September 06, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Walking into a Hale & Hearty midday can feel like an extreme sport. There are an overwhelming amount of options (15 soups!), which is a lot to navigate when your lunch break isn’t exactly lengthy. If you’re not strategic, you might panic and walk out with something you don’t even want. (Chowder? Did I want chowder?) Special dietary requirements, such as sticking to a vegetarian, Mediterranean diet, or gluten-free meal plan, can add an extra layer of ordering stress. And soups are often known to be total sodium bombs, regardless of what eating plan you follow. To its credit, Hale & Hearty’s menu has handy little graphics indicating what items are dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan. (Very helpful.) But as you know, just because something has a cute graphic next to it doesn’t mean it’s actually healthy. That’s where registered dietitian Sharon Palmer, RD, comes in. Here, Palmer helps simplify the Hale & Hearty menu by giving her top recs for the three aforementioned eating plans. Even if you don’t stick to any specific diet and instead have an overall goal to eat generally healthy, her tips can help you figure out what to order. Vegetarian Menu picks: Three lentil chili; farmers’ market quinoa What an RD says: Hale & Hearty has a lot of soups, but according to Palmer, not all of them have the nutrient density to be a full meal. One that does—and is not only vegetarian, but all-out vegan—is
Month: September 2019
What is cupping therapy, anyway? One editor bared her back to find out
September 06, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icmK-3p1xuU] Before I come back to my question of what is cupping therapy, do trust that I understand that the ancient practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine has been vetted by celebs and athletes alike (hellooo, Michael Phelps). But the stegosaurus spine and resulting bruises still leave me wondering exactly what the purpose of it is. So, I was in for a treat when I learned the latest episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series What the Wellness, would follow video producer Ella Dove as she undergoes the practice herself. By baring her back to test the practice’s efficacy in aiding everything from sore muscles to menstrual and hormonal issues, Dove’s aim is to provide an answer to all of us still wondering what is cupping therapy, anyway, and how does it help us? Turns out, a lot of the value of the practice has to do with blood distribution. “Cupping utilizes a flame, which goes inside of a glass cup, which creates a vacuum on the inside, and that goes outside your body,” says Klara Brown, a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist. “What happens is as the heat evaporates, it creates a really intense suction that pulls upward at the muscle and connective tissue.” Okay, let’s just pause for a second at “flame, which goes inside a glass cup,” because I am internally shrieking at the concept. So, I think, perhaps it helps to instead consider cupping as the benign reverse of a deep-tissue massage.
This Fun “Color Hunt” Doubles As A Lesson In Mindfulness
September 06, 2019 at 12:00PM Time to head back to school for arts and crafts. Continue Reading… Author Rebecca Atwood | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
5 spices you can add to any dish to help with digestion, according to gut experts
September 06, 2019 at 02:30AM by CWC Anytime I find myself Googling anti-bloat remedies (you know, after that extra slice of pizza I definitely didn’t need or too much fried food), the answer inevitably seems to involve brewing a hot cup of tea. Tea—particularly ginger tea—is a great way to beat bloating. But as it turns out, it’s not the only solution. You can also work digestive-supporting spices right into your meal to help prevent feeling bloated in the first place. Here, three gut health experts—two MDs and one dietitian—give their top recommendationss for which spices to integrate into your meals to keep digestion running smoothly. 1. Ginger Not surprisingly, all three gut experts suggested this digestion-supporting all star. “Ginger can be used to reduce gas and bloating. It has phenolic compounds which are known to relieve irritation in the GI tract,” explains Katherine McNamara, CND, a clinical dietitian at Westchester Medical Center. She suggests using it in food is to peel the skin to add to stir fries or dressings. Jacqueline Wolf, MD, a gastroenterologist in Boston, adds that incorporating ginger into meals may help prevent pregnancy-related nausea. 2. Mint For gastroenterologist Lea Ann Chen, MD, mint landed on the top of the list of cooking spices that beat bloat and support digestion. She highlights a scientific study linking peppermint oil to reducing GI upset and nausea. Dr. Wolf seconded Dr. Chen’s pick, saying that mint decreases the spasms in the gut. But using this herb comes with one
