Is green juice really the end-all, be-all of wellness?

April 05, 2019 at 11:30AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8csZ9D1IKn0] Ah, green juice. Is there anything more emblematic of the wellness movement? The starring vegetable may change (spinach, kale, and now celery juice), but green juice in general has stood the test of time—unlike Jazzercise and Jane Fonda workout videos. But are green juice benefits for real? It’s a question registered dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD gets to the bottom of in Well+Good’s latest episode of You Versus Food, a YouTube series devoted to giving the straight facts on popular food and drink trends. (You’ve already subscribed to our channel, right?) What are the benefits of green juice? There are a couple, Beckerman says. Namely: 1. It’s rich in antioxidants. Thanks to all of those fruits and vegetables, of course! 2. It’s filled with easy-to-absorb nutrients. OK, you know all the benefits that you’d generally get with green veggies (antioxidants, minerals and phytonutrients)? You can get most of them from a green juice, in a format that’s potentially easier for your body to digest. 3. It’s high in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is what plants use to convert sunlight into energy—and gives them their signature green color. In people, chlorophyll can aid digestion, help detox the liver, and has antioxidant properties. However: “A juice alone isn’t nutritionally considered a balanced meal,” Lockwood-Beckerman says. That’s because green juices typically lack much protein, healthy fat, and fiber. (Oh right, fiber!) She suggests supplementing a meal with green juice, or juicing between meals, rather than using a green juice as

Read More

Here’s what a serving size actually looks like of 10 of your favorite healthy foods

April 05, 2019 at 07:01AM by CWC Conventional wisdom (and most research) tells us that healthy eating requires eating balanced portions of a wide variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Seems simple enough…except for the fact that what’s recommended on the back of a nutrition label isn’t always enlightening. And a lot of traditional serving size definitions are pretty unhelpful, tbh. (When was the last time you looked at a deck of cards as a size reference for anything?) “Portion sizes can get a bit confusing, since a lot of nutrition labels talk in grams for portions and people don’t carry a food scale around in their back pocket,” says Brigitte Zeitlin, R.D., owner of BZ Nutrition in New York City. “One serving can seem a bit abstract and not really a concrete visual to understand.” Most of us tend to overestimate portions since we’re used to restaurant portions—which are actually more like double the recommended serving size, Zeitlin says. The one exception: vegetables, which most of us don’t get enough of. “I tell clients to double or sometimes triple the fresh veggies they have in a day,” she says. By doing so, you’ll edge closer to your recommended 25 grams daily grams of fiber, plus you’ll get a dose of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Not sure what a portion is? Here’s what a serving size actually looks like for 10 healthy foods you’re probably plopping in your grocery cart all the time. 1. Cashews Photo: W+G Creative Serving

Read More

The best fruit-spiked skin care to target just about every single concern

April 05, 2019 at 06:27AM by CWC These days, I have to do a double take when I open my skin-care cabinet to make sure I’m not actually opening a refrigerator. From apples to citrus to strawberries to pineapples, there are enough fruit-based actives in my current product arsenal to rival the Sunday farmer’s market. And for good reason: Fruits, in general, are packed with antioxidants, which means slathering them onto your skin offers a whole slew of benefits, including pollution protection and anti-aging. Plus, since many of nature’s candies tend to be packed with water, they also happen to extra-hydrating, too. We all know that we need our daily serving of fruits (and veggies) in our diets, and our skin-care routines deserve the same treatment for optimal health. But instead of choosing just one ingredient to add to your arsenal, why not turn it into a full-on fruit salad? Here, we’ve got all the luminance-boosting products to help you do it.   Banana This skin care is bananas, b-a-n-a…you get the idea. “Since bananas are power packed with essential vitamins such as B3, B5, B6 and vitamin C, they produce fabulous results in keeping the skin healthy and fresh,” says dermatologist Karen Hammerman, MD, of Schweiger Dermatology Group in Garden City, New York. “The vitamin A in bananas helps to restore skins moisture and treat dullness, dryness and damages skin.” Because they’re made up of 75 percent water, they make great hydrators for dry skin. Shop banana skin-care products

Read More

For a longer life, adding healthy foods is more important than cutting anything out

