Tag: health

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Beauty & Wellness

Natural Skin Care

In this article we will go over and highlight some natural skin care remedies done with plants and herbs. Some of the results from these plants and herbs can yield great results, adding moisture to the skin, helping fine lines and wrinkles, balancing out skin tone, and aiding with acne. Some of these plants and herbs have antibacterial properties that help repair skin that has been damaged by the sun and other external elements.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is a succulent plant that helps sooth the skin naturally. Aloe vera can help treat burns, insect bites, wounds, and other skin conditions. Aloe vera is an incredible moisturizer and is found as an ingredient in many skin care products.

Basil

Basil has a great deal of antiseptic properties. Basil can be used to treat skin conditions from acne to parasites. The juice from the leaves can help treat most common fungal infections.

Calendula

Calendula is a flower that contains anti-inflammatory properties. This flower helps with repairing damaged, or irritated skin.

Calendula can be extracted into an oil that also contains anti-fungal and antibacterial properties. Calendula can help clear up bruises, moreover it can help heal cuts, scars, and sores.

Rose Hips

Rose hips contain vitamin C, which help with immunity and aids with the production of collagen naturally. Rose hips can also be extracted into oil which is found as a ingredient in many common skin care products.

Turmeric

Turmeric is an incredible anti-inflammatory root. You can use tumeric to treat swore and swollen muscles, the root can aid in the healing properties with personal injuries.

When tumeric is eaten it will detoxify the blood system, which improves your overall health.

Nettles

Nettles can be useful useful for clearing up eczema and healing skin wounds. Another way to take nettles is to make a tea or tonic.

Dandelion

Dandelion tea can be a great way to clear acne. The tea can also help eczema. Dandelion can be used on all skin types.

Comfrey

Comfrey’s active medicinal components can be found in the flowers and leaves. Comfrey is an anti-inflammatory. Comfrey is also a great moisturizer, and it can be used for burns, bruises, and eczema.

Alfalfa

Alfalfa has medicinal properties found in the leaves and seeds. It also contains carotene, which is high in vitamin A, this can help with hair and skin. Also, alfalfa contains amino acids and other trace minerals. These beneficial nutrients make alfalfa a great natural skin care remedy.


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Beauty & Wellness Local Business

Small Business Spotlight – Ventura Pilates Lab

Ventura Pilates Lab

With summer quickly approaching, it is the perfect time to begin prioritizing health, fitness, and most importantly… YOU. With this in mind, I took my first-ever Pilates class at the Pilates Lab in Ventura.

The studio, located at 2415 E Main St in Ventura, is nestled above an OBGYN office. Pilates Lab is a woman-owned business that opened its doors in February of 2024 by owner Shannon Barbaro.

Let’s be honest, the hashtag # PilatesPrincess circulating on my Instagram feed inspired me to take a Pilates class. After careful research on the Pilates studios Ventura has to offer, I finalized my decision on Pilates Lab.

With this in mind, I reached out to my cousin Cheri Hays, who is an instructor at the studio. This studio has all glowing 5-star reviews from customers who rave about the offered classes, amenities, and instructors.

My cousin Cheri and I took Jaime’s 8:30am class on Saturday, and let me tell you, the reviews were right! After my 50-minute class, thanks to the controlled movements and deep body alignment my body felt powerful. Mentally, I felt a sense of calmness and mindfulness.

Pictured on the left is Jaime Clark, in the middle is Cheri Hays, and on the right is owner, Shannon Barbaro.

I’d like to point out that I am not the kind of girl who is ready to slay the day at 8:30am. However, afterwards I felt uplifted inside and out, feeling good about myself. You know what they say, look good, feel good.

How my 8:30AM class looked

The studio is beautifully decorated with greenery and fosters a relaxing environment as soon as you step through the doors. In the picture above is an iconic piece of Pilates equipment known as the Reformer. During our class, we used the reformers to engage our quads, core, and arms. It was unlike any workout I have experienced before.

