October 08, 2019 at 08:11PM by CWC There’s one simple way to know if it’s time to back off on the bananas for a bit. And nope, it’s not having a freezer jam-packed with loaf upon loaf of banana bread or being that girl who buys them by the boxful at Whole Foods. It’s actually what’s going on with your bowel movements… or lack thereof. Yep, buckle up. We’re going there. Plenty of different types of food cause constipation. Some aren’t too surprising, like red meat and fried foods. But then there are the seemingly healthy staples that can cause issues in the bathroom too, and one of the prime culprits is the beloved banana. While bananas are packed with nutrients—like potassium, magnesium, and vitamin B6—Max Lugavere, the health and nutrition expert behind Genius Foods, says they can also have a major downside depending on which stage of ripeness you’re into. There are three parts of a banana’s life cycle: green, yellow, and brown. When they’re green—or unripe—they’re a great source of prebiotics. Unfortunately, because they contain the highest amount of hard-to-digest starch at the time, they can leave you very constipated. As the banana ripens and turns yellow, it’s sweeter, contains a higher amount of antioxidants, and digests more quickly. Yellow bananas also contain soluble fiber that supports your digestion instead of slowing it down, finally helping you poop (or simply stay consistent). So what about brown bananas? They’re easy to digest as well, meaning your banana bread obsession is
Category: Vegetarians
This Vegan Tofu Recipe With Hot & Sour Zoodles Is Quick, Low-Carb & Tasty
October 08, 2019 at 01:24PM A great low-carb dinner with a spicy kick! Continue Reading… Author Ching-He Huang | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
Well+Good readers share their favorite hot breakfasts that aren’t oatmeal
October 08, 2019 at 02:30AM by CWC As temperatures drop, the desire for a steaming hot dish of something or another to entice you out of bed in the morning tends to rise. And while oatmeal’s cool and all, it’s not exactly the sexiest thing on the menu and some days, you need healthy breakfast ideas to put a little more pep in your pot to get things going. Sure, you can add eggs to it, throw in some miso and/or veggies, or top it with roasted fruit, but occasionally, none of that is enough to get you excited and you need to go an entirely different route. Enter cold-weather healthy breakfast ideas from Well+Good readers, via Cook With Us, who shared their favorite go-to’s—outside of oatmeal—for breaking the nightly fast. Whether you’re devoted to veganism, vegetarianism, the Whole 30 diet, the ketogenic diet, or just about anything in between or beyond, something on this list oughta spark. It’s got stacks, scrambles, sandwiches and skillets—all healthy, quick (or fairly easy to hack) and, at least according to our readers, yummy AF. 10 healthy breakfast ideas that aren’t oatmeal Photo: Love and Lemons 1. Shakshuka If your breakfast typically consists of a nuked bowl of oats, this recipe may at first glance look like a huge leap; however, in practice, it’s not actually all that difficult—especially given that Trader Joe’s sells a shakshuka starter kit. You can follow TJ’s 10-minute recipe or opt for the linked Love and Lemons version instead.
