Beauty
Give Your Skin Some Ginkgo. Ginkgo biloba is a Chinese plant best known
in the west for its ability to sharpen cognition. But now
it turns out that this ancient herb may help your skin look its best as well. Ginkgo’s antioxidant compounds
can help protect against inflammation provoked by free radicals, the toxic molecules generated by the sun’s damaging UV rays among other sources. And early studies have indicated that it may help even out
skin tone.

Style Your Hair Simply.
A flattering haircut can go
a long way to completing
your look. But strenuous styling—such as dyeing, perming and excessive teasing—can harm your hair and make it more susceptible to weather damage. So stick to simple cuts; if you must color, try one of the plant-based solutions available at your health food store.

Blood Pressure Issues
Stay Connected to Your Spouse. If you figured that job stress is the biggest driver of high blood pressure, guess again:
A rocky relationship can really send your pressure climbing, while a good marriage can help ease the effects of work strain. In a hectic world, keeping lines of communication open at home can be tough. But it’s crucial for both your happiness and your health.

Cooking
Selecting Fresh Fish. For quality, shop for fish the day you cook it. Among signs that the fish you’re selecting is truly a fresh catch, as described in The Saint-Tropez Diet (Hatherleigh Press), are a shiny luster
and moist surface; sturdy flesh with a little bounce; scales that are clear, bright, intact and attached to the fish; and bright not-sunken eyes. Oh, and a fresh, mild odor, naturally.

Diabetes Issues
Keep Your Feet Happy. Diabetic nerve and circulation damage can leave your feet prone to infection. Always
wear well-fitted shoes and nonbinding socks. Thoroughly dry between your toes after showering and report skin changes to your practitioner pronto.

Environmental Concerns
Keep It Clean. You can’t
avoid all environmental toxins, but you can cut chemical exposure in your own abode. Eating organic whenever possible, looking for eco-friendly cleaning and personal care products, and using items such as low-vapor paints when you redecorate can help keep your at-home toxic exposure
to a minimum.

Headache Relief
Massage Away Headaches. Before you take another aspirin, try this tip from Healing Massage by Daphne Roubini (Cico Books): Add two drops
of either bergamot (if irritable), lavender (if frazzled) or rosemary (if exhausted) oil to
a carrier oil such as sunflower or sweet almond and massage into your head and neck. Ahh!

Heart Health
Give Booze the Boot.
Enjoy a occasional beer or
a little wine with dinner?
While not harmful in moderate amounts for most people, alcohol is a big no-no if even
a glass or two can cause
your triglycerides levels to skyrocket. So pass on the potent stuff and stick with water or club soda.

Humor For Healing
Find the Funny Turnaround. One way to deal with the downers that life dishes out is
to turn them around using what laughter-and-health writer
Allen Klein calls “joke-jujitsu.” He says one way to do it is to use a bad news/good news approach: “The bad news is that my bag fell apart as it came off the plane. The good news is that it was the first out of the baggage chute.”

Living with Cancer
Get Help in Managing Your Moods. While anxiety and/or depression can complicate recovery from cancer, you don’t have to battle these demons alone. Support groups abound, either through treatment
centers or websites like www.cancersupportproject.com. Or check out A Cancer Patient’s Guide to Overcoming Depression & Anxiety (New Harbinger). Written by two psychologists, this easy-to-follow workbook can help you rebuild a life free from cancer’s emotional backwash.

Sinus Troubles
Sinus Self-Healing. Have
a sinus headache or blockage that just won’t go away?
Try this at-home acupressure
tip: Find the small dent at
the inner corner of each eyebrow, right next to the bridge of your nose. Then press inward for 30 to 60 seconds
two times.

Weight Loss
Sweeten Your Coffee
with Stevia. Often it’s what
people use to flavor their
daily java that makes it so unhealthy, like loads of sugar
or synthetic sweeteners.
If straight black coffee isn’t
your thing, try the herbal sweetener stevia, which has no calories and is 10 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia can have an herbal aftertaste, so use it sparingly or try a flavored variety.