May 23, 2019 at 06:25AM by CWC I’m totally fine and dandy with brushing my hair, brushing my teeth, and brushing bronzer onto my face, but I just haven’t gotten into (dry) brushing my body. Until now, that is. The practice of dry brushing is exactly what it sounds like: It involves taking a soft-bristled brush and moving it across your body, which should be completely absent of any beauty products. It’s actually a beauty ritual that’s been around for a very long time, and is huge in Ayurveda. Skin pros love it because it’s a holistic way of exfoliating, boosting lymphatic drainage in the body, and improving circulation. “I love dry brushing—it’s my favorite method of body exfoliation because it’s multitasking. I recommend it all the time,” raves celebrity facialist Joanna Vargas, founder of Joanna Vargas Salons and Skincare. “It stimulates your lymphatic system to help move out toxins and bring in good nutrients to every cell in the body.” It’s also a big collagen stimulator, so not only is it helping things move along inside your body, but it’s doing good things for your skin’s appearance. “Dry brushing increases blood flow, which is healthy, but its main purpose is to stimulate collagen production,” says Vargas. I’ve also heard that it can be helpful in smoothing out skin and leave it all-around softer. Fine—sign me up. I got my hands on Joanna Vargas’ own dry brush—the Ritual Brush ($30)—and immediately brought it home to my shower. First off, know
Category: 2019 Health
Plot twist: Jealousy is actually a good thing when it comes to creating your best life
May 23, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC There are lots of emotions I feel before I even get out of bed in the a.m., but these days, jealousy is one of the most common. At least that’s the case on the mornings I scroll through Instagram first thing. When I go that route, I’m inevitably faced with a highlight reel of women on exotic vacations, celebrating their six-figure book deals, or snuggling their chubby-cheeked babies…as I lay there solo, preparing to sit in front of a computer in my apartment all day. Okay, I don’t have it so bad—there are plenty of great things about my life—but it’s human nature to be envious of people who have the things we want, whether it’s a job title, a relationship, or mind-bogglingly clear skin. It’s also human nature to stew over these feelings in silence, or try to stifle them altogether. But according to spiritual teacher and author Biet Simkin, the answer to how to deal with jealousy isn’t to avoid it—that option actually deprives us of a major opportunity to level-up ourselves. In her new book, Don’t Just Sit There!: 44 Insights to Get Your Meditation Practice Off the Cushion and Into the Real World, Simkin refers to this concept as “The Law of Equals.” Essentially, she says, jealousy is a sign that you’ve encountered someone who’s the same as you on some level. Their cameo in your life shines a light on what you really want and shows you that those
The kitchen trick that ensures you’ll always have the materials for buttermilk pancakes
May 23, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC There are some ingredients that show up in a recipe that used to get it banned from my list—like buttermilk. Often, you’ll need just a quarter or half cup of buttermilk, but the stuff in the store is sold in bigger cartons, meaning I’d inevitably have to throw away the remaining half-gallon I never ended up using once it went bad. Honestly, I was not okay with that. Then I was tuned into the best kitchen hack: making buttermilk with vinegar. This sounds bizarre, I know. But trust me, it’s the real deal of kitchen shortcuts. The project takes just minutes, but you’ll pat yourself on the back for your resourcefulness. Keep reading for all the details. First of all…what is buttermilk, exactly? “Traditionally, buttermilk is the liquid that’s leftover after churning butter,” says Abbie Gelman, MS, RD, CDN, of Culinary Nutrition Cuisine in New York City. Surprisingly, “it’s low in fat and contains most of the protein originally in the milk,” says Gellman. As for why people even use it? “Buttermilk adds tenderness and lightens batter,” says Gellman. It’s a star player in food that could use some fluff (pancakes and biscuits), tang (desserts, smoothies, and dips), or melt-in-your-mouthness (chicken). Per the USDA, here’s what you get in a cup of low-fat buttermilk: Calories: 98 Fat: 3 g Saturated Fat: 2 g Protein: 8 g Carbohydrate: 12 g Fiber: 0 g Sugars: 13 g How to make buttermilk with vinegar at home
The kitchen trick that ensures you’ll always have the materials for buttermilk pancakes
