June 05, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC Have you ever been walking, running, or just laying down in bed and suddenly felt a shooting pain in from the top of your foot to your knee? Kind of like you had a toothache… but… in your leg? Yeah, then you’ve experienced shin splints. If you’re not familiar (and therefore extremely, extremely lucky), shin splints are a very common problem in your lower leg, and it all stems from inflammation. “Shin splints is a layperson term for inflammation of the fascia and covering of the tibialis anterior muscle,” says Lara Heimann, physical therapist and yoga guru. “It covers the front part of the shin, but goes more to the right from the midline over. If you lift your toes up in dorsiflexion, you’ll see this muscle kind of bulge there—that’s the tibialis anterior. So it’s more on that lateral side of the shin.” I’ve never realized this before, but that area of your shin is actually quite thin, in terms of muscle to bone… which is precisely why inflammation in the area hurts like hell. “In that area, you can see that it doesn’t have a lot of space for inflammation to go,” says Heimann. “It’s a compartment—so all of that irritation and swelling is kind of stuck in that anterior compartment.” The inflammation for shin splints typically stems from running or high impact walking. Your shin area is responsible for literally lifting your toes up to clear the ground, so when
Category: 2019 Health
All the healthy reasons why almonds should def be your favorite nut
June 05, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC We’ve all been hearing for years that almonds are good for you. They’re a plant-based protein! They have fiber! They’re the go-to snack for practically every nutritionist! But the fixation on almonds has gotten to a point where they feel like old, been-there news (right up there with drinking lemon water and going to bed on time). However, just because almonds aren’t exactly the hottest, newest wellness go-to (that would be my friends CBD and CBN) doesn’t mean that they don’t have benefits. There’s a good reason (besides their taste, of course) that almonds are a beloved food and a mainstay in the alt-milk world. Here’s what you should know about the OG healthy snack: What are the health benefits of almonds? 1. They’re full of fiber. “Ounce for ounce, almonds contain more dietary fiber than any other tree nut,” says Caroline West Passerrello, MS, RDN, LDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They have 3.5 grams of fiber per ounce, compared to the 2.4 you’d get in an ounce of peanuts or the paltry 0.9 grams you’d get from cashews. (Only pistachios are about on-par with almonds in this regard.) Fiber of course is linked to tons of health benefits, from promoting digestive health to lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of serious disease like heart disease and breast cancer. 2. They have more protein than most other nuts. All nuts are great sources of protein, but almonds really lead
All the healthy reasons why almonds should def be your favorite nut
June 05, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC We’ve all been hearing for years that almonds are good for you. They’re a plant-based protein! They have fiber! They’re the go-to snack for practically every nutritionist! But the fixation on almonds has gotten to a point where they feel like old, been-there news (right up there with drinking lemon water and going to bed on time). However, just because almonds aren’t exactly the hottest, newest wellness go-to (that would be my friends CBD and CBN) doesn’t mean that they don’t have benefits. There’s a good reason (besides their taste, of course) that almonds are a beloved food and a mainstay in the alt-milk world. Here’s what you should know about the OG healthy snack: What are the health benefits of almonds? 1. They’re full of fiber. “Ounce for ounce, almonds contain more dietary fiber than any other tree nut,” says Caroline West Passerrello, MS, RDN, LDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They have 3.5 grams of fiber per ounce, compared to the 2.4 you’d get in an ounce of peanuts or the paltry 0.9 grams you’d get from cashews. (Only pistachios are about on-par with almonds in this regard.) Fiber of course is linked to tons of health benefits, from promoting digestive health to lowering cholesterol and reducing your risk of serious disease like heart disease and breast cancer. 2. They have more protein than most other nuts. All nuts are great sources of protein, but almonds really lead
Lazy Saturdays are getting an upgrade—here’s the gluten-free pancake recipe worth waking up for
