The Strategist [New York Magazine]: The Best Gear to Improve Your WFH Posture, According to Experts
The average American adult spends 6.5 hours a day sitting — and that’s when we’re not socially isolating and tasked with staying inside as much as humanly possible. These days, many of us who are now working from home are not only sitting more, we’re also no longer sitting correctly without office luxuries like ergonomically designed chairs and adjustable laptop stands. “When people are working at home, the productivity and the amount of time they’re sitting at the desk, are a little different than when they’re at the office,” says Vivian Lee, founder of posture-wear brand Kinflyte. “The ability to understand and work on posture is even more important when you’re at home working.” Making matters even worse, “now with social distancing, you miss the appointments with your physical therapist, or the opportunity to go out and get a massage. We are on our own.”
Fortunately, there are a whole host of ways to improve posture while working from home (without leaving home). “For improving or maintaining good posture, especially now with the work at home environment, there are three main components: one, the workstation that you’re using; two, wearables; and three, things for at-home strengthening,” says Dr. Joseph Herrera, Mount Sinai’s director of sports medicine and chairman and professor of the Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine.
Here’s what Herrera and a handful of other experts we spoke to recommend, from high-tech posture gadgets to orthopedic pillows.
Workstation
“Laptops, iPads, or tablets are not the best when it comes to maintaining posture, because you’re forced to sit in a flexed position,” Herrera explains, which is “everything opposite from good posture.” We’ve covered ergonomic chairs and laptop stands pretty extensively, but if you’re not looking to upgrade your office furniture at the moment, there are lots of odds and ends that’ll upgrade your overall experience.
Continue reading on New York Magazine.
Business Insider: 6 ways to conquer night sweats, from breathable pillows to personal fans
Nothing interrupts sleep or creates an incredibly uncomfortable experience the next morning quite like night sweats. I know it all too well: I regularly contend with a feeling of clamminess and the ickiness of damp sheets and pillowcase, which just adds to the innate unpleasantness of my blaring alarm.
I've always been a pretty sweaty person in general, drenching a yoga mat more than the folks doing downward dogs around me, or wiping my too-dewy face due to August humidity or a toasty subway car that's dozens of degrees warmer than the winter weather outside.
Night sweats don't make me as self-conscious since only my boyfriend and myself witness it, but it's very annoying and interrupts a solid night's sleep. Sometimes I wake myself up at 2 a.m. because I'm sweaty, making me feel less rested the next day.
Dr. Noelani González, MD, director of cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai West, explains that evening perspiration can be caused by a vast range of things, including menopause, chemotherapy, and certain medications, like NSAIDs (such as Aleve and Advil), anti-nausea medications, and antipyretics, aka anti-fever medications.
Dr. González says that other factors you might not realize are causing or worsening nighttime sweating, which is considered secondary (not primary) hyperhidrosis, include excessive heat, pregnancy, fever, infections, consuming hot or spicy foods and beverages, and withdrawal from alcohol, and drugs like heroin, and cocaine.
Personally, I've found my excessive sweating is caused mostly by certain prescription medications I take daily, worsening when I drink alcohol, eat a heat-packed bowl of Szechuan peppercorn-doused Dan Dan noodles, or experience a ton of stress.
"The first step is reaching out to your healthcare providers to address any conditions or medications that could be contributing to symptoms," recommends Dr. Katherine Revelle, MD, a psychiatrist based in New England, who has personally grappled with post-partum night sweats. "If no underlying causes can be found, the focus moves to self-care and comfort."
Continue reading on Business Insider.
Wellness [Miss Grass]: EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT COVID-19 AND CANNABIS
A lot remains TBD about how CBD might help COVID-19 patients—just as much is unknown about the long-term effects of the coronavirus itself.
You’ve probably been hearing a lot of news reports over the past few months that cannabis might help treat COVID-19 in some way. And it’s true, researchers have begun exploring how cannabis—specifically anti-inflammatory, non-intoxicating, cannabis-derived CBD (not THC)—may be able to treat the severe lung inflammation that can be caused by the deadly coronavirus. But first things first: cannabis is definitely not a potential ‘cure’ for those with COVID-19, nor is it a way to avoid getting the virus. And it’s also not a brazenly heralded fix-all—like hydroxychloroquine—that some people would have you believe. More likely, according to research, cannabis could possibly help treat lung damage resulting from COVID-19, which could help patients restore healthier oxygen levels and potentially even reduce or eliminate a patient’s need to be put on a ventilator.
COVID-19 and Cannabis: The Science Behind How it Might Work
In addition to the ever-growing laundry list of symptoms like fever, cough, muscle pain, infection, fatigue and more, COVID-19 is so destructive because it can also cause serious lung damage via overwhelming inflammation, also known as a cytokine storm. This happens when there are increased levels of certain cytokines (molecules secreted by immune cells) such as IL-6, IL-10, and G-CSF in the bloodstream. Cytokines aren’t always a bad thing: in moderate levels, they help the body spur ‘good’ (or, at least, better) inflammation to fight infection. But too much cytokine activity—as is the case in a cytokine storm—is downright dangerous.
