January 28, 2020 at 03:00AM by CWC Once upon a time not so long ago, the words we used to talk about our complexions revolved around physical markers. It was dry, oily, red, scaly, congested, or some combination of all of these things. In a fairly recent phenomenon, however, there’s been a shift. The way that we talk about skin has largely come to mimic the way that we talk about mental health. Adjectives previously reserved to describe an individual’s personality or emotional state are now tapped to talk about how our largest organ is looking and feeling. We say it’s stressed out, tired, temperamental, angry, irritated, and the list again goes on (and on and on). But what exactly is the reason behind this, and why does it matter? The mind-skin connection really all boils down to biology. “We know from a medical standpoint that the brain and skin have a common embryonic origin,” explains Josie Howard, MD, a San Francisco psychiatrist with an expertise in psycho-dermatology. According to her, that means that when an embryo is forming in the womb, similar cells are involved in the creation of both the brain and skin. That link continues to manifest in very apparent ways throughout our lifetimes. “The history of skin and mental health isn’t a short one,” says Richard Fried, MD, PhD, a dermatologist and clinical psychologist in Yardley, PA. “One hundred years ago it was stated that acne causes more [mental] suffering than [physical suffering]. Within the past
Tag: Well+Good
Why eating what you love can—and should—be part of a healthy diet
January 28, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC It’s safe to say that for a long time, “healthy” food didn’t always make the mouth water. Watery, low-fat milk, rubbery tofu with no seasonings, and stomach-churning macrobiotic salads were long the staples of health-conscious households, none of which were about to win any Michelin stars. While culinary science has certainly improved leaps and bounds since the bland tofu dogs of the ’90s, the perception that healthy eating requires a bit of a flavor sacrifice endures; that to make the healthiest possible choices, you have to be okay with eating vegetables that you can’t stand, or forever eschewing desserts in favor of “healthified” versions that taste like dirt. But some nutrition experts argue that eating for pleasure, and what you love, can actually be super healthy. “I think it’s really important to promote a greater sense of enjoying food in American culture,” says Brad Turnwald, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of psychology at Stanford University. “In other cultures that also have a lot less chronic disease than we do—France is kind of the canonical example—they eat for pleasure there, and they [generally] don’t have this labeling of certain foods as ‘good’ and certain ones as ‘bad.’ Food is meant to be enjoyed.” That idea—of eating for enjoyment—is “a critical piece that health professionals [have unintentionally] screwed up on for the last couple decades,” says Christopher D. Gardner, PhD, director of dies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and a professor
3 easy ways to cleanse your aura, according to a Reiki master
January 28, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC Sometimes, I feel a bit… off. I might spill coffee, break a dish, get honked at and flipped off, hurt a loved one’s feelings, and struggle to write even the most basic of sentences, all before 10 a.m. Then, an unexpected bill arrives in the mail, a job gets canceled, a friend surfaces a seemingly-sudden but actually-long-buried grievance, I’m forced to flake on something important, and my car breaks down, all before 10 p.m. At times like these—which are rare, but less rare than I’d like—I start thinking about my “energy,” and how I need to somehow drag it out of the gutter. This impulse could also be understood as the need to cleanse my aura…assuming I actually understood what that means. Or knew what an aura was/is. “Our ‘aura’ is our energetic body, and in my opinion it is a colorful reflection of our emotional body as well,” Reiki master Julie Civiello Polier tells me. “With our ever-changing emotions, the colors of the aura shift too.” She explains that she imagines the aura as a sort of bubble inside of which the body lives. It might be responsible for the “vibes” we give off, which is why it’s important we keep it in good shape. “This bubble is our responsibility to keep free, clean, and intact,” says Polier. Hm, okay, but like, how does one keep their bubble well-maintained? Polier explains below. 3 quick ways to give your aura a quick scrub
8 healthy Super Bowl recipes that you will definitely make you a fan
