March 05, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC CBD or cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive element of the cannabis plant, continues to be the most-talked-about ingredient in wellness right now. From leggings to deodorants to lube, that good (wellness) kush is in almost too many things—including squishy gummy candies. But given that there are so many different ways to consume CBD—from powders and supplements to tinctures—are CBD gummies’ effects worth spending your hard-earned cash on? Here’s the thing: People turn to CBD for a number of reasons: to support thier sleep, quell anxiety, or fight inflammation. And boy do they sound great when your grandmother, sister-and-law, and coworkers sing their praises. But when you’re deciding whether CBD gummies (or CBD in any form) are right for you, remember that the science has yet caught up to most of CBD’s fanfare. “There is very little data from rigorous scientific research on the therapeutic effects of CBD,” J. H. Atkinson, MD, of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego previously told Well+Good. Still, though, the massive market for CBD (which is estimated to reach $24 billion by 2024) suggests that many people can make an anecdotal case for the ingredient. And Jessica Mulligan, founder of gummy CBD company Winged, believes that peoples’ interest in CBD in its gummy form (and others) really comes down to a need to calm the nervous system in a world that’s stress-inducing and fast-paced. “CBD nourishes an important system in our bodies called the endocannabinoid
Month: March 2020
The ‘overhead squat assessment’ tells you everything you need to know about your mobility, stability, and coordination
March 05, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC Sometimes it really feels like you’re playing whack-a-mole with your fitness routine. You get your strength under control at the price of your mobility. Or you head to yoga to tackle stability and end up losing your strength. It’s hard to find the right balance of movement, but one trainer-approved tactic called the overhead squat assessment tells you everything you need to know about your body in one rep. According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the overhead squat assessment (OHSA) determines how all of your body parts work as a whole. “The overhead squat assessment is the best measure of how healthy your client’s kinetic chain is,” reads NASM’s website. “This assessment enables the trainer to analyze every part of the kinetic chain for proper function. Since an overhead squat will utilize all musculature from head to toe to successfully complete, it’s the perfect movement to measure overall musculoskeletal function.” From an outsider’s perspective, it may look like you’re just performing a squat, but don’t talk about OHSA that way! The move deserves way more clout than that. Because the trainer will ask you to raise your hands overhead and repeat the movement 15 times, the exercise reveals your body’s weaknesses and where it’s really, really strong. For example, if your knee moves slightly inward when you complete the overhead squat assessment, NASM says that could mean your glutes and hamstrings are underactive and a move like ball squats could strengthen
This dietitian’s ‘Rule of 5’ makes healthy grocery shopping so much easier
March 05, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC When you’re trying to find out if a food is healthy, you might start by reading the ingredients lists. Valuable information? Absolutely. Nothing beats knowing exactly what’s in your food. But sometimes there just isn’t time when you shop for groceries—especially when you’re making a big trip. If you choose to focus on just one or two aspects of the nutrition panel, it’s good to know how much sugar is too much and how much fiber is enough. “I do this ‘rule of five.’” If a food or drink has less than five grams of sugar per serving and more than five grams of fiber per serving, it’s a good indicator that it’s a healthy pick,” says Rachel Swanson, RD. “It’s not perfect and there are exceptions, but it’s a pretty good rule of thumb.” If you’re wondering how much sugar is too much for a food or drink to be a healthy choice, the takeaway tip is to keep it under five grams per serving. Here’s how a dietitian gets out of Whole Foods spending less than $30: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4aGeQEf0_I] Swanson also calls out a “5:1 rule.” “This is another trick I teach clients that basically is dividing the amount of carbs by the amount of fiber as they are both listed on the label,” she says. “For example, sprouted grain bread has 15 grams of carbs and three grams of fiber per serving, so it would make the cut as being
How to reinvent yourself into anything you want to be, according to a transformation mentor
