Pucker Up: Kissing Secrets Revealed

Whether it's your first kiss with someone new or your lifetime partner, kissing usually leaves an impression -- one that lingers long after your lips have locked.

Kissing often plays an important role in relationships. "It fosters romantic compatibility," says Michael Christian, author of The Art of Kissing (published under the pen name William Cane). "The more that people kiss, the more they're able to communicate on a romantic level."

Kirkland Desmond, a software engineer in Tampa, Fla., vividly recalls his first kiss with his wife a decade ago. They were sitting on the couch in her dad's living room and as he leaned over to kiss her, he lost his balance and fell off the couch, pulling her down with him.

"I was so nervous because she was completely out of my league," he says. "So our first kiss happened while we were laughing and 10 years and three beautiful children later, we're still laughing and kissing every chance we get."  

If your first kiss -- or any of the many that follow -- isn't what you're hoping for, talk about it. Many couples hesitate to talk about kissing out of embarrassment, Christian says.

Don't be shy about telling your partner what you like or asking what your partner prefers, he says. Just don't do it while you're kissing, so your partner doesn't take it as a rebuke.

Men's and Women's Kissing Mistakes

Most of us have clear preferences -- turn-ons and pet peeves -- when it comes to kissing styles.

Christian says men's biggest mistake is that they're too aggressive with their tongues. And men claim that women don't open their mouths wide enough.

For both sexes, the No. 1 kissing complaint is lack of variety, Christian says. He recommends kissing the different parts of your partner's face and paying special attention to the ears and neck. He suggests biting softly on the lower lip and nibbling gently on the earlobe.

Make It Memorable

Two keys to a memorable kiss are pleasing your partner and pleasing yourself.

"Put your whole body into the kiss," says Marilyn Anderson, author of Never Kiss a Frog: A Girl's Guide to Creatures from the Dating Swamp. "Without words, your lips should say, 'Baby, there's more where that came from!' There are ways to keep it fresh and new all the time."

She suggests starting with gentle kisses on the neck, move up to the ear, then go to the lips. Take some small breaks and then come back to the lips.

"Here's my kissing tip: Put a hand on your kissing partner's neck," says Pamela Weiss, marketing director in Los Angeles. "It adds passion, like 'I can't get enough.' And let's be honest, that's what makes for a great kiss."

Don't get hung up on what a kiss might lead to. Enjoy it for its own sake.

"A good kiss is deep and soulful and you should feel each other's love through the kiss," says Dan Landau, an engaged graduate student in Bridgewater, N.J. "A great kiss is an adventure in itself, not a stepping point to something else."

Falling Off the Kissing Wagon

Steamy make-out sessions usually happen early on in a relationship, or the honeymoon period.

But later on, when people are in a long-term relationship, they too often stop kissing and lose that intimate connection, says Anderson. In a Redbook poll, 79% of women said they don't kiss their husbands nearly as much as they'd like.

"You've got to keep kissing in the game," Anderson says. "The emotional importance of a kiss is where it all begins and you shouldn't let it go just because you've known someone for a long time."

"When my wife kisses me, it's like she's telling me, 'I love you' without words," Desmond says.

Time hasn't made kissing ho-hum for Landau and his fiancee, either.

"If anything, our kisses are better now than they were initially," Landau says. "We know each other on a much deeper level after two and a half years together. When we first kissed, there were sparks. Now, there are fireworks."   

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Vaccines for Adults: What You Should Know

The free gift that the San Francisco Giants offered to fans who showed up for a game with the Cincinnati Reds last August probably didn’t attract a big crowd, since it involved a procedure that most people shun whenever possible: It was a booster shot.

Throughout the game, California Department of Public Health nurses were administering the Tdap vaccination, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough), at first aid stations in the Giants’ AT&T Park. Although the shot stung, as a giveaway it was worth a lot more than a bobblehead doll or an inflatable baseball bat.

Like other vaccines designed for adults, the Tdap vaccine protects the people who get it, but also their friends, children and aging parents. The free Tdap clinic occurred in the midst of a public health tragedy in California -- the worst epidemic of whooping cough reported since 1947. The outbreak killed 10 babies and sickened more than 8,300 children and adults in 2010, and it continues in California and other states.

The Little-Known Benefits of Adult Vaccines

Tdap is one of several vaccines that offer adults a reasonably inexpensive and valuable protection against disease. We’re all aware of the fact that infants and toddlers are required to be vaccinated against bugs such as influenza, measles, mumps rubella, chickenpox, polio, pneumococcus, and viral hepatitis. But adults need protection from some of the same diseases.

