November 23, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC Trying out a new deodorant is a risky business. Either you’ll fly under the radar or you’ll make sure no one get within an arms-length of your body odor. Acid, one deodorant alternative, has inspired heated debates. So we asked dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, to finally give us the cold, hard truth about its efficacy. In case you’re new to this whole “acid as deodorant” thing, here’s a primer from Dr. Zeichner: “The goal of deodorants is to minimize odor on the skin. They work by either masking the smell or lowering levels of odor-causing bacteria under the arms. Acids likely help by lowering the skin’s pH, creating an environment not hospitable for bacteria to grow,” he says. In theory, the pH-lowering quality of acids means that you can use skin-care acids, like facial toner, beneath your arms in place of deodorant. However, there are a few caveats. “It’s unclear whether [acids] are any more effective than traditional natural deodorants,” says Dr. Zeichner. Since no research has yet been conducted on the virtues of natural deodorant versus acids, it’s mostly up to you to test—then decide—what’s right for your pits. “So long as your skin is not sensitive, you can try [putting] your facial toner under the arms,” says Dr. Zeichner. But if you recently shaved or have chafing under your arms, skip the acids entirely. If you do find that an acid deodorant alternative keeps you smelling fresh as a daisy, you’re
Category: Your Healthiest Relationship
Your guide to navigating the great wide world of fertility startups
November 23, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC In August of this year, The Economist proclaimed in a headline, “The fertility business is booming,” and indeed, the statistics cited in the accompanying article support this proclamation. Today, the industry brings in $25 billion in sales, for example, and this number is projected to nearly double to $41 billion by 2026. Meanwhile, investors poured $624 million dollars into fertility businesses in 2018, up from under $200 million less than a decade ago. Baby-making, from IVF to egg freezing to fertility testing and way, way beyond is indeed big business. David Sable, MD, a former fertility doctor who now runs the Special Situations Life Sciences Fund, which invests in fertility-centric businesses, says that currently, assisted reproduction is the most underutilized area of health care in the U.S. economy. But that’s set to change, thanks in part to an explosion of startups as well as employers and states aiming to expand insurance coverage of these pricey services. (For reference, one round of IVF costs at least $12,000, and often is higher thanks to separate medication costs). He predicts that thanks to these changes, an additional 1.129 million Americans per year will be able to access fertility treatments. Plus, adds Norbert Gleicher, MD, medical director and chief scientist at the Center for Human Reproduction, demographic shifts are going to increase demand as well. “Patient populations are aging and women are having fewer and fewer children and so as a consequence, there are more and more
This jacket blocks your cell service so you can truly unplug when you’re outdoors
November 23, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC It can feel impossible to truly unplug these days without sending yourself to some far-flung destination selling restricted WiFi as a luxury. The internet is in your pocket until the day you die. Unless… Enter a new offering from The Arrivals called the AER Puffer, which is not only aesthetically enviable but also endowed with a surprising functionality: one of its pockets blocks all cellular, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID and NFC, EMR, EMF and radiation signals. If you’re wondering, “but why,” think about, say, a hike (aka a sometimes-uphill walk). You want to lose yourself in thought and appreciation for the majesty of nature (while it lasts!), but you also don’t want to be SOL if you get lost, break an ankle, or get attacked by a mountain lion. In other words, you can’t leave your phone in the car, but you also don’t really want to die on—of all things—a hike. The puffer marries form with function in other ways, too. It’s water- and wind-repellent, has a removable suspender system, and can protect you when temperatures plummet below 30 degrees. (At that point, I feel like not wanting to freeze off your fingers is reason enough to keep your phone tucked away, but maybe that’s just me.) It’s also R.D.S. (Responsible Down Standard) certified, which means the goose down sourced for the jacket was done so humanely. This holiday wishlist no-brainer comes in four colorways—navy, black, army green, and a sort of
Why one trainer believes we should all be creating “fitness resumes”
November 22, 2019 at 09:43PM by CWC Working on our resumes is one of those much-dreaded adult chores that everyone has to do, but complains about before actually getting around to it (see also: paying bills and flossing teeth). Drafting a fitness resume, though? That’s something I can get behind. Trainer and wellness coach David Chesworth, who’s the fitness director at Hilton Head Health, thinks you should be looking at your sweat game the same way you look at your career. Similar to your nine-to-five, your sweat dreams should be goal oriented and nicely organized with steps that get you to that goal. The fitness resume, something his colleague Matt Barrack, a fitness coach, coined can help you do just that. The idea is that you set up fitness goals, which help you track how you’re improving. “A lot of the times with goal setting and with behavior changes, just the idea of logging something reinforces adherence,” says Chesworth. “On top of that, the feeling of success leads to more success.” Think of it as a way to get extra motivation in your sweat game. “Showing your previous achievements reminds you how you’ve had success in the past,” says Chesworth, who says it’s helpful to outline your strengths and weaknesses in fitness. “Something that’s detrimental to the vast majority of people is getting tunnel vision with their workouts. If you’re not seeing the precise results you want, it can be frustrating—so a resume gives you more reasons to feel proud
The HPV vaccine is safe. Why do health experts still have to remind us of that fact?