March 05, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC The question of how someone defines themselves is a tricky one because the options are so vast. Many, for example, have an identity that’s tied to their profession of choice. It often makes sense why, too, since if you’re lucky, you’ve actively chosen your career path, and your success along it is a result of diligence and hard work. Others may define themselves by a relationship role that’s important to them—like being a parent or spouse—or who they are in that relationship (ex: “I’m a giver”). Or maybe it’s a talent or interest that’s your defining factor: A runner. A yogi. A photographer. In all of these cases, no one is wrong in their assertion for how they self-identify. But what happens when the way in which you define yourself falls apart? Or you want to change who you are? As an empowerment and transformation mentor, Sophie Nik helps clients ask big, looming questions about who they are and then helps them reinvent themselves into who they want to be. She says most of her clients are women who want to do a total career 180. They’ve defined themselves by their profession for so long, but since that identity no longer resonates, they want to do something different despite having no idea what it is or how to get there. Other times, women come to Nik because they’re sick of the role they always seem to play in relationships. “Many women come to
Your core workouts have never burned as much as this 15-minute Pilates sesh
March 05, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdLPaGdYIZc] If you’re ever looking to burn out your core, one of the best—and lowest impact—ways to do it is with Pilates. The entire fitness modality centers around the core, but it gives you added benefits of things like better posture and added strength, all while hitting other muscle groups, too. In our latest episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series Good Moves, Pilates instructor and physiotherapist Chloe Gregor from East River Pilates is taking us through a 15-minute Pilates core workout that will make you feel as though you did a thousand crunches. “Everybody wants strong abs so that we feel stronger and move better,” she says. Rest assured that this 16-move, abs-centric workout lights up every single muscle within your core, from your obliques to your lower and upper abs. What’s even better is that the exercises within the workout secretly strengthen your hips, glutes, and shoulders, too. Basically, you could classify it as a full-body workout, but your core is what’s really going to be sore the next day. Get ready to w-o-r-k—all you need is a mat. Try this 15-minute Pilates core workout Toe tap: Start on your back and float your legs up into tabletop position. Keep the back of the neck long and the spine neutral, and slowly lower one of your legs down toward the mat as far as you can with control. Then pull the leg back up into tabletop, and do the other leg. Inhale as
The magnesium-rich snack a health coach swears by for better sleep and digestion
March 05, 2020 at 03:00AM by CWC Pumpkin gets a lot of hype in the fall, then everyone forgets about those big orange squashes for the rest of the year. Well, everyone except for Brit Trainor, RD, a health coach at Parsley Health, who believes they’re far more than just a decoration for your doorstep. Her pumpkin muffin recipe tastes just as good in October as it does in July. Pumpkins are loaded with so many nutritional benefits that they should be enjoyed year-round—especially their seeds. First of all, they contain a high amount of fiber—around a half day’s worth—which Trainor says helps keep you full for longer and helps moves things along in your gut, leading to better digestion. They’re loaded with an important mineral that provides many body-boosting benefits, including better sleep. “Pumpkin seeds are unusually high in magnesium, which is involved in many biochemical reactions in your body, including blood sugar control, heart rate regulation, muscle movements, protein formation, and energy creation,” says Trainor. “Magnesium also plays a role in supporting deep, restorative sleep via helping to maintain healthy levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter responsible for promoting sleep. Unfortunately, studies suggest that too many people get less than the daily recommended amount of magnesium in their diet, thus pumpkin seeds are an easy way to boost this important mineral.” Trainor says pumpkin seeds also help increase the production of nitric oxide in the body. “This helps to open blood vessels and circulate blood more smoothly, helping with
6 common things that cause sudden facial breakouts, according to dermatologists
March 05, 2020 at 02:30AM by CWC If you’ve ever looked in the office bathroom mirror after lunch, noticed a brand-spanking-new zit, and wondered “where the hell did that thing come from?” this one’s for you. Some facial breakouts seem to come up out of nowhere and ruin your afternoon, but chances are those surprise pimples have been brewing for some time—and there are a whole lot of things that might have caused them. To find out where exactly they come from, I asked dermatologists to share the most common reasons behind sudden facial breakouts. The good news? Nearly all of them are avoidable with a few lifestyle tweaks—though sometimes, IMHO, a midday zit is well worth the extra scoop of ice cream. Common causes of sudden facial breakouts 1. Stress If pimples are popping up before a big presentation or a nerve-wracking first date, stress is likely to blame. “We know that stress has a significant impact on our skin,” says board-certified dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD. When you’re stressed, your brain releases a stress hormone called cortisol, which causes your oil glands to go into overdrive. They start to produce more sebum, which ultimately leads to acne. While many hormonal breakouts are unavoidable, stress pimples can be put to rest by chilling out. 2. Your diet Breaking out the morning after binging Ben and Jerry’s and The Bachelor (aka the bets way to spend a Monday night)? Those are probably sugar and dairy pimples. “Certain foods like dairy and
