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Aishwarya Rai

From Wikipedia,
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Cannes 2017.jpg
Born 1 November 1973 (age 45)

Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Residence Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Alma mater University of Mumbai
Occupation Actress, model
Years active 1994–present
Title Miss World 1994
Spouse(s)
Abhishek Bachchan (m. 2007)
Children 1
Awards Full list
Honours
Signature
Signature of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.svg

Aishwarya Rai (born 1 November 1973), also known by her married name Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is an Indian actress, model and the winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant. Through her successful acting career, she has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India.[1][2] Rai has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards from eleven nominations, and she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012. She has often been cited in the media as “the most beautiful woman in the world”.[3][4]

While in college, Rai did a few modelling jobs. Following appearances in several television commercials, she entered the Miss India pageant, in which she placed second. She was then crowned Miss World 1994, after which she began receiving offers to act in film. She made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam‘s 1997 Tamil film Iruvar and had her first Hindi film release in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya that same year. Her first commercial success was the Tamil romantic drama Jeans(1998), following which she achieved wider success and won two Best Actress awards at Filmfare for her performances in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002).

Rai garnered critical appreciation for portraying a passionate artist in the Tamil romance Kandukondain Kandukondain(2000), Tagore‘s heroine, Binodini, in the Bengali film Chokher Bali (2003), a depressed woman in the drama Raincoat(2004), Kiranjit Ahluwalia in the British drama film Provoked (2006), and a nurse in the drama Guzaarish (2010). Rai’s greatest commercial successes have been the romance Mohabbatein (2000), the adventure film Dhoom 2 (2006), the historical romance Jodhaa Akbar (2008), the science fiction film Enthiran (2010), and the romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016).

Rai married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007 with whom she has one daughter. Her off-screen roles include duties as a brand ambassador for several charity organisations and campaigns. She is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS). In 2003, she was the first Indian actress to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival.[5]

Rai at an event for L’Oréal in 2015

Rai made her first commercial for Camlin exam pencils when she was in the 9th grade. Rai became popular after appearing in a Pepsi commercial with actor Aamir Khan.[15] She is the only actress who endorsed both Pepsi and Coca-Cola.[143] She is one of the top brand ambassadors in the country and is one of the top paid Bollywood actresses in this respect.[144] She modelled for Titan Watches,[145] Longines watches, L’Oréal, Coca-Cola,[146] Lakmé Cosmetics, Casio pager, Philips, Palmolive,[147] Lux, Fuji films,[148] Nakshatra Diamond Jewellery,[149] and Kalyan Jewellers.[150] She was named the official brand ambassador for De Beers diamonds in India.[148] Rai has been ranked the 2nd most popular watch brand ambassador worldwide in a survey, conducted by World Watch Report.[151] In 2013 Rai and her husband Abhishek Bachchan have been roped in as the brand ambassadors by the TTK Group.[152]

Social and humanitarian work

In 1999 Rai participated in a world tour called the Magnificent Five, along with Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Akshaye Khanna and Twinkle Khanna.[153] In the same year, she was appointed as Longines Ambassador of Elegance.[154] In 2003, she became the first Indian actress to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival.[155] In the same year she became a global brand ambassador of L’Oréal, alongside Andie MacDowell, Eva Longoria and Penélope Cruz.[156][157] Rai is the brand ambassador for The Eye Bank Association of India’s nationwide campaign to promote eye donation in India.[158] In 2005, she became a brand ambassador for Pulse Polio, a campaign established by the Government of India in 1994 to eradicate polio in India.[159] In the same year, Rai was appointed spokesperson for the International Year of Microcredit, raising awareness of the main goals and priorities of the United Nations’ poverty alleviation efforts.[160]

In February 2005 Rai performed with other Bollywood stars at the HELP! Telethon Concert, an event to raise money for the victims of the 2004 tsunami earthquake.[161] Along with other members of the Bachchan family, she laid the foundation of a special school for underprivileged girls in Daulatpur village in Uttar Pradesh in 2008. Construction is being funded by the Bachchan family and the school will be named after Rai.[162] She appeared along with various other Bollywood actors at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The performance showcased Indian culture as a lead-up to India hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games.[163]

Rai is a UN Microcredit Spokesperson.[164] She supports PETA India.[165] She pledged to donate her eyes to the Eye Bank Association of India and appeared in a public awareness film on eye donation.[166] In November 2004, Rai created the Aishwarya Rai Foundation to help needy people in India.[167] In 2009 Rai was appointed as the first Goodwill Ambassador of Smile Train, an international charity that provides free Cleft lip and palate surgery to children in need. Her work with Smile Train will focus not only on India, but on 76 different developing countries around the world.[168][169] In September 2012, Rai had joined United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and renowned Hollywood actor Michael Douglas at a ceremony to commemorate the International Day of Peace in New York.[170] Later that week, she was appointed as the new international Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS, the joint United Nations programme on AIDS and HIV. She will raise global awareness on protecting children from HIV infection and increasing access to antiretroviral treatment.[171]

Stage performances

Rai performing at the 17th Annual Star Screen Awards (2011)

Rai has taken part in several stage shows and world tours since 2001. Her first world tour, a series of concerts called Craze 2001, was performed across the US alongside Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Preity Zinta and Gracy Singh. The show faced early cancellation due to the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the team prepared to return to India as soon as possible. However, the shows continued successfully in Canada.[172]

In 2002, she participated in the show From India With Love in the UK, along with Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta. It took place at two outdoor venues, Manchester‘s Old Trafford and London’s Hyde Park, with over 100,000 spectators.[173]

Between July to August 2008, Rai, her husband Abhishek Bachchan, her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, and actors Preity Zinta, Ritesh Deshmukh and Madhuri Dixit starred in the “Unforgettable World Tour” stage production. The first leg covered the US, Canada, Trinidad, and London, England. Rai is also involved in the functional and administrative operations of her father-in-law’s company, originally known as ABCL, and rechristened as AB Corp. Ltd. That company, along with Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., developed the Unforgettable production.[174][175]

Personal life

Rai with husband Abhishek Bachchan in 2010

Though they both appeared in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (in which her then longtime boyfriend, Salman Khan, had a brief cameo) and Kuch Naa Kaho, Abhishek Bachchan fell in love with Rai whilst filming Dhoom 2.[177] Their engagement was announced on 14 January 2007 and later confirmed by his father, Amitabh Bachchan.[178] The couple married on 20 April 2007 according to traditional Hindu rites of the Bunt community, to which she belongs.[179] Token North Indian and Bengali ceremonies were also performed. The wedding took place in a private ceremony at the Bachchan residence, “Prateeksha”, in Juhu, Mumbai.[179]They have been described as a supercouple in the Indian media.[180][181] Rai is very close to her family and lived with them in Bandra, Mumbai, until her marriage.[182][183][184]

Aishwarya Rai, a deeply religious Hindu,[3] making a Namaste gesture.

Rai is Hindu and deeply religious.[3] Her international presence shot up when Abhishek Bachchan accompanied her to the Cannes Film Festival shortly after their marriage, and later to The Oprah Winfrey Show, appearing on 28 September 2009.[185] They were described as being more famous as a couple than Brangelina.[186][187][188]

Rai gave birth to a girl, Aaradhya, on 16 November 2011.[189][190][189] Rai is commonly referred to by fans and the media by the nicknames “Ash” and “Aish”, but has stated that she dislikes being called as such. She has discouraged people from referring to her by names other than “Aishwarya” as she does not want to “spoil [her] good name”.[191]

In the media

Rai in 2014. Her blue/green eyes has been identified as a trademark by the Indian media.

Rai Bachchan is one of the most popular Bollywood celebrities.[40][192][193][194][195] Despite constant media speculation, she keeps her personal life well-guarded.[196] Her physical appearance and performances have made her a style icon for young women.[197] In 2011, India Today noted that there were over 17,000 websites dedicated to her.[198] She was selected by Vervemagazine in its list of the country’s most powerful women.[199] In 2001 Forbes named Rai among the top five Indian movie stars.[2] In a reader poll conducted by UK’s Hello! magazine, she was voted “the most attractive woman of 2003”.[200] In the same year, Rai appeared in Rolling Stone magazine’s annual “Hot List”.[201] In 2004, she was chosen by Time magazine as one of the world’s most influential people, and appeared on the cover of its 2003 Asia edition.[202][203][204]

Rai is the first Indian actress to be on the jury of the Cannes International Film Festival.[205] In October 2004 a wax figure of Rai was put on display in London’s Madame Tussaud’s wax museum.[206] She was the sixth Indian and the second Bollywood personality—after her father-in-law, Amitabh Bachchan—to get this honour. In 2007, the same figure was displayed at Madame Tussaud’s Museum in Times Square in New York.[207] As her most distinctive physical features, Rai’s green-blue eyes, luscious lips, curves and feminine mannerisms have been cited by the media as her trademark.[208]

In 2005, she was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on 2 January, which said that “at least according to thousands of Web sites, Internet polls and even Julia Roberts”, she was “the world’s most beautiful woman”.[3] The same year, a tulip in the Netherlands was named “Aishwarya Rai” after her.[209] Also in 2005, Mattel released a limited edition of Barbie dolls of Rai in the United Kingdom.[210] The British magazine Maxim ranked Rai first on their list of “Hottest Women of India”.

Rai appeared on such shows as Late Show with David Letterman, and was the first Bollywood personality to appear on Oprah’s “Women Across the Globe” segment. In 2005 Harpers and Queen‘s list of “Most Beautiful Women in The World” ranked her ninth.[211] In May 2006, Rai was featured in People Magazine as one of the “World’s Most Beautiful People”.[212] The UK magazine Eastern Eye ranked her third in the list of “Asia’s Sexiest Women” in 2006,[213] and she was ranked eighth in 2009.[214] In 2008 American television channel E!: Entertainment listed Rai’s eyes as the sexiest on their Sexiest Body Parts list.[215] In 2009, she made appearances on Martha Stewart‘s show Martha and on The Tyra Banks Show.[216] In the same year Forbes listed Rai at 387th out of 1,411 actors on their list of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. She is the highest-ranked Indian actor on the list.[217][218]

In a poll conducted by the newspaper Daily News and Analysis in 2009, she was voted as one of India’s most popular icons.[219] She attended the 83rd Academy Awards, along with her husband, Abhishek.[220] Rai with her husband Abhishek Bachchan appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 28 September 2009. She is the first Indian celebrity who appeared in The Oprah Winfrey Show twice.[185] They have been described as a supercouple in the Indian media.[221]

She ranked 2nd in The Times of India‘s 50 most desirable women of 2010,[222] and ranked 9th for 2011.[223] In 2011, she has received a lot of negative publicity for failing to lose her post-pregnancy weight as is apparently “required” of a public figure. However, she silenced her critics by walking the red carpet at the “AmfAR Cinema Against Aids” gala in 2012 Cannes Film Festival for the 11th time.[224] Later that year, Rai has made it to the issue of New York Magazine‘s list of “Forty Women That Women Find Beautiful”, where she grabbed the 21st position in the list, with New York Magazine saying “She may be the “world’s most beautiful woman,” but what we really love is that she never feels fragile onscreen,”.[225] The market research firm YouGov named Rai the world’s eleventh most admired person of 2018.[226] She was considered by the media one of the most popular Bollywood celebrities in India.[227]

Accolades

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Aishwarya Rai

Rai has received ten Filmfare Award nominations, and has won two Best Actress trophies for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002).[48][143][228][229] In 2009, she was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest Indian civilian award, by the Government of India for her contributions to the arts.[230][231] In 2012, she was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier), a national order of France.[230]

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Further reading

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Karminder Kaur-Virk		 Femina Miss India
1994		 Succeeded by
Preeti Mankotia
Preceded by
Philippines Ruffa Gutierrez		 Miss World Asia & Oceania
1994		 Succeeded by
South Korea Choi Yoon-young
Featured

Rihanna Opens Up New Clothing Line & New Album

For her next act, the pop star will become the first black woman in charge of a major luxury fashion house in Paris. Here, she gives T magazine an exclusive first look.

By Jeremy O. HarrisPhotographs by Kristin-Lee MoolmanStyled by Suzanne Koller  From New York Times

FOR THREE YEARS, I have been a diligent student of Rihanna’s 2016 song “Work.” The first lesson it taught me was in the fine art of ubiquity: The omnipresent earworm hovered over casual intimacies, significant encounters, mundane journeys and made sense of itself wherever, in whatever crevices it chose. Then “Work” found its way into my own work. In my script for “Slave Play,” which debuted at New York Theater Workshop in 2018, the protagonist Kaneisha suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and Rihanna’s “Work” plays in her head on repeat, taking on a frighteningly oppressive quality and revealing the historic bedrock I was attempting to excavate: namely, that black people, specifically women, must live with the knowledge that their emotional and physical labor is the backbone of every relationship that they endeavor to have with their partners, with America. The song, which weaves through the dialogue, brought more attention to the play than any other device could have.

This sense of casual immensity is what drew me to Robyn Rihanna Fenty, 31, as not only a performer but as an artist and a businessperson: a model for my own maturation. When listening to her repetitive, patois-filled song— work, work, work, work, work, work — one hears a Barbados-born1musician who recognizes that the histories that are carried in her movement and her tongue are foreign to the listener. But instead of shying from that otherness, she dines upon it, a lesson for any of us who have held onto the shame of difference. As she prepares to launch Fenty, the fashion line she has created in partnership with LVMH2 — the first luxury fashion house the conglomerate has created from scratch (which will begin sales at a pop-up in Paris on May 24, then be fully available at fenty.com on May 29) — I wanted to discover what lessons she had to offer as she carried that confident otherness deeper into the nonmusical work she has been concentrating on this decade.

Corset dress in Japanese denim, $810. Sunglasses, $480. Leather shoes, $625. All clothing and accessories are by Fenty,fenty.com. Jewelry, unless noted, is Rihanna’s own.Photo by Kristin-Lee Moolman. Styled by Suzanne Koller

In April, we agreed to meet among barrels of chocolate at Dark Sugars Cocoa House,3 in the Shoreditch neighborhood of London. I thought about the unenviable position that Rihanna has come to occupy throughout her 14-year career, since she first moved to Stamford, Conn., and released her first tracks in 2005. To be black, a woman and an immigrant in the United States is to be a collection of negations of the American dream — yet she stepped past those negations and into a fantasy of abundance few could imagine. In the last five years, we have witnessed her release her most critically acclaimed album,4 become creative director of women’s collections for the German sportswear brand Puma,5 develop a line of size- and gender-inclusive lingerie under the Savage x Fenty label and debut her Fenty Beauty line,6 which literally changed the face of the cosmetics world by introducing a foundation palette with 40 shades, from the palest to the darkest skin tones. Now, Rihanna has become the first black woman to run a major luxury fashion house. Featuring structured silhouettes in subdued neutrals (at least to start) that emphasize strong shoulders, cinched waists and exposed legs, the Fenty brand is hoping to disrupt the market not only by channeling the imagination of a black woman but by revolutionizing the luxury distribution model by focusing on direct-to-consumer online sales. This allows Rihanna and her team of collaborators the freedom to drop new additions to the collection — which includes sunglasses, shoes and other accessories — every few weeks, like singles from an album. LVMH and the artist decided last year to expand their current relationship beyond cosmetics into a full-fledged fashion company, and Rihanna has already imbued the collection with her high-low aesthetic, incorporating intricate leatherwork and meticulous techniques like boning, then queering the looks by playing with gender tropes.

Rihanna is uniquely positioned to forge a path for black owners in luxury fashion: Not only is she a muse of that realm herself but she has studied the maps she’s inherited from her forebears. From a red-carpet style indebted to the silhouettes of Zelda Wynn Valdes7 as well as the lush fabrics of Sean Combs’s Sean John line8 and the steely assurance of Jay-Z’s Rocawear9 collection, we have seen black fashion’s past adorning Rihanna as she steps into black fashion’s future. Indeed, the mission of the Fenty clothing line, according to Jahleel Weaver, a stylist for Rihanna who is now the label’s style director, “is to really speak to how multifaceted today’s woman is. We’re thinking about each release as a different facet to a woman’s wardrobe and how she approaches dressing. Luxury has been defined in the past as one woman, one brand: You know who the Saint Laurent woman is, you understood who the Céline woman was when it was Phoebe.10 Which is fine, but you think about how that relates to the modern woman. I don’t think she is just one thing, Rih being the perfect example of that.”

AS THE DOORBELL chimed, a brilliantly heeled foot — wearing one of the aggressively pointed leather Fenty sandals I’d previewed the day before — stepped through a hidden side door. I was instantly hit with the emotional heft that a student feels in the presence of a favorite teacher — if only all teachers wore pinstriped Balenciaga suits. She smelled like cinnamon, bubble gum and the sea, her scent dominating the overpowering chocolate around us. For the next two and a half hours, I studied her every glance and gesture for a hint of the weight her work must put upon her. The weight of expectation, the weight of anticipation, the weight of youth, the weight of doubt — though only in a single moment, when we spoke of fear, did this weight announce itself. Yet the lesson I took back home to New Haven with me is that there can be pleasure in the privilege of working despite society’s negations. The pleasure and ubiquity of Rihanna’s work endures because the only thing that will stop her from doing it — is her.

‘I CAN’T JUST THINK I KNOW EVERYTHING.I’M VERY SMART WITH MY CONTROL FREAK.I WELCOME OTHER PEOPLE’S EXPERTISE.’

Suit jacket in cotton canvas, $1,100. Corset blazer dress in cotton canvas $1,100. Sunglasses, $460. Brass ear cuff with Swarovski crystals, $420. Embossed calfskin shoes, $670.Photo by Kristin-Lee Moolman. Styled by Suzanne Koller

JH: What are some of the things you’ve come to appreciate since you’ve moved to London?11

RF: Walking around the block.

JH: Wait, you can walk around the block? Because here, they had to shut everything down.

RF: No! This is not a regular day in London. It’s a bank holiday. Everyone’s out. It’s insane.

JH: Do people recognize you?

RF: When I go walking, I try to keep it a little incognito.

JH: Well, you are Rihanna. Which brings me to my first question: What draws you to collaborate with a company like LVMH? I feel like you’re as big as LVMH, if not bigger.

RF: Whoa. That’s kind of crazy to say.

JH: It’s true, though. Numbers don’t lie.12

RF: I’ve been slowly evolving throughout the fashion world. First wearing it, buying it, being recognized for my style and then collaborating with brands. I never just wanted to put my name on something and sell my license. I’m very hands-on, so I wanted to take it slowly and gain respect as a designer. I already had a relationship with them after the Versailles campaign13 and the makeup line, so they extended the offer to me and it was a no-brainer because LVMH is a machine. Bernard Arnault14 was so enthusiastic; he trusted me and my vision.

JH: When they came to you with this, was part of your calculus, like, “I’m gonna be the first black woman to do this?”

RF: No, and I didn’t even know that until months into our relationship, when Jahleel15 brought it to my attention. And I’m like, “Are you sure about that? Did you do your research? ’Cause I don’t wanna state a claim that’s [expletive].” Because I still couldn’t believe it. It made me feel proud.

JH: It’s unmapped territory. What models did you have — or were you purely going from one task to the next?

RF: I didn’t have these dreams when I was little. I had a dream of making music; that’s it. I didn’t even think about the fame part, and then that happened, and it’s like, “Do I really like this? How much do I really lovemusic that I’m dealing with this?” Then the one-hit-wonder comment16came straight out of the gate and that put a fire under my ass, and I just never stopped working. Every time it was about challenging myself: I have to do better, I have to do better. And what’s next, what’s next? I won a Grammy17 and that was seconds into my past as soon as it got into my hands. I have to think about the next thing, which is terrible because people should live in the moment. I just started branching out into different creative outlets. That’s what makes me happy.

[Coming later this spring: the T List newsletter, a weekly roundup of what T Magazine editors are noticing and coveting. Sign up here.]

Oversize jacket in Japanese denim, $1,100. Sunglasses, $480. Brass ear cuff with Swarovski crystals, $420.Photo by Kristin-Lee Moolman. Styled by Suzanne Koller

JH: Something that one of my mentors, the playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins,18 said to me is, “Never let anyone rob you of your right to fail.”

RF: You know what’s crazy, I have a tattoo that’s written backward so I can read it in the mirror: “Never a failure. Always a lesson.” So what you just said is, like, boom! How you gonna learn without making mistakes? Did you believe your mom when she said, “Don’t touch the iron”?

JH: No! None of us did.

RF: You had to touch it, right? You had to get burned.

JH: What lessons do you think you could learn from failing with this Fenty project?

RF: So many, because it’s the beginning of a new world. Everything was a collaboration, so I’ve plugged my DNA into theirs, but there was already a blueprint. I’m learning so much: about the tailoring, the fabric — I’m seeing fabrics that I’ve never seen in my life.

JH: What are some of those fabrics?

RF: One of them is called Weapon.19 That’s what we ended up making our suits in. Even making clothes in luxury is different. All the techniques are, like, ridiculous.

JH: I mean, all of the boning on your dresses is —

RF: I love a corset. We put a corset in a suit, a dress, a shirt, a denim jacket and a T-shirt dress.

JH: It’s so femme. But you’re using traditionally masculine shapes (the suit, the chore coat) to tell a complex narrative about the Fenty person. What is the Fenty person’s relationship to masculinity and femininity?

RF: I use myself as the muse. It’s sweatpants with pearls, or a masculine denim jacket with a corset. I feel like we live in a world where people are embracing every bit of who they are. Look at Jaden Smith,20 Childish Gambino.21 They dare you to tell them not to.

JH: To me, part of being Rihanna is twerking on a yacht and walking out of a bar with a wine glass. You’re like a modern Dionysus, a goddess of the party, the turn-up. Does that feel true to you now as Fenty’s muse?

RF: There has been quite an evolution in that party. In the beginning, it was just my culture, my life. And now, the party, believe it or not, is at work. I do not go out. I will go to a dinner. I try to have as much fun as I can during work. And even after work, when I’m literally in my kitchen having a drink, I invite all my staff. And we work, still.

JH: Do you think that that ability to party with your staff comes from the fact your associates and staff, known as #TheCorp,22 are like family?

RF: I see them more than my family and spend most of my life with them. It becomes friendship first, and then it leads into family because we lean on each other. I’m sure it’s really different from any other boss-employee relationship.

JH: Using your family name as the anchor of this company and Fenty Beauty seems to recall the idea of a family business. What was behind that choice?

RF: I used to be afraid to step into the whole celebrity makeup world. I saw brands like Hilary Duff and Hannah Montana23 have so much success [in the aughts], but it got to a place where they were so oversaturated in the market that it diluted their personal brands. It made me think, “I’m not going to do this, because you lose your respect and credibility,” and so every collaboration I did outside of music, I used Fenty so that you didn’t have to hear the word “Rihanna” every time you saw something that I did. So Rihanna stayed the music, the person. But these other brands are called Fenty.

‘YOU’RE GOING TO BE BLACK WHEREVER YOU GO.AND I DON’T KNOW IF IT’S UNFORTUNATEOR FORTUNATE, BECAUSE I LOVE BEING BLACK.’

