""Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."" – George Santayana — AI👩🏻‍💻Sue (@iversue) November 30, 2018 To read more, click above t.co (twitter) link November 29, 2018 at 08:07PM
Month: November 2018
Patagonia is donating its $10 million tax cut to help save the planet
November 29, 2018 at 12:56PM Since its founding, Patagonia (which is a certified B Corp) has strived to be as environmentally and socially responsible as possible: investing in other organizations that are equally committed to the cause; using sustainable, recycled, and organically-grown materials; and taking a strong political stance on issues they feel are core to their values (even if it might not be popular to do so). Heck, they even tell consumers not to buy their products unless they actually need them in order to reduce their carbon, waste, and water footprint. And now the company is donating the $10 million it saved in recent tax cuts to grassroots environmental organizations. Last December, President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill, which lowered corporate tax rates. In a blog post, Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia, explains why it’s the company’s stance that these cuts were “irresponsible”: “Being a responsible company means paying your taxes in proportion to your success and supporting your state and federal governments, which in turn contribute to the health and well-being of civil society,” she writes. “Taxes fund our important public services, our first responders and our democratic institutions. Taxes protect the most vulnerable in our society, our public lands, and other life-giving resources.” Marcario’s post poses the question: If the government is putting less funds toward services that protect the land, how will it ever stay protected? “Our home planet is facing its greatest crisis because of human-caused climate disruption. All the extra heat we’ve
Chapped lips have met their match with this $8 Amazon buy
November 29, 2018 at 12:30PM I’ve got a bone to pick with whoever decided that the winter holidays should double as “make-out season.” As if there wasn’t enough stress associated with combatting dry, cracked lips this time of year, we’ve now also gotta worry about the pressure associated with mistletoe, New Years Eve, and Valentine’s Day?! Sheesh. My lips hurt just thinking about it. But whether you’ve got kisses in the pipeline or not, winter lips are a major pain deal with, and can be exacerbated by the struggle to find something that actually works. If the bottom of your purse has recently become a graveyard for half-used lip balms that have failed to live up to their promise of getting rid of chapped lips, fear not: I’ve found the simple solution that turns a raggedy, flaky pout into something smoother, shall we say. Enter almond oil, the all-natural solution that will help keep your lips hydrated all winter long. “Almond oil has been traditionally used in many ways on the skin because of its anti-inflammatory, immunity-boosting, emollient, and sclerosant properties,” says Nava Greenfield, MD at Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York City, noting that it has also been anecdotally used to treat eczema and psoriasis. “It is a great, safe product to use on the lips if they are dry and cracked,” she says…as long as you don’t have any allergies to almonds. In addition to moisturizing your lips, it can also be used on the rest of your face to “improve complexion and skin tone.” If you want
6 push-up tweaks to target different muscle groups (abs included, ofc)
November 29, 2018 at 11:01AM Chances are you’ve battled it out with more than one iteration of the push-up. There are chaturangas (in yoga), “dead-stop push-ups” (which you may heave through in HIIT class), and, of course, there’s version 1.0 of the move (from those scarring high school gym days). If you’re still confounded by how all these variations translate to toning various muscle groups though, the answer comes down to three factors: the angle of your body, how much space is between your hands, and where your hands are relative to your shoulders. According to Brock Armstrong, coach and host of the podcast Get-Fit Guy, tweaking your form in one or more of these three ways allows you to optimize the move for your muscle group of choice, reports Quick and Dirty Tips. Meaning, you get to decide if you want to burn out your core, chest, biceps, triceps, or all of the above. Learn how to do so below. Photo: Aleksander Novoselski/Stocksy Try these pushup variations Work those angles Variation 1: Put your feet on a bench so that they’re slightly above the plane of your head, and you’re working your chest muscles. Variation 2: Place your hands on the bench, and you’re working your chest and abs simultaneously. Move your hands closer or further apart Variation 1: A closer grip pushup with your hands almost touching will target the muscles near the middle of the chest and the triceps. Variation 2: A wide grip will work the outer chest muscles and the biceps. Place