The ‘3 Keys’ that make every weight-training workout more effective
March 05, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC We know that using weights in your strength training routine helps to build muscle, boost metabolism, and make it easier to progress in your workouts. While bodyweight training is great, using weights adds extra resistance and is more impactful at making you stronger. “It’s so important to add weights into your workout routine to keep building muscle, regardless of your fitness goals,” says Sarah Brannon, Openfit Live trainer. But before you hit the weight rack, Brannon stresses that working out with weights isn’t just about curling dumbbells up and down. There are certain factors that you should pay attention to so that your workout is truly benefitting your overall strength (and even your overall mobility). Keep scrolling for the three elements of weight training that she recommends you touch on in each exercise session, which will result in a more efficient and effective workout. The three key weight-training tips to know 1. Work in all planes of motion: As we know, we don’t live our lives in just one plane of motion—and our workouts should follow suit. Multiplanar training is recommended by trainers since it gets your body moving in all different planes, which gives you more functional strength (aka strength that improves your mobility in the movements of your everyday life). “Our workouts need to be functional and mimic movements we would do in life, which is something we do by incorporating movements in all three planes: transverse, sagittal, and frontal,” says Brennan.
Do pore strips work? Dermatologists reveal the truth, once and for all
March 05, 2020 at 01:30AM by CWC People love to use skin-care products that work, sure, but they also love to use products that are satisfying. Beauty products like Baby Foot ($25) and peel-off face masks are fun because you get to watch dead skin cells come off centimeter by centimeter. Then there are pore strips, which suck up all of the little blackheads nesting on your nose. But do pore strips work, and is that satisfying treatment really doing your skin any favors? As a refresher, your pores are really small openings on your skin that oil and sweat come out of, and they can get pretty easily clogged. “Pores can get filled with dirt, oil, sweat, and makeup,” says Purvisha Patel, MD, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Visha Skincare, who adds that they can also get clogged by skin cells that aren’t exfoliated (reminder: this is why regular exfoliation is so important). One instance of clogged pores is a blackhead, which is oil that’s been oxidized in an open pore. Your nose happens to be a hotspot for blackheads. “The nose is a perfect storm to make blackheads, because the pores are stretched out on a convex surface,” says Dr. Patel. Pore strips come in because they’re able to mold around the nose, stick to it and cling to the pore buildup, then—ideally—take it all out of your skin. Keep scrolling for the low-down on whether pore strips really work, plus how to use them, according to dermatologists. Do pore strips
Why processed food isn’t always a ‘bad’ thing
March 05, 2020 at 01:00AM by CWC If avocados wear a health halo, processed foods definitely sport devil’s horns in many healthy eaters’ eyes. Many experts in the wellness world (including doctors, dietitians, and healthy food bloggers) advise cutting out processed foods completely, deeming them all as unhealthy. Whole foods are best is the message preached on blogs, on Instagram, and in the comments on Facebook. But here’s the reality: eating all whole foods all the time is definitely not practical. Who wants to subsist off of just fruits and vegetables and plain rice all the time? Meanwhile, packaged, processed foods certainly have convenience and ease on their side. Plus, there are definitely lots of packaged options that are at least seemingly healthy: they are high in protein and fiber, have minimal ingredients lists, rich in vitamins and minerals…they can’t all be bad, right? Basically, the debate around processed food is confusing. So we asked food scientists and nutrition experts to clear a few things up for us about the most demonized, feared food category there is. Buckle up, because your mind is about to be blown. What is processed food? One of the main reasons processed foods are so misunderstood is that not everyone knows exactly what they are. Food science and nutrition expert Taylor Wallace, PhD, defines it by saying, “Processed food is something that has changed from [its] original state.” This change can happen from a variety of processes, per the Institute of Food Technologists, including “washing,