by Fiona Barrett
Breath Deeply and Say "Ahhhhhh"
Thinking about how we eat is as important as what we eat…
Meditation is a practice that transforms eating into dining by being mindful of how we eat and using our senses — taking us from feeding ourselves to nourishing ourselves with food.
So slow down and enjoy a favorite food. Mine is chocolate, but you can choose any food for this meditation to achieve mindful eating.
by Fiona Barrett
A Spa for Your Skin
If we think of our skin as our body’s protective layer (it is our “outer covering” after all) and as one of the major organs in our body, then what we eat to feed and nourish our skin is critical to creating “beautiful skin.”
Our skin helps regulate our body's temperature by increasing perspiration when our body gets too hot. As the perspiration evaporates it cools our skin, and our bodies. Our skin also helps eliminate toxins from our body. Did you know that over one pound of waste products from our body is excreted through our skin each day!
Hair Conditioning Wrap
The Mayans from Central America, Mexico, and Guatemala use their natural local resources to adorn their bodies and create their own unique beauty. We can learn from their approach toward natural beauty using foods. I love this Hair Conditioning Wrap using their local produce of bananas and avocado to create a luscious hair treatment. It will help moisturize your scalp and hair, strengthen your hair, and give it a shiny luster.
The first time I made this hair wrap at home, my boys were keen to help puree the ingredients in the food processor (they love helping me in the kitchen, especially pressing the buttons on the food processor!). When they realized I was going to put this green stuff on my hair they were a little shocked! “Mummy, are you sure that’s a good idea?” they asked! But after they watched me massage it into my hair for a few minutes, they thought it looked like fun and wanted to have some in their hair too!
Spring Cleaning for Beautiful Hair 
Spring is the time of renewal and revival. After a winter of harsh weather it’s time to create a rich foundation within our bodies to help us have more beautiful hair. Your hair is a reflection of your inner health and I want to share with you how beautiful eating creates beautiful hair!
Just as we accumulate stuff in our lives, our bodies accumulate food toxins and residues that need to be spring-cleansed. Cleansing our bodies from within is especially important in today’s environment when we are exposed to more pollution, pesticides and chemicals in our daily life.
Get the Toxins Out
Cleansing your body for 3-5 days is a great way to jumpstart beautiful eating for beautiful hair. Here are some simple steps you can take to help rid your body of its winter stuff.
Fiona Barrett, Certified Holistic Health Counselor A.A.D.P
Ready for a beauty makeover? How about a little carotenoid, bioflavonoid, and antioxidant? No, no, not on, but in! This beauty makeover starts from the inside, through nutrition.
In this series of articles, I’ll explore with you ways of achieving beauty through foods we choose to eat: how we can feed our natural glow. We’ll discover how to gain natural beauty through balanced and careful eating for specific areas of our body.
The foods we eat nourish the cells of our body; our bones, skin, hair, and nails all have their own specific nutritional requirements. For instance, calcium, as is well known, helps keep our bones strong. By eating for beauty, we can supply our bodies with the nutrients, the vitamins, and the minerals for good health; the result is a natural beauty and radiance.
As a child you were told to eat your carrots because they were good for your eyes. It’s true, they contain high amounts of carotene and that improves eyesight. You are what you eat and you can choose to improve your own beauty through food! In this first article I’ll focus on foods and nutrition for beautiful eyes.
For bright sparkling eyes increase your intake of whole foods rich in antioxidants, and phytochemical’s including carotenoids and bioflavonoids. Antioxidants include Vitamin C and Vitamin A, which protects the cells of the body from damage of oxidation caused by free radicals.
When you look someone in the eye and see beautiful eyes what do you see?
Clear Eyes
The whites of the eyes are clear without redness. Small broken blood vessels in the white of the eye cause the eye to redden. Strengthening the eye’s blood vessels and improving blood flow to the retina can help keep the red away. The antioxidant Vitamin C and the bioflavonoid anthocyanin help you do this.
Natural Color
The iris and pupils are full of their natural color. The eyes sparkle as the light reflects off bright eyes without shadow from puffiness or dark circles around the eyes. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, like dark leafy greens, that are cleansing for the body, promote circulation and prevent the inflammation to keep those dark circles away!
Help Keep Away Wrinkles
The wrinkles in the skin around our eyes are signs of oxidative damage. The antioxidants in Vitamin C and Vitamin A help protect the cells of the body from damage of oxidation caused by free radicals and so help keep away wrinkles around our eyes. Cataracts and macular degeneration are also signs of oxidative damage.
These foods in particular will help you have healthier, beautiful eyes:
Blue and purple fruits rich in antioxidant and bioflavonoid complex called anthocyanin. These fruits help strengthen the blood vessels in your eyes. Try blackberries or blueberries. You can eat them raw and natural or, for a sweeter taste, sprinkle them with cinnamon. They are great in a smoothie or in plain yogurt.
Leafy green vegetables are a great source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. These greens help keep away the wrinkles around your eyes. Leafy greens are the food most missing from the typical American diet. Spinach, arugula and kale are all a good addition to your diet. Chop leafy greens and add them to soups, stews, omelets, pizzas, or pastas. Try sautéing these greens with garlic in beauty enhancing olive oil.
Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables contain antioxidant Vitamin C and carotenoids, bioflavenoids and lutein. These nutrients are vital to growth and repair of healthy blood vessels at work in your eyes. Choose carrots, butternut squash or yellow beets. Roast a combination of these vegetables in olive oil and fresh herbs. Fresh carrot and beet juice make a great combination.
Foods can also be used as body care treatments to help exfoliate, moisturize and care for your hair, skin and nails.
Cucumber slices: Place chilled cucumber slices onto closed eyes for 15 minutes. Cooling and refreshing: helps to keep skin around the eyes firm.
Grated cucumber or potato: Wrap in cheesecloth and press onto the eye area to minimize those dark circles around the eyes.
Gorgeous! The Sum of All Your Glorious Parts
by Jorj Morgan with Harry Moon MD and Mary Ellen Clark
A great resource of whole foods and nutrition to help you enhance your natural beauty: includes recipes and self-help techniques for all parts of the body. Combines food plans and home relaxation and spa ideas. Gorgeous: The Sum of All Your Glorious Parts
In Our Next Article
We will explore more about beauty through food for healthy hair!
Fiona Barrett is a certified Holistic Health Counselor trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. Accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. She creates unique nutrition and life style programs to help you personally discover what nourishes and feeds you to live an energized and passionate life! Fiona was born in England and now lives and practices in the greater Boston area.
For more information go to www.fionabarrett.com or contact Fiona at .
Do you have an Eating Beautiful question or comment? Comments for Fiona.
