November 11, 2018 at 10:14AM Real talk: For most women, it’s not all pleasure, all the time in between the sheets. Pain after sex happens to a lot of us, despite the fact that it’s not publicly discussed as often as masturbation or foreplay techniques—and it can be really troublesome, both physically and mentally. Post-sex pain can come in many forms, from period-like cramps to vaginal swelling, itching, or a burning sensation when you pee, says Sherry A. Ross, MD, women’s health expert and author of She-ology: The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health. Period. The first step toward fixing the issue, she says, is to identify what’s causing the discomfort in the first place. This isn’t something she recommends trying to figure out on your own—if the pain is consistent, your first move should be a visit to your gyno. You’ll be saving yourself lots of anxiety-filled hours Googling your symptoms away in the name of self-diagnosis. But to ensure that you have the most productive conversation with your MD as possible, there are a few common causes for postcoital pain that you may want to keep in mind before your appointment. Luckily, most of them are treatable—allowing you to fully enjoy the afterglow of getting busy, minus any uncomfortable distractions. Keep reading to learn why you might feel pain after sex — and what to do about it. 1. Breastfeeding For new mamas, breastfeeding might explain pain after sex. “If you continue to breastfeed, you are still in postpartum menopause,
Category: 2019 Health
Are pecans the most underrated nut? Here are 5 reasons to add them to your snack haul
November 11, 2018 at 08:00AM Chances are, you don’t really think about pecans at very often—unless it’s the holiday season and you’re baking them into a pie. (Or they end up as one of the ingredients in packet of trail mix you buy at the store.) They definitely don’t receive the same amount of love as almonds, aka the most popular nut milk. So what’s the deal? Are pecans good for you? The answer is a resounding yes. These nuts boast a bevy of health benefits. “Pecans are nutrient-packed and contain a variety of vitamins,” says Neda Varbanova, certified culinary nutritionist, holistic health coach, and founder of Healthy with Nedi. The nutritional breakdown reads kind of like a multivitamin: They’re packed with B vitamins, folic acid, zinc, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A and E. Below, Verbanova breaks down the benefits of pecans, and why they’re worth a place in your pantry. 1. They’re lower in carbs than other nuts. If you follow the ketogenic diet, then you know that nuts, while high in healthy fats, count toward your meticulously calculated carb count. Varbanova says that pecans are lower in carbs that a lot of other nuts (they clock in at around four grams per one-ounce serving). To put that in perspective, almonds have six grams of carbs per one-ounce serving, and cashews contain nine grams. 2. They help support your immune system and fight inflammation. “Boost your immune system” and “fight inflammation” are buzz phrases you hear a lot in the wellness
Mercury going retrograde is just *one* thing creating cosmic drama this week
November 11, 2018 at 05:10AM The planetary movement known for creating transit nightmares—and making cellphones go kaput—has company this week. But the good news? That intensity can work for you as well. With a lot of cosmic change happening at once, here’s astrologer Jennifer Racioppi‘s best advice for getting the most out of the celestial conditions over the next seven days. Monday, November 12 Yes! It’s a new week, with new opportunities to step into the highest (and happiest) version of your life. With the waxing crescent moon gaining momentum in the practical sign of Capricorn, you might feel the impetus to dig deep and do the work. You know the work I am talking about. The work of looking at your purest desires and motivations, and understanding where your shadow (the part of you that you suppress, repress, and deny) derails you. Now’s the time to believe in yourself. Go for your desires. Make a push on behalf of your dreams. Acknowledge what holds you back, and do your absolute best to move forward anyway. With the sun in a sextile to Pluto, while the moon conjoins powerhouse Pluto, you can get things done. Even more so with Jupiter, the planet of good fortune and abundance, (now in upbeat Sagittarius), making a manifesting trine to the north node of fate and destiny in Leo, now’s the time to believe in yourself. Go for your desires. Make a push on behalf of your dreams. Tuesday, November 13 Today, a day ripe