Suit jacket in cotton canvas with fanny pack, $1,100. Pleated suit trousers in cotton canvas, $485. Leather shoes, $625.Photo by Kristin-Lee Moolman. Styled by Suzanne Koller

JH: Do you know where your last name comes from? I looked it up.

RF: Really? You’re about to teach me something about myself. Is it Irish?

JH: No, it’s Spanish and Portuguese. It derives from the word “infante,” a title for the children of royals.

RF: Get out of here!

JH: It’s a medieval name.

RF: That is tripping me out.

JH: Does it trip you out that Fenty gets to open so many doors? How are you looking to make room at that table of luxury design for other black, brown and female designers?

RF: I like to think of my establishment at the Fenty house as a hub. So I am always looking at grad collections, who’s about to leave college, who wants a year here. And we’ve done that with a couple young designers and a couple new ones that are coming in. Even if you’ve never designed something in your life, you might have impeccable taste: I’m welcoming everyone’s vision here, because that’s what it’s gonna take. I can’t just think I know everything. I’m very smart with my control freak — a smart control freak. I welcome other people’s expertise. I love new, young talent.

JH: Who was really generous with their knowledge with you?

RF: Jay Brown, my manager who started off as my A&R.24 He’s been a father figure in my life.25

JH: Jahleel said that when you hired him you gave him “his freedom papers.” He’s free to walk through the LVMH headquarters in Paris and be who he wants to be. Where does that freedom come from? From being affiliated with you?

RF: No, because even within being Rihanna, that freedom didn’t exist for a while. “Good Girl Gone Bad”26 is where I started to take the reins: “I’m going to do whatever I want to do, I’m taking control of my vision, my sound, my clothes.” I also embraced change along the way — things that make me a better woman, a better human being. Like, even the way I communicate: I’m really proud of my growth on that. I’m proud to walk into any building as this person. Nothing about me makes me embarrassed about me.

JH: You did an interview in 2012 where you said you used to change your voice in business meetings. Was that one of the pressures you felt in that era, to be a certain type of Bajan woman in American society?

RF: No, that was the pressure I felt from the jump, with “Music of the Sun.”27 I’m walking into a new world, new industry, with people who have been doing this forever. I’m literally from a rock in the ocean.

JH: You were 15!28

RF: Right. You know nothing then. So you just take these people’s advice, and you realize, This is not who I am. It was the pressure of feeling safe in a box. I never liked that feeling, and so I grew out of that box when I couldn’t take it anymore, and I just went for it.

JH: Is “Good Girl Gone Bad” your favorite album?

RF: No, because that was a transition. I don’t know what my favorite album is — I’m sure if I put all my favorite songs together, it would be a really sick album. Maybe I should do that one day.

JH: You should troll your fans by doing that. Be like, “New album, y’all!”

RF: They would hate me. They would take me down.

JH: I’m not in the Navy,29 but I am Navy adjacent. So I have to ask some questions I saw floating around the message boards.

RF: O.K. [Laughs.]

JH: Is it true you are doing a reggae album?

RF: Yeah.

JH: You are? O.K., are you collaborating with Lady Gaga?

RF: No.

JH: Oh, they think you’re doing a collaboration with Lady Gaga.

RF: Maybe because she followed me on Instagram. It’s not in the books right now, but I’m not against it.

JH: Are you going to collaborate with Drake again?30

RF: Not anytime soon, I don’t see it happening. Not on this album, that’s for sure.

JH: What is the album called?

RF: Uh, I don’t know yet.

JH: If you don’t know yet, then you probably don’t know when it’s coming out?

RF: I don’t.

JH: Do you have any names under consideration?

RF: No, so far it’s just been R9,31 thanks to the Navy. I’m about to call it that probably, ’cause they have haunted me with this “R9, R9, when is R9 coming out?” How will I accept another name after that’s been burned into my skull?

JH: It’s this gift to the fans who have been most hungry for it.

RF: That would be cute.

Rihanna models her new Fenty line on T’s digital cover.

JH: You are one of our only immigrant pop stars in America, 21 Savage32being another. Did coming from an island that’s 90 percent black make it feel natural to have 40 distinct shades in the first run of Fenty Beauty?

RF: In my own household, my father is half black, half white. My mom is black from South America. I was seeing diversity. That’s all I knew. Growing up, I wanted to be darker, always. So, making makeup, it wasn’t even a thing I had to think about. I didn’t even really know how bad it was, the void in the market for dark foundation, because all I’d seen was black women put makeup on. I don’t even think 40 shades is enough! And so I added 10 more recently, and we’re not gonna stop there.

JH: A few years ago, you started going on a “thicc” journey.33 How did that change how you looked at inclusivity with regard to your fashion line?

RF: It just changed how I dress in terms of my proportions. You wear what looks good on you and that’s it. I’m thick and curvy right now, and so if I can’t wear my own stuff then, I mean, that’s not gonna work, right? And my size is not the biggest size. It’s actually closer to the smallest size we have: We go up to a [French size] 46.34 We’re saying we can meet you at any one drop that we put out.

JH: Let’s talk about those monthly drops, which is one of the innovative aspects of this: Fenty will be releasing several new items — from basics to special pieces — exclusively on its website. How did you come up with the distribution model?

RF: Because I’m a millennial, you know? People are always looking for the thing that hasn’t made it online yet. And as a consumer, I hate seeing something on the runway and then having to wait six months for it. I had to wait all that time to get it, do I even…

JH: Love it anymore?

RF: Yeah! So with this, you see it, you love it, you can have it. I want to be as disruptive as possible. The brand is not traditional. There is no runway show. It’s a new way of doing things because I believe that this is where fashion is going to go eventually.

JH: Was there any white knuckling in the LVMH offices when you presented this distribution model? Tradition is a major pillar of that company.

RF: Believe it or not, it’s the thing that actually excited Mr. Arnault. He hasn’t started a brand from scratch for a while. It’s his baby as well. He is so hands-on, which validates how I handle things.

JH: Jahleel said Fenty is being released like a bunch of singles that add up to an album.

RF: That’s a cute analogy.

JH: What do you think is the vibe of the first single?

RF: The first single is really strong and edgy, compared to the drop right after, which is a little more feminine. But the first one, there are a lot of classic pieces as well.

JH: I think you have your Fenty little black dress in there, with the vents and high shoulder.

RF: I see a lot of these pieces as classic pieces. They’re not gonna go out of style.

JH: What are you inspired by as you prepare for the next few drops?

RF: Free postcards or booklets at hotels in Barbados from years ago: You’ll see some of those on our T-shirts. There are also these prints that look like really ancient paintings that we’re making dresses and skirt suits out of.

JH: With all of these pieces, who else do you think is in conversation with them? What should shoppers pair with Fenty?

RF: I don’t care what you pair it with. Whatever you want. You know, when I was younger, I couldn’t afford everything, but a pair of Timberlands: That was my Dior. And I had to save my money for a whole school year to get those Timberlands that I wanted, and I did it. Shoot, if your closet is full of Dior, go for it, put Fenty on with that. But you might have some Balenciaga sneakers and a Fashion Nova fit that my jacket is super lit with.

JH: So that little girl that’s saving up pennies for Timberlands, what do you say to her right now?

RF: It’s the thing that keeps me asking: So how much is this gonna cost at retail?35 How can we bring the price down without compromising on quality?

Striped puffed-sleeve shirt in cotton, $600. Striped corset dress in cotton, $990. Brass hoop earrings with Swarovski crystals, $420. Brass ear cuff with Swarovski crystals, $420. Embossed calfskin shoes, $670.Photo by Kristin-Lee Moolman. Styled by Suzanne Koller

JH: I can’t get over the fact that, you know, the fashion industry is historically so explicitly white, it’s so racist, it’s so classist and it’s so sexist. Have there been moments where, as a black woman, you’ve felt like an outsider in this space? Or does being Rihanna alleviate that?

RF: It’s never alleviated, you know? You’re going to be black wherever you go. And I don’t know if it’s unfortunate or fortunate, because I love being black. So, sorry for those who don’t like it — that’s the first thing you see before you even hear my voice. There are also other factors: I’m young. I’m new to the family. I’m a woman. Those factors do come into play, but I will not apologize for them, and I will not back down from being a woman, from being black, from having an opinion. I’m running a company and that’s exactly what I came here to do. I don’t know if it makes people uncomfortable or not, but that’s not even my business, you know? I do know that the reason I’m here is not because I’m black. It’s because of what I have to offer. That’s what they’re invested in. And the fact that I’m black is just that: a fact.

JH: I feel like your ability to take on that fight seems so indebted to your mother, Ms. Monica,36 because you often discuss how she is most proud of you when you stand up for yourself. I wonder, does anything surprise her now?

RF: When I told her about LVMH, she just couldn’t believe it. She said, “Oh God, glory, glory to God.” She’s so proud, so happy, and she’s still pinching herself. She carries my makeup in her store37 in Barbados. It’s full circle, because she was the one who brought me into the department store after school — all that makeup, it was fun.

JH: I was at my mom’s feet in a hair salon. I know she’d want to know: Do you have Fenty hair coming?

RF: As soon as I’m ready to give up the two hours of sleep that I get now, that’s for hair. You know we’re not stopping.

JH: As a playwright, I have to ask: Would you act again? Pull “A Star Is Born?”

RF: I’ll probably try a little more,38 but not until I know I can handle a lead and carry a movie on my own, because I’ve been offered —

JH: I’m sure.

RF: I’m always like, “Guys, thank you for trusting me, but Angelina Jolie is over there.”

JH: What else are you afraid of? Do you hold fear at all?

RF: I am afraid of being afraid, because I know that means it’s wrong. If I feel fear, that means it’s not right.

JH: Did you feel fear when it came to working with LVMH and Arnault?

RF: No, I got this pressure to not let Arnault down. I felt like this is a moment in history that I have to live up to. This is my one shot and I only get one time to do it and it can’t be wrong. But I did get fear one time in my life, I can’t remember exactly about what: I remember my mom saying, like, “I see something in your eyes I’ve never seen before.” And I was like, “What?” And she was like, “Fear.” And I started crying. So any time I get that anxiety feeling, I literally try to shove it right back down to nothing.

JH: You visualize it. Before I go, one last question: When are you going to take a vacation from all of this? Is it going to be when you’ve made enough money — is there a number in your mind?

RF: I never thought I’d make this much money, so a number is not going to stop me from working. I’m not being driven by money right now. Money is happening along the way, but I’m working out of what I love to do, what I’m passionate about. Work will change when my life changes in the future but an amount of money is not going to stop that.

JH: If money’s not driving the work, what does the money mean, then?

RF: The money means that I can take care of my family. The money means that I can facilitate the businesses that I want to. I can create jobs for other people. My money is not for me; it’s always the thought that I can help someone else or, in the future, for if I have kids. The world can really make you believe that the wrong things are priority, and it makes you really miss the core of life, what it means to be alive. It could literally be walking outside in the sun. That makes me happy. Like going to the grocery store — you know, there’s a cute little Jamaican market near where I live right now.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Jeremy O. Harris is an actor and playwright whose works include “Slave Play” and “Daddy.”

Makeup: Lauren Parsons at Art Partner. Hair: Yusef at Factory Downtown using Rich Hair Care. Manicure: Jenny Longworth at CLM using the GelBottle Inc. Set designer: Andrew Tomlinson at Streeters. Tailoring: Hannah Wood. Photo assistants: Maya Zardi, Teddy Park and Straton Heron. Digital operator: Nicholas Beutler at Format Digital. Stylist’s assistants: Charlotte Thommeret and Letitia Leporcq. Makeup assistant: Anastasia Hess. Hair assistant: Andrea Naphia White. Set designer’s assistant: David Konix. Production: Holmes Production.

Digital production and design by Hilary Moss and Daniel Wagner. Videos by Kristin-Lee Moolman.

Featured

10 Minute Best Arm Workout

The Best 10-Minute Sundress Arm Workout

KARENA DAWN AND KATRINA SCOTT  From LIVESTRONG

We love toning our arms anytime and anywhere. And with spring starting, we’re feeling motivated to sculpt our upper bodies! Strong arms can make you feel extra confident. They help you lift your kids, hug your girlfriends, raise that glass of vino to your lips and rock strappy sundresses.

This 10-minute arm-toning workout is the perfect routine for any occasion. Pair it with your favorite cardio workout, do it before a night out with your girlfriends or squeeze it in anytime you need a quick toning session. Be sure to pick a set of dumbbells that allows you to maintain great form to protect yourself from injury. For more tips on form, choosing your weights and toning your upper body, check out this post. And remember to always refuel those muscles with plenty of protein. We’ll be sippin’ on Tone It Up Protein smoothies all spring long.

For more amazing workouts, join us in class at Studio Tone It Up. The Studio Tone It Up app offers dance cardio, HIIT, kickboxing and tons more fitness classes that will sculpt every inch of your gorgeous body — and just in time for warm weather. Curious? Download Studio Tone It Up from the App Store here!

Ready for the workout? Go through three rounds of each exercise (15 reps per move).

Forward Raise: Tones your shoulders!

(Image: Tone It Up)

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold your dumbbells in each hand in front of your thighs with your palms facing down. Raise both arms in front of you to shoulder level, then slowly lower back down. Do 15 reps.

Biceps Curl: Sculpts your biceps!

(Image: Tone It Up)

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold your dumbbells in each hand in front of your thighs with your palms facing up. Curl the weights toward your shoulders. Lower your arms back down with control. Do 15 reps.

Shoulder Press: Tones your shoulders!

(Image: Tone It Up)

Stand tall and hold your dumbbells in each hand with your palms facing forward. Raise your arms so that your elbows are at shoulder height — this is your starting position. Press the weights overhead then slowly lower to the starting position. Do 15 reps.

Plank Row to Press: Sculpts your triceps, shoulders and core!

(Image: Tone It Up)

Start in high plank position with your wrists directly below your shoulders. With a dumbbell in your right hand, raise your right elbow to your torso, keeping your arm close to your body. Then twist your upper body to the right and press your right arm overhead. Slowly reverse the motion and bring the dumbbell back to the ground. Do 15 reps on each side.

Kneeling Triceps Push-Up: Sculpts your triceps!

(Image: Tone It Up)

Start in high plank position with your wrists below your shoulders. Rest your knees on the mat. Keeping your core engaged, bend at the elbows and lower your chest toward the mat until your arms make 90-degree angles. Keep your elbows as close to your torso as possible (don’t allow them to flare out to the side). Push through your palms to straighten your arms. Do 15 reps.

What Do YOU Think?

When it comes to weight training, do you make your arms a priority? What are some of your favorite arm-toning exercises? Will you be trying this workout? Let us know in the comments section.

Featured

Having Pets Improve Health

A Golden Retriever puppy and toddler snuggle on a bed.

5 ways pets can improve your health

From

 

Whether it’s their cute paws, sweet snuggles, or happy tail wags, there’s no doubt that pets bring joy into our lives. And if you didn’t already have a million reasons to love your furry best friend, here’s one more: research shows that owning a pet can help your health and well-being.

 

It turns out, that special bond you share with your pet has lots of positive health benefits. Pets can help with stress, depression, obesity, heart health, and more. Here’s a look at some of the extra (health) perks you get from your pet.

 

Lower blood pressure and cholesterol

According to the American Heart Association, having a pet may lower your risk of heart disease.1 Dog owners, in particular, tend to have lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels — most likely due to all those dog walks. One study found that dog owners did more walking and physical activity than non-dog owners, and they were 54% more likely to get the recommended level of physical activity.2

 

Less feelings of loneliness

It doesn’t matter if you live by yourself or in a full house, studies show that pets help people feel less isolated and alone — and less depressed.3 The bond between people and pets is a source of important emotional support. In addition to this one-on-one companionship, researchers found that pet owners end up socializing more with people in their neighborhood.4 Another bonus of those regular dog walks.

 

Buffer against stress

Having a bad day? Cuddle up with your four-legged friend. Studies have shown that the interaction between people and pets increases oxytocin levels in the brain.5 Oxytocin, known as the “cuddle hormone,” has a physical effect on your body. It helps slow your heart rate and breathing, and prevents stress hormones, creating a sense of calm and comfort. So go ahead and snuggle up with your beloved cat.

 

Prevent weight gain

Perhaps it’s the walks, hikes, or playing fetch, but it appears that all that work to keep your pup active is helping lower your risk of obesity. Researchers found that dog walking is linked to lower body mass index and fewer doctor visits for seniors.6

 

Keep allergies at bay

When kids are exposed to cats and dogs at a young age, they have less chance of developing allergies. Research shows that children who grow up with dogs have lower rates of asthma.7 One theory is the exposure to the dog’s dirt and bacteria — from their fur and paws — helps kids build immunity. Similarly, babies who lived with cats during the first year of their life are less likely to be allergic to cats.8

 

The research is clear — the love and companionship from pets does wonders for your mental and physical health. Pet owners are often happier, have greater self-esteem, and are more physically fit. When you adopt a pet, you don’t just improve the quality of their life — they help improve the quality of your life, too.

 

 

 

1Glenn Levine et al., “Pet ownership and cardiovascular risk: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association,” Circulation, June 11, 2013.

2See note 1.

3Allen McConnell et al., “Friends with benefits: On the positive consequences of pet ownership,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2011.

4Angela Curl et al., “Dog walking, the human–animal bond and older adults’ physical health,” The Gerontologist, March 19, 2016.

5Suzanne Miller et al., “An examination of changes in oxytocin levels in men and women before and after interaction with a bonded dog,” Anthrozoos, March 2009.

6See note 4.

7“Pet exposure may reduce allergy and obesity: Research shows having a dog early in life may alter gut bacteria in immune-boosting ways,” University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, ScienceDaily.com, April 6, 2017.

8Ganesa Wegienka, et al., “Lifetime dog and cat exposure and dog‐and cat‐specific sensitization at age 18 years,” Clinical & Experimental Allergy, July 2011.

 

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Best of The British Fashion Desginers 2019

Best of British: Fashion Designers

The first ever couturier was British. Granted, Charles Frederick Worth worked in Paris, but he was born in Bourne, England in 1825 before heading to the French capital to become the favoured designer of Napoleon III’s court, where he drew upon the history of costume to create elaborate, lavish gowns. Over the past 150 years fashion has moved way beyond Worth’s spangled silk tulle and corsets, and some of the most progressive style movements have been down to British designers. They were responsible for the Swinging Sixties and Punk after all.

So as we celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee, we thought we’d also take a look at some of the most influential fashion designers her United Kingdom has produced…

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

Vivienne Westwood

Let’s begin with arguably the most influential, not only has Dame Viv had a career that’s spanned five decades (so far) but she was also, along with her one time partner Malcolm McLaren responsible for a whole fashion genre – punk. In the Seventies, inspired by S&M, bondage and bikers she began designing pieces that incorporated tartan, chains and safety pins, sold at her infamous Kings Road store and worn by the likes of the Sex Pistols. In her later years Westwood has become more known for her curve-hugging, corseted dresses.

Westwood in her punk days and Vivienne Westwood Red Label S/S 12

 

STELLA MCCARTNEY

Stella McCartney

McCartney had a rocky start to her career (and the shouts of nepotism weren’t helped by the fact she roped in Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell to model in her graduate show) but a few seasons into her position as Creative Director at French label Chloé she hit her stride with quirky designs that were both sexy and girlish. Upon launching her own eponymous label in 2001 she undertook a more grown-up, tailored aesthetic, attracting a high-profile celebrity clientele which has meant her dresses tend to be ubiquitous red carpet staples. One thing that has always remained constant, as a lifelong vegetarian, is her refusal to work with leather or fur.

Stella McCartney S/S 12 and Chloe S/S 01

BURBERRY

Thomas Burberry

One of Britain’s oldest labels, Burberry didn’t start out as a fashion company, but became famous for a type of hardwearing, waterproof fabric called gabardine, created by founder Thomas Burberry in 1870. It was used by Army officers for their uniforms and Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole. As the 20th century progressed, popularity of their Trench coats soared and their trademark check was unfortunately adopted by Seventies football hooligans. The name of their catwalk collection, Prorsum, is the Latin word for ‘forward’ and that only really happened for the label in 2001 when Yorkshire born designer Christopher Bailey took the creative reigns – his modern and directional take on classic English style wowed the critics and turned the label into one of the industry’s biggest hitters.

Burberry Prorsum S/S 12 and an original Burberry advert

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

Alexander McQueen

Right from the word go, whilst cutting his sartorial teeth as a tailor on Savile Row, London born Lee McQueenreally earned his reputation as the ‘hooligan of fashion’, famously chalking obscenities into the lining of a blazer for the Prince of Wales. After studying at Central Saint Martins School of Art he was discovered by the iconic late stylist Isabella Blow, who fell in love with the mix of exquisite tailoring and delicate beauty of his designs. In a controversial career he went on to popularise low cut trousers nicknamed ‘bumsters’, debut a collection called ‘Highland Rape’ and had a spell at Givenchy before launching his own line at the start of the 21st century. McQueen took his own life in February 2010 and was succeeded at his label by his former assistant Sarah Burton, whose collections since have earned rave reviews, and was responsible for Kate Middleton’s dress at last Summer’s Royal Wedding.

Alexander McQueen S/S 12 and the Alexander McQueen ‘bumsters’t

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Christopher Kane

Scottish designer Kane’s rise to fame was rapid, thanks to his Spring/Summer 07 collection, which showcased body sculpting dresses in bright neon shades with glittering details, and the space age couture aesthetic was an instant hit. Kane was snapped up by Versace to design their Versus line, whilst continuing his own eponymous label which he runs with sister and muse Tammy. What’s interesting about Kane is that he refused to rest on the successful look he’d already established and instead each season sees a new style, with the past few seasons seeing the designer experiment with gothic, floral embosses leather, rainbow hued tulle and applique, and minimal metallics.

Christopher Kane S/S 07 and Christopher Kane S/S 12

MARY QUANT

Mary Quant

Along with Frenchman André Courrèges, Quant is one of the Sixties designers who takes credit for the mini-skirt, a garment which literally revolutionised world fashion. Bringing fun and fantasy to fashion, Welsh/English Quant was ideal for the youthquake rocking Britain (though she set up her store in 1955, her designs didn’t take off till several years later). She also brought hotpants to the style table and was one of the first models of Vidal Sassoon’s directional ‘five-point’ haircut.

Jean Shrimpton posing with The Rolling Stones in a Mary Quant dress and a Mary Quant mini-dress

MATTHEW WILLIAMSON

Matthew Williamson

The king of ‘boho chic’, this somewhat outdated term now refers back to when Manchester born Matthew Williamson resurrected the hippy luxe aesthetic to huge popularity at the start of the 21st century. Using bright jewel tones and tactile luxurious fabrics, his pieces took influence from the Far East and Seventies bohemia and were championed by the likes of Helena Christianson, Sienna Miller and Plum Sykes. Since moving back to London Fashion Week after showing in New York for several years, Williamson’s collections have taken on a more traditionally girlish, pretty look.

