September 13, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC The word “cafeteria” transports me back to my high school days of shuffling through the lunch line with hundreds of equally-hungry teenagers. The chicken was dry, they (somehow?) managed to ruin pizza, and breakfast-for-lunch days were the only silver lining. So imagine my surprise when I learned that you could eat healthy in a cafeteria…if you go to one run by the U.S. Army. Army cafeterias operate under the “Go For Green” system (a version of the Stoplight Diet), which was started back in 2011 by General Mark C. Hartley, MD, of the Center for Initial Military Training as part of the Soldier Fueling Initiative. “What he saw was that recruits were really struggling in initial military training just based on their physical fitness status and their nutrition status,” says Maj. Brenda Bustillos, PhD, a nutritionist with the U.S. Army. The “Go For Green” program remedied the problem with a two-fold solution: labeling all prepared foods as red, yellow, or green, then redesigning the dining facilities (“D-facs”) to better direct troops toward performance-boosting foods. Once you know what foods belong in which color category and why (which we’ll touch on in a sec), the system becomes an intuitive, easy, and surprisingly fun way to game-ify your own healthy eating goals and habits. Even if you don’t have a gymnasium-sized “D-fac” in your own home, you can totally use the army’s system to stock your fridge and prepare meals that meet your specific nutritional
Tag: Well+Good
6 signs someone is in love with you, based on body language alone
September 13, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC The early stages of a romantic relationship holds tons of excitement and potential energy; you’re learning new things about your new partner, settling into new routines, and figuring out your feelings. At a certain point, though, you’ll probably be ready to say those three magic words, but you’re nervous about uttering them first for fear that you won’t hear them in return, or—worse—that your partner won’t share your sentiment. Because picking up on signs someone is in love with you isn’t a science or easy to do with any semblance of confidence, the act of saying it can feel like a game of chicken—but that doesn’t have to be the case. Relationship coach and founder of Spark Matchmaking Michelle Fraley says learning to read your partner’s body language can be key for deciphering whether they’ve fallen for you. “Nonverbals are a big part of healthy and loving communication,” she says. Below are six body-language signs someone is in love with you, even if they have yet to say it. Look out for these 6 body language signs someone is in love with you, regardless of whether they’ve said the words. 1. Proximity If someone is in love, they’ll close the gap between you as often as they can. According to Fraley, you’ll want to consider the following four questions: Do they make an effort to get closer to me? Do they inch closer to me while seated? Do they place objects, like their
I’m a dentist and these are the 5 things that I do every day for whiter teeth
September 13, 2019 at 01:16AM by CWC If you’re like me you, you absolutely despise the dentist. She could be the nicest, most cheerful person on Earth, and while in her chair, I’ll be grinning and bearing it as if it were actual torture. As a result, I always preface my appointments with the fact that I don’t mean to be frigid, but in the case of my teeth—and the prospect of sharp tools drilling into them—I simply can’t be held accountable. In an effort to boost my oral health and reduce the amount of time I spend white-knuckling it through routine cleanings (at best) and fillings (at worst), I chatted with a few dentists to learn the top five things they do every day for healthy, happy gums and teeth. Keep scrolling for the habits that they’re making happen every. single. day. Jeffrey Sulitzer, DMD, SmileDirectClub Chief Clinical Officer, 1. Brush three times daily (and floss after each meal): “I always use a soft toothbrush and make sure to spend at least two minutes every time I brush,” Dr. Sulitzer says. “While most people know that brushing and flossing can keep your teeth clean, some people don’t know that brushing at least three times a day and flossing once a day can reduce chronic inflammation of the gums and support tooth structures. This is important since chronic inflammation in the mouth in the form of gum disease is very similar to what happens in the rest of the body
Give it to me straight: Is wheat bad for you?
