Month: March 2019

March 14, 2019 at 09:30AM by CWC The Meatless Mondays movement gained traction as a means of bettering the health of both the planet and the individual. And the nation’s largest city wants in. On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City will introduce the hashtag-able campaign to 1.1 million students attending public schools throughout the five boroughs with its “Free School Lunch for All” program. First launched in early 2018 with 15 schools participating in Brooklyn, Mayor de Blasio expressed confidence in wider success of the program. “Meatless Mondays are good for our students, communities, and the environment,” said de Blasio at a press conference. “We’re expanding Meatless Mondays to all public schools to keep our lunch and planet green for generations to come.” So long, sausage. Farewell, suspicious cafeteria “meatloaf.” Fully vegetarian Meatless Monday menus for breakfast and lunch debut at all NYC public schools this fall. (Fun fact: The term “Meatless Monday” dates back to World War I, when the U.S. Food Administration encouraged rationing of food, along with “Wheatless Wednesdays.”) “It’s noteworthy to point out that if New York City public schools swapped out a beef burger for a plant-based protein once a month, the city would emit 375,000 pounds less of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year.” —Andrea Strong, founder of the NYC Healthy School Food Alliance Researchers estimate that agricultural production contributes to about 13 percent of worldwide greenhouse gases. “It’s noteworthy to point out that if New York City public schools swapped out a beef burger

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March 14, 2019 at 08:58AM by CWC As of late, I’ve been taken by all things infrared. When I’m in need of a super drenched sweat session, I hit up an infrared sauna—either by visiting a booth with my beau or even cuddling into an infrared wrap at home. Heck, I even wear Tom Brady’s infrared pajamas  to boost my body’s recovery overnight. But I never realized that infrared technology can also be applied to your hair. When a set of By Gina infrared hair styling tools—including a blowdryer, straightener, and curling wand—came across my desk, you can bet that I was intrigued. Sure, the technology works amazingly on your body—but I wasn’t sure how it would do the same for your hair. “Infrared is a light wavelength that penetrates deeper into the hair shaft, heating the hair evenly and safely from the inside out,” explains Gina Rivera, hairstylist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites and By Gina products. “It’s designed to steam the hair instead of applying a direct heat.” This is helpful because hot tools are notoriously harsh on the outer layer of hair, lifting up the cuticle, which dries out strands, and can leave hair looking damaged. Once that happens, it’s harder to maintain your given style because water from the air in the form of humidity will enter the hair shaft and puff it up, making it look frizzy. “It’s designed to steam the hair instead of applying a direct heat.” —Gina Rivera Kerry E. Yates, trichologist and founder

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March 14, 2019 at 08:06AM by CWC Around 9 a.m. every Sunday, my iPhone buzzes, and I instantly start feeling a little queasy. Without even looking, I know what the notification is: A detailed record of all the time I’ve spent scrolling, tapping, and swiping for the past seven days. And I know I’m going to be mildly horrified by what I see. Last week, for instance, I learned that I picked up my phone an average of 46 times per day, adding up to a daily screen-gazing average of 4 hours and 14 minutes. Most of that time—almost two hours per day—I was on Instagram and Facebook, and I spent an hour texting, and an hour on email. I also lost two full hours of the week to falling down Google rabbit holes (like to conduct very important research into what all the Family Matters cast members are up to). I’d like to say that this is out of the ordinary for me, but I’ve calculated that it’s actually a 20 percent improvement from when my iPhone first started cluing me in to my digital habits. When I get these alerts each week—part of Apple’s Screen Time initiative, which launched last September—I feel guilty and a little embarrassed, kind of like when I look at my latest bank statement and realize I spent $100 on iced coffees last month. Sure, a few minutes of scrolling through my feeds here and there seems harmless in the moment. But it all adds

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March 14, 2019 at 07:41AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEhDssh23I0] A personalized self-care routine is a lot like a fingerprint—no two are exactly alike. Unlike your biology, however, the rituals that make you feel like your most holistically-well self are entirely yours to create. For Maria Del Russo, a freelance sex and wellness writer based in New York City, sage-burning, sunrise yoga, reality television, and skillet chicken round out an invigorating me-time agenda. As the subject of Well+Good’s inaugural episode of Self-Care Nation (a video series exploring the various feel-good routines of people across the United States), Del Russo has a slow-clap deserving definition of  what it means to be your own healthy advocate. “When I hear the term ‘self-care,’ I immediately go to the things in my life that either keep me maintaining a certain level of de-stress…and also the things I know I can reach to in like a moment’s notice when I am having, like, a particularly bad day. So it’s kind of a two-pronged approach,” says Del Russo. She breaks down seven her routine into seven non-negotiable rituals: 1. Lighting a candle: According to Del Russo, lighting a candle adds an instant dose of coziness to her space. She also has a high-tech diffuser that begins emitting the scent of lavender before she even enters her home. 2. Burning sage and palo santo: “I’ve gotten in the habit now of saging four times a year,” says Del Russo. “I sage every equinox and every solstice. It’s kind of

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