March 05, 2019 at 08:33AM by CWC From low-carb burritos to Indian-inspired stews served over rice, beans are a key ingredient in many warm, flavorful dishes. Especially in the winter, it feels natural to drift toward these soul-feeding staples. But let’s be real here: A healthy serving of beans is often accompanied by room-clearing farts. Fortunately, the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda—a holistic medicine practice that hails from India—offers a time-tested solution for post-legume indigestion. I first learned about asafoetida powder, or hing, during an Ayurvedic consultation with Laura Coburn, student of Ayurveda and director of serenity at The Inns of Aurora in New York State. Extracted from the ferula plant, and frequently blended with spices such cumin seeds, black pepper, and ginger root, the active ingredient in asafoetida has been used as a digestive aid in India for centuries. While little scientific research supports its efficacy in helping human digestion, the pungent powder maintains an age-old reputation for settling an unhappy stomach. According to Coburn, Ayurvedic practices often call for pairing asafoetida in recipes dense with hard-to-digest foods like (you guessed it) beans. For instance, it is commonly used in a mung bean dish known as kitcheri. “Asafoetida helps break down the mung beans so that you don’t get a build-up of gas or bloating like you sometimes get when you eat lentils or beans,” Coburn tells me of the “life-changing” herb extract. People who identify with a vata dosha and experience digestive issues swear by it. Ironically, the smell of most asafoetida blends is stifling, according to Coburn.
Category: 2019 Health
Why knee injury rates from running haven’t budged over the last 40 years
March 05, 2019 at 08:30AM by CWC There’s an all-too-familiar story among ex-runners that goes something like: I ran X amount of miles a day until I blew out my knee. Growing up, I heard my dad tell his own take on this narrative again and again. “At one point, I logged 10 miles every day until a knee injury sidelined me,” he said. But there’s always that pivotal “until” in these type of recollections, that moment when you can no longer participate in the beloved sport shared by 60 million people in America alone. When I recently visited Brooks Running’s HQ in Seattle, I learned two major statistics about this particular affliction: Its rates have completely plateau’d over the last 40 years and it’s the most common injury sustained on the run. And the why isn’t so clear. In attempt to find an answer, I took a deep, deep dive through past research conducted on the subject and spoke to experts in the field. In the end, it was kind of a selfish endeavor, TBH. Because here’s the thing: Once you’ve had a taste of the kind of euphoria that can come along with lacing up your shoes and hitting the trail/road/treadmill, the idea of one day leaving the sport behind seems equally terrifying as the possibility of sustaining the injury in the first place. Below, experts weigh in on why knee injuries persist and every step you can take to run injury-free through 5Ks, 10Ks, and marathons far in the future. Photo:
Finally, someone found an effective way to limit excess screen time
March 05, 2019 at 08:00AM by CWC Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimized by screen time. Even though you probably didn’t actually raise your hand, there’s a good chance that if you’re the proud owner of any kind of digital device, you’ve felt some of its nasty potential effects. (Hi, skin issues, relationship issues, and general happiness issues!) And since many smartphones have enabled a tech-use-monitoring feature, you’d think that we’d all lean into some form of a self-imposed digital detox. But, a lot of us definitely haven’t—and, hey, maybe it would all be for naught anyway. According to the results of a recently released survey of 1,000 people conducted by Mojo Vision, 54 percent of participants reported that attempting to cut back their reliance on tech use did little to change their long-term habits. Oh, and a third of the respondents said an intent toward moderation either had no effect or ultimately led to a screen-time spike. Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say, OMFG, what the heck is wrong with all of us addicts? Part of the problem with our smartphone reliance comes from the fact that, well, it’s literally difficult to live your life in 2019 without smartphones and iWhatevers. “It is all about balance,” says Goali Saedi Bocci, PhD, clinical psychologist and author of The Social Media Workbook for Teens: Skills to Help You Balance Screen Time, Manage Stress, and Take Charge of Your Life. “Life without cell phones and our devices can seem impossible
Comprehensive study of 650,000 children finds no link between MMR vaccine and autism
