January 24, 2020 at 11:00PM by CWC Lunar New Year arrives January 25. With it, out goes the Year of the Pig and in comes the Year of the Rat, the first year in a brand new 60-year cycle. “This is going to be a big point of transition,” says doctor of Chinese medicine Noah Rubinstein, DACM, LAc, of The YinOva Center. “There’s a lot of change presumably on the horizon.” If “Year of the Rat” looks unappealing, it’s only because you’re viewing it from a very Western perspective. “The story [of the Chinese zodiac] goes that the emperor called all the animals to the palace, and the order that they arrived in would be the order of the zodiac,” he says. “[In the story], the rat rode on the back of the ox, and just as they were getting close, jumped off and bolted ahead.” According to Rubenstein, this anecdote illustrates the admirable characteristics of a rat. “Right from the beginning, we get the sense of the rat as being clever and resourceful and taking advantage of opportunities others might not see,” he says. “That’s sort of what we understand rats to be like—they’re quick, they’re alert, they’re full of energy, and they adapt to changing environments and circumstances.” In addition to being assigned an animal, each year in the Chinese calendar is also assigned an element. “This year’s is metal, which is important because it is the element of clarification,” Rubenstein says. In a metal year, ambiguity gives way to a
Day: January 24, 2020
What ‘aging gracefully’ means for 6 real women of every generation
January 24, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC The phrase “aging gracefully” is often used ironically. It means staying—and more importantly, looking—young no matter the number of birthdays you’ve celebrated. Award-winning author Georgia Clark, 40, founded Generation Women, a monthly event in New York City dedicated to intergenerational storytelling, as a means to highlight women for whom aging gracefully means pursuing bravery and vulnerability at any age. I’m 23 years old, and on Wednesday I was lucky enough to attend a show. I laughed and I cried as I listened to women describe the tremendous forces propelling them through each and every decade of life. The task of storytelling is to shine a light on that which would otherwise fade into the background, and that’s exactly why Clark launched Generation Women in summer 2017. “The idea for the night came about after a conversation I had with my mom, Jane, about the experience of disappearing as an older woman,” she says. “She said that the older she got, the more invisible she felt in society, walking down the street, going into a shop. People were just starting to look right through her.” So naturally, the savvy author gathered women of all ages and gave them a stage, a mic, and the promise that their stories mattered. The night I attended Generation Women, the theme—”A Fresh Start”—seemed apropos for the beginning of a shiny new decade. But if I thought I knew what it meant to hit the refresh button and begin
A CrossFit coach says ‘MCI’ is the acronym to remember for nonstop progress at the gym
January 24, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC Unless you have a natural-born talent for heavy weight-lifting or 5-minute miles, you’ll have to begin, well, at the beginning. The CrossFit approach known as ‘MCI’ (mechanics-consistency-intensity) teaches you measured progress that values longevity over immediate gains. And Maillard Howell, owner of CrossFit Prospect Heights and founder of the The Beta Way, says that you should be applying it no matter how you move your body. Below, Howell breaks down each tier so you can commit MCI to memory and watch your body grow stronger and quicker without sacrificing your physical health. Because, hey, don’t we all want to be sweating for a long, long time? Breaking down mechanics-consistency-intensity, piece by piece 1. Mechanics “Your foundation should be mechanics, that’s the first layer of the pyramid,” says Howell. “And that’s learning the basics of the movement.” If ten weighted pull-ups is your eventual goal, then the mechanical part of the processes would involve nailing your pull-up form. You might have to start with a jumping pull-up or enlist the help of a resistance band to give you a boost. Only when you could do a pull-up in your sleep—or, okay—without having to compromise your former should you move on to tier two. 2. Consistency Alright, so you’ve got your pull-up—here’s where things get tricky. “You’ve got to be able to make the first rep look like the last rep or the last rep look like the first rep—even under fatigue,” says Howell. That means if you’re
A key part of healthy aging: eating more protein