That’s where does cannabis enter the picture. The non-intoxicating part of the plant, CBD, has been found to have potentially powerful anti-inflammatory properties, something you’re probably well acquainted with if you’ve dabbled in anything from a soothing CBD skincare product to a calming CBD tea to a PMS suppository packed with CBD.
“CBD has been getting significant attention over the past few years due to its wide spectrum of functions, including its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity—recently, it is under speculation that these anti-inflammatory effects could be of any benefit to treat the lung inflammation due to the cytokine storm, or inflammation, associated with COVID-19,” explains Dr. Sunitha D. Posina, MD, a board-certified internist and locum hospitalist in New York. “Although a lot of data is still preliminary and appears promising, we need more and larger studies. I wouldn’t be surprised if it works well in helping with the lung inflammation.”
Read the full article on Miss Grass.
Well + Good: How to Pack for Your Next Vacation Like Tory Burch
When it comes to the aspirational fit-girl life, Tory Burch is pretty next level. From her personal healthy pursuits, like tennis, to her high-end activewear line Tory Sport, the designer could teach a master class on living well.
Unsurprisingly, Burch also travels in a put-together, glamorous fashion. So, who better to turn to for savvy, wellness-minded, globetrotting tips? For starters, she doesn’t usually do a ton of prep before jetting off: “I tend not to shop for vacations; I buy things that I like when I see them, pieces that are timeless and will generally work when I need them,” she says.
Learning to maximize your minimalist wardrobe, might be the designer’s best advice—but that’s not the only hack she has up her well-tailored sleeve.
Packing hack: I like to travel as light as possible, but that being said, I definitely like to have options. I learned to pack from my parents—they always used tissue paper; you don’t need anything to be pressed when you arrive.
Vacation style vibe: I like a mix of classic clothing and a few interesting pieces. Nothing too complicated!
Read the full article on Well + Good.
Glamour: The Best Sleepwear for Dealing With Night Sweats
I’ve never been a morning person, but dragging myself out of bed has gotten harder in recent years thanks to a fun new factor—night sweats. For the blissfully unfamiliar, let me tell you: It feels incredibly unpleasant to wake up clammy with chalk-outline-at-a-murder-scene type of sweat marks on your bed sheets.
Night sweats are often associated with middle-aged women going through menopause, and while that’s a reality—in the U.S., an average of 27 million women experience menopause each year, and for 80%, the hormonal shift is symptomatic, per the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ 2016 findings—for many other women, myself included, they can be caused by a vast range of triggers. These include standard pain relievers, blood pressure medications, thyroid conditions, autoimmune diseases, the flu, alcohol, spicy foods, anxiety, your cycle—the list goes on. And, like so many afflictions that affect mostly women, we just aren’t talking about it. “Some studies suggest that although nighttime sweating can have a significant negative impact on sleep quality, and quality of life, it's often underreported to care providers,” says Katherine Revelle, M.D., a psychiatrist based in New England.
Prescription meds for anxiety and depression—and, often, the anxiety itself—can cause night sweats as well, says Revelle. “Stress and anxiety leave us in a prolonged ‘fight or flight’ state, telling our nervous system to stay vigilant, including our sweat glands,” she explains. “Night sweats are a common side effect of anxiety disorders, as well as the medications used to treat them: Roughly 10% of patients taking SSRIs, the most common class of antidepressant and antianxiety medications, experience night sweats.”
I’m probably among that minority of people taking SSRIs that deal with this particular side effect, though the effectiveness of the meds for helping manage and improve my anxiety and depression is valuable enough for me to continue taking them, but weighing the pros and cons is a personal choice. I’m willing to deal with the night sweats, but I’ve taken to seeking out remedies that might make them less intense—including testing out the several sleepwear brands that promise to stop moisture in its tracks.
I wondered if certain fabrics, brands, or sleepwear silhouettes really help ultra-sweaty sleepers regulate body temperature and reduce perspiration. Are these just glorified loungewear made from fancy-sounding fibers or do they actually make a difference? Let’s find out.
Continue reading on Glamour.
Insider: 7 hacks I swear by to stay cool and smell fresh in swampy weather
If you're prone to major perspiration during workouts, at night, and even in stressful moments, warmer weather means more than just the perks of sunny days spent picnicking in the park or on the beach (well, at least in pre-pandemic times).
Sunny, hot forecasts can be cause for discomfort for us sweaty folks. Whether you live year-round in balmy temps or only struggle with excessive sweat when once spring and summer roll around, you can stay cool and collected with some savvy wardrobe strategies and helpful assists from moisture-wicking powders, chafe-preventing sticks, and more.
Embrace linen, Tencel, and cotton.
The more breathable and lightweight the material, the better for mitigating sweat-spurred discomfort. Look for 100% cotton basics that aren't too thick. Gauzy cotton dresses are my go-to in warm weather, usually in busy patterns, which best conceal inevitable sweat marks. I also swear by Tencel, the most eco-friendly type of rayon (also called viscose), and bamboo materials, which both feel magically cool to the touch.
Eileen Fisher has excellent Tencel separates with sophisticated, breezy shapes that aren't too clingy. Or, look to cheaper options like Gap's various Tencel-blend basics, from T-shirt dresses to chambray button-downs and culottes, or Tentree's easy dresses and rompers.