March 05, 2019 at 07:53AM by CWC As debate rages about vaccination requirements and who to blame for a spate of measles outbreaks throughout the United States, a new study provides more statistical certainty that there is no relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. For the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at Copenhagen’s Statens Serum Institut used a population registry to assess the risk of autism among 657,461 children born in Denmark between 1999 and 2010. Scientists studied the participants through 2013, of whom 6,517 were diagnosed with autism during this timeframe. They concluded that that these diagnoses were not correlated with vaccination against measles, mumps, and rubella. “The study strongly supports that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism, does not trigger autism in susceptible children, and is not associated with clustering of autism cases after vaccination.” “No increased risk for autism after MMR vaccination was consistently observed in subgroups of children defined according to sibling history of autism, autism risk factors (based on a disease risk score) or other childhood vaccinations, or during specified time periods after vaccination,” the study authors write. “The study strongly supports that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism, does not trigger autism in susceptible children, and is not associated with clustering of autism cases after vaccination,” the paper concludes. “It adds to previous studies through significant additional statistical power and by addressing hypotheses of susceptible subgroups and clustering of cases.” This isn’t the first large-scale study
You’ll love these fermented beauty products as much as your kombucha cocktails
March 05, 2019 at 06:43AM by CWC Ever since I discovered that fermented foods are key for a happy, healthy gut, I’ve been downing the kombucha and eating all of the sauerkraut and kimchi I can. After all, that fermentation gives a serious boost of probiotics and other microbiome-friendly materials while giving off that tangy, tangy taste. And then I started hearing whisperings of using fermented ingredients on your face. Say wha? Probiotics are good for your skin, so it does make sense that fermented beauty products are blowing up in the skin-care aisles. “I love recommending products with fermented ingredients because the fermentation process gives them a super boost,” raves Angelina Umansky, skin-care guru and founder of Spa Radiance. Their main glow-inducing superpower is that they’re way more bioavailable than other skin-care ingredients, due to their molecule size. “When fermented elements are added to natural beauty products, the microbes break down the molecules into a smaller, more absorbable size,” says Umansky. This means the ingredients are better able to do their job, whether it’s fighting acne or fighting free radicals. Their main glow-inducing superpower is that they’re way more bioavailable than other skin-care ingredients, due to their molecule size. Shannon McLinden, founder and CEO of clean beauty brand Farmhouse Fresh, agrees, noting that the fermentation process releases more microorganisms with boosted antioxidant content. “When I work with a mung bean, for instance, the same profile of antioxidant and phenolic compounds get boosted, which is really vital. What’s super exciting about
Your ultimate guide to cleaning jewelry naturally, from insiders who know
March 05, 2019 at 06:20AM by CWC Although my clothes change everyday, my jewelry remains the same at all times. As in: They’re literally a part of me by now. I sleep, work, sweat, and repeat while rocking my couple of necklaces and handful of earrings—for better or for worse. The worse part of the spectrum? My jewels definitely get dirty. I may know how to clean everything from myself to my apartment, but I’m pretty clueless when it comes to knowing how to clean jewelry. So I tapped jewelry pros for insider tips on making sure your precious jewelry—which is likely a part of you, too—stays clean and shiny like the gems that they are. “All jewelry can collect dirt or smudges from wear and handling,” says Jess Hannah Revesz of J. Hannah Jewelry. “Silver jewelry tarnishes with exposure to air and light, which means it will regularly need to be cleaned to keep it looking fresh.” If you’re dealing with gold, on the other hand, it’s less maintenance. “Gold never tarnishes, so wiping it with a microfiber cloth to remove any fingerprints usually does the trick,” she says. “Silver jewelry tarnishes with exposure to air and light, which means it will regularly need to be cleaned to keep it looking fresh.” —Jess Hannah Revesz But it’s not just the dirty air and your fingers touching it that makes jewelry get dirty. “It all depends on what materials [your jewelry] is exposed to,” explains Revesz. “Some lotions, perfumes, or cosmetics will
Follow ‘The Platinum Rule’ to be the best LGBTQ+ ally you can be
March 05, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC One day, I was a single, kissing virgin high-schooler, and the next I was making out with the captain of the girls’ field hockey team. Then in college, I dated a stream of folks who resembled either Keira Knightley in Bend It Like Beckham or Alana Austin from Motocrossed (they’re straight-up queer icons—I swear). But after graduating, I moved to New York, and I never officially came out. As a straight-passing cisgender woman, I have had the option (nay, luxury) to come out as someone who dates women—or not come out and still date women. And while I may be outspoken on the internet as being a queer-identifying person, IRL I’m simply not. But apparently, it makes total sense that I went from being a very out student to a very closeted adult. When you’re queer, coming out is an ongoing process, says LGBTQ+ expert and mental-health professional Kryss Shane, LSW. “Every time you enter a new space or meet a new person, you have to make the decision whether or not to come out again.” “Every time you enter a new space or meet a new person, you have to make the decision whether or not to come out again.” —LGBTQ+ expert Kryss Shane, LSW In part, my choice was due to my first relationship in the Big Apple being with a cisgender man (in retrospect, more like cisgender softboy, but that’s another story). So for the 18 months we were together, all the people I met and grew close with
