March 16, 2020 at 08:36PM by CWC At this point, gut health has been *the* topic of conversation in the wellness world for a while. We all know about drinking kombucha and eating foods high in probiotics for optimal gut health, and if you’re really deep in the scene, you might even have extensive thoughts about the mind-gut connection. However, I have a new topic in the land of gut health that you probably haven’t heard of yet: postbiotics. Related to prebiotics and probiotics, postbiotics are essentially the endgame goal of all your gut health efforts. “When you take prebiotics or probiotics, people don’t realize that at the end of the day, the hope is to get some postbiotics. The entire point is about postbiotics,” says gastroenterologist Will Bulsiewicz, MD, author of the upcoming book, Fiber Fueled. So why should we care about the latest and greatest “biotic” compound to come up in the wellness world? We asked Dr. Bulsiewicz to share the 411 on postbiotics and why they’re so important. What are postbiotics and how are they different from pre- and probiotics? Before we continue, here’s a quick gut health refresher. Probiotics, Dr. Bulsiewicz says, are live microoraganisms (typically bacteria or yeast) that benefit the body by boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation, helping with digestion, and improving mood. They live in your gut, but there are also foods that contain probiotics, such as yogurt, pickled veggies, and miso. (You can obviously also find them in supplement form.) Prebiotics, meanwhile,
Tag: Well+Good
The strength-boosting sequence that’ll help you master the yoga headstand
March 16, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC You may be able to twist your way into a bird of paradise with the best of them, but mastering the yoga headstand is a whole different ballgame. Unlike many moves in the practice, which solely rely on flexibility, balancing on your head requires some serious strength. And if you’ve ever attempted it for yourself without any prep—and wound up toppling over onto the person on the mat next to you—you know that holding a headstand isn’t quite as simple as just deciding to do it and kicking up into the pose. There are a few key muscles responsible for getting you—and keeping you—in the position. “The trapezius and deltoid muscles in your shoulders protect the head and neck, and the latissimus dorsi, which is in the back of your core holds you up,” says Kajuan Douglas, founder of Merge New York, a yoga studio in New York City. “Core muscles like the obliques, rectus abdominis, and transverse abdominis get you up and help you balance, and the biceps and triceps have to be strong to provide a supportive base.” How to get strong enough to do a headstand In order to get started in a headstand practice, then, the first step is strengthening these muscles. To help you do that, yoga pro Jess Penesso, founder of The Sweat Method, suggests cycling through the below movements that will work your core and hip flexors while also stabilizing your shoulders. 1. Medicine ball plank-to-pike:
The 11 sex personality types are like love languages for intimacy—here’s how to learn yours
March 16, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC People are interested in having sex for many different reasons and the definition of “great sex” varies from person to person (and changes over time). And when two people in a relationship want different things out of sex, open communication is the key to finding out what the other wants. To help couples discuss and work through their differences, licensed sex therapist Vanessa Marin defined several unique sex personality types. “The idea of it is to help open up a conversation between partners so they can understand themselves better, understand each other better, and figure out how to have the kind of sex that’s going to feel really amazing and fun for both of them,” she says. Marin says she got the idea to define sex personality types from working with some of her clients. “I realized that two people could be talking about their sex life together, but it really felt like they were talking about completely different things,” she says. “I started thinking a lot about what is it that we’re looking to experience with sex as humans, how we define great sex, and that means to each of us.” Marin’s model includes 11 different sex personality types. Of course, one person might may feel aligned with two or three of the sex personality types—but Marin says that typically there’s a primary motivator that explains what they’re looking to get out of sex. When two people in a relationship know each
A runner and registered dietitian shares what an average day of eating looks like for her—peanut butter cups included