In 2010, the CDC’s vaccine policy group, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, recommended that everyone 6 months of age and older get an annual shot against influenza, or flu.  “Should you get the flu vaccine? The answer is yes,” said William Schaffner, MD, chair of the department of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University. Besides young infants less than 6 months old, exceptions, he said, should include people with serious egg allergies. People who have had a life-threatening or serious allergic reaction to a previous flu vaccine or to any of its components should not be vaccinated.  Talk to your provider before getting the vaccine if you have ever had Guillain-Barre Syndrome or are moderately or severely ill.

Flu kills thousands of adults every year; people over 65 are among those at greatest risk for severe complications from flu, including death. Although the immune systems of the elderly may not respond as effectively to the flu vaccine and other shots, vaccination can still protect against serious complications. Another way to protect the elderly, it turns out, is to vaccinate their close contacts such as children and grandchildren. If the younger ones remain healthy, they are less likely to spread the flu to their elders.

Whooping Cough Returns

With whooping cough a growing problem in the United States, the CDC also now recommends that all adults get a one-time Tdap booster followed with Td (covering tetanus and diphtheria) booster every 10 years. In the past, adults were urged to get a Td booster only every 10 years. But it has become clear that pertussis bacteria continue to circulate.

Whooping Cough Returns continued...

By some estimates, there are up to a million cases of whooping cough in the United States each year. Most cases occur in adults and are similar enough to a humdrum cold or flu that they aren’t diagnosed by a doctor. That guy in the cubicle next to yours who hacked for three months? He may have had whooping cough without knowing it.

While the disease is rarely a critical illness in adults, they are just as capable as a sickly toddler of spreading the germ to infants, who can die or have serious illness as a result of it. Over half of babies younger than 1 year old with pertussis need to be hospitalized.

The Tdap shot can cause a sore arm or fever, but that’s a small price to pay for the children you’ll be protecting from the disease by not getting it yourself, says Poland.

“We’re having major outbreaks of pertussis in the United States today,” said Poland. “When we’ve looked at this problem and considered the best way to protect people, we’ve decided that a sore arm or a fever, or even a day in bed, was reasonable tradeoff to save the lives of a children.”

Recommended Protection, Shot by Shot

Some of the other vaccines recommended for adults include the following:

• Pneumococcal. Recommended for adults 65 and older in general, and people age 50 and older who are living in areas where the risk for invasive pneumococcal disease is increased. Also recommended for younger people with certain chronic diseases, weakened immune systems, and those who smoke or are residents of nursing home or long-term care facilities. The vaccine protects against complications like pneumonia, meningitis, or infection of the blood caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. A one-time booster may be given after five years for some people.
• Shingles. Recommended for adults 60 and over, this shot protects against shingles, the painful reactivation of chickenpox virus that lurks in our nerve cells. The risk of shingles grows as we age; young people rarely get shingles, but you have a 50-50 chance of getting it by age 85. The vaccine cuts the risk of the disease in half and further reduces the chance of developing post-shingles pain called postherpetic neuralgia that can be chronic and debilitating.  
• Human papillomavirus (HPV). This vaccine is recommended for women 19 to 26 years old. There are more than 100 types of HPV, and the HPV vaccine can help protect against infection from types responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. One of the available HPV vaccines can also protect against HPV types that cause the majority of genital warts in men and women.  
• Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR). Though most people in the U.S. are vaccinated as children, it’s a good idea for adults to get the MMR shot if they don’t have documentation of vaccination, evidence of immunity, past disease, or a medical reason not to be vaccinated. Infections can lead to serious complications.
• Meningococcal. Meningococcal disease is life-threatening. People at greater risk for infection include teenagers and young adults, especially those living in dormitories or military barracks. It is recommended for all first-year college students living in dormitories, military recruits, people with certain medical conditions, and people traveling or working in certain areas who haven't previously received the vaccine.
• Hepatitis A. This vaccine is recommended for men who have sex with men, people with chronic liver disease, people who use injectable drugs, people working with the virus in a research setting, and people traveling to endemic area. Hepatitis B is recommended for people who are sexually active and not in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship, persons with history of sexually transmitted diseases or those seeking evaluation for an STD, people with current or recent history of injection drug use, persons with chronic liver disease, end-stage kidney disease, HIV, and those who are risk for exposure, such as health care workers and those who are close contacts of people with chronic hepatitis B infection.

