March 10, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC In a testament to how quickly things can change in an election season, former Vice President Joe Biden—who trailed behind Bernie Sanders (and several other candidates) in the first few primaries of the year—is now the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. His moderate views won over an unexpected 10 of the 14 states that held primaries on Super Tuesday, and he’s now leading over Sanders in the national polls. Plus, a flood of former Democratic candidates have rushed forward to endorse Biden in the past week, including Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Historically, every party candidate that’s been this far ahead in polls and endorsements has gone on to win the nomination, according to CNN. Biden’s been making headlines since 1973, when he became one of the youngest people elected to the Senate at 29 years old. During his 36 years as a Delaware senator, he acted as an early champion of climate change reform and gun control. He also authored the historic Violence Against Women Act in 1994, which seeks to protect and support victims of domestic and sexual violence. But the 77-year-old politician is best known for his eight-year stint as vice president in the Obama administration. During this time, he helped pass the Recovery Act—which helped America recover from the 2008 recession by investing in clean energy—the Affordable Care Act, and a series of gun reforms after the Sandy Hook Elementary
Category: Your Healthiest Relationship
The biggest mistake people are making with their double cleanse, according to an esthetician
March 10, 2020 at 08:00PM by CWC Double cleansing is the lather-rinse-repeat of skin care, and it’s one of the best things you can do for your skin. Use an oil or a micellar water first, and then a traditional cleanser. But Cecilia Benavides, an esthetician and sales account manager at Repêchage, explains that we’re all making it way harder than it needs to be. Turns out, you can double cleanse with the same cleanser. “The first cleanse will help to lift the dirt off the top layer of the skin, so it’s gonna help to break down makeup, dirt, and excess oil,” she says. “And then the second cleansing will help to wash it away. You can use the same cleanser.” You may still want to use a makeup remover to gently remove eye makeup, but for everything else your normal cleanser will do, says Benavides. This is great for a few reasons: You don’t have to tote two face cleansers to the gym, and when you have a really amazing cleanser that works for your skin type, you can further reap the benefits by using it twice. Although there are many “for all skin types” cleansers, Benavides is a huge fan of finding one that caters to your skin type. “Let’s say you have acne-prone skin and you’re using a cleanser for dry skin—your skin already produces enough oil and sebum, and you can break out even more,” she says. “You’re clogging the pores more than just cleansing
Want dancer abs? Try this sweat sesh without a crunch or plank in sight
March 10, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC One of the best things about dance cardio workouts (besides the major mood and energy boost) is that you’re secretly working muscles you didn’t even know you had—all while bopping around to Beyonce. It’d be tough to find a single muscle group that dance workouts leave behind, but dancer abs sequences are no joke. “Having a strong core helps you move better in everyday life, improves your posture, and helps protect your back,” says Katia Pryce, former pro dancer and the founder and CEO of New York-based fitness brand, DanceBody and live-streaming platform DanceBody Live. “The core is the center of your body, so having a strong core is important no matter what exercise you do.” However, while boring-old crunches and feels-like-hours-long planks might have a place in HIIT workouts, dance cardio tends to favor upright, combination moves that are threaded into longer sequences. These functional movements more naturally mimic real life, and pros like Pryce think they have an edge on traditional abs moves. “What’s great about dancing is that you learn to use your core in every movement, even when you’re standing. You can plank and crunch until you’re blue in the face but there’s a lot more to a strong core, says Pryce. “Dancers learn how to engage and utilize the entire core in movement, and often hit those underutilized core muscles that other workouts sometimes forget.” Ready to get moving? Below, she gives us four standing abs exercises that
Why you should be skeptical of natural products claiming to treat COVID-19
March 10, 2020 at 05:30PM by CWC With confirmed cases of COVID-19 in 34 states, a host of natural “wellness” companies are attempting to capitalize on public fear by advertising products that “cure” or “prevent” coronavirus. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration swiftly replied by issuing warnings to seven companies with one resounding message: Don’t be fooled, there’s no “natural treatment” for the virus. The seven companies warned—including GuruNanda, Vivify Holistic Clinic, and Herbal Amy—have been given a 48 hours to correct their violations before facing legal consequences. Herbal Amy, for example, is selling a “Coronavirus Protocol” for the steep (and ineffective) price of $150. Vivify, meanwhile, sells a tea made to drink six times a day that offers “antiviral action.” The FDA—along with the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice—is poised to ensure false advertising doesn’t sway people from getting the treatment they need and deserve. “There already is a high level of anxiety over the potential spread of coronavirus,” said Joe Simons, chairman of the FTC, in the statement released to the New York Times. “What we don’t need in this situation are companies preying on consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment claims.” “What we don’t need in this situation are companies preying on consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment claims.” —Joe Simons, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission Attorney General William P. Barr echoed the sentiments of the FTC in a similar statement. “The Department of Justice stands ready
How compatible are the 6 ‘Love Is Blind’ couples, according to their Myers-Briggs types?