Linen, which is made from flaxseeds, is also very breathable and won't stick to sweaty skin, especially in more voluminous cuts like babydoll dresses, billowy kaftans, and loose-cut peasant blouses. But, know that linen can get quite wrinkled quickly. A linen-cotton blend can cut down on creasing compared to 100% linen pieces. I prefer the drapey effect of a blend versus the stiffer, crunchier feel of pure linen, like this maxi dress that I found on Amazon and now own in multiple colors. The brand, Sellse, has some fun variations on the style, like this version with a pleated detail in the front and dropped-waist in the back.
Silk-blend tops are also a polished, sweaty weather staple ... with a few key details to consider.
Silk seems like it'd be perfect for sticky temps: It's thin and fluttery, after all. But it also shows wetness immediately, so you can expect to sport telltale evidence of perspiration the second you get dewy.
That said, I love the versatility, comfort, and polish of a billowy, machine washable silk-blend tank, especially in patterns or dark colors like black or navy that won't show sweat stains. The below style from Eileen Fisher, queen of loose, elegant silky shells and tanks, is an investment, but it's the gold standard, in my opinion, thanks to its length and expansive sizing range that includes plus and petite options.
Lunya's popular washable silk sets also fit the bill. Designed for sleeping but stylish enough to wear out, they come in a wide array of top and bottom silhouettes, from a cami to an oversized pocketed tee to shorts to a wide-leg pant (the tanks aren't sold separately, alas).
Read the full article on Insider.
Basics [Miss Grass]: I TRIED A CBN SLEEP TINCTURE FOR TWO WEEKS AND I AM CHANGED
I was skeptical. But the quality and depth of my slumber definitely improved—and it happened almost immediately.
Until my mid-20s, my relationship with sleep was peachy. In college, I managed to sleep through my roommate’s constant, baritone snores for two whole years. On most flights, I’d be dozing minutes into takeoff; and even jetlag couldn’t screw up my REM cycles significantly. Being able to fall—and stay— blissfully asleep was pretty much always a given.
But at some point fairly recently, I joined the fretful sleep club—likely thanks to normal grown-up anxieties and no thanks to the screwy current state of the world. So far, I haven’t turned to prescription meds to help me snooze, but I’ve definitely gone through a couple jumbo bottles of melatonin pills. I’ve also sought increasing comfort in ever-larger, more frequent pulls from my THC vape each night, all in the hopes of reigning in the spiral of over-thinking in my brain.
And it’s become worse. The existential shit storm of a pandemic combined with the turmoil of an election have been seriously messing with my sleep—and trusty melatonin & THC vape just haven’t been cutting it. Though I’d always been a little skeptical about using CBD as a sleep aid, a discussion panel about CBN—a lesser-known cannabinoid that’s apparently sensational for sleep—at the virtual Luxury Meets Cannabis Conference in September piqued my interest. I was ready to put my non-psychoactive cannabis skepticism to bed and decided to embark on a two-week experiment using Mineral’s Sleep Tincture. It must be a best-seller for a reason, right?
I immediately dug the scent: warm, spicy and weed-y with notes cedar wood, black pepper, and California pine. The tincture’s 1:1 blend of CBD and CBN, along with relaxation-promoting terpenes like myrcene, linalool, and terpinolene sounded promising. I was happy to find that the coconut oil-based sublingual tincture tasted pretty much the same as it smells, so I opted to use it after I’d brushed my teeth. I thought it’d be best to let the stuff absorb as long as possible and not rinse it away.
Continue reading on Miss Grass.
Equity [Miss Grass]: I WAS IN PRISON FOR WEED
Oakland native and mom Evelyn LaChapelle was sentenced to seven years in prison for a nonviolent, cannabis-related crime.
Over a decade ago, Oakland native Evelyn LaChapelle was pregnant and finishing up college in L.A., when she did a favor for a friend’s marijuana distribution business. The favor involved the profits, not the plant, and she did it for less than a year. Afterwards, she thought she’d simply move on with her life: focus on her young daughter, her education, and her career ambitions in the hospitality industry. But LaChapelle’s minor role in the operation ultimately changed her life forever—in ways she and her family continue to grapple with to this day. Even after serving time in prison, the repercussions of LaChapelle’s stint with cannabis continue financially and emotionally, leaving her with inadequate resources to rebuild her life and ongoing employment discrimination.
“When I tell strangers I just got out of prison for weed, no one believes me,” she says. “I’m a nonviolent first-time offender with college degrees; I don’t have tattoos on my face. It’s not the mental picture most people have of what inmates ‘look’ like. As the legal cannabis industry increases dramatically—being traded on the stock market—many are still sitting in prison.” Now, she’s passionate about paying it forward: Shortly after her 2019 release, LaChapelle began working with the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit devoted to criminal justice reform for over 40,000 people incarcerated for cannabis crimes at all stages, including clemency, release, reentry, and record expunging. Here, LaChapelle shares the details of her journey, the ongoing challenges she and others face, and how to take action. As told to Alexandra Ilyashov.
Read the full article on Miss Grass.