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Highly Effective Birth Control You Can Count On

How Does Mirena Work to Prevent Pregnancy?

There is no single explanation for how Mirena works; most likely it prevents pregnancy in several ways.

Mirena releases small amounts of a progestin-only hormone (levonorgestrel) locally into your uterus. This is the same hormone that is often used in birth control pills.

Mirena may:

• Thicken cervical mucus to prevent sperm from entering your uterus
• Inhibit sperm from reaching or fertilizing your egg
• Thin the lining of your uterus

Mirena may stop the release of your egg from your ovary, but this is not the way it works in most cases. Most likely, the above actions work together to prevent pregnancy. Like other forms of birth control, Mirena is not 100% effective.

Indications & Usage

Mirena (levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system) is a hormone-releasing system placed in your uterus to prevent pregnancy for as long as you want for up to 5 years. Mirena also treats heavy periods in women who choose intrauterine contraception.

Important Safety Information About Mirena

Only you and your healthcare provider can decide if Mirena is right for you. Mirena is recommended for women who have had a child.

• Don't use Mirena if you have a pelvic infection, get infections easily or have certain cancers. Less than 1% of users get a serious infection called pelvic inflammatory disease. If you have persistent pelvic or abdominal pain, see your healthcare provider.
• Mirena may attach to or go through the wall of the uterus and cause other problems. If Mirena comes out, use back-up birth control and call your healthcare provider.
• Although uncommon, pregnancy while using Mirena can be life threatening and may result in loss of pregnancy or fertility.
• Ovarian cysts may occur but usually disappear.
• Bleeding and spotting may increase in the first few months and continue to be irregular. Periods over time may become shorter, lighter or even stop.

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Erasing Lines Around Your Mouth

Deep lines around your mouth (also called nasolabial folds) become more visible as we age. That's because the ligaments around the mouth and chin loosen, allowing fatty tissue in cheeks to sag.

"If you look at your mom, dad, or older sibling and they have them, there is a great chance you will also develop them," says Elie Levine, MD, a New York plastic surgeon. "Secondary factors that can lead to deep puppet lines include loss of collagen and elastin (the building blocks of the skin), weight fluctuations, smoking, and sun exposure." Before you vow to never smile again, try one of these doctor-recommended treatment options.

Preventing Deep Lines in Your 30s and Early 40s

You may be a candidate for a filler like Juvederm or Restylane. These hyaluronic acid treatments last 12 to 18 months. The fillers push up and support the folds that create deep lines.

Preventing Deep Lines in Your Mid-40s and 50s

Botox prevents or slows the development of deeper lines. Its active ingredient, botulinum toxin, relaxes small muscles around the mouth that help create frowns, Levine says. Fewer frowns equal fewer frown lines.

When You Have Lines in Your 60s and Beyond

You may see results from a face or neck lift to tighten loose skin. Laser techniques that treat fine lines and tighten skin are also a great option.

What You Can Do at Home

The best at-home treatment is prevention. That means protecting your skin from the sun and eating lots of antioxidant-rich foods such as berries, broccoli, and carrots. This helps keep the collagen and elastin below the surface of your skin strong.

It's also important to maintain your weight -- significant weight shifts can contribute to lines around your mouth, Levine says. Of course, you should also avoid smoking, since chemicals in smoke can destroy collagen and elastin.

Using a retinol or retinoid cream can help, too. "Retinol slowly thickens the deeper layers of the skin, while thinning out the superficial layers," says Levine. "This softens fine marionette lines, making the skin look more youthful."

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6 Tips for a Photogenic Smile

With cameras in cell phones, email profile pictures, and online photo sharing, a camera-ready smile is almost a necessity. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a celebrity or genetically blessed to create a crowd-pleasing smile.

Smile Tip #1: Wear a "Parade" Smile

Photogenic smiles are gentle and natural. Lily T. Garcia, DDS, MS, FACP tells her patients to smile as if they are in a parade. In other words, strike a smile you can hold for a long time. When you smile gently, your face looks relaxed. Your mouth opens slightly, and your lower lip matches the curve of your upper teeth.

"You’ll feel the edges of your upper front teeth gently touching your lower lip," says Garcia, president of the American College of Prosthodontists. Your cheeks may rise a bit, but not too much. It’s the opposite of the quick smile that flashes across your face when you see an old friend. That kind of jumping-for-joy smile makes your eyes squint and your neck muscles tense -- which can make for an awkward-looking photo.

