Try raw milk face packs for flawless and glowing skin

Drinking a glass of milk in the morning, every day, can help boost your health. This is because milk contains a number of important nutrients which are beneficial for the body. However, apart from its benefits, milk also serves as a potent beauty ingredient as well. Listed below are some ways in which raw milk can be used for your beauty treatment.

Cleanses the face
Milk makes for an effective facial cleanser. Just dip a small piece of cotton in raw milk and then wipe your face with it. After cleansing your face with milk, use fresh water to wash off the residue. This will help keep your face fresh and glowing throughout the day.

Provides softer skin

In order to achieve softer skin, apply raw milk on your neck and face. Keep it on for close to 10 minutes. Then, use fresh water to rinse your face. You will instantly notice softer and fairer skin as a result.

Lightens skin tan

Milk can help you overcome unwanted sunburn or pigmentation. Since milk is rich in lactic acid, it can help lighten the skin. Also, it does help in clearing dead cells present on the surface of the skin. Therefore, dab a washcloth in milk and apply it on your skin at least thrice a week before taking a bath.

Helps exfoliate skin

Raw milk can be used as a natural skin exfoliant. This is because it contains beta hydroxy acid and is a natural way to get rid of dry and dead skin, giving you soft skin in the process.

Ensures softer hair

By rubbing milk on your scalp before washing it will ensure that your hair remains nourished from the inside-out. This remedy is especially effective for women who have dry and rough hair and are looking for a natural remedy.

Helps shrink pores

Sour milk or cream is an effective remedy for shrinking pores. You will need to apply either sour cream or milk on your face and neck. Leave it on to dry for close to 10-15 minutes before washing it off with cold water.

Reduces skin irritation

You can also use milk to heal nasty wounds, lighten red spots as well as reduce allergic reactions. Apply buttermilk, sour milk or sour cream to irritated skin. Leave it on your skin till it provides relief from skin irritation.

How to make face packs using raw milk

Milk, papaya and honey

To remove wrinkles and lines, add two slices of papaya to a spoon of raw milk and half a spoon of honey. Mix it well and apply it to your neck and face. Leave it on for 10 minutes before rinsing it off.

Milk and almonds

To get flawless complexion naturally, soak a few almonds in raw milk overnight before grinding it into a paste in the morning. Apply the mixture on your neck and face. Keep the mask on for 15-20 minutes in order for the skin to absorb the goodness of it.

Milk, honey and lemon juice

Milk when added with lemon juice and honey acts as mild and natural bleach for your skin. Add two tablespoons of milk to one tablespoon each of honey and lemon juice. Mix well and apply to face and neck. Leave the mixture on for only 10 minutes before rinsing with water. 

Milk with fuller’s earth or gram flour

If you want a natural remedy for lighter skin, add milk to gram flour or fuller’s earth and apply to your skin at least thrice a week. Since milk is rich in lactic acid, it helps lighten the skin.

Milk and banana

A milk and banana paste can give you glowing skin. For this mixture, mash half a banana before adding a few tablespoons of raw milk to it. Apply it on damp and clean skin and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. Make sure you rinse your face thoroughly with water.

10 Superfoods every pregnant women should include in her diet

What you eat during your pregnancy has a direct effect on the growth and development of your baby. So it is crucial that you include the healthiest and the best foods to boost your baby’s growth and to keep yourself healthy to face all the stress and strains of pregnancy and labour. Here are some pregnancy superfoods that you can’t afford to miss for the sake of your baby’s well-being.

Milk and dairy products
Adequate calcium intake during pregnancy is crucial. Apart from strengthening your bones and taking care of your teeth it also contributes towards the overall skeletal development of your baby. So gulp down that glass full of milk daily and make sure you also indulge in other dairy products like cheese, cottage cheese (paneer), yoghurt, buttermilk, etc., to meet your calcium requirements. Be regular with your calcium supplements too, as it could help you meet the required daily levels of the same in case your diet lacks in providing you with the requisite amount.

