Innehållsförteckning för May 2020 från Prevention

NOT LONG AGO, MY FAMILY took a little weekend trip to visit my brother, which was all fun and games—until it suddenly wasn’t. We had a great time playing Clue (I remain undefeated, thank you very much), going to a women’s hockey game, and seeing how happy a hike made our dog. But then my husband lost his wallet—and our car broke down. As we waited for AAA, feeling more than a little untethered with only one of us in possession of a driver’s license and credit card, I thought about this month’s anxiety story (page 46). True anxiety can make you feel as if your life is falling apart even when it isn’t, even when you’re not literally stranded on the side of the road. But there’s help for…

Manuka honey is all the buzz right now: From the hives of bees that pollinate the manuka plant, native to New Zealand, this darker-hued honey is thought to contain a compound that has more medicinal properties than regular honey, says Birnur Aral, Ph.D., director of the Beauty Lab at Prevention’s partner the Good Housekeeping Institute. But not all manuka honey is equal: “For manuka honey to be therapeutic for skin, it should be certified to have a minimum of 10 UMF, or Unique Manuka Factor, which rates its medicinal efficacy,” Aral says. Try using plain manuka honey as a face mask (apply to clean, dry skin, avoiding eyes; rinse with warm water after a few minutes) or, for less stickiness, seek out skincare products with this type of honey near…

GO FOR PLAIN “Look for butters made from just nuts and salt,” says London. “Avoid ones made with coconut oil, which ups the saturated fat content, or other flavorings that may introduce extra sugar.” Plain nut butters are filling because they’re so nutrient-dense—most provide fiber, protein, and healthy fat plus antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals like potassium, magnesium, zinc, and calcium. TRY SEED BUTTERS “Seed butters are great for switching up flavor, and in some cases (as with watermelon seed butter) add extra protein,” she says. Some seed butters are made with a single kind; others blend a few, such as sunflower, sesame, chia, and hemp. For both nut and seed butters, reach for jars with less than 6 g of added sugar per 2-Tbsp serving. DO SOME EXPERIMENTS Each variety…

Boys to the right, girls to the left.” “Ladies’ room, men’s room.” “Boys vs. girls!” Ever since we were put in our pink or blue onesies as babies, it’s been drilled into us in countless ways that gender is an either/or thing. For many of us, it’s simple to check either the “male” or “female” box at the doctor’s office or choose which bathroom to use. But for those who don’t fit neatly into the male or female category, such choices become much more complicated. The conundrum has come to light more and more in recent years, bringing muchneeded attention to something that has always been true: Gender is not a black-and-white binary, but a spectrum with many shades of gray. SEX VS. GENDER First, it’s important to understand the…

PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION teaches you to tense and relax each muscle group, moving sequentially down the body from head to toe. For example, you’d first tighten and release muscles in the face, then the neck, then the shoulders, and so on. SENSORY FOCUS helps you tune in to and bring your concentration back to the sounds, smells, and tastes around you when your mind begins to chew on things. These sorts of mindfulness exercises shift your brain to the here and now. DEEP BREATHING relaxes the entire body as you fill your lungs slowly instead of breathing shallowly, which elevates your heart rate. Other helpful breath exercises include meditation and those in yoga and tai chi.…

Straightening your teeth used to require dozens of visits to an orthodontist to adjust a mouthful of shiny metal hardware. Then, in the 1990s, Invisalign came out with a less obtrusive option: using a series of clear aligner trays, still overseen by an orthodontist or a dentist in his or her office. But in October 2017, 40 of Invisalign’s patents expired, opening the field to competitors. New companies have since flooded the market, offering versions that promise to do the job for less money, without time-consuming office visits. But industry groups have raised questions about whether these direct-to-consumer aligners can do more harm than good. The controversy intensified this year when the New York Times reported that customers who had bad experiences with the leading at-home aligner company, SmileDirectClub, were…

1 Embrace second, third, and last place No one is the best at everything—or needs to be. “When you learn what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, that’s a major step to thriving in the world,” says Kenneth R. Ginsburg, M.D., the codirector of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the author of books including Building Resilience in Children and Teens. The best way to help kids with that lesson: “Let them explore and even fail sometimes,” says Katherine Rosenblum, Ph.D., a clinical and developmental psychologist at the University of Michigan. The key is to reward the effort it takes along the way so they’ll see the inherent value of hard work regardless of the prize at the end. “It’s…