March 10, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC On the Netflix reality series Love Is Blind, cast members looking for marriage were tasked with finding their soul mate by going on dates where they couldn’t see the other person. Within days, real and committed couples emerged with six ultimately getting engaged, all without having seen each other. The rest of the series follows each of the Love Is Blind couples as they navigate how the introduction of physical factors and real-life issues impacts the health of their relationship. Ultimately, they decide whether or not to get married in the final episode. As a viewer, were you surprised about who clicked, who didn’t, who said “I do,” and who said “I don’t?” Thanks to the analytical powers offered by the Myers-Briggs personality typology, I, for one wasn’t the least bit shocked. Because although the only way to formally validate a person’s true Myers-Briggs type is by taking the official MBTI test, according to my own armchair analysis of the cast members’ types and resulting compatibility with their mate, the results make sense. Check out my MBTI breakdown of each of the Love Is Blind couples below (and watch out for spoilers!). How the 6 Love Is Blind couples stack up, according to their Myers-Briggs compatibility 1. Lauren Speed (ENFP) and Cameron Hamilton (INFJ) Cameron and Lauren are one of the two Love Is Blind couples who got married on the show—and they are indeed well-matched. She’s an outspoken, creative, activism-focused ENFP, and he’s
6 delicious, low-carb snacks that are totally plant-based—and dietitian-approved
March 10, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC If you had to name the two biggest food movements of the past year, it’s safe to say that plant-based and low-carb eating come out on top. You wouldn’t be wrong—while the keto diet continues to be a mainstay of the healthy eating community since it exploded into the mainstream in 2018, plant-based eating has never been bigger thanks to renewed concerns about the health of the planet. However, if a person was interested in combining plant-based or vegan and low-carb eating…that’s where things can get tricky. Many plant-based forms of protein, like whole grains and lentils, are naturally higher in carbs—making them seem not quite suitable for stricter forms of low-carb eating. Snacking in particular is challenging, says Lauren Harris-Pincus, RDN, author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club. “While it’s easy to find low-carb, high-protein snacks that include animal protein like cheese, turkey, jerky or whey based bars or chips, it’s tougher to find low-carb, plant-based snacks,” she says. Another tricky thing? “Low-carb eating is not very well defined,” Harris-Pincus says. “Some [people] say less than 100 grams of net carbs per day, some as low as 20 grams.” When you’re determined to eat primarily plant-based, being okay with slightly more carbs than traditional keto comes with the territory. A pretty good goal is to aim for 10 grams of net carbs (that’s total carbohydrates minus fiber) or less for a snack, she says. Don’t feel like reading a million labels to find
Your guide to the healthiest spots in West Hollywood for a rejuvenating weekend
March 10, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4y_PI1Jerg] Los Angeles is rife with options for flexing your wellness muscles and learning more about the art of living a well life: You have the environmental benefit of mood-boosting warmth and sunniness, healthy food locales, and the seemingly endless fitness options to explore. But sometimes, even if you’re interested in learning more about the art of living a well life and doing so joyfully, the sheer abundance of those options can be overwhelming. That’s why in the latest episode of What the Wellness, Well+Good producer Ella Dove breaks down the can’t-miss wellness hot spots in West Hollywood, to give you a cheat sheet of sorts. And if you’re looking for wellness under one roof, she has you covered with a locale on Sunset Boulevard that has everything you could imagine for helping to stabilize your mind and body’s equilibrium: Remedy Place. Remedy Place is a veritable Disneyland of innovative healing treatments. A few sophisticated practices worth trying out? Well, the spot, which bills itself as a social wellness club, offers cryotherapy, a compression lounge for lymphatic drainage, hyperbaric chambers, and more so you can really choose how you want to get your Zen on. Social wellness club Remedy Place offers cryotherapy, a compression lounge for lymphatic drainage, hyperbaric chambers, and more. “Life’s stressful, and we can’t eliminate all the stress on our body, so it’s our job to counteract each stress we put on the body, and to bring your body back to
