Painful periods. Nausea. Severe cramping. It’s all part of being a woman. Or is it? For most of us, a couple of ibuprofen and a day or two will get us back to normal. But for an estimated 10 million women, relief is not easy to come by and may be accompanied by painful intercourse, irregular bleeding, increased gas and bloating, and infertility. “When all other causes are excluded, 90% of the time, it’s probably endometriosis.” So says Dr. Tamer Seckin, co-founder and specialist of the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA).

“Washington D.C., unfortunately, has the highest mortality rate from breast cancer in the country so we all want to do our part to raise awareness. We do not want to be that statistic,” affirms Minna Manalo, RN of Georgetown University Hospital’s Betty Lou Ourisman Breast Health Center. Every woman needs to concentrate on taking care of herself and knowing what resources are available. The following tips include some crucial information that can save your life.

Focus on your body. Do not compare yourself to others. “The breast is structured in such a way that it can be lumpy. Healthy breasts can come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can feel differently according to the individual,” tells Manalo. Your breasts will change over time and you may even experience benign breast pain before periods.

Did you know that there were 2 different colors of fat in your body? There are the white fat cells that store the excess caloric energy from our diet that can pile up in the body, particularly the thighs, the abdomen and my love handles. Brown fat is what young people have and also folks who live in the cold weather climate. Apparently, this brown fat stuff keeps you warm as well. It is like an internal blanket of some sort. So you can be skinny and naked at the same time. Show offs.

Scientist have now figured out a way to implant brown fat into the bodies of mice and make them skinny. They are in essence switching brown fat for white fat. Yes, the white fat is probably better to look at, but who is watching your insides. That's just between you and your plastic surgeon. I say gimme some of that brown fat now. You can read more about this here.

---

Even though summer is a great time to relax and enjoy lazy days at the pool or the beach, your skin needs to be looked after very carefully. Your skin changes with the seasons and throughout the year so what was working for you a few weeks ago may no longer be effective. It’s the time to switch products and change your make up to ensure you always look and feel great!

The first step to beautiful summer skin always begins with cleansing. A foaming gel cleanser such as Bioelements Decongestant Cleanser is fabulous for getting rid of pore clogging sebum. It is best to follow up with a toner such as Equalizer to balance the skin and keep it hydrated. Using Measured Micrograins several times a week is a great way to gently exfoliate the dead skin cells away and turn over fresh new skin. Finally we recommend a water based gel moisturizer also by Bioelements called Beyond Hydration. It tricks your skin into thinking it has plenty of moisture so it won’t overproduce oil. It can even be custom blended with super powerful ingredients to prevent clogged pores, add vitamins and minerals and an oil blotting powder to control shine on those super hot and humid days.

Our skin is a marvelous living fabric that covers and protects our bodies. It requires ongoing care to keep it healthy and beautiful.

The skin is the largest organ of the body. The thickest part of the skin is on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. The thinnest part of the skin is around the eye area. The average thickness of the skin is around three sheets of paper. The skin is composed of 34 layers.

One square inch of skin contains:
15 feet of capillaries
65 hair follicles
100 sebaceous glands
650 sweat glands
78 yards of nerves
Your skin is your body’s largest organ
Makes up about 16% of our total body weight
Every 24 hours, the surface of the skin sheds a layer of dead cells, constantly renewing about every 28 days
Dead skin cells make up about 90% of household dust
An average of 40 kilos of skin is shed during a lifetime
Varies in thickness from 1mm on eyelids to 3mms on palms and soles

Hulya Aksu : Today at 2:00
Selena, you are a woman in the know, are you and local health officials worried about the swine flu? Should we worry?
Selena Brown:Today at 2:05
From what I understand, it's like any flu virus, however, most of us have never been exposed and thus have no immunity. It is a subset of the influenza A virus. The danger is in the respiratory complications just as with any influenza virus. Severe illnesses, such as pneumo nia and respiratory failure, as well as deaths, have been reported with swine influenza infection in people, as well. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions. There have been other outbreaks in the US, in 1976 there were a reported 200 cases and one death.