Matthew Williamson S/S 00 and Matthew Williamson S/S 12

KATHARINE HAMNETT

Katherine Hamnett meeting Margaret Thatcher

Hamnett founded her label in 1979, but it was in the early Eighties that she really rose to prominence, as one of the first designers to use fashion as a political and ethical tool. Her slogan t-shirts (later adopted by the band Frankie Goes To Hollywood with a more playful message), which expressed mantras such as ‘ Choose Life’ and ‘ 58% Don’t Want Pershing’, the latter of which she wore to meet then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Hamnett has continued to have strong political views about the fashion industry, declaring in 2008 that designers at London Fashion Week were racist for not including enough black models, and her t-shirts have continued to spawn hundreds of imitations.

Katherine Hamnett slogan t-shirts

JONATHAN SAUNDERS

Jonathan Saunders

An example of a British designer at the start of his career, Spring/Summer 12 has been the Scottish designer’s most successful season yet, with an eye-catching collection that included many of the year’s must-have pieces. A print specialist, Saunders debuted at London Fashion Week in 2003 and his aesthetic has since matured into bright and cheery tailoring with a feminine twist and he has taken up a post at Italian luxury label Pollini as well as collaborating with Topshop on a line.

Jonathan Saunders A/W 04 and Jonathan Saunders S/S 12

PAUL SMITH

Paul Smith

Nottingham born Smith is one of Britain’s most famous modern tailors, whose contributions to menswear earned him a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. Smith started his business in his hometown in 1970, opening up his own shop. His bright and inventive approach to shirts and suits saw the business expand to London and eventually become a global brand, with twelve different collections all celebrating his mixture of the classic with the quirky.

Paul Smith S/S 12 and Paul Smith S/S 04

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Health Benefits Of Potatoes

7 Health and Nutrition Benefits of Potatoes

Written by Ryan Raman, MS,  RD From Healthline

Potatoes are a versatile root vegetable and a staple food in many households.

They are an underground tuber that grows on the roots of the Solanum tuberosum plant(1 Trusted Source).

Potatoes are relatively cheap, easy to grow and packed with a variety of nutrients.

Here are 7 health and nutrition benefits of potatoes.

1. Packed With Nutrients
Roasted Potatoes in Oven Dish

Potatoes are an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals.

One medium baked potato (6.1 ounces or 173 grams), including the skin, provides (2):

  • Calories: 161
  • Fat: 0.2 grams
  • Protein: 4.3 grams
  • Carbs: 36.6 grams
  • Fiber: 3.8 grams
  • Vitamin C: 28% of the RDI
  • Vitamin B6: 27% of the RDI
  • Potassium: 26% of the RDI
  • Manganese: 19% of the RDI
  • Magnesium: 12% of the RDI
  • Phosphorus: 12% of the RDI
  • Niacin: 12% of the RDI
  • Folate: 12% of the RDI

The nutritional content of potatoes can vary depending on the variety and how they are prepared. For example, frying potatoes adds more calories and fat than baking them.

It’s also important to note the skin of the potatoes contains a great amount of the vitamins and minerals. Peeling potatoes can significantly reduce their nutritional content (1 Trusted Source, 3 Trusted Source).

SUMMARYPotatoes are packed with vitamins and minerals, though the variety and preparation method can affect the nutritional content.

2. Contain Antioxidants

Potatoes are rich in compounds like flavonoids, carotenoids and phenolic acids (4).

These compounds act as antioxidants in the body by neutralizing potentially harmful molecules known as free radicals. When free radicals accumulate, they can increase the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer (5 Trusted Source).

For example, a test-tube study found that the antioxidants present in potatoes may suppress the growth of liver and colon cancer cells (6 Trusted Source).

Studies have also found that colored potatoes like purple potatoes can have three to four times more antioxidants than white potatoes. This makes them potentially more effective at neutralizing free radicals (7 Trusted Source, 8).

However, most of this evidence is from test-tube studies. More human-based research is necessary before making any health recommendations.

SUMMARYPotatoes are a good source of antioxidants, which may reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. However, more human-based research is required before making any recommendations.

3. May Improve Blood Sugar Control

Potatoes contain a special type of starch known as resistant starch.

This starch is not broken down and fully absorbed by the body. Instead, it reaches the large intestine where it becomes a source of nutrients for the beneficial bacteria in your gut (9 Trusted Source).

Research has linked resistant starch to many health benefits, including reducing insulin resistance, which, in turn, improves blood sugar control.

In an animal study, mice fed resistant starch showed reduced insulin resistance. This means their bodies were more efficient at removing excess sugar from the blood (10 Trusted Source).

A study of people with type 2 diabetes found consuming a meal with resistant starch helped better remove excess blood sugar after a meal (11 Trusted Source).

In another study, ten people were fed 30 grams of resistant starch daily over a four-week period. Scientists found that resistant starch reduced insulin resistance by 33% (12 Trusted Source).

Interestingly, you can also increase the resistant starch content of potatoes. To do this, store boiled potatoes in the fridge overnight and consume them cold (13 Trusted Source).

SUMMARYPotatoes contain resistant starch, which may help reduce insulin resistance. In turn, this can help improve blood sugar control.

4. May Improve Digestive Health

The resistant starch in potatoes may also improve digestive health.

When resistant starch reaches the large intestine, it becomes food for beneficial gut bacteria. These bacteria digest it and turn it into short-chain fatty acids (14 Trusted Source).

Resistant starch from potatoes is mostly converted into the short-chain fatty acid butyrate — the preferred food source for gut bacteria (15 Trusted Source, 16 Trusted Source).

Studies have shown that butyrate can reduce inflammation in the colon, strengthen the colon’s defenses and reduce the risk of colorectal cancer (17 Trusted Source).

Moreover, butyrate may aid patients with inflammatory bowel disorders, such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and diverticulitis (18 Trusted Source).

That said, most of the evidence surrounding butyrate is from test-tube or animal studies. More human-based research is necessary before making recommendations.

SUMMARYResistant starch in potatoes is a source of nutrition for beneficial gut bacteria. They convert it to the short-chain fatty acid butyrate, which has been linked to reduced inflammation in the colon, improved colon defenses and a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

5. Naturally Gluten-Free

The gluten-free diet is one of the most popular diets worldwide. It involves eliminating gluten, which is a family of proteins found in grains like spelt, wheat, barley and rye.

Most people do not experience adverse symptoms from consuming gluten.

However, people with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity can experience severe discomfort when consuming foods that contain gluten. Symptoms include sharp stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating and skin rashes, just to name a few (19 Trusted Source, 20 Trusted Source).

If you follow a gluten-free diet, then you should consider adding potatoes to your diet. They are naturally gluten-free, which means they won’t trigger uncomfortable symptoms.

While potatoes are gluten-free, many common potato recipes are not. Some potato dishes that contain gluten include certain au gratin recipes and potato bread.

If you have celiac disease or a non-celiac gluten sensitivity, be sure to read the full list of ingredients before eating a potato dish.

SUMMARYPotatoes are naturally gluten-free, which makes them an excellent food choice for people with celiac disease or a non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

6. Incredibly Filling

Aside from being nutritious, potatoes are also incredibly filling.

In one study, 11 people were fed 38 common foods and asked to rate foods based on how filling they were. Potatoes received the highest fullness rating of them all.

In fact, potatoes were rated as being seven times more filling than croissants, which were ranked as the least filling food item (21 Trusted Source).

Foods that are filling may help you regulate or lose weight, as they curb hunger pains (22 Trusted Source).

Some evidence shows that a certain potato protein, known as potato proteinase inhibitor 2 (PI2), can curb appetite. This protein appears to enhance the release of cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that promotes feelings of fullness (23 Trusted Source).

SUMMARYStudies have shown that potatoes are among the most filling foods. They may increase the levels of fullness hormones, such as cholecystokinin (CCK).

7. Extremely Versatile

Not only are potatoes healthy, but they are also delicious and versatile.

Potatoes can be prepared in many ways, including boiled, baked and steamed. However, frying potatoes may dramatically increase their calorie content if you use a lot of oil.

Instead, try slicing potatoes and then roasting them in the oven with a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of rosemary.

Make sure not to remove the skin of the potatoes, as most of the nutrients are located there. This will ensure you receive the maximum amount of nutrients from the potato.

SUMMARYPotatoes are delicious, versatile and easy to add to your diet. Try boiling, baking or steaming them and consuming them with the skin intact.

The Bottom Line

Potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which make them very healthy.

Studies have linked potatoes and their nutrients to a variety of impressive health benefits, including improved blood sugar control, reduced heart disease risk and higher immunity. They may also improve digestive health and combat signs of aging.

Potatoes are also quite filling, which means they may help you lose weight by curbing hunger pains and cravings.

All in all, potatoes are a great addition to your diet in moderation. They are also naturally gluten-free, which means they can be enjoyed by almost everyone.

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Feng Shui Your House For Prosperity

Seeking a Harmonious Life With Feng Shui

From New York Times

CreditMark Conlan

 

阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版

Anne Martini believes that following the principles of feng shui has resulted in concrete benefits for her and her family. When she first had her home analyzed 17 years ago, she was being laid off from a pharmaceutical company.

Her feng shui expert advised her to put water in the front of her house in Princeton, N.J., to bring prosperity.

“My landscaper dug six feet in the ground and created a fountain in the front, just as I was negotiating my severance package,” Ms. Martini said. “I ended up getting a quarter-million dollars more than what they had initially offered. I’ve since added two more water structures — 8-by-20-foot features — more water, more wealth!”

Feng shui — the Chinese practice of using the flow of “energies” in the home to create harmony and good health — is a technique that is thousands of years old, combining Chinese astrology with the shape, magnetic direction and age of structures. It has become a popular practice for Asians and non-Asians alike as Chinese influence on cultures worldwide has grown.

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The Future Of Chanel With Virginie Viard

Chanel Autumn/Winter 2013 | Source: Getty Images

PARIS, France — Chanel, by far the world’s top-selling luxury megabrand, is not for sale, according to its owners. Time and again, the billionaire Wertheimer family, which has held a stake in Chanel since the 1920s, has denied through its representatives any intentions of relinquishing control over the crown jewel in its empire. And yet, rumours persist among potential investors, bankers and the wider European luxury industry that Chanel could be bought — for a price.

The valuation, insiders say, would reach $40 billion, if not $50 billion. There is even talk of a financial dossier circulating amongst investors, although Chanel denies this as well. In an interview on Friday just before the brand’s Cruise 2020 show, Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion and Chanel SAS, dismissed the possibility.

Rumours and fake news are part of this new world.

“Rumours and fake news are part of this new world. That will continue to happen,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to change that. At the end of the day, what’s most important is what you see and what the brand is communicating. That gives you a real picture of what the brand is today.”

For investors, the rumours may simply be a case of wishful thinking. After all, capturing control of Chanel — which generated revenue of nearly $10 billion in 2017, marginally less than Louis Vuitton, but much more than LVMH’s cash cow in retail equivalent terms — would be the ultimate achievement for modern luxury’s deal-makers.

But there are also practical reasons for believing the Wertheimers might be ready to sell Chanel. In 2018, the company released financial information to the public for the first time in its history in the face of claims that its brand image was getting dusty and that this was impacting business performance.

The concerns surfaced when a report filed in 2017 to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce by an entity called Chanel International BV — a private limited-liability company that was incorporated in the Netherlands and reflects a significant portion of the overall business — indicated that sales momentum was slowing in parts of the world. In 2016, annual sales of Chanel International B.V. were under $6 billion, down about 10 percent from the previous year, while net income fell almost 35 percent from $1.34 billion to $874 million. Operating income dipped 20 percent to $1.28 billion.

Last summer, when Chanel released its full financials for the first time via Chanel Limited, a corporate entity established in the UK that encompasses the global business, the stated rationale was proving the company’s financial health and rebuffing persistent rumours that Chanel could be a takeover target.

Chanel plans to report again this year, presenting annual sales for 2018 in June. “We want, first, to stop the fake news about the brand and we want to be able to give to our customers, our partners — suppliers — transparency about the situation, the impact and the power of the brand today,” Pavlovsky said. “The best way to do so is to just give the financial results.”

Such declarations, however, can also help to burnish a brand’s image and make it even more attractive to potential buyers. According to a source with knowledge of Chanel’s internal operations, there is interest from multiple Asian buyers and a buyer in Mexico, described as “deep-pocketed and discreet.”

The fact that Chanel issued a $3.4 billion dividend to its owners in 2016 — double the year before — also suggests that the firm could be getting ready to return value to the family, given that it would be easier to divide liquid assets, one banking source said.

That said, it seems the Wertheimer family intends to maintain a significant interest in the business going forward and is currently training Chanel’s next generation of executives to take on larger roles, including the children of current chief executive Alain Wertheimer, 70, grandson of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s business partner. His brother, Gérard Wertheimer, who is in his late 60s, maintains a behind-the-scenes role, while their half-brother, Charles Heilbronn, runs Mousse Partners Limited, the family investment firm. (Heilbronn’s son, Arthur, is also involved.)

“They will come step by step into the business,” Pavlovksy said of the next generation. “It’s their choice, their rhythms. I can guarantee you that they’re organising the next steps, but there’s no hurry. They’re here and they’re doing their job.”

Some observers believe that between the current generation of leaders and their offspring, an outside chief executive may take the reins while the Wertheimer and Heilbronn children gain more experience. For nearly a decade, American retail executive Maureen Chiquet held the role of global CEO, although she was fired from the company in January 2016 after “differences of opinion about the strategic direction of the company,” according to a statement the brand released at the time. The company has since said that Alain Wertheimer, who originally said he would only occupy the chief executive role temporarily, is staying put for the foreseeable future.

“Who might come next is not on the agenda,” chief financial officer Philippe Blondiaux told the New York Times last year. To be sure, the chance of any major changes occurring on the executive side, where one family has successfully controlled the business through several decades and three generations, now heading into four, are minimal, at least for the time being.

Swifter change on the creative side is far more possible. Chanel remains the world’s most desirable luxury brand and has appeal across generations, but digital disruption and the rapid maturation of Chinese consumers have reshaped the luxury sector. Shoppers are craving newness like never before.

In a fast-moving market, Chanel’s collections, stores and marketing could use a refresh. And while many of its efforts — including its spectacular runway shows, which light up social media — continue to resonate, the company will need to evolve in order to maintain its advantages.

Longtime designer Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away in February 2019, was not only the mastermind behind ready-to-wear and couture, but the entire brand image. In a bid for continuity, his role has been split into two. Longtime studio director Virginie Viard now oversees fashion collections, and longtime image director Eric Pfrunder oversees marketing, advertising and other consumer messaging.

Virginie Viard and Vittoria Ceretti during Chanel’s haute couture Spring/Summer 2019 show in Paris | Source: Getty Images

“Virginie knows everything about Chanel, about Mademoiselle Chanel,” Pavlovsky said, characterising her appointment as a strong choice. “She has been working for the past 30 years with Karl. She has been part of the development of the métiers d’art. In fact, she knows everything.”

Yet Viard’s and Pfrunder’s staying power without Lagerfeld at the helm is far from clear. Many industry insiders believe that while the approach makes sense for a period, Viard, who has never sought the spotlight, and Pfrunder, a disciple of Lagerfeld’s, are not a long-term solution. Rumours persist that former Celine designer Phoebe Philo, who many see as the Coco Chanel of her generation, will eventually assume the role, although Chanel continues to dismiss this notion and Philo may not be interested in returning to a big brand anytime soon.

“I hear the rumours [about Philo] and all that, and I find that quite funny,” Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion and Chanel SAS, told BoF in December 2018. “But it’s nothing serious.”

As for the direction of the wider company, Luca Solca, managing director of luxury goods at Sanford C. Bernstein Schweiz, said that while an IPO, merger, investment or strategic acquisition are all possible outcomes, the most likely scenario would be that Chanel maintains the status quo. “The likelihood of alternative options is probably 30 percent,” he said.

If the Wertheimers were inclined to sell, major motivations would be to secure the fortunes of future generations, or to exit a business that the fourth generation was not interested in running. Fashion is not what it was even 10 years ago, let alone 40, when Karl Lagerfeld developed the much-imitated business model that helped to turn family-run luxury houses like Chanel into multi-billion-dollar global powerhouses. Today, Chanel’s rivals, from LVMH to Kering to Hermès, are better equipped than ever to compete.

And yet, Chanel is still on top when it comes to retail sales and creating tremendous value for the Wertheimers.

“The current generation of Chanel shareholders seem more inclined to keep it as a family business,” said Mario Ortelli, managing partner at Ortelli & Co. “But we can be proven wrong.”

Chanel certainly has plenty of options:

Scenario #1: Sell to a Strategic

There aren’t many strategic groups that could afford Chanel. LVMH chairman and chief executive Bernard Arnault, long thought to admire Chanel has dismissed speculation that the group is eyeing an acquisition as “fake news,” despite rumours that he had met with the Wertheimer family.

“Chanel is a magnificent business, but we have had no contact with them,” he said in 2018 at LVMH’s annual shareholder meeting.

Such a deal, however, would be a “way to build a true industry giant,” Solca said, given the synergies between the two firms, from manufacturing — both own several specialist firms in Italy and France — to beauty.

With free cash flow of nearly €3 billion, luxury group Kering is also positioned to acquire a big, profit-boosting brand. While chief executive François-Henri Pinault has said the company doesn’t need acquisitions to grow, and therefore wouldn’t engage in a price war, he’s not ruling it out.

“Of course, if opportunities present themselves that are consistent with our portfolio rules, in terms of market positioning and style, we will be able to seize them,” Pinault said in February 2019. “We have the financial means, and we also have platforms capable of embracing new labels and tapping their potential relatively quickly.”

However, Kering’s current market capitalisation is a little over €60 billion, not much more than Chanel’s estimated private valuation, which means the megabrand would be a lot for the group to absorb.

While rumours have circulated that Mayhoola, the luxury investment fund backed by the Qatari royal family, is interested in Chanel, such a partnership currently seems unlikely given that Mayhoola continues to divest from its fashion interests, disposing of its stake in Anya Hindmarch and entertaining a sale of Valentino earlier this year.

A left-field but possible acquirer could be a beauty conglomerate such as L’Oréal, given the scale of Chanel’s beauty business. The brand does not break out its sales by category, although analysts estimate that it generates more than $3 billion a year selling beauty products.

“Chanel has a remarkable business in beauty,” Ortelli said. “Because of that, big beauty might be interested in acquiring and managing the entire company.” The drawback, of course, is that most beauty players do not have the fashion expertise required to run Chanel.

Scenario #2: Merge With a Strategic

While few luxury groups can afford to take over Chanel outright, a merger would result in a strategic alliance that further strengthens both sides of the business and capitalises on shared services, including manufacturing, distribution and advertising. It would also likely allow the Wertheimer family to maintain an active role in decision making. Potential partners here include Kering, but also Swiss group Richemont, which is complementary to Chanel.

“Chanel is strong in leather goods and beauty, Richemont in watches and jewelry,” Solca said. Such a partnership would afford “all the rewards of a bigger-sized company,” Solca added, although Richemont’s status on the public market could be a blockade.

There is also the matter of two family-run businesses suddenly making decisions as one unit. (Richemont’s biggest shareholder is its founder, Johann Rupert.) For this reason, it’s unlikely that Hermès and Chanel would merge. While there is a shared respect between the families, neither is likely to relinquish control to the other.

Scenario #3: Sell to an Investor

It is perhaps the most unlikely scenario of all, but there are certainly plenty of private investors, including private equity funds and family offices, that would be interested in owning Chanel. For the brand, the benefits of such an arrangement are murky, however. Private equity is usually a tool for medium-sized brands to scale up quickly. Chanel already has scale and plenty of cash.

Regardless, according to a source with knowledge of the inner workings of the company, there are multiple Asian parties, as well as an investor in Mexico focused on European acquisitions, that are interested. A sovereign wealth fund, such as Singapore’s Temasek, is another option. However, most of these acquisitions would be made with the understanding that the company would eventually sell shares to the public, which could create more distance between the Wertheimer family and Chanel than desired.

Scenario #4: Partial Flotation or IPO

In 2018, Chanel’s decision to release the details of its financial performance for the first time ever caught the attention of the markets. While an initial public offering seems unlikely, the company could choose to conduct a partial flotation à la Hermès, which would give the family an opportunity to cash out while remaining in control of the business.

However, this comes with a risk of a hostile bid, depending on the quantity of free flotation. (Hermès spent four years fighting off the advances of LVMH in a public battle for shares. LVMH finally backed down, relinquishing its shares in 2014.)

If Chanel chose to float 25 percent of the business, there is little risk of takeover, except if the family entered a dispute. If a family member formed an alliance with an outside entity, it could shift the balance of power, allowing another group or investor to control the business.

But if Chanel was interested in acquiring more brands and creating its own group, an IPO could be advantageous. (It already owns swimwear lines Eres and Orlebar Brown.) Company stock can be used as currency, which makes acquisitions easier. Such a scenario would likely require Chanel to cultivate another high-profile designer in the vein of Lagerfeld to replace Viard, as the market pays close attention to mass consumer perception.

Industry observers are skeptical.

Chanel doesn’t need cash, so why would they do an IPO?

“The market has been fantasising about an IPO,” said one industry analyst. “Chanel doesn’t need cash, so why would they do an IPO? When Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas sold a small percentage of its shares to the public, it was in order to finance expansion. Chanel doesn’t need to fundraise.”

Scenario #5: Maintain Status Quo

What happens if the Wertheimer choose to do nothing?

Gerard Wertheimer (L) and Alain Wertheimer (R) in 2011 | Photo: Julien Hekimian for Getty Images

There is already a succession plan underway. Chanel owners Alain and Gérard Wertheimer have a total of five children between them. Mousse Partners’ executive Charles Heilbronn, half-brother to Alain and Gérard, has three. According to two sources familiar with the business, the fourth-generation heirs have taken more active roles in the past few years as they enter their thirties.

Nathaniel Wertheimer, son of Alain, and Arthur Heilbronn, son of Charles — both Harvard graduates — are contenders to take over the business. At one time, Nathaniel worked at Estée Lauder Companies to learn about cosmetics, an important category for Chanel. One source with inside knowledge of the company said that Nathaniel could take Alain’s role, either the position of global chief executive or chairman, and Arthur could carry on his father’s activities at Mousse Partners, including acquisitions and real estate. Both have spent time at Chanel’s subsidiaries to learn more about the operations.

Sometimes, a family-run company will hire an outside CEO until the next generation is prepared to run the business.

“Chanel could also promote in-house talents on the executive side; there’s no shortage of talent in the company,” Solca said. Pavlovsky, the longtime head of fashion, was recently made president of Chanel SAS, indicating an expansion of his role.

Looks from the Chanel Cruise 2020 Collection at Le Grand Palais | Source: Courtesy

But regardless of who exactly takes the reins, a “status quo” scenario could involve a creation of a financial trust, if the family has not already established one, in order to provide management and protect assets, as per the specific instructions laid out by the third generation.

Trusts are a conservative way to run a business: trustees are not owners or shareholders but rather custodians that are bound to established rules, one of which would likely prevent the four-generation heirs from selling.

