December 05, 2019 at 09:37PM by CWC Despite the fact that birth control pills are 99 percent effective, 9 percent of women who take oral contraceptives get pregnant each year. The reality is that life often gets in the way of taking a pill at the same time each day, and every once and a while you forget entirely. A monthly birth control pill—currently being developed by a team of researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital—could offer an option that removes human error from the equation. In a report published Thursday in the journal Science Transitional Medicine, the group of researchers announced that they’ve designed a polymer (a large molecule) that can withstand the acidic environment of the human stomach for about 30 days. After infusing the polymer with levonorgestrel, a progestin often found in birth control, the team conducted a test on pigs. Tthey discovered that the once-monthly contraceptive released the same amount of levonorgestrel into the pig’s bloodstream on a daily basis as the daily pill. “With a progestin-only pill, timing is important to maintain a steady-state of the hormonal concentration in the body, thus preventing pregnancy,” says Kecia Gaither, MD, a double board-certified OB/GYN and maternal fetal medicine doctor. The monthly pill would ensure that steady-state happened throughout the month—without having to make it a daily habit. Currently, the only long-lasting birth control methods are more invasive options like implants and IUDs, so the simplicity and convenience of the pill could make many millions of lives easier. And
Category: Vegetarians
Why banana flour is the new ingredient taking over healthy pantries
December 05, 2019 at 07:30PM by CWC If anyone has insight into what food trends are on the rise among healthy eaters, it’s the Whole Foods team, which works tirelessly to curate cool, healthy, up-and-coming products on its shelves. And one of the biggest things they’re predicting for 2020: the rise of alternative flours. Well+Good has watched this for a while too, as healthy eaters have sought to replace traditional wheat flour with gluten-free alternatives sourced from fruits and vegetables. Almond flour, coconut flour, even apple flour have all gained traction with the wellness crowd. And we’re going one step further to say that banana flour is the next up-and-coming alt-flour. The humble banana has already shown to be a rising wellness superstar in other ways, popping up in the form of jerky, chips, and even serving as a base for vegan ice-cream. Now, brands like Hearthy Foods ($19 per pound), LiveKuna ($25 for 32 oz), NuNaturals ($12 per pound) are all jumping on the banana flour bandwagon to help healthy eaters a way to use the ingredient in foods they’re making at home. Banana flour is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a flour-like substance made from green, unripe bananas. “The way we make our banana flour is by gathering the bananas when they’re still green and then slow cooking them before it’s finally milled [aka ground into a fine powder],” says Hearthy Foods founder Riaz Surt. Santiago Stacey, the co-founder and CEO of LiveKuna, says their production process
4 surprising ways to use a $4 bottle of Trader Joe’s Green Goddess dressing
December 05, 2019 at 05:20PM by CWC Trader Joe’s salad dressings are way underrated. Go ahead, rave about the cauliflower gnocchi and Everything But the Bagel seasoning. I’ll just be over in the lettuce aisle singing the praises of the Trader Joe’s green goddess dressing, which—true to it name—makes everything from pasta to salads to roasted veggies taste like heaven. Since I spent $4 on the multi-purpose dressing on a recent shopping trip, I’ve been drizzling it on everything that’s edible. And I can honestly say that it hasn’t disappointed my tastebuds yet. If you don’t believe in its versatility, here are four recipes you should try. 4 ways to use Trader Joe’s green goddess dressing on just about everything [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89fq3Zi1bSw] 1. GREEN GODDESS PASTA SALAD This recipe is all green: green beans, kale, and green goddess dressing. If you’re on the market for a new one-pot pasta dish, the dish for you. 2. 10-MINUTE GREEN GODDESS GRILLED SHRIMP If you’re firing up the grill (or just cooking shrimp in a skillet), you can skip mixing up a fancy seasoning mix and dip the raw shrimp directly into Trader Joe’s green goddess dressing. 3. VEGAN BURRITO BOWL Burrito bowls already burst with flavors from the veggies and beans, but a drizzle of dressing on top makes everything that much more delicious. 4. SLOW COOKER GREEN GODDESS CHICKEN What if I told you that you could meal prep a week worth of chicken using just your Instant Pot, chicken, and
This company uses flower petals to create a down alternative jacket that’s cozy and cruelty-free
