ASTRIDESTELLA'S PHILOSOPHY~THE "RIGHT TIME"

Have you ever stopped to think how wonderful nature is and how it has thought of everything? If you think of the human body and how our bodies work all the chemical changes that take place within our livers and digestive system, not to mention how all our individual cells come together and form us and how these cells reproduce copies of each other and if not we have a fall back system, our immune system to deal with any malformed ones. And how wonderful, how we can reproduce and form new people and how these babies, no matter how tiny are perfectly formed.

Ok the next bit of what I'm going to say might seem a bit silly, but when you think of it, it does make sense. As we get older, we don't look as good as we used to, we may put on a bit of weight and become a bit flabby, our skins wrinkle and is not as firm as it used to be. But nature has thought of this too, we loose the ability of being able to focus our eyes close up, so we cannot see the fine detail as we used to so when you look in the mirror (unless its a magnifying one) we see ourselves and others in fuzzy vision, so within our generation, we don't notice the ageing as much.  Nature's way of helping us cope with age don't you think?

But on a more serious note, the Universe like Nature thinks of everything and all part of a plan, there is a right time for everything in life and if it doesn't happen when you want it to, it was because it wasn't the right time. For a plan to come together all the components must be there at the right time, as is the case with the human body, for the body to live it needs oxygen, water and food and our bodies need all the correct enzymes to digest that food. And so it is with our desires, each part has to come together and if that part isn't ready it cant happen. If something is meant to happen it will and because Nature and the Universe is so incredible, it will do so at the "RIGHT" time.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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NATURAL REMEDIES FROG AND TOAD SKIN EXTRACTS

I am a great believer in natural remedies as my blog here states. The article here below is from the Daily Mail. And yes I would agree Nature and the Universe gave us a vast array of resources to deal with sickness.

Natural remedies: Frog and toad skin extracts could help treat more than 70 diseases

Researchers from Queen's University in Belfast have accidentally stumbled upon a potential treatment for up to 70 diseases including cancer, diabetes and strokes.
They were doing research on the little-known Waxy Monkey Frog from South America when they discovered some unusual properties in its skin's secretions.
The Giant Fire-bellied Toad, native to China and Vietnam, was also found to have the potential to treat an array of diseases.

Vein shrinker: Researchers doing a study on Waxy Monkey Frogs accidentally stumbled upon a potential treatment for up to 70 diseases including cancer

Professor Shaw, who led the research said: 'The aim of our work at Queen's is to unlock the potential of the natural world - in this case the secretions found on frog and toad skins - to alleviate human suffering.
'We are absolutely convinced that the natural world holds the solutions to many of our problems.
'We just need to pose the right questions to find them.'

The team of researchers were testing a range of proteins taken from secretions from frogs and toads.
They soon realised proteins in the secretions - which the frogs and toads use as protection from predators - also control the growth of blood vessels - a process known as angiogenesis.
Professor Shaw said: 'The proteins that we have discovered have the ability to either stimulate or inhibit the growth of blood vessels.

Opposite effect: Secretion from the Giant Firebellied Toad stimulates blood vessel growth - making it useful for wound healing, organ transplants, diabetic ulcers and damage caused by strokes

'By switching off angiogenesis and inhibiting blood vessel growth, a protein from the waxy monkey frog has the potential to kill cancer tumours.
'Most cancer tumours can only grow to a certain size before they need blood vessels to grow into the tumour to supply it with vital oxygen and nutrients.
'Stopping the blood vessels from growing will make the tumour less likely to spread and may eventually kill it.
Professor Shaw said the discovery could allow surgeons to remove tumours, and that the protein from the frog could be used to stop remaining cancer cells from growing further.
He said: 'It wouldn't cure the cancer but it would stop it from developing any further and allow the person to live a normal life.'
Secretions from the Giant Firebellied Toad have the opposite effect. They stimulate blood vessel growth.
The Professor said: 'This has the potential to treat conditions that require blood vessels to repair quickly, such as wound healing, organ transplants, diabetic ulcers and damage caused by strokes or heart conditions.'