The company could also establish a non-profit, charitable foundation, which could be structured as a trust.

“This works fantastically for Rolex,” Solca said. In 2016, Giorgio Armani set up a foundation in his name to “safeguard the governing of its assets,” which essentially means that it will be hard for another group to buy his business, of which he is currently the sole shareholder.

The choice to move Chanel’s global headquarters, including its finance, human resource and legal departments, to London in 2018 could be helpful when optimising its tax plan for the generational change. At the time, the company said that it “wanted to simplify the structure of the business and London is the appropriate place to do that for an international company. London is the most central location to our markets, uses the English language and has strong corporate governance standards with its regulatory and legal requirements.”

 

Featured

9 Core Six -Pack Ab Exercises

9 Hard-Core Exercises That Get You Closer to Six-Pack Abs

Work the obliques, plus ab muscles you never knew you had, with hard-core exercises that deliver the results endless crunches can’t.

By Jenna Birch 

9 Core Exercises to Get You Closer to a Six Pack
Work every angle of your abs with these hardcore moves to sculpt a six-pack fast.

Everybody wants a six-pack-which is great. But FYI, there are actually four key muscle groups you need to tone to get a taut tummy. (On a deadline? This workout is the fastest way to lose belly fat.)

“For the best results, both aesthetically and functionally, you need to target all the muscles in your abdomen,” explains NYC-based trainer Joan Pagano, author of Strength Training Exercises for Women.

What are they? Let’s meet all your ab muscles.

On the side of your abs, you have your external abdominal obliques and your internal abdominal obliques. Your external obliques lie on top, and are those muscles you feel in your side, just under your arm. The internal obliques are deeper muscles that lie underneath your external obliques, acting as stabilizers to help you maintain your posture.

The transversus abdominis are your deepest muscles, running horizontally around your midsection. Pagano says that toning these creates a “natural girdle” to keep your tummy tucked and stabilize your pelvis. Then, of course, there’s the most superficial muscle group in the abdomen: the rectus abdominis (when toned, the classic “six-pack” abs). This set runs from sternum to pelvis, helping you flex your spine while walking.

One move alone does not tone all these muscles. You’re going to need at least a few weapons in your arsenal to tighten up all over. Here, Carbon38 cofounder Caroline Gogolak demos the best hard abs moves to target all areas-even the ones you can’t see. (Next up: Tackle our 30-day abs workout challenge.)

1. Roll Back

Roll Back

Works: Rectus abdominis

Pagano says: Sit up straight, with knees bent at 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor. Pull torso in close to thighs, reaching arms forward at shoulder level with palms down. Exhale, drawing navel toward spine as you roll back onto tailbone, curving spine into a “C” shape. Inhale and realign spine to straighten up. (Want more? Continue with the best exercises for lower abs.)

2. Twisting Roll Back

Twisting Roll Back

Works: Internal and external obliques, the rectus abdominis

Pagano says: With arms extended forward, perform a roll-back, curving spine into a “C.” Twist torso to one side, bending one elbow and pulling it back at shoulder level while reaching other arm to opposite knee. Reach both arms forward and return to starting position. Repeat on the other side.

3. Medicine Ball Sit-Up

Medicine Ball Roll Back

Works: Transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques

Personal trainer Jimmy Minardi says: Hold a medicine ball over head, and recline all the way down. Lift from core back to a sitting position, keeping the ball over head. To make this more challenging, find a slant board at the gym, or buy one for around $50. Hook feet under the top of the board. The downhill slant and extra weight add an extra challenge to ab muscles. Increase the angle of the board and the weight of the ball for better results.

4. Kneeling Crunch

Kneeling Crunch

Works: Rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques

Pagano says: Kneel with one arm stabilized directly under shoulder, reaching other arm forward at shoulder level and opposite leg back at hip height. Exhale, contract abs, and round back up to the ceiling while drawing elbow to knee, turning palm up. Repeat on the other side.

5. Dead Bug

Dead Bug

Works: Transversus abdominis, internal and external obliques

Pagano says: Lie on back with legs raised, knees bent over hips and calves parallel to the floor. Extend arms to the ceiling with palms forward, and pull abs tight, bringing navel to spine. Exhale, lowering opposite arm and leg toward the floor, bringing remaining knee in over chest. Keep low back connected to the floor at all times-don’t arch. Repeat on the other side.

6. Lunge Split Jacks

Plyo Lunge

Works: Rectus abdominis

Minardi says: Stand with feet in a staggered stance, left foot in front of right, 2 or 3 feet apart, then lower body into a split squat. Jump up and scissor-kick legs, landing with right leg forward. As soon as feet land, lower body into a split squat.

7. Toe Dip

Toe Dip

Works: Transversus abdominis

Pagano says: Sit tall with both knees bent in front, feet flat on the floor. Lean back onto elbows with shoulder blades down and together. Tighten abs, sliding hands under lower back for support with palms facing down. Lift legs so that knees are bent over hips with calves parallel to the floor, inhaling and dipping toes to the mat while maintaining those right angles at the knees. Exhale, then return to starting position.

8. Bicycle Crunches

Bicycle

Works: Internal and external obliques, transversus abdominis

Minardi says: Lie flat on the floor with lower back pressed to the ground; pull abs downward to target deep ab muscles. Interlace fingers and put hands behind head. Start by bringing knees in toward chest, lifting shoulder blades off the ground. Straighten right leg out to about a 45-degree angle from the ground while turning upper body to the left, bringing right elbow toward the left knee. Make sure ribcage is moving, not just elbows. Repeat on the other side. You should be creating a “pedaling” action; do this exercise with slow and controlled motion. (Complement bicycle crunches with the Muffin Top Melter plan-results are self-explanatory!)

9. The “Jean-Zip”

Jean Zip

Works: Transversus abdominis

Pagano says: You can do this move discreetly, at any time throughout the day. As if you were zipping up a tight pair of jeans, “scoop abs” by pulling navel in toward spine and then up, lifting the pelvic floor. This move engages those deep abdominal muscle to flatten the belly-it’s the muscle that lies right under your zipper. (Exercise is key, but if a taut tummy is what you’re after, some overall lifestyle changes might be in order. Luckily, you can lose belly fat in 14 days with just a few key tweaks.)

Heroine Sport X Bra ($85; carbon38.com); Zara Terez Palm Print Leggings ($75; carbon38.com).

  • By Jenna Birch
Featured

3 Moments Of Mindfulness

Woman meditating in a park while sitting under a tree.

3 moments for mindfulness in your everyday

Practicing mindfulness is a skill we’d all like to master. With magazines, websites, workshops, and retreats dedicated to mindfulness, it’s clearly an important topic in health and wellness.

 

It can help you manage stress, be present in the moment, and focus on the task at hand. In a 2018 study, Harvard scientists found that the mere act of clearing your mind for 15 minutes each day alters how your genes operate. They also found mind-body practices that create a relaxation response can reduce blood pressure.*

 

Michael Kanter, MD, medical director of Quality and Clinical Analysis for Southern California Permanente Medical Group, highlights the fact that mindfulness is a practice for the betterment of health. “Scientific studies have shown that the practice of mindfulness can in fact help our members improve their total health — body, mind, and spirit. Individuals who practice mindfulness techniques report better mental and physical health, and quality of life compared to those who do not practice mindfulness.”

 

But how do we make mindfulness part of our everyday lives? The key is to start practicing in the moments that work best for you.

 

Understanding mindfulness

 

Mindfulness simply means awareness. You intentionally pay attention to the present moment while putting aside your everyday tendencies. For example, you might focus on your breath and surroundings instead of rushing through a meal while staring at your phone.

 

According to Marsha Lucas, PhD, psychologist and author of Rewire Your Brain for Love, “Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. It’s a practice that trains your brain to be more efficient and better integrated, with less distractibility and improved focus. It minimizes stress and even helps you become your best self.”

 

Moments for mindfulness

 

To begin your own practice, find moments in your daily routine that work for you:

 

  • When you wake up — A mindfulness practice first thing in the morning helps set the ‘tone’ for the rest of the day, increasing the likelihood of other mindful moments. Whether you’re sipping a cup of coffee, showering, or brushing your teeth, take a moment to concentrate on your breath. Deep breaths help bring more oxygen into your body and improve blood circulation. Then zero in on the sight, sound, smell, taste, and feel of these activities.

 

  • While you wait — There are many moments in a day when we’re waiting. While our instinct may be to stare at our phones or feel frustrated, you could instead make the most of the time. According to Ed Halliwell, mindfulness teacher and co-author of the book The Mindful Manifesto, waiting is actually an opportunity for mindfulness. When you’re waiting, he suggests bringing your attention to your breath. Focus on “the flow of the breath in and out of your body, from moment to moment and allow everything else to just be, even if what’s there is impatience or irritation.”

 

  • While you eat — Mindful eating means choosing food that is pleasing to you and good for you, while using all your senses to explore, savor, and taste. Mindful eating is also learning to be aware of physical hunger and cues that guide your decision to begin — and to stop — eating. For example, you can practice mindful eating at your next meal by following these simple tips:
    • Eat in a set place. Sitting at a table is better than your desk or on the couch.
    • Focus on what you’re about to eat with a sense of gratitude.
    • Concentrate on the act of eating. Chew your food slowly. Take in the texture and the sensations in your mouth.

It may seem like a lot to remember, but the key is finding small ways to incorporate mindfulness into everyday moments. With these small changes, you’ll be on your way to a more mindful — and healthier — day.

 

For more information on mindfulness and wellness resources, visit our mental health and wellness resource center.

 

*Richard Knox, “Harvard Study: Clearing Your Mind Affects Your Genes and Can Lower Your Blood Pressure,” NPR News’ WBUR CommonHealth, April 6, 2018, wbur.org/commonhealth/2018/04/06/harvard-study-relax-genes.

Featured

Everyone Loves Ulta Beauty

Teens outside Ulta Beauty | Source: Getty Images

Teens outside Ulta Beauty | Source: Getty Images

But Ulta has managed to flip the script with a highly desirable set of consumers: Generation Z prefers the chain to its main rival by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent, according to a survey of 350 girls aged 15 to 21 conducted by Perksy on behalf of BoF. An April survey by Piper Jaffray revealed a similar shift, with more teenage girls choosing Ulta over Sephora for the first time.

How did Ulta pull this off? In short, by making its stores the exclusive destination for a long list of brands that teenagers find irresistible. Want to pick up a can of Lime Crime’s “Unicorn Hair” glitter spray? It’s only at Ulta. Looking to sample one of Colourpop’s eyeshadows? Better head to Ulta. The chain’s product mix – a jumble of downmarket and luxe brands – plays into Gen Z’s indifference to segmentation by price.

Source: Perksy for BoF, 2019; n = 350

By contrast, Sephora’s predominantly high-end offerings hold less appeal for young consumers who don’t care if their eyeliner costs only $3 (or if they bought it in a strip mall). To be sure, LVMH-owned Sephora has plenty of draws of its own, from its “Clean at Sephora” additive-free beauty label to its exclusive arrangement with Fenty Beauty and Huda Beauty. The retailer is doubling down on its prestige exclusives next month, outfitting 200 stores with “Sephora Next Big Thing” displays, featuring items from colour brands that are difficult to find in brick-and-mortar stores.

“Ulta’s more diverse in its options – and with Gen Z being a lot more in a discovery phase of their life, the ability to have so much diversity is important,” said Nadia Masri, founder and chief executive of Perksy, which specialises in Gen Z and millennial market research.

Representatives from Ulta and Sephora declined to comment.

If Ulta maintains its hold on teens, the ripple effects could extend throughout the beauty industry. For a brand, choosing Ulta or Sephora is a seminal decision that can set the tone of a business for years to come. The right retail partnership can turn a tiny start-up into a billion-dollar brand, or guarantee an established label’s latest launch is a hit. Some liken the relationship between brand and retailer to a marriage, with multi-year exclusivity deals the industry equivalent of a prenup.

After almost a decade of selling solely via its own website, Lime Crime was added to Ulta’s website in October 2017 and was in 450 stores by mid-2018. The reason: demand from customers who visited the label’s elaborate activations at Beautycon, said Lime Crime Chief Executive Stacy Panagakis. The festival, which is popular with mass brands but has struggled to bring in luxury lines, proved there was an offline appetite for Lime Crime, with Ulta being the best fit, Panagakis said. This year, Ulta will comprise 30 percent of Lime Crime’s sales.

Ulta’s success with Gen Z also marks a new chapter in the rivalry between the two chains, which has intensified in recent years as they have begun to play on each other’s turf.

Ulta was founded in 1990, specialising in affordable cosmetics and fragrances for the US market. Sephora started in Europe in the 1970s, opening its first American store in New York in 1998, with a luxury focus.

The two have begun to compete more directly as they opened more stores: today, Ulta has 1,200 locations in North America, while Sephora will have 430 stores by the end of 2019.

Ulta’s sales for 2018 were $6.7 billion. LVMH does not break out revenue for Sephora, but LVMH Chief Financial Officer Jean-Jacque Guiony said in April that the US makeup business was “a little bit under pressure,” offset by strong growth in skincare.

Source: Perksy for BoF, 2019; n = 350

Even two years ago, Sephora was taking the US cosmetics market by storm with its aspirational products, while Ulta was seen as the less-sexy alternative precisely because of its large assortment of low-priced brands. But as Gen Z shoppers enter the market, their purchases show they care more about founders’ biographies and what a brand stands for, and less if a line is categorized as “mass” or “prestige.” Almost three-quarters of the Gen Z’s who participated in Perksy’s survey said they “don’t care if a brand is ‘prestige’ or ‘mass.’”

Piper Jaffray’s survey found that female teens preferred Ulta to Sephora for the first time.

“It’s constantly going to be an evolution between these two powerhouse specialty retailers and there’s a place in the environment for both,” said Erinn Murphy, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray. “Still, the biggest distinction of Sephora versus Ulta… comes down to assortment and particularly how the Gen Z shops.”

“Assortment” in this case has two meanings: Ulta’s popular exclusives, which added $75 million to fourth-quarter revenue, but also the chain’s decision to carry products across the pricing and prestige spectrum. Ulta and Sephora both stock products from Chanel and Tarte, but only the former carries bargain brands like Nyx Professional Makeup and Morphe.

Enticing Gen Z with Kylie Cosmetics, Colourpop, Lime Crime and Morphe has been successful in the short term for Ulta, but this power over teenage minds and wallets could prove fleeting.

Ulta’s products, rather than its stores or customer service, are its main draw; if a rival signs the next hot cosmetics start-up, they could erase the chain’s current advantage. Sephora has deep pockets, as does Amazon, a relative newcomer to the beauty space that has made inroads with Gen Z. Sephora has begun to expand its offering of affordable products, though a move into true downmarket brands is unlikely. The Inkey List, an ingredient-focused skincare line positioned similarly to The Ordinary, sells hyaluronic acid serum for just $7.99.

“Right now, [the Ulta experience] just speaks to the stuff on the shelf,” said Laura Gurski, senior managing director and global lead for Accenture’s Consumer Goods & Services practice. “It’s the brands that are more attractive to [teens]. It’s very different than a more mature millennial who expects more and uses beauty differently. Their needs are different, they’re less influenced by Kylie Jenner.”

Ulta also hasn’t shown it can maintain its edge when its teen customers grow up. Sephora is the exclusive US retailer for Drunk Elephant, a skincare line popular with millennials. It’s also ahead of the curve on major beauty trends, including CBD beauty, and promotes “clean” products with its own “Clean at Sephora” seal. The retailer has Fenty Beauty, its crown jewel, which was the biggest launch of 2017 and continues to be a favourite across generations.

“A lot of people have this misconception that Gen Z only wants the hot new brands like the Morphe’s, the Too Faced’s and Kylie Cosmetics, but they also have a preference around quality and legacy brands,” said Beautycon chief executive Moj Mahdara.

Both Ulta and Sephora face challenges from smaller retailers, which have focused on offering a better in-store experience or offering a narrow, but well-curated selection of products.

Teens crave the “playpen approach” to experiential brick and mortar retail, said Lucie Greene, chief futurist and Wunderman Thompson. She cited Glossier’s flagships and Winky Lux’s SoHo outposts as best in class, versus Ulta’s more traditional way of selling. Beautycon is the “best Gen Z retailer” due to the festival’s ability to combine buying and entertainment, she said.

Mainstream beauty retailers have been slow to embrace Gen Z trends, including a backlash against “Instagram perfection” and an embrace of “grotesque beauty,” as seen in Gucci’s new makeup campaign. The rise of gender fluidity in beauty and a preference for the “hypernatural” (think Justin Bieber declaring “pimples are in” on Instagram) also continue to dominate the conversation amongst today’s empowered youth. Computer-generated influencer Lil Miquela, and more recently, Dazed Beauty’s “born on the internet” makeup artist Dadeko, have followings that rival human influencers.

“It’s still so new for us, we’re still learning how that Ulta consumer is going to react to our ‘weird’ colours. We have a green blush,” Lime Crime’s Panagakis said with a laugh. “We want to make sure that we’re bringing our brand to life in Ulta so we’re going to show weird colours for sure.”

THIS WEEK IN BEAUTY

L’Oréal is bringing back its accelerator program. After a brief hiatus, L’Oréal USA wants to find the next big digitally native beauty brand via its Women in Digital Next Generation accelerator program.

Coty misses analyst expectations.The beauty giant’s revenues fell more than expected in the third quarter, fueled by weaker demand for its mass brands.

Gucci releases its “manifesto of beauty.” Tied to the launch of a 58-piece lipstick collection, the brand’s new campaign is rooted in the idea that “makeup should not mask, but rather exalt, flaws and make them part of the language of beauty.

Beauty turns its focus to airports. Airports can serve as a good litmus test for beauty brands looking to test new innovations or concepts, as beauty accounts for approximately one-third of the duty-free market.

These are some of the best “camp” beauty looks from the MET Gala. Lady Gaga, Lupita Nyong’o and Joan Collins had some of the most on-theme beauty looks of the night.

E.l.f. Beauty is on the up and up. The brand posted improvements in its most recent quarter, which Chief Executive Tarang Amin attributes to “Project Unicorn,” a packaging and shelf merchandising initiative.

Dr. Bronner’s is a benchmark of today’s wellness movement. The company’s CEO (cosmic engagement officer) is a “ponytailed vegan surfer who wears tie-dyed shirts and drives a rainbow-coloured Mercedes-Benz” who deems social media amoral.

L’Oréal introduces personalized hair colour: Color&Co is a new direct to consumer hair colour venture from the beauty conglomerate’s tech incubator.

Brand defends need for “male-specific” makeup. Cosmetics line War Paint, which has been accused of aggressive masculine marketing, stands by the philosophy that its products are “individually designed” for men’s skin.

 

Featured

Burgers With Spinach, Lemon & Garlic

Burgers made with spinach, lemon zest and garlic

From Kaiser Permanente

Contributor  Preston Maring, MD

One of the versions of turkey burgers I’ve offered in the past are a decadent version made with blue cheese (usually from Point Reyes Station here in West Marin — search for them on this site if you haven’t yet tried them and add about 1/3 cup of minced fresh cilantro). Trying to get more veggies into our diets is always a goal so I was happy to find a way to incorporate spinach into a summer staple. These can be made with ground turkey or lean grass fed beef. By the time you add the spinach and other ingredients, a half cup measuring cup makes four burgers per pound of ground meat.

Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds ground turkey or beef or a mixture of both
  • 10 ounces baby spinach leaves
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Fire up the grill. Saute the spinach in a little olive oil until it wilts. In a large bowl, mix the turkey or beef, spinach, lemon zest, garlic, salt, and pepper. There’s something about seeing wide veins of green in these burgers that is very satisfying. Make healthier quarter pounders using the half cup measuring cup to get an equal amount per burger then flatten them on waxed paper. Grill them until done making sure you get those cool grill marks. Serve them, of course, on whole grains buns with whatever else you usually put on burgers.

Nutrition Information (per serving)

  • (does not include bun)
  • Calories: 183
  • Fat: 10 gm
  • Saturated fat: 3 gm
  • Trans fat: 0 gm
  • Cholesterol: 90 mg
  • Carbohydrate: 2 gm
  • Fiber: 1 gm
  • Sodium: 338 mg
  • Protein: 21 gm

Contributor

Preston Maring, MD

Featured

Burn Calories Raking Leaves

How Many Calories Does Raking Leaves Burn?

ANDREA CESPEDES From LiveStrong

Fit in a workout without having to pay for a gym membership with fall yardwork. Mulching, planting bulbs to blossom in spring and trimming trees all raise your heart rate moderately as you squat, reach and pull. A treed yard tasks you with serious raking and bagging leaves, too. How many calories you burn depends on your size and how long it takes you to do the job.

Calories Burned Raking Leaves

The more you weigh, the more calories you’ll use while raking leaves. A 125-pound person burns about 120 calories raking for a half hour, while a 185-pound person burns 178 calories. Some calculators put the burn rate at a slightly lower rate of just 90 or 139 calories, respectively. To burn the most calories, rake at a rigorous, continuous pace that causes you to break a light sweat and breathe a little heavier than normal.

How Raking Leaves Stacks Up to Other Activity

Raking leaves burns about the same number of calories per half hour as bagging them or planting seedlings. Other yardwork that burns more calories per half hour includes mowing the lawn with a power push mower — 135 calories for a 125-pound person or 200 calories for a 185-pound person. Mowing with a non-power push mower has the greatest calorie burn, with 165 and 244 per half-hour, respectively.

The calories burned raking leaves is equivalent to walking at a brisk 3.5 mph pace, horseback riding or participating in a stretching yoga class or water aerobics. It uses more calories than a general weight-lifting session or bowling, both of which burn 90 to 133 calories per 30 minutes.

Raking Leaves Counts as Exercise

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular activity weekly to promote good health. Moderate-intensity exercise includes a brisk walk, stationary bicycling, yoga and household chores, including raking leaves. In the fall, a good weekly session of clearing your lawn prevents your grass from getting snow mold diseases and inhibition of spring growth, as well as boosts your health. Of course, how often you must rake depends on the number of deciduous trees on your property.

Rake Leaves in Addition to Other Movement

If you’re trying to lose weight, raking the leaves beats watching football Sunday afternoon — at least for your weight goals. The more active you can be all day long, the greater the number of calories you burn. Your metabolism gets a boost, and it’s easier for you to create a calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories per week to lose 1 to 2 pounds. Rake leaves in addition to a gym session and other movement, such as washing the car, pacing while on the phone and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

Doing your own chores also combats the effects of excessive sitting. A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine in 2012 found that prolonged periods of sitting increase your risk of early death, even if you fit in an hour of exercise daily. The more you can be active all day, the better for your health. Skip the leaf blower or paying the neighborhood teen to do the job; rake the leaves, burn the calories yourself and reap the health benefits.

 

Featured

Who Is Georgios Papanikolaou?

