April 25, 2019 at 12:23PM by CWC May and Dan* had been trying to get pregnant for over two years when May first visited her general practitioner for help. Over the next six months, she underwent a battery of ultrasounds and blood tests, all of which came back normal. Finally, her fertility doctor recommended checking Dan’s sperm. Dan, it turned out, had low sperm motility and count along with abnormal morphology (sperm size and shape)—factors that all affect a couple’s ability to conceive. May and Dan were told to consider using donor sperm. While Dan went to an andrologist (a male hormonal specialist) for more testing, May looked into natural treatments to improve Dan’s sperm quantity and quality. They changed their diets, began seeing an acupuncturist twice a week, and started taking Chinese herbs. In less than four months, May found out she was pregnant with her son Dylan, who is now 6 months old. “I wish that we had looked at our health in a more holistic way sooner,” says May. “I honestly think it might not have taken so long to get pregnant and we could have avoided a lot of stress and invasive tests.” Stories like May and Dan’s aren’t uncommon. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 35 percent of couples struggling with infertility are dealing with both male and female reproductive issues (and 8 percent are struggling with male-specific reproductive issues). Yet that’s not often brought up in conversations surrounding infertility—which is
Day: April 25, 2019
Skip the cleanup with 5 healthy one-pan dinner ideas under $20
April 25, 2019 at 09:57AM by CWC Some evenings, pouring a glass of wine and getting creative in the kitchen is the perfect way to relax. But when you get home late from work, or your attention is torn between helping with homework and getting laundry done, a one-pan dinner recipe can help get something on the table—and fast. No one is going to complain about an easy dinner that doesn’t leave the sink full of dishes. Each of these dinner recipes requires only a single pan (seriously, that’s it!) and the cost per serving is way cheaper than takeout. 5 healthy one-pan dinner ideas under $20 Photo: Holley Grainger 1. Pan-roasted chicken and vegetables Average price for ingredients: $20 Average price per serving: $4 Chicken and vegetables are the classic one-pan dinner. Everything can be thrown on there and roasted together. The best part of this meal is that you can use up anything in your crisper you want to get rid of. (It’s okay to deviate from the recipe!) If you have leftovers, just spritz some lemon on top the next night to make the dish seem just as fresh as it was the night you made it. Photo: Our Happy Mess 2. Fish and brown butter sauce Average price for ingredients: $17 (excluding pantry items) Average price per serving: $9 Excluding a handful of pantry items in the ingredients list, all you need to make this one-pan dinner is fish, green beans, and potatoes. It doesn’t get
Dermatologists don’t go a day without recommending this SPF 50
April 25, 2019 at 09:28AM by CWC As a beauty editor, I’d estimate that more than 80 percent of my job involves talking to dermatologists about skin care. Over the years, with approximately a gazillion conversations about sunscreen under my belt, there is only one product that has come up time and time again whenever I ask a pro for a product recommendation: EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46 ($35). Seriously: I’d actually be hard-pressed to find a derm in my rolodex who hasn’t called out the product as his or her fave, and the rest of the Well+Good beauty team has had the exact same experience. The lightweight, mineral-based sunscreen offers the prefect amount of protection for daily wear, and is great for wearing underneath makeup or all on its own. It’s made with zinc-oxide, which serves as a physical barrier to block UV rays, but doesn’t go on white or goop-y the way some physical sunscreens tend to. But don’t just take my word for it: Like I said, there are plenty of derms out there who are more than willing to sing the product’s praises. “It fulfills all of the criteria I prefer in a sunscreen,” says Dr. Charisse Dolitsky from Schweiger Dermatology Group in NewYork. “It has broad spectrum, mineral-based coverage with high SPF, it’s formulated with zinc, which offers the widest spectrum of protection against both UVA and UVB rays, it’s low in chemicals. Elta provides more physical, rather than chemical protection, which is safer,
Jennifer Garner’s 2 rules of friendship are about to make your social life way easier
April 25, 2019 at 09:07AM by CWC If you’ve ever wanted to become besties with Jennifer Garner (and like, who wouldn’t?), there are now blessedly some guidelines to follow. In her cover story for People‘s “Beautiful” issue, she shared the qualities of a BFF that are nonnegotiables for her—and it breaks down to one big do and one big don’t. Tragically, the “do” is not a willingness to belt “Love is a Battlefield.” Rather, the first friendship qualification is having a sense of humor, which like, not a shocker. But the second must-have is a godsend for every boss babe with a crowded Google calendar: A lack of guilt. “I do not believe friendship should or can come with guilt,” Garner says. “Like a friend who says, ‘You haven’t called me,’ or ‘I saw you out with someone else.’ That is not part of the deal. That breaks the girlfriend code.” To this, I have two reactions: First, I have literally never considered a guilt-free friendship in my life, probably because I was raised Catholic, and there’s no such thing as guilt-free anything. Second, I love it. Embracing the guilt-free way to defuse situations you might have otherwise stewed on can seriously set you free and improve relationships that get more complicated with time and age and life—and remain totally important. As I’ve gotten older, it’s become harder and harder to schedule plans with my friends. Between those who are moving (or have already moved) across the country, those who
How to use ladder workouts to climb toward your fitness goals