5 reasons to try online therapy that you haven’t thought of
October 07, 2019 at 06:37PM by CWC When you think of achieving optimal health, the first points on the checklist are eating veggies, getting enough shut-eye, and counting your daily steps. At the bottom of the list (if it even makes it at all)? Boosting your mental health. Sure, your weekly five-minute meditations might help you up your Zen level, but why does really diving into the state of your internal wellbeing so often get pushed to the back burner? “Clients often report feeling shame or embarrassment about seeking help for their mental health,” says Talkspace’s Amy Cirbus, PhD, LMHC. “Some people report worrying that others will see or treat them differently or think they’re ‘crazy’—a word still used in a derogatory manner to describe mental illness.” Some ground has been covered on erasing the stigma surrounding mental health (since going to therapy is really no different from stopping by the grocery store to pick up food for the week or dropping into a yoga class for an endorphin-inducing stretch), but the other barrier to scoring that inside-out healthy status is access to traditional therapy methods. It’s safe to say the benefits outweigh the leg work—but still, who needs leg work? To bring the therapy benefits straight to you, Talkspace is a platform that matches you with a licensed therapist who specializes in your specific needs—eliminating the frustrating sessions with therapists you don’t feel “get” you. And the best part is, there’s no commute to a stuffy office with weird
Beyond Meat is determined to make plant-based eating accessible, one alt-burger at a time
October 07, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC When it comes to Beyond Meat—the company that, along with Impossible Burger, made plant-based meat palatable even to carnivores—the public at large seems to love it. Their sales more than doubled in 2019, with shares jumping 21 percent. The majority of people buying the product aren’t even vegetarian, which speaks volumes to the authentic meat-like taste the company has worked hard to mimic. But within the wellness world, many healthy eaters love to hate Beyond Meat. When the company came up in Well+Good’s Cook With Us Facebook group, several members passionately chimed in that the brand’s products weren’t even healthy. “I stay away from anything pretending to be something else,” a commenter said. Health experts have also cautioned about the highly-processed nature of this new crop of alt-meat burgers, and criticized Beyond’s high levels of saturated fat. Want to learn more about the nutritional value of the Beyond Burger? Check out what a top dietitian has to say: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7Z88diSHVg] Here’s the thing, though: Beyond Meat isn’t necessarily trying to be the healthiest plant-based option. It instead aims to accomplish what few other plant-based products have: widespread accessibility. Taking on the (plant-based) food desert If you’re in a city like Miami, Los Angeles, or New York, finding healthy, plant-based foods usually isn’t too difficult, depending on the neighborhood. But according to non-profit The Food Trust, roughly 39.4 million people live in food deserts, geographic areas where access to affordable, healthy food options is
It’s (faux) leather weather! 10 chic ways to incorporate the look into your athleisure wardrobe
October 06, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC Ever since I saw the Friends episode where Ross gets stuck in his leather pants, I’ve had a major aversion to wearing leather in situations that involve sweat. This is problematic because I’m very into the whole biker-jacket-and-leggings look for running around town post-workout. Luckily, the fashion powers-that-be have got my back this season with loads of faux leather jackets, bottoms, and bras—all of which have the slick look of the real deal, but are vegan-friendly and can stand up to a broader array of conditions. (Hot fitness classes included.) On one end of the spectrum are pieces that are actually made to exercise in: leggings, sports bras, and cropped tanks made from sweat-proof activewear materials with a leather-like sheen. On the other are silhouettes that you probably wouldn’t wear during a workout, but could throw on over your outfit after class—think bomber jackets, joggers, or button-down shirts. And if swathing half your body in faux leather is a little extra for your taste, you can always opt for a leather-like accessory to get in on this perennial cool-weather trend. As you’ll see from the edit that follows, the best of fall’s faux leather looks are rendered in classic black, which means they can be seamlessly styled with pretty much any item in your athleisure wardrobe—and your regular wardrobe, too. (If you were looking for a way to extend the life of your midi skirt and sneakers after summer, this is it.) Carbon38 Double
5 foods with vitamin C to help you fight cold season