Applying a hyaluronic acid serum on wet skin makes it more moisturizing—here’s why
November 11, 2018 at 03:00AM You know that feeling after crushing a workout when simple H2O suddenly tastes as irresistible as Willy Wonka’s chocolate river? Well, that’s kind of how your skin feels any time you slather on hyaluronic acid serum, which is pretty much as quenching as a serum can get. But here’s the thing: If you’re applying this elixir, and it’s not working all the moisture magic, a simple application tweak could give you major results. “After a shower when your face is damp and your pores are open ready to absorb the product is an ideal time to get the most out of [hyaluronic acid],” says Andrea Dinnick, founder and CEO of DeSavery, a brand new beauty brand that crafts their own plant-derived Desavery Smooth Hyaluronic Acid with Clary Sage & Bergamot. While it’s still slightly wet, your skin acts like a sponge, according to Jen Kramer, a paramedical esthetician and founder of Corrective Skincare LA.”You’re trapping the moisture on your skin and getting it to sink in rather than letting it evaporate. If you wait until it’s dry, you’ve missed your chance to lock it in,” she explains. And PS: Kramer notes that this moisturizing golden rule applies to the rest of your bod, too. So, go ahead and apply your body oil the second you step out of the shower. “After a shower when your face is damp and your pores are open ready to absorb the product is an ideal time to get the most out of [hyaluronic acid].” -Andrea
The Whole Foods’ CEO says you can learn to love any food—here’s how
November 10, 2018 at 06:38AM If you’re a healthy food junkie, wandering the aisles of Whole Foods can make you feel like a kid in a candy store. So imagine how much more amazing that experience is when you’re John Mackey, the co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods. You can make sure your favorite vegan cheese is always stocked (for Mackey, it’s Kite Hill), you know when it’s $1 kale day, and you know what’s new at the hot foods bar. When Mackey stopped by Well+Good HQ this week to talk about his new book, The Whole Foods Cookbook, and the future of grocery shopping, I couldn’t resist asking him how he fills his grocery basket. Does he stock up on Siete chips (a W+G team fave, FIY) and cauliflower crust pizza? Surprisingly, no. It turns out his daily diet—which is plant-based, BTW—is pretty no-fuss. “I eat very simple foods,” he says. “More than half the food I buy is fresh produce.” Besides fruits and veggies, Mackey says some other staples he always has at home are beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. “I’ve taught myself to love every vegetable.” —John Mackey, Whole Foods co-founder and CEO For breakfast, he’s into steel cut oats. In fact, he even travels with a mini rice cooker so he can make it on the road. That’s dedication. For lunch and dinner, Mackey says bean and vegetable stews are often on the menu. “You can vary that tremendously based on what vegetables, sauces, or spices you want
On a scale of 1 to 10, how gross is it if I never change my socks?
November 10, 2018 at 03:00AM It’s nearly that magical time of the year where feet start sweating and sloshing in the snow, and a little bit of neglect could lead to serious problems. Although you try to be as hygienic as possible when it comes to changing out of gym clothes post-workout, it’s easier to neglect day-to-day foot care. And when it comes to a personal question like—how often should you change socks—during the throes of winter, it isn’t automatically obvious to everyone. By “everyone,” I mean me specifically. So, just how often should you change socks? “That’s easy, every day,” my roommate Emily posited during dinner. “Wait, really,” I asked, my brows furrowing. “Every day?” “Yes, every day,” Emily said, weirded out. “Do you not change them every day?” “Uh, no, I literally wear whatever the hell I can find in my room, half the time my socks don’t even match,” I said. Now granted, I mainly wear dresses and tights, so while I am undeniably gross, I’m also a little less gross than that sounds. But determined to find out where on a 1-to-10 scale I fell, I consulted a podiatrist, who lit the path forward on how to care for your feet, and specifically how often to change out of socks. Here’s the intel. Photo: Stocksy/Melanie DeFazio If you’re battling Athlete’s Foot, change your socks frequently One thing became certain from Yolanda Ragland, MD, a New York City-based podiatrist and foot surgeon and founder of FixYourFeet.com from the get-go. If
What’s actually causing all of that dry flakey skin around your noise?