J.Lo’s trainer swears by this 3-in-1 move as a workout finisher
March 05, 2019 at 05:33AM by CWC With so many feel-good yoga poses, it’s hard to choose just one as a favorite. Some people love the stretch they get from triangle pose or the feeling like you’ve prepared for battle with Warrior II. Shavasana provides ultimate relaxation. And downward dog always gets the job done no matter who you are. But if you’re looking to hit all the right muscles in one move, Jennifer Lopez‘s trainer, David Kirsch, demonstrates a downward dog pushup you’ll want to master for the end of your workouts. When it comes to exercise, the downward dog pushup is a triple-threat. Not only does it work your core and triceps, but it also provides a great stretch, exactly what you need after finishing up an intense routine. “Try it at the end of your workout,” Kirsch writes on Instagram. To get the most out of the pose, Kirsch doesn’t just stop with the downward dog. He adds on a plank and pushup into the flow, too. After pushing back into downward dog, Kirsch lowers through a plank right into a low pushup position on the floor. After going down as far as you can, slowly bring yourself back up into downward dog again and feel the goodness of the stretch. Basically, by adding a few minutes to the end of your routine, you’ll be able to wind down with a quickie exercise that provides the perfect combination of burn and relief. (Oh, and some J.Lo-level toning in the process.) View
No, the coolest experience of your life being over doesn’t mean it’s just downhill from here
March 05, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC To celebrate my 31st birthday, my awesome boyfriend whisked me away in an Uber to a surprise destination. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in the front row at a Saturday Night Live taping. I’ve been watching SNL basically my whole life, and though attending a taping of it had a high spot on my bucket list, I never thought it would actually happen. Suffice it to say, that night was surreal and amazing and felt like the absolute best time of my life. But what if it actually was? The next day, all I could think about was how my life surely had peaked, it and must be a downhill tumble from here. Beyond being a wildly obvious downer, the thought also managed to lend a tinge of wet-blanket sadness to my whole fantastic birthday celebration. But mental-health experts seem to agree that it’s a common thought process. “I see so many of my clients going through this,” says psychotherapist Jennifer Silvershein, LCSW. “It often comes up when someone plans a wedding—their focus is on the wedding for over a year, but then after it happens, and they go on their honeymoon, it’s that moment of, ‘Holy sh*t—what do I look forward to now?’” “It’s that moment of, ‘Holy sh*t—what do I look forward to now?’” —psychotherapist Jennifer Silvershein, LCSW On a more clinical level, this negative way of thinking is referred to as information-processing bias, according to Lindsay Trent, PhD, a
A nutritionist’s ode to the OG nut spread—peanut butter
March 05, 2019 at 03:08AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsASWf_1AG0] We love a good nut butter. And while almond and cashew butter have taken center stage (even sunflower seeds have joined the game) it’s sometimes nice to get back to our roots: peanut butter. Since making appearances in our childhood PB&Js, the protein-packed spread has become a healthy-eating staple. It tastes so good, you might begin to question whether or not it’s actually good for you. Worry not—in the newest episode of You Versus Food, Well+Good’s YouTube series breaking down the buzziest food and drink trends, top dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, confirms that the yummy spread has tons of nutritional benefits. “Peanut butter is made of peanuts and peanuts are pretty healthy,” says Beckerman. “So just like that perfect match you found on Tinder, peanuts have an optimal profile— a nutritional profile, that is.” Peanuts are full of fiber, monounsaturated fats (aka the good kind), antioxidants and protein. They also contain folate, which keeps your energy levels up, and resveratrol, which fights inflammation. And while almonds ultimately have more fiber, and cashews have more healthy fats, Beckerman says peanuts take the cake when it comes to protein—seven grams per 1-ounce serving. As for peanut butter itself, the ooey gooey spread is made from roasted peanuts, which release oil when ground. Natural peanut butters, Beckerman says, have a short ingredient list: salt, oil, and peanuts. However, she warns that some peanut butters contain unnecessary additives that make your spread less healthy (like sugars and