WINES FOR THAT GLOWING SKIN !

The indigenous wines that are made from everything ranging from saunf (fennel seeds),kesar (saffron), strawberry, cardamom, rose and orange are fast making its way into beauty salons and how! Beauty therapists in Jaipur are using these wines to give their clients a glowing skin, and those getting the facials seem to love the effect!

Beauty expert Sabeljeet Singh has been using aromatic heritage wines sourced from wine makers in and around Jaipur to give facials to her clients. “Nothing can beat the glow of heritage wine facials. They have a purely herbal base and cure infections. They bring out clear, unblemished skin that has a pink tinge to it. I mix almond for dry skin and aloe vera for oily and acne prone skin while giving the message. This enhances the skin softening properties of the wine multifold,” says Sabaljeet.

“Gape wine rules the roost since it contains polyphenols, a very effective anti-oxidant and resveratrol that fight against free radicals, bacteria and fungi,” adds Sabaljeet.

Pinky Ahuja who has been regularly getting wine facial done at a city based clinic says, “I was quite curious to know how wines can work wonders for the skin. I got it done once and just loved the results. Wine gave an instant glow to the skin and also made my skin look clearer. I make sure I get a wine facial done every time I have to attend a party.”

Aroma therapist Hitendra Chhabra has an interesting story to share about his discovery of heritage wines as a beauty product. A girl who had accidentally spilled some wine on her hand came to Hitendra with a little itching on her skin. While treating the skin, Chhabra noticed that her skin was glistening.

Hitendra wondered what effect wine could have on the skin and researched on wine treatments being carried out in some countries. To his surprise he found that wine has a magical effect on the skin. Now Hitendra uses wine made of saunf (fennel seeds), kesar (saffron), strawberry, cardamom, rose and orange which he sources from Jaipur while he imports grape wine from other countries.

CHOCOLATES FOR WEIGHT LOSS !

To compare the effects of dark and milk chocolate on both appetite and subsequent calorie intake, 16 young and healthy men of normal weight who all liked both dark and milk chocolate took part in a so-called crossover experiment. This meant that they reported for two separate sessions, the first time testing the dark chocolate, and the second time the milk chocolate.

They had all fasted for 12 hours beforehand and were offered 100g of chocolate, which they consumed in the course of 15 minutes. The calorific content was virtually the same for the milk and dark chocolate.

During the following 5 hours, participants were asked to register their appetite every half hour, i.e. their hunger, satiety, craving for special foods and how they liked the chocolate.

Two and a half hours after eating the chocolate, participants were offered pizza ad lib. They were instructed to eat until they felt comfortably satiated. After the meal, the individuals' calorie intake was registered.

The results were significant. The calorie intake at the subsequent meal where they could eat as much pizza as they liked was 15 per cent lower when they had eaten dark chocolate beforehand.

The participants also stated that the plain chocolate made them feel less like eating sweet, salty or fatty foods.

So apart from providing people with the healthier fatty acids and many antioxidants, dark chocolate can now also help us steer clear of all the sweet, salty and fattening Christmas foods, the researchers said.