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WHO SAID CARBOHYDRATES WERE BAD? NOT AT ALL!

This article I've taken from the Daily Mail, advocates what I have been telling people for years. Carbohydrates are not all bad, its THE REFINED CARBOHYDRATES THAT ARE BAD. If you look at the list down below of carbs that contain resistant starch you will notice they are all UNREFINED CARBOHYDRATES. These foods fill you up, stop you feeling hungry and they use up energy being broken down, they also maintain blood sugar levels for longer, stopping the sugar peaks and lows, that can causing shaking and dizziness when trying to loose weight and prevent the brain fatigue that goes with this.

Eat carbs, lose weight: How carbohydrates can help you eat less AND burn more calories

For years they’ve been a no-no — but now a diet taking America by storm says bread, pasta and potatoes can help you drop half a stone in a week...

Weightloss wonder: You can still eat carbs and shed the pounds according to a new diet

Low-carbohydrate diets have been all the rage for some time. And with an estimated 15 per cent of the UK population following a reduced-carb diet at any one time, they’re certainly popular.
But, as anyone who has tried one can testify, there is something about carbohydrate denial that seems extraordinarily punishing.
Carbs are, after all, so tempting —whether it’s the smell of freshly baked bread or the delicious sight of buttery new potatoes.
But the low-carbohydrate message has become so entrenched in modern diet wisdom that pasta, bread, rice and potatoes have been widely accepted as being intrinsically ‘bad’.
But does it have to be this way? A new diet plan claims not, positively encouraging its followers to eat spaghetti and jacket potatoes with meals yet claiming it’s possible to still lose up to 6lb in a week.
It goes against everything we’ve been told by the likes of the Dukan and Atkins diets, but studies have shown that not all carbs are bad. Some contain a substance called resistant starch which, when consumed in quantity, actively encourages weight loss.
Found in ordinary foods — such as bananas, oats, beans and potatoes — resistant starch is so-called because it appears to resist digestion.
This starch travels through the digestive system nearly intact, producing fatty acids that stimulate fat-melting enzymes (particularly in the abdominal area), encouraging your liver to switch to a fat-burning state, preserving muscle mass (so stoking up your metabolism) as well as boosting satiety hormones, meaning you feel fuller for longer.

 

Now, the power of resistant starch has been harnessed in a book, The Carb Lover’s Diet, which has taken the U.S. by storm and is now available in the UK. Written by respected health editor Ellen Kunes and dietitian

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A U.S. study found women who ate a low-carb diet had a poorer memory and attention span than those on a low-calorie diet

Frances Largeman-Roth, The Carb Lover’s Diet is a diet plan which, the authors claim, guarantees rapid but long-term weight loss.
Both authors are vehemently against the low-carb message, believing Atkins-style diets are difficult, unnatural and ineffective long-term. They claim our bodies and brains have evolved to eat starchy foods and willpower alone can only hold back on centuries of evolution for so long before we crack and all those good intentions are lost to a carb-rich feeding frenzy.

Resistance is futile: Avoiding carbs is against evolution, according to authors of The Carb Lover's Diet

OUR GUIDE TO 'RESISTANT STARCH' SUPER FOODS

Green bananas are the hero food of the resistant starch diet. If you eat one slightly green banana a day, you get a guaranteed 12.5g of resistant starch to help you lose weight without feeling hungry. Increase your daily intake of the
following foods, which are rich in resistant starch:

