Bottoms Up - VB Cafe

VB Cafe, a healthy cafe in Sinsa-dong of the Garosugil street is the one place to go to for a drink and healthy eats without feeling guilty of a splurge. VB is a cafe on the first floor and a diet lab on the second floor, offering products and services for guests. 

In the VB Cafe, the drinks are all made of healthy ingredients, with the most popular being red ginseng. It is extremely strong and overpowering taste if you are not a fan of ginseng, I do not suggest going for it. The VB fruitade is a suggested drink that is recommended for anyone looking for a cool refreshing drink. 

The best part is the healthy desserts VB Cafe offers which include a strawberry roll cake and a green tea soy cake. Made of all healthy ingredients and even vegan, VB Cafe is the one place to go to for anyone on a strict diet or looking to maintain beauty.

Straight from exit 8 of Sinsa station on line 3, take a left when you reach Tous Le Jours bakery on the corner. Go straight along the famous Garosu-gil shopping street until you reach the corner where VB cafe is on the left.

Phone Number: 080-023-5454

Story of My Life - Master Cleanse (Lemonade Diet)

Since I have been in Korea, my psoriasis got worse. I've made some bad decisions on not caring for my skin and there has been great regret there. After going to Hong Kong and realizing how big of an impact my skin is on my life, I decided to make a change. I needed to care for my skin, from the inside out. Psoriasis is due to a weak liver and therefore I figured detoxing would be my best bet. I would not only clean out my system, but I would be able to hop on a fresh start and be able to start a diet that is good for the skin.

Originally, I read a lot about the Master Cleanse and was hyped about the diet, but also skeptical, and even scared to. Nonetheless, I finally hopped on the diet, thanks to iHerb shipping all of the items to me in Korea within a few days (referral code FEJ438 for discounts). One recommendation for anyone going on the cleanse is to go organic and use the best ingredients possible. Do not skimp out and be stingy on the ingredients because it is not worth using low grade materials for a detox this serious. Consider the fact that you are spending at minimum a week of time on this detox, you want the max benefits so a little extra spending goes a long way. Try to make your lemonade fresh and definitely refer to this website for the best advice and help through the diet. 

My experience. I was warned that the second and third day would be the most difficult of the diet, but it was actually pretty easy for me. I think the hardest day of the diet was day six and eight when I started to really crave for all the random food, even the most tasteless ones like a plain bun. I just craved the texture and my mouth watered as I watched others eat around me. I could literally feel the food in my mouth. It was bad. By the time day ten came, it felt good! 

The negative. The side effects I faced through the first three days of the detox was crazy headaches. I got through it, but it was pretty bad at one point. I also had a few experiences with severe stomach pain. I believe that was due to the cayenne pepper. Although I took the capsule form, I don't think I flushed it down with enough water so I just felt it open through my system. The last and most serious side effect for me was the white tongue. I had this through most of my detox, but it was a great sign that my body was removing all the toxins so I knew it worked.

The positive. The weight is a guarantee. I dropped a good amount of weight, but that wasn't ultimately my goal. I was looking to clean out my system and improve my psoriasis. Luckily, enduring this detox definitely helped my skin. I feel that my skin is a lot healthier and my psoriasis improved a great amount. I stopped using topical ointment because of the side effects, but I see improvement in my skin. I feel less itchy and my skin is less irritated. There are even certain spots that gradually healed up. I am not saying that the detox will make my skin better, but this is a good start. I did notice a better sleeping pattern and actually getting a good night's sleep. I don't wake up in the middle of the night like I used to, so I'm definitely happy about that.

The future. This detox is only a temporary cleanse and I will do it again, but I am grateful for chance to reduce the crazy cravings that I have for junk food and such. I will kickstart a new diet for the sake of my skin to improve which will consist of mainly fruits and vegetables. I know I will gain the weight back, but it is a great start for me to keep the weight off and start healthy, a fresh start!

Prevent Wrinkles

We are all at that stage where aging is a problem. We were all naive at one point when our parents told us certain things to pay attention to because it will affect us in the future. Did we listen? No, of course not. What we now know is that we regret and we are spending tons of money on beauty products in order to maintain our beauty. A few ways to naturally and gradually decrease the appearance of wrinkles:

• Swap coffee for hot chocolate. There may be a higher intake on calories, but coffee makes you all jittery inside which does not help your system when it comes to wrinkles. 
• Sleep on your back. Sleeping on your back will have your face directly forward which reduces the stress and wrinkles that grow over time because you are putting against your face with the pressure of the pillow. Because you are sleeping, you are not aware of the pullings that you are making on your skin. 
• Avoid squinting. This is the one tip that we received from our parents the very first day we watched TV. Those who are 40 and above have a harder time with reading and therefore squinting is a common practice. If needed, as unclassy and not cute as glasses look, please do yourself a favor and get a pair. You can even skip the glasses and go for contacts, but yes reduce the squinting to help protect your eyes.
• Eat more fish and soy. Omega 3 fatty acids found in cold water fish such as salmon and tuna help to keep your skin young. It also helps to prevent other hear diseases and is absolutely great for women. Start early and eat healthy, you'll thank yourself later.
• Wear sunscreen at all times. I stress the fact that you should wear sunscreen at all times because the sun is damaging. It can even penetrate through your glass windows and have an effect on your skin. It is important that the minute you go outside, you put on sunscreen. It is easier to protect than to reduce the size of a wrinkle so do yourself a little favor that can take less than a minute.

