June 03, 2019 at 10:00AM by CWC If you suspect that you have some kind of food allergy or intolerance, there’s one thing that basically every doctor will recommend: an elimination diet. The whole process of nixing popular irritants such as eggs, dairy, gluten, corn, soy, sugar, alcohol, coffee, and nightshades (phew!) and slowly adding them back in one at a time is one of the few widely-accepted methods to determine food-related issues. And it often comes with a major unwanted side effect: fatigue. “An elimination diet is a short-term eating plan with the goal of pinpointing exactly which foods are causing the uncomfortable, painful, or mysterious reactions you are experiencing that could be the result of an undiagnosed food sensitivity,” explains functional medicine doctor and The Thyroid Connection author, Amy Myers, MD. “This is not a life-long diet; it’s a strategy to help you uncover which foods you should avoid and which you can enjoy.” Meaning that low-energy feeling as you nix certain food groups should be temporary, not a constant companion. However, considering that Dr. Meyers says the whole elimination diet process can take three to six weeks, that’s quite a long time to feel sluggish and low-energy, period. So if your doctor recommends that you go on an elimination diet, how do you pull it off without feeling drained? “Normally, people shouldn’t feel tired when doing an elimination diet,” says integrative and functional medicine doctor Sommer White, MD. But she adds that there are a few common
Year: 2019
Not only is laughter super-contagious, but it also boosts endorphins
June 03, 2019 at 09:12AM by CWC There are few things I love more than a good, senseless giggle epidemic—you know, the contagious laughter that starts when one patient zero pronounces quiche as “kweesh” at brunch. And that cackle fit, though unquestionably silly, makes sense—something objectively funny-ish happened. But what about the case of when, say, your co-worker starts snickering at at something on their computer screen, and though only they can see it, the whole team ends up in hysterics? It seems that sometimes we start laughing simply because someone else is laughing—which might make it the most joyful communicative disease around…could it be? The short answer here is a loud, cackling yes that the giggles are contagious. One 2006 study by researchers from the University College London and Imperial College London found this is because positive sounds, such as laughter, tend to trigger a response in the premotor cortical region, i.e., the part of our brain that reacts to sound. When we see our toddler niece giggle while watching Moana, for example, the premotor cortical region tells us to smile, and smiling makes us think we’re about to laugh. That phenomenon then compounds with an innate, primitive urge reflex to mimic each other’s emotions. But wait, there’s more: “Another [person’s] laughter can certainly jump-start one’s own seemingly uncontrollable laughter when you are on the same page as someone (same sense of humor), need a release yourself, or enjoy the inappropriateness more than the actual humor,” says clinical psychologist
Not only is laughter super-contagious, but it also boosts endorphins
June 03, 2019 at 09:12AM by CWC There are few things I love more than a good, senseless giggle epidemic—you know, the contagious laughter that starts when one patient zero pronounces quiche as “kweesh” at brunch. And that cackle fit, though unquestionably silly, makes sense—something objectively funny-ish happened. But what about the case of when, say, your co-worker starts snickering at at something on their computer screen, and though only they can see it, the whole team ends up in hysterics? It seems that sometimes we start laughing simply because someone else is laughing—which might make it the most joyful communicative disease around…could it be? The short answer here is a loud, cackling yes that the giggles are contagious. One 2006 study by researchers from the University College London and Imperial College London found this is because positive sounds, such as laughter, tend to trigger a response in the premotor cortical region, i.e., the part of our brain that reacts to sound. When we see our toddler niece giggle while watching Moana, for example, the premotor cortical region tells us to smile, and smiling makes us think we’re about to laugh. That phenomenon then compounds with an innate, primitive urge reflex to mimic each other’s emotions. But wait, there’s more: “Another [person’s] laughter can certainly jump-start one’s own seemingly uncontrollable laughter when you are on the same page as someone (same sense of humor), need a release yourself, or enjoy the inappropriateness more than the actual humor,” says clinical psychologist
Do you have a “sticky mind?” Psychologists explain how to stop assuming the worst