December 04, 2019 at 07:30PM by CWC A vegan, sustainably-sourced down jacket is hard to come by, but Pangaia—which makes its down alternatives from seaweed fiber and wildflowers, natural dyes made from plants, and recycled materials—has a new option that ticks all the boxes. The company’s latest release, FLWRDWN, features a capsule collection of puffer jackets ($550-$750) filled with wildflowers—so you can be swaddled in spring even in the dead of winter. The technology took Pangaia 10 years of in-lab research, and the result is a fully-biodegradable garment that can stand up to inclement weather. “The wild flowers we source are from areas which contribute to habitat restoration, whilst helping to conserve a species of local butterflies,” reads the website. “This kind of regenerative agriculture results in a reduction of greenhouse gas production (12 tons of CO2 per hectare of plant material). The method also helps to preserve groundwater, as it doesn’t require irrigation.” FLWRDWN is now available for pre-order. Keep scrolling to snag a sustainable jacket with down alternatives for yourself. Vegan and sustainable jackets with down alternatives Photo: Pangaia 1. Pangaia Puffer Jacket Short in off-white, $550 Blend right in with the snow with Pangaia’s off-white jacket option. Even though their vibrant hue isn’t on display, the wildflowers used for insulation offer all the color you could ever need. Photo: Vaute Couture 2. Vaute Couture The Satin Castro in evergreen, $650 Both the inside and outside of this coat is made of sustainable materials. The down and the
SLT is debuting a megaformer-treadmill class that gives you planks with a side of sprinting
December 04, 2019 at 04:55PM by CWC Ask any boutique fitness connoisseur (including our three fitness editors) what the hardest workout in New York City is, and they’ll most likely tell you it’s SLT. Megaformer workouts are touted for their efficiency and results, and in a single 50-minute class, you’ll get cardio, strength, and flexibility training in one fell swoop. But for some cardio queens, the slow, controlled movements of the Pilates-inspired method aren’t fast-paced or sweaty enough. And so to make things even harder, founder Amanda Freeman decided to add treadmills into the mix. SLT Tread, which will open in New York City in January, 2020, combines the slow cardio benefits of a megaformer workout with heart-spiking sprints, the motto being: “tread fast, tone slow.” And so, in what truly sounds like the most-challenging workout of all time, you’ll spend 25 minutes working your muscles to exhaustion on the megaformer, followed by 25 minutes doing high intensity intervals on the treadmill. “While the SLT workout on its own is the perfect combination of strength training, low-impact cardio, and Pilates, we often see clients interspersing their SLT workouts with high-impact cardio workouts such as running and cycling,” says SLT founder Amanda Freeman. When most people think about “cardio,” their minds usually go to fast, sweaty workouts like running or spinning. But megaformer workouts, like the ones you’ve traditionally gotten at SLT, offer a different kind of cardio in which the slower you go the higher your heart rate spikes. With
3 breakfast combinations with warming foods for cold winter mornings
December 03, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC Nourishing the body with warming foods is a staple of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) year-round, but it’s especially relevant during the colder months. “In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we believe that starting the day with warming foods is an essential part of keeping our adrenals happy and securing longevity,” says Mona Dan, LAc., MTOM, an herbalist, acupuncturist, and the founder of Vie Healing. “Preserving the body is the biggest factor in living a long healthy life,” she says. “Making sure we have a warming start with blood and energy boosting ingredients is key.” To put it into practice at the start of your day, Dan and Feng Ye, the founder of Sage Collective, recommend a few warming breakfast combinations. Breakfast combinations with warming foods fo energy 1. warm cauliflower rice with dates and berries Dan loves making a homemade congee bowl with either oats or cauliflower rice, milk (or alt-milk), dates, and berries. “This breakfast is full of blood- and energy-boosting ingredients,” she says. Ye loves this breakfast combination, too. “It’s easy to digest and it strengths the blood and qi [energy],” she says, adding that she likes to add ginger, a warming spice, to her bowl. 2. bone broth with hard boiled eggs If you like a savory breakfast, Dan recommends this one by the spoonful. You can load it up with vegetables to make sure your breakfast has plenty of fiber. “This bone broth soup holds tons of collagen; both the marrow
It’s been 5,000 years, but yoga just can’t be stopped
December 03, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC Every yoga class shares a guiding principle: Listen to your body. And clearly, there’s something to this golden rule that resonates with yogis, because it’s been 5,000 years since the practice’s inception, and it has a larger following than ever before. The number of American yogis rose by 50 percent between 2012 and 2016, and in 2019, the Global Wellness Institute crowned yoga the world’s most popular workout. Take a quick glance at a chart showing the climb of Google searches for “yoga near me” over the past decade, and you’ll notice it looks more like a handstand than a plank pose. The versatility of the practice is a major contributor to its spike in popularity. After all, yoga isn’t one thing—and there’s a style for everyone. Hatha-style classes focus on breathwork, meditation, and foundational poses, while hot vinyasa classes raise your heart rate and offer the sweaty satisfaction of a HIIT workout. As we enter a new decade, and yoga tacks another 10 years onto its five-century track record, we asked some of the biggest names in yoga today to talk about why the mindful practice has such staying power and why so many of us will keep asana-ing our way into the future. The history of yoga—and why it just keeps growing in popularity Before the mid-20th century, the physical practice of asana (or the body postures associated with yoga) hadn’t arrived in the United States. While the exact history of