September 13, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC It used to be that reaching for two slices of whole wheat bread to make a sandwich was considered a healthy choice. But now, with popular eating plans such as Paleo and Whole30 taking wheat off the table entirely (no grains are part of either), wheat’s healthy reputation has come under fire. With grocery store aisles full of gluten-free substitutes, it’s relatively easy to get away with avoiding it all together anyways. On the other hand, wheat is “allowed” for followers of the Mediterranean diet, which is often heralded by doctors as the healthiest way to eat. Confusing, right? I called up Liz Weinandy, RD, a registered dietitian at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, to set the record straight on wheat. Speaking of gluten, here’s what a registered dietitian has to say about cutting it out completely: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn9XGWtvL1s] Is wheat bad for you? Not for most of us Despite its bad rap, Weinandy is quick to tell me that wheat has many positive traits beyond being cheap and readily available. “Wheat has beneficial vitamins such as B6, iron, zinc, and selenium, and is also a good source of fiber,” she says. Given the many benefits of a high-fiber benefit (it lowers inflammation, is linked to optimal gut health, and boosts metabolism), this last point is worth paying attention to. But according to Weinandy, not all foods with wheat are equally healthy. Shocker—a diet high in processed carbohydrates, like cookies, white bread,
Harness the ‘behavior chain’ to break unhealthy eating habits for good
September 13, 2019 at 12:15AM by CWC Pinpointing my motivations for doing, well, just about anything, is a fruitless task. The inner-workings of the human psyche are largely enigmatic to me. But when a coworker introduced me to the “behavior chain,” a model that helps you to identify which actions trigger specific behaviors, I felt the fog lift. Once you know how the behavior chain works, you can use it to hack all of your habits—but it might be most useful when it comes to nutrition. “Typically, the behavior chain looks at behaviors we want to stop, or that are detrimental,” says psychotherapist Jennifer Silvershein, LCSW. When it comes to healthy eating though, it’s possible to use it not just to identify a perceived problem but also to put a positive spin on it, which helps you make good choices down the line. First, let’s establish the ground rules of the behavior chain. “The behavior chain is a tool that enables an individual to better understand the function of a particular behavior,” says Silvershein. “While attempting to complete a behavior chain analysis, an individual begins to slowly dissect all of the factors that lead to the specific behavior they are focusing on.” The four steps of the behavior chain are the trigger, thought, action, and consequence. By following the breadcrumbs back to the trigger of a certain action, you can begin to understand why you did something in the first place. And the next step is to be mindful of how
This is the exercise NASA astronauts do when they get back from space to recover
September 12, 2019 at 11:01PM by CWC List out all of the different types of exercises in the world, and you’d be hard pressed to find one more fun than a rebounder workout. After all, the entire premise is basically just jumping on a trampoline—the way you used to back in third grade—with some choreography mixed in. Rebounding has been around since the early eighties, but has risen in popularity lately thanks to a number of studios like New York City’s The Ness and Los Angeles’s LEKFit integrating trampoline workouts into their class offerings. And for good reason. There are a whole lot of benefits of rebounding (aside from it being one of the most enjoyable ways to break a sweat). Seriously—a study out of NASA in the eighties (this is when these types of workouts first became popular) found that jumping on a trampoline can give you a full-body workout without the impact and pressure on your ankles and knees that you might get from running on a treadmill. They dubbed it an effective way for astronauts to recover and regain bone and muscle mass after returning from space, and needless to say, if it’s good enough for astronauts, I’ll be all over it. Want to do the same? Here are the benefits and how to incorporate a routine into your sweat mix. The benefits of rebounding It gets your heart pumping: The most obvious benefits of rebounding have to do with your cardiovascular system. If you remember anything
Friday the 13th: Astrologically speaking, should we brace ourselves for bad luck?