• Green banana 12.5g
• Ripe banana 4.7g
• Oats, uncooked (50g/2oz) 4.6g
• Cannellini beans (125g/4oz) 3.8g
• Lentils, cooked (100g/3.5oz) 3.4g
• Potato, cooked and cooled 3.2g
• Chickpeas, cooked (125g/4oz) 2.1g
• Wholewheat pasta (150g/5oz) 2g
• Pearl barley, cooked (75g/3oz)
• White pasta, cooked and cooled
• 150g/5oz) 1.9g
• Kidney beans (125g/4oz) 1.8g
• Potato, boiled with skin 1.8g
• Brown rice, cooked (100g/3.5oz) 1.7g
• Pinto beans, cooked (125g/4oz) 1.6g
• Peas, frozen (75g/3oz) 1.6g
• White pasta, cooked (150g/5oz)
• Black beans, cooked
• (125g/4oz) 1.5g
• Millet, cooked (75g/3oz) 1.5g
• Baked potato with skin 1.4g
• Pumpernickel bread (one
• slice) 1.3g
• Polenta, cooked (8tbsp) 1g
• Potato crisps (25g/1oz) 1g
• Cornflakes (25g/1oz) 0.9g
• Rye bread (one slice) 0.9g
• Puffed wheat (15g/0.5oz) 0.9g
• Tortillas (one) 0.8g
• Rye crackers (two) 0.6g
• Wholemeal bread (one slice) 0.3g

Kunes and Largeman-Roth have devised and tested a diet that promises weight loss without carb-denial, which hinges on resistant starch. They quote more than 200 studies at respected universities around the world, which show resistant starch to be an effective appetite suppressant and metabolism booster.
Research at the University of Surrey found that consuming resistant starch in one meal caused participants to consume 10 per cent fewer calories (roughly 150 to 200 calories for the average woman) during the next day because they felt less hungry.
Another study showed that resistant starch increases the activity of fat-burning enzymes and decreases the activity of fat-storage enzymes, meaning stomach-fat cells were less likely to pick up and store calories as fat.
Results seem to indicate that adding a little resistant starch to your morning meal is enough to shift your body into fat-melting mode, enabling you to burn nearly 25 per cent more calories a day.
Meanwhile, you’ll eat about 10 per cent fewer calories because you don’t feel as hungry. Most of us naturally consume around 4.8g of resistant starch a day, but the authors believe increasing your intake to ten to 15g a day is enough to trigger a swift and simple route to weight loss.
They have devised a quick-start, seven-day diet plan which, they say, guarantees rapid 3lb to 6lb of weight loss, and a separate long-term strategy for incorporating healthy carbohydrates — particularly those containing resistant starch — into your life to ensure weight continues to come off, and stays off.
STAR CARBS

• BANANAS are your richest source of resistant starch. They are also rich in appetite-suppressing fibre (3g each) and contain the amino acid tryptophan, which is converted into the calming brain chemical serotonin to help you relax and improve your mood.
• Nearly half the starch in BEANS is resistant starch, making them a powerful weight-loss ally. They are also an incredibly rich source of fibre. A Canadian study found that people who ate beans regularly tended to weigh less and have a smaller waist than those who didn’t (they were also 23 per cent less likely to become overweight over time).
• In addition to the fibre and resistant starch they contain, POTATOES are a natural source of a proteinase inhibitor — a natural chemical that boosts satiety hormones and  curbs appetite.
• POLENTA — this cooked cornmeal is naturally high in resistant starch, but is also rich in fibre and contains a decent amount of protein. It can be cooked into a creamy consistency or baked into crunchy sticks (chop small to make nutritious crutons).
• BROWN RICE digests more slowly than white. One study found that blood sugar levels were 24 per cent lower in people who ate brown rice than those who ate white.
• BARLEY is rich in resistant starch and both soluble and insoluble fibre which reduces appetite and  aids digestion.