Stay young, stay beautiful. 

Problematic Foods for the Skin

For those of you who have skin problems, which include psoriasis, eczema, acne, rashes and such, it is important to watch what you eat. It is best if you can cut out such foods from your entire diet but I admit, it is difficult to cut these foods from your life. It has a proven record to help your skin out in the long term which takes a lot of determination. I suggest cutting down the amount that normally consume, that’ll help control your skin a bit.

It’s one of those cause and effect games. Because you’re consuming these foods, the effect shows on your skin. From the outside in, the foods get absorbed into your system which plays an effect as to how it comes out.

• Shellfish – Any seafood with shell exterior is known to irritate your skin, which includes, but not limited to shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, clams, crawfish. After consuming shellfish, many people will start to itch. A lot of people believe they are allergic to shellfish, but that's not the case, its a general reaction for all, stronger for some than others. If you have a skin problem, this will only cause you to be more irritated which leads to you scratching. Any type of scratch is not good for the skin because you are transferring the germs from your fingernails to your skin which can cause it to infect.
• Beef – Red meat is not good for open cuts because it will end up leaving scars all over your body. Anytime you get an open cut, from falling or from scratching, refrain from eating beef. The rarer it is, the darker and less likely your scar will fade away. Another major problem of consuming beef is the breakouts that many people have. Beef is one of those tasty but deadly foods.
• Duck – Duck is known to be "poisonous" for the skin, it falls under the category of shellfish. Duck causes a lot of irritations so do avoid duck when you have an open wound because it will take longer to heal. Eating duck will make you itchy, but not as itchy as shellfish.
• Chocolate – This sweet thing made from oil causes many breakouts and of course the more you eat, the worse your skin gets. When I say chocolate, I mean chocolate everything—chocolate candy, chocolate cake, hot chocolate.
• Spicy Foods – Consuming spicy foods will cause your internal body to be “flamed.” What I mean by flamed is having internal heat in your system. When there is internal heat, your body will start to feel more uncomfortable and find ways to release this heat. Ever feel a few extra break outs or canker sore is developing when you eat spice? Or maybe even having trouble with a bowel movement? That’s the cause and effect chain of spicy foods.
• Sour Foods – Having an irregular balance to your body’s ph level by eating too much sour foods will cause your stomach to cringe. I haven’t quite figured out how sour food has an effect on the body, but it’s one of those things that you just need to balance out.

Moral of the story is to balance out what you eat, everything has it harms and benefits for the body. Try not to eat too much of one thing—at least not all at once. If you’re able to control your diet and eat a healthy meal 24/7, you will see a change in your skin. The better you treat your body, the more it will reflect on your skin. 

On a Diet? Avoid This

You should definitely look into refraining from eating these foods when you are on a diet. Some foods are great for you, but it doesn't help when you're eating too much of it. 

• Tofu – Because tofu is so bland and tasteless, many restaurants and food services use sauces to spice up the taste which ultimately means a bunch of sodium, calories, saturated fat, and even sugar.
• Sushi – Depending on the type of sushi you order, you are consuming rice along with it which means a bunch of carbohydrates add up. Aside from that, many sushi contain cream cheese and mayo (spicy mayo) which adds up.
• Dried fruit – Dried fruits are packed with sugars and a cup of dried fruits has five to eight times the amount of calories as a cup of fresh fruit.
• Granola – Granola is packed with oil and sugar for the crisp sweet taste to add to your meal.
• Snack bars – It’s always great to go and grab a small snack that controls your hunger, but what good will a 90 calorie snack bar do when you are downing two or three at once?
• Bran muffins – Bran muffins is basically a round slice of cake, packing in about 20 grams of fat, 420 calories, and 34 grams of sugar. 
• White bread – Remember that white bread is the unhealthiest type for you. If you must make a sandwich, grab whole grain or all wheat to reduce the intake.
• Half and half – Try using a different addition to your coffee being that half and half is full of cream and fat.
• Chicken – Making and ordering chicken to help you diet is a great option. Just be sure you are getting white meat and not dark meat. The less flavor and taste in white meat, the better it is for your diet. 
• Wraps – You may think that a wrap is a healthy option for you, but a wrap is bigger than the two slices of bread and in addition to that, you tend to add more mayo and dressing to a wrap than a sandwich (usually on one side).
• Bottle teas – Store bought teas are packed with sugars and honey to provide you with a taste so it is not fresh at all, but is a counter for your diet.
• Orange juice – A 16-ounce bottle of apple and orange juice is equivalent to five slices of bread with 55 grams of carbohydrates. Do the math?
• Diet microwave meals – First off, any microwavable is not good for you being that it is packed with sodium. One microwave meal contains more than enough sodium that you need in a day.
• Salads – There is nothing healthier than having a salad for lunch. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to drench our salads with dressing which is packed with calories. If you have a naked salad, remember to avoid the cheeses, nuts, croutons and other calorie carrying items that will ruin your diet.
• Diet Sodas – There is no such thing as diet sodas. They are still packed with sugars and don’t help your diet other than the after taste that may refrain you from eating.
• Water – It is great to keep hydrated and water is the best thing to drink but don’t hop on a scale after you packed down some water because that liquid is quick to reflect on your scale. Remember to someway work it off in order to reduce water retention in the body that can look inflamed in the summer.