DIY Life

Do-it-yourself healthy hair? What do you mean, you thought hair had to do with genetics?

To an extent, it does. You can't change your hair's thickness, for instance. But with the right diet you can have do-it-yourself healthy hair.

Web MD has published a list of the top ten foods to eat for healthy hair. If you are health-conscious, the good news is that you are probably already eating many of these foods. So have you looked in the mirror lately? If your hair has great body and shine, your diet may be to thank.

For example, if you eat lots of salmon or other sources of omega-3 fatty acids, you will combat dry scalp and hair. Dark green veggies contain vitamins that help make sebum, you body's natural hair conditioner.

Check the Web MD article for all ten foods and you'll be on your way to healthy, beautiful hair.

Stress, to some degree we all have it. Most of us have far more than we'd like to have but we learn how to deal with it in our own special ways. One way that I deal with my own stress load is by visiting my chiropractor once a month. He puts my frame back in alignment and that simply makes everything I face on a daily basis a little bit easier.

The last time I had an appointment with my chiropractor I found a list of stress reducing techniques which actually made me realize that I do a lot more to relieve my own stress than I thought. Stress reduction mentally compounds, which means the less stress you think you have, the less stress you'll actually experience and accordingly, the less stress you'll think you have. The idea feeds on itself.

After the jump, get an idea about how well you might be doing in the ways of managing your own stress.

If you have a weight problem, most likely the problem starts in your own mind. It may seem a bit crude for me to put it in such basic terms but I'm not very good at candy coating the plain truth and the truth is, if you don't suffer from a medical condition which causes you to inexplicably gain weight, your weight problem is largely in your own hands. That means if there is a solution to your weight situation, you're the first person to consult in addressing the problem.

Try tapping your finger against your desk (tap, tap, tap). Can you explain how you did that? It's simple. Your brain took the thought of tapping and translated it into action. Your one thought moved thousands of cells consisting of muscle, bone, blood and more. The point I want to make here is that every cell in your body is undeniably subject to your brain. For successful weight reduction and maintenance, you must first employ your positively directed mind.

According to Prevention magazine, "the most popular -- and successful -- diet today is the one we make up ourselves."

I suspect they're not talking about a donut and coffee grabbed on the way into the office, a rectangle of frozen food warmed in the lunchroom microwave, and a pizza ordered in at dinnertime and enjoyed with a chilled beer or two. I'm sure that's a popular eating plan, but I doubt it rates as successful unless we're measuring in terms of how realistically we can relive our bachelor days.

No, these guys are talking weight loss, and how to personalize nutritional lore to meet your own specific needs. To that end, they present informed, practical suggestions on how to devise your own diet consisting of healthy eating habits that will stick.

Not all of their recommendations will work for every person, but the idea is you take what suits you and leave what doesn't. So even if sticking gold stars in your diet journal for every serving of veggies isn't exactly something you find motivating, maybe their suggestion to "picture your plate as a clock and limit your carbs to the space between noon and 3 pm" is precisely the kind of portion-control advice that will work for you.

The central premise is that you're more likely to stick to a diet and reach your weight-loss goals if you adapt the rules to fit your life, as opposed to adapting your life to fit a set of rules. Makes sense to me, but have a look for yourself and tell me what you think.

Acid reflux is a nasty health condition which many people suffer from. I personally don't have the affliction but I have friends who do. Acid reflux is the upward passage of digestive acids past the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) and back into the esophagus. The resulting symptoms can range from fairly mild burning to moderately severe pain. Over time, acid reflux will even damage the interior of the esophagus.

I have discovered a recurring theme when I talk to my friends about their acid reflux troubles. It seems that most of them have found significant relief with simple changes in diet and eating habits. I happened upon an article which reminded me about what my friends have said helps their acid reflux discomfort. The article by Joe Barton reaffirms that you can probably relieve some of those symptoms yourself.

First, there are some simple changes you can make before you actually change your food choices at all. Make sure that you're hungry before you eat, don't eat just because it's time to. Take reasonable portions, be relaxed about eating your food and always chew a bit more than you think you need to. It's also a good idea to drink some water along with your meals.