November 01, 2018 at 09:40AM It’s hard to play favorites in the vast world of essential oils. If you’re an herb fanatic, picking your top essential oils is like choosing your fave child. Alas, despite all herb extracts having numerous benefits and signature scents, ya can’t help but gravitate towards a certain few. Personally, I’m a major fan of citrus and bergamot essential oil uses abound. Whenever I catch a whiff of that sweet, spicy citrus aroma, I experience all of the feels—and for good reason. “Bergamot is a pear-shaped fruit and comes from the same family as orange in the Rutaceae family,” says Linnette Carrierre, Saje product trainer and educator. “The citrus bergamia tree stands as tall as 12 meters and is covered in long, green leaves and white flowers when it blossoms. The essential oil is captured from the rind of the greenish-orange colored fruit through machine abrasion. The rind is pressed and the oil released and then bottled.” So the magic stems from the fruit of a tree—but it’s not the type that you can also nosh down on. “Although the fruit of the bergamot is too bitter to eat, its essential oil is very popular among tea drinkers who enjoy Earl Grey tea,” says Carrierre. This is because the famous tea leaves feature bergamot, which gives it a fruity yet floral aromatic profile. If you decide to incorporate this essential oil into your diffuser or essential oil routine, it’s important to take note of a few
Month: November 2018
Hey celiacs, how about a bagel? A new vaccine will soon let you eat gluten again
November 01, 2018 at 08:14AM Plenty of people choose to live a gluten-free lifestyle by choice, but for the 1 in 100 people worldwide who have celiac disease, avoiding bread, pasta, and other foods containing the problematic proteins is a must; it’s crucial to their health and wellbeing. If someone with the autoimmune disease accidentally eats gluten, their body becomes inflamed and they experience a reaction to the protein that involves everything from bloating and diarrhea to damage to the small intestine. Good news, though: There’s a new vaccine that could stop those problems for good. According to People, the vaccine—called Nexvax2—has the ability to combat that harmful inflammation by directly targeting the immune system of those who suffer from celiac. Since there’s no treatment for the disease, this would enable them to slowly build up an immunity to gluten, allowing them to eventually eat it again. “The vaccine is designed to target the 90 percent of celiac disease patients with the HLA-DQ2 genetic form of disease. A successful therapy that can restore normal gluten tolerance would revolutionize celiac disease management,” head researcher Jason Tye-Din, PhD, told the Sydney Morning Herald. Right now, researchers are preparing for Nexvax2 to enter its clinical testing phase in Australia, where it will be used on 150 patients from around the world—United States, included. Hopefully it won’t be long before the vaccine can be given to the masses so gluten allergies don’t stop anyone from living their best lives. Because even celiacs can admit…gluten-free bagels just aren’t quite the same. These new
I’m really sorry but your earbud usage is permanently damaging your hearing
November 01, 2018 at 07:26AM I’m a little deaf in my left ear. It hasn’t always been that way, but in the last few years, I’ve noticed that if someone is trying to talk into it in a crowded room, I have to offer them my right ear instead. This is no coincidence. I’ve loved loud music since I was a teenager—in the car, in my earbuds, in SoulCycle—and according to Alison Grimes, AuD, Director of the Audiology Clinic for UCLA Health, exposure to high-intensity noise permanently destroys your ability to hear. Period. “Cells in the inner ear are physically damaged and do not regenerate,” she says. Filed under “not fair”: Some people do have “tougher” ears than others, says Dr. Grimes, which means they won’t experience hearing loss with the same exposure as others; however, she tells me there’s no way to predict in advance which category you’re in, which means you won’t know you have delicate ears until it’s too late. “If, after taking out your earbuds or earphones, your ears feel ‘stuffy,’ ‘cottony,’ or sounds sound dimmed or muffled, then it was too loud and the damage is done.” —Alison Grimes, AuD These individual variances are the reason it’s impossible for Dr. Grimes to tell me exactly how loud is too loud, or what volume level is safe for your earbuds and beyond. There are regulations in place for occupational noise exposure, but she says these are based on averages—and again, not everyone has an “average” threshold.