The Strategist: The Best Ways to Prevent Thigh Chafe When It’s Hot and Humid Outside
Thigh chafe, often known as “chub rub,” can cause scorching pain that shouldn’t be underestimated. For some, it may be an uncomfortable friction, but for others it can sting or even turn into a wound. “Thigh chafing is one of those things that everyone’s embarrassed to talk about, which I get — humans are generally embarrassing,” says writer Amelia Diamond. “But I’d bet the majority of us have experienced fire thighs at least once.”
Perhaps the one and only upside to such a common issue is there are now a variety of ways to deal with it — and plenty of people who actually aren’t ashamed to talk about it. “It’s just sweat and friction on your body,” says Katie Sturino, the founder of Megababe, a product line dedicated to “addressing and destigmatizing women’s comfort issues,” including thigh chafe. To find the best ways to prevent and treat thigh chafe, we spoke to Diamond, Sturino, and 11 more experts, including dermatologists, stylists, fashion bloggers, and Strategist writers, all of whom told us about some tried-and-true tricks. Below, their favorite stuff —from anti-chafe body products to clothing and accessories — for preventing and soothing thigh chafe.
Among those who suffer from thigh chafe, one clear crowd favorite emerged: Megababe’s Thigh Rescue, a moisturizing stick that looks like an especially pretty stick of deodorant and contains aloe, pomegranate oil, and grape-seed oil. “Before Thigh Rescue, I used Dove deodorant on my thighs because I saw Michael Cera do that in Juno,” Diamond says. “And because his character was a runner, I figured that was a thing runners did, and if it was good enough for Michael Cera as a cinematic athlete, it had to be good enough for me.” One of the writers of this story (Dominique Pariso) is also a big fan: “I broke down and bought it after I had a case of thigh chafe so gnarly it left scabs on my legs. Aside from its chafe-fighting properties, I appreciate the fresh scent.” Other things our experts like about Thigh Rescue: It packs easily in a bag, according to Colu Henry, the author of the Back Pocket Pasta cookbook; the glide goes on smooth and lasts for hours, according to Curvily clothing-line founder Sarah Chiwaya; and the packaging is so good-looking, it deters women from feeling like they have to hide it, according to Lindsay Schallon, a senior beauty editor at Glamour.
According to Dr. Noelani Gonzalez, the director of cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai West, “chafing is a form of skin irritation and dermatitis caused by friction and skin rubbing on skin.” Once chafing occurs, “your skin’s barrier gets compromised and inflamed, which can lead to other things, such as infections, or even hyperpigmentation or darkening of that area,” she explains. Gonzalez says petroleum jelly–based products are great for “creating a barrier on your skin and also aid in repairing your own skin barrier.” But many of them tend to be greasy, she notes, which is obviously a major downside. That’s why she loves this Vaseline balm stick, which she says is less sticky and easier to apply than a standard tub of Vaseline ointment (which will work in a pinch.) While it’s less expensive than the Megababe anti-chafe stick, it’s slightly smaller in size — but that may be all you need if you only experience mild chafe. Unlike the Megababe, it’s also scentless, making it a good choice for anyone who is sensitive to smells.
Continue reading on New York Magazine.
Robb Report: Pedal Power: Empowering Women Through Fitness in the Middle East
With Barbara Chancey’s help, cycling studios are making fast progress in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and beyond.
The privacy wall hiding the entrance to Studio 55 is the first hint that this isn’t your average fitness boutique. The second hint: a promotional sign offering three free classes to anyone who holds a valid driver’s license. And then there are the hooks lining the walls in the locker room, draped with abayas, hijabs, and burkas. But once you’re on a bike at Saudi Arabia’s first all-female spinning studio, you’re flying—tapping back, climbing, and sprinting with a room full of strong women.
This unusual crossroad of female empowerment and conservative Middle Eastern mores is the innovative work of Barbara Chancey, founder of the U.S.-based Indoor Cycle Design. Her interior design firm has helped bring cycling and fitness studios to countries where women have often been regarded as second-class citizens. Studio 55—which debuted in Al-Khobar in 2015 and recently opened a second location in Jeddah—was Chancey’s first opportunity to help put Middle Eastern women on bikes. Since then, she has been the creative force behind similar projects in Brunei, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar—all of which have brought cycling studios to these countries for the first time.
“Once their burkas, robes, and hijabs are hung up, they dance, they shake it—their energy is infectious,” says Chancey.
Chancey discovered indoor cycling herself in the early ’90s, not as a designer but as a student. She fell hard for the rhythm-centric, heart-pounding cardio and eventually began teaching classes of her own. By the early aughts, she had spun her passion for spinning into a new career, designing cutting-edge studios around the world, from Texas to Brazil. But it wasn’t until 2014—when she met Fatima Batook, the founder of Studio 55, at a fitness workshop in Miami—that her work took her to the Middle East.
Continue reading on Robb Report.
Glamour: I Spent Six Years Learning How to Treat My Severe Eczema
These are the tips that actually helped me.
