VOICES October 2022

VCS DIRECTOR:

Nikola Stankoski

COORDINATORS:

Andrej Naumovski

Goran Adamovski

Goran Galabov

Selina Niemi

Ewelina Chańska

Jolanta Ciopcińska

David Stoilkovski

While everything around us is preparing for passing and new beginnings, all is slowly falling into place. The most beautiful colors are taking over every part of the city, it is sheer impossible to ignore that seasons are changing. The year is coming to its end in vibrant red and golden colours, all awaiting the clarity of winter and the beginning of spring.

October celebrates our achievements and blessings, we are reminded to be thankful for the richness of our harvest when we celebrate Thanksgiving, we celebrate death on Halloween or the victory of light over darkness at Diwali festival. Regardless of which part in the world you live and celebrate in, darkness and light, life and death, nourishment and hunger are themes present in almost every culture. October is a month as heartbreakingly melancholic as it is joy and light. So, while we let our feelings flow it, don’t forget to take a walk outside and admire the breathtaking beauty awaiting you.

“October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again.”

градот, апсолутно

игнорира дека годишните времиња се менуваат. Годината се ближи кон својот крај во живописните црвени и златни бои, сите во исчекување на ведрината на зимата и почетокот на пролетта.

Октомври ги слави нашите достигнувања и благослови, се потсетуваме да бидеме благодарни за богатството на нашата жетва кога го славиме Денот на благодарноста, ја славиме смртта на Ноќта на вештерките или победата на светлината над темнината на фестивалот „Diwali“. Без оглед на тоа во кој дел од светот живеете и славите, темнина или светлина, животот или смртта, намирниците и гладот се теми присутни во речиси секоја култура. Октомври е месец што колку е меланхоличен, толку е и радосен и светол. Затоа, додека ги оставаме нашите чувства да не водат, не заборавајте да се прошетате надвор и да се восхитувате на убавината што ви го одзема здивот.

„Октомври е паднатиот лист, но тој е и поширок хоризонт појасно виден. Повторно на повидок се далечните ридови и уште еднаш трајните соѕвездија над нив“.

Мари Кил

EXTERNAL WRITERS:

Robin Lambrechts

Dragana Andreevska Diola Sokoli

TRANSLATORS:

Diola Sokoli Martina Danilovska

DESIGNERS:

Selina Niemi

José Rodrigues

Aleksandra Kanasiuk

Angelina Berndt

Marie Kiel

Jasse Heikkilä

CONTACT: Volunteers Centre Skopje Emil Zola 3/3-1, 1000, Skopje +389 22 772 095 vcs_contact@yahoo.com www.vcs.org.mk

Elen Wright - Stead Edward Stead

Marie Kiel

topic of the month

4 Are people still visiting libraries?

Marie Kiel

12 Дали луѓето се уште посетувааат библиотеки? Мари Кил music

6 Music but it's Lofi Angelina Berndt

reportage

8 Roots and prevention of human trafficking

Diola Sokoli

10 The stigma around psychotherapy and normalising it

Dragana Andreevska

16 Does your nutrition influence your appearance?

Robin Lambrecht

opinion

14 See the World Jasse Heikkilä

15 Shiko boten Jasse Heikkilä

topic of the month

changed thoroughly over the past decades. What used to be a place for borrowing books has slowly but surely become a place people like to spend their time at. Studying sessions, events, workshops and more have gained a lot of popularity over the past decades. An US-Study sums it up: „(…) U.S. communities are using these spaces for local programs more and more. With nearly six million programs for children, young adults, and people of all ages taking place inside libraries, one in every 10 people visiting a library are now doing so to attend a local program.“. This perfectly describes the changes that have been happening all over the world, libraries fulfill a more social

describes it as: “the main reason why I don’t go to libraries is the idea of having a sense of belonging of the book, so I usually buy the books in a store or when there comes a book fair. I can have them in my room and I can put them on a shelf to see them.”. Many people collect books like the Harry Potter series for sentimental reasons or just in the same way that some people are collecting crystals or stamps.

