March 21, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Even though there always seems to be a new trendy wellness tonic people are talking about (golden milk! CBD sparkling water!), nothing has withstood the test of time quite like green tea. One of the most popular teas in the world, it’s accessible virtually no matter where you are. But don’t call it basic. There’s a very good reason why everyone from wellness influencers, doctors, and nutrition experts love it—including registered dietitian and nutritionist Maya Feller, RDN. “In my opinion, having a cup of green tea is great!” she says. Green tea (and all the antioxidants it contains) offers all kinds of cancer-fighting, bloat-reducing, metabolism-boosting benefits. But some people claim a cup of tea isn’t the only way to get those perks. Green tea extract—which contains the concentrated antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and flavonoids of green tea—is available in capsule form, too. But here’s what you should know before adding it to your supplement routine. What are the potential green tea extract benefits? One thing green tea extract likely cannot do? Promote weight loss—most human trials show only a small (and not often significant) effect on body weight. It also likely cannot help with exercise performance (research is very mixed on this front), despite claims to the contrary. Yet it remains a very common ingredient in diet pills and other supplements. However, green tea extract does have some potential benefits, including the following: 1. It could help with cognitive function. Feller credits several components of green tea
Category: 2019 Health
There’s a depressing reason time flies faster as we age—so here’s how to slow things down
March 21, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC Digesting that the first day of spring came and passed was a toughie—and not just because the park outside my apartment still looks like the forest from the Blair Witch Project. Rather it’s because of how fast entire seasons—and thus, years—seem to fly by. Honestly, wasn’t it just the holidays? Well, new research shows you’re not crazy—time does seem to be moving more quickly, but the reason why is kind of a downer. We’re all getting old, and our brain needs new viewing material. The theory, recently published in European Review, hypothesized that as we get older, the speed at which we process new images slows down, because our seasoned psyches are simply processing fewer new images. As the web of nerves and neurons grows with age, it gives more resistance to the flow of electrical signals. That negatively impacts the rate at which fresh images are acquired and processed with age. Basically, we’re seeing less new stuff than we used to but within the same brackets of time, and this lower density of stimulus makes time feel as if it’s passing faster. “People are often amazed at how much they remember from days that seemed to last forever in their youth,” lead researcher Adrian Bejan, PhD and professor of mechanical engineering at Duke, tells Science Daily. “It’s not that their experiences were much deeper or more meaningful, it’s just that they were being processed in rapid fire.” “People are often amazed at how much
Hot cocoa with chocolate protein powder makes my post-workout life infinitely better
March 21, 2019 at 01:22PM by CWC I think of my chocolate protein powder the same way I think of kale: a necessary nutrition evil. The taste isn’t exactly like Nutella, the texture leaves much to be desired, and the after-taste—gah, don’t get me started. But alas, I’m into the post-workout tonic—which I gulp down with a 8 ounces of water whilst holding my nose—for the influx of nutrients in each sip. I’m so invested, in fact, that I recently found a way more appetizing way to lap up all the benefits of the bottled dust. Two words for you: hot cocoa. While staring into the cold, clumpy contents of a shake last week, I sighed dramatically to to myself and thought: “If only this were warm, filled with marshmallows, and didn’t taste vaguely like chilled chalk.” Then, in a eureka moment, I heated up some almond milk and poured in my usual scoop of chocolate plant-based protein. I took one sip, then another sip, sizing up my gourmet creation. “This is good,” I told myself. (It was a solid B+.) “This could still be better,” I decided. (An A- would be nice.) While staring into the cold, clumpy contents of a shake last week, I sighed dramatically to to myself and thought: “If only this were warm, filled with marshmallows, and didn’t taste vaguely like chilled chalk.” Sure that someone somewhere in cyberspace would have taken the time to trial-and-error their way to a blog-worthy protein hot cocoa, I Googled.