Spinach and fenugreek
Leafy green vegetables, especially spinach and fenugreek, are rich sources of folic acid or folate. Folic acid is an important nutrient for your unborn baby. It helps in fetal brain development and also saves your baby from birth defects like spina bifida a congenital disorder caused due to incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube. It also reduces risks of preterm labour and prevents preeclampsia in the mother. Apart from this, these leafy green vegetables also have traces of vital vitamins, minerals and calcium that can do you a great deal of good.

Broccoli
Till about a few years ago this vegetable was considered exotic. But now you can find broccoli in almost all the leading supermarkets. You have enough reasons to include it in your shopping cart, especially when you are pregnant. Broccoli is packed with an adequate amounts of calcium, manganese and potassium and contributes towards stronger bone development in the fetus.

Eggs and meat

Eggs are the best source of first class proteins, low in calories and packed with high-quality omega-3 fatty acids. They are also a good source of folic acid, choline and iron and help to keep your amniotic membranes strong while preventing birth defects in the fetus. Remember to have your eggs with the yolk so that you don’t miss out on choline.

Meat, on the other hand, is rich in animal protein that helps in cell and muscle development in the baby. Having adequate quantity of protein through diet can also help an expectant mother fight pregnancy induced fatigue. Opt for lean meat as they are the best source of high-quality protein sans the fats.

Fish

Intake of fish during pregnancy has always been a bit controversial because of the high mercury content in them, especially the seawater ones. However, fish is packed with good quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids that contribute towards the brain and eye development of the baby. To be on the safer side limit your fish intake to twice-a-week. Make sure you cook your fish thoroughly before consuming it and avoid having raw fish as it can increase your chances of an infection and harm your baby.

Pulses and legumes

They are the best source of plant-based proteins, fibre and other nutrients like zinc, iron and folate. Sprouted beans, on the other hand, are also a rich source of vitamin B 12 that helps in brain and liver development of the baby and also the mother. Include a variety of pulses and legumes in your diet to reap their nutritional benefits.

Tofu

Apart from being a rich source of calcium, tofu is also packed with iron, manganese vitamin A and K. It is also a rich source of folic acid and can be an excellent snack or a salad ingredient for an expectant mum.

Fruits and vegetables

Of course, you cannot miss eating them. But don’t limit your options when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Other than having the staple fruits like apple, banana and pear, opt for more colourful varieties. Ideally it is recommended that one should have five portions of fruits a day during pregnancy. Have foods rich in antioxidants like musk melons, strawberries, grapes, etc. Oranges are rich in vitamin C and would help in the absorption of iron while apples can help relieve constipation a common pregnancy woe, being fibre-rich. Eat more berries as they are packed with antioxidants that help to prevent birth defects and up the circulation. 

When it comes to vegetables, apply the same rule, more the colour the better. Shop for a variety of vegetables and ensure that you bring with you a vegetable basket that’s a riot of colours. Opt for bell peppers, pumpkins, eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, cauliflower along with your green vegetables to make your diet wholesome. The antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in them would do your baby a whole deal of good.  

Water

You don’t need any explanation on why you should have water during pregnancy. This will not only help your body get rid of internal toxic build-up, but will also save you from urinary tract infections which are common during pregnancy. Sipping on coconut water or fresh orange juice would also help. 

Breakfast cereals and grains

They are a great source of carbohydrate and fibre and act as a storehouse of energy. Fibre in your diet will also help you from fighting constipation that is common during pregnancy. Including good carbs in your diet will ensure that you give each cell of your body adequate energy for proper functioning and maintain an overall healthy body to take on the stress of pregnancy and labour.

Tip of the day: Coconut Milk can help you loose weight

Besides burning calories, the key to losing weight is to monitor what you eat. Either you alter them, replace them or reduce them. Coconut milk is one such food that you can replace your regular milk with in order to lose weight. Although it is not a miracle weight loss food but it definitely quickens the process. Since the healthy saturated fat in coconut comes from medium-chain triglycerides, a fatty acid your body prefers to burn for energy rather than store, it gives you a satiating effect and prevents hunger. So if you are planning to keep yourself energized and also lose weight, then coconut milk is what you need.