Smoothie Recipe for Clear Skin

A nutrition-dense diet abundant in fresh, organic, antioxidant-rich vegetables and fruits does more than make you feel good -- it helps you look good too with healthy, glowing skin. The following smoothie recipe includes five taste-pleasing ingredients that provide plenty of skin-healing vitamins, antioxidants and other essential nutrients.

This recipe makes about 30 ounces or two smoothie servings. To experience maximum benefits, it should be consumed immediately, so half the recipe sufficient for one person.

• Blender
• Knife
• Glasses
• 3 large carrots
• 1 large cucumber
• 2 oranges
• Half a banana
• Half a can of coconut juice/water (about 5 ounces)
• A pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Benefits
Cucumber is very hydrating due to the high water content (up to 95%), and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Carrots provide high amounts of vitamins and phytonutrients, such as lutein and lycopene. Studies have shown that lycopene and β-Carotene (a Vitamin A derivate, abundant in carrots) increase the body's defenses against UV damage, therefore protecting the skin against sunburn.

Banana tastes great in a smoothie, but it also contains vitamins and flavonoids, which have antioxidant effects.

Coconut water is a great source of vitamins B and C, which are a powerful antioxidants and promote repairing of the skin. The tropical water also provides cytokinin, a class of phytohormones that have showed significant anti-aging properties.

Oranges add vitamin C. Vitamin C deficiency has been associated with impaired collagen synthesis, and therefore loss of skin elasticity and the formation of wrinkles.

Instructions
Wash the fruits and vegetables and peel the carrots, oranges and bananas. Cut them into small chunks and combine them in your blender with the coconut water and cinnamon, if desired. Process the smoothie until it reaches your desired consistency, and serve it immediately.

Don't Forget to Chew!
You may be tempted to simply drink your smoothie. However, you should chew it as if you were eating it, or at least swish it around your mouth to let it mix with your saliva before you swallow. Chewing releases an enzyme called ptyalin (a form of amylase) that helps digest carbohydrates and proteins.

How to Write a Treatment Plan for Mental Health

Therapy is a process in which you treat a client who is dealing with mental health issues. A treatment plan is necessary to pinpoint the exact issues you are treating and the ways in which they will be tackled. It sets specific goals that allow both you and the client to assess progress. It acts as an important road map, providing guidance on the road to the goals and instructions on how to reach them.

Things You'll Need

• Treatment plan form
• Therapy planner book (optional)

Tips

1. Set treatment goals with the client. These goals should be as specific as possible. For example, if you are treating someone with social anxiety disorder, do not use a general goal like "Reduce anxiety." Come up with specific, measurable goals like "Client will be able to comfortably approach and talk to strangers" and "Client will attend social gatherings rather than staying home due to anxiety."

2. Develop specific steps for each of the goals. You can do this on your own, drawing on your professional expertise, or you can consult a treatment planning book. The steps should be specific actions that the client can take to accomplish each goal.

3. Discuss the steps with the client, making appropriate changes if needed. In client-centered treatment, the steps should take the client's abilities and limitations into consideration. They should allow the client to have small successes that act as the foundation for bigger ones.

4. Create a timeframe for the treatment plan. Along with the client, decide how long each goal should take. You can also put a timeframe on the individual steps if appropriate. Decide how often progress will be assessed. Usually this is done at each counseling session, but that can be variable.

5. Record the plan on a treatment planner form. If you work for a mental health agency, it should have official forms for you to use. If you are in private practice, you can create your own forms based on templates in treatment planner books or based on your own knowledge and experience.

6. Have your client sign the completed treatment plan form. This signifies his buy-in to the plan. Make sure he reads it before signing to make sure he is comfortable with it. Give him an opportunity to ask any questions for clarification before signing.

Self Massaging Techniques

Muscle and tissue tenderness and pain often comes from trigger points which are specific areas along a muscle that have high sensitivity. This is caused by excessive neural stimulation to the muscle fibers, which causes them to adhere together, explains physical therapist Gray Cook, author of "Athletic Body in Balance." There are different ways to perform self-massage to alleviate muscle tenderness, although there may be parts of your body that you may not be able to massage by yourself.

Foam Rolling
Self-myofascial release, or SMR, is a type of self-massage technique that applies pressure to the triggers to break the tissue adhesions. Many physical therapists and fitness professionals use the foam roller as a tool for SMR. It is a cylindrical roll that is made out of densely-packed styrofoam between one to three feet long. For most exercises, you lay a body part on top of the roll, such as you thighs, calves or back, and gentle roll along the length of the muscle fibers. When you find a tender spot, massage the area gently until the pain and tenderness goes away, the National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends.

The Stick
Another tool that helps you perform SMR is the massage stick, which is a semi-flexible plastic baton that has a segmented series of rollers that roll individually when you gently rub it over a body part. You can target specific areas more precisely than a foam roller, and the stick is portable. To use it, hold the stick at each end with each hand and rub over the length of the body part, such as your outer thighs and calves. You can adjust the amount of pressure with your hands, and follow the same procedure as you would with the foam roller.