Smile Tip #2: Nix the Double Chin

More worried about your chin than your smile? It’s all about posture. "If you slouch or your head is too bent forward, you won’t like how your smile looks," says Pamela McClain, DDS. She recommends turning your head slightly and dropping your chin so your face is not completely square with the camera.

Smile Tip #3: Make Lipstick Your Friend

If you are a woman, select a lipstick that works with your skin tone. "The right shade of lipstick can make teeth look whiter," Garcia says. Shades like cherry red, wine, berry, plum, or rosy pink are your best bet. The blue-based or pink-based undertones will minimize any yellowish tones in your teeth.

On the other hand, Garcia says that the wrong color, especially one that’s too dark or too red, can detract from your smile. (Psst. Lipstick sticking to your teeth? Might be a sign of dry mouth or excess plaque.)

Smile Tip #4: Work With What You Have

You don’t need perfect teeth to have a camera-worthy smile. Just look at Tom Cruise and his off-center ivories. Garcia points out that the line between his two front teeth, which should line up with the center of his nose, is off to one side. It’s a rather obvious fluke but when Cruise smiles, few people notice it.

Smile Tip #5: Prime Your Teeth and Gums

Getting your teeth and gums camera-ready requires a bit of behind-the-scenes preparation.

If your teeth have yellowed with age, you might take time to try a whitening product from the pharmacy or visit your dentist. Correcting cracked, broken, or missing teeth will likely mean some time with a dental professional.

Though you may think of them as supporting actors, healthy gums play a crucial role in a photogenic smile. "You can have beautiful teeth but if your gums aren’t healthy, that detracts from your smile," says McClain, president of the American Academy of Periodontology. Take Julia Roberts, McClain says: "She’s got a big smile, and she has a really nice blend of gum tissue and tooth."

Smile Tip #6: Practice

Your perfect smile might not happen overnight. If you have a big photo event like a wedding or graduation coming up, take time to practice smiling in front of a mirror. You can see how it looks and feels when you hold your shoulders back proudly and strike a natural, unforced smile. You can also play around with turning your head and finding your best angle.

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Premature Graying: Reasons, Options

Salt and pepper, silver, pewter, charcoal. Whatever you call it, gray hair happens to all of us at some point. But why do some people go gray in their 20s while others don’t see the first sign of silver until age 50? If you’re going gray early, what are your options?

What’s 'Premature'

Hair goes gray when color-producing cells stop producing pigment, says Jeffrey Benabio, MD, a dermatologist at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego. Naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide can also build up in the hair, bleaching the color.

Typically, white people start going gray in their mid-30s, Asians in their late 30s, and African-Americans in their mid-40s. Half of all people have a significant amount of gray hair by the time they turn 50.

A white person is considered to be prematurely gray if his or her hair turns gray by age 20; gray before 30 is early for African-Americans.

Medical Problem?

Going gray, by itself, does not mean you have a medical problem, except in rare cases.

Contrary to popular belief, stress has not been shown to cause gray hair. Scientists don’t know exactly why some people go gray early, but genes play a large role.

Also, a vitamin B-12 deficiency or problems with your pituitary or thyroid gland can cause premature graying that’s reversible if the problem is corrected, Benabio says.

Some research has suggested a connection between premature graying and lower bone density later in life. But in 2007, a study of about 1,200 California men and women showed no such link.

"Your level of bone density is related to activity level, your weight, your height, your ethnicity. It’s not related to your hair or the things controlling the color of your hair," says researcher Deborah J. Morton, PhD, of the University of California, San Diego.

Hiding the Gray

There are lots of choices for concealing gray, says Ron King, owner of Ron King Salon and bô Salon in Austin, Texas, and a national spokesman for L'Oréal Professionnel. They include:

• Semi-permanent or demi-permanent color: The color lasts a few weeks and is a good option for people just starting to see gray according to King. "If you have a lot of your natural colors running through, you don’t want to take that away," King says. "You can just blend it without disrupting what you already have that’s already beautiful and natural."
• Highlights: Scattered strands are lightened to blend the gray with the rest of your hair.
• Permanent color: King suggests using it once you have 45% to 50% gray. Some clients leave some gray around their face to make a statement.
• Hair products: If you don’t want to dye but still want to conceal the gray, King suggests a coloring tool such as spray-on airbrush hair makeup, which washes out with a shampoo.