 

Meet Georgios Papanikolaou: Pap Smear Inventor Honored With Google Doodle

A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT THE GOOGLE DOODLE

By CHRIS MORRIS From Fortune

You might not know Georgios Papanikolaou’s name, but you certainly know his most famous creation. The scientist is being celebrated in Monday’s Google Doodle for what would have been his 136th birthday, along with his invention of the Pap smear.

Papanikolaou was a cytopathologist who worked alongside his wife to come up with the test that enabled the early discovery of cervical cancer and other diseases. Today, it’s one of the most common cancer tests, with doctors ordering the simple, low cost test 28.5 million times in 2015. (Other tests are now being offered that replace the Pap smear.)

The son of a doctor, Papanikolaou initially considered another field, but by the age of 15, he was starting medical school. Six years later, he graduated with top honors. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1913, initially working as a carpet salesman and playing violins in restaurants until Cornell recruited him to join their staff.

He was nominated for the Nobel prize twice and has been featured on a U.S. postage stamp as well as the Greek 10,000 drachma note.

To conduct a study for his research, he not only convinced his wife (and lab technician) Mary to be a test subject, but also a group of close friends, taking vaginal smears and studying them under a microscope for malignant cells. In conducting that research, he found that one of his wife’s friends had cervical cancer. (It’s unclear if that detection came in time to cure the disease.)

Papanikolaou initially introduced the test in 1928, but the medical community was skeptical of its accuracy initially. Undeterred, he continued research and in 1941 published a paper backing up the test that led to greater acceptance.

Known for putting in grueling hours, Papanikolaou died in 1962 of a sudden heart attack at the age of 78. Mary continued his work until her own death in 1982.

 

Featured

What Is Triphala ?

What Are the Benefits of Triphala?

By Jillian Kubala, MS, RD From Healthline

Though you may have never heard of Triphala, it has been used as a healing remedy for over 1,000 years.

This herbal concoction consists of three medicinal plants native to India.

It’s a staple in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, one of the world’s oldest medical systems that originated in India over 3,000 years ago (1 Trusted Source).

Due to its many purported health benefits, Triphala has become increasingly popular around the world.

What Is Triphala?
Triphala Ayurvedic Fruits

Triphala has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine since ancient times as a multi-purpose treatment for symptoms ranging from stomach ailments to dental cavities. It is also believed to promote longevity and overall health (2 Trusted Source).

It’s considered a polyherbal medicine, meaning it consists of several different medicinal herbs.

Polyherbal formulations are popularly used in Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional system that emphasizes disease prevention and health promotion.

It’s believed that combining synergistic herbs results in extra therapeutic effectiveness and is a more powerful treatment than any one component taken alone (3 Trusted Source).

Triphala is a mixture of the dried fruits of the following three plants native to India.

Amla (Emblica officinalis)

More commonly known as Indian gooseberry, amla plays an important role in Ayurvedic medicine.

It is one of the oldest edible fruits known to India (4 Trusted Source).

Indian gooseberries are the edible fruit of a small to medium-sized tree that grows throughout India.

The berries have a sour, sharp taste and a fibrous texture.

For this reason, the berries are often pickled, soaked in sugar syrup or cooked into dishes to increase palatability.

Indian gooseberry and its extract are used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat symptoms like constipation and also used in cancer prevention.

Indian gooseberries are very nutritious and high in vitamin C, amino acids and minerals (5).

They also contain powerful plant compounds like phenols, tannins, phyllembelic acid, rutin, curcuminoids and emblicol (6 Trusted Source).

Several test-tube studies suggest that Indian gooseberries have potent anti-cancer properties.

For example, in test-tube studies, Indian gooseberry extract has been shown to inhibit the growth of cervical and ovarian cancer cells (7 Trusted Source, 8 Trusted Source).

However, there is no evidence that Indian gooseberries prevent cancer in humans.

Bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica)

Terminalia bellirica is a large tree that commonly grows in Southeast Asia.

It’s known as “Bibhitaki” in Ayurvedic medicine, where the fruit of the tree is used as a treatment for common ailments like bacterial and viral infections.

Bibhitaki contains tannins, ellagic acid, gallic acid, lignans and flavones, along with many other powerful plant compounds that are thought to be responsible for its medicinal qualities (9).

This potent herbal remedy has a variety of uses and may help treat a wide array of medical issues.

In particular, Bibhitaki has been researched for its anti-inflammatory properties.

In one study, 500 mg of Terminalia bellirica substantially reduced uric acid levels in patients with gout, an inflammatory condition characterized by the buildup of uric acid in the body (10 Trusted Source).

Bibhitaki is also commonly used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat diabetes and blood sugar dysregulation.

This is because Bibhitaki is high in gallic acid and ellagic acid, two phytochemicals that have beneficial effects on blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity and body weight (11 Trusted Source, 12 Trusted Source).

These plant chemicals help promote insulin secretion from the pancreas and have been shown to reduce high blood sugar and improve insulin resistance in animal studies (13, 14 Trusted Source).

Haritaki (Terminalia chebula)

Terminalia chebula is a medicinal tree that grows throughout the Middle East, India, China and Thailand.

This plant is known as “Haritaki” in Ayurveda, where the small, green fruit of the Terminalia chebula tree is used as medicine. It is one of the main components of Triphala (15 Trusted Source).

Haritaki is held in high esteem in Ayurveda and often referred to as the “king of medicines.”

It has been used since ancient times as a remedy for a number of conditions, including heart disease, asthma, ulcers and stomach ailments (16 Trusted Source).

Haritaki contains phytochemicals such as terpenes, polyphenols, anthocyanins and flavonoids, all of which have powerful health benefits.

Studies have shown that haritaki has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Additionally, Haritaki is popularly used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat digestive issues like constipation.

Animal studies have shown that treatment with Haritaki increases intestinal transit time, which can help relieve constipation (17 Trusted Source, 18 Trusted Source).

SUMMARYTriphala is a powerful herbal remedy that consists of Haritaki, Bibhitaki and amla. It is used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine to prevent disease and treat a number of symptoms, including constipation and inflammation.

Possible Health Benefits of Triphala

Triphala is promoted as a treatment for a number of common ailments and way to prevent chronic disease.

Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Triphala contains a number of antioxidants that perform protective functions in the body.

It contains vitamin C, flavonoids, polyphenols, tannins and saponins, along with other potent plant compounds (19).

These compounds help fight oxidative stress caused by free radicals, which are molecules that can damage cells and contribute to chronic disease.

Diets high in antioxidants have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes and premature aging (20 Trusted Source, 21 Trusted Source, 22 Trusted Source, 23 Trusted Source).

What’s more, in animal studies, Triphala has been shown to reduce inflammation and damage caused by arthritis (24 Trusted Source, 25 Trusted Source).

Studies have shown that supplementing with antioxidants may have some benefits as well, including protecting against heart disease, improving athletic performance and reducing inflammation (26 Trusted Source, 27 Trusted Source, 28).

May Protect Against Certain Cancers

Triphala has been shown to protect against certain cancers in a number of test-tube and animal studies.

For example, it has been shown to inhibit the growth of lymphoma, as well as stomach and pancreatic cancers in mice (29 Trusted Source, 30 Trusted Source).

This herbal remedy also induced colon and prostate cancer cell death in test-tube studies (31 Trusted Source, 32 Trusted Source).

Researchers have suggested that Triphala’s high levels of powerful antioxidants like gallic acid and polyphenols may be responsible for its cancer-fighting properties (33 Trusted Source).

Though these results are promising, human studies on its potential cancer-fighting properties are needed to assess safety and effectiveness.

May Protect Against Dental Disease and Cavities

Triphala may benefit dental health in several ways.

Triphala has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties that can help prevent plaque formation, a common cause of cavities and gingivitis (gum inflammation).

One study in 143 children found that rinsing with a mouthwash containing Triphala extract reduced plaque buildup, gum inflammation and bacterial growth in the mouth (34 Trusted Source).

Another study showed treatment with a Triphala-based mouthwash led to a significant reduction in plaque and gum inflammation in hospitalized patients with periodontal disease (35 Trusted Source).

May Aid Weight Loss

Some studies have shown that Triphala may help with fat loss, especially in the belly area.

In one study, rats fed a high-fat diet supplemented with Triphala had more significant reductions in body weight, energy intake and body fat, compared to mice who were not supplemented with Triphala (36 Trusted Source).

Another study of 62 obese adults found that those who supplemented with a 10-gram daily dose of Triphala powder experienced a greater reduction in weight, waist circumference and hip circumference than those who received a placebo (37 Trusted Source).

Can Be Used as a Natural Laxative

Triphala has been used since ancient times as a natural treatment for digestive issues like constipation.

It is an alternative to over-the-counter laxatives, and its effectiveness has been demonstrated in several studies.

In one study, patients treated with a laxative containing isabgol husk, senna extract and Triphala experienced significant improvements in symptoms of constipation, including decreased straining and more complete evacuations (38 Trusted Source).

In another study in patients with gastrointestinal disorders, Triphala reduced constipation, abdominal pain and flatulence and improved the frequency and consistency of bowel movements (39).

It has also been shown to reduce intestinal inflammation and repair intestinal damage in animal studies (40 Trusted Source, 41 Trusted Source).

Triphala contains powerful anti-inflammatory compounds that may help protect against certain cancers and other chronic diseases. Studies have shown that it may help treat constipation, resolve dental issues and promote weight loss.

Potential Side Effects

While Triphala is generally considered safe and has potential health benefits, it may cause side effects in some people.

For example, due to its natural laxative effects, it may cause diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, especially in high doses.

Triphala is not recommended for pregnant or lactating women and should not be administered to children. There are no scientific studies on the use of Triphala in these populations, and its safety can’t be guaranteed (42 Trusted Source).

Furthermore, it may interact with or decrease the effectiveness of certain medications, including blood thinners like Warfarin (43 Trusted Source).

Indian gooseberry, one of the main components of Triphala, may increase the risk of bleeding and bruising in certain people and may not be safe for those with bleeding disorders (44).

For these reasons, it is important to check with your doctor before using Triphala or any other supplement.

Triphala may cause diarrhea and intestinal discomfort in some people and can react with certain medications. Children, pregnant and lactating women and those with bleeding disorders should avoid it.

How to Use Triphala

Triphala can be purchased at health food stores and online.

It’s available in many forms, including capsule, powder or liquid.

It is suggested to take Triphala between meals on an empty stomach for maximum absorption.

Typically, recommended doses range from 500 mg to one gram per day, though larger amounts can be used to treat symptoms like constipation (45 Trusted Source).

Powdered versions can be mixed with warm water and honey and taken before meals.

This powder can also be mixed with ghee, a type of clarified butter, and added to warm water for a soothing drink. Additionally, it can be mixed with honey to form an edible paste.

Large doses of it can cause digestive symptoms like diarrhea, so it’s best to start with a smaller dose and gradually work your way up to the recommended intake.

Though Triphala is considered safe for most people, check with your doctor before taking it to ensure safety and proper usage.

SUMMARYTriphala is available in many forms but most commonly taken in capsule form. Larger doses can cause digestive distress, so starting with small amounts is a good idea.

Triphala is an ancient Ayurvedic treatment that has become a popular herbal remedy for many ailments.

Studies show it can help prevent inflammation, and test-tube studies have demonstrated a possible protective effect against certain cancers.

It’s also used as a natural alternative treatment for constipation and dental issues like excess plaque and gum inflammation. It may even help with weight loss.

With so many purported health benefits, Triphala may be a worthwhile natural remedy to add your routine.

Featured

Benefits And Uses Of Lady Fingers

Benefits and uses of okra

By Megan Ware RDN LD
Reviewed by 
Okra is a warm-season vegetable, also known as gumbo or ladies’ fingers. It is a good source of minerals, vitamins, and fiber. It contains a characteristic viscous juice that can be used to thicken sauces.

Gumbo is popular in the southern United States (U.S.), parts of Africa and the Middle East, the Caribbean, and South America.

It is considered an important crop in many countries, because of its nutritional value, and because many parts of the plant can be used, including the fresh leaves, buds, flowers, pods, stems, and seeds.

The taste is mild, but it has a unique texture with peach-like fuzz on the outside and small, edible seeds on the inside of the pod.

It offers a wide range of health benefits.

We will look at the nutritional content of okra, its possible health benefits, recipe tips for preparing okra, and any possible health risks.

Fast facts about okra

  • Okra is a green, finger-shaped vegetable with a characteristic viscous juice.
  • It provides fiber, folate, and vitamin K.
  • Its nutritional content means it can promote heart health and strong bones and protect against cancer.
  • Buy okra when it is firm and keep it dry. Store for no more than 3 to 4 days in paper or plastic in a crisper drawer.
  • Cooking it whole makes it the mucilaginous juice, unpopular with some people, less obvious.
  • People who use blood thinners should not eat too much okra, as the vitamin K levels can interact with the drug.

 

Nutrition

Okra raw

Okra grows easily in many climates and is rich in nutrients.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database, one cup of raw okra, weighing around 100 grams (g) contains:

  • 33 calories
  • 1.93 g of protein
  • 0.19 g of fat
  • 7.45 g of carbohydrate
  • 3.2 g of fiber
  • 1.48 g of sugar
  • 31.3 milligrams (mg) of vitamin K
  • 299 mg of potassium
  • 7 mg of sodium
  • 23 mg of vitamin C
  • 0.2 mg of thiamin
  • 57 mg of magnesium
  • 82 mg of calcium
  • 0.215 mg of vitamin B6
  • 60 micrograms (mcg) of folate
  • 36 mcg of vitamin A

Okra also provides some iron, niacin, phosphorus, and copper.

Individual needs for nutrients vary according to age, sex, activity level, and caloric intake. To help you find out how much you need of a nutrient, the USDA provides an interactive tool.

Okra is also a source of antioxidants. Okra seeds contain oligomeric catechins and flavonoid derivatives, both of which have been linked to a lower risk of cancer.

The gumbo itself contains quercetin derivatives, and both pods and seeds contain phenolic compounds.

These compounds are believed to have antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties.

 

Benefits

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of a range of health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

The mucilage of okra is also said to bind cholesterol and bile acid. It collects toxins from the liver and carries them out of the body.

The nutrients in okra may make it useful for preventing a number of health problems.

Cancer

Lectin is a type of protein found in okra, beans, peanuts, and grains. Lectin from okra was used in a study to treat human breast cancer cells.

The treatment reduced cancer cell growth by 63 percent and killed 72 percent of the human cancer cells. More studies need to be done to see if okra has an effect on cancer in humans.

People who do not eat enough folate appear to have a higher risk for breast, cervical, pancreatic, lung, and other cancers.

One 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis of 16 different studies suggested that folate may have preventive effects against breast cancer risk, but more research needs to be done.

Researchers suggest that one link between cancer and poor folate status may be due to DNA changes that trigger the expression of genes that promote cancer.

There is no evidence that taking a folate supplement lowers the risk for cancer, and excessive folate intake may fuel the growth of cancer cells.

Folate from food sources alone is unlikely to have this effect.

Getting adequate folate from food like okra is important.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Folate is important for preventing fetal problems during a pregnancy. Low folate levels can lead to a loss of pregnancy or problems for the child in later life. Low folate levels have been linked to conditions such as spina bifida.

Getting enough folate is especially important for women before and during pregnancy, and while breastfeeding.

One 100-gram cup of okra contains 60 mcg of folate. For most people, the recommended daily allowance of folate is 400 mcg.

Diabetes

In 2011, researchers made a powder from the peel and seeds of okra to treat rats with diabetes.

The rats that were treated with the powder had lower blood sugar and fat levels than rats that did not receive the powder.

If this affects humans in the same way, it could lead to new therapies.

Heart health

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), eating foods that are high in fiber can reduce harmful cholesterol levels in the blood.

High-fiber foods lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. Fiber can also slow heart disease in people who already have it.

Women aged 19 to 30 years should aim to consume at least 28 grams of fiber each day in vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains, while men need 33.6 grams a day. Okra has 3.2 g of fiber per cup.

Osteoporosis

Foods that are high in vitamin K, such as okra, are good for the bones. Vitamin K helps the bones absorb calcium. In theory, people who eat enough vitamin K are more likely to have strong bones and fewer fractures.

Okra and leafy greens such as Swiss chard, arugula, and spinach add vitamin K and calcium to a diet.

Gastrointestinal health

Dietary fiber helps prevent constipation and maintain a healthy digestive system.

Research suggests that the more fiber a person eats, the less chance they have of developing colorectal cancer.

Fiber in the diet also helps to reduce appetite, and it may contribute to weight loss.

In Asian medicine, okra extract is added to foods to protect against irritation and inflammatory gastric diseases. The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial action may help protect against gastrointestinal problems.

Other health-related uses

Okra seeds can also provide oil and protein, and they have been used as a source of oil in small-scale production.

In poor regions of the world, the seeds can offer a source of high-quality protein.

The viscous extract of okra also has potential for use in medicine, for example, as a tablet binder and a suspending agent in medicines.

Another possible medical application of this ingredient is as a serum albumin extender.

Research has suggested that it could be used as a plasma replacement or blood volume expander.

Buying and using okra

Okra is easy to grow in hot climates.

People should choose okra that is taut and firm to the touch and avoid pods that are shriveled or soft. Once the pods start to turn dark on the ends, they will go bad if they are not used soon.

Okra cooked with chicken

Okra makes a tasty accompaniment to chicken and other roast dishes.

Keep okra dry, and do not wash it until you are ready to use it. Storing it in the crisper drawer in a paper or plastic bag can stop it becoming slimy or moldy. Fresh okra does not last for more than 3 to 4 days.

Ladies’ fingers can be used in salads, soups, and stews, fresh or dried, fried, sautéed, roasted, or boiled. They can also be pickled.

Cutting okra and cooking it in moisture releases a mucilaginous, or slimy, juice that increases the thickness of soups and stews. Dried okra can also be used to make or thicken a sauce, or as an egg white substitute.

Okra seeds can also be roasted and ground to make a non-caffeinated coffeesubstitute.

Some people do not enjoy the gummy texture of okra. Cooking the whole pods quickly can avoid this.

 

Recipe tips

These healthy and delicious okra recipes have been developed by registered dietitians:

Easy roasted okra

Roasted corn, okra, and tomato salsa

Lemon and parmesan grilled okra

 

Risks and precautions

Eating too much okra can have an adverse effect on some people.

Fructans and gastrointestinal problems: Okra is rich in fructans, a type of carbohydrate that can cause diarrhea, gas, cramping, and bloating in people with bowel problems. People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other gut conditions are more likely to be sensitive to foods high in fructans.

Oxalates and kidney stones: Okra is also high in oxalates. The most common type of kidney stone is made of calcium oxalate.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NDDKD), high-oxalate foods can increase the risk of these stones in people who have had them previously. Other high oxalate foods include spinach, rhubarb, and Swiss chard.

Solanine and inflammation: Okra contains a compound called solanine. Solanine is a toxic chemical that has been linked to joint pain, arthritis, and long-lasting inflammation for a small percentage of people who may be sensitive to it. It is found in many fruits and vegetables, including potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, blueberries, and artichokes.

No studies have suggested reducing solanine intake for the general population. In general, vegetables and fruits help reduce inflammation.

Vitamin K and blood clotting: Okra, and other foods that are high in vitamin K, can affect those who use blood-thinning drugs like warfarin, or Coumadin. Blood thinners are used to prevent harmful blood clots that can block blood from getting to the brain or heart.

Vitamin K helps the blood to clot. People who are at risk of blood clots should not suddenly change the amount of vitamin K they eat but keep their intake of vitamin-K-rich foods steady from day to day.

 

Takeaway

For most people, okra, like other vegetables, is a healthful addition to the diet. As with any food or nutrient, it is best to eat it in moderation and as part of a varied, balanced diet.

Featured

5 Dumbell Moves

5 Dumbbell Moves You Haven’t Tried Before

KARENA DAWN AND KATRINA SCOTT From LIVESTRONG
Strength training is key to sculpting gorgeous, lean muscles and majorly boosting your metabolism for long-lasting results. We know weights can be a little intimidating, but we’re here to show you that amazing results don’t require a ton of equipment or a weight room — all you need is a pair of dumbbells. Today, we’re sharing five dumbbell moves you haven’t tried before. This quick routine works the entire body.
(Image: Tone It Up)

Grab a pair of five to 10-pound dumbbells and let’s do this. Go through the following circuit three times.

(Image: Tone It Up)

1. Single Leg Deadlift & Row: Tone Your Booty, Back and Core

Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand at your sides and palms facing in. Shift your weight to your left foot, knee slightly bent, and lift your right foot a couple of inches off the ground. With a flat back, hinge at the hips as you lower your torso toward the ground. Reach the dumbbells toward your feet as your right leg extends straight behind you. Maintaining your balance, row the dumbbells up to your chest, elbows wide. Lower the dumbbells and engage your booty and core as you come up to standing position. Do 15 reps on each side.

(Image: Tone It Up)

2. Plie Squat & Pulse: Tone Your Inner Thighs and Booty

Begin by holding a dumbbell in each hand at chest height while standing with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart and toes turned out. Keeping your spine long and chest upright, lower straight down until your thighs are as parallel to the ground as possible. Pulse upward two inches, then downward two inches before driving through your heels to come back to standing. Do 15 reps.

(Image: Tone It Up)

3. Woman Makers: Sculpt Your Total Body and Rev Your Metabolism

Stand with feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand. Drop down into a plank position by planting the dumbbells on the ground, palms facing each other, then hopping your legs out behind you. With your core engaged and hips square to the ground, row the right dumbbell up to chest height, keeping your elbow tucked closely to your torso. Bring the right dumbbell back to the ground, then repeat on the left side. Hop both legs back toward your hands and come to standing. Repeat for 15 reps.

(Image: Tone It Up)

4. Side Plank & Oblique Twist: Tone Your Obliques and Shoulders

Start in a side plank position with your right forearm planted firmly on the ground and your left hand holding a dumbbell on the ground in front of you. For extra stability, you can stagger your legs by placing your top foot in front of the bottom. Engaging your core and keeping the dumbbell as close to your body as possible, raise your left arm straight overhead. With control, lower the dumbbell back down and twist directly under your torso. Return back to starting position. Do 15 reps on each side.

(Image: Tone It Up)

5. Bridge Dips: Sculpt Your Booty and Entire Core

Begin laying on your back with legs bent, feet flat on the ground and a dumbbell in each hand, resting on your hips. Engaging your glutes and core, lift your hips off the ground until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Slowly lower back down. Do 15 reps.

If you’re in need of more booty-kicking workouts, join the Studio Tone It Up appand gain access to a variety of sculpting routines that will maximize your fitness results. These workouts require little to no equipment and can be done any time, anywhere.

Featured

Happy Mother’s Day

Our Best Mother’s Day Recipes: Brunch, Desserts and More

By Margaux Laskey From The New York Times

Don’t make her go out. Stay in and make her something delicious (but please don’t leave any dirty dishes in the sink).