DIET RULES
Stick to the daily plan (below) or mix and match meals, but to lose weight quickly, follow these rules:

• Eat at least 1g of resistant starch with each meal and aim for a minimum daily 10g total.
• At lunch and dinner, ensure resistant starch fills a quarter of your plate and the remaining three quarters is lean meat and low-fat dairy products, fruit and vegetables.
• Write down everything you eat in a food diary, highlighting all foods high in resistant starch (research shows that dieters who jot down what they ate lost weight more quickly than dieters who didn’t, and keeping a food diary helps dieters follow their plans without cheating).
• Ban artificial sweeteners. Studies show they may increase your cravings for sugary foods. Fake sweeteners are up to 600 times sweeter than sugar and numb your taste buds to the natural sweetness of good-for-you carbs such as berries and other fresh fruit.
• Eat one snack a day to prevent between-meal bingeing (the longer you wait to eat your snack, the easier it will be to stick to the diet).
• Don’t skip meals. Sticking to a regular pattern maintains blood sugar levels and keeps hunger at bay.
• Keep trigger foods out of the house. This means you are less likely to lose your self-control and scoff them down.
• Drink eight glasses (240ml) of water each day, so you don’t mistake thirst for hunger. Don’t drink liquid calories. On the seven-day kickstart plan, you can drink water, coffee and tea (black, green or herbal, without sweeteners, but with up to two teaspoons of semi-skimmed milk), but skip fruit juice, alcohol and fizzy drinks (even diet drinks or sparkling water), which make you look and feel bloated.
• Sit down to every meal. Grabbing something and eating it over the sink sets you up for overeating. It doesn’t give you a chance to be mindful about your food, and you’re less likely to pay attention to the serving size. Eat slowly and avoid TV, music and even dinner companions — all of which can cause you to overeat.
• Use smaller plates (try your salad plate instead of your dinner plate) and keep portion sizes small.
• For a quick boost, try this fat-flushing cocktail, which includes metabolism-boosting ingredients that will help speed you to your goal: Take two litres of green tea, juice from one orange, juice from one lemon and juice from one lime. Mix together in one large jug. Serve hot or iced. Keep in the fridge for up to three days.

THE RECIPES

Prawn Stir-Fry with Ginger (serves two)
Heat 2tsp sesame oil in a pan and add 2tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp honey, 1 tbsp grated ginger, two chopped garlic cloves.
Cook for one minute.
Add 400g/14oz stir-fry vegetables, 75g/3oz prawns and 300g/10oz cooked brown rice and cook for eight minutes.
Serve topped with 2tbsp flaked almonds and one chopped spring onion.

Chicken pasta primavera (serves two)
Cook 50g/2oz wholemeal pasta then cook 125g/4oz cooked chicken strips with one sliced onion, three finely chopped garlic cloves, a 400g/14oz can of chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper and 1tsp dried oregano for eight to ten minutes before combining with cooked pasta, one courgette sliced lengthways into ribbons and 2tbsp parmesan cheese.

Grilled burger and  three-bean salad (serves two)
Divide 175g/6oz lean minced steak into two and shape into a thick patty, cooking for six minutes on each side.
Combine 75g/30z green beans, 125g/4oz rinsed canned cannellini beans, 125g/4oz rinsed canned kidney beans, 100g/3.5oz finely chopped carrot and half a chopped green pepper with 2tbsp low-fat vinaigrette in a bowl.
Serve burgers in wholemeal  buns topped with lettuce and sliced tomato.

Fish Tacos with coleslaw (serves four)
Sprinkle 700g/1lb 8oz fish fillets with salt, pepper and cooking spray and cook in a non-stick pan for ten to 12 minutes. Mix 3tbsp low-fat yogurt with 2tbsp lime juice, 1tbsp dark sesame oil, 2tsp grated fresh ginger, 1tsp honey and coat 350g/12oz coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage, carrot, lettuce).
Divide the fish between warmed tortillas and top each with the coleslaw.