The best time to buy your plane ticket home for the holidays is…
November 01, 2018 at 07:12AM It’s hard to think about your holiday plans this early. Hannukah isn’t for another month, Christmas is 53 days away, and you still have double that many tasks to get through on your to-do list before then. Waiting any longer to snag your plane ticket back home could be a mistake, though, because data shows the best time to book is, well, ASAP. Skyscanner, a site that compiles the cheapest flights across airlines, recently went through travel data from previous years to uncover the cheapest time to buy holiday tickets. While October came out as the most affordable month to book both domestic and international flights with prices 4 and 3 percent less than average, respectively, you still have time to score deals even though November has officially hit. Up until the 19th of the month, domestic flights are still 3 percent below average. Up until November 19, domestic flights are still 3 percent below average. But once December arrives, the cost of flights increase to 5 percent above average. Yikes. It might be hard to fork over the moolah on your travel already, but one thing’s for sure: You’ll seriously regret it if you don’t. Once December arrives, the cost of flights increases to 5 percent above average. So not only will booking now save you from draining your bank account—but it’ll also make your parents super happy when you tell them you already have plans to see them well before Thanksgiving. Best daughter ever or what? Here’s Meghan Markle’s trick
Unsure about coming out as LGBTQ+ at work? Here’s a 5-step guide to help you decide
November 01, 2018 at 07:10AM Bringing your whole self to work is an uncomfortable notion to many; imposture syndrome, fear of rejection, and boundaries are just a few of the reasons employees may struggle with letting their entire (and totally boss) personalities and interests shine at their nine-to-five. But for LGBTQ+ employees in particular, being yourself can be challenging on a whole other level—especially if you haven’t come out. “In life, if you’re queer or genderqueer and are not out, you can feel like you’re not really you,” says Rena McDaniel, licensed clinical counselor and sex therapist. And the same goes if you’re out everywhere but work. “Considering that you spend the majority of your time at work, not being out means you aren’t sharing a really big part of yourself and your identity with your coworkers. It can make you feel like you’re hiding who you really are,” she says. In fact, according to a new survey from the Human Rights Campaign, nearly half (46 percent) of LGBTQ+ employees are closeted at work. Reasons why include fear of being stereotyped (38 percent), making others uncomfortable (36 percent), losing connections with coworkers (31 percent), and false accusations of being attracted to someone at the office simply because of the LGBTQ+ status (27 percent). Coming out as LGBTQ+ is rarely easy. But the question of whether or not to come out at work is a particularly loaded one, fraught with legal ambiguities and inequalities. Coming out as LGBTQ+ is rarely easy, but the question of whether
5 Mind-Blowing Avocado Swaps You’ll Actually Use
November 01, 2018 No surprise here that avocado is a fan favorite. Here are five healthy swaps that’ll make you love avocados for even more than just your guac obsession. Continue Reading… Author | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Why you should do Savasana after *every* workout, according to science
November 01, 2018 at 06:46AM Getting to hang out in Savasana is always the icing on the vegan carrot cake after you finish up your yoga routine. And if you’ve ever laid there wishing every workout ended in the feel-good restorative pose, maybe it should. According to one expert, it can be incredibly beneficial no matter which type of sweat sesh you choose. While it’s tempting to rush off the second your workout is complete—whether that’s spin, HIIT, or a run—taking five extra minutes to lay in the corpse pose allows your body to “absorb the full effects” of what you just did, helping you get more out of all that time and effort. “Especially in this active, overstimulated world, having a period of forced rest to do nothing but focus on the breath is a chance to really let go,” Tamsin Astor, PhD, told Healthline. Taking five extra minutes to lay in Savasana post-workout allows your body to absorb the full effects of your workout, helping you get more out of all that time and effort. Experts say doing Savasana post-workout gives the body the chance to relieve the built-up physical and mental stress that comes from the amped-up intensity, counteracting the stress hormones that are unleashed when you’re in workout-mode. “Your body doesn’t differentiate between stress from running from a tiger, having a long day at work, or a run in the park,” says psychologist Carla Manly, PhD. “Exercise puts us in that fight-or-flight state. Those situations trigger the body to flood itself with adrenaline
Is CBD coffee actually as beneficial as everyone says it is?