I've learned a lot about severe eczema (or atopic dermatitis, as it's officially called) in the past six years since I've developed it. Flaky, red, patchy, cracked, oozing, weeping, swollen, crusty, rashy—that doesn't begin to cover its effects. The symptoms can vary wildly daily, even hourly. It's an endless round of roulette where my body’s largest organ is at stake. I can’t really predict what I’ll fall asleep with nightly, wake up to every morning, or be sidetracked by come midday. Eczema can manifest as an intense itch behind one knee with no visible symptoms or a raised, bumpy rash trailing across my stomach. Or, half my forehead suddenly red and puffy, then wet and weepy at the inevitable slightest scratch. It’s complicated—for those living with it, and even for the professionals that study it.
“We don’t yet know all the factors leading to the development of eczema, but we do understand more and more that it’s a combination of several genetic and environmental factors,” says Elizabeth Wallace, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Colorado. "Eczema results from dysregulation of the immune system, which leads to inflammation in the skin.”
Here's what we do know undeniably: "It’s extremely itchy; that’s the hallmark," says Heather Summe, M.D., a dermatologist at New York's Northwell Health Medical Group Dermatology. “Skin cells are usually held together, forming a barrier that helps skin retain its moisture and prevents things from getting in—people with eczema have a defective barrier. As a result, your skin loses moisture more easily, which also makes it more likely for allergens and irritants to get in.” When this happens, inflammation and sensitization can also spur other conditions like asthma and seasonal allergies. These, along with eczema, form what derms call the atopic march. (The takeaway: Besides its immediate effects, eczema can make our bodies more susceptible to other conditions too.)
How to Treat Eczema
I've learned to constantly be on alert when touching gym equipment, sleeping in hotel sheets, trying on clothes in a fitting room, or even applying mascara. A stranger’s perfume in a crowded elevator or subway car could set my skin off. So can public-restroom hand soap or scented detergents. Above all, less is more when it comes to topical products.
“Go for minimal ingredients and less fragrance, because many people with eczema are allergic to fragrance,” advises Emma Guttman, M.D., director of the Laboratory of Inflammatory Skin Diseases at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine.
“Avoiding triggers is also really important,” Wallace says of the factors that spark flare-ups. My own triggers are both varied and inconsistent, so it’s difficult to play detective. To give you an idea, the list includes climate, weather changes, dust, pollen, stress, inadequate sleep, alcohol, spicy foods, and my own sweat.
To treat my eczema, I've been prescribed five different topical steroid treatments, the most effective being triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% ointment, which I sometimes dilute with moisturizer for large areas. Options abound beyond topical steroids for moderate to severe case, like immunosuppressants, immunomodulators, and biologic injections. These require a doctor visit, but there's also plenty of over-the-counter remedies and hacks you can try. Below, the ones that have saved my skin.
The Right Way to Wash
According to Summe, you really only need to cleanse the underarms, groin, and feet. Use a gentle, fragrance-free, low-pH cleanser, and keep showers and baths brief (10 to 15 minutes, max). My favorite formula is CeraVe’s facial cleanser, which I use from head to toe. (I bring the travel-size bottle to the gym and on vacation.) The formula contains ceramides, which form a protective platelike barrier on the skin. In cold, dry weather, I alternate CeraVe or Cetaphil washes with Eucerin’s Skin Calming Body Wash, a light oil-based formula that feels richer but washes off cleanly.
Continue reading on Glamour.
Be Well [L'Officiel USA]: What is Ayurveda?
Achieve a strong mind-body connection with this ancient wellness practice.
Preventative and holistically-minded, Ayurveda starkly (and perhaps welcomingly) contrasts with Western medicine and its more isolated, crisis-by-crisis oriented approach to health. But what is it, exactly? Ayurveda is a holistic approach to mind and body health that’s based on ancient Indian medical beliefs, dating back over three millennia. Ayur means ‘life’ and veda means science or knowledge in Sanskrit). It’s rooted in a trio of texts written in Sanskrit, called the Great Trilogy: Caraka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and Astanga Hridaya, which are more than 2,000 years old, though much of Ayurveda predates these texts and thus was dispersed anecdotally, by word of mouth. One of the oldest medical systems globally, Ayurveda remains widely used throughout India as well as Southeast Asia today (either on its own, or in tandem with Western medicine). In the latter half of the 20th century, Ayurvedic treatments started becoming popular in the U.S. and other Western countries as a form of alternative medicine.
Ayurveda is all about the big-picture approach: the idea of interconnectedness between people, health, and the universe reigns supreme. Prakriti, a.k.a. the body’s constitution or nature, is also an important tenet of Ayurveda: The thinking goes that three doshas, which are life forces or energies, blend in differing combinations from person to person. This trifecta of body types and corresponding personality traits are thought to thrive on specific diets, herbal combinations, and lifestyle choices, in order to holistically balance body and mind, which can be mixed and matched based on the one or two doshas that are most resonant to each person.
Kapha dosha can manifest as a larger, more voluptuous physique with wide hips and shoulders, physical stamina and thick hair. Being prone to circulation issues, slow digestion systems, sluggish metabolism, and sinus congestion are also Per Ayurvedic beliefs, the best ways to thrive as Kapha Doshas feel and look their best by consuming a diet with low oil, fat, sugar, and salt intake, and instead filling up on ample vegetables, legumes and other fibrous foods. Spicy foods are also recommended, as are garlic and gugul (similar to myrrh) supplements.