April 25, 2019 at 09:03AM by CWC We’re all on a metaphorical ladder when it comes to reaching our fitness goals (whether that means running 26.2, achieving better mental health, or just having fun). Every day at the gym or studio offers an opportunity to move up a rung or two. If you’re struggling to program your strength training movements into a full-fledged workout plan, allow me to introduce ladder workouts. “Ladder workouts are basically a rep scheme where you can either be descending, ascending,” says Maillard Howell, owner of Crossfit Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. Meaning, you start with, say, 10 reps of a certain move and work your way down to one, or vice versa. (You know—just like climbing a ladder!) This particular exercise paradigm originated with Russian athletes, according to the trainer, and it’s designed for maximum efficiency (read: more reps, less time). “The whole point of the ladder system was for the athletes at the time to achieve more work with shorter rests,” explains Howell. “Because when you do the math, you do more reps over less time.” When it comes to getting a workout done lickety-split, a ladder really can’t be beat. Structuring your strength training circuit this way is also super conducive to inviting a friend to the gym and challenging them to a push-up duel (or partner workout). 4 ways to use latter workouts at the gym Ascending Ladder To make this a partner workout, have Partner A do the push-ups first and rest while
This New Unilever Brand Is Helping The Homeless Get Access To Showers
April 25, 2019 at 08:45AM Here’s how you can help today. Continue Reading… Author Caroline Muggia | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Eating Under Stress May Mean More Weight Gain
April 25, 2019 at 08:03AM Here’s how to avoid this risk. Continue Reading… Author Caroline Muggia | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Trader Joe’s new tortilla chips are seasoned with Brussels sprouts—and I ate the whole bag at once
April 25, 2019 at 07:53AM by CWC It wasn’t so long ago that I wanted nothing to do with Brussels sprouts. After learning how to properly spice and cook them, however, they’re slowly becoming one of my favorite veggies. (If MySpace was still a thing, I think they’d even make my top 8.) When I saw Trader Joe’s new Brussels sprout chips (tortilla chips seasoned with Brussels sprouts, garlic, onion, and parsley, to be precise), I didn’t hesitate to throw a few bags in my cart. I’d like to think I’m something of a tortilla chip aficionado, but these were not what I was expecting. They’re made with a base of white corn flour, with hints of garlic, onion, and parsley. The real star of the show, though, is the most unexpected addition to the ingredients list—powdered freeze-dried Brussels sprouts. Photo: Trader Joe’s Before taking a bite into the crispy goodness, I really didn’t expect anything our of the ordinary. While you can definitely taste the garlic and onion, the Brussels sprouts really add a little something extra. It’s not an in-your-face flavor, but the faint nuttiness from the vegetable led me to finish most of the bag in one sitting (without any guac or salsa, though they’re perfect for dipping). I like to think eating a bag of Brussels sprouts chips is a healthier choice than your standard bag. At $2.69, you’d better act fast because the healthy grocer’s Brussels sprout chips are only available for a limited time.
It’s April 25th, which makes it the perfect date for one of these 15 light jackets
April 25, 2019 at 07:19AM by CWC This morning, I woke up, checked my calendar, and then immediately exclaimed to my ficus, “It’s April 25th, and all I need is a light jacket!” Seriously—Cheryl Frasier (of Miss Congeniality fame) was on to something brilliant: Today really is the perfect date, because it’s not too hot and it’s not too cold. Now that all those puffer-style parkas have been packed away and our anorak armor is no longer a necessity for warding off early April showers, it’s officially windbreaker season. And I, for one, could not be more excited. While leather or denim jackets may seem like the more obvious choices of outerwear this time of year, I’d like to go ahead and argue that windbreakers are actually the most multi-purpose of the bunch. Hear me out: Not only can they function as full-on athletic gear (seriously—pop on one for a run and you’ll be getting checked out as frequently as a cutie with a French Bulldog), but they’re also legitimately stylish. It seems like all of the trendy millennial girls of Instagram (you know, the Jenner-Hadid-Bieber collective) are always pairing an ’80s inspired track jacket with a pair of biker shorts, or tying one around their waist with some low-slung jeans. And I’m not going to lie: It looks cool. Plus, they’re waterproof. If your romantic life is anything like mine these days, finding an IRL perfect date can admittedly prove to be a challenge (a complete stranger recently asked me
The ultimate guide to wearing (and applying!) blush
April 25, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC I love using blush, and I wear it every single day, but I will admit that I have no idea what I’m doing when I apply it. Whenever I swipe some on, I feel like a child playing in her mother’s makeup bag. It’s pretty much a guessing game as I dab a cream variety on my cheekbones, blend, and hope for the best. Well, you guys: No longer. I asked some makeup pros for their very best application tips, so that my blush application is no longer a guessing game, and I can get it right every time. “To me, blush is the most essential beauty product to wear,” raves Molly R. Stern, celebrity makeup artist, who says it’s her absolute favorite cosmetics product. “It enhances the complexion and gives the skin a youthful glow.” Here, I give you the full guide to nailing blush in one fell swoop (er, swipe). Find the right blush color While browsing makeup shelves, the number of different blush colors out there can be dizzying. From almost-neon brights to muted pinks and browns, you’ve got a lot to choose from—and there are smart tactics for finding the right one for your skin tone. “I tend to look at undertones of the skin first, and then choose a color that will either compliment the tones or counteract anything that you’re steering away from,” says celebrity makeup artist Neil Scibelli. “For example, if I see someone already has