PROFNET EXPERT ALERTS: Health & Living

1. BEHAVIOR: TACTICS TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OF CYBER BULLYING. PATTI AGATSTON is co-author of "Cyber Bullying" and a cyber bullying prevention specialist. Her role is to inform educators and parents on tactics to prevent the occurrence of cyber bullying, seen in the case of Megan Meier, a victim of cyber bullying instigated by the actions of Lori Drew, who was just recently accused of the charges against her in the case: "The death of Megan Meiers was a tragic example of the sinister powers of cyber bullying.

2. BEAUTY: FOR GREAT SUMMER SKIN, WASH 'SMARTER,' NOT 'HARDER.' DR. ERIN WELCH, assistant professor of dermatology at the UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER (Dallas): "During the hot and humid summer months, many people feel the need to wash their face more often and with 'stronger' cleansers. However, top dermatologists advise to wash smarter, not harder. Your skin tends to become oilier in the summer, but washing more often or with stronger cleansers can actually have an adverse effect, serving to create more oil and shine.

3. BEAUTY: LOOK GOOD WITHOUT CHECKING BAGS. GITA BASS, NYC-based makeup artist and grooming expert who has worked with celebrities like Heidi Klum, Ryan Reynolds, Keira Knightly and Jonathan Rhys Meyers: "For today's travelers, baggage fees, overcrowded planes and delayed flights are becoming the norm.

4. HEALTH: HONEYMOON CYSTITIS: ATTENTION JUNE BRIDES. LARRIAN GILLESPIE, retired Beverly Hills urologist and author of the book "You Don't Have to Live with Cystitis" (HarperCollins): "The sudden increase in sexual activity on a honeymoon can sometimes trigger the onset of a urinary tract infection (UTI), otherwise known as honeymoon cystitis, particularly in women who are prone.

5. HEALTH: IMPORTANCE OF FERTILITY AWARENESS. DR. CAROLYN KUBIK, medical director of REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SPECIALISTS, is a nationally known reproductive endocrinologist who specializes in male and female infertility: "One in every 10 couples suffers from infertility, which can be a lonely and isolating problem.

7. HEALTH: YOUTHFULNESS FROM THE INSIDE OUT. VINCENT GIAMPAPA, M.D., is a world-renowned anti-aging physician and author of the current best-seller "The Gene Makeover: The 21st Century Anti-Aging Solution." He also founded the DNA- focused nutrition program Suracell, which tackles aging from the inside out. In response to new information about U.S. life expectancy increasing to 78, Giampapa can discuss what celebs and regular folks can now find at spas to age more healthfully and look and feel younger from the inside out, so they age better than their predecessors: "Properly nourishing and supplementing your body is key to healthy aging and looking and feeling your youthful best. Of the 70 percent of Americans that take a daily multi-vitamin, how many truly know what they need for optimal health and to effectively promote longevity? Knowing what you need on the basis of personal genetics can help you to age better now. In today's world, you take your car to the mechanic, he plugs it into his computer and has enough information to know what's wrong and how to fix it.

8. TRAVEL: MAKING THE MOST OF 'STAYCATIONS.' CECILIA DAHL, founder and president of SMART DESTINATIONS, creator of the Go Card: "With the cost of travel continuing to rise, many consumers are planning summer 'staycations' and enjoying all the attractions their hometown has to offer." Dahl is available for commentary on summer travel and can provide thoughts on how consumers can make the most of their summer vacations, no matter what their destinations might be.

Love Your Age

You will grow old. And no amount of refusing to answer "How old are you?" questions can change that fact. Well, you are in good company as all people will eventually age. You aren't alone in this dilemma.

But people are starting to see the aging process in a whole different light. When before, people were scrambling to hide their age, now some are vocal with their age and are embracing their maturity.

Growing old need not be something associated with white hair, wrinkled skin and rusty bones. You can actually be old but not appear to be as old. Heck, you can even land yourself a younger guy or a girl half your age. Just look at what Demi Moore managed to do!

The secret is to not feel old and to take the aging process as something that you can control. Trust me, it isn't something that you should be ashamed of that is if you want it to be.

1. Aging isn't just growing old but also growing up.

Aging need not be something that will give you white hair and a wrinkled demeanor. Aging can actually be something that will make you more mature and more experienced with the world. You can actually use your age to your advantage by sharing what you know and teaching the younger ones based on what you've been through in life.

People who are old are more likely to command more respect. They are more distinguished-looking and appear to be more believable than younger people.

2. Aging means relaxation

Growing old is something that you should actually celebrate because you have reached a time in your life when you can actually relax and not feel guilty about it. That is of course if you have prepared well for your retirement years. This is the time when you can relax and just have fun with your days.

3. Aging means fun

Spend the days at home and just read books. Catch up with old friends and hang out with them. Go out and live a little. One usual mistake of older people is to think that just because they are old they can no longer have fun. Actually, it's the opposite. Now you can have fun.


4. Aging means freedom

This is also the time when you need not worry about any responsibilities. You are no longer pressured to achieve something in your life because you have gone through so much. Now, you can do the things that you weren't able to do before because of duty.

The Practice Of Yoga Helps Anti-Aging

There seems to be a yoga boom happening around the world as the West has finally accepted the practice and allowed it to be entrenched as a mainstream holistic approach to health and well being. Thanks to pop icons like Madonna who have been openly letting the public know that she practices yoga, the masses have caught on that this type of custom that promotes youthfulness and helps stave off the signs of premature aging.

However, how true and how effective is the practice of yoga in the anti-aging battle? Well, at the core of the practice is the promise of being able to transcend the physical body's limitations, namely its predisposition to premature aging as a result of the stresses and elements brought about from our lifestyle. As you get into the practice of yoga you get to slowly imbibe an entire holistic lifestyle conducive to promoting youthfulness. You begin to eat healthier simply because you notice the difference in your body's performance as you do the yoga asanas when you eat right.

Aside from encouraging you to eat right, the practice of yoga is a type of physical exercise that promotes optimum levels of oxygen. Any type of aerobic exercise is good for the circulatory system and it also provides the body with much needed oxygen. The difference with usual aerobic exercise and yoga is that in the latter, you need to get into asanas or poses that require you to either contract or expand your body parts and the blood and oxygen are concentrated in areas that are being exercised.

Also, the challenging poses of yoga need a certain amount of concentration. This means that at the same time you are exercising you body, you are also exercising your mind. Proper nutrition, brain exercises and physical exercise all promote better well being and youthfulness which is why the practice of yoga is one of the more popular choices for anti-aging.

Beyond that however, what makes regular yoga practice unique is that the change in lifestyle and the single minded approach to the challenge of poses allows the mind to slowly unfold into believing that it can achieve what seems to be impossible. In this realization can the yoga practitioner eventually achieve the transcendence of the limitations of the body that we have come to expect. This journey of transcendence is what regular yoga practitioners successfully use as an anti-aging tool.