What sets Pilates Lab apart from other studios in Ventura? Shannon Barbaro focuses on biohacking, which she describes as the “full body, anything done to improve the qualities and capabilities of a living organism” (Barbaro). The studio uses “Theralight 360 whole-body light therapy, NuCalm sound healing, and Power Plate to help you achieve your best possible results” (Barbaro). Follow this link to their website to learn more about their class offerings and how these therapeutic machines transform your body.

For anyone like me, who was curious to learn more about Pilates or even take their first class, I recommend trying Pilates Lab in Ventura! Click here to find Pilates Lab via Instagram, or click this to visit instructor Cheri’s Instagram page. Now, stop pilating around and book a class!

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Beauty & Wellness

How to Build Your Gym Journey With Training supplements?

Do you ever wonder how others have their bodies toned up? Or even think on how to start your journey with the correct supplements? I completely understand because that’s how my thinking is always like. I wanted to change my body by gaining muscle into my lower body. By doing this, I did some research for details in order for me to do the correct steps. My mind was completely empty and I didn’t know how to start my journey. I watched TikToks, Youtube Videos, and talked to some friends about their supplement experience and hear what I found.

  • Start looking for information about supplements

It’s very important to see the ingredients you are giving to your body and the benefits they have, to make sure they are the correct ones for the results you want to achieve. There’s many proteins and creatines out there. I totally recommend to look at the reviews and ingredients each supplement have. Maltodextrin and corn syrup solids contains high sugar levels which are some additives that are bad for your health. They can lead you to have diabetes which anybody wants since we are in our healthy journey. A protein I totally recommend is called OWYN flavor nut butter cup which is 100% Vegan and Plant Based. A creatine I’m currently taking is Beast Bites Gummies, this creatine is changing my life because I’m seeing results fast and they taste like candy.

  • Look For High Protein Food

Food could be another supplement that could help our gym journey. Looking at TikTok videos has teach me how to prepare high protein foods that can help me benefit my muscles to repair after a workouts. Some examples of high protein food are salmon, eggs, chicken, lentils, and etc. As well as they can help with your bloodstream carrying oxygen. According to UCLA Health “people focus on improving their fitness faster with food to keep them healthy and mortality, since it has fiber and vitamins”. What I do is every weekend I try to buy groceries and prepare my food for the whole week, by adding vegetables and meat to the side.


-Here are some of my favorite plates-

Corn, White Rice, Avocado, Chicken, Black Beans, and a side of greens
Tuna, two boil eggs, pico de Gallo
ground beef, white rice, 1/2 avocado, drizzle of sweet honey BBQ
  • Hydrate

Of course working out makes you feel thirsty and that’s normal, its important to stay hydrated. Meanwhile we work out our sweat evaporates from our skin which makes remove heat from our body. Drinking water 24/7 makes your supplements more effective and helps burn fat. While drinking creatine is very important to drink at least 4 to 5 litters of water if not you can experience muscle cramps and digestive uses such as nausea or bloating.

  • Listen to your Body

Pay attention to your body on how supplements affect you! “The most important skill that any athlete can develop is a sense of how their body is responding to exercise,”(christie) says. You don’t want any pain or injury to your body, what we really want is see better result. Our body is a very intelligent machine that’s tell us what’s wrong and what’s good, it gives us a sign which is good to know. The main key to figure out if the supplements we take are great based on reading the labels of the ingredients and by recommend supplements by others.

  • Conclusion

These are the main facts I enjoy doing to build my gym journey with supplements. Although there’s a lot of proteins and creatine, we have to read the directions on how to take them and the type of ingredients they both have. Not just because we want to see results fast will make us drink whatever we find, NO! We can’t have consequences in our body which can makes us become ill or go to a doctor. Reading these articles has been great tools that I highly recommend, they are label with a link so you guys can check them up! Start your gym experience, I’ll promise you’ll feel happy!:)))

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Arts & Entertainment Culture & Student Life

Feeling Moody? Just Hit Play!

Music has always been the universal language. No matter what country of origin, listeners are able to distinguish an emotional presence and overall feeling from the melodies, rhythm, and movement of the song. So this got me thinking about the overlooked behavior of choosing music when we have those emotional moments. What makes people put on certain songs? Specifically, when you are feeling sad, happy or angry, does the listener choose music to lift them out of that emotion or stay present in that mindset. I decided to set out get some answers!

