A slight pang of nostalgia inevitably hits as you glance at that scar on your knee.  You are suddenly taken back to the time when you scraped your knee on the playground slide a hundred years ago, it seems.  And then, something else hits you.  You are not getting any younger.  The signs of aging are slowly starting to make manifest on your body, and you hear an alarm go off in your head, telling you that you should start doing something to get fit.

There may not be a magic potion for youth, but there is something you can do to feel young and at least delay the signs of aging.

If going to the gym just isn’t right up your alley, you can instead opt to play with your kids.  Set up the outdoor playground equipment and go on the swings with them a few times.  If your stamina wills it, go on the monkey bars.  Play a game of tag or hide-and-seek with them.

When you get tired getting physical, you can stay indoors and play some board games with them.  A round of Scrabble will help hone your word skills.  Playing Battleship will keep you on your toes as you strategize.   Making your brain work will help fire up those neurons even as you get old.

The secret to staying young is striking a balance between physical activity and mental exercise.  Playing with kids is one way to tap into both.  When you have fun, you end up having a more positive outlook on life, and this benefits your overall well-being.

Image source: aboutpixel.de / grünes Wintergemüse © Kirsten Oborny

Blame it on H.G. Wells.  Reading his sci-fi novel The Time Machine has got you all obsessed about going back in time to relive your youth.  Who wouldn’t want to rewind to the time when your face was wrinkle-free and you had enough energy to run in a triathlon?

Since time machines have yet to become a reality, the best we can do to turn back the hands of time and keep ourselves staying young is by eating the right types of food.   Here are some foods which help keep you youthful:

Green tea.  This isn’t called a super drink for nothing.  Green tea helps regulate blood pressure, lower cholesterol and boost the immune system.  So, you can start grabbing a box cutter and opening up that huge box of green tea your doting aunt shipped you for your birthday.

Green leafy vegetables.  Now you have reason to thank your mom for forcing you to eat your veggies.  Green leafy veggies are rich in folate which is essential in preventing DNA and blood vessel damage.  This lessens your risk of developing high blood pressure.

Yogurt.  This has a lot of good bacteria which help stave off the occurrence of intestinal diseases associated with aging.

Start eating right today, and you’ll feel and look younger than you are.

Other than the cellphone, the computer keyboard has become one of the unexpected shelters of countless germs which wreak havoc on our health.  If hours of obsessing over Adirondack furniture at AdirondackChairs.com. has got you tapping away on the computer keyboard, totally unmindful of the time, then you probably have more than enough germs on your hands than you’d really like.

Image source: aboutpixel.de / Spielend Hände waschen © Kerstin Maier

One sure way to keep disease-causing germs at bay is by frequent handwashing.  And this doesn’t mean simply putting your hands under a faucet of running water for a few seconds.  That hardly does the job.  There is a proper way of handwashing:

Wet hands under clean running water, and apply soap.

Lather up by rubbing your hands together, and scrub them scrupulously.  Make sure to scrub the backs of your hands, the skin between your fingers, and get the grub out from under your nails.  Keep doing this for at least 20 seconds.   Without a timer, you can hum the “Happy Birthday” song twice.  Rinse well.

After washing, either air dry your hands or dry them using a clean towel.

The hands are the major vessels for germs to get inside our bodies.  Wash them frequently so you can hold them up high so clean and bright, without worrying about catching diseases.

Now that it is summer, we can’t help but try to find ways to cool ourselves down. It is but expected that we all flock to swimming pools, resorts and beaches, not just to flaunt our summer bodies, but to also get away from the humid, hot weather the season brings.

However, while we may find relief from the heat, if we are not careful, we open ourselves up to some health hazards because of overexposure to the sun and contaminated water.

While the dangers that may be posed by swimming, such as potential drowning, cramps, injuries and sunburn are often talked about and remembered by most people, there are a few health hazards posed by swimming, especially for women like us, that we often forget…and this is caused by staying in a wet swimsuit all day long! I’m talking about infections down there, or in our genital region.

Prolonged staying in wet swimwear, especially since it is made of stretchy nylon fabric, can allow for bacteria and yeast to flourish in our vaginal region, thus increasing the risk for yeast infection and urinary tract infections.

In order to avoid these risks, it is important to try to dry the area after swimming and to try not to stay in these suits for too long a time. Other hazards to watch out for include skin rashes and fungal infections.

Despite these potential dangers, let’s all enjoy the summer Remember, all we need to do is be more mindful and aware of what’s around us.

For some time now, you feel that you can’t seem to control your rollercoaster mood swings, and your skin is breaking out like a teenager’s.  As if that weren’t enough, you also feel as if your energy levels have hit an all time low.  If you feel so run down like that trailer hitch on your trailer, maybe you need to give your liver a good detox.

Your problem skin and mood swings may be caused by a hormonal imbalance and high cholesterol levels.  Subjecting your body to a liver detox diet will help eliminate those nasty problems you’ve been having- not to mention those dark undereye circles.

Since the liver is the primary organ which filters the blood of any toxins, doing the liver detox will help greatly in providing the liver with the necessary raw materials it needs to cleanse the body of unwanted impurities.

Foods that are liver-friendly are vegetables such as cabbages, sprouts, broccoli, garlic, onions, and other yellow, orange and red fruits and veggies.

Going on a liver detox means staying away from foods and drinks which add stress to the liver.  These are caffeine, alcohol, and any types of food with preservatives.