1 Sit with your legs straight in front of you, hands pressed to the floor behind your hips. Lean back slightly without rounding your back. 2 Exhale, bend your knees, and lift your feet off the floor. Slowly straighten your legs until your feet are slightly above eye level. 3 Stretch your arms alongside your legs so they’re parallel to the floor, keeping your abs firm. 4 Remain in the pose for up to 1 minute, then exhale, release your legs, and return to sitting. YOGA TIPS ▶ Be mindful: Focus on your breath and how your body feels. ▶ Amp up your Zen: Diffuse a relaxing essential oil like lavender or frankincense.…

In recent years, increasing evidence has shown that chronic inflammation underlies many ailments that experts call the “diseases of civilization”—a.k.a. lifestyle diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. It’s also now apparent that a specific and significant factor likely either ramps up or alleviates that inflammation: diet. THE ROLE OF INFLAMMATION Inflammation is vital, even lifesaving, when it happens in response to injury or infection. It shows up as pain, redness, swelling, and heat, which signify that the body is mobilizing defenses to restore equilibrium. However, eating a diet of highly processed foods—especially those based on sugar, refined carbohydrates, and cheap, unstable seed oils such as soybean oil—is a big reason many people in the developed world now live in a chronic state of elevated whole-body inflammation. Sugar, for example,…

Amy Kiser Schemper, our Virtual Walk ambassador and host of the Prevention DVD 10-Minute Pilates, walks for more than fitness: “It’s a way of thanking my body and being grateful for mobility,” she says. We asked her for more walking wisdom: PART OF BEING FIT IS TAKING DAYS OFF Rest days are important for our bodies and our brains. If you feel like you need a break, take it. Get outside or just do something fun but active instead. DOING YOUR BEST COUNTS AS DOING THE VIRTUAL WALK If you gradually increase in mileage and time, by the day of the event you’ll have the confidence and endurance you need. And if something keeps you from walking the entire 5K, that’s OK! You’ll be successful just by making the commitment,…

30X Factor by which adults are more likely to have fungal toenail infections than children. These infections become more common with age as nails become drier and more brittle and growth slows. When beaches beckon, do you dread kicking off your shoes and exposing an unlovely nail? If you have a toenail that’s thick, discolored, or misshapen, your nail or its underlying nail bed may be infected. Many cases start as athlete’s foot, a fungal skin infection that can spread to nails; less often, bacteria or conditions such as psoriasis cause unattractive nail changes. Trauma such as smashing a toe can damage the nail root where growth begins, increasing risk of both fungal infections and an ingrown toenail (when a curving side or the front of the nail bites into…

• HAVE AT LEAST ONE VISIT WITH AN INDEPENDENT ORTHO: The only way to know whether your bite is a simple enough case to fix adequately with at-home aligners is to have an expert take a look, says Graves. People with one or two teeth to shift would be better candidates than those with more complex issues such as an overbite or an underbite, he adds. • GET TO THE DENTIST: Before you sign up for any type of braces or aligners, make sure your mouth is free of cavities and gum disease and healthy enough to endure the treatment, says Graves, and schedule regular dental checkups while you’re using the aligners. “Skipping this step and going straight into that type of teeth straightening can do more harm to your…

We all have our kryptonite foods. You know the ones—chocolate and peanut butter; sour fruity gummies; salty, greasy chips with a yummy, creamy dip—and when a craving hits, they can be pretty darn hard to resist. That’s because food cravings are both psychological and physiological, says Whitney Linsenmeyer, Ph.D., R.D., a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “They’re often spurred by emotions, but humans are also hardwired to crave sugar, salt, and fat thanks to our hunting-and-gathering ancestors, who needed those foods to survive,” she says. Luckily, there are better-for-you foods that will satisfy the desires of your taste buds—and give your health a boost too. Next time your willpower is low, reach for these sweet, salty, crunchy, or creamy picks instead (and thank us later). SWEET CRAVING:…

The 20th Surgeon General of the United States, Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H. (a.k.a. "the nation’s doctor”), took part in a Hearst panel on mental health. Here are some of his thoughts: Can you speak to the stigma surrounding mental health issues? Sharing stories is critical to lowering stigma. That’s why I tell the story of my brother, who is incarcerated right now due to crimes he committed to support his substance use disorder. People told me not to talk about that, but the way we tear down stigma is by showing that there is no “us” and “them”—by showing that substance use disorder can happen to anyone, even the family of the Surgeon General of the United States. And we have top female officials in the Army and…

