5 healthy and beautiful things to be grateful for at Thanksgiving

Whether you get a massage from a trained professional at a spa or your romantic partner, there's nothing like a strong, caring touch.

The Thanksgiving holiday is almost here, and we're all making our plans for the big day. I certainly have lots to be grateful for--we ALL do. And since my business is health, beauty and wellness, I'm especially gratified that my work through the Tiffani Kim Institute Medical Wellness Spa (TKI) is all about helping people restore their lives and achieve a total sense of health and well-being.

So this Thanksgiving, I say we all say a collective "thank you" for five things that make our lives healthier and so much more beautiful:

• H1N1 "swine flu" vaccine. "Swine flu" has dominated the news in 2009--not just here in the United States, but around the world. But thankfully, there's a vaccine that can help prevent us from getting this scary-sounding flu. Even though supplies of the vaccine are limited, they DO exist. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend it for "high-priority" groups most at risk if they get swine flu, including pregnant women, health care and emergency medical service workers, those between 6 months and 24 years old, and adults with chronic health disorders or weakened immune systems. Thank goodness we're not being selfish about this, but are looking out for the most vulnerable among us.

• Advances in cosmetic dermatology. Because of my business, I've learned so much about the SCIENCE behind beauty. For many women, looking their personal best involves cosmetic procedures done by board-certified dermatologists and trained assistants in safe environments. Of course, procedures like BOTOX and Juvéderm injections that help make skin look more youthful aren't for everyone. But thank goodness they exist--and can be performed safely today.

• Laser hair removal. For so many of us, receiving or buying our first razors (or perhaps Neet hair remover!) as teenagers or young women as almost a rite of passage. Today, we've got so many options when it comes to getting rid of unwanted hair on our bodies--old-fashioned shaving, waxing, depilatories, etc. But how wonderful that today, laser hair removal treatments--which use intense, pulsating beams of light to zap hair follicles--are safe and virtually pain-free for all skin types and hair colors. Most women find their body hair growth slowed and after multiple treatments, long-term hair removal usually results. Thankfully, these services are more affordable than ever.

• A great concealer. Ask many women what beauty product they never want to be without, and you'll often find the answer isn't something as obvious as lipstick or mascara. It's CONCEALER, that underrated item in our makeup bags that can make all the difference in whether our complexions look worn-out and tired or vibrant and healthy. It hides dark circles under our eyes (whether we've been up late working or out late having fun!), small skin imperfections, and helps camouflage those fine lines and wrinkles we all seem to develop. A perfectly matched concealer covers up a multitude of sins--and for that, I sound a note of thanks.

• Good old-fashioned massage. Although spas like TKI offer wide ranges of massages designed to transport clients from stressed-out to blissed-out, I say there's nothing like a strong, caring touch--whether you pay a trained masseuse/masseur or receive it from a loved one. We all do so much in our hectic 21st-century lives that despite all the high-tech advances that claim to make our lives better, something as basic as having someone's fingers on our flesh still rates as one of life's wonderful gifts. This year, let's give thanks that sometimes the most treasured things are still the simplest.