Vibration
A massage vibrator loosens up tight tissues by applying various degrees of vibration upon the trigger point. It desensitizes the muscle, which loosens some or all of the adhesion. Ohio State University recommends that you apply the vibration directly to the painful spot between 25 to 45 minutes twice a day.

Expert Insight
Physical therapist Chris Frederick, author of "Stretch to Win," recommends that you stretch the area after the self-massage by holding the stretch for at least 30 seconds. This further reduces neural stimulation to the tight tissues and prevents the area from getting worse. Perform each stretch two to three times.

Colors That Help With Depression

Every color of the rainbow can affect our mental health, whether consciously or subconsciously. Color affects our body, mind and spirit in both positive and negative ways. This can be demonstrated in a simple experiment of changing into a special outfit in a favorite color as opposed to a drab palette for the same occasion.

Colors Correlate with Emotions
Colors often are correlated with different emotions. Pastels of blue and green are associated with relaxing and thoughts of tranquility, as in nature's settings of blue skies and forests. Yellow, being a more vibrant color, often is used to lift one's spirits as a sunny day does. Purple is used to show wisdom and majestic powers, as in a king's robe. White expresses cleansing and purifying thoughts. While these colors often reveal these moods, other elements can change the emotional impact. Using this general knowledge of colors you can plan the best environment for good mental health--whether it be in a home setting, school, hospital or place of retreat.

Same Colors in Different Settings
Choosing colors for a beach cottage can be a reflection of nature. Hues of blue can help you recall the emotions of blue skies and a day on the lake. Perhaps a splash of yellow can brighten a room, as the sun shines on the water. These same colors used in a hospital setting can bring a calmness to patients who are suffering from depression. Pale blue walls with a picture of that same retreat setting can bring peaceful feelings to mind. Add a fresh plant with bright yellow flowers, and the hospital room is transformed into a place of healing.

Children's Hospitals
In contrast, brighter shades of blue and green in a children's hospital can enhance healing, relaxation and compassion. Even splashes of red bring strength and energy into this place of healing. Some hospital settings have playrooms transformed into a jungle, zoo or an undersea environment.

Colors Enhance Experiences
All experiences are enhanced by color, whether positively or negatively. Altering a person's environment with a different color can change their outlook on their circumstances dramatically. Moving from a gray, drab basement to a sunlit room painted in pastels can help transform a depressed mind to one filled with hope and possibilities.

How to Prevent Cancer Naturally

Cancer in all its forms is one of the most deadly, but least understood diseases. It's estimated that genetic predispositions account for about 15 percent of a person's likelihood of contracting the disease. That means about 85 percent of cancers are linked to lifestyle choices and environmental conditions. With a single cure for cancer proving elusive, many are turning to prevention as the best remedy. Preventing cancer through natural methods involves consuming substances that can help the body stop cancer from forming, avoiding carcinogens and promoting all around health.

Tips

1. Have a glass of wine. Studies published in the journal "Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology" have shown a glass of red wine a day might reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men by half. Additional research on animals published in the "Journal of Biological Chemistry" suggests the phytochemicals in red wine can have beneficial effects on prevention and treatment of leukemia, skin and breast cancers (see resources below). This is because the skin and seeds of grapes contain a polyphenol compound called resveratrol that has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidants prevent and repair the damage to cells that can make them susceptible to irregular growths, which can become cancer. Red wine is made from the skin of grapes, which contains resveratrol, and has more polyphenols than white wine.

2. Eat antioxidant-rich fruits and drink green tea. In addition to grapes, several other berries contain high levels of polyphenol compounds that have been shown to prevent cancer. At the top of the list is the acai berry, a fruit native to South America. Also high in cancer-fighting chemicals are blueberries and raspberries. Fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables generally contain antioxidant compounds, like bioflavonoids, not present in most processed foods. Green tea, when freshly brewed, is also an excellent source of antioxidants.

3. Indulge in dark chocolate. Rich in antioxidant flavonoids, dark chocolate enjoyed a renaissance when the cancer-fighting properties of these compounds were heralded. A specific flavonoid, called pentamer, is present in cocoa, and has been shown to suppress division of tumor cells by deactivating certain related proteins. It's debated whether eating chocolate can deliver these flavonoids in sufficient quantities to prevent cancer, but dark chocolate, which has the highest content of cocoa, is the best source.

4. Supplement with selenium. Whereas antioxidants work to minimize and repair the damage of free radicals on individual cells, the mineral selenium has been shown to reduce the production of free radicals. The recommended dose of selenium is 200 micrograms a day, but most Americans get between 60 and 100 micrograms from dietary sources. Selenium intake can be increased through supplements or increasing your consumption of mushrooms, egg yolks, seafood, poultry, kidney, liver, red meat, garlic, onions, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, whole grains, and seeds--all of which contain the mineral in relative abundance.

