Dark circles

Dark circles under the eyes are an extremely common and distressing issue. Did you know that:
 Dark circles are the second most common dermatological complaint? (Acne is #1).
Causes: Though many believe they can be hereditary, there's no conclusive evidence as such. Lack of sleep, mental stress,allergy,  lifestyle habits, nasal congestion , Rubbing or scratching your eyes ,bad diet can contribute to dark circles. Whatever be the reason, it's best to work on the problem before it aggravates.
Here are a few tips to deal with dark circles: 
- Massage Vitamin E or almond oil around the eyes without touching the eyes (massage must strictly be external). This improves blood circulation.
- As a quick fix during parties, use a makeup concealer to hide the dark circle. But remember this is only a temporary solution.
- Get a lot of sleep. Sleeplessness is a culprit for most health problems. Have a set routine and have regular sleep timing. Make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep.

• - Drink lots of water. For anything related to health, water is still the best beverage.
  - Grate raw potato, squeeze the juice and apply the juice under your eyes for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can also place thin slices of potato on your eyes (with them closed) every night before you retire. This is one of the most popular and time-tested home remedies for dark circles.
  - Include a lot of green leafy veggies in your diet. Also include food rich in Vitamin A and E.
  - Indulge in some kind of exercise like walking, jogging. Yoga, especially pranayama is known to improve skin health.
  - Take two thin slices of cucumber and place them on your eyes. This removes the puffiness and cools the eyes
  - Dip cotton in rose water and place them on your eyes.
  - Reduce salt intake in your food. Excess salt encourages fluid retention and leads to puffy eyes.
  - The area under your eyes has very sensitive skin, so never use chemical bleach.
  - You can also place used tea bag (cold) on your eyes which helps lessen the darkness
  - Avoid exposing your skin to harsh rays of the sun. Especially for the eyes, wear sunglasses whenever you step out in the sun 

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Smoking ups heart disease risk in women

Women who smoke have a 25 per cent higher risk of developing heart disease than men smokers, scientists have warned.
Toxins in cigarette smoke appear to affect women more badly, and the risk takes into account that women tend to get through fewer cigarettes than men.
The findings by Dr Rachel Huxley, of theUniversity of Minnesota, and Dr Mark Woodward,Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore from a massive meta-analysis of 86 international studies involving 2.4million people add to evidence that women's health is worse affected by smoking, reports the Daily Mail.
Women smokers have double the risk of lung cancer compared with their male counterparts, and often suffer more aggressive forms of the disease.
The latest review looked at 75 sets of data, which included 67,000 coronary heart disease events such as heart attacks.
The risk ratio of smoking compared with not smoking for coronary heart disease was found to be 25 per cent higher in women than men.
This increased by 2 per cent for each additional year of follow-up, meaning that the longer a woman smokes, the higher her risk of developing heart disease becomes compared with a man who has smoked the same length of time.
The study has been published on Online First by the Lancet medical journal.