YOUR SEVEN-DAY KICK-START CARB DIET PLAN

This plan has been devised to provide a healthy, balanced diet that maximises resistant starch intake, but restricts calories to 1,200 a day, promising dramatic weight loss of 3lb to 6lb in just a week.
MONDAY

Breakfast: Banana shake (blend one banana, 250ml/12fl oz semi-skimmed milk, 2tsp honey with ice) or a wholegrain chewy cereal bar plus one banana.
Lunch: Chicken pitta (stuff a wholemeal pitta with 40g/1½oz baby spinach, 125g/4oz cooked skinless chicken strips, tossed with 2tbsp lowfat vinaigrette).
Dinner: Griddled salmon and parmesan potatoes (baked potato with salt, pepper and 2tbsp grated parmesan cheese) with salad.
Snack: One 180ml/6fl oz pot low-fat Greek yoghurt with 2tsp honey and
2tbsp rolled oats.
TUESDAY

Breakfast: Banana nut porridge (cook 50g/2oz oats with water and top
with sliced banana, 1tbsp chopped walnuts and 1tsp cinnamon) or a banana with 1tsp peanut butter.
Lunch: Hard-boiled egg, 25g/1oz cheddar cheese and one sliced apple
on three rye crackers.
Dinner: Prawn stir-fry with ginger (see recipe above).
Snack: Cannellini and herb hummus with crudites (mash 65g/2½oz canned white beans with 2tsp olive oil, 1tbsp chopped chives and 1tbsp lemon juice and serve with 75g/3oz sliced raw vegetables).
WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: Banana shake Plus (blend one banana with 350ml/12fl oz semi-skimmed milk, 2tsp honey, ice and 2tsp ground flaxseed).
Lunch: Big chopped salad of 125g/4oz salad leaves, 125g/4oz canned
chickpeas, 100g/3½oz grated carrots, 50g/2oz shredded red cabbage,
1tbsp grated parmesan, 2tbsp chopped walnuts, 2tbsp dried
cranberries, all tossed in 2tbsp low-fat balsamic vinaigrette.
Dinner: Black bean tacos (rinse and drain 400g/14oz of black beans and heat through, warm two tortillas, then divide beans between the two, stuffing with 75g/3oz shredded lettuce, 175g/6oz grated carrot and
60ml/2fl oz salsa).
Snack: 2tbsp salsa mixed with 2tbsp black beans (rinsed and drained) with eight tortilla chips.
THURSDAY

Breakfast: Banana berry shake (blend one banana, 350ml/12fl oz
semi-skimmed milk, 2tsp honey, ice and 40g/1½oz berries) or wholegrain
chewy cereal bar and a banana.
Lunch: Chicken pitta sandwich (40g/1½oz baby spinach, half a sliced
red pepper and 125g/4oz cooked chicken tossed in 2tbsp low-fat vinaigrette and stuffed into a wholemeal pitta).
Dinner: Chicken pasta primavera (see recipe above).
Snack: Two crackers with 2tsp almond butter.
FRIDAY

Breakfast: One slice of toasted rye bread topped with 1tbsp almond butter and one banana.
Lunch: Hard-boiled egg with 25g/1oz cheddar and an apple on three rye crackers.
Dinner: Grilled burger and three-bean salad (see recipe above).
Snack: Trail mix (15g/½oz cornflakes, 2tbsp flaked almonds and 2tbsp
dried cherries).
SATURDAY

Breakfast: Banana-cocoa shake (blend one banana with 350ml/12fl oz semi-skimmed milk, 2tsp honey, ice and 1tbsp cocoa powder) or wholemeal chewy cereal bar plus a banana.
Lunch: Big chopped salad (see Wednesday).
Dinner: Fish tacos (see recipe above).
Snack: 2tbsp oats and 2tsp honey in a small tub of low-fat yogurt.
SUNDAY
Breakfast: Banana and almond butter toast (top one toasted slice of
rye bread with 1tbsp almond butter and a sliced banana).
Lunch: Hard-boiled egg, 25g/1oz cheddar and sliced apple on three rye crackers.
Dinner: Grilled salmon served with parmesan potatoes.
Snack: 25g/1oz baked potato crisps.

Extracted from The Carb Lover’s Diet: Eat What You Love, Get Slim For Life by Ellen Kunes and Frances Largeman-Roth (Hamlyn).