January 24, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC There’s no denying it: protein is massively important for your health. Whether you’re a vegan or an omnivore, the protein you eat helps build muscles, make enzymes and hormones to keep your body’s systems functioning properly, sustains healthy energy levels, and offers countless other benefits. “Protein is one of the three macronutrients—along with carbohydrates and fats—and therefore is required in high amounts by the body, as it plays an important role in cellular growth, development, and repair, immunity, cell signaling, and hormonal health to name a few,” says Juliana Dewsnap, RD, a dietitian for Baze. However, there’s another surprising protein benefit: it can help with healthy aging. In fact, the body actually requires more protein as you get older. Why, you ask? Here’s what you should know. Why protein requirements change as you age There’s some evidence that older adults are not as responsive to protein as they age, meaning they need more of it to function optimally compared to younger adults. And the need increases further if you are a woman thanks to menopause. “While technically increased recommendations by protein researchers consider those age 65 and older, menopause is a key time in a women’s life where due to hormonal shifts, body composition can change drastically in a short period of time,” says Kelly Jones, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN. These changes include increased body fat and decreased lean muscle mass, the latter of which can impact longevity. Considering that the average age of
What angel numbers mean, and why seeing them everywhere is great news
January 24, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC Ever noticed yourself stumbling upon repeating number sequences like 111, 555, or 777…basically everywhere? Like, let’s say you wake up from a nap at 2:22 p.m., then you buy a coffee for $2.22, then you watch a movie that’s 2 hours and 22 minutes long. If you’ve noticed such a pattern, it may not be a coincidence. In numerology, this sequential repetition is referred to as angel numbers. “Angels speak to us in synchronistic ways, which basically means that we will see something over and over again so much so that it goes beyond mere coincidence,” says celebrity aura reader, psychic medium, and spirit guide Megan Michaela Firester, who goes by Mystic Michaela. “One of these ways is through numbers.” Angel numbers work in accordance with the tenets of numerology, which upholds the notion that each number is connected to a certain vibrational energy or frequency that encompasses meaning beyond its sheer numeric value. Where angel numbers come in, says Michaela, is with the prevalence of how often the number shows up. They serve as a thumbs up, of sorts, to continue along the path you’re currently on. “Seeing a repeating number is like your angel pointing to you and making you feel seen and heard. They are trying to get your attention, and the numbers they send have meanings. Think of it like a little marker saying that you are on the right direction in life, like a highway sign.” “Seeing a
The CARS method loosens up your neck tension better than any stretch
January 24, 2020 at 05:01PM by CWC You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone that hasn’t experienced tech neck or neck tension before. This is why any tip for neck decompression or fixing neck alignment is worth incorporating into any recovery routine, stat. But, out of all the tension-busting methods out there, physical therapists love recommending controlled articular rotations for the neck. If you haven’t heard of this method, controlled articular rotation (also known as CAR) is the practice of moving your muscle group or joint through its entire range of motion, which helps with your mobility. “Essentially a CAR is when you’re activating muscles as you’re taking them through a full range of motion,” says Aaron Alexander, a movement coach and author of The Align Method. “This is helpful because it’s actually creating stability and support with flexibility at the same time.” So working through these functional movements benefits you by giving you more lengthened, supple muscles. “You’ll walk away with more spaciousness in your neck and a longer sensation in your spine,” says Alexander. This isn’t to say that good, old-fashioned neck stretches aren’t doing you any good, but CARs are what Alexander calls a different tool in your recovery toolbox. The benefit of adding these into your regimen is that they’re “a great opportunity to realign your muscles and give them their integrity in their newfound ranges of motion,” he says. “Oftentimes people will see massage therapists who will make everything loose and happy, but at some point
This low-sugar, gluten-free banana bread will be your new favorite breakfast
January 24, 2020 at 04:40PM by CWC If you stick to a gluten-free diet—whether it’s by choice or because you have Celiac disease—you already know buying a gluten-free pastry at a café or bakery is a bit of a gamble. Because the structure of most baked goods comes from gluten (as lover of The Great British Baking Show would know), GF substitutes can often end up chalky or brick-like. Which is a downer, because who doesn’t want to enjoy birthday cake or muffins or banana bread without feeling some serious gluten FOMO? Well, we’ve got you covered on the banana bread front, at least. Bless chefs Jenny Dorsey and Mia Rigden, the hosts of Well+Good’s show Alt-Baking Bootcamp, for experimenting enough with different alt-flours and ingredients to create a recipe that tastes moist, buttery, and sweet. The secret? Using a mix of almond and coconut flours to mimic the texture of a traditional banana bread. “Coconut flour and almond flour mix rather well to counterbalance the kind of drying effect that coconut flour has, and almond flour introduces that fattiness that you want for that nice, soft crumb in your baked goods,” says Dorsey. The two alt-flours also add flavor and sweetness, sans refined sugar. (The bananas and maple syrup obviously help in this department, too.) They also add in cinnamon, which not only punches up the flavor but helps balance blood sugar levels to potentially mitigate any post-snack sugar crash. Read: It’s healthy *and* delicious. Intrigued, gluten-free eaters? The