June 03, 2019 at 08:55AM by CWC The soundtrack to my mind is a never-ending loop of catastrophizing, planning, regrets, and fantasies about my next meal. Up until now, I’ve considered the cyclical nature of everything that happens between by ears as par for the course of being human, but there’s an official term for characterizing a brain like mine, according to two psychologists. Apparently, my mind (and perhaps yours) is too “sticky.” Like a cinnamon bun drenched in sweet, heavenly icing clings to your fingers on a Saturday morning, a mind like this grips onto certain though patterns, write Martin Seif, PhD, and Sally Winston, PsyD, in Psychology Today. “Stickiness of the mind is the term we use for a biologically based trait that is experienced as repetitive looping thinking, a sense of getting mired in worry, a talent for imaginative flights into catastrophic images and thoughts, and a tendency for junk channels of the mind to get loud and insistent instead of simply flowing by,” they write. Those who’ve dealt first hand with this particular plight know that it’s not nearly as fun as other sticky things (like cotton candy or the aforementioned cinnamon roll). However, the experts warn that trying to buck a grueling inner-monologue won’t help. In fact, it might do more harm than good.”[R]esisting these thoughts by arguing with them, distracting from them, trying to substitute other thoughts, seeking reassurance about them, recoiling in horror, or admonishing oneself simply results in their return or the
Do you have a “sticky mind?” Psychologists explain how to stop assuming the worst
June 03, 2019 at 08:55AM by CWC The soundtrack to my mind is a never-ending loop of catastrophizing, planning, regrets, and fantasies about my next meal. Up until now, I’ve considered the cyclical nature of everything that happens between by ears as par for the course of being human, but there’s an official term for characterizing a brain like mine, according to two psychologists. Apparently, my mind (and perhaps yours) is too “sticky.” Like a cinnamon bun drenched in sweet, heavenly icing clings to your fingers on a Saturday morning, a mind like this grips onto certain though patterns, write Martin Seif, PhD, and Sally Winston, PsyD, in Psychology Today. “Stickiness of the mind is the term we use for a biologically based trait that is experienced as repetitive looping thinking, a sense of getting mired in worry, a talent for imaginative flights into catastrophic images and thoughts, and a tendency for junk channels of the mind to get loud and insistent instead of simply flowing by,” they write. Those who’ve dealt first hand with this particular plight know that it’s not nearly as fun as other sticky things (like cotton candy or the aforementioned cinnamon roll). However, the experts warn that trying to buck a grueling inner-monologue won’t help. In fact, it might do more harm than good.”[R]esisting these thoughts by arguing with them, distracting from them, trying to substitute other thoughts, seeking reassurance about them, recoiling in horror, or admonishing oneself simply results in their return or the
Skip the oven and get right to the good stuff with no-bake brownie batter bites
June 03, 2019 at 07:44AM by CWC One of my (many) weaknesses is fresh-out-of-the-oven brownies. My best friend loves to tell the story of the time I ate one too many of those warm and cozy goodies and fell asleep in the middle of the living room floor. While my love of brownies is still strong as ever, the way I make them has greatly improved. And if you love eating brownie batter right off the spoon, have I got the recipe for you. Jacki Bolig, the certified health coach behind Figgin Delicious, recently shared her brownie batter bites recipe, and it only takes one taste to become totally hooked. This mix only uses five simple ingredients: sunflower seed butter, cacao powder, maple syrup, coconut flour, and mini chocolate chips. After mixing everything together, just pop the batter in the refrigerator for a bit. Ready to roll? Brownie batter bites Ingredients 3/4 cup organic SunButter 3 Tbsp cacao powder 3 to 4 Tbsp maple syrup (depending on sweetness preference) 1 Tbsp coconut flour 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips Instructions Mix together SunButter and maple syrup until smooth. Add in cacao powder and coconut flour, mix until dough-like. Mix in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, so the batter becomes easier to make into balls Roll into 16 to 18 balls and enjoy. Or, if preferred, place back into the refrigerator for 1+ hours for more solidified texture. If you like brownies with a side of health benefits, this magnesium brownie
Skip the oven and get right to the good stuff with no-bake brownie batter bites
June 03, 2019 at 07:44AM by CWC One of my (many) weaknesses is fresh-out-of-the-oven brownies. My best friend loves to tell the story of the time I ate one too many of those warm and cozy goodies and fell asleep in the middle of the living room floor. While my love of brownies is still strong as ever, the way I make them has greatly improved. And if you love eating brownie batter right off the spoon, have I got the recipe for you. Jacki Bolig, the certified health coach behind Figgin Delicious, recently shared her brownie batter bites recipe, and it only takes one taste to become totally hooked. This mix only uses five simple ingredients: sunflower seed butter, cacao powder, maple syrup, coconut flour, and mini chocolate chips. After mixing everything together, just pop the batter in the refrigerator for a bit. Ready to roll? Brownie batter bites Ingredients 3/4 cup organic SunButter 3 Tbsp cacao powder 3 to 4 Tbsp maple syrup (depending on sweetness preference) 1 Tbsp coconut flour 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips Instructions Mix together SunButter and maple syrup until smooth. Add in cacao powder and coconut flour, mix until dough-like. Mix in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, so the batter becomes easier to make into balls Roll into 16 to 18 balls and enjoy. Or, if preferred, place back into the refrigerator for 1+ hours for more solidified texture. If you like brownies with a side of health benefits, this magnesium brownie
OK, TMI: Is it actually necessary to let your vagina “breathe” at night?
