April 17, 2019 at 11:45AM by CWC Yeah, yeah. April showers “bring May flowers.” But in my opinion, the fourth month of the year is special for another reason entirely. The warmer weather provides the ideal excuse to remix the contents of your beauty cabinet. Since you’re already sporting SPF all year round (right?), we asked dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, to share the winner for a fresh spring beauty routine. Because of the stronger UV light during this glorious time of year, the dermatologist recommends doubling up on Vitamin C by applying it in the morning and come nightfall. “An antioxidant helps protect skin against free radical assaults by neutralizing oxidative stress that can cause cell damage,” explains Dendy Engelman, MD, another dermatologist in New York City. “In the springtime we are spending more time in the sun with more exposure to free radicals. It’s the perfect time to add vitamin C to the regimen.” “An antioxidant helps protect skin against free radical assaults by neutralizing oxidative stress that can cause cell damage.” Amazing as this antioxidant may be, however, Dr. Gohara warns that those with skin conditions like rosacea or eczema should consult their doctor before heading to sephora.com to stock up on the serum. Same goes for those with acne, who should stick to applying the antioxidant only once a day, according to Dr. Engelman. “Too much vitamin C can be irritating and cause acne breakouts in certain skin types, so it’s best to just stick to one topical
Category: 2019 Health
5 extraordinary egg salad recipes that don’t use an entire jar of mayonnaise
April 17, 2019 at 09:54AM by CWC You might not know what you’re having for dinner tonight, but I can tell you what you’re having next week. Egg salad. If dying eggs—which you can do easily with turmeric and matcha—is a yearly tradition at your house, chances are having egg salad has become somewhat of a tradition, too. Hey, even though your sandwich may be tinted green, you don’t want all that perfectly good protein to go to waste, right? But here’s the thing: Sometimes egg salad recipes are downright dull. And it often isn’t very healthy either. (It requires how much mayo?) This year, try switching things up with a healthy, upgraded egg salad recipes. These are so delicious that eating your leftovers will be—dare I say—a religious experience. 5 healthy egg salad recipes without all the mayo Photo: Nutrition Stripped 1. Savory and spicy egg salad If you want your egg salad with a little kick to it, Well+Good Wellness Council member McKel Hill, RDN‘s recipe will hit just the spot. Made with horseradish, dijon mustard, fresh dill, and fresh chives it has a robust flavor profile. Oh, and there’s only two tablespoons of mayonnaise in the whole recipe. Photo: hummusapien 2. Avocado chickpea egg salad Leftovers + avocado = a creamy, healthy fat bomb for your toast. Besides the eggs, chickpeas also serve as a good protein source in this bite, ensuring you won’t be reaching in your Easter basket for candy an hour later. It’s also
Everything you actually need to know about vegan beauty
April 17, 2019 at 09:32AM by CWC Whenever I hear the word “vegan,” my mind immediately goes to food. I picture fields of vegetables, fridges full of alt-milk, and almond butter galore (excuse me as I start drooling). But veganism applies to what we use on our skin as well—there’s a huge slice of skin-care and makeup products that apply the same animal-friendly principles to beauty, and it’s important to know about this arm of the industry. More so than in the food world, vegan beauty is often misinterpreted—particularly when compared to “clean” beauty, which is a totally different thing altogether. In part, this is because there are tons of different beauty distinctions out there from EcoCert to cruelty-free to vegan itself. So to clear up the confusion, here’s what the pros want you to know about it. The 411: What *is* vegan beauty? Kinda like with food, vegan beauty means that the product has zero animal-based ingredients inside it. “Vegan means that a product does not use animal-derived ingredients, and it should mean that the product has not been tested on animals,” says Sarah Villafranco, MD, doctor and founder of Osmia Organics. Examples of these kinds of ingredients (that are not vegan) include beeswax, honey, lanolin, and different types of milk. “Vegan claims should also include the processing of ingredients, which should not involve animal-derived elements,” she explains. “Sugar, for example, is sometimes processed using charred bone, which would render the ingredient non-vegan.” Michelle Connolly, director of merchandising and planning
5 inner thigh workouts that are out-of-this-world effective