October 06, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC When smeared on topically, vitamin C gives your complexion a dewy glow. Research suggests that the antioxidant can work a similar magic on your immune system. Eating an orange, or another piece of produce with vitamin C, won’t necessarily be a “fix” for a case of the common cold. But hey—desperate times call for desperate measures (and all the oranges you can eat). According to Harvard Health Publishing, the most compelling case for using foods with vitamin C to fight colds stemmed from research published back in 2013. Twenty-nine randomized trials with over 11,000 participants found that particularly active people (like athletes, soldiers, and marathon runners) who took 200 or more milligrams of vitamin C each day were half as likely to come down with a cold. Moderately athletic people who took the same amount didn’t receive the same benefits, but the antioxidant did appear to shorten the length of their colds. Eating all the foods with vitamin C shouldn’t be your only line of defense against the germy months ahead. During cold season, you can certainly up the 65 to 90 milligram daily recommendation to 200, but make sure you’re combatting sickness with exercise, a holistically healthy diet, and all the sleep you can get. Now that everything’s on the table, here are the foods rich in vitamin C to munch on all year round. 5 foods with vitamin C to help fight cold season 1. Citrus As fans of Emergen-C have
The longest-living people in the world have these 9 things in common
October 06, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC In the US, the average life expectancy is 78 years. But there are a few places in the world—specifically Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece—where living to be over 100 isn’t uncommon at all. In these regions, known as Blue Zones, the life expectancy isn’t just higher; centenarians are generally also healthy, their minds and bodies still working well. National Geographic journalist Dan Buettner spent years studying each culture, pinpointing the exact reasons why they thrived before publishing his findings in the best selling book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. Buettner found that despite the geographical differences, people living in the Blue Zones all had nine key lifestyle habits in common, which he named the “Power 9.” Here, each pillar is explained, with input from doctors about why it’s so crucially connected to health and longevity. Keep reading for the complete intel, including how to apply the pillars to your own life. 1. Move naturally Buettner found that in all the Blue Zones communities, movement was a regular part of daily life for the residents. The Longevity Plan author John Day, MD saw this first-hand as well when he spent a year living in remote China. Even in their advanced age, he saw centenarians working in the fields and throughout the village. Of course, here in the States, our jobs are a lot more sedentary. But Dr. Day still says we
‘I’m an endocrinologist, and these are the 4 things I do for my hormone health’
October 04, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC Hormones, unfortunately, get a pretty bad rap. While of that reputation is earned (hello, menstrual mood swings and ho-hum sex drive), the truth is your hormones have a huge impact on your overall health, so keeping their function in tip-top shape is essential to your well-being. “The endocrine system is a collection of glands that produce hormones that help regulate metabolism, development, sexual function, reproduction, sleep and even mood,” says Yasmin Akhunji, MD, an Arizona-based endocrinologist with Paloma Health. “When these glands are not producing the right amount of hormones, diseases can develop and affect many different aspects of your life.” It’s true: Whether it is endocrine-disrupting chemicals (which can be found in everything ranging from food to the air to cosmetics) or a lack of sleep, the health of your hormones can be affected by a number of things. Which is why you’ll want to listen closely as Dr. Akhunji weighs in on the things she does every day to help promote a natural, healthy hormone balance. 1. Set sleep goals—and follow through on them There’s a reason why practically every expert goes on and on about getting a good night’s sleep—it’s crucial for all aspects of your health, including the endocrine system. The release of hormones from your pituitary gland (the “master endocrine organ” in the brain), is “markedly” influenced by sleep, says Dr. Akhunji. “Several studies have been done that examine the impact of the hormone, metabolism, and immune function
If vegetables had Coca-Cola’s ad agency, we’d all be addicted to them, too
October 04, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC Every time I stroll through the cereal aisle at the grocery store I hear a familiar tune in my head: “Hearts, stars, and horseshoes, clovers and blue moons, unicorns, rainbows, and tasty red balloons!” It’s catchy, sure, but a new study published in the journal Psychological Science suggests that the breakfast Leprechaun is also using a clever marketing strategy to convince you to add a box of cereal to your cart. When it comes to selecting what we buy and what we pass by, researchers found that healthy food labels with marketing driven by taste rather than healthiness wins over the consumer. To reach this conclusion, academics from Stanford University partnered with Menus of Change University Research Collaborative—a network of U.S. universities dedicated to promoting healthy and sustainable eating for college students—to study how labeling foods influences decision-making in the cafeteria. After tracking 140,000 decisions made about 71 vegetable dishes either labeled with taste-focused, health-focused, or neutral labels, researchers found that the taste reigned supreme. In fact, cafeteria-goers put veggies on their plates 29 percent more often when the labeling focused on flavor than when it stressed the health of the vegetable. With more research, the Stanford team also learned that vegetables sold as delectable had to actually follow through on that promise. Otherwise, students abandoned the healthy foods on their plates. “This is radically different from our current cultural approach to healthy eating.” —Alia Crum, PhD Alia Crum, PhD, an assistant professor