You’re not just imagining it—food really does taste different on airplanes
September 06, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC When it comes to airplane food, the general consensus is that it’s…well, not great, Bob! The work-around has long been to bring your own food on board (whether it’s airport fare or stuff you brought from home), but even if it makes it through TSA security, it probably won’t taste nearly as good as it normally does on land. Sure, the fact that you’re forced to eat it in a cramped corner while trying not to offend the stranger sharing your armrest certainly doesn’t help, but TIL that elevation *literally* changes the taste of food…and usually not for the better. According to food scientist Herbert Stone, PhD, who worked on food for the Apollo Moon Mission, there are very specific ways elevation affects how something tastes. “Elevation makes the air colder—and airplanes are already kept quite cold—and when the oral cavity is cooled, we don’t taste things as well,” he explains. He says that when food—or its surrounding temps—make your mouth either too hot or too cold, your receptors start working on overdrive to get it the temperature back to where it should be. That slows down the process of sensing—and therefore enjoying—what you’re eating. “Elevation dulls your taste buds about 20 percent inflight,” says Sheri Whiteley, the director of on-board menu planning for American Airlines. She says sweetness and saltiness are the flavor notes most impacted. “The air on board is also extremely dry, which affects sense of smell and taste,” adds
Your windowless room isn’t doomed to feel like a dungeon—brighten things up with these 5 tips from an interior designer
September 06, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC Being in a room that’s giving off total dungeon vibes isn’t exactly welcoming to guests or great for your own mental health (there’s a reason for happy lights and light therapy, folks). Whether it’s a basement room, an apartment facing another building, or a windowless space with no natural light to speak of, a dark space in your home can present a design conundrum. Because without sunshine pouring in, the vibe can feel depressing and doesn’t do your mental health any favors. But, light or dark, an empty room is a blank canvas of sorts, nonetheless. Interior designer Mikel Welch has seen his fair share of dim rooms during his time on the Trading Spaces team, TLC’s cult-favorite room-makeover show. But you don’t need a whole production crew to make your own transformation happen. Here, Welch provides key tips for transforming a dreary space to look bright and airy. An interior designer’s top 5 tips brighten a dark space in your home. 1. Choose a light wall color. “If you have a dark space you want to brighten up, light colors are going to be your best friends,” Welch says. Instead of moody blues or merlots, colors like white, cream, or sunny yellow will give the illusion of more natural light. 2. Add a floor mirror. Once you have your wall color finalized, reflect it everywhere. “You have to create an optical illusion, and one of the best ways to do that is
The Climate Psychologist gives it to us straight: Being anxious about climate change is a *good* thing
September 06, 2019 at 12:05AM by CWC If you pay even an iota of attention to climate news, you know that the situation is urgent and grim. This week alone, the Amazon rainforest burns even more than before, Hurricane Dorian unleashes its destruction, and record-setting floods are hitting St. Louis and the Great Lakes states—and it’s only Thursday. The climate emergency is here, and as the journalist David Wallace-Wells famously wrote, “It is worse, much worse, than you think.” If the planet doesn’t reach zero emissions in roughly a decade, millions of people will die. Growing food will become extremely difficult. Disease will spread. Civilization itself may collapse by 2050, and widespread extinction is a possibility within our lifetimes. Yes, even for humans. This isn’t hyperbole. The reality is horrifying—so horrifying that most of us don’t want to face these darkest of possibilities. For a long time, I didn’t, either. And then last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report changed my view on everything. Let me tell you, when you realize what’s at stake, you become a different person. I’ve spent many sleepless nights wondering whether my young son will inherit a charred, destroyed planet and die before he reaches the age I am now. I recently hiked the hills behind my house, only to burst into tears upon seeing butterflies—because I see fewer now than I did as a child, and they are dying because the planet is dying. I mourn beloved places—the East Village, Miami, New