November 22, 2019 at 07:30PM by CWC This week in health news, two new studies published in the journal Pediatrics confirmed that there are no health risks associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. This might sound like a bit of déjà vu, because the medical community has been saying this since the first HPV vaccine, Gardasil, was FDA-approved in 2006. Not only have 12 years of data proven it safe, experts say, but it significantly reduces a person’s risk of developing cervical, throat, mouth, and anal cancers, the majority of which are caused by the HPV virus. The World Health Organization even believes that if enough people are vaccinated against HPV, cervical cancer could be eliminated altogether. Clearly, there are (and have always been) many reasons to opt in to this vaccine, all of which outweigh its risk of minor side-effects. So why do health experts need to keep convincing us of this fact? One part of the answer is purely practical. A new version of the Gardasil vaccine, called Gardasil 9, was approved by the FDA in 2014, and experts have continued monitoring it for safety since then. The results of their analysis were published in the Pediatrics studies on November 18. “The original Gardasil vaccine protected against four types of HPV viruses that cause certain cancers in women and men. Gardasil 9 protects against the first four, plus five additional cancer-causing HPV viruses—nine total,” says Tom Shimabukuro, MD, MPH, MBA, deputy director of the CDC’s Immunization Safety
The ‘Pilates burpee’ may go down in history as the hardest core exercise ever
November 22, 2019 at 07:07PM by CWC If I could poll the entire world about the most challenging workouts, I bet at least 70 percent would namecheck the burpee. In a shocking turn of events though, it turns out one Pilates-inspired burpee variation somehow manages to make the move harder. While a standard burpee requires speed and agility, the Pilates burpee focuses on slow, measured movements that light up every muscle in the body. The sequence is very (very) similar to the yoga’s sun salutation A, and requires the same amount of practice to execute properly. So if you don’t nail it on the first try, don’t fret. Make a point of returning to your mat on a daily basis, and before you know it, this harder take on burpees will be no big deal. How to do the Pilates burpee variation that will make your whole body quake [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00W7vuidmHw] Repeat the Pilates push-up 3 to 5 times for a full warm up. 1. Start standing. Bring your arms up straight overhead. 2. Roll your spine slowly down toward the mat, engaging your abs as you go. 3. Once your hands touch the floor, walk them out to plank position. 4. Bend your elbows straight back to come into a tricep push-up (chaturanga). More advanced practitioners can lift one leg as they lower down. Extend your elbows again and come back to plank. 5. Walk your hands back so you’re in the same curved forward fold. 6. Use your
Is my diet healthy? This Australian quiz gave me the answer in 10 minutes
November 22, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC When your to-do list just keeps multiplying and you feel like there’s “never enough time in the day,” you may eat the majority of your meals on autopilot. And hey, sometimes that’s necessary. If you want to give your everyday eating habits a healthy diagnostic though, try taking the healthy diet quiz designed by nutrition experts at the University of Newcastle in Australia. The 10-minute questionnaire differs from other online quizzes about what constitutes a healthy diet. Yes, you’ll run through familiar questions about your macros (the fats, proteins, and carbohydrates that make up your diet). But the quiz also names a specific food—like pumpkin—and ask whether you eat it “less than once a week or never” or “once a week or more often.” Because of this extra step, the quiz gets a more better idea of what a week of eating looks like for you. After answering questions about about the vegetables, fruits, proteins, plant-based proteins, grains, dairy, condiments, and water you consume over the course of seven days, your diet gets a score up to 73 points. A score below 33 “needs work,” between 33 and 38 is “getting there,” between 39 and 46 is “excellent,” and above 47 is “outstanding.” You’ll also get a comprehensive report on the areas where your diet is fueling you, and the parts that could use improvement. At first, I felt personally offended by my score of 37 points. Then I realized that I wasn’t
Travel trends predict your 2020 itinerary will include a lot of ‘celecations’