On the other hand, I was told it’s also about experiencing a book. It’s the smell, how your own book feels and that you can write, draw or highlight in it. You use it differently, so it feels different. Even though my friend agrees that, she prefers to buy

For investigative purposes I gathered a group of friends –which could be defined as more than 1 and less than 5 – to have a cross section representative for Skopje’s half a million inhabitants. Of which people under 30 probably make up about 30% of the populationso, basically we’re going to use between 1-5 samples of roughly 150000 people aged 0-30 – as I said, representative. This group of participants, all raised in Skopje, all studying in Skopje more or less, have amongst named things one major thing in common: they don’t get their private books at libraries. Surprise! Though all of them claim that they visit libraries regularly.

What may or may not sound a little strange has a simple reason: they are students. They find the library to be a „place, that they can concentrate at”, which is “because of the quiet atmosphere - it’s a really good studying atmosphere.”. In fact, this is a known concept. The demographics of libraries have

ARE PEOPLE STILL VISITING LIBRARIES?

function than they used to. Instead of the quiet place, that old folks know from their own youth, libraries have become vivid, become more and more colourful, diverse - in libraries people engage, share and discuss with each other. One could even say that libraries reflect society’s changes. But how could they not being home to 100s of years of ever changing academic and social achievements?

So, where does the youth get their private books from if not from the library and why? On the one hand, a lot of people like to display their books at home, to make it part of the inventory. One of the interviewees

her books in stores, libraries are practical if you want to borrow school books, books in different languages like English or very specific books you might not touch again: “I was renting books only for school purposes so for example the books that were required from school and we were required to read – I did not want to have them on my shelf. I hated those books.”. This also adds a certain worth to the act of buying books – when you like books you buy them to keep and display them, when you don’t like them, you borrow and return them.

Generally, the group buys their books in stores like Akademska,

Are people still visiting libraries?

Claims have been made that no one visits libraries in Skopje anymore. Is this the truth or just the blatant and provocative attempt of an older generation to discredit newcomers in the library scene? Is the new generation actually not visiting libraries anymore? And more importantly: where do they get their books from if not from the libraries?

Kultura or Tri. Some even buy them in gas stations or during their travels when something catches their interest – which adds another factor. Buying books is at times more available than actively deciding to go to the libraries, spending time there, then renting out the book and returning it – it can be more practical.

Libraries have, even though young people still seem to visit them, a general decline all over the world, an example is the UK, where more than a quarter of about 800 public libraries have closed in the past ten years. This, even putting into consideration that libraries are being used in a different way nowadays, is still chastening. Libraries are genuinely a great way of fostering literacy to children, providing adults inexpensively with lectures or bringing communities together. To put it in the simplest way: they provide great sources of knowledge accessible to anyone and everyone in the public. And more than that, they are a very eco-friendly way of reading hundreds and thousands of books. Even though young people still visit libraries a lot, numbers tell different. Libraries are declining and we are responsible to prevent that. So next time instead of buying a new book maybe consider just renting it out in American Corner or your nearest public library. Let the old people be right and support one of the most integral parts of every learning process. Borrow yourself a book, guys.

Marie Kiel

Sources: Publishers Weekly: Are Public Libraries in Decline Study Finds: Libraries are more popular than ever even as people borrow fewer books

music

music but it’s lofi

Have you ever heard of Lo-fi music? Chances are high, since the genre has been rapidly increasing in popularity over the last two years. Videos with titles like “1 A.M Study Session - lofi hip hop/chill beats” have gained millions of views and are extremely popular among students. This boom did not come out of nowhere though, the roots of Lofi music go way back to the 1950s.

Since then the definition and style of Lo-fi (low fidelity) music has changed quite a bit. The first time Lo-fi music got an entry into a dictionary was in 1976, in the English Oxford Dictionary it was defined as “sound production less good in quality than ‘hi-fi’” – a very vague definition. So Lo-fi basically started out as music produced with lower sound quality and audible imperfections.

