them. Family members may feel…

• Frightened to see you in the hospital.
• Angry that the heart attack came at a bad time.
• Guilty because they think they “caused” it, even if they know it’s not possible.

THE CURRENTLY TOP BEATIFUL WOMEN OF THE WORLD

The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."…

Who the current beautiful women of the world, maybe one of them is your idol.

10. Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez is one of the most beautiful women in the world. This lady does not only please other only with her magical voice, but most people love to see her performing and off the screen as well. Jennifer Lopez, who has great achievements in the field of music against her name, has got a very pretty face. Her popularity among millions of her fans helps her to manage in the list of top 10 most beautiful women in the world.

9. Halle Berry

Halle Berry enjoys the 9th position on our list of top 10 most beautiful women of the world in 2013. She is slim, gorgeous and very elegant lady. Her unique hairstyles, which she usually changes with frequent intervals of times, distinguish her in the presence of other women. Most people like her because of her hot, yet graceful outlook.

8. Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence is a very popular celebrity in all America. She has got beautiful eyes and perfect face cuts. Her hot and slim body further compels the people to keep on watching her. Jennifer Lawrence has earned fame and popularity in very short period of time on the basis of her beauty.

7. Zooey Deschanel

With her beautiful eyes, Zooey Deshcanel can make any man go crazy for her. Her nose, which is little out of shape, does not hinder her beauty and she still is loved by millions of people across the globe. Zooey Deschanle has got very beautiful hair which adds to her beauty.

6. Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell has very appealing looks which attract a great number of her fans. She has got curly hair which gives her a very unique outlook. Naomi Campbell enjoys the 6th position on our list of top 10 most beautiful women of the world in 2013.

5. Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba is one of those women who has very seducing outlook. She has got perfect figure, attractive eyes and a very graceful smile. It is believed that a great number of people dream of this lady which is a proof of her popularity in all parts of the world.

4. Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is a name which needs no introduction. She has not only got extra ordinary acting skills, but also possesses a very hot and beautiful outlook. Her famous movies are Tourist, Wanted and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Moreover, she has also been doing charity works through the platform of United Nations, and is regarded as one of the most famous celebrities in the entire world.

3. Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington is a colored lady and is regarded as the most beautiful of all colored women. Kerry Washington has presented great skills of art on the screen due to which she is ranked among most widely known celebrities of America. Moreover, her graceful looks further adds to her beauty and is highly admired by her fans.

2. Monica Bellucci

Monica Bellucci enjoys the 2nd position on our list of top 10 most beautiful women of the world in 2013. This lady has worked hard to improve her outlook and pays high attention towards her beauty. She has got beautiful hair, a charming smile and a very attractive physical body.

1. Gwyneth Paltrow

Here comes the lady who is regarded as the most beautiful woman of the world in 2013. Gwyneth Paltrow is an Oscar-winning actress who as shown brilliant performances in the recent years. Her beautiful looks are admired widely by millions of people around the world.

HAVING WHITE SKIN IS AN IMPORTANT IN ASIAN FEMALE BEAUTY

Whiteness or having white skin is considered an important element in constructing female beauty in Asian cultures. A dramatic growth of skin whitening and lightening products has occurred in Asian markets. Contemporary meanings of whiteness are influenced by Western ideologies as well as traditional Asian values and beliefs.

White skin has emerged as a central desideratum of con- sumer culture in affluent Asia. Not only does skin lightness affect perceptions of a woman’s beauty, it also affects her marital prospects, job prospects, social status, and earning potential.

Here are nine ways to take advantage of that knowledge at home, with ingredients you might already have in your cupboard.

Tissue or sheet masks
Tissue or sheet masks aren't as well known in North America, but they're a popular part of Japanese and Korean beauty routines. These masks come all in one piece for easy application: just open, unfold the mask, and apply. Many of them include anti-aging ingredients, including some of the newest in skin-care technology, and there's one for every skin type. Garnier’s Dark Spot Treatment Mask is loaded with vitamin C and hydrates skin for 24 hours.

Lighten dark spots on your skin with mint
Looking for a gentle and natural way to lighten dark spots on your skin caused by sun damage or acne scars? Use mint: grind the fresh leaves into a paste, apply it over your face as a mask, and leave on for 15 minutes before washing off. You'll get the best results if you repeat this daily, but be careful if you have sensitive skin.

Eat goji berries
In Chinese Traditional Medicine, it's believed that skin health is directly related to the amount of heat in the blood. Wolfberries -- better known in North America as goji berries -- are believed to nourish both the liver and blood, which is related to healthier skin as well. As a bonus, they also contain vitamin C and beta carotene.

Cleanse your skin with rice water
Next time you cook some jasmine rice at home, keep that water and use it to wash your skin to increase softness. (Let it cool first!) Rice is a source of antioxidants like vitamin E, and some of those end up in the water when you cook it. It's an inexpensive way to take advantage of ingredients found in many expensive skin-care products.

Exfoliate with coffee beans
Indonesian women have long used coffee grounds as a powerful natural exfoliant. The caffeic acid in coffee is anti-inflammatory and may boost collagen production, and caffeine is used in skin tightening products. And it smells great! You can give new life to your leftover coffee grounds or buy a product that already contains them.

Amla oil
Amla oil (or gooseberry oil) is a potent source of vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant. For centuries, Indian women have been applying amla oil to their hair and scalp every day in order to make their strands stronger and thicker and prevent hair loss.

Use matcha as a face mask
Matcha is a powdered green tea used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. It's a source of antioxidants when you drink it, and that will help your skin on its own, but you can also use it on your skin to increase brightness and help treat acne. Many skin products now contain green tea or matcha, if you don't want to take the DIY approach.

Oil cleansing
It sounds counterintuitive, but cleansing your skin with oil can actually improve its texture and fight breakouts. The Japanese brand Shu Uemura was making oil cleansers decades before they became trendy on this side of the Pacific, and now sells several varieties. The company's founder says that oil cleansing is the best way to get a gentle but effective cleanse for your skin.

Fibre mascaras
Here's another beauty trend that originated in Japan: fibre mascaras. These mascaras attach fibres to your lashes to actually make them longer, not just longer looking, and the technology has now been embraced by North American brands like Maybelline. As a bonus, you don't need eye makeup remover to get the mascara off -- just use warm water and gentle wiping.

Cover your face in kelp
Seaweed and kelp are used in Chinese and Japanese cuisines for their concentrated nutrients, but they are also a part of traditional skin-care treatments. Imperial courtesans in China used natural exfoliants to remove dead skin cells, and seaweed and kelp were among their favourites. You can make your own gel mask using aloe vera gel a great skin soother and seaweed or kelp mixed in a blender.

Embrace the beautifying power of bird poop
Here's a beauty secret that Posh Spice is allegedly a fan of: nightingale droppings. Japanese geishas have used the dried droppings from these birds for centuries because of their rumoure11. d abilities to soften and brighten skin.