The 1 type of orgasm that’s easiest for vulva-owners to reach—and fast
January 24, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC The unfortunate truth that the orgasm gap presents is that for people with vulvas, climaxing is rarely as easy as the “oh, oh, oh!” portrayal it often gets in pop culture. In fact, a 2017 study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that only 65 percent of heterosexual women report always reaching orgasm after acts of sexual intimacy versus 95 percent of heterosexual men. Furthermore, reaching orgasm also often requires an investment of determination: Additional research notes that it can take between 11 and 21 minutes for people with vulvas to reach the level of arousal that precedes an orgasm, meaning there’s also an orgasm time gap. So while solving the orgasm gap is certainly not a simple, easy-to-fix conundrum, knowing how to orgasm faster? That answer may at least help chisel away at the issue of the orgasm time gap. For vulva-owners wondering about the fastest way to climax, there’s a short answer (and an extremely long one), says human sexuality professor Zhana Vrangalova, PhD. “The easiest type of orgasm to reach for a vulva-owner is the external clitoral one,” she says. “This is because the external clitoris is the part of the body that contains the greatest density of nerve endings that, when stimulated, can lead to pleasure.” You have a host of options for how to engage clitoral stimulation to reach an as-fast-as-possible orgasm: You can ask your partner to give the Kivin Method a go (some say it can
Turn out the lights: New studies show energy-efficient bulbs can damage skin
January 24, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC A teeny, tiny “I told you so” secretly sparked within me when I heard that there are studies showing that visible light—the kind you see flooding out of fluorescent office fixtures or LED bulbs—could be damaging your skin. After years of welcoming guests to lounge areas illuminated almost exclusively by candles and nights spent at dinner parties searching for dimmers to take down the too-bright overheads, I felt like a subconscious instinct had been validated. And while the research is preliminary, it’s a good time to start tuning in—and turning off—whenever possible. “New evidence has been published that [shows] high-energy visible light (HEVL), which is emitted from energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs and LED lights, can cause ROS-mediated photoaging and inflammation in the skin,” says dermatologist Bradley Bloom, MD, of Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York. For those unfamiliar with the term ROS (most everyone?), it stands for “reactive oxygen species,” which we’ve known for years are responsible for creating free-radical damage within the skin when it’s exposed to UV light from the sun. Free-radical damage, or oxidative damage, can create problems within the skin that are wide-ranging, including acne, pigmentation, eczema, collagen degradation… the list goes on. These burgeoning studies from dermatologist David McDaniel, MD, indicate that the light from bulbs (which is necessary to simply see) could also be responsible for “atmospheric skin aging,” or compromising the health and integrity of our complexions. This research is finally gaining attention, says Dr.
I’m an RD, and these are the most common questions I get asked about plant-based eating
January 24, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC If you’re thinking about going plant-based, you probably have a lot of questions. Like, where do you even start? Well, registered dietitians certainly know the struggle. Their clients ask them the same questions all the time, and that’s good news for you. There’s no need to go down a rabbit hole on Google looking for answers to all your plant-based eating questions. You can get the most common ones answered right here, right now, by the registered dietitians who address them every single day. The most common questions dietitians get asked about plant-based eating 1. Am I meeting my protein needs with plant based foods? Most people still think of protein as meat, eggs, fish, and nothing else. But it’s super easy to get enough when you’re plant-based, too. “One of the biggest fallacies is that you can’t meet your protein needs on a plant-based diet,” says Brittany Modell, MS, RD, CDN, founder of Brittany Modell Nutrition and Wellness. “There are so many plant foods that are rich in protein, such as nuts, seeds, legumes, tofu, tempeh, and soybeans.” 2. Do I need to take any supplements? While you can get all the protein you need from plants, Whitney English, RDN, of Plant-Based Juniors, recommends adding some supplements into the mix to make sure you’re hitting all your other nutritional needs. These needs (aside from B12) are simply due to environmental factors affecting all diets—not because plants are poor sources of nutrients, she