Pitta dosha qualities include a medium-build physique, with good muscle tone and hearty digestive system. This dosha is prone to reddish complexions, running warm (aka a tendency to feel hot frequently and less likely to get cold easily), and can experience inflammatory or digestive issues. Pitta types are advised by Ayurvedic philosophy to forgo spicy food, as well as all sorts of acidic foods and drinks, like vinegar, tomatoes, citrus, alcohol, and coffee. Instead, suggested fare includes lots of juicy fruits like mangoes and melons, plus watery vegetables including cucumbers, kale, and lettuce, plus aloe vera juice, pomegranate juice, and rose petal jam.
Vata dosha is characteristics include slim physiques, and typically have dry skin and hair, and minimal muscle tone. They’re prone to colds, insomnia, fatigue, and digestion issues like constipation and bloating. The Ayurvedic cure? Avoiding cold or raw vegetables, dry and crunchy foods, and carbonated drinks. By contrast, the ideal Vata diet is packed with soupy dishes, warm cereals, nuts, hot milk, and ghee (clarified butter).
Thousands and thousands of years of usage—plus the holistic, mind-body connectedness that Ayurveda underscores—make it a pretty compelling approach to explore, whether that means a sweeping lifestyle overhaul or a tinkering with a minor dietary tweak or two.
Continue reading on L’Officiel USA.
Well + Good: Aday’s New Wear-Everywhere Collection’s Taking Workleisure to the Next Level
In the corner of the activewear market where all the cool kids of stylish, well-made, high-tech clothes hang out, you’ll find Aday. Its minimalist designers Nina Faulhaber and Meg He, season after season, somehow manage to make the simplest of leggings look legitimately chic enough to wear from crunches to brunches, or a tank that almost seems too dressy to hit the barre. (It’s not, though, and you totally should.)
Now, the two-year-old brand is evolving into clothes that are designed to be worn in myriad ways, for even more closet mileage. The concept for the six-piece Multiplicity collection was spurred by the design-duo’s trio of Technical Tailored pieces, which launched in February. “We wanted to take it one step further and really enter our customer’s ready-to-wear wardrobe,” says Faulhaber. “Multiplicity is further delivering on our mission to simplify wardrobes and do more with less.”
While various labels, both in and beyond the activewear space, have rolled out transformable pieces, Aday’s Multiplicity offering—which includes a wide-leg pant, boxy, cropped sweatshirt, bodysuit, jumpsuit, cropped button down and long-sleeve shirt dress, ranging in price from $110–$175—tackles the all-in-one concept with a pared-down approach. “Too often when brands dabble in multifunctionality, they utilize straps, added seams, clumsy buttons, or even hooks,” Fulhaber says. “They create multifunctionality by doing more, and we create it by doing less.”
Read the full article on Well + Good.
Be Well [L'Officiel USA]: Tired of Your Blasé Fitness Routine? Try These 4 Exciting Alternatives
Sweat, baby, sweat!
Workout inertia inevitably happens from time to time, even to the ultra-disciplined of fitness Even the most diehard SoulCycle fanatics can need a hiatus from tap-backs, and a boxing buff with a serious Rumble or Shadowbox habit might need to rest those biceps (and knuckles) and step away from the bag every now and then. No sweat: NYC is filled with an eclectic range of workouts to test-drive, from kooky fusion concepts to wholly unexpected music pairings. Ahead, check out five unusual classes perfect for adding a jolt of excitement up a tired fitness regimen, ASAP.
Spiderbands
This innovative workout combines kickboxing, trapeze, and low-impact cardio, created by personal nutritionist Franci Cohen. It utilizes a unique web of bungees bars that’s like a personal, adult-sized jungle gym, with moves that engage a slew of muscle groups while feeling like a Spiderman extra, scaling the side of a boxing bag or propelling yourself upside-down in the process. There are a few different classes on offer: the classic version solely uses proprietary Spiderbands, while other versions incorporate rebounding, Bosu balls, and mini trampolines. After debuting in Midwood, Brooklyn, Spiderbands’ HQ are now near Union Square in Manhattan; the classes are also slated to roll out at various studios around NYC eventually.
Metal Yoga Bones
A far cry from the soothing, hushed environs in a typical yoga class, the vinyasas at Metal Yoga Bones classes are accompanied by Creator Saskia Thode holds the classes at unconventional yoga environs: a Bushwick bar, The Cobra Club. Thode, a devoted, longtime metal fan, Thode has been doing yoga for 15 years and hails from Northern Germany; she launched Metal Yoga Bones in 2014 after completing yoga teacher training. While Y7 has gone popularized flows set to an unconventional soundtrack (hip-hop), Metal Yoga Bones goes a more hardcore, thrashing route, encouraging attendees to “salute to the moon and connect to the dead, raise your metal mantras, and offer your practice to the darkness.”
TrampoLEAN
Jumping around giddily like a kid might seem delightful but not all that physically exertive. Think again: a TrampLEAN class, filled with non-stop cardio and killer combo toning moves done on a mini-trampoline (also utilizing resistance bands), is incredibly fun and deceptively hard. Further west, check out Body by Simone’s Trampoline Cardio class, and further downtown, Bari in Tribeca is a great place to work up a sweat on a trampoline in their choreography-heavy Bari Bounce classes.