Reebok is launching a plant-based running shoe, and I can’t wait
December 03, 2019 at 05:34PM by CWC Words I did not expect to type today: plant-based running shoe. And yet, Reebok just announced the arrival of their Forever Floatride GLOW, which you guessed it, comes from plant-based matter. Sure, when you tell your mom that you want “plant-based running shoes,” she might tease you about being “so L.A.” like she did with your collection of crystals or your favorite farm-to-table pizza (who’s keeping tabs?!), but I can assure you that it will be well worth the initial reaction. Reebok set out to create a sustainable version of their Forever Floatride Energy shoe, as part of a larger initiative to create products from natural or recycled materials. For example, in 2018, the brand launched vegan sneakers made of cotton and corn, but the Forever Floatride GLOW will be their first foray into plant-based performance running shoes. “The biggest challenge in making a shoe like this was developing plant-based materials that could meet the high performance needs of real runners,” says Bill McInnis, Vice President of Reebok Future. And so, the brand spent three years developing the shoe, which will launch next fall. The upper is made from sustainably sourced, biodegradable eucalyptus tree, and the outsole is made from real rubber from rubber trees—versus petroleum-based rubber—that is also sustainably sourced. The midsole, AKA the part of the running shoe that cushions and absorbs shock, is made from sustainably grown castor beans, a unique material that was exclusively developed by Reebok with the
Social media isn’t perfect, but it’s brought us together in community, health, love, and beyond
December 03, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Neither smartphones nor the internet itself were invented within the last 10 years, but both have revolutionized our lives in the past decade thanks to key innovations that have changed the way we connect with one another and access information. Tools that cater to social connection—like Instagram in 2010, the App Store in 2011, and Tinder in 2012, to name just a few—have paved the way for a more connected and democratized world, and now, the positive effects of social media extend to so many avenues of our lives. Sure, most of us would benefit from embracing best practices for our usage (like moderation) to serve as safeguards from the adverse effects of these products and platforms that can lead us to work longer, burn out, and feel badly about ourselves when we mindlessly scroll our feeds. But we’d be remiss to ignore all the benefits and positive effects of social media we’ve enjoyed. We now have easier access to social support and community; free education on many topics; increased freedom and acceptance to be authentically ourselves; and new ways to cultivate romantic relationships. Here’s how the positive effects of social media platforms have positively affected our well-being in the past decade. It’s increased access to social support One of the foremost health benefits of digital connectedness is increased access to various communities that might be far away or spread wide IRL. Support groups on social platforms, forums via online communities, and dedicated
These eggs stay fresher than ordinary ones—here’s why
December 02, 2019 at 07:30PM by CWC When you’re shopping for groceries, you’ve got no time for browned apples and weirdly squishy peppers. But when it comes to figuring out how fresh eggs are, the most you can do in-store is open up a few cartons and double check that half the lot isn’t cracked. Considering that an egg’s freshness can dictate its quality, taste, and longevity, though (love you, gorgeously golden yolks), there’s got to be a better way. Right? Actually, there is. Enter Eggland’s Best, which uses specific feeding and processing practices and performs over 30,000 tests annually to ensure freshness. True life: The result of all that extra attention to detail means EB’s eggs have boosted nutritional value compared to ordinary eggs, a fact backed up by the USDA label on the carton. “The improved oxidative stability in the eggs protects taste, nutrients, and yolk color,” says Bart Slaugh, PhD, director of quality assurance for Eggland’s Best. “Additionally, nutrient levels are maintained more consistently during storage. All of these indicators lead to plumper yolks, less watery whites, richer yolk colors, and better tasting eggs.” How to improve your next Instagram food photo: Add an egg on it. Ready to get crackin’? Keep scrolling to learn how these eggs up the freshness level compared to ordinary eggs on the shelves. You try to nourish your body with real, whole ingredients—and EB hens have the same prerogative (okay, their farmers do, but how cute is it to imagine a