The Psychology behind music selection

A lot of different choices can be made based on mood. Picture this, two people are having the exact same awful of a day then return to their respective places of living. They decide they want to decompress their day by turning on their speaker and putting on some music. Regardless of them going through the same awful day, even then, they would still most likely choose music from opposite sides of the spectrum. One might put on more of a Midwest Emo/EmoViolence/ Emo Hardcore and sit in their respective emotions and ride it out. The other might put on more 80s New Wave/ Synth Pop/ Goth Rock and dance it out right there in their living rooms to exert that awful day away. Why does this happen? I wanted to find out what music listeners choose based on their moods.

Instagram poll results

I took to my instagram, posted some polls on my story, and gathered my own data. These polls were centered around 3 major emotions. Sadness, Happiness, and Anger. Respondents were asked about their music choices when experiencing any of those three emotions. Do they choose music that matches the mood or do they choose music that pulls them out of that given emotion. About an average of 50 users participated in the research below. Heres what I found.

Sadness

First up, we have everyone’s good old companion, sadness. When asked about what music they choose, most people chose music that matches their mood. This means they are pressing play on the tunes that make them shed a tear or amplify those sad thoughts. In this way, they’re riding the wave and getting off it when they feel ready to. I think it is important to think about how a lot of the music in the mainstream, regardless of the genre, has a reoccurring run in with sadness. Whether this would be with an Electronic Pop hit about a breakup or a Indie Rock song about hating your 9-5, that all point to the same baseline of sadness. It’s a more normalized emotion within the music sphere and in our everyday and one to be processed, this is where music is often the helpful tool. When in comes to the other 19 percent in the poll, they are the ones to put the tunes to get them out of the pit of sadness. This would consist of upbeat, pop, bright songs to pump up the energy to move through it.

Happiness

When respondents were asked about they hit play on when it comes to happiness, there was also a huge gap that presented itself across the data. It appears that when users felt that they were having a good energy in their day where they felt energetic, happy, and joyful most users wanted to continue that vibe with some tunes to encourage rather than mellowing themselves out. In this instance more fast paced, high energy, bright songs would be in the rotation rather than some stripped back, calm, and grounded songs. This again would be another emotion that would be normalized in our mainstream with songs being used to get us hyped up and happy. This would be considered a more accepted emotion alongside sadness to be able to process through music in a healthy way. Feeling warm, joyful, and excited? Great put on some ABBA!

Anger

Here’s where it gets interesting! Given that the previous polls had a rather huge gap between the answers, this one was actually cutting it quite close. When users were asked about moments where they felt Angry, 55% of them said they would much rather choose music to continue on the rage. 45% said they wanted to put something on that would help them calm down and get to a better headspace. I think with the other emotions in the study, I can’t help but notice how Anger is more of the emotion that is not as easily accepted in the mainstream and in our everyday. It’s violent, its dark, and it can be visceral. As we should know, Anger can and is a healthy emotion to experience yet many user were wanted to choose music to calm them down and contrast the anger overall. When it comes to the choices for matching the mood this could consist of Hardcore, Metal, and maybe even a sprinkle of something Punk adjacent. Those wanting to calm themselves down are going more for the soft and mellow tones of Jazz, Acoustic, or Folk.

Let’s Rewind

At the end of the day, music choice is all subjective and changes from person to person! As mentioned previously, but two people feeling the same emotion and going through the same type of day, won’t neccessarilay mean that they will end up choosing the same music to decompress after a long day. That in of itself is really interesting! The main take away from this study was really the curiosity of how people make their moody music choices and present the findings. This is to get us to be a bit more aware of what we hit play on when we are feeling emotional. Do we go with the flow or go against it?

Moody Playlists

To finish things off here are some of some playlists of songs from my personal library that I would put on for when I fell Happy, Sad or Angry. When comparing myself to the results, I am definitely more of the listener to choose music that matches the mood entirely. I think this is a pretty good representation of myself but I encourage you to make some playlists to have ready when those emotional moments happen!