The background noises in the recordings are still one of the most prominent characteristics of Lo-fi music. While nowadays the iconic background noises are often added afterwards, they originally were

a result of home-recording and regarded as a sign for “authentic” music.

In 2003, the Oxford Dictionary added a second definition for the term—”a genre of rock music characterized by minimal production, giving a raw and unsophisticated sound”, which mirrors the increase of punk and indie artists, who started producing music at home and therefore contributed to the increasing popularity of raw, imperfect sounds. Bands like Guided by Voices were the pioneers of Lo-fi.

Then, more and more music from different genres like jazz or hip

hop was implemented into the Lofi culture and rock music stopped to be so prevalent in the genre. In 2008 it had reached a point another definition of Lo-fi music was added: “unpolished, amateurish, or technologically unsophisticated, esp. as a deliberate aesthetic choice.” By now the low sound quality had long stopped to be a by-product by home-made or DIYmusic, it became a style of itself.

Today the main characteristics of Lo-fi music besides the intended imperfections like a scratching record or static noises are drum loops, jazz chords and samples. The drum loops are used to form the

Artwork by Cal and Raph

chill rhythm and usually between 70-90 beats per minute, which means they are on the low- to midtempo range. While Lo-fi has its roots in punk, indie rock, and hiphop music, nowadays jazz chords became an important part of the Lo-fi culture. The little bits and pieces of jazz incorporated to the Lo-fi tracks are supposed to create a relaxed, thoughtful vibe and adds to the retro aesthetic, which is a great part of the Lo-fi theme in general. Even though a great part of Lo-fi music is instrumental some artists use sampling or other effects to underline the music and switch it up a bit.

Especially in the last years it became common to not only use vocal samples from pre-existing songs or record them yourself, but to take small dialogues from anime shows. Lo-fi music and anime are strongly interconnected now and this also shows in the Lo-fi illustrations often used as a thumbnail for the YouTube playlists. While famous channels like Chillhop Music or Lofi Girl (formerly known as ChilledCow) create their own music, others remix anime soundtracks as Lo-fi music. As it can be seen, Lo-fi music has quite a history and resulting in that there is broad palette of subgenres. So, if there is such a high demand for Lo-fi music apparently, one might wonder why.

The main audience of Lo-fi music these days are students. During the last years Lo-fi playlists with names like “1 A.M Study Session - lofi hip hop/chill beats” have become extremely popular and are said to improve concentration and enhance the productivity.

Similar to classical music used for studying, Lo-fi creates a soundscape shaped by rather slow (mostly) instrumental music. There have been years of research proving that slow instrumental music can improve the ability focus.

In the 1990s research conducted by New York Academy of Science found a “Blur Effect” – it proved that kids were actually doing better at test while they were listening to music they genuinely enjoyed. One hand this is related to the rise of serotonin and dopamine levels; If we are in a good mood, we can be more productive – this can work with any type of music, just try to avoid songs with lyrics, since they can be distracting for you. On the other hand the “Blur Effect” works because the music drowns own any distracting background noise and therefore makes it easier for us to focus on whatever activity.

In addition to increasing our concentration, Lo-fi music can also be extremely relaxing and thus is also liked as “chill out” music. The calm beats boast the restorative system and reduce cortisol levels, which are responsible for anxiety and stress. This can actually not only improve your overall mood, but also help you to use your time more effective, since stress lowers your productivity.

While there are little studies about the effects of specifically Lo-fi music on us, there are many studies that examine the effectiveness of elements used in Lo-fi music. You could technically achieve the same effects by listening to classical music – if you enjoyed it just as much. Since everyone has their own preferences when it comes to music, the impact of Lo-fi on your body and mind can greatly differ from others experience, but I think it is worth a try at least. I for myself can say that I love listening to Lofi music and was able to see a big improvement in my concentration since I started doing that.