April 17, 2019 at 09:22AM by CWC Staple leg workouts typically include the traditional moves that burn out your quads, hamstrings, and calves—you know, the big guys. But, the underdog leg muscles need love too, which is why it’s high time that I find some inner thigh workouts to help me round out leg day. Inner thigh muscles are particularly important because they help with stability of the pelvis (who knew?). “The adductors are a group of five muscles: gracilis, pectineus, adductor brevis, adductor longus, and adductor magnus, and they all work to move the thigh to the midline as well as to stabilize the pelvis,” says Erika Bloom, founder of Erika Bloom Pilates. “To tone them effectively, work them in various ranges of motion to hit all five. It’s also important to remember to work them both eccentrically and concentrically, and also challenge them as stabilizers.” This part is key because pelvic stability can help to prevent all sorts of pain. “The adductors help with pelvic stability, which can be a factor in back pain, hip pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, and overall strength,” says Bloom. “It’s also important that the adductors are balanced with the other leg muscles for proper biomechanics to prevent injury, which is especially true if you’re doing exercises, like spinning, that primarily target other muscle groups.” And with that: keep scrolling for 5 inner thigh workouts to try. Photo: Erika Bloom Inner thigh lift 3-ways Start by lying on your right side with your right
Why the dramatic rise in sexually transmitted infections is a major wakeup call
April 17, 2019 at 08:47AM by CWC When was the last time you got tested for sexual transmitted infections? Ask any group of people this question and responses will vary greatly based on their relationship status, age, insurance situation, and a multitude of other factors. But given that rates of most sexually transmitted infections are skyrocketing throughout the United States, it’s more important than ever to be certain of your status. Let this sink in: According to the most recent CDC data, a record 2,295,739 cases of STIs were reported among both men and women of all ethnicities in 2017. Chlamydia diagnoses rose by nearly 7 percent from 2016 to 2017, with 1.7 million new cases recorded. Two-thirds of these cases were among men and women ages 15-24. There were 555,608 new gonorrhea cases in 2017—a massive spike of 18.6 percent from the previous year, which coincided with an alarming increase in cases of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea. Then, there’s syphilis. After dropping to all-time lows in the early 2000s, syphilis has made a remarkable comeback in recent years, rising by 10.5 percent between 2016 and 2017. Out of the new cases, over 30,000 were reported in adults—primarily gay and bisexual men—and 918 were found in newborns who contracted it from their mothers in utero. “Combined, reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis have reached the highest levels seen in more than two decades,” says Elizabeth Torrone, PhD, an epidemiologist in the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. Oh, and let’s not forget about
This homemade cinnamon roll is the real breakfast of champions
April 17, 2019 at 07:24AM by CWC Cinnamon rolls are everything a sweet treat should be. The only problem is that the warm and cozy baked good isn’t exactly the most nutritious way to start the day. With a few adjustments, it’s completely possible to create a healthy cinnamon roll that contributes to the most important meal of the day. Typically made with white flour, loads of sugar, multiple sticks of butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese, traditional cinnamon rolls are a far cry from a hearty bowl of oatmeal. After sifting through all the so-called healthy recipes on the internet, I found one that takes the cake. Natalie Thomas, the recipe developer behind Feasting on Fruit, is a pro at creating healthier versions of desserts. And no, not just by swapping the type of flour. Thomas totally reimagines sweet treats. She was baffled by the fact that cinnamon rolls still get away with masquerading as “breakfast” after all these years. But Thomas’ cinnamon roll is oil-free, gluten-free, and vegan, without sacrificing flavor. “They have filling and frosting—two creamy, sweet, normally sugar-laden components, yet it’s still allowed before 10 am? It’s a double standard, I tell you,” she writes. “Now these cinnamon rolls can reasonably be classified as breakfast. It’s a much healthier morning meal than anything that pops out of a cardboard tube.” It might be hard to believe cinnamon rolls can still be as tasty without all the sugar, but this recipe is proof. Using vitamin-loaded sweet potatoes
To read someone’s emotional barometer, look to their hands (not their face) for body-language clues
April 17, 2019 at 07:14AM by CWC I always feel like I can get a read on someone based on their facial expression. Maybe it’s because my face is very expressive and everyone tells me that they know when I’m feeling stressed or pissed simply because of the grimaces I make (and the eye rolling, of course). But actually, according to a body-language pro, the real way to read someone is to look at their hands. “Your hands tell everything about your emotions and reveal how you’re feeling at the moment,” says body-language expert Blanca Cobb, PsyD. “I call them your emotional barometer.” The signals that show up via your hands is a neurological response, actually. “It’s often a limbic brain response,” says body-language expert Patti Wood. “We might think of gestures as something we control, but that’s not necessarily true. Your hands have other jobs, too—they help us access information from our brain, and to gesture helps our flow of thoughts. Sometimes we’re making symbolic representations of what we’re talking about.” “Your hands tell everything about your emotions and reveal how you’re feeling at the moment. I call them your emotional barometer.” —body-language expert Blanca Cobb, PsyD Upon learning this, I started noticing all sorts of hand signals, as if the appendages have a literal mind of their own. But apparently I was late to the game, since my boyfriend’s response to the intel was along the lines of, “I could’ve told you that.” How, you may ask? Every