March 16, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC There’s a lot of confusion around food for runners and what the heck to eat when your workout of choice involves lengthy long runs. Does being a runner mean having spaghetti every night? (Gotta carb-load, right?) Is coffee before a run a good idea? And where does protein come in? It’s questions like these that registered dietitian and Cook, Eat, Run author Charlie Watson, RD is used to answering on a regular basis. Watson works with clients who have all sorts of healthy eating Qs, but she loves to help runners figure out what to eat. “My main philosophy is to eat real food,” Watson says. She’s all about eating whole grains, nuts, fruit, and vegetables to get the nutrients she needs—many of which are shelf-stable and easy to stock up on for meal prep. Charlie likes to do her runs in the morning, before work. “I work in a busy hospital as a dietitian where I’m on my feet most of the day, so I’m usually too tired to run in the evenings,” she says. “I get up at 5 a.m., run for about an hour or so, then do strength workouts in the evening twice per week.” Here, she shares what a day of eating looks like for her on an average day. Her meals aren’t meant to be thought of as a “diet plan”—you may have different nutritional needs than she does—but it’s a fun, voyeuristic look at what mealtime
How to maintain human connection (and fight loneliness) when working from home for the foreseeable future
March 16, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, one common response to a national directive to practice social distancing has put many workers on an “indefinite” WFH-status. As a new, albeit temporary, reality is setting in, a common objective is emerging: We all need to figure out how to be less lonely working from home. Clinical psychologist Aimee Daramus, PsyD, says there’s a basic biological reason we’re all deep in our feelings about the stay-home intentions. “The need for others is built deep into the brain,” says Dr. Daramus. “We have cells in the brain called mirror neurons that help us empathize. Without mirror neurons, we can’t love. With them we can feel love, compassion, and we can feel pain at seeing another person in pain.” When you’re not seeing other people, your own mirror neurons are companionless and they (and you) get pretty darn lonely, working from home or otherwise. Human connection is also important from a physiological standpoint: New research published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Review has connected flying solo for long periods of time with the onset of inflammation in the body. The review of 30 past studies on how loneliness, social isolation, and inflammation are interconnected indicated that, among other things, social isolation is associated with C-reactive protein, which is usually released into the blood after tissue injury. Eventually, that causes the C-reactive protein to be converted into fibrin-based blood clots—a type of inflammation. “Emotional pain shares some neurological pathways
Meet the toy my partner and I use when we’re too lazy to have sex
March 16, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC Gone are the days when every vibrator looked like either like a purple penis or an oversize microphone. Now, not only can you find vibrators in amorphous and varying geometric shapes, but you can also find vibrators that resemble rings, giant eggplant emojis, pickles, and even baby chickens. (Whether or not vibrators should be shaped like baby chickens is a discussion for another day, though). As a sex writer who tests and reviews vibrators for a living, none of these varieties really surprise me, per se. I’m now open-minded to any and game to try all of them, so the day the Hot Octopuss Pulse Duo, which looks like a vibrating spaceship, got delivered, I didn’t think too much of it. But, my partner definitely felt differently. My partner, who has a penis, was excited about the opportunity this new toy provided us: to use it together. Like the love child of a Fleshlight and a rumbly vibrator, the Pulse Duo is often called the world’s first “guybrator” or male vibrator. But the toy isn’t just for men. Rather, it can be enjoyed by anyone with a penis (regardless of their gender identity) or a strap-on for solo or partnered sex. In fact, Julia Margo, COO of Hot Octopuss calls it a couple’s vibrator. Graphic: W+G Creative Shop now: Hot Octopuss Pulse Duo, $199 The Pulse Duo is slightly larger than but similar in shape to a toilet-paper tube. The spherical toy is
A neurology expert shares the 5 ways she avoids brain fog
March 16, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC Brain fog—that feeling of not being able to concentrate, or blanking out on random little things, like what you had for dinner the night before— is annoying at best and alarming at worst, especially if you experience it on a regular basis. Lisa Mosconi, PhD has made a career out of studying women’s brains, especially when it comes to cognitive health and preventing Alzheimer’s disease. She’s the director of the Women’s Brain Initiative and associate director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, and her new book XX Brain is full of all sorts of science-backed research related to keeping the brain healthy in both the long and short term (which is where brain fog comes in). In terms of what causes brain fog, Dr. Mosconi says there are a whole host of reasons. “Quite often, people experience brain fog when they’re exhausted or tired, as fatigue can be a direct cause,” she says. She adds that for women, hormones play a role, too: You’re more likely to feel brain fog right before your period or when going through hormonal changes such as menopause. Here, Dr. Mosconi shares some tips she takes to avoid brain fog, touching on these reasons as well as others. Keep reading for her tips. How a neurology expert avoids brain fog 1. staying hydrated “Staying hydrated is really important for preventing brain fog,” Dr. Mosconi says. “Most people don’t realize that the brain is 80 percent