Lidey Heuck’s baked eggs with greens and cornbread crumbs.CreditRyan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

 

Lidey Heuck’s baked eggs with greens and cornbread crumbs.CreditCreditRyan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

By Margaux Laskey

Mother’s Day Brunch Recipes

Julia Moskin’s classic French toast.CreditJessica Emily Marx for The New York Times

 

Julia Moskin’s classic French toast.CreditJessica Emily Marx for The New York Times

Let her sleep in and have breakfast (or brunch) ready when she wakes. The organized among us can prepare this overnight French toast on Saturday night and pop it into the oven first thing Sunday. These baked eggs with kale, bacon and cornbread crumbs or these huevos rotos are excellent served with hot sauce. Or spoil her with pancakes from the Brooklyn restaurant Chez Ma Tante, all rich and lacy-edged and fried in a glistening pool of butter. Quiche! Everyone loves it. Quiche Lorraine and this herb and goat cheese version are vegetarian, while this hearty bacon-Cheddar beauty is not. Whatever you make, serve it with bottomless mimosas and plenty of bacon.

Featured

Google Celebrates Lucy Wills

Google Doodle honors Lucy Wills, pioneering prenatal care researcher

Her discovery led to women taking a vitamin that helps prevent some birth defects.

lucy-wills-131st-birthday-5156345727680512-2x
Google Doodle honors Lucy Wills, an English haematologist whose discovery changed the face of preventive prenatal care for women everywhere.Google

Pregnant women around the world have Lucy Wills to thank for crucial research that led to the creation of a prenatal vitamin that helps prevent birth defects.

That vitamin is folic acid — a manmade form of folate, a B-vitamin found naturally in dark green vegetables and citrus fruits. It plays an important role in the creation of red blood cells, and when taken by women before and during pregnancy, it can help prevent birth defects in the baby’s brain and spinal cord.

But this connection was unknown until 1931, when Wills published a paper about research on anemia in pregnant women in India. For her pioneering work, Google dedicated its Doodle on Friday to Wills on her 131st birthday.

Google often uses variations of its Doodle to draw attention to notable people, events, holidays and anniversaries. Doodles have celebrated, among many other things, Pac-Man’s anniversary, Copernicus’ birthday, Mother’s Day and the World Cup, as well as reminding us of lesser-known real-world heroes.

Born near Birmingham, England, in 1888, Wills came of age at a time when educational opportunities were improving for young women wishing to enter a profession. She attended three schools that benefited from a more progressive approach to education, the first being Cheltenham College for Young Ladies, a British boarding school training female students in science and mathematics.

She went on to study botany and geology at Cambridge University’s Newnham College, receiving a certificate in 1911 because the university refused to grant women degrees until 1948. In 1915, she enrolled at the London School of Medicine for Women and became a legally qualified medical practitioner in 1920, earning bachelor degrees in medicine and science.

Despite her qualifications, Wills opted for research and teaching rather than practicing medicine. Her research efforts took her to India in 1928 to study anemia in pregnant women. During her observations of different classes of Bombay women, she discovered a correlation between their dietary habits and the likelihood of their becoming anemic during pregnancy.

Ultimately, her studies suggested that a vitamin deficiency was to blame. During her clinical trials, she found that a laboratory monkey’s health improved after being fed the British breakfast spread Marmite, made of a cheap yeast extract.

Her discovery was the first step toward creation of folic acid. For many years it was the Wills Factor until folic acid was named in 1941 when it was isolated from spinach.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that all women of child-bearing age take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily.

She died in 1964 at the age of 75, having never married or had children, as World War I took many men of her age.

But for her contribution to births of countless healthier babies, we wish her a happy birthday.

Featured

Congratulations Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

The Royal Baby’s Name is Revealed as Archie

by Brooke Marine W Magazine

At just three days old, the royal baby has made his first official public debut.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were photographed posing with their newborn at St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle, and could be seen beaming while carrying their baby. As the royal family has yet to publicly announce a name for the child, the media has taken to referring to him as “Baby Sussex,” and asked a few questions for the parents as they revealed their baby to the public for the first time.

“It’s magic, it’s pretty amazing,” Markle told the cameras. “I have the two best guys in the world, so I’m really happy,” she continued, before explaining that he has the “sweetest temperament” and has been really calm in the past few days.

With the support of Markle’s mother, Gloria Ragland, and Prince Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the family has been able to keep things relatively quiet at home before going public with more details about the baby’s birth. Historically, it could take at least a week before the Duke and Duchess elect to reveal Baby Sussex’s given name (Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson waited two weeks before telling everyone that they decided to name their second daughter Beatrice), but it is not out of the realm of possibility that Markle and Prince Harry have already decided on one, and are just waiting for the right time for the big reveal in the near future.

Baby Sussex
DOMINIC LIPINSKI/Getty Images

Both parents are still trying to figure out which one the baby resembles the most so far, but even if they decide which parent he takes after, he’ll probably end up looking different in a few weeks anyway. “His looks change every single day,” Prince Harry said, before joking, “He’s already got a little bit of facial hair as well.”

Update, 5/8/19, 12:00 P.M.: The royal family has revealed the official name of Baby Sussex: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. As for his title, the Duke and Duchess have decided not to use courtesy titles for now. But in the event that the elect to use one, Archie will likely be a Lord, as that is the title reserved for sons of Dukes and Duchesses, with the added courtesy, Earl of Dumbarton. It’s also possible that his parents might want to raise him without a title, as that is what Princess Anne did for her two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, or he could become a Prince if Prince Charles were to become King. In any case, fans of Riverdale and All in the Family can duke it out with the royal family over who holds the title for the world’s most famous Archie.

Featured

Kanye West & Jaden Smith 2019

Kanye West’s Showtime TV Show With Jaden Smith Sounds Truly Bizarre

by Marissa G. Muller W Magazine

These days it seems like music is in the periphery for Kanye West. Between Yeezy, his Sunday Service, and his increased involvement on the 16th season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the rapper is spread thin. Somehow, though, he’s found the time to add to his project list with something truly out of left field: an anthology series on Showtime.

West is apparently developing a half-hour show called Omniverse that explores an alternative reality with a totally different Kanye West. Feel free to read that sentence a couple of times — but, sorry, it probably won’t make much more sense. Fittingly, West tapped family friend and time skeptic Jaden Smith to play a young version of himself in this alternative reality which “examines the many doors of perception.” What does that look like? When does it take place? And what exactly will be the series of events it follows? At least right now, there are no answers.

What we do know is that the pilot script has officially been commissioned and is being made right now and handled by writer Lee Sung Jin who comes from a comedy background, having contributed to Silicon Valley, Netflix’s Tuca & Bertie, and Amazon’s Undone. In a statement, Jin attempted to offer a few more details about the show’s premise, saying per The Hollywood Reporter, that the show will “present an alternate world through the eyes of a young man somewhere in the multiverse who happens to also be a Kanye West.” “Omniverse is not set in our world nor about our world’s Kanye West as we aim to add a new spin on alternate realities, consciousness, and push the limits of half hour narrative,” Jin said. Jin and West will also serve as executive producers, alongside his former manager Scooter Braun, Jaden Smith, James Schin, Scott Manson, and Miguel Melendez.

Featured

Cool Chicken & Pasta Salad

Cool Chicken & Pasta Salad

 

Here’s an easy to make pasta salad that blends chunk chicken with pasta, prepared Italian dressing, and colorful vegetables to make a super side dish for most any occasion.

serves4people

Ingredients

cost per recipe: $8.82

  • 8ounces (about 2 1/4 cups) rotini (spiral) pasta, cooked without salt and drained
  • 1can (12.5 ounces) Swanson® Premium White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
  • 1small cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 1/2cups cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • 1small onion, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
  • 3tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 3/4cup prepared fat-free Italian dressing

view nutrition info

How to Make It

Step 1

Place the rotini, chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, onion and parsley into a large bowl.  Add the dressing and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Recipe Tips

  • Easy Substitution: You can substitute about 5 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) elbow macaroni, cooked without salt and drained, for the rotini.
Featured

It Is National Nurses Week 2019

National Nurses Week recognizes the professionals Americans trust most

 

(CNN)Nurses consistently rank at the top of the country’s most trusted professionals. And this week, America celebrates them.

National Nurses Week begins on National Nurses Day, May 6, and concludes on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
Here are some facts about the nurses that tend to you when you’re sick — and the week that celebrates them:

How many nurses are there in the US?

There are more than 4 million registered nurses in the US, says the American Nursing Association.

What degree do you need to become a nurse?

According to the American Nursing Association, a diploma in nursing was once the most common route to becoming a nurse. But now there are various paths that one can take, as outlined here.

How did Nurses Week originate?

There were several attempts to recognize nurses annually. But it wasn’t until1993 that the American Nursing Association permanently designed a National Nurses Week to “celebrate and elevate the nursing profession.”

How respected is nursing as a profession?

For more than 15 years, Americans have rated nursing as the no. 1 most-trusted profession, says Gallup. In a poll conducted last year, Gallup found that 84% of those surveyed rated the honesty and ethical standards of nurses as “very high” or “high” — above that of doctors, pharmacists and teachers.
Featured

Rest In Peace Jaylon McKenzie

Teen football phenom killed by stray bullet in Illinois while trying to leave party

BY BRIAN PASCUS

 CBS NEWS

A 14-year-old football phenom featured in Sports Illustrated was killed on Saturday night after he was hit by a stray bullet while leaving a party in Venice, Illinois. Police said Jaylon McKenzie and a 15-year-old girl were both struck by gunfire after they left a house where the party was being held. The girl who was shot is in critical condition.

jaylen-mckenzie.jpg
A photo of 14-year-old football phenom Jaylon McKenzie provided by his mother. KMOV VIA SUKEENA GUNNER

According to CBS affiliate KMOV-TV, McKenzie’s mother, Sukeena Gunner, said her son was trying to avoid a fight when he left the party. He was taken to Gateway Hospital in Granite City, Illinois, where he died of his wounds.

Despite not yet being in high school, McKenzie’s talent was so remarkable that he was featured in the November 2018 issue of Sports Illustrated in an article titled “Six Teens Who Will Rule the Future of Sports.”

“Jaylon—who plays running back, receiver and defensive back—drew national attention when he caught five passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns to help the East team to a victory at the NFL’s 8th Grade All-American Game in Canton, Ohio, in August,” the article said. “Jaylon expects to be playing in the NFL. His dream? To be a star in L.A.—for the Rams or the Chargers.”

His basketball coach, Al Lewis, told KMOV the teen was as humble as he was talented.

“His talent was unparalleled,” Lewis said. “If you didn’t see him on the field, court or track you wouldn’t know he was a super star.”

The high school sports prospect website 247 Sportsconfirms McKenzie had already received scholarship offers to play football at the University of Illinois and the University of Missouri.

According to a statement sent to CBS News, Illinois State Police Investigations out of Collinsville is assisting in the homicide investigation of McKenzie and the shooting of the female juvenile victim. No other information is being released at this time.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting or has any knowledge of the shooting is asked to contact the ISP Investigations Case Agent Scott Wobbe at 618-381-1467. Callers can remain anonymous.

© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Featured

Starfruit Recipe & Benefits

7 Health Benefits Of Starfruit

     

Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola) or carambola is a fruit, native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This fruit resembles a star when a cross-section is performed. Watch this video on the 7 Health Benefits Of Starfruit.

 

Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola) or carambola is a fruit, native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. This fruit resembles a star when a cross-section is performed. The entire fruit is edible, including the skin. The flesh is crunchy, firm, and incredibly juicy. It does not contain fibers and has a texture similar in consistency to that of grapes. Ripe starfruits are sweet without being overwhelming and have a tart, sour trace, and oxalic acid odor.

Here are the 7 health benefits of starfruit.

1.     Starfruit can help an individual lose weight.

The high fiber and water content, low calories, and significant carbohydrate composition make starfruit ideal for helping people lose weight. They will fill you up and keep you healthy, which will reduce your urge to overeat.

2.     Starfruit helps support the digestive system.

Starfruit possesses a considerable amount of fiber. Fiber stimulates peristaltic motion and increased secretion of gastric juices, which eases digestion, prevents conditions like constipation, and protects the body from more severe conditions like colorectal cancer. One cup of starfruit contains 4 grams of dietary fiber.

3.     Starfruit may not spike your blood sugar compared to other foods.

The glycemic index (GI) ranks food and drinks based on their blood sugar increase potential. Foods high on the glycemic index like white rice and white bread will break down quickly and cause blood sugar and insulin level spikes after meals, which is followed by rapidly dropping blood sugar levels. Starfruit is more slowly absorbed into the bloodstream, which could help prevent sugar crashes, sugar cravings, and mood swings.

4.     Starfruit can help maintain a healthy blood pressure.

Starfruit is loaded with potassium and a low content of sodium. They are well known because of its high potassium content. One cup of starfruit contains a whopping 176 milligrams of potassium, compared to just 2.6 milligrams of sodium. This helps the blood vessels relax and maintains proper blood pressure.

5.     Starfruit can help individuals fight infections.

One cup of starfruit contains 76 percent of the vitamin C daily requirements per cup. Vitamin C is a potent natural water-soluble antioxidant that helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and eliminates cancer-causing free radicals in the body.

6.     Starfruit is excellent for keeping your hair vibrant and healthy looking.

Adequate vitamin C intake does not only improve the immune system but can also create and maintain collagen, an essential protein found in hair and skin. Also, starfruit contains vitamin A to keep the hair moisturized through increased sebum production.

7.     Starfruit can help individuals sleep better.

Starfruit has been known to help an individual sleep with its high content of magnesium, which is a mineral that is directly linked to improving the quality, duration, and tranquility of sleep. Starfruit also helps regulate the metabolism, to help reduce sleep disorders and the occurrence of insomnia.

Star Fruit Quencher

Oxmoor House
Yield:
Serves 2 (serving size: 1 drink)
RECIPE BY OXMOOR HOUSE

The star fruit, or carambola, is the “star” of this beverage and tastes like a blend of apple, pear, and citrus fruits. The entire fruit is edible. Here, it is pureed and then strained to create a delicious, fragrant juice.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice
  • 4 carambolas (star fruit); (about 1 1/4 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • 3 tablespoons ginger syrup
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
  • 2 cups crushed ice
  • 1/2 cup lemon-lime-flavored sparkling water, chilled
  • Carambola slices (optional)

Nutritional Information

How to Make It

Step 1

Place pineapple juice and carambola slices in a blender; process until smooth. Pour mixture through a sieve into a pitcher to measure 2 cups. Discard solids. Stir in ginger syrup and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate 45 minutes or until thoroughly chilled.

Step 2

Fill each of 2 glasses with 1 cup crushed ice. Pour star fruit mixture over ice. Add 1/4 cup sparkling water to each glass. Garnish with carambola slices, if desired.

Cooking Light Chill

Featured

L’Oreal Brings Back Accelerator Program

L’Oreal USA brings back its accelerator program

by PRIYA RAO From Business Of Fashion 

The concept first launched in 2012 and ran until 2017, and L’Oréal USA announced the new iteration on May 6. It focuses on community mentorship and finding the next digitally native brand, the latter of which is new for the company. Additionally, three $25,000 grants are available, with possible L’Oréal USA brand collaborations; whereas in previous years, no money was included and L’Oréal USA only offered trial opportunities with the company. Applications are open until June 12, with grant recipients announced in September.

“L’Oréal wanted to bring this program back to be more in-line and relevant to what is happening in beauty right now,” said Rachel Weiss, vice president of digital innovation and entrepreneurship at L’Oréal USA, who spearheads the project.

The time is ripe for such programs. Avon Products, Inc’s new beauty accelerator just launched in April, and Germany-based Beiersdorf debuted its Nivea Accelerator NX the same month. Sephora’s Accelerate Cohort, which launched in 2016, is getting some newness this year, too. It’s incorporating its new #SephoraSquad influencer ambassador program into its program to pair budding creators with emerging brands.

Community building will also be a focus for L’Oréal, as the company has created a Women in Digital platform via AI-powered platform Alice to offer year-round resources, like mentorship, for participating founders. The idea is to allow these fledging entrepreneurs to lean on and ideate with one another and L’Oréal’s team, said Weiss.

“At Alice, our data tells us that capital is the No. 1 need for women entrepreneurs, and this initiative is directly filling that need,” said Elizabeth Gore, Alice president and chairwoman. “We also know that women make around 90% of household purchasing decisions, so who better to innovate the beauty industry than women?”

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Aside from the pure funding and community opportunities, L’Oréal is also offering applicants more of a beauty landscape perspective through judging and coaching from five external judges that have a DTC and tech focus. Kirsten Green, partner of Forerunner Ventures, Kat Manalac, Y Combinator partner, and Nicole Quinn, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, will judge prospective brands, along with L’Oréal company executives, including Carol Hamilton, group president of acquisitions, and Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter (which was acquired by L’Oréal in 2014). Previously, judging was through a private internal L’Oréal committee of C-suite and marketing executives.

“Being digitally native and having that expertise is an asset for all beauty companies right now, so we want to partner with experts who know that environment well,” said Weiss.

Weiss emphasized the monetary grants for emerging brands, as further indication that the company is serious about supporting female founders outside of the four walls that are L’Oréal. “White men receive the vast majority of VC funding, and beyond that, most of those venture dollars are distributed to just three states: California, New York and Massachusetts,” she said.

However, as beauty and CPG giants across the board look at ways to modernize, whether through acquisitions or developing DTC-first brands, L’Oréal would be savvy to look at what’s at their fingertips. Sephora has included Accelerate Cohort members into its merchandising assortments in past years, and Avon Products, Inc. is looking for product innovation that lies outside of the beauty company’s core capabilities, said Louise Scott, Avon’s chief scientific officer.

L’Oréal, too, sees this value. It magnified its partnership with MikMak, its 2015 finalist, in 2019. MikMak, which enables its partners to make all of their digital and social media shoppable, was used in a pilot program with select brands at L’Oréal, like Lancôme, and recently expanded its reach to the entire U.S. brand portfolio of 32 beauty brands.

“We not only believe in MikMak as a company, but in [founder and CEO] Rachel [Tipograph] as a person,” said Weiss. “We know innovation is a long game, and our goal with this program is to nurture meaningful relationships that can build businesses for L’Oréal USA and for the entrepreneurs.”

Featured

Google Celebrates Teachers This Week

Google Doodle spotlights ‘classroom heroes’ for Teacher Appreciation Week

Remember to thank a teacher today.

Google is celebrating teachers this Monday. If you check out the search engine’s page, you’ll see a crayon-style Google Doodlesurrounded by pencils, protractors, apples, puzzle pieces and other school-related images.

“Today’s Doodle was created in partnership with the 57 2019 US State Teachers of the Year who visited Google in January for their first group meeting and explores the theme ‘A day in the life of a teacher,'” Google said in a blog post.

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, Google said it’s making one its largest teacher-focused grants — a $5 million Google.org grant that will unlock $10 million for teachers through DonorsChoose.org. For every dollar that’s donated to the nonprofit, Google will add 50 cents, from Monday to Tuesday, up to $1.5 million total.

Rodney Robinson, 2019 National Teacher of the Year, created the doodle.

“Google’s homepage today is a tribute to teachers, and I feel proud to see the contribution I made — alongside my 56 fellow State Teachers of the Year — up there for everyone to see,” Robinson said in a blog post.

Teacher Appreciation Week was trending on Twitter Monday morning as thousands took to social media to celebrate educators.

Even with that sort of recognition, teachers often find themselves in a tough situation, living on modest salaries while expected to run classrooms with a lack of resources and left to purchase supplies out of pocket. Over the last year, those working conditions have led to walkouts, sickouts and strikes.

Google Play: We’ve cracked down on bad apps: Google says it rejected at least 55 percent more app submissions in 2018.

The best meal kit delivery services: Are you an enthusiastic cook with not enough time? These services can help.

Featured

Happy Birthday Donatella Vercace 2019

An Appreciation of Donatella Versace’s Iconic Quotes

 

By Stephanie Eckardt From W Magazine
Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

Today, on her 64th birthday, it’s hard to imagine that Donatella Versace wasn’t always one of the fashion industry’s most beloved icons. But in the years after her brother Gianni Versace‘s death in 1997, when she took over his role at the helm of Versace, the response was lukewarm, to say the least; for a long time, she was barely even considered a designer, and instead dismissed as her late brother’s “muse.”

These days, of course, it’s a different story. Donatella has officially stepped out of Gianni’s shadow, and both she and the house are as successful and respected as ever. (It’s hard to imagine that supermodels like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Carla Bruni would have so enthusiastically reunited on the runway for anyone else.) The industry has come to embrace her ultra-blonde, ultra-tan, and ultra-sassy persona with open arms—as has Donatella herself, who’s expanded the reach of her outsized Donatella-ness via platforms like a deliciously ostentatious Instagram account and a book that read like a love letter to herself.

Thanks to her self-awareness, all that has conspired to somehow make Donatella even more delightful. As happy as she is to joke about her absurd attachment to heels, she’s equally open to discussing how the image that’s turned her into an icon was her way to protect herself from public scrutiny in the throes of her cocaine addiction, and in the wake of her brother’s death. As much as she’s been through, she’s never forgotten to have fun being Donatella. In celebration, let’s revisit some of her most memorable quips and quotes.