“Gymtimidation” is real—fight it with the 6 best beginner workouts on YouTube
March 21, 2019 at 12:20PM by CWC When I first started going to the gym, I tried to get there early in the morning so I could awkwardly fumble with the weight machines before a line of people waiting to use them formed behind me. According to a new study, I’m not the only one who’s experienced the intimidation that can come from working out at the gym. The study, a joint effort between OnePoll and the protein powder company IsoPure, surveyed 2,000 Americans about their fitness habits and found 50 percent have faced gymtimidation, reports the New York Post. Gymtimidation takes on many forms—not knowing how to use the equipment, feeling overwhelmed by all the different types of workouts and classes available, not wanting to work out among fit individuals—and every one is reasonable. You don’t have to hit the gym to start up a solid fitness routine. Instead, ease into fitness with some free at-home workouts on YouTube, where the only one who’s going to judge your dance moves and pushup skills is your dog. (Lovingly, of course.) Fight “gymtimidation” with the best beginner workouts on YouTube [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_nZePWZo3M] 1. Dance workout: The Fitness Marshall For anyone too shy to bust a move in a high-intensity dance class, meet The Fitness Marshall. You don’t have to get the moves right, which makes it hard not to have fun. And that’s exactly the message put forth. The backup dancers aren’t professionals either. His squad also includes his boyfriend/manager, Cameron, who makes plenty of appearances.
The 6 CBD products with the highest marks from cannabis experts
March 21, 2019 at 12:17PM by CWC CBD and Ariana Grande have at least one thing in common: Both of them are trending in a, “Click, click, click and post/ Drip-drip-dripped in gold” kind of way. Cannabidiol (the non-psychoactive part of the cannabis plant) is seemingly in every product even remotely related to wellness these days, from facial oils to bath bombs to honey…making it hard to really know what to go for. So at Well+Good’s recent CBD-themed TALK at New York City’s Made by We, we asked a panel of industry experts to share their go-to recommendations. Among those on stage were Chelsea Leyland, a medical cannabis and epilepsy activist, Mary Pryor, the co-founder and CEO of Cannaclusive, and Anthony Saniger, founder and CEO of Standard Dose. Each of them spends a good amount of time ingesting, slathering, and even soaking in the wellness world’s latest MVP ingredient, so their recs are worth writing down—whether you’re a CBD newbie or have been interested in the plant’s, er, medicinal benefits for years and years. Get metaphorically (and in some cases, literally) lit with these 6 expert-approved CBD products. Potli Hemp Infused Raw Honey, $54 “[Potli is] one of my favorite in the food category,” said Saniger of the CBD-infused honey. “I use it every night before I go to sleep. It just helps me calm down.” Tonic OG, $65 A blend of CBD and ashwagandha (a stress-busting adaptogen), this tonic goes right underneath your tongue to help with anxiety. It’s a favorite of Pryor’s. Whoopi and Maya products, price
The easiest way to wreck plank form is also the most common modification
March 21, 2019 at 12:13PM by CWC The proper form for a perfect forearm plank is pretty easy to remember: Ass down, abs tights, try not to cry while your trainer makes you hold it for three minutes. But if you’re anything like me, you’re constantly looking for ways to make the move easier without sacrificing its benefits. And until recently, I thought I’d found the world’s best cheat: Clasping my hands together on the ground. It made my planks so much less painful, and because no trainer had ever corrected me, I figured I was good to go. That is, until a trainer at SLT this morning completely burst my bubble, and let me know that actually, I was doing myself a disservice by trying to hack my way through my core workout in this way. “The ideal position for your forearms in a plank is to have them parallel to one another—think like the number 11,” says SLT instructor Amanda Jenny. “Your elbows should be directly under your shoulders and your palms should press down into the carriage. When you clasp your hands, it often causes the upper back to round, the shoulders to cave in and the elbows to slide out from under the shoulders. As a result, your form and posture will suffer.” So basically, even if the rest of your form is perfect, holding your hands together can mess it all up, which is not exactly the best news to someone who’s been working this modification for going
You can’t control every minute of your life, but learning your “Time Type” helps every relationship
March 21, 2019 at 11:43AM by CWC Out of all the Harry Potter movies, I’ve rewatched The Prisoner of Azkaban the most. Not because of the pure majesty of Hagrid’s hippogriff, Buckbeak. Not because Hermione punching Malfoy is arguably one of the most iconic scene in all eight films and all seven books. I’m just love the time-turner, a trinket Hermoine Granger uses to turn back time at Hogwarts to take more courses. And ultimately save the day. Having total control over every second of our lives is pretty much the collective dream. And learning your “Time Type,” or how you operate best within the constraints of the clock, is the kind of self-discovery magic even we muggles are privy to. Thrive Global reports that there are two major temporal personalities: “the watchdog” and “the lounger.” As we grow up, we’re unwittingly molding ourselves into one of these understandings of time, and soon, we begin judging others by how well (or poorly) they adhere to our schedules, explains Steven Griffith, author of The Time Cleanse. “Eventually, [developing a Time Type] resulted in us each measuring life by units of time, which then extended to others,” writes Griffith, “and we began valuing others based on their relationship with time in comparison with our relationship with it.” Familiarizing yourself with your own time-management style and those of your friends and family can ensure clearer, more empathetic communication. (Read: “You’re 20 minutes late for brunch!” will turn into something more amiable like, “I understand you’re lounger, but I’m a watch dog and