The real reason many find themselves stuck in the friend zone—and how to GTFO
March 16, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC The great wide world of internet memes suggests two mutually exclusive truths: First, there’s a cat pic to mirror every mood. And second, there’s no deflating feeling quite like getting friend-zoned by someone on whom you have a massive crush. As proof, I give you this lengthy Reddit thread, wherein those who have ended up friend-zoned ask lucky souls who have gotten out how the heck they did it. Answers run the gamut, including hot (and decidedly awful) tips, like giving your love interest the silent treatment and reinventing your entire personality. I have to assume there’s a healthier approach for communicating your desire to make a flame out of friendship, so I sought out two relationship experts who could advise how to locate the emergency exits if you find yourself wanting to leave the friend zone. “Being in the friend zone means that romance is out of the question,” says Rachel DeAlto, JD, a litigator turned relationship therapist who specializes in dating in the digital age. “[The relationship] is all platonic, and any sort of advances just aren’t happening.” There are a number of reasons someone may label you strictly as “friend material,” but in DeAlto’s experience, all come down to one factor: attraction. Either they’re not physically attracted to you, or something about your vibe just isn’t meshing with their own. “It’s kind of harsh, but typically, if someone’s in the friend zone, it’s because the other person doesn’t see them
Get faster in 15-minutes flat with this speed-based treadmill workout
March 16, 2020 at 11:00AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNnV1YfXhTw] Whether you’re running 12-minute miles (#itme) or edging in on a record-breaking two-hour marathon, getting faster is something every runner can improve on. But shaving minutes off of your miles requires a different type of work than just hitting the ground running—you need to train for speed using a totally different method than you would for distance or hills. To help you do that, Nike Run Coach Jes Woods put together an interval-based treadmill speed workout that will help you get faster in 15 minutes flat. “This workout is great for all ability levels, whether you’re a racer training for their next marathon or a beginner,” says Woods. It’s a “descending ladder” style run, which means that you’ll start with one long interval at 70 percent effort, and each interval will get shorter and faster until you’re running at your all-out speed. “We’re not going to slam on the gas pedal—we’re going to ease into it,” Woods assures. As your pace gets faster, you should feel your stride opening up, and bring your knees higher so the you’re getting your full range of motion. “The reason why we’re working on these super top speeds, even if you’re not training for a 5K race, when you’re working at these top speeds you’re going to start to see your other paces—like your recovery runs or long runs–get faster behind it,” says Woods. In other words, the more you practice your short-sprint speed work,
The astrology of March 2020 has always looked intense to astrologers—here’s why
March 15, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC Astrologers have been discussing March 2020 astrology for a very, very, long time. You see, Saturn, also known as the Lord of Karma, meeting with Pluto, who represents death and rebirth, in Capricorn, the sign of government and business, creates a heavy-hitting combination that suggests a massive shake to our systems. Then add Jupiter, the most giant planet in the solar system to the mix, who makes everything way more prominent, and this combination becomes even more inflamed. While Saturn has been in Capricorn since the end of 2017, and Pluto since 2008, it’s just been in recent months that they started to travel in super-close proximity. Jupiter, who moves much quicker, entered Capricorn on December 2, 2019, and caught up speedily. Now, with the three planets all within seven degrees of one another and Mars, a catalytic planet which represents action, also in the mix, we no longer need to question what will happen in March 2020 astrology. Mars, who initially entered into Capricorn on February 16, starts the week at 20 degrees of Capricorn and ends at 24 degrees of Capricorn—conjoined to Pluto and Jupiter. This means you can expect the week ahead to bring heightened a focus on this stellium in Capricorn. And, using news about COVID-19 as evidence, we can expect this cosmic shakedown to continue. Yes, this is a scary-feeling time, and yes, it’s going to be okay. With social distancing and wide-scale closures at play, it’s paramount