Continue reading on L’Officiel USA.
Be Well [L'Officiel USA]: Inside The Largest And Oldest Chinese Herbal Dispensary on The East Coast
Kamwo Meridian Herbs, which opened in NYC’s Chinatown in 1973, lays claim to meticulous combinations of specific dried herbs that promise to quell an array of ailments, from stress to poor circulation, with centuries-old concoctions.
Chinese herbal medicine’s history can be traced back over 3,000 years, and stems from the early Zhou Dynasty; four seminal texts on the topic were published between 26 BC and 220 AD. It’s one of many practices comprising Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, along with acupuncture, tai chi, tui na (a type of massage), and more. All TCM practices share a key belief in the constant pursuit of balance, or yin and yang—a concept derived from Taoism.
Medicinal herbs first became popular stateside in the late 20th century, particularly in the 1990s, when the virtues of self-care started being extolled. Nowadays, there’s an even wider, woke-about-wellness audience for these ancient remedies, often to supplement (not necessarily replace) Western meds. At Kamwo and other TCM practitioners, these magical-seeming cures can be customized for each patient during a consultation involving a slew of questions on family health history, bowel movements, sleep patterns, and more; as opposed to the traditional roster of vitals, like height, weight, and blood pressure, taken on a visit to an M.D. As these herbal remedies have entered the Western wellness conversation in recent decades, concerns have proliferated about the lack of quality control and spotty research, with the efficacy more anecdotal, more reliant on cultural lore and word of mouth, than on formalized studies.
The fundamental difference between holistic, Eastern remedies and Western medicine also explains the growing interest and usage of TCM in the West: Chinese herbal remedies are more subtle, specific, and tap further into a mind-body mix of symptoms. Where Western medications and treatment plans tend to be hyper-specific and crisis-focused, quick to isolate and fix a physical issue with a tiny pill, TCM is more nuanced, preventative, and holistic.
The methods of ingesting Chinese herbs have evolved greatly in recent years. Instead of boiling the often-pungent herbs into a potent, often unpalatable tea, the more modernized apothecaries, like Kamwo, now sell the herbs in granulated form. For a truly flavor-free ingestion option, easy-to-swallow capsules of herbs are also an option.
As Chinese herbal medicine has become more mainstream, the experience of procuring these have evolved, too. The archetypical Eastern medicine apothecary is dark, shadowy, and slings utterly mysterious blends of often-odious herbs; by contrast, Kwamo is bright and well-lit, and there’s an easily navigable website to research in advance or order online.
Continue reading on L’Officiel USA.
Instyle: Adult-Onset Severe Eczema Is on the Rise
Here’s what it’s like to live with.
Bathrooms tend to be mundane, utilitarian tiled hideouts for taking care of business. But when I developed severe eczema at age 25, they became a kind of personal hell. Places where I’d embark on my dreaded solo ritual of scratching to temporarily relieve the incessant itch that rankled up to 95 percent of my body.
A chronic inflammatory skin disease that most commonly affects children, eczema now increasingly occurs as an adult-onset condition. Mild cases are an itchy, occasional annoyance, but in severe cases like mine, it’s a debilitating, perpetual, painful hurdle for the body and brain.
“Think about it like somebody has bed bugs on the entire body: it’s extremely, extremely inconvenient” to have severe eczema, explains Emma Guttman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Laboratory of Inflammatory Skin Diseases at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine and vice chair for research at the Department of Dermatology. “The more inconvenient it gets, the less sleep you get, and it affects your entire life. You cannot sleep, you cannot work, you cannot do well in school, and so on.”
And it's certainly not just me. A December 2018 survey reported 12 percent of adults globally and 9 percent of U.S. adults have eczema. Dr. Guttman says people getting eczema out of the blue in adulthood, like I did, has become more common in recent years. In fact a study out of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine this January found 1 in 4 adults with eczema reported adult-onset of the condition.
Continue reading on Instyle.
The Strategist: What’s in These Supplements That Famous People Can’t Live Without?
Here’s a question: Which two specific supplements get name-checked time and again by celebrities who talk to the Strategist? 8Greens, which counts models Brooke Shields and Molly Sims, as well as Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, as fans, and Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C, which is taken religiously by the likes of designer Jenni Kayne, poet Cleo Wade, photographer and TV host Amanda de Cadenet, and Pressed Juicery CEO Hayden Slater.
We spoke with a small panel — naturopathic doctor Nigma Talib, whose clients include Sienna Miller and Penélope Cruz; Miriam Jacobson, a functional medicine dietitian; and Dr. Alka Gupta, co-director of the Integrative Health and Wellbeing program at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian — to find out what’s actually in 8Greens that helps Brooke Shields “actually have more energy” and determine if there’s something special in Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C that helps Jenni Kayne “glow from the inside out.”
8Greens
8Greens is a fizzy, dissolving tablet containing spinach, wheatgrass, kale, spirulina, aloe vera, blue-green algae, chlorella, and barley grass. It launched in 2015 and was founded by a former model, Dawn Russell, who came up with the idea of 8Greens after a battle with cancer. Each tablet purportedly contains as much vitamin C as six oranges, as much vitamin B as 15 cups of broccoli, as much vitamin B12 as seven cups of milk, and as much vitamin B6 as six cups of spinach.