June 04, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC What’s better than waking up to a batch of homemade pancakes on a Saturday morning? The answer is sleeping in, then making gluten-free pancakes that taste like the real thing. Since pancakes are a weekend staple no matter your dietary preferences, we thought we’d give this sweet classic a wellness glow-up—and no, that doesn’t mean adding an avocado on top (but to each their own). In addition to swapping regular milk for your fave alt and using bananas as the natural source of sweetness, we incorporated Youtheory® Collagen Powder to give these melt-in-your-mouth pancakes an extra oomph of wellness perks. Because, in case you didn’t know, collagen is all the rage thanks to its game-changing benefits to your hair, skin, nails, and joints. So whether you’re living the GF life or are just in the mood for some out-of-this-world pancakes, we’ve got the hook-up. Get ready, your Saturdays are about to change for good. You’re welcome. Watch the video below for step-by-step instructions on making delish gluten-free pancakes from scratch. https://content.jwplatform.com/players/GQck0b7W-AjgxWzQ7.js Continue Reading… Author Well+Good Editors | Well and Good Selected by iversue
Bookmark this cheat sheet for optimal gut health, straight from an RD
June 04, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC You shouldn’t be expected to have Superman-level X-ray vision when you scan over your grocery haul to see what could be harmful or beneficial to your digestive system. So the questions still remain. What should you look for if you’re trying to do a solid for your gut? What’s the difference between prebiotics and probiotics? Oh, what about fiber? So. Many. Questions. In simplest terms, “The probiotics are the healthy bacteria that help you fight off disease, and the prebiotics are the food they need to stay alive,” Amy Shapiro, RD and founder of Real Nutrition says. You know how you need your afternoon snack to fuel your productive, badass self? Your gut’s the same way. In order to make this vital info as digestible (see what we did there) as possible, we teamed up with Benefiber, a taste-free prebiotic fiber that helps nourish the good bacteria in your gut, and tapped Amy Shapiro to give us a SparkNotes version keeping your gut happy—all in one handy infographic you can bookmark for your weekly grocery runs. Scroll down for a gut-health explainer from an RD—including the difference between probiotics and prebiotics, how fiber plays a key role, and what to add to your cart. In partnership with Benefiber Top photo: Getty Images/Hinterhaus Productions Continue Reading… Author Well+Good Editors | Well and Good Selected by iversue
Bookmark this cheat sheet for optimal gut health, straight from an RD
June 04, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC You shouldn’t be expected to have Superman-level X-ray vision when you scan over your grocery haul to see what could be harmful or beneficial to your digestive system. So the questions still remain. What should you look for if you’re trying to do a solid for your gut? What’s the difference between prebiotics and probiotics? Oh, what about fiber? So. Many. Questions. In simplest terms, “The probiotics are the healthy bacteria that help you fight off disease, and the prebiotics are the food they need to stay alive,” Amy Shapiro, RD and founder of Real Nutrition says. You know how you need your afternoon snack to fuel your productive, badass self? Your gut’s the same way. In order to make this vital info as digestible (see what we did there) as possible, we teamed up with Benefiber, a taste-free prebiotic fiber that helps nourish the good bacteria in your gut, and tapped Amy Shapiro to give us a SparkNotes version keeping your gut happy—all in one handy infographic you can bookmark for your weekly grocery runs. Scroll down for a gut-health explainer from an RD—including the difference between probiotics and prebiotics, how fiber plays a key role, and what to add to your cart. In partnership with Benefiber Top photo: Getty Images/Hinterhaus Productions Continue Reading… Author Well+Good Editors | Well and Good Selected by iversue
At last, a derm answers whether or not you can get rid of stretch marks
June 04, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC The first time I noticed my stretch marks was shortly after puberty, after I had started morphing from a little dumpling of a child into a teenager—five inches taller, with newfound hips and boobs. Obviously, lots of growth happens over the course of your life—and stretch marks are often little physical reminders that show up and indicate just that. But since you can make certain other skin marks vanish—like acne scars or hyperpigmentation, for example—people often wonder: Can you get rid of stretch marks? Well, it’s complicated. For starters, it’s key to understand what stretch marks are in the first place. “Stretch marks are basically a loss of elastic tissue and collagen in discrete areas,” says Forum Patel, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Union Square Laser Dermatology. “It happens when we gain weight and then lose weight.” So they’re basically just what they sound like: physical marks from your skin stretching. They look like stripey marks that are either lighter in color than your skin, or have a reddish hue. Certain factors can make you more or less prone to stretch marks, too. “There are certain genetic conditions that cause stretch marks, making someone more prone to it,” she says. “And certain medications can cause it. So if you’re on steroids for a really long time, that will predispose you to having stretch marks, because steroids essentially will digest collagen.” Then, of course, there’s pregnancy—which is one very common time for women to experience