November 22, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC Last month, I dreaded attending the big destination event that had been on my calendar for months. It was family wedding in Virginia with my parents and brother, and after a painful breakup, my plus-one had turned into a minus-one. While I got out of the weekend alive and well, I did still hope it would be the last ‘celecation’—or celebratory event requiring travel, and, thus, doubling as a vacation—for a while. Yet my 2020 calendar is already filled with destination events including a wedding in Wisconsin, a birthday in Michigan, a birthday in Mexico, and a wedding in New Paltz, New York, or San Francisco, or Maui (the bride-to-be is a Gemini who hasn’t yet decided on a coast, let alone venue). And this chaos isn’t limited to my personal experience; celecations are definitely on the rise. According to vacation-rental company VRBO‘s 2020 trend report, the term explains the event of families and friends from different places coming together to celebrate special occasions. And among people who traveled recently to celebrate a special occasion, 34 percent attended a birthday, anniversary, or other similar milestone; 31 percent went to a family reunion; and 16 percent went to a wedding. For people like me, who, to put it lightly, don’t love destination travel events to celebrate others because I prefer to have agency over my vacations plans, finances, and allocation of PTO, the ‘celecation’ rebrand is especially helpful. First, some insight into my grumblings:
Got a beauty sample hoarder in your life? These are the 12 skin-care gifts they’ll eagerly make room for
November 22, 2019 at 04:42PM by CWC Surprising a beauty obsessive with a skin-care present for the holidays is basically like gift-wrapping the coveted dewy glow. Because, after all, all a skin-care buff wants (at any point in the year) is a complexion that says, “Why yes, I do know how to take care of myself.” But how do you know what to get without logging hours online researching? Command-quit those tabs, because our editors curated this goldmine of skin-care essentials—from an argan oil to hydrate and glow courtesy of Josie Maran to an organizer for your aficionado’s growing collection—so you don’t have to. Keep scrolling to find the skin-care gifts to give the glow-chasers on your list. Josie Maran Peace, Love & CBD Set, $80 ($114 value) It’s winter, so your skin-care enthusiast is shifting to a different regimen in order to keep her skin at maximum dew. Help her lock in that much-needed moisture with Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter to feed skin with antioxidants and essential fatty acids, plus add a touch of soothing magic with CBD-rich Skin Dope Argan + 100 mg CBD. It’s just like gifting her skin a summer vacation. FaceTory Beauty Fridge, $100 In case you didn’t know, a mini fridge is the new skin-care it-item. Your jade-rolling BFF can now cool off her most-loved products to prolong their shelf life and give her sheet masks a de-puffing chill, so that they work double-time when she’s ready to slap one on
The holiday sugar cravings are real—here are 3 tips for satisfying your sweet tooth the smart way
November 22, 2019 at 04:35PM by CWC Who else has felt the effects of the holidays? No, we’re not talking about the stress of gift giving or the inevitable family feuds—we’re talking about the undeniable influx of sugar. Yeah—we’ve all been there. With all the cookie swaps, friendly gatherings, and holiday dinners, being inundated with less-than-great-for-you eats can just seem like a hazard of the job, leaving you tempted to hole up at home and go full hygge until the season is over. And the struggle isn’t just in your head. “It’s the time of the year when people adopt the ‘I’ll reset in January’ mentality and put their normal healthy habits on pause while they try to ‘get through’ the holidays,” says Eliza Savage, registered dietitian at Middleberg Nutrition. “Poor eating habits, skipping workouts, stress, and lack of sleep can compound to make sugar cravings worse.” Good news: It doesn’t have to be this way. With Savage’s tips, you can tackle the holidays and still enjoy your sweets. So if you’re feeling like a social butterfly, keep reading for how to get out there without feeling like you’re hitting up a sugar-only buffet. Scroll down for 3 ways you can satisfy your sweet tooth—plus, some easy desserts to add to your holiday lineup. 1. Opt for sugar-free desserts and treats There’s actually a reason you’re in the mood for something extra sugary around the holidays. “There’s absolutely more pressure to eat high-sugar foods during the holiday season due to