  Embracing the Gray

  More young mothers, professionals, and even runway models are opting to "go gray," says Diana Jewell, author of Going Gray, Looking Great.
  "The myth that gray hair makes you old is just that --  a myth. If you were young, vibrant, active, healthy pre-gray, you're still going to be that way. It's all in the attitude you bring to it," Jewell says. "If you think of it as merely another color choice, you won't be afraid of gray."
  Journalist Anne Kreamer went gray at 25 and spent an estimated $65,000 on salon color treatments over the next 20 years. She chronicled her journey back to gray at age 49 in the book Going Gray: What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity, and Everything Else That Matters.
  "Look at an Anderson Cooper or a Steve Martin or men who have historically gone gray early," Kreamer says. "I think they look terrific and it becomes almost an iconic differentiation for them". The same can be true for women. But, she says, women have been brainwashed into believing gray is unattractive and undesirable.
  These simple tips can help you go gray with style:
  • If you’ve been dyeing, consider going "cold turkey" with a chic, short haircut.
  • Work with a colorist to weave in highlights and use toners to minimize the transition line between your natural hair color and your former hair dye, Kreamer says.
  • Get a modern haircut. King recommends a style with sharper edges, such as "a graduated bob of some type, some really smooth bangs, a really nice fringe."
  • Take care of your hair. Shampoos with a blue base can help prevent gray hair from developing a yellowish cast, says Jewell, who offers a list of products at goinggraylookinggreat.com. Using a conditioning mask once a month keeps hair well-moisturized.
  • Use a flat iron to make your hair look sleeker and shinier. Gray hair tends to get frizzy, and "a flat iron on your hair brings back the luster to it," King says.
  • Enjoy your life. "Beauty is not determined by the color of a woman’s hair," says Cindy Joseph, a silver-haired model for Ford Models Inc. and CEO of Boom! By Cindy Joseph makeup line. "The ability to take joy in her life is what makes a woman truly beautiful."

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Healthy Food at Sports

All of you exercise-aholics and sportsmen, we bring for you a healthy food guide so that apart from strengthening your body from the outside, you should also give your body the best nutrition from inside.

1. Fresh fruits & vegetables:

There can be no two opinions about the health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables. Seasonal fresh, and not dried, fruits are healthy food for sportsmen and are absolutely essential for others as well. Fruits give you plenty of vitamins such as vitamin A, B complex, C and E which help boost your immunity and make you strong.

Fruits also contain antioxidants which are a natural cure of your body against body aches, cancer, arthritis and other common ailments. Best thing about fruits and vegetables is that they are fat-free and provide your body with instant energy, and a lot of that at that. Fresh fruits and vegetables top our healthy food guide that should never be compromised if you want a healthy life ahead.

2. Grains:

Whole grains contain instant carbohydrates which become very useful before an event where you have to quickly gorge food to replenish your energy resource. Carbohydrates are the prime source of nutrition for your body and bread, pasta, bagels and cereals contain whole grains that fill your body with get-up-and-go energy and vigor. Again, these are importanthealthy food for sportsmen.

3. Calcium:

No one can deny the importance of calcium which is essential for growth and bone strength. Its importance becomes all the more double when the subject in question is the athletes and sportsmen. Healthy food guide gives due importance and significance to calcium which nourishes, grows and ossifies your bones.

Calcium and calcium containing products such as milk, yoghurt, and cheese protect you from injuries that are a common story with athletes and sportsmen. Calcium products also contain proteins which are the natural building blocks of your body which means these give you muscle mass and bulky look. If you are not a big fan of dairy products, you must ingest calcium supplements to meet your body needs and make it ready for rigorous playing sessions.

4. Fiber:

Fiber keeps your digestive tract clean and makes healthy food for sportsmen by ensuring that they remain in good shape in order to stay at the top of their game in all seasons. Foods such as almonds, legumes, apple, whole grains, and berries are rich in fiber. In order to calculate how much fiber you need in a day, you should consult your training coach but as a rule of thumb, the amount must be at least 5 grams more than your age. For instance if you are 10 years old, your daily body needs of fiber will be at least 15 grams and more.

5. Peanut Butter:

Peanut butter contains proteins and essential fatty acids which make an important constituent of our healthy food guide for athletes and sportsmen. Protein builds your body and protects your from injuries and illnesses which is very important for every sportsman. Protein boosts aerobic metabolism in your body which prevents loss of stored energy from the lean body mass. Adequate intake of protein speeds up the recovery process which helps a great deal in the actual performance situations.

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