May 23, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC There are some ingredients that show up in a recipe that used to get it banned from my list—like buttermilk. Often, you’ll need just a quarter or half cup of buttermilk, but the stuff in the store is sold in bigger cartons, meaning I’d inevitably have to throw away the remaining half-gallon I never ended up using once it went bad. Honestly, I was not okay with that. Then I was tuned into the best kitchen hack: making buttermilk with vinegar. This sounds bizarre, I know. But trust me, it’s the real deal of kitchen shortcuts. The project takes just minutes, but you’ll pat yourself on the back for your resourcefulness. Keep reading for all the details. First of all…what is buttermilk, exactly? “Traditionally, buttermilk is the liquid that’s leftover after churning butter,” says Abbie Gelman, MS, RD, CDN, of Culinary Nutrition Cuisine in New York City. Surprisingly, “it’s low in fat and contains most of the protein originally in the milk,” says Gellman. As for why people even use it? “Buttermilk adds tenderness and lightens batter,” says Gellman. It’s a star player in food that could use some fluff (pancakes and biscuits), tang (desserts, smoothies, and dips), or melt-in-your-mouthness (chicken). Per the USDA, here’s what you get in a cup of low-fat buttermilk: Calories: 98 Fat: 3 g Saturated Fat: 2 g Protein: 8 g Carbohydrate: 12 g Fiber: 0 g Sugars: 13 g How to make buttermilk with vinegar at home
This collagen protein bar recipe will replace all the store-bought bars in your bag
May 22, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC It’s the super power tucked into every wellness woman’s bag, the thing she never leaves the house (or the gym) without, her secret weapon for hanger emergencies: the protein bar. But finding a protein bar that suits your particular palate and dietary preferences can be tricky, which is why we put together this recipe for DIY bars that are customizable to your tastes. The one non-negotiable ingredient? Youtheory® Collagen Powder, which gives your tasty bars a bump of extra protein plus all the beauty-boosting benefits of collagen that help support your hair, skin, nails, and joints. A secret weapon with a secret weapon? That’s a pretty powerful snack. Watch the video to see how to make your own collagen protein bars at home, and get the full recipe below. https://content.jwplatform.com/players/5ltkfQTd-AjgxWzQ7.js Continue Reading… Author Well+Good Editors | Well and Good Selected by iversue
7 mental health experts reveal what most people get wrong about stress
May 22, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC There’s typically only one way we talk about stress: It’s bad. When the focus isn’t on how to prevent it, it’s on all the terrible ways it can ruin your life. Stress can get in the way of good sleep, cause digestive problems, and make you feel depressed. However, the whole stress-is-bad mentality is a bit too simplistic and not entirely accurate of the role (good and bad) that stress plays in our lives. Need proof? Here, mental health exerts share the six most common stress myths they hear on a regular basis—including, yes, that stress is bad. Myth 1: Stress is totally avoidable If your goal is to live a stress-free life, well, it’s proooobably not going to happen unless you somehow live under a rock without internet access. “Many people think that they can or should try to avoid stress. First and foremost, it is impossible to avoid stress—and not even something to strive for,” says Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist, host of Inner Space podcast, and president of Give an Hour. The goal, Dr. Dahlen says, shouldn’t be to avoid stress. Instead, it should be to recognize when we’re experiencing it and manage it in healthy ways. Myth 2: Stress is always a bad thing Stress has a worse reputation than Tati Westbrook right now—but that’s not quite fair, says clinical psychologist and Albert Einstein College of Medicine – Yeshiva University associate professor Simon Rego, Psy.D. “Stress can
The psychological reason so many people seek summer flings—and how to opt out
May 22, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC From “Summer Nights” in Grease to “Summer Love” by Justin Timberlake and “Cool for the Summer” by Demi Lovato, there’s essentially an entire musical genre dedicated to the idea of getting hot and heavy when temperatures rise. These songs have long romanticized the notion that you can have a summertime fling that’ll be amazing and fulfilling for a few months, leaving you with memories that last a lifetime come the end of Labor Day Weekend. It’s a novel concept, sure, but one I’ve never bought into. That’s because for 34 years and counting, I’ve been my own summer fling—and honestly, the matchup continues to rock my world every single sunny season. I’ve chilled in air-conditioned movie theaters solo, with all the popcorn and armchair room for me, myself, and I—with no nagging need to rely on a Mr. Right Now to get me through the dog days of summer. I’ve also gone to the beach with my best girlfriends and had picnics in the park with my pooch, no summertime stud required. But anecdotally at least, I’ve always felt like I’m in the minority with my lack of care for a snagging a light and breezy liaison. Am I denying myself of something bigger by not seeking a summer love other than myself? And why, exactly, do people seem to feel the heat when it comes to hooking up in the summer anyway? “I think there are pressures to be in a couple
