The amount of vitamin E you need depends on your age, your weight, and problems you are trying to solve or prevent. Remember that supplements should be taken daily, and should be taken with food so that you will receive other nutrients to assist in their assimilation. Keep your supplements in a cool, dark place to protect their potency, and take them as part of your mealtime routine: • To maintain good health, you should take a minimum amount of 200 IUs daily. • To help lower raised cholesterol levels, especially in young adults, take 300 to 600 IUs daily. • For reducing menopausal symptoms, take 400 IUs daily. • To help combat coronary artery disease and poor circulation, take 400 IUs daily. Be Careful: It is important to understand different functions of vitamins if you are going to ingest them separately instead of within a multivitamin where formulation will ensure a proper balance. In case of vitamin E, there are a variety of concerns of which you should be aware: • Vitamin E should be taken under medical supervision if you are also taking blood-thinning drugs (anticoagulant medication). Vitamin E acts as a blood thinner, too. • Remember that vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, and since it will be stored in body in fatty tissue, it can reach toxic levels. People who decide to take mega-doses of vitamins and don’t know what they’re doing can suffer from too much of a good thing with this vitamin. If you are taking a multivitamin supplement and a separate vitamin E supplement, make sure you are not taking a toxic dose. Anything over 1200 IUs should not be taken without consulting a health professional. • Be careful if you take iron as well as vitamin E. These two supplements should be taken at different times of day because iron in form of ferrous sulfate will destroy vitamin E. Organic forms of iron such as ferrous gluconate or ferrous fumarate, however, will not harm vitamin. Read label and make sure you know which form of iron you are taking. • Diabetics, people with overactive thyroids, and those with rheumatic heart diseases should be especially careful not to take more than recommended dosages of vitamin E. • If you suffer from high blood pressure, begin with 200 IUs of vitamin E per day and gradually increase dose over a period of six weeks until you reach desired level. • If you are taking vitamin E, you must also take a minimum dose of zinc as well, and some supplements will include necessary amount of zinc in Vitamin E tablet or capsule. Vitamin E is an important element in our arsenal of disease-battling nutrients, and there is an increasing lack of vitamin E in our diets because of our dependence on processed food and depletion of nutrients in soil. Fortunately, supplements allow us to obtain whatever amount of vitamin E we need to keep us healthy.

Remember, we're talking entire 20 square feet to clean!

~Bathing daily is a misguided myth~ Actually, your skin only needs a thorough washing about three times a week besides arm pits and genital areas. But, if you must bathe daily, (and you respect others around you) then always, ALWAYS, use a moisturizer afterward. It's best to apply it before you dry off and then pat dry.

Ofcourse, stay away from hot water. Luke warm is best temperature for bathing.

~Don't scratch that itch!~ Insect bites or dry skin can cause minor itching, even nervousness can. Instead of scratching your skin which can rip and tear, keep a small tube of hydrocortizone handy. Apply it as much as possible until itching ends. If itch continues or a rash develops call your doctor.

Ofcourse, signs of itching can mean that your skin is extra dry and you may only need to moisturize (or bathe) more often.

~Hmmm, air we breathe~ Environmental causes will also have an affect on skin. Dry air and pet dander are major issues in which some people have to use air purifiers or even medications. (They're not about to give up 'ol Rover!)

Humidifiers are good to use, but be careful of causing mold and mildew in your home.

~Pretty is; pretty does~ Sunscreen should be a part of your daily skin care routine, also. The most expensive brands are sometimes best for added incentives, but no matter what you buy, always use SPF 30+ even under your make up. (Oh, and don't forget lip balm!)

It really isn't that hard or expensive to have healthy skin. It's just time consuming in finding what's right for you.