Smoky PB Chicken Tacos SERVES 4 1 In a small saucepan, sauté 1 small onion and 2 cloves garlic (all finely chopped) in 1 Tbsp olive oil, covered, on medium until just tender. 38¢ 2 Stir in one 8-oz can tomato sauce, 1⁄2 cup water, 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter, 1 Tbsp chopped chipotle in adobo (plus 1 tsp adobo sauce), 1⁄2 tsp each ground cinnamon and salt, and 1⁄4 tsp pepper; simmer 5 minutes. 92¢ 3 Stir in 1⁄4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips until just melted. Toss sauce with 3 cups shredded cooked chicken. $5.09 4 Stuff 12 small tortillas with chicken and top with fresh salsa and sliced avocado. 96¢ NUTRITION (per serving): 308 cal, 21 g pro, 22 g carb, 3 g fiber, 7.5 g sugars (3.5 g…

The so-called windows to the soul are surrounded by the thinnest skin on the body, so that’s the first place to show signs of fatigue and aging. Tackle even stubborn concerns, from wrinkles to dark circles and bags, with our science-backed instant and long-term treatments from dermatologists and beauty experts. CROW’S FEET In many ways, eye lines are a sign of living a happy, active life. They’re caused by repetitive motion (smiling!) as well as sun exposure and other environmental factors. Because skin in this area is so thin, it’s susceptible to wrinkling before the rest of the face, says dermatologist Annie Chiu, M.D., founder of The Derm Institute in Redondo Beach, CA, and it requires a regimen that both protects and repairs. MORNING: “To guard against environmental damage, choose…

1 Not-So-Stable 3 Geniuses The shoulders are the most mobile joints in the body. A healthy shoulder can rotate up to 270 degrees, allowing you to zip up your dress, swim laps at the pool, throw a baseball, make sand angels, and more—it’s all in the design. The head of the humerus (the big bone in your upper arm) sits like a golf ball on a tee in the socket of your scapula (a.k.a. your shoulder blade) and can glide around in all sorts of directions. Your soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments) keep everything in place. Unlike our sturdy bones, however, soft tissues are susceptible to strain, tears, and tightness from overuse, poor posture, and improper movement patterns. That’s why shoulders are so commonly injured. Around 16 million people…

1 ANXIETY CAN BE USEFUL “People often say they want to get rid of anxiety, but anxiety is programmed into us for a reason,” says Amy Przeworski, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of psychological sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. “We want to anticipate a threat and have our bodies respond when there’s danger.” Unlike stress, which is triggered by something external, anxiety is worry that doesn’t disappear even when stressors are gone. It overtakes your thoughts and causes you to dwell on things that may never come to pass. As was true for our ancestors, who required a bit of angst to survive (watch out for sabertoothed tigers!), anxiety can be motivating: It drives you to meet a deadline, helps you react to daily risks…

ACTIVE 10 MIN. TOTAL 10 MIN. SERVES 2 2 cups leftover cooked grains (such as farro, brown rice, quinoa), warmed1 Tbsp olive oil 1 clove garlic, finely chopped1 bunch spinach, thick stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped (about 4 cups) Kosher salt and pepper1 medium tomato, cut into 1-in. pieces½ avocado, diced2 large eggs 1. Divide grains between bowls. Heat oil and garlic in a large nonstick skillet on medium until garlic starts to turn golden brown, 1 minute. Add spinach and ¼ tsp each salt and pepper and cook, tossing, until leaves begin to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon on top of grains along with tomato and avocado. 2. Return skillet to medium heat and cook eggs to desired doneness, 2 to 3 minutes for runny yolks. Serve on…

1 Use the Space Wisely The dog park is no place to catch up on your Twitter feed or neighborhood gossip. Fights can break out when owners don’t watch their pets, explains Animal Planet pet expert and trainer Andrea Arden. Before you go to the park, make sure your dog reliably comes when called. If your pup seems nervous, other dogs are playing too roughly, or it’s too crowded, come back another day. “If behavior is failing at the dog park, whether on the human side or the dog side, it’s better just to leave to avoid any sort of confrontation,” Arden says. 2 Watch Your Dog’s Signals Signs of stress or anxiety in dogs include freezing, panting, trembling, yawning, keeping the head down or the tail between the legs,…