Angelina Berndt

calm lofi beats

2am study playlist

chill lofi vibes

Sources X

“Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship” by Rauscher, Frances H. ; “Music Listening and Cognitive Abilities in 10- and 11-YearOlds: The Blur Effect” by E. Glenn Schellenberg ; “Does listening to preferred music improve reading comprehension performance?” by Nick Perham ; “Is it OK to listen to music while studying?” by Dr Timothy Byron ; “Lo-fi Music Guide: History and Characteristics of Lo-fi Music” on MasterClass. com ; “Phänomen Lo-Fi-Musik –Zwischen Rebellion Und Lifestyle” by Meon on Thomann.de; …

Roots and prevention of

trafficking]

Human trafficking is "the process of trapping people through the use of violence, deception or coercion and exploiting them for financial or personal gain," according to AntiSlavery. The crime is divided into 25 types, including pornography, domestic work, residential sex trafficking, and carnivals.

The earliest transcontinental human trafficking began with the African slave trade in the 15th century. The international trade involved American and European buyers, who saw the African slave population as a cheaper source of labor. Those kidnaped, convicted of a crime, or failing to pay a family debt were forced into harsh and torturous labor conditions.

Hundreds of years later, human trafficking still exists and is an unceasingly growing problem, with 30% of human trafficking victims being children. It is thus only natural to honestly wonder why an inhumane crime exists.

There is no singular cause of trafficking. In developing countries, crime can result from job shortages, natural disasters, religious persecution, political conflict, etc. However, the incessant growth of this modern-day issue is due to globalization. This process of facilitating the expansion across worldwide borders allows developing countries to enter the global market, thus allowing more accessible transportation of illegal migrants. These criminal organizations continue to grow and expand, worsening the global issue.

In a more newborn context, the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened victims' vulnerabilities to trafficking. With the closing of schools and activities, children

have become more susceptible to online trafficking, particularly online sexual abuse. As a result, these children are less likely to escape the situation they are trapped in. The numerous lockdowns have additionally heavily increased the risk of expanding criminal networks due to documenting fewer migrants. Unfortunately, the pandemic has caused dangerous closures of public services, civil society organizations, and other helpful resources for victims. Lack of support from these can lead to facilitated human trafficking and increased difficulty to escape.

The constantly growing criminal organizations for human trafficking are undoubtedly responsible for the torment and misery of their victims. Therefore, the leading causes of this crime include that a victim could be entrapped in trafficking. Affecting children and adults, extreme poverty and lack of education or job opportunities can fuel such a crime.

A weak, corrupt economy can result in desperation for money, especially when the possibility of finding a real job is low. This urgency for financial stability can make victims more vulnerable and give human traffickers a desire to continue exploiting their victims. Moreover, harmful social norms can result in trafficking. A typical example of this is child marriage. In this case, the victim likely comes from disadvantaged family background and is obligated to marry at a severely young age. These victims will carry unimaginable.

Diola Sokoli

The stigma around psychotherapy and normalizing it

Imagine you are a little kid unaware that you are struggling with anxiety. Anxiety in kids usually shows up in the form of refusing to go to school, lack of interest, struggling to do simple daily tasks because they feel overwhelmed. Now, imagine you are a little kid struggling with anxiety, growing up in a typical Balkan household. You don’t know what emotions you are feeling, but you know it is hard for you to go to school. So you ask your parents if you could skip a day, trying to explain that it has been really hard for you.

The reaction?

A theatrical compilation of ,,you are just lazy and you must go because we say so”, if you are lucky enough. Worst case scenario, yowu get beaten with your mothers slipper. This is exactly why I had to fake my sick days by the way. So your parents tell you to stop being such a baby, to man-up, stop being so soft! But they don’t want to listen, because in their set of values, they have not set emotional regulation and reactions as a priority of any kind. So they just try to program you with the same words their parents used on them, the only set of belief system that had been known to them. And they are unaware of the impact their words and lack of words leave on that child’s life.

Most people know that psychotherapy is a variation or

emotional distresses or illnesses. But if you ask around people in our country on this topic you would most likely hear the same answer: Psychotherapy is for mentally ill people, we are strong enough to handle our own problems.