November 10, 2018 at 02:00AM You could moisturize your skin religiously, yet somehow it still happens—that dryness around your nose pops up to sabotage your otherwise hydrated complexion. Why exactly does this happen and why the nose? Put simply your nose is the thing that juts out the most on your face, says Purvisha Patel, MD, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Visha Skincare. “Our noses are the first way air enters the body,” Dr. Patel explains, adding “the inside skin or mucous membranes of the skin can be dry if the environment is dry and cold.” With that said here’s what could be causing the dry skin around your nose 1. Environmental exposure “The outside skin of the nose can be dry and peeling even though the rest of the skin is hydrated also due to exposure to the environment,” Dr. Patel says. She makes the case for keeping your face protected by a balaclava or blanket scarf sound appealing. 2. UV damage “UV radiation can cause the skin on exposed surfaces (hello nose) to burn easily and often” Dr. Patel warns. One of the more concerning side effects of UV exposure is, of course, skin cancer. Dr. Patel says actinic damage, which is when “UV radiation causes DNA damage to cells over time, can present as dry flaking [or] peeling on the nose.” It can be precancerous if your skin fails to heal itself, so getting your skin checked by a dermatologist regularly is a really good idea. 3. Allergies or
Reading tarot cards can be intimidating, but these 4 spreads make it a cinch
November 10, 2018 at 01:00AM If an ultimate woo-woo starter kit existed, there would definitely be a deck of tarot cards nestled between the obligatory sage bundle and chunk of rose quartz. The only catch? Unlike easy-to-grasp metaphysical tools, like crystals and smudge sticks, learning how to do a tarot reading can be super overwhelming. There are 78 different symbols to navigate and a near-endless array of spreads to choose from, after all. Yet according to intuitive tarot counselor Sarah M. Chappell, the cards really don’t have to be complicated. In fact, she believes that by keeping your readings as minimal as possible, you’re actually better able to interpret the results. “I like to limit things to one to three cards, especially for students who are just beginning,” she says. “Keeping things simple and clear makes it easier to actually receive the messages, rather than trying to talk ourselves into the answer we actually want.” And that’s the whole point of tarot: By asking a question and pulling a few cards, it’s said to give us feedback and guidance in a way that we can’t access through our intellect alone. “I like to think about tarot as a conversation—a way for us to talk to ourselves, to the universe, to the unknown,” says Chappell. “The cards mirror back our joys, our sorrows, our challenges, and our opportunities for growth.” She adds that some tarot readers believe they’re tapping into a higher power when they pull and interpret cards, while others consider
4 benefits of sunlight that will make you want to go take a walk right now
November 09, 2018 at 12:50PM Conversations around sun exposure usually involve how best protect yourself from the evils of UV rays (skin cancer is scary as hell, y’all). While these are completely valid concerns, we’re here to shine a light—pun fully and proudly intended—on the other side of things: the benefits of sunlight. It’s basic, really: we need sunlight to survive. If we didn’t, we’d be like those creepy see-through deep sea creatures. But we’re humans, not barreleye fish, and therefore we require a decent amount sunlight to not just live, but thrive. And it’s honestly pretty good for your bod—in moderation, of course. I talked to the experts to understand the benefits of sunlight. Here’s what they said. Stocksy/Pansfun Images First things first: getting too much sun has its consequences—namely, skin cancer. Always, always wear sunscreen (at least SPF 30) before going outside to protect your skin from burns and future damage. Using sunscreen will not cancel out any sun benefits, especially vitamin D production (more on that in a sec), says Chirag Shah, MD, co-founder of Accesa Labs. In other words, no excuses to skip slathering on the SPF. Now that we have that out of the way…time to learn all about the benefits of sunlight! 1. Sunlight = vitamin D Sunlight giving you vitamin D is one of those wellness ideas that gets thrown about all the time without a lot of explanation to back it up. (See also: inflammation.) Here’s the lowdown: “Vitamin D is produced using ultraviolet
Show some resect for big bush energy, BDE’s badass grandma
November 09, 2018 at 12:24PM Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson may have called it quits (and have aired their feelings about said breakup through artistic pursuits), but one of the highlights of their relationship can never and will never die. Big Dick Energy, or BDE, which was originally attributed to the late, great Anthony Bourdain and then co-opted by Grande about her then-fiancé, describes the vibe a man with a big ‘ole, ahem, member, gives off when he’s just existing in the world. It’s an aura, if you will. An attitude that comes with knowing you’re packing heat in your boxer briefs. As the viral meme spread, we starting attributing BDE to females who didn’t necessarily possess the appendage necessary to anatomically qualify them for the moniker. But, in truth, women have possessed their own special spark of this energy for eons—way before Pete Davidson and Anthony Bourdain were swinging theirs around. I’m talking, of course, about Big Bush Energy. Big Bush Energy is the attitude a woman gives off when she’s rocking a tuft of her natural body hair—either under her arms or farther down under on the mons pubis—and doesn’t give a fuck about what you think about it. Have you ever seen an old-school porno or leafed through a vintage copy of Playboy and seen ladies rocking a forest between their thighs? Have you ever seen anything so confident and sexy? Methinks not. Women have possessed their own special spark of BDE for eons—way before Pete Davidson and Anthony