5. Get enough exercise. Just 30 minutes of walking five times per week is enough exercise to help prevent cancer. Research shows that exercise helps the body regulate blood sugar, insulin levels, and the production of sex hormones, all of which have been indicated as risk factors related to increased rates of cell growth that can lead to the initiation of cancer. Regular exercise also promotes a healthy immune system, and is highly recommended for those already diagnosed with cancer.

6. Avoid risk factors. Unfortunately, avoiding environmental toxins can be one of the hardest parts of preventing cancer. Exposure to toxic chemicals can come through obvious interaction with pollution or waste, or through more subtle means like cosmetics, hair dyes, shampoos and deodorants. Other risk factors for cancer include prolonged hormone therapy, prescription drugs, alcohol, tobacco and diets high in animal fats.

Free Mental Health Assessment Tools

Health assessments are something with which most individuals are familiar. A doctor or nurse asks a series of questions concerning current and past health, as well as certain genetic health conditions of immediate family members. In mental health, similar screening tools are used frequently to help determine what, if any, conditions a patient might be suffering. These assessment tools include questionnaires, patient and family histories, written tests and other tools. Free assessment tools vary, both in scope and complexity, but are generally intended only to illustrate the possible need for further evaluation.

Making Tools Available
Universities, mental health organizations, doctors and pharmaceutical companies have helped standardize assessment tools and refine diagnostic questionnaires. As a result of standardization, many organizations have made less complicated tools available to doctors and the public. The number of websites and publications offering free mental health assessment tools continues to grow every year. Some are designed for use in clinical settings, by professionals other than doctors, such as intake workers, nurses and counselors. Other tools are designed for use by the general public to help determine if and when an individual should seek further assistance from a medical professional.

What Assessments Determine
Every assessment tool is different. Many mental health care providers offer free online assessments for common conditions, such as substance abuse, depression or anxiety. Pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, offer online versions of commonly used general screening tools to help determine the signs of a variety of mental health conditions. For example, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a self-completed assessment tool with multiple parts. Each part is used to help identify different disorders or conditions, such as eating and mood disorders. With most assessment tools, the patient is asked a series of questions in a yes or no or multiple choice format. Results indicate when further testing or evaluation is warranted.

Self-Help Assessment Tools
Most easily available, free mental health assessments are intended purely for informational purposes or to help individuals see when the help of a trained professional is warranted. For example, short questionnaires for initial identification of depression are common. Likewise, there are dozens of assessment questionnaires designed to identify substance abuse and eating disorders. In short, these assessments give a patient little more than yes or no results; yes, the patient should seek medical help, or no, the patient does not meet initial criteria.

Professional Assessment Tools
Medical professionals use numerous standardized assessment and evaluation tools to diagnose mental health conditions. As information technology advances, many such tools are now available freely online, accessible by professionals and the public. Typically, these assessments are more in-depth and complex in terms of questions and test modules. Unlike self-help assessments, these tools do not immediately illustrate a simple yes or no answer. Instead, most professional-grade assessments require analysis by a trained professional to determine what the answers mean.

Prostate Massage Technique

The prostate is the gland surrounding the neck of the male bladder and urethra. Enlargement of the prostate is common after middle age and may interfere with the ability to urinate. However, the prostate gland can be manually stimulated and massaged via the anus as it is located near the anterior portion of the rectum. Massaging the prostate gland and surrounding tissues will increase blood flow to the area. This amplification in circulation relaxes and shrinks the enlarged gland, reducing the blockage and aiding in the return of normal bodily functions.

Preparation
Prostate massage is generally given digitally, so clean hands and short fingernails are a must. Surgical gloves are highly recommended as is the liberal application of lubricant to the area. Instruct the affected individual to use the restroom, if he is able, prior to beginning the procedure and then to wash the anus with soap and water. Once he has washed, have him lie on his stomach on a comfortable surface.

Application
Instruct the affected individual to take a deep breath and relax. As he inhales, insert the lubricated, gloved finger into the anus and move slowly toward the navel. The prostate will feel like a large knot of tissue beneath your finger. Once the prostate has been located, move your finger gently over the gland in a slow, circular manner. Apply as much pressure as you can without causing the affected individual any discomfort. Men will react to a prostate massage in a variety of ways such as feeling a sudden urge to urinate or by becoming sexually aroused. Continue the massage for 10 to 15 minutes or until requested to stop. Make a mental note of the size of the prostate gland and repeat the procedure once a week until urination flow returns to normal.

Warning
Be sure to massage as gently as possible as overly enthusiastic friction can lead to an increase of infection through the unintentional spread of bacteria that occur naturally within the colon. Additionally, regular sessions of prostate massage could lead to an increase in hemorrhoids and could complicate conditions such as chronic prostatitis that require stronger treatment. A painful prostate suggests a serious medical condition and should be evaluated by a health care professional.