Each one of us has been through a difficult period at some point in our lifetime. Whether that has been caused by some big traumatising, life changing event, or some seemingly irrelevant situation in which negative emotions have been triggered. Either way, it is very important that these negative emotions are recognized and faced with as soon as possible, because as we know everything we do and think, builds our habits and negative patterns in our everyday life.

So when it comes to dealing with negative emotions such as stress, sadness, jealousy or insecurity, we all take a different way of handling them. The sad truth is that majority of the people just try to deny their emotions and frustrations by distracting themselves with other temporarily uplifting and indulging activities. So people usually run away from their negative emotions and thoughts by forcing themselves to stay ,,busy” so they don’t have time to deal with them. In modern world, most advanced European countries are well aware of mental health, the struggles and the importance of keeping a healthy mind. Most of the people there have their personal therapist, so psychotherapy is just a normal way of solving the problems inside your head through talking and analysing with a professional. Unfortunately, in our country, the outdated mentality yet remains. People in our society do not

take mental health seriously, unknowingly carrying around unhealed traumas that sooner or later lead to self-destruction and ruining their relationships with others, while also strongly affecting all the people close to them.

I don’t know if i can even comprehend how important it is that we deal with our emotions in a healthy way. You see, the emotions that we are running away from always seem to catch up on us. We cannot run from our own life experiences. And here’s the thing. When we go through a stressful and traumatic experience, our brain may numb itself to forget but our nervous system always remembers. So even if you have forgotten this certain event and marked it in your brain just as ,, something bad that happened in the past”, what happens after is whenever you experience a situation in which somebody says or does something that reminds you of that previous situation, you get triggered. You start panicking and lashing out on that person just because your nervous system got activated and perceived the situation as a threat and a possibility of you being hurt again. This becomes a pattern and it is in fact how traumas are formed.

But how would a person who doesn’t study the human mind know how these things work, so talking to a therapist is the easiest and most efficient way to healing and self-help in order so improve our mental health. I really hope that mental health issues get the awareness they need in our society, and the negative stigma around psychotherapy turns into a positive outlook and normal way of seeking help when any person needs it.

Dragana Andreevska

Скопје. Од кои луѓе под 30 веројатно исполнуваат 30% од популацијата – така да ќе користиме од 1

Скопје,

Скопје повеќе или помалку, именуваа едно големо заедничко нешто:

си го поминуваат времето. Сесиите за учење, настаните, работилниците и слично добија популарност низ годините. Еден труд од САД го сумира тоа: “(…) Заедниците во САД ги користат овие простори за локални програми сѐ повеќе и повеќе. Со приближно 6 милиони програми за деца, млади и луѓе од сите возрасти, кои се одржуваат во библиотеките, еден од 10 луѓе кои моментално посетува библиотека го прави тоа за да присуствуваат на локална програма”. Ова совршено ги опишува промените кои се случуваат низ светот, библиотеките исполнуваат повеќе социјална функција

станало

книги на други јазици или некои многу специфични книги кои не би ги допреле пак: “Изнајмував

Ги мразев тие книги”. Ова исто така додава вредност

чинот на купување

сакате

купувате

изложувате,

од околу 800

библиотеки биле затворени во изминатите 10 години. Дури и да се земе во обзир дека библиотеките се користат на различен начин денес, ова е сепак казниво. Библиотеките се навистина одличен начин да се поттикне писменоста на децата, овозможувајќи им на возрасните лекција за зближување на заедниците. За да се сумира на наједноставен начин: тие се одличен извор на знаење достапен за секого во јавноста. И повеќе од тоа, тие се добри за животната средина преку читањето на стотици, илјадници

SEE THE WORLD

Travel should be enjoyable and meaningful. It should inspire and excite you, ground and rejuvenate you, challenge and give memories to you for rest of your life, and most of all it must humble you. Travel gives us our best stories, our most treasured memories, and countless lessons about life. It teaches us about ourselves and others, broadens our horizons and, like a reset button, forces us to refocus on what really matters. At the same time, some people don’t like travelling at all. They do it only because they need, not because they want. And I can understand that perspective too, sometimes travelling, especially backpacking can be very stressful, being in a constant rush, trying to survive with few hours sleep. But then there are people who truly enjoy travelling.