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1394616/Diet-carbohydrates-help-lose-weight.html#ixzz1OVVWrbzC

Maggie Brown (Author)

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CELLULITE

The dreaded cellulite as the story below shows, but I disagree that you cannot get rid off it. How much we are likely to get it and how much of it can be genetic, but just because your mother had it, it doesn't mean you have to put up with it. Consider this: have you seen a woman athlete with cellulite, especially a runner? no chances are you haven't, so this gives you one clue, if you are active and the circulation to your thighs are good, this helps. 

You will hear many in the medical profession say that cellulite is just fat, not so, its more than that. True women get it men don't, partly because we have a bigger fat layer under the skin for good reason, to sustain pregnancy and breast feeding in times of famine, nature bestowed women with this for survival. We don't need this in the west now, so any extra calories we don't burn up are laid down as fat. But coming back to cellulite, not only is it fat but connective tissue. This connective tissue, areolar tissue, is akin to one of those nylon pot scrubbers, this holds the fat cells in place. This together with collagen and elastin in the deeper layers of the skin, within the dermis, is responsible for cellulite. In women, hormones, especially the female hormone Progesterone causes their bodies to retain fluid. Now due to the effects of gravity, where is all that fluid retained in the tissues going to go? Well if you have a sedentary life style and sit on your butt most of the time, its going to travel to your butt and thighs. As we age collagen and elastin fibres lose their elasticity and instead of lying in neat straight rows within the skin, they bunch up. UVA light from the sun (from sunbathing) can further damage collagen and elastin and if you are not very active, the circulation in those areas tends to be poor. So altogether this causes these areas to look like an old mattress, creating this rippled, lumpy, dimpled effect.

It's not just exercise that's needed though, its the food we put into our body, the quality of this food, if we eat a lot of refined processed foods they are rich in salt and artificial flavourings. Salt causes us to retain fluid, thus this fluid is further trapped in these areas. The body also tends to store toxins in fat and areas where the cirulation is poor.

So what can we do? Eat healthily, avoid processed foods and refined carbohydrates, drink plenty of water to help flush out toxins, this also helps prevent the body retaining fluid. Improve your circulation to these areas, exercise, even walking is beneficial and body brushing or massage will stimulate blood flow to remove the toxins and the trapped retained fluid. Bear in mind even skinny women get cellulite its not just a bug bear of the over weight, but by remembering its more a condition of poor circulation a lot can be done to lessen it.

Even celebrities can't escape the curse of cellulite... Christina Aguilera reveals dreaded 'orange peel' at L.A event

She has curves to die for but Christina Aguilera is proof that all the money and fame in the world can't stop you falling prey to cellulite.

There's an irony in the fact that the Lady Marmalade singer suffers from the dimples, which are often described as 'orange peel' because of their texture and appearance.

The singer, who was taping a segment for U.S entertainment show Extra at The Grove shopping mall in L.A, wasn't helped by being raised up on chair at an unflattering angle.

Cellulite: Christina Aguilera revealed 'orange peel' legs at an appearance for Extra The Grove in LA today

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1394209/Christina-Aguileras-cellulite-Even-celebrities-escape-dreaded-orange-peel.html#ixzz1OPtcqoOO

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A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WHAT EXCESS DOES TO YOUR APPEARANCE

A prime example of what smoking, drinking and drug use does to your appearance. Kate Moss had it all, and yet she has taken it for granted, sad to see really for she's only 37, if she keeps going at this rate what will she be like at 57.

As I see it you only have one body and if you look after it, it will serve you well, however if you abuse it, you will pay for it.

Article below from the Daily Mail

A face in the life of Kate Moss: The coarsening effect of drink, drugs and non-stop partying

Serene, poised and with the hint of a shy smile — Kate Moss was barely recognisable when the Mail published pictures of her yesterday as a sweet 17-year-old posing for a bridal magazine.

Twenty years on, and the wear and tear of her notorious lifestyle has taken its toll.

Here, we look back at Kate’s 20-year career and chart the decline of a once-great beauty.