On flats: “I never, ever wear flats. Every time I wear them I fall over! The only flats I own are my sneakers, which I only wear when inside the gym and always with black and diamonds.” —in i-D

On what she was like as a little girl: “I was never a little girl. My brother Gianni would dress me and I would go out with a ciré jacket, a patent leather miniskirt, and tall boots.” —in W

On her menswear designs: “I am surrounded by impossibly sexy men. Sorry! That’s my reality! How can you think about not making them sexy?” —in the Independent

On the youth: “Many of the young people I speak to now are obsessed with me and I don’t know why! I like to talk to young people and see students at school. They look at me and go, ‘Wahhh, Donatella!'” – GQ

On her height: “I am 5’2″—me and Bruno Mars, the same—so I wear high heels all the time, to be tall.” —in the Guardian

On comfort: “What is comfortable fashion? To be comfortable, that can’t be in the vocabulary of fashion. If you want to be comfortable, stay home in your pajamas.” —in Interview

On men: “Why do women need men nowadays? Certainly not to prove strength, determination and independence anymore. Men are needed only for love affairs and for physical relaxation.” —in SSENSE

On what would happen to Versace if she suddenly died: “Ninety percent of the employees will applaud loudly.” —in SSENSE

On nature: “I love the sea. I love the ocean. I mean, I was born in the south of Italy. But I get bored. After one week I’m so bored I want to kill myself. I start looking at trees and nature… It’s all so orgaaan-eecc. [Laughs.] I need some chemicals, you know? I’ll bleach my hair. I’ll feel so much better.” —in GQ

On selfies: “The selfie thing kills me. I hate selfies, but young people really like them, so I’m like, ‘OK, let’s do a selfie.’ I find it incredible when I go to rock concerts. I went to one recently and all these young people were screaming, ‘Donatella! Donatella!’ I was like, ‘Let’s leave.'” —in GQ

On what she would be doing if she weren’t a designer: “I would like to be a rock star, if I had talent. But I don’t.” —in W

On her 1995 men’s show, where Robbie Williams and Tupac performed: “Liam Gallagher was in the audience. He got up and started to walk with the models and I was like, ‘Sit down!'” —in GQ

On Marilyn Monroe: “She was sexy, she was brave, she wore makeup. Love her.” —in Interview

On her interior decorating choices, like faux Louis XIV fauteuils: “I can’t sit in a super-modern chair. I like the rich.” —in the Independent

On the blimp of Donald Trump that flew over Parliament during his state visit: “I love the big baby blimp. It’s genius. We should do all our windows with the baby Trump when he comes to Italy. In diapers!” —in GQ

On the first thing she does in the morning: “I wake up and check all my devices. Cling cling! Email. Italian phone. American phone. iPad. I leave everything on at night. Cling! I want to know what is happening.” —in W

On her style: “My style is not that big. I wear heels, tight pants, and I wear diamonds.” —at the 2013 Vogue Festival

On American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: “I don’t discuss fiction.” —in SSENSE

On her grades: “Mine were very good—even though my mother would often keep me from going to school. In the mornings when I came down to the kitchen with Cleopatra eyes, she would shout: ‘You are not leaving the house like that! Either wash off the make-up, or you stay home!’ I was obstinate and locked myself in my room.” —in SSENSE

On health: “I stopped working with a personal trainer as he wouldn’t let me smoke.” —at the 2013 Vogue Festival

On her son Daniel’s choice not to use the name “Versace”: “He believes the name Versace would damage his integrity as a musician and give him an undeserved advantage. I don’t really understand that reasoning, because you’re either a good musician or a bad one. But it’s his life.” —in SSENSE

On being blonde: “To be blonde means to be caressed by the sun, and to be your own sun: strong, full of energy, bright, warming.” —in SSENSE

On her image: “I’m not beautiful, but I have a look: blond hair, high heels, lots of makeup.” —in the Guardian

On her go-to survival technique: “Blond is a way of life. You face the world like an Amazon. I survived the catastrophes in my life because of the strength that my blonde hair gives me.” —in SSENSE

On money: “When I’m shopping I don’t even look at the price, I’m ashamed of myself, I just sign the credit card.” —in i-D

On Versace’s customers:“The [couture] clothes I did in Paris are not for a grande dame de Paris. She can’t wear it. I don’t want her to wear it, basically.” —in the Independent

On her appearance: “I’m not like this genetically. I use tons of cream and take care of my hair and skin.” —at the 2013 Vogue Festival

On Elton John’s offer to escort her to a rehab facility in 2004: “I had no idea what a rehab clinic was like, and I wasn’t exactly sure where Arizona was, either.” —in SSENSE

On whether or not she wore flats with her jogging suit on the plane to rehab:“No! No way!” —in SSENSE

On whether or not she thinks she’s an icon, in 2008: “I don’t think I’m an icon, when I think of icons I think of dead people, and I can assure you, I’m not dead.” —in i-D

On whether or not she thinks she’s an icon, in 2017: “Yes. [Laughs.] Okay, should I be shy? No. This is not because I’m full of myself, but I think, in fashion history, I did a lot. I mean an icon in fashion, not an icon in general, in the world.” —in the Guardian

On how she would dress for a meeting with god: “I would wear high heels. I’m sure god hasn’t seen them.” —in SSENSE

Featured

Super Deluxe Steak Nachos

Super Deluxe Steak Nachos

Rated as 5 out of 5 Stars

Recipe by:Chef John

Featured in Allrecipes Magazine — Subscribe!
Save

Ingredients

1 h 55 m16 servings434 

Directions

Add a notePrint

  1. Season both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook steak, turning occasionally, to medium doneness, about 6 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 135 to 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Transfer meat to a bowl to let it rest.
  2. Pour a splash of water into the skillet; stir to scrape up browned bits and deglaze the pan. Pour this liquid over meat. Allow meat to cool completely.
  3. When meat is completely cool slice thickly (about 1/2 inch) with the grain, then cut into thinner strips. Dice by cutting into pieces against the grain. Transfer chopped steak back to the bowl; toss with the pan drippings.
  4. Melt bacon fat over medium heat in a pot. Add onions and a pinch of the salt; cook and stir until softened, 5 or 6 minutes. Stir in oregano. Add pinto beans and water. Bring back to a simmer and cook until onions are soft and sweet, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
  5. Mash the beans with a potato masher to your desired consistency. Add additional liquid, if necessary, to achieve your preferred texture. Add the remaining salt to taste. Remove from heat.
  6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
  7. Place tortilla chips about 2 or 3 deep in a heat proof pan. (You may need more than one pan.) Top chips with spoonfuls of beans and a generous handful of steak pieces. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
  8. Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted and edges start to brown, about 10 minutes.
  9. Scatter diced ripe avocado, diced onions, diced tomatoes, and diced jalapenos over the top. Drizzle nachos with sour cream and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Footnotes

  • Cook’s Note:
  • For best flavor, toss the diced avocado with a bit of lemon juice and salt before adding.
  • Broiling Option: When you assemble the nachos, if the beans are still hot and the steak isn’t too cold, you can broil the nachos until cheese is melted and edges are brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Partner Tip
  • Reynolds® Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist, cook it evenly, and make clean-up easier.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving: 434 calories; 28.6  25.8  20  59  774  Full nutrition
Featured

Happy Cinco De Mayo

What Is Cinco de Mayo?

Performers re-enacting the Battle of Puebla as part of a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Mexico City last year.CreditEduardo Verdugo/Associated Press
Performers re-enacting the Battle of Puebla as part of a Cinco de Mayo celebration in Mexico City last year.CreditCreditEduardo Verdugo/Associated Press

 

By Claudio E. Cabrera and Louis Lucero II From New York Times

 

Saturday is Cinco de Mayo, a day often mistaken in the United States for Mexico’s Independence Day. In fact, the holiday had its origin more than 50 years after the date associated with the country’s independence. So here’s what you need to know about Cinco de Mayo, including its evolution into a major economic driver for business owners and beverage companies across the United States.

Cinco de Mayo, which isn’t widely celebrated in Mexico, commemorates an underdog victory over France in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The victory was galvanizing for the Mexican forces — and for those supporting them from afar — but it was short-lived, as France later occupied Mexico for a few years. Still, Cinco de Mayo continued to be celebrated in Puebla and, perhaps more significantly, by Mexican-Americans north of the border.

The country’s Independence Day is Sept. 16, now a national holiday. On that day in 1810, a priest named Miguel Hidalgo implored Mexico to revolt against Spain, leading to the War for Independence, which ended in 1821.

In the early 1960s, many Mexican-American activists entrenched in the country’s growing civil rights movement used the day as a source of pride. Close to two decades later, in 1989, an ad campaign by an importer of beers like Modelo and Corona was introduced around the day. The campaign was initially targeted toward Latinos but eventually broadened with print and TV ads. This year, Corona’s website featured a ticking “Countdown to Corona de Mayo” in the hours leading up to May 5.

 

The commercialization of Cinco de Mayo (and criticism of cultural stereotypes) has taken off. The research firm Nielsen reported that in 2013 Americans bought more than $600 million worth of beer for Cinco de Mayo, more than for the Super Bowl or St. Patrick’s Day.

David Hayes-Bautista, a professor at U.C.L.A., published a book in 2012 titled “El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition.” In the book, he called “Cinco de Mayo” a “fake holiday recently invented by beverage companies.”

The holiday’s evolution from an earnest show of patriotism to a chiefly corporate celebration has been fitful, to say the least.

“I’m trying to get a better sense of how that became so thoroughly lost,” Dr. Hayes-Bautista said in a phone call from Puebla, the site of the 1862 battle. “It’d be like if the Fourth of July were reduced to beer and hot dogs.”

Dr. Hayes-Bautista said many Latinos specifically avoid observing the holiday, partly because of a generational forgetfulness about the holiday’s Civil War origins.

Featured

Adidas Increase In Growth

Adidas Earnings Beat Estimates

The sportswear company’s stock has climbed 25 percent this year and is on pace for its fifth straight annual gain.

Adidas store | Source: Shutterstock
Adidas store | Source: Shutterstock

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany — Adidas AG reported earnings that beat estimates as sales boomed in China and online revenue gained.

Currency-neutral sales grew 4 percent in the first quarter, the German company said. Global sales reached €5.88 billion ($6.6 billion), ahead of the €5.8 billion average estimate. Operating profit of €875 million beat the highest estimate.

Key Insights

Adidas’s half-decade hot streak is in danger as growth has stopped in Europe and supply chain problems have flared up in North America for mid-priced apparel. Investors want more clarity on when the company can return to the faster sales growth of recent years.

While challenges loom in Europe and North America, Adidas has seen quicker growth in Asia and through digital channels, allowing chief executive Kasper Rorsted to improve the company’s operating margins and maintain 2020 targets.

Even though Adidas flagged slower sales growth in March, the stock has continued its half-decade climb, leading some analysts to warn of a possible correction. “The air is getting thinner” as the shares reached an all-time high, Volker Bosse of Baader Helvea said in an April 25 note.

Market Performance

The Herzogenaurach-based company’s stock has climbed 25 percent this year and is on pace for its fifth straight annual gain.

By Tim Loh; editors: Eric Pfanner, Thomas Mulier and John J. Edwards III.

From Business Of Fashion

 
Featured

Upgrade Your Shades To Big 2019

Say goodbye to your tiny sunglasses and your classic tortoise pair that’s getting dusty in the box. We’ve scanned the streets and shopped the accessory section at our favorite retailers to bring you the five biggest trends of 2019. Some of these shapes, like the visor, may be familiar to you, but they’re revamped in new colorways. We’re also introducing the hexagon lens, which is a boss-lady style that’s on the rise. Ahead, jump to the design you already know you love, or read through the full lineup of must haves.

The Biggest Fashion Trends of 2019 Are Here — Can You Handle It?

Le Specs x Adam Selman The Last Lolita Cat-Eye Neon Acetate Mirrored Sunglasses
Poppy Lissiman Diavolina Neon Green
Miu Miu Narrow Cat-Eye Sunglasses
Topshop Cindy Crystal Slim Sunglasses
Le Specs x Adam Selman The Prowler Cat-Eye Neon Acetate Mirrored Sunglasses
Ganni Lulu Sunglasses
Urban Outfitters Camilla Cat-Eye Sunglasses
Sunglasses Trend 2019: Round and Transparent
Gucci Oversize Round-Frame Gold-Tone Sunglasses
AJ Morgan Round Sunglasses With Blue Mirror Lens
For Art's Sake Margarita Round-Frame Faux-Pearl Embellished Gold-Tone Sunglasses
Ray-Ban Oval Evolve Sunglasses
Na-kd Colored Round Metal Sunglasses Light Green
Fendi Crystal Embellished Round-Frame Sunglasses
Smoke x Mirrors Driver's Seat 49mm Sunglasses
Céline 58mm Round Sunglasses
Sunglasses Trend 2019: Sunglasses With a Chain
Linda Farrow x Alessandra Rich 2 C1 Oval Sunglasses
Chloé Eyewear Chain
Urban Outfitters Icon Sunglasses Chain
Stella McCartney Rectangular Sunglasses With Hanging Chain Detail
Urban Outfitters Acetate Sunglasses Chain
Nasty Gal Bead It Glasses Chain
Corinne McCormack Pearls Eyewear Chain
Sunglasses Trend 2019: Hexagon Lenses
Marni Cat-Eye Two-Tone Acetate Sunglasses
Poppy Lissiman Drazic Torti
Na-kd Octagon Frame Sunglasses Black/Gold

 

As POPSUGAR editors, we write about products that we independently select because we love them and think you’ll like them too. POPSUGAR often has affiliate partnerships, so we may get a share of the revenue from your purchase of the products reviewed.
Featured

Why Doesn’t Fashion Pay Fair?

Bangladeshi garment workers protest in January | Source: Getty Images

LONDON, United Kingdom — The fashion industry says it wants fair wages throughout its supply chain. It isn’t willing to pay for them.

Though fatal disasters like the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh six years ago have pushed brands to talk about the fair treatment of workers more than ever, many continue to relentlessly squeeze costs at the factory gate. Pricing practises remain opaque, hampering efforts to benchmark wages or track whether brands are following through on promises to increase pay. The industry as a whole remains divided on key questions like what constitutes a living wage and who’s responsible for ensuring that standard is met.

The result: even though wages have gradually increased in many manufacturing countries, the industry is still fuelled by the labour of millions of mostly young, female workers who are not paid enough to provide for themselves and their families.

For instance, a 2018 study by the Fair Labour Association found the average garment worker in Bangladesh would need an 80 percent pay raise to begin earning wages even close to the most conservative living wage benchmark the report considered. A recent increase in the country’s minimum wage for garment workers to 8,000 taka a month (around $95) hasn’t closed the gap. The lowest living wage benchmark cited by the FLA was 13,620 taka a month.

“There hasn’t been a comprehensive response that shows that the industry is actually serious about implementing the living wage,” said Dominique Muller, policy director at Labour Behind the Label, which campaigns for garment workers’ rights. “Whatever estimate they use, they’re not paying it.”

Ultimately, it comes down to economics: to fix the issue, somebody has to pay for it. And in today’s cut-throat world of fast fashion, that’s a highly challenging proposition.

The meteoric rise of fast fashion over the last twenty years has relied on low-cost labour to meet soaring demand for cheap and trendy clothes. Between 2000 and 2014 global clothing production doubled and the number of garments purchased each year by the average consumer increased by around 60 percent, according to McKinsey & Company.

Ultimately, it comes down to economics: to fix the issue, somebody has to pay for it.

At the same time, the rise of online retailing has dampened profits at many traditional retailers. It’s created even fiercer competition among brands scrambling to meet consumer demand for instant–and cheap–access to the latest Instagram trend. The result on the factory floor has been intensified pressure to turn out floaty summer dresses or oversized blazers at a faster pace and lower cost.

“We’re in an environment where cheap is the driving force and profit is really important,” said Nigel Venes, strategic lead for apparel and textiles at the Ethical Trading Initiative. “Unless you have the whole market involved, there’s going to be a problem, because someone’s always going to be undercutting.”

To be sure, after years of limited progress, some companies are doubling down on commitments to drive change. Nineteen major brands have teamed up with IndustriALL Global Union to form the Action, Collaboration, Transformation, or ACT, initiative. Companies including Hennes & Mauritz AB, Zara-parent Inditex SA and the owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, PVH Corp. have signed on to use their purchasing power to enable better working conditions and push for industry-level wage agreements secured through collective bargaining.

But the initiative is in its infancy and will likely need more brands to come on board to drive change. Brands can’t unilaterally raise wages because they usually don’t own the factories that make their clothes. Even the very largest companies often represent only a portion of a manufacturers’ customer base. And no brand wants to pay extra and end up undercut by competition with fewer scruples.

“It’s not something that one company can decide or set on their own,” said Anna Gedda head of sustainability at H&M. “This needs to be settled on an industry and also a country level.”

Even in countries with supposedly robust rules and regulations around wages, abuses occur. Recent scandals in the UK and Italy have exposed a shadowy economy of poorly paid garment workers that continues to operate under the radar.

And it’s not just unnamed factories that fall foul of the rules. According to a UK parliamentary report published earlier this year, some 24 brands–including Valentino and Versace–were not complying with the country’s Modern Slavery Act as of December. Both companies declined to comment.

Elsewhere, the group of cross-party lawmakers criticised the “exploitative” practises of fast fashion retailers that have failed to engage with initiatives to improve labour rights, calling out companies including Boohoo Group and Amazon UK.

In the wake of the criticism, Boohoo said it was revisiting its stance on membership of the Ethical Trading Initiative and recognition of trade unions. Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.

Unless you have the whole market involved, there’s going to be a problem, because someone’s always going to be undercutting.

Fixing fashion’s issues around workers’ rights requires brands to rethink the way they negotiate with factories and manage their supply chains. Governments and manufacturers need to be able to trust their industry will still be able to compete globally if wages are increased, and–quite possibly–consumers have to accept higher prices.

In short, it requires reshaping a global model that has made a lot of people a lot of money and democratised fashion for many people.

“The whole intention behind the way the system works is to maximise profits through minimising costs, and labour being treated as one of those costs,” said ethical trade consultant Sabita Banerji. “That’s why it’s been so difficult to change.”

The first step is gathering the right information. Brands are facing increasing pressure to properly understand and map their supply chains, and there’s a growing body of work on better buying practises. Direct-to-consumer brands like Everlane have proven that transparency around sourcing and prices can help win customers, but it’s a model that remains remote for the majority of the industry.

Across fashion’s sprawling and complex supply chain, simply establishing where clothes were made can prove tricky. Data on workers’ wages requires digging through another layer of opacity, making it difficult for brands to determine how they are impacting wages when they negotiate prices.

According to non-profit Fashion Revolution’s annual Fashion Transparency Index, which ranks brands based on their public disclosures, fewer than 20 percent of the 200 brands it reviewed disclose their approach to achieving living wages throughout their supply chain, and only eight report on their annual progress towards that goal.

“A big problem in the industry is the lack of transparency,” said Doug Miller, professor of workers’ rights in fashion at Northumbria University. “It’s quite hard for people looking from the outside, and even for brands, to know what part of the price paid is for labor.”

Even as some companies campaign for better working conditions and wages, the pressure remains across the industry to continue to push costs lower. Manufacturers have complained that brands won’t pay more to cover minimum wage increases, and that they often have to accept prices that don’t cover their production costs.

For instance, the price paid by lead firms to supplier factories in Bangladesh has declined by around 13 percent since the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, even though the country increased its minimum wage level that same year, according to a study by Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Global Workers’ Rights published last year.

There are brands that acknowledge the problem and have committed to change their buying practises, but companies have fallen short of such commitments in the past.

H&M’s Fair Living Wage Strategy which ran from 2013 to 2018 has sparked particular controversy. The fast-fashion giant, which ranks among the biggest in the world, has made headway, but failed to meet many activists’ expectations.

A review of the company’s progress published by the Ethical Trading Initiative last year found that, even in the company’s top-performing supplier factories, some workers still reported that their wage levels were too low to cover living costs.

It’s not a choice for the industry because it’s not sustainable how it purchases today.

H&M acknowledges more work needs to be done and points to its membership of ACT as a sign of its ongoing commitment to a long-term, systemic solution.

“It’s not a choice for the industry because it’s not sustainable how it purchases today,” said Jenny Fagerlin, global social sustainability manager at H&M. “It’s just a matter of time before the rules of the game come for the textile industry.”

ACT’s members have signed a memorandum of understanding, committing to change their purchasing practises to enable better working conditions, and to use their buying power as leverage to incentivise industry-level collective wage agreements in countries where they source.

But there too, progress is uncertain–hampered by politics and the limited number of companies currently signed up to the initiative. Last month, trade unions in Cambodia wrote to brands including Gap Inc, Adidas AG and Nike Inc , warning that their failure to commit to ACT is directly jeopardising negotiations that would raise wages and improve working conditions.

Adidas and Nike said they support efforts to ensure workers receive a living wage, and are actively working with suppliers and industry partners to improve worker compensation. Gap did not respond to request for comment.

“Brands are hesitant because it’s a cost,” said Christina Hajagos-Clausen, textile and garment industry director at IndustriALL Global Union. “This is a real business decision to commit to making changes, and they’re not small changes.”

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Benefits Of Tapioca Pearls (Part 2)

11 healthy nutrition facts about tapioca

By Annette McDermott
Reviewed by 

Overview

Tapioca is a starchy product made from cassava tubers. These tubers are native to Brazil and much of South America. Tapioca is available as flour, meal, flakes, and pearls. Tapioca pearls are commonly used to make tapioca pudding and bubble teas. Tapioca is also used as a thickener.

Tapioca is almost entirely starchy carbohydrates (carbs). People who limit their consumption of carbs or who are concerned about how starches impact blood sugar levels may perceive tapioca as unhealthy. Tapioca is high on the glycemic index scale. The glycemic index measures how fast blood sugar levels increase after eating.

Here’s a look at the nutritional information for tapioca.

 

1. Free of common allergens

Tapioca pearls

Tapioca is gluten-free, nut-free, and grain-free. It won’t cause problems for people with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and nut allergies. Tapioca flour can be found in many gluten-free products. It’s a good option for allergen-free baking at home. It’s also an alternative to white flour for thickening soups, sauces, and pie fillings.

 

2. Cholesterol-free

Tapioca is cholesterol-free. High cholesterol may cause a buildup of plaque in your arteries, which is known as atherosclerosis. Left unchecked, atherosclerosis may lead to angina, heart attack, and stroke.

 

3. Has dietary fiber

A cup of tapioca pearls has about 1.5 grams of dietary fiber. It’s not a lot, but it can help you meet the daily recommended value of 21 to 38 grams. Most people don’t consume nearly enough fiber. Yet fiber offers many health benefits such as lowering cholesterol, maintaining blood sugar levels, and preventing constipation.

 

4. Is easy to digest

Tapioca is known for being easy on the stomach. Many people find it easier to digest than flours made with grains or nuts. Tapioca may be recommended as a source of calories and energy during digestive flares from conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulitis.

 

5. Supports weight gain

Tapioca pudding

If you need to gain weight fast, tapioca may help. One cup of tapioca pearls has 544 calories and 135 carbs.

If you eat a couple of bowls of tapioca pudding (which contains additional calories, carbs, and fat) a day, and add tapioca to other foods, you have a good chance of packing on pounds without the negative effects of consuming too much fat and cholesterol.

 

6. Source of calcium

You have more calcium in your body than any other mineral. Calcium is important for strong bones and teeth. It also:

  • helps blood vessels and muscles contract and dilate
  • helps nerves send messages
  • helps blood clot

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, you lose calcium each day through your skin, sweat, urine, and feces. Your body can’t make calcium to replace what’s lost. Calcium must be obtained through the foods you eat. One cup of pearl tapioca has 30 milligrams (mg) of calcium, about 3 percent of the daily recommended value. Again, it’s not an impressive amount, but it counts toward your daily intake.

Calcium: Health benefits, foods, and deficiency

Calcium: Health benefits, foods, and deficiency
Click here for all you need to know about calcium.
READ NOW

 

7. Low in sodium

Most people eat too much sodium. Especially since sodium is hidden in plain sight in processed snacks, soups, and condiments. A high-sodium diet is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Tapioca contains a very small amount of sodium. One cup of tapioca pearls has just 2 mg.

 

8. Source of folate

Folate is a B vitamin that your body needs to make DNA and for cell division. Folate is also critical for women in their childbearing years to prevent neural tube defects such as spinal bifida. Folate deficiency may also cause anemia. One cup of tapioca pearls has 6 micrograms of folate, which is 2 percent of the daily recommended value.

 

9. Source of manganese

One cup of tapioca pearls provides 8 percent of the manganese your body needs each day. Manganese is an essential trace mineral that helps your body metabolize carbs, cholesterol, and amino acids. It also supports bone and connective tissue development.

 

10. Source of iron

Tapioca is a good source of iron. One cup of tapioca pearls provides over 13 percent of the daily recommended value. Iron is found in hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen to all parts of your body. If you don’t get enough iron, you may develop iron-deficiency anemia. This condition may cause serious side effects such as shortness of breath, fatigue, and chest pain.