This easy high-fiber cheesecake doesn’t even require an oven to make
September 05, 2019 at 10:30PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nklEUEoZLpU] Didn’t think a healthy, delicious cheesecake existed? Think again. There’s a reason why The Cheesecake Factory has a 45-minute wait during prime time dinner hours at every major mall across America. Who doesn’t love cheesecake? But when I called up a dietitian a few months ago to ask if there was a somewhat healthy dessert order at the beloved chain restaurant, all I heard were crickets on the other line of the phone. Thankfully, cheesecake isn’t automatically off the (healthy) table. Leave it to Alt-Baking Bootcamp hosts chefs Mia Rigden and Jenny Dorsey to give the classic dessert a healthier twist as well as make it 100-percent vegan and high in fiber and protein. For the crust, they use raw walnuts, pitted medjool dates, sea salt, cinnamon, and cardamom, key warming spices for rounding out the flavor. Those dates aren’t just a great way to add sugar without using the refined stuff—they also offer up lots of other nutrients, says Rigden. “[Dates are] a wonderful source of fiber,” she says, key for a healthy digestive system, while also adding in some antioxidants and vitamins and minerals (like potassium). Plus, with the walnuts in the crust and the cashews in the cashew cream base of the cheesecake, you’re getting lots of protein along with omega-3 fatty acids, copper (which is good for collagen production), and yes, more antioxidants. That means every slice of this dessert is both high-protein and high-fiber—a major nutritional
Memorize this conversation formula to stop a liar mid-sentence
September 05, 2019 at 10:05PM by CWC Watching someone spin a web of lies right before my eyes makes me want to channel Kat Stratford and break out in angry poetry (“I hate it when you lie / I hate it when you make me laugh / Even worse when you make me cry”). Even though 10 Things I Hate About You ends on a cheesy high note, a psychologist tells me that confrontational verse isn’t a viable tactic for shutting down a liar out here in the real world. In fact, you shouldn’t mention the falsehood standing between you at all. “There’s going to be some temptation to insist that the person explain themselves, but that’s not always productive,” says Aimee Daramus, PsyD, a psychologist based in Chicago. “It can be emotionally satisfying when they dig themselves in deep, but it doesn’t solve the problem. It’s best to believe actions, not words.” So rather than giving someone the third degree, offer them an opportunity to prove that they’re not a dirty rotten liar with actions. “If the lie is truly important, stop analyzing it and start talking about action. At work it might be ‘When can I expect that report?’ or ‘What can you contribute to this project?’ With this, you can take some power back,” says Dr. Daramus. “When people show you who they are, believe them.” —Maya Angelou The same logic applies to interpersonal relationships, says the psychologist. If your friend promises to help you move, but you’re
The “1-minute method” will have you working out even when you’re not feeling it
September 05, 2019 at 09:34PM by CWC If my sore muscles need a recovery day from working out, I’m all for it—I’ll happily set up shop on my couch to rest (and watch Curb Your Enthusiasm until I fall asleep). But it’s those days where I really want to hypothetically work out (yet can’t seem to get moving) that are especially frustrating. Sometimes, it just feels like there’s a mysterious force of gravity at work that’s preventing me from lacing up or schlepping to the gym despite my best intentions (really though, it’s just my own willpower). But in the depths of a Livestrong Facebook thread filled with people’s own fitness motivation tips, I’ve found actual gold. Want to literally trick yourself into a workout? All you need is one minute. “Tell yourself you’re going to do just one minute of yoga, or one minute of squats, or one minute of push-ups—whatever it may be—and once you get started, you’ll likely end up doing more,” the true genius writes. They’re 100-percent right—getting started is often the most mentally challenging part of any workout. Trainers back this up. “I love this concept,” gushes fitness instructor Mark Osmundsen, creator of Movement Culture Co. “It’s simply Newton’s Law—an object that gets in motion will stay in motion. If you can just start by getting up and moving, the endorphins will take over, and before you know it—you’ve done a full workout.” Ahh, so it’s not just physical fitness, it’s physics, you guys. Even the