April 04, 2019 at 01:14PM by CWC The vast majority of eating plans revolve around striking certain foods from the menu. No sugar, no processed foods, no foods at all after 8 p.m., and on, and on (and on). But according to a 27-year worldwide diet analysis recently published in the journal Lancet, restricting the ingredients on our plates isn’t nearly as important as making sure that whole grains, fruit, fiber, healthy fats, and veggies are there in the first place. To reach this conclusion, CNN reports that lead study researcher Ashkan Afshin, MD, assistant professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, studied the effect of 15 dietary risk factors on both disability and death. His team analyzed diets high in foods linked with poor health—like red meat, sugar, trans-fats, and salt—alongside those with sparse amounts of wholesome foods. The results concluded that those “bad for you foods” (aside from salt) actually ranked towards the bottom of the risk factors. But here’s the real kicker: Of the top three nutrition-related deaths in the year 2017, two were a result of not eating enough of a certain food group. Namely, people were majorly under-eating whole grains and fruit. Of the top three nutrition-related deaths in the year 2017, two were a result of not eating enough of a certain food group. Namely, people were majorly under-eating whole grains and fruit. High risk factors identified in the analysis also varied greatly depending on geographical location. In America and

Read More

The psychological reason why indulging your cravings is usually a good thing

April 04, 2019 at 12:39PM by CWC Raise your hand if you’ve ever started a healthy food kick (hooray for green smoothies and grain bowls!)…only to start desperately missing your favorite treats by like, day three? The struggle is so, so real. And yes, it’s true that food cravings can be your body telling you that you need to get more sleep, or that it needs more salt post-workout. But sometimes you just need some cheesecake, or an order of fries, you know? That’s where healthy eating gets tricky—because while it’s tempting to completely cut out “bad” foods, or replace them with healthier dupes, those actually are not successful strategies for most people. What’s more, resisting the foods you crave can become not just an exercise in willpower but a full-on distraction from other things in your life. In order to find that happy medium between eating what you love and eating a healthy, well-rounded diet, experts have a somewhat counterintuitive suggestion: indulge that craving. It’s not news that taking a balanced approach to healthy eating is more sustainable than following strict food rules. Sure, some foods might be more nutritious than others, but trying to avoid foods you think are “bad” and only eat “good” foods isn’t likely to make you healthier overall. “When you tell yourself something is off limits, you’re likely to think about it more often,” says Judith Matz, LCSW, co-author of The Diet Survivor’s Handbook: 60 Lessons in Eating, Acceptance and Self-Care. You know how

Read More

This warming spice blend satisfies your chai latte cravings without the caffeine

April 04, 2019 at 06:16AM by CWC As much as I love matcha, there’s nothing more soothing than a chai latte. Even just one sip of those warm spices sends a wave of comfort throughout my entire body. But you don’t need to head to your favorite coffee shop every time you want to get your fix. By creating a mix at home, you’ll have a stash that stays fresh in your pantry for up to three months. Dana Shultz, the recipe developer behind the plant-based food blog Minimalist Baker, recently shared that she, too, is a lover of all things chai. And instead of treating herself to something whipped up by a barista, she created a six-ingredient, totally caffeine-free version she can drink at home anytime she wants. “This mix is made up of some of my favorite spices: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, and cloves,” she writes. “After much testing of different ratios, this is the perfect blend—in my humble opinion—to create a dreamy chai latte.” The blend—which can be used in both hot and cold chai lattes!—only requires a few minutes to create. After adding your spices to a small jar, all you need to do is shake or stir everything up to make sure all the ingredients are combined. Once you’re done, you’ll add 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of the mix to your favorite plant milk (she suggests coconut or almond) whenever you’re craving the beverage. Starbucks, who? [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91HA02Z7zWk] If you’re in the

Read More

9 Mediterranean diet benefits that explain why experts love it so much

April 04, 2019 at 04:50AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGnyqti9wsw] The ketogenic diet may have been the buzziest eating plan in 2018, but is it the healthiest overall? According to U.S. News and World Report, the tried-and-true Mediterranean diet rises to take the top honor. A panel of health experts examined and ranked 41 popular eating plans, concluding that the Mediterranean diet is the most universally beneficial for long-term health. Further down the list, U.S. News named the DASH diet as the second healthiest, with WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) as fourth, vegetarian as 11th, vegan as 20th, Paleo as 33rd, and Whole30 and keto tied for 38th. What makes the Mediterranean diet so beloved by MDs and nutrition experts? Registered dietitian Lauren Slayton, RD, points to the fact that it emphasizes the consumption of foods high in omega-3s and healthy fats, like fish, olive oil, nuts, grains, legumes, fruits, and veggies. “[Olive oil] has tremendous cardiovascular benefits,” she says. Meanwhile, you’re eating a lot less red meat—although it’s still permitted on occasion. It’s generally pretty easy for people to follow, Slayton says (and allows for small amounts of red wine). “Diet trends come and go, but the Mediterranean diet’s encouragement of eating a variety of foods in moderation is pretty aligned with the advice I like to give my clients.” —Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD “The Mediterranean diet isn’t a specific set of rules and restrictions, making it way easier to adopt than other trendy eating plans,” says Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, in

Read More

1 78 79 80 81 82 122