January 28, 2020 at 01:00AM by CWC Watching the Super Bowl game at a party is fun, but let’s be real—the bigger draw tends to be all the incredible food. And while most spreads are made up of fried, super salty, and perhaps greasy offerings, it doesn’t have to be so. Some easy swaps can make your spread a bit better for you, if you’re looking to go that route. Whether you’re into wings, artichoke dip, nachos, or all of the above, these healthy Super Bowl recipes belong on your must-make and must-try list. Just be prepared: Once your guests get a taste, they may never want to leave. Whip up these healthy Super Bowl recipes for your party Photo: Food With Feeling 1. Cauliflower buffalo wings If you love cauliflower gnocchi, then you’re really going to love these crispy cauliflower wings that are smothered in delicious sauce. Photo: Minimalist Baker 2. Sun-dried tomato and basil pinwheels These healthy sun-dried tomato and basil pinwheels only take a few minutes to make, but they’ll impress your entire party. Photo: Veggiekins 3. Vegan kale artichoke dip Get in your veggies with in this dairy-free artichoke dip that’s made from cashews, almond milk, nutritional yeast, and plenty of greens. Photo: This Savory Vegan 4. Black bean and brown rice sliders Your guests will gobble up these little sliders that feature a black bean and brown rice patty and basil aioli topping. Photo: Pass the Plants 5. Vegan baked taquitos These taquitos get their
Realizing something is just not about you could be the key to letting go of extra stress
January 27, 2020 at 11:00PM by CWC If your best friend gets back with her garbage ex, would you feel guilty and blame yourself for not talking them out of it? It’s one thing to own up to your part when you’ve actually done something wrong, it’s another thing to assume blame for things out of your control. If you find yourself doing a lot of the latter, you’re not alone. This is the phenomenon known as “personalization,” and it’s not the best thing for your mental health. “We can’t control other people’s thoughts, behaviors, choices and actions, or the outcome of any interpersonal situation,” says licensed psychotherapist Joyce Marter. “You can never cause somebody to behave poorly—that’s their choice.” Personalization can actually stem from lowered self-esteem, according to Marter. “We all have different aspects of our life that we feel more or less confident in, and it would be in those less confident areas that we would be more susceptible to personalization,” she says. In other words, when you’re not feeling so great about yourself, you’re more likely to believe that when bad things happen it’s somehow your fault. But this “self-flagellation” isn’t helping anyone. “You’re beating yourself up, you’re putting yourself down, and it can lower your mood,” she says. “It can distort the situation so that you’re not seeing it accurately.” To do less personalizing, Marter says you have to become mindful of your self-talk. “Any negative messages that you’re giving yourself like, ‘this is my fault,
Arm dancing is the key to getting ballerina-strong arms—try these 3 moves to get you started
January 27, 2020 at 11:00PM by CWC American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins wrote the lyrics, “everybody cut loose, footloose” for the 1984 film (must I specify?) Footloose. Almost 40 years later, Bomont has been conquered, the movie’s remake has been released to mixed reviews, and now it’s time we start setting loose our other limbs. Meet arm dancing, the dancer-approved way to strengthen your arms without picking up a single weight. “Every style of dance has a type of ‘arms,’ in both aesthetic and movement,” says Donna Flagg, a dancer, ballerina, and stretching instructor at New York’s Broadway Dance Center. “You could take any of them and create an upper body workout, but ‘arm dancing’ per se is an unweighted exercise for your arms.” By moving for a sustained period of time (anywhere between one to 10 minutes), you work up a burn that runs from your shoulders to your fingertips. “You’ll see really great shoulder development because the weight of the arms challenges the shoulders’ strength the most,” explains Flagg. That’s because you target the teeny, tiny muscles of your upper arms, forearms, and shoulders that help you perform everyday tasks like carrying your grocery bags. “Arms can be heavy if you don’t put them down for a rest,” says Flagg. “So that is where the resistance comes into play.” If you’ve ever French-braided your hair and felt the sheer torture of pulling off the ornate work with your hands overhead, you know exactly what I mean. That’s enough talking—let’s
A sustainable living expert shares how to DIY a non-toxic all-purpose cleaner
January 27, 2020 at 09:32PM by CWC Pop quiz: Where do you think you’ll find more toxins—indoors or outdoors? Answer: Indoors. It sounds crazy, but it’s true (yes, even if you live in a big city). And believe it or not, the ingredients in your average cleaning products aren’t exactly helping your efforts to live a cleaner lifestyle. “Cleaning products are a common source of environmental pollution, because their ingredients don’t need to be disclosed or tested for safety,” says Sophia Ruan Gushée, author of A to Z of D-Toxing: The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Our Toxic Exposures and creator of the Ruan Detox Immersion. “Plus, cleaning products often require plastic containers, which increases our production and disposal of plastics.” So what are you supposed to do? Live in a dirty house, or use toxic products to “clean” it up? According to Gushée, there’s a third option. “The best solution is a DIY cleaning approach, because it’s safest for humans, and you can buy safe ingredients in bulk to cut costs and carbon footprint,” she says. (It’s like arts and crafts, but way better for the planet.) Her DIY all-purpose cleaner uses just five ingredients that you can probably find lying around your house somewhere already. At our recent Wellness Collective event with Athleta, Gushée taught the attendees how to make her go-to DIY all-purpose cleaner, using just vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, water, and essential oils (most of which you can probably find lying around your house somewhere already). And if you