At last, a derm answers whether or not you can get rid of stretch marks
June 04, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC The first time I noticed my stretch marks was shortly after puberty, after I had started morphing from a little dumpling of a child into a teenager—five inches taller, with newfound hips and boobs. Obviously, lots of growth happens over the course of your life—and stretch marks are often little physical reminders that show up and indicate just that. But since you can make certain other skin marks vanish—like acne scars or hyperpigmentation, for example—people often wonder: Can you get rid of stretch marks? Well, it’s complicated. For starters, it’s key to understand what stretch marks are in the first place. “Stretch marks are basically a loss of elastic tissue and collagen in discrete areas,” says Forum Patel, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Union Square Laser Dermatology. “It happens when we gain weight and then lose weight.” So they’re basically just what they sound like: physical marks from your skin stretching. They look like stripey marks that are either lighter in color than your skin, or have a reddish hue. Certain factors can make you more or less prone to stretch marks, too. “There are certain genetic conditions that cause stretch marks, making someone more prone to it,” she says. “And certain medications can cause it. So if you’re on steroids for a really long time, that will predispose you to having stretch marks, because steroids essentially will digest collagen.” Then, of course, there’s pregnancy—which is one very common time for women to experience
6 mantras to repeat when you’re in the awful limbo of waiting for test results
June 04, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC They say a watched pot never boils, but can we talk about how when you’re awaiting medical-test results, a watched phone never rings? During that time of peak anxiety, when all you can think is the worst-case scenario, time straight-up crawls. While you can’t control that slow-speed time warp of awaiting news from your doctor nor the impending results themselves, there are strategies to self-soothe so that your time—which can be hours, days, or even weeks—spent waiting in limbo skews more tolerable and functions less like a breeding ground for anxiety. “Most people begin to create a negative storyline,” Jane Ehrman, a behavioral health specialist at Cleveland Clinic Wellness, says of the experience of awaiting test results. Your mind can’t tell the difference between what’s happening in real life and what you’re imagining, and your body responds to the stress you’re feeling, she says. That can cause all kinds of issues, like increased blood pressure, immune system imbalances, and, of course, extreme stress. “This is a big deal,” Ehrman says. Basically, just as seeing is believing, to your body and psyche, believing is affecting. Many people feel a “complete loss of control” in this kind of situation, says licensed therapist Alisa Ruby Bash, PsyD. “It’s easy to get lost in the ‘what ifs.’” And while everyone has different preferred methods for coping with stress, one super-simple strategy is worth a shot: Using a mantra. “Mantras help calm our restless minds by helping them
This is the healthiest drink to order at Starbucks this summer, according to a dietitian
June 04, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9M9RfGBpcM] By the time summer rolls around and the temps are rising faster than “Old Town Road” on the Billboard top charts, a steaming hot latte from Starbucks is not exactly the most appealing way to start your day. So what’s the healthiest way to change your coffee order when it’s a billion degrees outside? Luckily for you, registered dietician Tracy Lockwood Beckerman has the answers in the latest episode of You Versus Food, Well+Good’s YouTube series breaking down all things nutrition. Her go-to summer sip: cold brew. Wait, isn’t this stuff just the $5 version of iced coffee? Not quite. Beckerman says cold brew is different because the grounds are steeped in cold water instead of hot, which produces less acid. This makes it great for people who have acid reflux or other digestive struggles, she says. If you don’t drink your cold brew black, opt for whole milk, as it’s generally the healthiest option Starbucks has to offer. (If you’re looking for other healthy Starbucks iced drinks, she also likes a classic iced coffee.) If you’re dead set on a frozen drink, Beckerman’s pick is the plain ol’ coffee Frappuccino, because it contains the least amount of calories and added sugars compared to other frozen bev options on the menu. But she definitely doesn’t recommend a frappe over other options at Starbucks like the above-mentioned cold brew. “Frozen drinks are generally not advisable because they typically contain added sugar and