1991: Fresh-faced and wide-eyed, a teenage girl from Croydon has been talent-spotted by Storm model agency boss Sarah Doukas while standing in a check-in queue at JFK Airport in New York.
It’s hard to believe that back then it was her peaches-and-cream complexion and wholesome looks that used to win her work such as this shoot in Brides magazine.

1992: The girl with the skinny body and squeaky voice is taking the fashion world by storm, securing fashion spreads in Harpers & Queen and Vanity Fair.
But the first taste of the controversy that will dog her career comes when she appears topless in an advert for Calvin Klein.

1993: Kate’s painfully thin body, part of the so-called ‘heroin chic’ trend, is giving cause for concern.
Alongside fellow models Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell, her skinniness is plain to see.
Even former U.S. President Bill Clinton criticises the look. But it doesn’t stop Vogue making the 19-year-old one of its youngest-ever faces on its cover.

1994: Moss mania has stormed the fashion world — and there is no stopping Kate.
She’s a regular on the club scene, but is still young enough for all of those late nights not to take their toll.
Here, the 20-year-old Kate shows why she’s commanding fees of £10,000  a day.

1995: Kate’s learned how to perfect the pout — here accentuated with a striking red lipstick — and hooks up with the first of many celebrity boyfriends in the form of Hollywood actor Johnny Depp.
In his day, Johnny was a hell-raiser, but even he told friends he struggled to keep up with Kate’s drinking and wild partying.

1996: This is the year Kate wins the  Vogue/VH1 Model Of The Year competition.
The sullen, vacant stare seen here on the catwalk at a Calvin Klein show is becoming her trademark.
Off-duty, Johnny Depp is introducing her to the Hollywood brat pack.
Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves are becoming her new celebrity friends.
 

1997: When she’s not burning the midnight oil in Los Angeles, Kate is hitting the clubs in London with her new best friends, rock star Liam Gallagher and actress Patsy Kensit.
Her two-packs-a-day smoking habit is just starting to take its toll.
The supermodel’s skin is beginning to look dull and her teeth are showing signs of becoming stained.

1998: Reputedly earning £3million a year, but all those late nights — and the break-up of her relationship with Depp soon after this picture was taken — all prove too much, and in November Kate checks into rehab at The Priory.
Rumours of drug-taking are rife, but Kate insists she simply ‘partied too much’.

1999: Refreshed and detoxed, Kate appears on the catwalk for the first time after rehab.
The scandal didn’t harm her career — climbing to 18th in the list of Britain’s richest women, she racks up a six-figure fee for a L’Oreal hair commercial and closes the year on the cover of American Vogue.

2000: Is she really just 26? Kate has become a fixture in the louche Primrose Hill set, alongside Sadie Frost and Jude Law.
The reckless lifestyle results in a health scare that puts the model in hospital with a kidney infection. Not that it seems to matter in the cynical world of fashion.
She briefly quits the catwalk, but is soon coaxed back.

2001: Now with a new partner,  magazine journalist Jefferson Hack, Kate is fuller-faced — and also Britain’s wealthiest supermodel, worth £15 million. 
But in an interview she says modelling is often far from thrilling, and reveals that she turned to drink and drugs because she started to find the job boring.

2002: Eyes blurred, and a cigarette dangling from her mouth, the model emerges from another night on the town. Yet it is around the time this picture is taken that Kate becomes pregnant.
Nine months later, the model gives birth to Lila Grace. Whether Kate is mature enough to look after herself, let alone a newborn, is another matter.

2003: A mother, but still a jetsetter, Kate takes Lila with her to Thailand and to New York. If her eyes look weary, it may be because she’s still partying.
Even Lila’s christening prompts a two-day booze-fuelled celebration. As for maternity leave, forget it. Kate attends every major summer event, from Glastonbury to pal Stella McCartney’s wedding.

2004: Her once-healthy hair is losing its lustre. But as she turns 30, there’s no sign of slowing down.
Kate celebrates her birthday with a Beautiful And Damned themed party recreating the debauched world inhabited by the fast-living but ultimately doomed characters of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel.
The moral of the story seems to have escaped her.