The psychological reason so many people seek summer flings—and how to opt out
May 22, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC From “Summer Nights” in Grease to “Summer Love” by Justin Timberlake and “Cool for the Summer” by Demi Lovato, there’s essentially an entire musical genre dedicated to the idea of getting hot and heavy when temperatures rise. These songs have long romanticized the notion that you can have a summertime fling that’ll be amazing and fulfilling for a few months, leaving you with memories that last a lifetime come the end of Labor Day Weekend. It’s a novel concept, sure, but one I’ve never bought into. That’s because for 34 years and counting, I’ve been my own summer fling—and honestly, the matchup continues to rock my world every single sunny season. I’ve chilled in air-conditioned movie theaters solo, with all the popcorn and armchair room for me, myself, and I—with no nagging need to rely on a Mr. Right Now to get me through the dog days of summer. I’ve also gone to the beach with my best girlfriends and had picnics in the park with my pooch, no summertime stud required. But anecdotally at least, I’ve always felt like I’m in the minority with my lack of care for a snagging a light and breezy liaison. Am I denying myself of something bigger by not seeking a summer love other than myself? And why, exactly, do people seem to feel the heat when it comes to hooking up in the summer anyway? “I think there are pressures to be in a couple
The biggest mistake people make when buying headphones, according to an audiologist
May 22, 2019 at 01:05PM by CWC As far as I’m concerned, the beats of Cardi B should only be listed to at maximum volume. Audiologists, however, strongly disagree. Today, in a half-hearted attempt to safeguard my hearing (stop nagging me, mom!), I asked two ear experts who makes the best headphones and earbuds. Apparently, the noise-cancellation ability of a given headset matters way more than the make and model. “The whole point is to be able to hear your music without having to turn the volume up just to overcome the noise around you, or the noise on the street, let’s say,” explains Andrew Resnick, AuD, an audiologist in New York City. “It’s not so much a matter of whether they’re over-the-ear or in-ear. It’s how good a job they do at keeping out external sound.” In general, headphones that cover your ears, such as Bose QuietComfort ($349), create a better buffer against ambient noise with their soft, pillowy cushioning. But some in-ear models are now designed with noise cancellation as well; check out Power Beats Pro ($250) and the Plantronics BackBeat Go ($108). So the next time you’re on the market for a new device that will help you rock out, go somewhere—like Best Buy—that allows you to try them out. If you can still hear the hustle and bustle of the store around you, then sorry, those probably aren’t the best headphones. Once you purchase a pair and create a fresh playlist to test them out with,
The biggest mistake people make when buying headphones, according to an audiologist
May 22, 2019 at 01:05PM by CWC As far as I’m concerned, the beats of Cardi B should only be listed to at maximum volume. Audiologists, however, strongly disagree. Today, in a half-hearted attempt to safeguard my hearing (stop nagging me, mom!), I asked two ear experts who makes the best headphones and earbuds. Apparently, the noise-cancellation ability of a given headset matters way more than the make and model. “The whole point is to be able to hear your music without having to turn the volume up just to overcome the noise around you, or the noise on the street, let’s say,” explains Andrew Resnick, AuD, an audiologist in New York City. “It’s not so much a matter of whether they’re over-the-ear or in-ear. It’s how good a job they do at keeping out external sound.” In general, headphones that cover your ears, such as Bose QuietComfort ($349), create a better buffer against ambient noise with their soft, pillowy cushioning. But some in-ear models are now designed with noise cancellation as well; check out Power Beats Pro ($250) and the Plantronics BackBeat Go ($108). So the next time you’re on the market for a new device that will help you rock out, go somewhere—like Best Buy—that allows you to try them out. If you can still hear the hustle and bustle of the store around you, then sorry, those probably aren’t the best headphones. Once you purchase a pair and create a fresh playlist to test them out with,