Put off laundry one more week with this $7 “dry shampoo” for clothes
April 17, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC Confession time: The only thing I hate more than washing my hair is washing my clothes. I mean, wearing them once doesn’t warrant a full spin cycle, right? And don’t even get me started on dry cleaning, because that stuff is e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e. Because of this, at any given moment, approximately 50 percent of my already-worn wardrobe lives in what I like to call the “in-between pile” on a chair in the corner of my bedroom. Said pile exists because I can’t bring myself to actually suds up my clothes after a single use, but I also can’t totally justify putting them back into my closet after they’ve already been worn. Super gross? Yes, 100 percent. I might be a complete troll about this type of thing, but in fairness, you would be too if you didn’t have a washing machine and had to schlep your laundry six blocks any time you wanted clean clothes (anyone? anyone?). Luckily for me and anyone else out there who has this type of complicated relationship with their laundry (please, for the love of the Internet, I hope I’m not the only one), Love Home and Planet recently released a new Dry Wash Spray ($7) that will help you get at least one extra wear out of your favorite going-out top without feeling (or smelling) disgusting. Touted as “dry shampoo for your clothes,” the spray helps you delay washing by spritzing your clothes with something sweet. While it’s undoubtedly
Surprise: aloe vera is as good for your digestion as it is for your skin
April 17, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC When I was a kid, anytime I got a bad sunburn—aka literally every family vacation—my mom would head to the drugstore and buy a lotion with “aloe vera” slapped in big letters on the front of the bottle. Ever since, I’ve always known that any time I had red, angry skin, I just needed to look for some kind of product with aloe vera—specifically, the thick, clear liquid inside the leaves of the aloe vera plant—in order to find some relief. But recently, I’ve noticed it in a different aisle at the grocery store: the beverage section. Because apparently, drinking aloe vera juice can have its own benefits, too. Wondering why someone would want to drink this stuff in the first place? Keep reading for eight reasons why it’s beneficial, possible side effects, and a quick recipe so you can try it at home. What are the actual aloe vera juice benefits I should know about? 1. It’s good for digestion. This is the major reason why someone might start incorporating aloe vera juice into their diet, says registered dietitian Melissa Rifkin, RD. “Aloe vera juice helps to maintain the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut to keep your gut flora balanced,” she says. “Having balanced gut bacteria can improve overall digestion and feeling bloated or gassy.” She says it can also be helpful for people who struggle with constipation, since it’s high in fiber and boosts the water content in your intestines—pushing everything through
Where, oh where, have all the capri leggings gone?
April 17, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC We are gathered here today to say farewell to the world’s most unflattering workout bottom: the capri legging. For journalistic integrity, I must disclose that I used to wear capri leggings to work out. I was but a young, impressionable college student on the cusp of discovering fashionable activewear and I would dance my way through Zumba in cotton capris. (That sentence is completely antithetical to who I am now.) Capris seemed to be, as Hannah Montana once said, the best of both worlds—less revealing than shorts, but cooler than full-on pants. They are not the best of any world, though. And luckily, one good thing we’re doing as a society is phasing these short leggings out of style. In L.A., you’d be hard pressed to find women wearing capri leggings. Step into The Studio (MDR), Y7, or any other boutique facility, and you’ll see women wearing leggings or biker shorts—and I have it on good authority that it’s the same in New York. Flipping through the new arrivals sections of the trendiest brands in workout clothing (think Year of Ours, P.E. Nation, and Alala) in a journalistic process I call “research” and also “shopping for myself,” I’m hard pressed to find tights in this egregious limbo length. Capri leggings, I want to be clear, are not the same as cropped leggings. This is a very important distinction. Capri leggings hit somewhere between your knee and mid-calf. Cropped leggings typically hit a couple