Miley Cyrus’ new Converse collection is banking on star power
November 29, 2018 at 10:59AM This week, singer, actress, and lover of both Liam Hemsworth and super slick ponytails Miley Cyrus dropped her holiday capsule collection for Converse. The editorial shots are a lot of Cyrus (red lip on point) just being Miley—staring down the camera, looking out the window of the vintage convertible she’s pretending to drive whilst wearing platform Chuck Taylors, and sitting on a folding chair in the middle of a busy intersection. Super casual stuff, you know? In other words, Cyrus’ megawatt power is in full effect, but the real bright spot of this streetwear collab are the clothes themselves, which are all adorned with Converse’s signature, five-point star motif. The heavenly beings cover a graphic black-and-white velour matching set. They dot the label ribbons running down the arms and legs of velvet tracksuits, envelop a pair of black and blue bodysuits, and sit right at the heart chakra of a boxy, cropped sweatshirt. You’ll also find them on the soles of the aforementioned platform checks, plus those of classic low– and high-top kicks, too. As the collection’s homepage says, “Fitting in is overrated,” which is why Cyrus’s clothing is all about individuality and charting your own path—perhaps one written in the stars. Even if it’s only the ones on your sneakers. Here’s the workout Cyrus would rather do than go to an awards show. And this is the $1 tool her manicurist swears by. Continue Reading… Author Jordan Galloway | Well and Good Selected by
The surprising impact snoring can have on your heart health
November 29, 2018 at 10:38AM Aside from being a little annoying, snoring doesn’t seem like it would cause any major problems. Heck—sometimes it’s even a little cute. Unfortunately, it’s not all fun and games: According to new research, it could seriously affect your health, putting you at an increased risk of heart problems down the line—much more so than the male snorers in your life. In a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), researchers looked at data from 4,877 UK Biobank participants—all of whom had cardiac MRIs—and put them into three groups based on their OSA status: those who knowingly have the disorder, those who snore, and those who have neither issue. What they found was the women with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—or those who had it but were undiagnosed—could experience impaired function of the heart earlier. That’s because the sleep disorder increases the risk of left or right ventricular dysfunction, both of which can result in heart failure. “We found that the cardiac parameters in women appear to be more easily affected by the disease and that women who snore or have OSA might be at greater risk for cardiac involvement,” said lead study author Adrian Curta, MD, in a press release. “We also found that the prevalence of diagnosed OSA in the study group was extremely low. Together with the alterations in cardiac function in the snoring group, it leads us to believe that OSA may be grossly under-diagnosed.” Because undiagnosed OSA
This 1-minute hack saved me from a dry shampoo disaster
November 29, 2018 at 10:37AM During the winter months, I’m guilty of trying to make my blowouts last long past their expiration date. As in, way long. I absolutely hate washing my hair when it’s cold outside, because my only options are either cutting into my valuable sleep time for the sake of styling it in the morning, or walking outside and risking my head turning into a popsicle. And so, from November through March, dry shampoo becomes my BBF (beauty best friend). But like all great relationships, we have our ups and downs. Some days, a single spritz of dry shampoo will refresh my greasy scalp into pristine condition. And other days…it backfires on me. The latter happened to me this morning, when I attempted to refresh my day-four strands and wound up with a white, matted mess that looked much, much worse than what I’d started with. With five minutes to get out the door, I panicked (if you, like me, are a dry shampoo aficionado, you definitely know the feeling), and begged my Instagram followers for help. “Use a blow dryer,” a friend replied in my DMs, and, desperate, I grabbed mine and blasted my crusty (…sorry) scalp and strands with heat. One minute and a few strokes of a paddle brush later, I was a new woman and my life was officially changed forever. To find out why this tried-and-tested trick is so effective, I turned to stylist Riawna Capri of Los Angeles’ Nine Zero One Salon, who was mildly