OK, TMI: Help! I think I desensitized myself by using my vibrator…a lot
March 10, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC There are two kinds of sexual urban legends: the ones that turn out to be delightfully true, like exercise-induced orgasms, and those that are, thankfully, not grounded in reality. (FWIW, you can’t get permanently stretched out from butt play, no matter what your college roommate told you.) So what’s the deal with the notion of masturbating too much—and, specifically, can using a vibrator too much lead vulva-owners to become less sensitive to sexual stimulation from another human? Although it may sound like a myth, I’ve experienced such desensitizing effects after long stretches of quality time with my buzzy bedmate, and according to a very non-scientific poll of my friends, I’m not not the only one. If you’ve experienced the same, though, no need to panic. As it turns out, there’s pretty much no risk of lasting desensitization following an extended session with your vibrator of choice. “Regular use of a vibrator will not impact a person with a vulva’s ability to experience sexual pleasure,” says Myisha Battle, sex and relationship coach and Allbodies partner practitioner. “Even if you use a vibrator every day, multiple times a day, your body will return to baseline a few minutes after each session or orgasm.” “Even if you use a vibrator every day, multiple times a day, your body will return to baseline a few minutes after each session or orgasm.” —Myisha Battle, sex and relationship coach However, a small percentage of people may experience a longer-lasting
The best energy-boosting self-care practice to pick up this year, according to your zodiac sign
March 10, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC Sometimes, to-do lists grow so long, it’s tough to focus on the items that are actually important. That resulting endless-feeling slog can make completing anything at all feel difficult and draining rather than empowering. Furthermore, sometimes what we think will help us actually goes against what will make us feel better. That’s where considering self care for zodiac signs may inspire some helpful, unique-to-your-sign energy-boosting ideas. Below, check out the top tips from astrologers Kyle Thomas and Lisa Stardust to help you get the energy you need to crush your goals for the rest of the year. The best self care for zodiac signs, so each star sign can stay energized all year. Aries: work out These fiery rams are all about racing toward their goals at breakneck speed, which can also lead them to burn out faster than anyone else. Thomas suggests these cardinal signs channel their aggression in another way: at the gym. “For Aries, scheduling time for lifting or cardio will help them feel strong in their bodies and allow them to get out of their heads,” he says. Taurus: prioritize quality sleep Taureans are very reliable, stable earth signs, but they also tire quickly. “Taureans need sleep more than any of the other zodiac signs in order to keep their strength and stamina up,” says Thomas. “Shutting off their phones so that they don’t stay up in bed all night will help .” Gemini: read for pleasure These chatty
Dyson’s new straightener cuts breakage and damage in half
March 10, 2020 at 01:30PM by CWC When Dyson launches a new styling product, your hair’s health is the reason why. The brand’s Supersonic Blow Dryer ($399) became an instant hit, thanks to the fact that it can dry hair with less heat (and in less time) than its competitors, and the Air Wrap ($550) revolutionized the way we thought about hot tools thanks to its ability to curl hair without an actual iron. Now, after seven years and $32 million in research and development, the brand has done it again with the launch of the Dyson Coralle ($499), a straightening iron that smooths hair with half of the damage of a regular straightener. The iron, which launches today, uses first-of-its kind flexing plate technology that keeps strands safe. In order to properly straighten hair, you need heat to do a couple of things: break hydrogen bonds, create tension and compression to reshape hair, and control how heat hits the strands. Traditional straighteners can only apply this heat and tension to the thickest part of your hair because of flat, stiff plates. That’s why you normally need to go over each section with multiple passes in order to get it successfully straightened. With the Coralle’s flexing plate technology, the plates move with your hair (instead of laying flat) to evenly distribute heat and tension with each pass. This means that it can get the job done with less heat than your usual iron, and the result—according to years worth of