What travelling means to me? For sure, everybody has different answer to this, but personally I love it because it is best way to see things what this planet has to offer: A lot of different cultures, endless amount of people, totally different landscapes, and ways to live life. Seeing atmosphere for first time in totally new continent is amazing, for me personally it felt like I’m in different planet. It also gave me opportunity to see and try things what I like to do and what I dislike. You are probably getting most of your knowledge about your destination from internet, so that information includes opinions, old information, feelings from someone who has been there only once for few days and something bad happened to him. Especially in big countries there can be huge differences between

cities, for example if you go to one city at the first and it feels like it’s not right place or country for you, after going to another city further from first one can be dream place for you.

In today’s tech-obsessed world, social media might be the perfect platform to show travelers around the world the beauty of the world, but travel is so much more than just getting that perfect picture of yourself.

SEE THE WORLD

Udhëtimi duhet të jetë i këndshëm dhe kuptimplotë. Ajo duhet t’ju frymëzojë dhe emocionojë, t’ju tokëzojë dhe rinovojë, të sfidojë dhe t’ju japë kujtime për pjesën tjetër të jetës tuaj, dhe mbi të gjitha duhet t’ju përulë. Udhëtimi na jep historitë tona më të mira, kujtimet tona më të çmuara dhe mësime të panumërta për jetën. Ai na mëson për veten dhe të tjerët, zgjeron horizontet tona dhe, si një buton rivendosjeje, na detyron të ripërqendrohemi në atë që ka vërtet rëndësi. Në të njëjtën kohë, disa njerëzve nuk u pëlqen fare të udhëtojnë. Ata e bëjnë atë vetëm sepse kanë nevojë, jo sepse duan. Dhe unë mund ta kuptoj gjithashtu këtë perspektivë, ndonjëherë udhëtimi, veçanërisht udhëtimi me çanta shpine mund të jetë shumë stresues, të jesh në një nxitim të vazhdueshëm, duke u përpjekur të mbijetosh me pak orë gjumë. Por

ka njerëz që me të vërtetë kënaqen duke udhëtuar.

Çfarë do të thotë udhëtimi për mua? Sigurisht, të gjithë kanë përgjigje të ndryshme për këtë, por personalisht më pëlqen sepse është mënyra më e mirë për të parë gjërat se çfarë ofron ky planet: shumë kultura të ndryshme, një numër i pafund njerëzish, peizazhe krejtësisht të ndryshme dhe mënyra për të jetuar jetën. . Të shohësh atmosferën për herë të parë në një kontinent krejtësisht të ri është e mahnitshme, për mua personalisht më dukej sikur jam në një planet tjetër. Gjithashtu më dha mundësinë për të parë dhe provuar gjërat që më pëlqen të bëj dhe çfarë nuk më pëlqejnë. Ju ndoshta jeni duke marrë shumicën e njohurive tuaja për destinacionin tuaj nga interneti, kështu që informacioni përfshin mendime, informacione të vjetra, ndjenja nga dikush që ka qenë atje vetëm një herë për disa ditë dhe

diçka e keqe i ka ndodhur. Sidomos në vendet e mëdha mund të ketë dallime të mëdha midis qyteteve, për shembull nëse shkoni në një qytet në fillim dhe mendoni se nuk është vendi apo vendi i duhur për ju, pasi të shkoni në një qytet tjetër më larg nga fillimi, mund të jetë vendi i ëndrrave për ju.

Për mendimin tim, të gjithë ata që kanë mundësi të udhëtojnë, provojnë. Ju keni shanse më të mëdha për të marrë përvojë pozitive nga ajo kur keni mendje të hapur dhe qëndrim pozitiv. Do të shihni dhe ndjeni diçka të re, duke parë lloje të ndryshme ndërtesash, statuja, duke provuar ushqime të reja, duke biseduar me vendasit. Më pas, nëse nuk duket se është diçka që ju pëlqen të bëni, të paktën e keni provuar dhe keni mësuar diçka të re. Çfarë prisni akoma, rezervoni një udhëtim!

