Author: Richard C. Trotter
Your brain health is a major factor when it comes to your longevity. To that end, explore the foods, movement, and habits that are sure to support a sharp noggin well into your golden years, and learn from other people about how they manage their minds in surprising ways. Get Your Brain Boost I experienced brain fog for a long time before finding out it had a name. Indeed, struggling to find the right word, an inability to focus, and unfeasibly short concentration spans have been familiar challenges throughout my adult life. Now, experts recognize that people with a wide…
Maintaining strong, flexible, and mobile hips is crucial for your overall fitness and being able to do everyday activities with ease. Weak, tight hips can cause pain not only in your hips, but in your lower back and knees, making tasks like climbing stairs or playing with your pets or kids harder to do. One effective way to strengthen and loosen your hips is by doing targeted exercises with resistance bands. This piece of equipment adds a versatile and portable element to your workout routine, allowing you to target specific muscle groups and improve hip mobility. Ahead, we’ve got the…
If you get frequent UTIs, and have to run to the doctor to get antibiotics alll the time, you might be wondering if there’s an alternative. You could stroll the holistic remedy aisle of your grocery store for things like D-mannose for UTI prevention, but unfortunately, this natural supplement will not cure your infection. Because UTIs (aka, urinary tract infections) stem from bacteria, antibiotics are the true gold standard for clearing them up. D-mannose has been advertised as a popular supplement for bladder health. But exactly is it, and what does it do? To find out, we tapped a doctor…
We’re calling it: Summer 2024 is the *official* Summer of Champions. Here at Well+Good, we’re celebrating the incredible athletes, coaches, and stories behind the Paris Olympics and the U.S. Open tennis championships. Tap in as we shine a spotlight on everything from the fitness routines and self-care practices of today’s top athletes to the larger cultural conversations inspired by this summer’s spectacular events. See More Olympians are everywhere right now and doing the most ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, from rugby player Ilona Maher launching an active skin-care line to Suni Lee, the 21-year-old gymnast who was just named ambassador for Kiss Products.…
I stood atop a mountain looking down at a magnificent rock-carved structure called ed-Deir (the Monastery), in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan. I had no guide other than a trail map ripped from a brochure that a stranger had discarded at my hostel. My shoes were scuffed with rosy-hued dirt. My feet were blistered. But the view? Incredible. And I felt as though I’d earned it. I had reached the summit using what’s known as the “back door,” a lesser-known trail that meanders through the mountains on natural rock terraces. Doing so meant that I had avoided the other,…
In late 2021, what I thought was my happily ever after ended in horror. I’ll save the gory details for the movie adaptation, but my experience of betrayal trauma as my marriage abruptly shattered left me feeling like I would never trust again. This was a foreign and uncomfortable feeling, as up until that point, I had considered myself an optimist and had actively tried to see the best in everyone. In hopes of finding myself again, I desperately reached for anything mental health professionals suggested might help me restore some sense of reality. Which is how I found myself…
Although there’s no coffee without water, the popular beverage contains caffeine, a diuretic that can promote frequent urination and, in turn, potentially hydration loss. Because most folks can lose up to a liter of water every night, it’s no surprise why sleep experts often say avoiding coffee first thing in the morning is the way to go. The thing is that most of us simply can’t function without a bit of caffeine running through our veins. That’s why some folks have recently turned to coconut water cold brews—adding coconut water to their morning brews—for an extra boost of hydration (and tropical…
When you come across a fresh patch of powdery snow, what do you do? Obviously, you fall back into it and wave your arms up and down to create a snow angel. Ironically, this childlike delight is quite similar to one of the best exercises you can do to improve your posture: wall angels. Just trade lying down in the snow for standing up against an empty wall, and you get the general idea. Wall angels work the muscles that move your shoulder blades—your middle and lower trapezius and rhomboids in your back, and your rotator cuffs in your shoulders.…
Cookies, cake, and sugar-laden desserts tend to get a bad rap when it comes to gut health. And it’s no mystery as to why: Consuming excess sugar can mess with your gut, disrupting the delicate balance in our gut microbiome, which may promote the growth of certain types of “bad” bacteria. Although most health experts recommend keeping sugar—particularly refined sugar—intake to a minimum, this doesn’t mean that sweets are entirely off the table. Moderation is key, folks. On that note, Janese Laster, MD, a Washington-based, board-certified gastroenterologist, recently shared with Well+Good her go-to gastro-approved cookie recipe she makes regularly (and…
Your weekly horoscope for July 14 to 20, 2024 starts off with some tension thanks to the meet-up between Mars and Uranus, two of the most chaotic planets in the sky. Mars is a planet of action, anger, frustration, and war. Uranus is a planet of disruptions, volatility, surprises, innovation, and breakthroughs. This planetary conjunction takes place on the fixed star Algol, one of the most challenging stars in the sky, to further ramp up the tension. You’ll want to move through your day on July 15 with as much caution as possible. Decisions you make (and fights you pick!)…