A-Rod’s investment in keto cookies is a sweet, romantic gesture for J.Lo
November 29, 2018 at 09:27AM It’s no secret that Jennifer Lopez is someone who prioritizes healthy habits. She does stair sprints, push-ups, and booty-sculpting moves (duh) to keep her fitness game on point—and often shares tips via social media so her loyal followers can copy the moves for themselves. But she is, in fact, a human being, which means she’s not someone who deprives herself of dessert. And her partner in love and fitness just supported her sweets-eating habit in the form of a huge financial investment. “I happen to know a woman who loves cookies. And I mean loves,” Alex Rodriguez, her boyfriend, said on a recent episode of Shark Tank. “Jennifer eats a cookie every night before she goes to bed.” Ultimately, Rodriguez invested $300,000 in exchange for a 25 percent take in ketogenic cookie company, Nui, CNBC reports, and Lopez’s sweet tooth just might have been the deciding factor. Made with coconut oil, grass-fed butter, and only one gram of sugar per two-cookie serving, the treats come in three flavors (chocolate chip, peanut butter, and ginger) and are crafted to give keto devotees a way to satisfy a craving for sweets without breaking ketosis. (They’re also gluten-free.) Made with coconut oil, grass-fed butter, and only one gram of sugar per two-cookie serving, the treats are crafted to give keto devotees a way to satisfy a craving for sweets without breaking ketosis. The cookies are still super-new to the market—they aren’t even revved up on Instagram yet—and the investment from
Pissed about your constant UTIs? Try physical therapy
November 29, 2018 at 09:08AM I’m going to make a wild guess and say that if you’re reading this article, you’ve had at least one UTI. And given that 40 to 60 percent of women will have a UTI in their lives, according to the NIH, you’re definitely not alone in knowing how straight-up terrible they are. The burning, the constant need to pee—no thanks. But often, getting a UTI is not just a one-and-done kind of deal. Twenty percent of women who get a UTI will get another one, and 30 percent of those people will get a third, because yay being a woman is amazing! And if you’re a lucky member of the recurrent UTI club, you’ve probably tried every natural remedy and preventive method under the sun. Guzzling water and cranberry juice, taking supplements, sacrificing your first-born…you know, everything. But here’s one up-and-coming tactic you might not have tried: pelvic floor physical therapy. Hold up: What is pelvic floor therapy? First, a quick anatomy lesson. “The pelvic floor contains a group of muscles that attach to the pelvic and thigh bones,” says Kecia Gaither, MD, MPH, FACOG, double board-certified in ob-gyn and maternal fetal medicine, “which provide support for the pelvic organs, are responsible for healthy sexual activity, and maintain control over bladder and bowel function.” In women, these muscles are located near the bladder, bowel, and uterus. Pelvic floor physical therapy is basically like any other form of physical therapy; it’s just focused on strengthening your pelvic
Does working out in the cold actually do something weird to your lungs—or does it just feel like it?
November 29, 2018 at 08:50AM It’s a sad day when the temps drop, turning your breezy fall runs into 10-layer, freezing-cold sprints straight back to your warm, cuddly blanket. Even though winter can’t stop you from hitting the pavement, there’s one thing that might be bothering you during your outdoor workouts: the weird—and sometimes painful!—sensation you get in your lungs from breathing in the icy air. But is something bad actually happening to your lungs, or does it just feel like it? When you’re simply walking around outside in cold weather, you’re probably breathing through your nose, giving that ice-cold air time to warm up before it hits your lungs. When you’re exercising, on the other hand, you’re taking deep, quick breaths through your mouth, so the cold, dry air hits your lungs as-is, creating a sensation that despite feeling weird isn’t anything to worry about. “Cold weather can cause your airways to spasm, leading to symptoms such as shortness of breath and chest tightness. But unless you have asthma and other lung diseases, exercising in cold weather isn’t harmful to the lungs,” says John Prucha, MD, a doctor at UCHealth. Even though working out in the cold doesn’t harm your lungs, that feeling still isn’t at all enjoyable. Luckily, there are some simple ways you can exercise outdoors a little more comfortably. “To reduce these symptoms, you can cover both your nose and mouth with a scarf or thin face mask while exercising. This warms and moistens the air prior to inhalation,