These graphics show how simple—and delicious—cooking with veggie scraps can be
January 27, 2020 at 08:30PM by CWC Even if sustainability is your jam—your crisper is full of “ugly” produce and you use a canvas tote when shopping in lieu of plastic bags—cooking with every part of the vegetable, as sustainability experts often recommend, can still be a little intimidating. Sure, you love veggies, but there are some parts of them that really don’t look like they should be consumed. (Corn cobs? Come on.) Even if they do, you have no idea how to make them taste good. Fortunately, some people have built a living figuring how how to use every single part of produce—and are happy to share their no-waste tips with the masses. Here, Reilly Brock, the content manager at Imperfect Foods, and Pulp Pantry CEO and founder Kaitlin Mogentale, share intel on how to use every single part of six popular veggies. Scroll down to see how to cook with vegetable scraps. Graphic: W+G Creative Leeks Brock loves cooking with leeks because they have a subtle sweetness and a bit of a bite. Most recipes call for the stem of leeks, which means that healthy eaters may just throw out the leaves and bulb of the plant without a second thought. However, Brock says you can truly cook with all three parts of the vegetable. “The leaves have the same sweet flavor as the rest of the plant—similar in taste to green onions—and taste amazing in vegetable stock,” he says. Brock and Mogentale both keep a plastic bag
I’m a physical therapist, and this is what I want you to know if you can’t unwind tight muscles
January 27, 2020 at 08:21PM by CWC Like most people, I tend to stretch the tightest muscles in my body (in my case, it’s my quads) as much as humanly possible to find some sort of relief. Before runs, you can find me doing that classic heel-to-butt stretch as a way to lengthen the muscle and get ready for the effort to come. However, it recently came to my attention that soreness isn’t always an indicator that a muscle needs to be stretched. It can also be an indicator that the muscle itself isn’t strong enough. “A lot of times, chronically tight muscles are tight because they’re weak,” says Meghan King, DPT, a physical therapist with Spear Physical Therapy in New York. “We get people who say that they stretch their hamstrings all the time, and they never get any more flexible, for instance. But that’s often an indication that their hamstrings might be weak and that’s what’s causing the tightness.” My mind is blown, HBU? This happens, says King, because muscles are commonly tapped to do movements that they don’t fully have the strength required to do. For example, say you’re going up stairs and recruiting your quads and calves to do the work, but mid-way they reach their performance capacity. “If the muscle only has 80 percent of the strength that it needs to do that task, it feels overworked, and the result is some tightness,” says King. When this happens, it’s easy to go into full-on stretch
There’s a psychological reason celebrity deaths hit us so hard
January 27, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC Celebrity deaths happen often, and often unexpectedly, leaving fans who didn’t personally know the deceased in a confused cloud of grief. Because logically, it doesn’t seem to make a whole bunch of sense to feel sad about losing someone you didn’t actually know. Still, when news broke that basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his 13 year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant (who was a rising hoops star herself), had been killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday, it was yet another reminder of how quickly life can be taken. Bryant was an unquestionably complicated figure in the NBA. But, on the court, he spent 20 seasons leading the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships, and proving himself to be one of the most competitive and hardest working athletes of his generation (let the 2000-2003 “three-peat” stand as proof). In the aftermath, coaches, and teammates expressed their grief and shock to the news—but so, too, did fans who had never met Bryant. Pros say this reaction to mourn an athlete or a celebrity makes sense, especially when the person was someone we admired and who is inextricably tied to certain memories or moments in time. Like, yep, sports stars we grew up watching, TV heartthrobs we pined over, and musicians who soundtracked our seminal milestones. Our relationships with celebrities don’t necessarily follow typically understood measures of time and space, making them seem subconsciously immortal to us in a sense. “They’re never supposed to