Give your moods and energy levels a much-needed boost with the liver detox diet.  It’s time for you to love your liver!

Image source: aboutpixel.de / Diat © Ronald Leine

Nearly every weight loss program emphasizes the importance of fiber.  Is this the magical formula to keeping the excess flab off your curvaceous bod?  Maybe.  Even if you take the best diet pills that work, you would still need to supplement this with a fiber-rich diet in order to finally achieve your weight loss goals.

What’s all the fuss about fiber, anyway?  A diet rich in fiber helps normalize blood sugar and cholesterol levels.  It delays and reduces the absorption of glucose and cholesterol levels in the body.

Fiber has an overall positive effect on bowel movement, and helps keep those hunger pangs at bay.  So, if you’re feeling not-so-hungry, you tend to eat less.

Legumes, oats, whole grains, fruits and veggies are foods rich in fiber.  Load up on these for you to reap long-term health benefits.  You should not only love your waist, you should also love your heart.

On a recent trip to one of those weekend food markets, I came across a stall that was selling fresh juices. I thought it was just another one of those “fresh fruit juice” stalls that sells blended fruit juices that are, in my opinion, often too sweet because it is mixed with sugar water or syrup. However, upon closer exploration, I discovered that it was green juice.

Photo: “Tropical Green Juice” by Sean and Lauren, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

What exactly is green juice? Well, suffice it to say, it is a mix of fruit and green vegetables, blended into juice. I used to think all green juices were just made of wheatgrass but I learned that most green leafy vegetables can actually be made into a juice. Also, I did not know it had fruits in it, so I always assumed it would taste bitter or too vegetable-like.

The stall I went to used buko  juice or coconut water as the base for most of their concoctions. One of the variants I got to try that morning was a mix of apples, bananas, lettuce, cucumber and mint. It was quite a refreshing and surprisingly yummy drink. It was a little thick and chunky compared to the regular bottled juices I’m used to, but it was something that went down much easier than I had imagined.

Green juices are supposedly more healthy because it does not use any added sugar and really gives you all the nutritional benefits of the fruits and veggies that are mixed into it.

If you’re gearing up for a sizzling hot summer, it is important to remember to keep yourself protected from the sun’s harmful rays. While we may not immediately see the harmful effects of our time under the sun, believe me when I say it’s there!

Too much exposure to the sun can lead to long-term skin damage. Besides increasing the risk for skin cancer, prolonged exposure can lead to wrinkles, sun spots, and uneven skin tone. These can lead to premature aging.

This does not mean, however, that we need to give up on beach time and on soaking up the summer sun. We can still enjoy a sizzling hot summer with these tips to keep our skin protected and healthy:

1. Love the sunscreen! What’s the use of using all our moisturizers, skin treatments and the like if we forget the most basic thing, right?  Before going out into the sun, lather up with sunblock that has a good SPF level that is suited for your needs. Reapply every so often.

2. Avoid being under the sun from 10 am to 4 pm. This is the prime time for the violent rays of the sun. Unfortunately, this is also the prime time for fun, especially if you want to get a tan. If you want to be out in the sun during these times, stay under the shade or pick a spot that offers some level of protection from direct exposure to the sun.

3. Cover up! Wear a hat or put on a sheer top that offers a layer of protection from the sun.

4. Last but not the least, hydrate! Drink lots of water while under the sun. This will allow your body to replenish what is lost while you are tanning, swimming or just enjoying your summer under the sun.

Now that it’s summer, one important thing to remember is to keep hydrated. Even when we are inside our homes or in air conditioned malls, we still run the risk of becoming dehydrated. Besides taking in 8-10 glasses of water a day, we can also keep cool with a nice refreshing glass of coconut water, or as is more popularly known in the Philippines, buko juice.

“Coconut” by Swaminathan, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

Coconut water is not just a delicious way to keep hydrated, but the drink is also said to be one of the healthiest beverages in the world. Health benefits of buko juice include cleaning out the digestive tract, detoxifying the body system and it boosts the immune system.  Because of coconut water’s inherent nutritional content, it has become a popular substitute to oral rehydration drinks and sports drinks. In fact, many gym goers swear by it because it helps replenish lost electrolytes and potassium after a workout. An added bonus to replacing energy and sports drinks with coconut water is the fact that it is not only cholesterol free, it is also low in sugar content.

Oh, and how’s this for additional trivia: coconut water is said to be the closest substance in composition to that of human blood. In fact, during the war, coconut water was used to replace blood in surgeries! Amazing, right? Talk about healthy water!

Make no mistake about it, summer is here.  You can definitely feel the scorching heat of the sun taking center stage.  Before you head out for the beach though, do remember to take good care of your hair with the following easy tips:

Eat right.  Foods rich in protein help in making your hair healthy.  Fish, eggs and tofu do the trick.  In the same token, stay away from fatty and processed food which zap the life out of your hair.

Don’t smoke.  Here’s yet another reason to ban the cigar.  The toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke can damage the DNA in hair follicles.

Condition your hair.  This is almost a no-brainer (so unlike those debt relief solutions you’ve been pondering on for the past weeks!).  Try to use a leave-on conditioner to protect your hair from the sun and chlorine.

The hair is your crowning glory, so do all you can to protect it from the harmful rays of the sun.  After all, wouldn’t you look hotter in that bikini if you had stunning hair to top it all off?