2005: Scowling and with wrinkles around her eyes and nose, Kate is plummeting off the rails thanks to a new boyfriend, rock star (and junkie) Pete Doherty.
It’s not long before Kate is pictured snorting what appears to be cocaine and is plunged into a scandal. She loses an H&M campaign, but clings on to her Dior contract.
Today, she’s the face of their new perfume . . .Dior Addict.

2006: Kate starts the year on the ski slopes with a 20-year-old toyboy named Jamie Burke.
Despite the whole drugs debacle, the British model picks up contracts with Calvin Klein, Roberto Cavalli, Bulgari, Stella McCartney and Virgin Mobile among others. So why does she look so glum here?
Perhaps it’s something to do with her troubled rekindled relationship with Doherty.

2007: After splitting with Pete Doherty, Kate launches the second range of her designs for Topshop, after  chatting up its owner Philip Green with the line: ‘I’m a girl from Croydon, you’re a boy from Croydon, why don’t we do something together?’
The pair are soon out on the town together. Quite what Green’s wife Tina makes of it is another matter.

2008: Is it EastEnders’ Gillian Taylforth? The year begins with a planned 34‑hour celebration to mark her 34th birthday.
But age is catching up with the model as she heads to bed at her £8 million new home in North London after only 18 hours.
Her latest relationship — with guitarist Jamie Hince — follows a rocky path after rows over her party lifestyle.

2009: Oh dear. The past year has taken its toll.
It started with another boozy 18-hour birthday party (yawn). But the harsh light of the Cote D’Azur weather shows up the unflattering effect that sun, cigarettes and alcohol have taken on her skin.
Her forehead shows lines, crows’ feet are obvious and her skin  looks parched and patchy.

2010: Rumours circulate that Kate has married her boyfriend Jamie Hince, but, in fact, they have just got engaged.
At the launch party for Topshop’s Knightsbridge store, Kate looks more like her old self.
But her famously almond-shaped eyes and chiselled cheekbones are enhanced (disguised?) with heavy make-up.

2011: Looking 37 going on 47, Kate is now busy preparing for her July wedding to Jamie Hince.
How she is dressed on the big day will be a surprise, but one thing is certain: she’ll be almost unrecognisable from the fresh-faced 17-year-old that she was 20 years ago when she posed in that early shoot for Brides magazine.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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HOW LACK OF SLEEP IS DETRIMENTAL FOR OUR HEALTH

The following is an article from the Daily Mail, which shows us of the effects of Cortisol, also produced during stress. Cortisol is a fantastic hormone when it is produced for what its meant for and short raised bursts to deal with acute stress. However if its produced for long term stress its very detrimental on the body (see section here on STRESS AND HEALTH)

How to never get ill: Take a nap

History has many accomplished nappers.
Leonardo Da Vinci took short naps every few hours; Napoleon Bonaparte dozed on his horse. And very wise they were, too.
Lack of sleep causes the body to produce more of the hormone cortisol, which gives us energy but restricts production of human growth hormone — limiting the body’s ability to repair itself.

Sleeping baby: A report from the University of Chicago found lack of sleep can lead to heart attacks and strokes

A 2008 Stanford University study found that fruit flies’ immune systems fought invading bacteria best at night.
This backed up the theory that our bodies use dormant hours to regenerate and fight disease (by producing immune cells called monocytes).

And a recent University of Chicago report found that getting as little as an hour less sleep than needed can increase calcium levels in heart arteries by 16 per cent.
This can lead to heart attack and stroke — so catch up with a nap.

Extracted from The Secrets Of People Who Never Get Sick by Gene Stone, published by Workman at £16.99. © Gene Stone 2011.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1392508/How-ill-Take-nap--according-University-Chicago-report.html#ixzz1NxKgWtkI

Maggie Brown (Author)

Visit Amazon's Maggie Brown Page

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