Jasse Heikkilä Përkthyes: Diola Sokoli

Në botën e sotme të fiksuar pas teknologjisë, mediat sociale mund të jenë platforma e përsosur për t’u treguar udhëtarëve anembanë botës bukurinë e botës, por udhëtimi është shumë më tepër sesa thjesht të marrësh atë pamje perfekte të vetes.

Does your nutrition influence your appearance?

This question can be answered, YES! But can you do something about it? Also, YES! When you just read this article, you learn a few things to improve this.

But what is nutrition?

Nutrition is about eating a healthy and balanced diet. You provide the energy and nutrients you need to be healthy by eating and drinking. If you understand these nutrition terms, making the “right” food choices becomes more effortless. A healthy diet throughout life promotes beneficial pregnancy outcomes, supports average growth, helps to maintain healthy body weight, and reduces the risk of chronic disease leading to overall health and well-being. It is common knowledge that our body needs various vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to function.

Weight

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more. Your weight is one of the most seeming aspects that your diet can affect. It’s not about how much you eat. It’s about what you eat. Foods high in sugar are more likely to dangerously increase your weight, and simply dropping your food intake without consideration for your daily-required macronutrients will spell problems for your health. These days, 39% of the world’s population is overweight.

Skin

Another aspect that our diet affects is our skin. A healthy diet is usually reflected in healthy skin, and insufficient nutrition possibly results in unhealthy skin. Your body produces a protein primarily responsible for the elasticity of the skin, collagen. When we consume too much-processed sugar, it connects to collagen. This affects collagen’s quality. Dry skin, fine lines, wrinkles, and other visible changes occur in the skin. Keeping a low-sugar diet, mixed with regular omega-3 fatty acids, makes the skin look young for a longer time.

Hair

Something that everyone can see is your hair. So, your hair is something you must take care of. Taking care of your hair is more than washing, conditioning, and drying your hair correctly. The quality of

your hair also indicates your health, so taking care of your health means better hair quality. A lot of vitamins A, B, C, and E can result in fragile hair. Since hair is composed of proteins, our diet heavily affects its quality.

Nails

Also indicative of good health is the nails. Fingernails are composed of a protein called keratin, which is very similar to our skin and hair. When our nails are scabby and frail, our diet is lacking in nutrient and vitamin-rich food. Micronutrients like calcium, phosphorus, and chloride are all critical components of skin health.

Teeth and gums

We all like a beautiful smile when we meet someone new. Unfortunately, even our teeth aren’t safe from bad diets and unhealthy habits. We eat and consume food with our teeth, so we are the first to suffer from bad eating. Consuming highly acidic and surgery foods damage the enamel that coats our teeth. Because of this, they become more prone to germs and decay. Eating extremely tough food can damage or crack our teeth. You got to take care of your teeth by eating a well-balanced diet, so your teeth can get the nutrients they need to recover. Always brush your teeth after every meal. This helps to remove dirt and debris.

Mood

Probably you didn’t think about this, but your mood can also change your appearance. It affects our physical appearance, as our mind is inevitably linked to our body. Interesting note, our diet heavily affects our mood as well. Studies show that our diet is highly correlated to our brain functions and that gut flora can make us feel good or bad. Start your day by gradually eating healthy meals and healthier alternatives. Sooner or later, you’ll discover that you’ve replaced your entire diet with healthy ones.

What should you do?

• Get more fruits and veggies in your day

• Eat less saturated and trans fats

• Eat less salt and sugar

• Drink more water

• Check your portions

• Plan ahead

Robin Lambrechts

Sources:

Prezi: The effect of bad nutrition on a person appearance Ornatopia: Does diet affect physical appearance

Livestrong: Effecta poor nutrition health

Advancebodyscan: How your eating habits affect your health, how to change them

Here are some helpful tips and ideas that will soon help you to have a good nutrition.

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