8Greens claims a bunch of things: detoxifying organs, oxygenating the body, promoting collagen, alkalizing and balancing the body’s pH level. Jacobson notes that “in terms of any detoxifying qualities, the inclusion of chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants — like 8Greens’s algae — spinach, and spirulina is great for your liver. And animal studies have shown that chlorophyll helps to metabolize toxins in the liver and helps with their excretion via the gut, and also increases red-blood-cell production.” All of those effects can contribute to a general feeling of well-being, including increased energy. While the experts stop short of saying that 8Greens can replace vegetables entirely, they don’t think it’s snake oil, either. Proclaiming that the tablet can encourage organ functioning is a bit of a general claim, though Jacobson says that antioxidants like the ones found in the fizzy discs “can help with organ function.”
Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C
LivOn Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C’s liquid single-serve packets each contain 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C and 1,000 milligrams of essential phospholipids, which co-founder Les Nachman created after finding two doctors — a virologist/epidemiologist and a cardiologist — whose unconventional treatment plan included large, three-times-a-week doses of intravenously injected vitamin C. It was highly effective, but inconvenient and exhausting. So, he sought out another form of vitamin C.
Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C, which is basically vitamin C bound in a layer of fat to enhance absorption, took two years to create. “The way we absorb vitamins and minerals depends on a lot of factors, including how we take them in,” says Gupta, with absorption levels depending on whether the ingestion mode is orally through food, orally through a capsule, or intravenously. “By encasing a medication or a nutrient in liposomes, we alter the way it is released, absorbed, distributed, used, and eliminated,” Gupta explains.
Fatty Vitamin C might not sound groundbreaking, but naturopathic doctor Nigma Talib is enthusiastic. “As soon as you take vitamin C, it gets destroyed in the gut because the stomach is very acidic,” Talib says, “so this absorbs better and delivers into the cells: Cell membranes are made up of phospholipids, so when vitamin C embeds in phospholipids, it’s going to enter the cells at a higher rate.” Even if you take vitamin C in the form of Airborne or Emergen-C, Lypo-Spheric actually gets where it needs to go. “Lots of times, vitamin C doesn’t get absorbed into the bloodstream, and even if it does get into the cells, half of it is wasted by your body [in the gut].” The human body doesn’t produce vitamin C on its own, so Talib says that it’s worth taking this daily, upping the dose if a cold is coming on. It’s also good for gum health and muscle repair; Talib started taking it herself a few months ago.
Continue reading on New York Magazine.
Cherry Bombe: Pretty Kitty
“It actually started as an art project,” said Tara Pelletier of her whimsically packaged vegan product line, Meow Meow Tweet. Pelletier and her co-founder and boyfriend, Jeff Kurosaki, both art school grads, were already collaborating as performance art duo The Friendly Falcons. “We realized we needed to think about doing something more practical, because performance art was not going to pay the bills.”
The solution began with soap. After sampling some handmade product at a family friend’s goat farm, the twosome decided to make their own suds. “We were feeling burnt out from hustling so much with our performing,” Pelletier said.
The label’s name refers to the couple’s two cats, plus Kurosaki’s bird that lives with his mom in Hawaii. “We’re obsessed with our cats! And the name is something quirky; it doesn’t quite make sense. We didn’t want to sound like a skin care company. This is a social experiment in some way—we’re interacting with the world through these usable, consumable pieces of art.”
Once the soap crafting commenced, “We were giving it as gifts, because when you make soap, you always make too much.” Other products were added to the line in 2012, and Pelletier spent two years formulating the label’s bestselling deodorant cream. “When I switched over to a completely natural routine, deodorant befuddled me most. A lot of people have that experience. You’re so loyal and impressed by what does end up working after the trials you’ve gone through with other hor- rible natural brands.” The creamy formula comes in appealing scents like tea tree and lavender and there’s a popular baking soda-free grapefruit version. “It’s sort of a luxurious experience when you put it on. I mean, why not touch your armpits?”
Meow Meow Tweet used to produce its goods in Bushwick, Brooklyn, but in March the couple moved to the Catskills, fittingly, setting up shop in the town of Accord. New York City’s harsh real estate realities prompted the move to more peaceful environs; so did their plans to eventually buy a house upstate. One bonus? “The politeness of the postal workers up here makes me blissful,” she said.
As for the label art, Pelletier creates the graphic patterns behind Kurosaki’s whimsical illustrations, which are “little silly musings on situations.” To wit: their black walnut and sage soap sports a sketch of a pigeon perched on a clothesline, clutching a sock in its mouth, offering a cheeky explanation for all those stag socks floating around your drawers.
Meow Meow Tweet does have an online boutique, but the company likes to focus on indie stockists with brick-and-mortar stores. “We’re trying our darndest to get into every major city in the United States—we like the idea of people being able to shop locally.”
Horizons: Makeup by YouTube
Influencers are cashing in big by creating their own beauty brands.
Originally published in Horizons magazine.