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Local Business

What to Know about HomeCare Facilities: The Butterfly Inn LLC

The Butterly Inn, LLC is a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly located at 4370 Whittier Ct, Ventura. The facility operates 24 hours/7 days a week with spacious living and activities.

The facility is designed to serve 6 ambulatory / non-ambulatory elderly residents in a private / semi-private room setting. Basic services include: 3 daily meals, snacks, laundry, activities and housekeeping of resident’s bedroom, which the facility will provide for the bedroom furniture, chairs, nightstands and lamps. Residents may bring their own furnishings with the prior written approval of the License/Administrator.

It is located close to several shopping areas, various restaurants for dine-out activities, various denominational churches, and several community parks. The facility location is also close to several medical and dental offices, close to Ventura County Medical Center and Community Memorial Hospital.

The facility will provide assistance and care for residents who require assistance with activities of daily living, ie., bathing, showering, teeth brushing, face washing, hair care, dressing, and the assistance of self-administration medications. Additional assistance to each resident based on his/her needs and services or subsequent need’s plan will be given.

It will provide a home-like atmosphere, which includes special events, family/resident activities, birthday parties, and cultural-based events. They encourage family participation as it promotes positive outcomes for our residents.

It is non-medical facility; their staffs are trained in first aid in observation of medical emergencies and will expeditiously contact resident’s physician or medical facility to ensure prompt treatment. 

Statement of Purpose

“Our goal is to provide home-oriented environment to cater to the individual needs of our elderly individuals who require assistance with their daily living needs. This facility will encourage elderly adults to pursue individual interest and activities. We will ensure that all residents maintain optimal level of health and receive medical, dental examinations or follow-up appointments regularly.”

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Beauty & Wellness

Best Protein Powders

Many people utilize protein supplements for various reasons, whether it be to increase muscle mass, support muscle recovery, manage weight control, or possibly just a simple way to boost your athletic performance. One of the common choices consumers will face is which protein powder or supplement to use. In this article, we will discuss different proteins and the benefits or drawbacks that can possibly come along with them.

Whey Concentrate

Firstly, we will discuss the most popular protein powder among athletes, which is whey protein. This protein supplement is definitely the most popular, but is this the best protein for you? Whey protein, is a byproduct of milk. The way whey protein works is it enters your bloodstream faster than most proteins and boosts high levels of amino acids. This is a great way to provide muscles with the nutrients to get through your workouts and build muscle. Whey protein is considered the most effective protein powder to build muscle. Whey concentrate protein includes some lactose and fat. It’s about 78 to 88 percent protein. Whey protein is less expensive than whey isolate which we will go over in our next protein supplement.

Whey Isolate

Basically whey isolate is the isolated form of whey protein which means the carbs and fat have been removed from the protein to make a protein powder that is 98% protein. Many athletes that are trying to gain lean muscle and cut down on body fat may choose whey protein isolate.

Whey Protein Isolate, Creamy Vanilla Powder

Casein Protein

Casein protein is derived from milk, which is high in protein content. The biggest difference with casein protein is that it takes longer to digest; for this reason, some athletes choose to take it before bed.

Soy Protein

Soy protein is made of ground soybeans that have been isolated from their fats. Soy protein digests at a moderate rate. This protein contains a good amount of amino acids, glutamine, and arginine, which may help with immune support. Pea protein is actually a complete protein, which is a huge benefit and a supporting reason why pea protein is considered one of the top types of plant-derived proteins for building and maintaining muscle.

7 Amazing Health Benefits Of Pea Protein Powders — AS-IT-IS Nutrition

Egg White Protein

Egg white protein is the whites of eggs that have been dried and ground down into powder. This protein digests slower than whey protein but faster than casein. Egg white protein is a great option for a post-workout protein shake.

What is Egg White Protein? | RXBAR

Hemp Protein

Hemp protein is made from ground hemp seeds. Hemp protein has less protein content, so it may not be the best option for building muscle; however, it does provide a good source of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. This may be a good option if you want another source for nutrients and are okay with the lesser amount of protein.

Hemp protein powder | merchant & supplier | naVitalo