November 01, 2018 at 05:27AM CBD coffee is the unicorn latte of 2018: You can’t throw a reusable straw in New York City or Los Angeles without striking a cafe selling cannabinoid spiked brew. (Okay, so it hasn’t arrived at Starbucks yet. That one might take a minute.) But if you know anything about CBD—the ultra-buzzy, non-psychoactive cannabis compound that’s credited with all sorts of health benefits—this pairing sounds like a weird one. Coffee gives you a jolt of energy, while people often use CBD to calm down. Wouldn’t the combination of both just cancel each other out? Anecdotally, at least, that doesn’t seem to be the case. “What I hear from people is that they’re able to experience that nice, alert, focused energy of coffee without any of the jitters,” says Jewel Zimmer, founder of “farm-to-table” cannabis and CBD oil brand Juna. I’ve found that to be true, personally—as someone who loves the taste (and antioxidants) of cold brew but can’t drink it without feeling a little manic, I’ve realized that mixing CBD into my cup slightly mitigates those side effects. Photo: Unsplash/Rawpixel But why? Well, one commonly cited (but untested) theory is that it might have something to do with a chemical in the nervous system called adenosine. “Both caffeine and CBD inhibit adenosine signaling,” says neuroscientist Leigh Winters. “Adenosine acts as a central nervous system sedative, which is super useful in regulating our wake/sleep cycle. When you have a cup of coffee in the morning, it makes you
Spin junkies, your dreams are coming true: MZ Wallace and SoulCycle have a new bag collab
November 01, 2018 at 05:17AM One surefire way to tell you’ve stepped into a SoulCycle spinning studio—other than by the spoke-and-wheel graphics on the walls—are the number of MZ Wallace tote bags in the locker room. So it seems only fitting that the two companies have finally collaborated. “Funnily enough, this kind of came to be because so many of our existing customers were nudging SoulCycle,” says Lucy Wallace Eustice, MZ Wallace’s co-founder and designer. It’s true, says Julie Lieberman, SoulCycle’s senior director of buying and merchandising. “It was simply a natural fit,” she says. “We’ve heard our riders ask for their Metro Tote over and over again.” Persistence pays off—in this case, in the form of two slick, gunmetal designs—the coveted Metro Medium Tote ($225) and Metro Belt Bag ($145). “Both [are] on-trend and completely functional for running to and from class,” says Lieberman. They also mark the first time MZ Wallace has delineated from its traditional design details, adds Eustice. Photo: MZ Wallace “The first thing is the colors,” she says. “We used SoulCycle’s colors, grey and yellow—the grey has a very slight metallic sheen; it also has a yellow zipper. Normally, the zippers match, but we wanted that contrast. Then, the inside pouch that comes with all the bags, we resized to fit SoulCycle’s spin shoes.” As a final touch, Eustice’s team embossed SoulCycle’s monogram on the leather finishes for the Metro Tote’s handles. Photo: MZ Wallace To add some outsider context to this collab, it’s basically the brand
How to actually be present during sex (rather than going over your grocery list in your mind)
November 01, 2018 at 04:00AM Have you ever found yourself making a mental grocery list in the middle of sex? You could be completely into the person beneath you (or atop you, beside you, what have you), and enjoying yourself immensely, and then bam. Nope, not an orgasm. Rather, you just remembered there’s no mylk in the fridge, and now there’s nothing else you can think about. The problem, it turns out, is actually super common. “We used to have more clearly delineated lines between our personal lives, our work lives, and everything else,” says Daniel Olavarria, LCSW. “The convenience that’s afforded to us by the internet, mobile phones, flexible work hours, and social media also has a flip side: It’s hard for our brains to keep track of which moments and places in our day are dedicated to certain things.” Basically, we’re so great at multitasking that sex, too, can certainly fall victim to busyness. Basically, we’re so great at multitasking that sex, too, can certainly fall victim to busyness. Your mind very well might not know that once you slip between the sheets for some fun, it’s a “safe” moment for it to turn off. And if you’re someone who tends to look at your phone in bed—or binge-watch the latest and greatest on Netflix, or fire up the laptop for some hygge WFH—the effects may be more severe for you, since your brain associates stimuli with your mattress. Furthermore, the tendency for your mind to wander tends to