June 03, 2019 at 07:42AM by CWC I am firmly team Sleep in the Nude. Like, I straight up don’t get people who sleep with their clothes on. Part of this is comfort (what’s cozier than no clothes at all? Nothing!), and in part because I’ve always thought that you had to remove your underwear at night to let your vagina “breathe”—and I’ve never questioned it until my editor asked me to investigate this topic. You know, for science. Here’s what I learned: It can be beneficial to sleep without underwear on, but it has less to do with your vagina and more to do with the health of your outer parts. Basically, everyone with a vagina experiences vaginal discharge, says Shweta Pai, OB/GYN and member of the Love Wellness medical advisory board. “Some women may have more physiologic discharge than others, thus creating a moist environment within their underwear,” she says. “Excess moisture can lead to bacterial overgrowth, which can lead to a vaginal infection,” she says. By sleeping in the buff at night (or wearing cotton-only underwear), Dr. Pai says that you can ward off future vaginal infections by decreasing the amount of moisture that surrounds your vagina or vulva. (Hence the whole “letting your vagina breathe” thing.) However, Dr. Pai says if you’re prone to recurring infections ~down there~, you should talk to your doctor; there might be something bigger going on than just your choice of underwear at night. There’s also another reason why Dr. Pai
OK, TMI: Is it actually necessary to let your vagina “breathe” at night?
June 03, 2019 at 07:42AM by CWC I am firmly team Sleep in the Nude. Like, I straight up don’t get people who sleep with their clothes on. Part of this is comfort (what’s cozier than no clothes at all? Nothing!), and in part because I’ve always thought that you had to remove your underwear at night to let your vagina “breathe”—and I’ve never questioned it until my editor asked me to investigate this topic. You know, for science. Here’s what I learned: It can be beneficial to sleep without underwear on, but it has less to do with your vagina and more to do with the health of your outer parts. Basically, everyone with a vagina experiences vaginal discharge, says Shweta Pai, OB/GYN and member of the Love Wellness medical advisory board. “Some women may have more physiologic discharge than others, thus creating a moist environment within their underwear,” she says. “Excess moisture can lead to bacterial overgrowth, which can lead to a vaginal infection,” she says. By sleeping in the buff at night (or wearing cotton-only underwear), Dr. Pai says that you can ward off future vaginal infections by decreasing the amount of moisture that surrounds your vagina or vulva. (Hence the whole “letting your vagina breathe” thing.) However, Dr. Pai says if you’re prone to recurring infections ~down there~, you should talk to your doctor; there might be something bigger going on than just your choice of underwear at night. There’s also another reason why Dr. Pai
This 6-minute plank-crunch combo gives abs day a whole new meaning
June 03, 2019 at 07:33AM by CWC I like to track my workouts by how many songs it takes to finish them. A three-mile run suddenly seems a lot more manageable when I realize it will only take me six or seven Justin Bieber tracks to get through it, and 45 minutes on a spin bike is basically just nine Ariana Grande jams before I’m outta there and onto brunch. So when I found out that this week’s Trainer of the Month abs series would only take six minutes—AKA less than two songs—I was pumped. “That’s nothing!” I thought to myself. Boy, was I wrong. Trainer Meg Takacs‘ latest core workout may be quick, but man-oh-man is it intense. It focuses on every part of your core, from your midsection through to your inner and outer obliques, leaving no muscle un-worked. Thankfully, she shares some modifications to help get you through it, and even those will leave your burning. Pop on your favorite playlist and follow along with Takacs to burn out those abs, and don’t forget to check back next week for an entirely new workout. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsSBamlIhSc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281] Do each movement for 30 seconds, and cycle through the series twice. 1. Hollow rocks: Balancing on your glutes, straighten your arms and legs to create a hollow “V” shape in your body. Roll back through your spine, keeping your legs straight. Think about crunching your belly button into your spine, keeping the tension in the core. Let the momentum of your