September 12, 2019 at 10:49PM by CWC When I pulled up my calendar today to see my schedule, it dawned on me that Friday the 13th approaches. To get ahead of the bad luck this date seems to promise, I decided to ask an astrologist if there was any significance. (In true Piscean fashion, I was also looking for a way to be the victim instead of take responsibility for my actions should anything go haywire.) Turns out Friday the 13th is a little misunderstood, and it’s not quite the doomsday it’s been made out to be. Astrologically speaking, September 13, 2019 is significant in that it “only coincides with a Full Moon around every 20 years,” says astrologer Amy Tripp. The next full moon on Friday the 13th won’t happen until 2049. “It’s superstitious significance has roots in Christianity, as Judas was the 13th guest at the Last Supper and the crucifixion of Jesus occurred on a Friday,” Tripp says. Also, hey, in tarot 13 is the Death card, she notes. “Though we have superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th and other ones about full moons, there is no direct astrological significance of these two things happening together,” intuitive healer and astrologer Rachel Lang adds. But astrologically speaking, “the energies up during this time can be quite intense,” she says. “The planets Jupiter, Neptune, and Mars are all involved, in addition to the Sun and Moon. This could mean a perfect blend of mixed emotions, heightened awareness about life circumstances,
The 2-minute shower routine that a derm and acupuncturist say will jolt you awake
September 12, 2019 at 09:25PM by CWC Taking a shower is the best $0 self-care method that there is. Think about it: A few minutes under the jet stream gives you an excuse to slather your body in fancy products while simultaneously washing away dirt/grime/stress/sins, and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t feel better when they stepped out of a shower than they did when they stepped in. But one way to up your shower self-care game even more, aside from investing in a $22 body wash, is to turn it into a hydrotherapy session. Hydrotherapy—which is a fancy word for “hot/cold therapy”—does a whole slew of good things for your body, and has become a spa-scene fixture over the past few years. But according to board-certified dermatologic surgeon and specialist David Amron, MD, you actually don’t have to leave your bathroom (or even your shower) in order to experience it for yourself. He cites switching the water in your shower from hot to cold as one of the easiest (and free!) ways to activate your lymphatic system. “Hydrotherapy has many healing health benefits such as relieving sore achy muscles, relaxing for stress relief, and its overall cleansing ability to detoxify,” confirms Tina Tsan, a licensed acupuncturist, adding that it also helps reduce swelling by improving your lymphatic function. When you alternate between hot and cold water in the shower, it helps get the fluid in your lymphatic system moving, otherwise known as lymphangiomotorcity (… try saying that three times
True or False: Stretching actually makes you taller
September 12, 2019 at 07:16PM by CWC Standing at 5 feet 5 inches tall, I’m pretty happy with my height. That said, if I was offered the chance to grow a few inches to make my #legsfordays dreams a reality, I’d most certainly take it. Sadly, there’s really no way to increase your height aside from those platform sneakers in your closet. Still, some people insist that regular stretching does the trick. But is there any merit to that claim? Does stretching make you taller? Stretching can help to improve mobility, boosting energy, fight off aches and pains, and prevent injury. When it comes to making you taller, on the other hand, you’re out of luck I’m afraid. “Stretching will not make you taller—that’s determined by your bone structure, among other factors,” says physical therapist Katie Sun Worrall. There is some good news, though: If you’re a chronic sloucher (like me!), stretching could make you appear to be taller. “If you slouch when standing or sitting, your trunk muscles may be in a constant shortened state. Stretching can help improve your posture and allow you to stand up straighter, effectively making you appear taller,” says Worall. “If you sit hunched over at a desk all day, the muscles you should stretch to help improve your posture—and stand up straighter!—are your pecs. I would also recommend any exercise that will help lengthen your spine, like yoga.” Also cool: Putting a focus on lengthening and stretching your muscles while you’re young can help
This color-correcting serum nixes my rosacea redness better than any concealer
September 12, 2019 at 07:01PM by CWC Rosacea is an extremely rude and disrespectful skin condition. I say this with authority because my diagnosis last year cleared up any confusion about my skin. So that’s why I get weird whitehead-looking breakouts if I’m out in the sun for too long. (Fun fact: rosacea can manifest as tiny pimples.) It’s also the reason why I turn beet red after a workout class or getting a facial, and why my makeup-free skin resembles a ripened heirloom tomato. My dermatologist has helped me overhaul my skin-care routine to avoid certain problematic ingredients that cause irritation, adding in some topical prescription treatments that have majorly improved the overall quality and health of my skin. But when it inevitably flares up, I often feel powerless to do anything about it. I’ve historically had very little luck with nearly every so-called “redness-reducing” product on the planet. Yes, I know that green technically cancels out red on the color wheel, but green concealers and creams and serums just leave me looking like the Grinch mid-blush. Not cute. After listening to my struggles (and seeing them written in red all over my face), beauty editor Zoe Weiner handed me a bottle of the Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Camo Drops ($46). It’s a hybrid between a color-corrector and a serum to help reduce redness and soothe angry skin. “My sister has rosacea, too, and she loves this whole line,” Weiner told me. But my built-in trust issues with