The secret ingredient Drew Barrymore’s nutritionist uses to sweeten up her salad dressing
March 21, 2019 at 11:19AM by CWC I hate to admit it now, but it wasn’t until I was well out of college that I started to rethink my salad dressing choices. It took me years to realize just how much sugar was lurking in the bottle. I’m blame this on my Midwest upbringing, which involved a lot of Hidden Valley ranch. Now, for a healthy balance, I’m taking a page out of a celebrity nutritionist’s playbook to sweeten up the condiment the right way. When Drew Barrymore‘s nutritionist, Kimberly Snyder, recently shared her Pomegranate Kale Salad recipe, I noticed something interesting. She uses coconut nectar to add a touch of sweetness to the base of white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Now I’m familiar with Stevia and agave, but this one’s new to me. Essentially, it’s made by extracting sap from coconut tree blossoms, making it taste kind of like an extra-light maple syrup. “A little bit of white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil go a long way when making this salad dressing. Combining in a bit of coconut nectar helps sweeten it up while providing great health benefits,” she writes. “Coconut nectar actually contains up to seventeen amino acids and is also loaded with minerals and vitamins B and C.” “Coconut nectar actually contains up to seventeen amino acids and is also loaded with minerals and vitamins B and C.” While many sweeteners are high on the glycemic index, coconut nectar is low in fructose,
Vacation time and being off work are no longer the same, so avoiding burnout is trickier than ever
March 21, 2019 at 09:00AM by CWC Picture yourself on a restorative vacation: You’re swaying in a hammock, sipping a fruity cocktail, and letting all your troubles slip away with the sound of each lapping wave. That’s the dream, right? In reality, some of that vision may ring be true, but there’s a good chance that while you’re enjoying that piña colada, you’re also scanning your inbox for fear of missing an urgent work email, or lurking on Slack after your phone’s push notifications lured you there, or simply ruminating about your nine-to-five. No matter where you are in the world, part of you is mentally not OOO. If this scenario sounds all too familiar, you’re hardly alone, according to a 2018 study (called The State of American Vacation) from the U.S. Travel Association and market-research firm GfK of more than 4,000 full-time American workers with paid time off. It found that more than half of employees don’t use all their vacation time—and all signs point to this being a deeply-rooted problem: While this year’s results show the average employee takes 17.2 days of vacation per year, the long-term average from 1978 through 2000 was 20.3 days. What the heck happened? Well, a number of things—including shifts in vacation policy, workplace culture and expectations, and the connectivity that technological advancements allow for. In fact, more than half of respondents cite work-related reasons as the culprit chaining them to their desks, like the fear of coming across as replaceable (61 percent), having
Your skin and stools are the first responders when something’s up with your gut
March 21, 2019 at 08:08AM by CWC Over the years of dealing with my skin woes, I’ve learned a very important thing: Inflammation is behind a ton of conditions, from rogue breakouts to things like rosacea. Usually, said inflammation starts in the gut, which means that while skin is a giveaway that something could be up with the microbiome, so too, are conditions like constipation and diarrhea. In other words: If you suspect something is up with your microbiome, look to your skin and your stools for validation. When you think about it, though, your entire body sends signals to you about what’s going on beneath the surface. “Digestion is the root of all health—something that Ayurveda has known for thousands of years,” says Jessa Blades, herbalist and natural beauty and wellness expert. “A healthy body means having ways to get rid of waste and toxins through different pathways: kidneys and urine, skin and sweat, and through bile and the intestines.” Since everything’s so incredibly connected, I’m taking a deep dive into the two biggest indicators that something’s up with your gut: your skin and your stools. So what’s up with the skin-gut connection? For starters, a little biology refresher: “Your gastrointestinal tract, or digestive system, runs from your mouth to your anus and includes your stomach and intestines,” explains Niket Sonpal, MD, a New York-based internist and gastroenterologist. “It’s responsible for not only breaking down your foods, but also absorbing the nutrients from that food and filtering any waste products