Month: November 2018

November 02, 2018 at 01:38PM We all know how important it is to stay hydrated. And getting those recommended ounces of water every single day requires carrying around a water bottle. If you’re eco-minded, you’ve probably already accumulated a collection of reusable water bottles. But even still, there are tons of people chugging their H20 from plastic water bottles every single day, which raises the question: Is bottled water bad for you? This hotly debated topic has been around for, like, ever. Some experts argue that it’s detrimental to our health due to things like Bisphenol A, or BPA, a hazardous environmental toxin and endocrine disruptor that’s been shown to cause cancer. While others, like Peter Gleick, a scientist and expert on global water and climates issues, say bottled water is perfectly safe to drink. “There’s nothing wrong with bottled water from a health perspective,” he says. Elizabeth Royte, author of Bottlemania: How Water Went On Sale and Why We Bought It agrees, saying that, “There’s no evidence it’s bad for us.” One major reason why? That belief that plastic water bottles contain BPA is a myth. According to Gleick, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is the type of plastic most water bottles are made of, doesn’t contain BPA and never has. “PET is actually a remarkably good plastic,” he says. “It’s one of the reasons we put beverages in it. As far as we know, bad things do not leak out of PET.” So, he says, BPA isn’t something you need

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November 02, 2018 at 12:53PM Dating anywhere can be rough, but if the internet is to be believed, dating in a major city is impossible. It seems that every year, data or impassioned personal accounts come out declaring New York, or Los Angeles, or Miami, or some other major metropolitan post-grad melting pot to be the worst city for singles. Just this week, folks from the podcast The Great Love Debate deemed Seattle the worst city in America to live in if you’re looking for a date. Cue the eye roll. While location can definitely play a factor in your dating life (for example, it’s hard out there for rural-living babes like farmer-turned-Bachelor-star Chris Soules, who are kind of at the mercy of low population density), these “findings” are nothing to full-on panic over. “It’s impossible to paint all of the single people in a city with one big brush,” says Brandy Engler, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist based in Los Angeles. She chalks the city-shaming sentiments up to nothing more than fear-mongering. “The only reason [location] might have an effect is if there are massive disparities in the ratio of men to women. But even then, it’s less about statistics and more about where these people are in life.” —Brandy Engler, PsyD According to Dr. Engler, location has very little to do with why people behave certain ways when they date. “The only reason it might have an effect is if there are massive disparities in the ratio of men

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November 02, 2018 at 12:39PM Hop on the Magic School Bus and let’s get Miss Frizzle about what’s going on in the gut. While it’s not new intel that microbiomes differ from country to country, I have some tea to spill about a brand new study that indicates that moving to the United States from another country could alter one’s flora in a not-so-hot way. In new research published in the journal Cell, scientists found moving from another country to the US doesn’t just affect your gut bacteria—it can also mess with your health down the line. The study looked at a group of 514 women in a few different categories: those from Thailand and still living in Thailand, those from Southeast Asia who moved to the US, and those born in the US from immigrant parents from Southeast Asia. What they found was the second anyone moved to the US, their gut microbiome began changing. And not in a good way. Crazily enough, by bacteria alone, you couldn’t even tell who was a US native and who wasn’t after a while. The second anyone moved to the US, their gut microbiome began changing. And not in a good way. Unfortunately, along with the changes in gut bacteria came some health problems. According to Newsweek, those in the US mainly have Bacteroides bacteria (a prime animal protein digester), while those outside the US mainly had Prevotella bacteria (a prime plant fiber digester). Unfortunately, the move totally made the Prevotella disappear, making immigrants’ bacteria less diverse overall—something that

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November 02, 2018 at 11:40AM If you’re one of the 164 million Americans who struggle to get enough zzz’s, you may have the first Sunday in November marked with praise hands in your calendar. It’s the day we “fall back,” or gain an extra hour of sleep by transitioning out of Daylight Saving Time—something you can surely appreciate even if you’re not waking up to run the New York City Marathon. But with the earlier sunrise comes shorter, darker days. And, according to a 2013 study published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews, there’s little evidence to suggest you actually get extra sleep that first night. In fact, you’re more likely to toss and turn, rise earlier, or experience an overall feeling of sleepiness (and perhaps sleeplessness) for the next week as your body adjusts to the new schedule, the researchers report. “Many people don’t or can’t take advantage of the extra hour due to their own circadian rhythms.” “Many people don’t or can’t take advantage of the extra hour due to their own circadian rhythm,” says Teofilo Lee-Chiong Jr., MD and chief medical liaison for Philips Respironics. But just because falling back is inevitable doesn’t mean your body and mind need to suffer. According Dr. Lee-Chiong, your biological clock is controlled by a mix of internal and external factors, like sunlight and temperature, so there are changes you can make to your routine in order to temper that “out of whack” feeling you have when the clocks change. After you trick out your bedroom with these dreamy accessories, follow these tips for better

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November 02, 2018 at 11:40AM Pores are among the most confounding things on the planet (right alongside quantum physics and taxes). Can you really shrink them, or not so much? How do you get those stubborn blackheads out? Why are they always accumulating gunk? While reading a Reddit skin-care thread, one user posed yet another question about those teeny holes in your skin: Why do your pores seemingly get larger by the afternoon, yet smaller when you wake up? Cue that thinking face emoji. I’ve noticed it to be true—I wake up with a pretty calm, smooth complexion, but things just get out of control as the hours roll by. Why? As it happens, pores aren’t exactly changing in size at all—but the illusion happens for a biological reason. “Pores don’t actually physically change size, but they may look bigger as they accumulate oil throughout the day,” says Purvisha Patel, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Visha Skincare. “They tend to look bigger when exposed to heat or steamy conditions and shrink with cold conditions, but they do not grow.” Essentially, the oil glands accumulate sebum, which then makes the pore’s appearance change—hence the common confusion. You can combat seemingly large pores, though. “Good oil-busting exfoliating cleaners such as Visha Skincare Advanced Purifying Cleanser can help,” says Dr. Patel. “Salicylic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid, tea tree oil, and zinc help exfoliate the tops of pores and shrink the oil production, making them stay small throughout the day.” Toners can also have

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