 

11. Helps keep you full

The carbs and fiber in tapioca are filling. While tapioca can’t be hailed as a weight loss food, it may keep you fuller longer and suppress hunger. This can decrease the chances of overeating.

 

Bottom line

Tapioca bubble tea

It’s high in carbs and calories, so tapioca can’t be called healthy. Still, it can help you meet the recommended daily allowance of several important nutrients. And it’s a tasty food to enjoy if you need to gain weight.

Tapioca can fit into your healthy eating plan when eaten in moderation. Keep in mind that many tapioca recipes, like tapioca pudding and bubble tea, are loaded with additional calories and fat from added sugars and milk or cream. Make lighter versions by substituting almond milk or fat-free milk for whole milk. You can substitute liquid stevia or erythritol for sugar.

 

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Alton Brown’s Tapioca Pudding

RECIPE COURTESY OF ALTON BROWN

Tapioca Pudding

  • Level: Intermediate
  • Total: 16 hr 25 min
  • Prep: 10 min
  • Inactive: 14 hr
  • Cook: 2 hr 15 min
  • Yield:

Ingredients

3 1/2 ounces large pearl tapioca, approximately 1/2 cup

2 cups cold water

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup sugar

1 lemon, zested

Pinch salt

Directions

  1. Place tapioca in a medium mixing bowl along with the water, cover, and let stand overnight.
  2. Drain water from tapioca. Place the tapioca into a slow cooker along with the milk, heavy cream, and salt. Cook on high for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and sugar. Temper small amounts of the tapioca into the egg mixture until you have added at least 1 cup. Then add this back into the remaining tapioca in the slow cooker. Add the lemon zest and stir to combine. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring at least once. Transfer the pudding to a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour and then place in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled.
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Puddin’ Head Blues

 

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Dark Chocolate & Soufflé Recipe

STRESS & ANXIETY

Cocoa Benefits: Mood, Anxiety, and Contentment Improve in Just 30 Days

A new study reveals that dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa benefits mood.

cocoa benefits

Cocoa benefits root to compounds called polyphenols that have been shown to positively affect anxiety and enhance calmness.

Even those of us who don’t have clinical depression or anxiety could use a little mood boost. Wouldn’t it be great if we could feel more calm and content by regularly consuming something as delicious and satisfying as chocolate? A new study reveals that dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa benefits mood.

The impressive results from the first clinical study to show that dark chocolate containing a high content of cocoa benefits mood  were reported in 2013 in Journal of Psychopharmacology.[1] Noting that cocoa contains compounds called polyphenols that have been shown to positively affect anxiety and enhance calmness, researchers from the Center for Human Psychopharmacology at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, examined the effects of a dark chocolate drink on mood in healthy, middle-aged adults.

Researchers Study How Low- and High-Dose Polyphenols in Cocoa Benefits Mood

The effects of chocolate drinks containing both high and low doses of cocoa polyphenols were examined in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The 72 participants, who were free from age-related diseases such as dementia and cardiovascular disease, were randomly assigned to receive a dark chocolate drink mix containing either 500 mg (high dose), 250 mg (low dose), or 0 mg (placebo) of cocoa polyphenols once daily for 30 days. The high-dose drink mix contained Acticoa cocoa powder made by Callebaut, the study’s funder. The drink mixes were identical in taste and calories and differed only in polyphenol content.

Learn how to identify anxiety symptoms, manage stress, and bring calm back to your life.

 

Cocoa Benefits Include Feeling More Calm and Content

Potential cocoa benefits on different aspects of mood, memory, and attention were measured at baseline, after a single serving of the chocolate drink mix, and after 30 days of consumption. After one dose of the chocolate drink mix, there were no cocoa benefits for any measure of mood or cognitive function.

However, after 30 days of cocoa consumption, there were significant improvements on certain aspects of mood, including calmness and contentedness. The positive cocoa benefits on mood were statistically significant for the high-polyphenol group but not for the low-polyphenol or placebo groups. The self-rated calmness and contentedness were significantly increased in those subjects drinking the high-dose polyphenol dark chocolate drink compared to those drinking the placebo.

None of the treatments had any significant effects on any of the cognitive factor scores (measures of memory and attention) after 30 days. Other studies, however, have shown that consumption of dark chocolate or cocoa benefits memory, attention, and other aspects of cognitive performance in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.[2] In the study cited here, however, healthy adults without pre-existing cognitive impairment did not seem to benefit in terms of cognitive function.

Researchers Hopeful That Cocoa Benefits Those With Anxiety and Depression

“This randomized controlled trial,” the authors wrote, “is perhaps the first to demonstrate the positive effects of cocoa polyphenols on mood in healthy participants.”

The authors also noted that the results provide “a rationale for exploring whether cocoa polyphenols can ameliorate the symptoms associated with clinical anxiety or depression.” Such studies are likely to be performed in the near future. For now, however, we know that, at least in people without clinical depression or anxiety, a small daily dose of dark chocolate or cocoa benefits mood.

Polyphenol Content of Chocolate

Over 10 percent of the weight of cocoa powder is flavonoids, a group of polyphenolic compounds that occur widely in fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine, and chocolate. Cocoa and chocolate products have the highest concentration of flavonoids among commonly consumed foods. And dark chocolate is one of the richest sources of polyphenols.

A small portion of dark chocolate (40 grams or about 1 and 1/2 ounces) contains 400-800 mg of polyphenols, while 10 grams of cocoa powder contains about 600 mg. Milk chocolate has significantly less polyphenols, while white chocolate has none.

SOURCES & RESOURCES
For related reading, please see these posts:

How to Get the Cocoa Benefits Without Purchasing “Special” Chocolate

You don’t need to purchase a special high-flavonoid or high-polyphenol chocolate like the chocolate used in this study in order to get a high concentration of these mood-boosting compounds. The darker the chocolate, the higher the percentage of cocoa it contains, and the more polyphenols you’ll consume per serving. When choosing a chocolate or cocoa product, look for one that is at least 70 percent cocoa or even darker (for instance, 85 percent cocoa) if you like. Eat one or two ounces per day, no more.

Or, another way to measure your limit per day would be to consume no more than 150 calories per day which can be easily determined from the label. Or use about 10 grams per day of non-alkalized cocoa powder. You can mix the cocoa powder with alternative milks and sweeteners for a delicious, high-polyphenol, mood-enhancing, non-dairy, low-sugar beverage.

What to Do if You Don’t Like Dark Chocolate

If dark chocolate isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other natural ways to boost your mood. For instance, you can try the herb ashwagandha or the nutrient SAM-e.

These natural remedies can also be helpful if you’re suffering from clinical depression or anxiety. However, if your mood issue is serious or chronic, you will want to find the root cause and tackle it with a more comprehensive natural approach.

Double Chocolate Soufflés with Warm Fudge Sauce

Double Chocolate Soufflés with Warm Fudge Sauce
Becky Luigart-Stayner; Leigh Ann Ross
Yield:
6 servings (serving size: 1 soufflé and about 2 tablespoons sauce)

By JULIANNA GRIMES BOTTCHER 

RECIPE BY COOKING LIGHT

These chocolate soufflés are an uber-decadent dessert and the perfect finishing touch to dinner parties or a quiet romantic dinner.

Ingredients

  • Souffle:
  • Cooking spray
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
  • 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 6 large egg whites
  • Sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup fat-free milk
  • 1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Nutritional Information

How to Make It

Step 1

Position oven rack to the lowest setting, and remove middle rack. Preheat oven to 425°.

Step 2

To prepare the soufflés, lightly coat 6 (8-ounce) soufflé dishes with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.

Step 3

Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add 1 1/4 cups milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk; remove from heat. Add 3 ounces chocolate; stir until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla and egg yolk.

Step 4

Place egg whites in a large mixing bowl; beat at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Gently fold one-fourth of egg whites into chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Gently spoon mixture into prepared dishes. Sharply tap dishes 2 or 3 times on counter to level. Place dishes on a baking sheet; place baking sheet on the bottom rack of 425° oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove soufflés from oven). Bake 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the side of soufflé comes out clean.

Step 5

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, and 1 tablespoon flour; stir well with a whisk. Gradually add 1/2 cup milk, stirring well with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat; add 1/2 ounce chocolate, stirring until smooth. Serve warm with soufflés.

Chef’s Notes

You can prepare the ingredients ahead, spoon the batter into soufflé dishes, cover, and freeze until you’re ready to cook them. They can go straight from the freezer to the oven. Make the sauce ahead, too, and simply warm it before serving. This recipe received our Test Kitchens’ highest rating.

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Google Doodle Celebrating Ruth Asawa

Celebrating Ruth Asawa

From Google

  • “Sculpture is like farming. If you just keep at it, you can get quite a lot done.”

    -Ruth Asawa

    In honor of Asian-American Pacific Islander month in the US, today’s Doodle celebrates Ruth Asawa, the acclaimed Japanese-American artist and educator who overcame great adversity throughout her journey, ultimately exhibiting her intricate wire sculptures and works on paper in museums around the world.

    Born in 1926, Asawa’s family made a living as farmers until World War II, when they were sent to the US government internment camps for the Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. There, Asawa pursued her interest in art, getting lessons from fellow camp inmates. Following sixteen months of internment, Asawa received a scholarship to Milwaukee State Teachers College, where she studied to become an art teacher. Three years later, she was prevented from doing her student teaching because of her Japanese heritage. Undeterred, she transferred to the experimental Black Mountain College in North Carolina.  It was there that she blossomed as an artist and met the architect Albert Lanier, whom she would marry and start a family with, raising six children together.

    Adapting methods she learned in Mexico, where people made wire baskets for domestic use, Asawa used similar techniques to create the looped wire sculptures she became known for. Asked to name her inspirations, she spoke of “plants, the spiral shell of a snail, seeing light through insect wings, watching spiders repair their webs in the early morning, and seeing the sun through the droplets of water suspended from the tips of pine needles while watering my garden.”

    While some critics dismissed her art as “feminine handiwork” early on, Asawa’s reputation has grown over time. Her legacy lives on in public commissions in California as well as museums and galleries around the globe. She designed the Japanese-American Internment Memorial Sculpture in San Jose in 1994 as well as SF State University’s Garden of Remembrance, which includes boulders from ten internment camps.

    Asawa also advocated for arts education for kids, including the creation of a public arts high school that was later renamed the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. Since 1982, the city of San Francisco has also declared February 12 to be Ruth Asawa Day—a fitting tribute to a woman who lived according to her belief that “art will make people better.”

     

     

    Special thanks to the children of Ruth Asawa, the Asawa Lanier family, for their partnership on this project. Below, they share their thoughts on their mother’s legacy:

    Our mother was first, and foremost, a teacher. She loved to teach us lessons, especially the habit of hard work and the importance of creative problem solving.  Hers was a life lived in a large, diverse community where the boundaries between making art, family, cooking delicious meals, activism, and compassion for those less fortunate merged into one never-ending cycle. She often worked late at night while we slept. She once explained, “When you put a seed in the ground, the ground doesn’t say, ‘Well, it’s 8 hours, I’m going to stop growing.’ You put it in the soil, and that bulb grows every second it is attached to the Earth.  I think that every minute we are attached to this Earth we should be doing something.”

    As a young woman at Black Mountain College, she was fortunate to study with professional artists who expected her to think as an individual. It was the quality of this experience that mattered to her, where each person contributed but kept their own integrity. It’s like the design of her looped wire sculptures, which share the space they live in. “I am able to take a wire line and go into the air and define the air without stealing from anyone. A line can enclose and define space while letting the air remain air.” She was proud of her work in public education – encouraging artists in the schools and the public arts high school which she helped create and bears her name – The Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts.

    In an interview taken in her 70s, she offered some advice: “It’s important to learn how to use your small bits of time, your five minutes, your ten minutes. All those begin to count up…Don’t wait until your children are grown, until your husband is retired…Learn how to use your snatches of time when they are given to you.”

     

    Pictured: Ruth Asawa, working on a wire sculpture at her Saturn Street home, San Francisco, 1957.

    Artwork © Estate of Ruth Asawa

    Photo credit: Imogen Cunningham © 2019 Imogen Cunningham Trust, courtesy of David Zwirner

Featured

Airpods or Microsoft Buds 2019?

 

Would You Swap Your AirPods for Microsoft Surface Buds?

According to Thurrott, Microsoft is reportedly developing a pair of wireless earbuds, which Redmond might call Surface Buds. They’ll join the $349 Surface Headphones.

Microsoft is reportedly developing a pair of wireless earbuds to compete with Apple’s AirPods.

The upcoming earbuds are currently codenamed “Morrison,” according to tech site Thurrott.com, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the company’s plans.

Last November, Microsoft surprised audiophiles with the release of the Surface Headphones (pictured), a pair of premium over-the-ear cans that retail for $349. So it’s hardly a surprise the company may be working on a smaller earbuds-version.

According to Thurrott, Microsoft engineers are toying with the idea of branding the upcoming product the Surface Buds, but the company may decide on a different name. It also isn’t clear what kind of features the product will offer over competing wireless earbuds or when it’ll even arrive. However, the company’s Surface Headphones feature integration with Microsoft’s Cortana voice assistant, in addition to noise cancellation, Bluetooth connectivity, and premium audio quality. (They also work with Windows, iOS, Android, and macOS.)

Microsoft won’t be alone in trying to compete against the AirPods. Amazon is also reportedly developing a pair of wireless earbuds that’ll feature integration with the company’s voice assistant, Alexa—just like Apple’s newest AirPods tap into Siri.According to Bloomberg, Amazon’s take on wireless earphones will arrive in the second half of 2019.

Last month, Samsung released a pair of wireless headphones called the Galaxy Buds. They cost $129—or $70 less than the second-gen AirPods\n

Still, it probably won’t be easy to outcompete Apple. According to one estimate, the AirPods had a 60 percent share of the wireless earbud market in last year’s fourth quarter. Headphone maker Jabra came in a far-off second place.

Featured

Health Benefits Of Pineapple

8 Impressive Health Benefits of Pineapple

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is an incredibly delicious and healthy tropical fruit.

It originated in South America, where early European explorers named it after its resemblance to a pinecone (1).

This popular fruit is packed with nutrients, antioxidants and other helpful compounds, such as enzymes that can fight inflammation and disease.

Pineapple and its compounds have been linked to many health benefits, including aiding digestion, boosting immunity and speeding up recovery from surgery, among others.

Here are 8 impressive health benefits of pineapple.

1. Loaded With Nutrients

Pineapples are low in calories but have an incredibly impressive nutrient profile.

One cup (5.8 ounces or 165 grams) of pineapple chunks contains the following (2):

  • Calories: 82.5
  • Fat: 1.7 grams
  • Protein: 1 gram
  • Carbs: 21.6 grams
  • Fiber: 2.3 grams
  • Vitamin C: 131% of the RDI
  • Manganese: 76% of the RDI
  • Vitamin B6: 9% of the RDI
  • Copper: 9% of the RDI
  • Thiamin: 9% of the RDI
  • Folate: 7% of the RDI
  • Potassium: 5% of the RDI
  • Magnesium: 5% of the RDI
  • Niacin: 4% of the RDI
  • Pantothenic acid: 4% of the RDI
  • Riboflavin: 3% of the RDI
  • Iron: 3% of the RDI

Pineapples also contain trace amounts of vitamins A and K, phosphorus, zinc and calcium.

They are especially rich in vitamin C and manganese, providing 131% and 76% of the daily recommendations, respectively.

Vitamin C is essential for growth and development, a healthy immune system and aiding the absorption of iron from the diet. Meanwhile, manganese is a naturally occurring mineral that aids growth, maintains a healthy metabolism and has antioxidant properties (3, 4).

SUMMARYPineapples are packed with a variety of vitaminsand minerals. They are especially rich in vitamin C and manganese.

2. Contains Disease-Fighting Antioxidants

Not only are pineapples rich in nutrients, they are also loaded with healthy antioxidants.

Antioxidants are molecules that help your body combat oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress is a state in which there are too many free radicals in the body. These free radicals interact with the body’s cells and cause damage that is linked to chronic inflammation, a weakened immune system and many harmful diseases (5, 6).

Pineapples are especially rich in antioxidants known as flavonoids and phenolic acids (7).

What’s more, many of the antioxidants in pineapple are bound. This allows the antioxidants to survive harsher conditions in the body and produce longer lasting effects (8, 9).

SUMMARYPineapples are a good source of antioxidants, which may reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Many of the antioxidants in pineapple are bound, so they may have longer lasting effects.

3. Its Enzymes Can Ease Digestion

Pineapples contain a group of digestive enzymes known as bromelain (10).

They function as proteases, which break down protein molecules into their building blocks, such as amino acids and small peptides (11).

Once protein molecules are broken down, they are more easily absorbed across the small intestine. This can be especially helpful for people with pancreatic insufficiency, a condition in which the pancreas cannot make enough digestive enzymes (12, 13).

For example, one study showed that participants with pancreatic insufficiency experienced better digestion after taking a digestive enzyme supplement containing bromelain, compared to taking the same digestive enzyme supplement without bromelain (14).

Bromelain is also widely used as a commercial meat tenderizer due to its ability to break down tough meat proteins (13).

SUMMARYPineapples contain bromelain, a group of digestive enzymes that breaks down proteins. This may aid digestion, especially in those with pancreatic insufficiency.

4. May Help Reduce the Risk of Cancer

Cancer is a chronic disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth.

Its progression is commonly linked to oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.

Several studies have shown that pineapple and its compounds may reduce the risk of cancers. This is because they may minimize oxidative stress and reduce inflammation.

One of these compounds is the group of digestive enzymes called bromelain. Test-tube studies have shown that bromelain may also help fight cancer (15, 16).

For instance, two test-tube studies showed that bromelain suppressed the growth of breast cancer cells and stimulated cell death (17, 18).

Other test-tube studies show that bromelain suppresses cancer in the skin, bile duct, gastric system and colon, among other areas (19, 20, 21, 22).

Test-tube and animal studies have found that bromelain may stimulate the immune system to produce molecules that make white blood cells more effective at suppressing cancer cell growth and eliminating cancer cells (16).

That said, pineapple contains much less bromelain than supplements do. More human-based research is needed before any conclusions can be made.

SUMMARYPineapple contains compounds that reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which are linked to cancer. One of these compounds is the enzyme bromelain, which may stimulate cell death in certain cancer cells and aid white blood cell function.

5. May Boost Immunity and Suppress Inflammation

Pineapples have been a part of traditional medicine for centuries (13).

They contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and enzymes like bromelain that may collectively boost immunity and suppress inflammation (23).

One nine-week study fed 98 healthy children either no pineapple, some pineapple (140g) or lots of pineapple (280g) daily to see if it boosted their immunity.

Children who ate pineapples had a significantly lower risk of both viral and bacterial infections. Also, children who ate the most pineapple had close to four times more disease-fighting white blood cells (granulocytes) than the other two groups (24).

Another study found that children with a sinus infection recovered significantly faster while taking a bromelain supplement, compared to a standard treatment or combination of the two (25).

What’s more, studies have shown that bromelain can reduce markers of inflammation (26, 27, 28).

It’s believed that these anti-inflammatory properties aid the immune system.

SUMMARYPineapples have anti-inflammatory properties that may boost the immune system.

6. May Ease Symptoms of Arthritis

Arthritis affects over 54 million adults in the US alone (29).

There are many types of arthritis, but most of them involve inflammation in the joints.

Since pineapples contain bromelain, which has anti-inflammatory properties, it’s commonly thought that they may provide pain relief for those with inflammatory arthritis (30).

In fact, research from as early as the 1960s shows that bromelain was used to relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, a type of arthritis that involves inflammation of the joints (31).

Several recent studies have looked into the effectiveness of bromelain for treating arthritis.

One study in patients with osteoarthritis found that taking a digestive enzyme supplement containing bromelain helped relieve pain as effectively as common arthritis medicines like diclofenac (32).

Furthermore, one review analyzed bromelain’s ability to treat osteoarthritis. It concluded that bromelain has the potential to relieve arthritis symptoms, especially in the short term (30).

However, it’s not clear if bromelain can be a long-term treatment for arthritis symptoms. Longer studies are needed before recommending bromelain to relieve arthritis symptoms.

SUMMARYThe anti-inflammatory properties of pineapple may provide short-term symptom relief for people with common types of arthritis.

7. May Speed Recovery After Surgery or Strenuous Exercise

Eating pineapples may reduce the time it takes to recover from surgery or exercise.

This is largely due to the anti-inflammatory properties of bromelain.

Several studies have shown that bromelain may reduce the inflammation, swelling, bruising and pain that often occurs after surgery. It also seems to reduce markers of inflammation (33).

For example, one study showed that those who consumed bromelain before a dental surgery had significantly reduced pain and felt happier than people who did not. In fact, it appeared to provide a similar amount of relief as common anti-inflammatory medicines (34).

Strenuous exercise can also damage muscle tissue and cause surrounding inflammation. Affected muscles cannot produce as much force and are sore for up to three days.

Proteases like bromelain are believed to speed up the recovery of damage caused by strenuous exercise by reducing inflammation around the damaged muscle tissue (35).

One study tested this theory by providing participants a digestive enzyme supplement that contained bromelain after 45 minutes of strenuous exercise on the treadmill. Those who took the supplement had less inflammation and maintained more strength afterward (35).

Several other studies have shown that bromelain can speed up recovery from damage caused by exercise (36, 37).

SUMMARYThe bromelain in pineapples may reduce the inflammation, swelling, bruising and pain that occurs after surgery. Bromelain’s anti-inflammatory properties may also aid recovery after strenuous exercise by reducing tissue inflammation.

8. Delicious and Easy to Add to the Diet

Pineapples are sweet, convenient and easy to incorporate into your diet.

They are very affordable and available year-round in many American markets, as they can be purchased fresh, canned or frozen.

You can enjoy them on their own or in smoothies, salads or on homemade pizzas.

Here are a few easy recipe ideas that use fresh pineapple:

  • Breakfast: Pineapple, blueberry and Greek yogurt smoothie
  • Salad: Tropical roast chicken, almond, blueberry and pineapple salad
  • Lunch: Homemade Hawaiian burgers (beef burgers with a pineapple ring)
  • Dinner: Baked ham with pineapple and cherries
  • Dessert: Pineapple fruit salad

SUMMARYPineapples are delicious, accessible and easy to add to the diet.

The Bottom Line

Pineapples are delicious, low in calories and loaded with nutrients and antioxidants.

Their nutrients and compounds have been linked to impressive health benefits, including improved digestion, a lower risk of cancer, improved immunity, relief of arthritis symptoms and improved recovery after surgery and strenuous exercise.

Pineapples are also incredibly versatile and can be consumed in a variety of ways.

To experience their health benefits, try incorporating pineapples into your diet.

Featured

Mens Gym Ath- Leisure Clothes

Gym clothes for men: your ultimate guide

BY ZAK MAOUI AND HARVEY JAMES From GQ Magazine

Dragging yourself to the gym is the first step in any fitness regime, and a capsule workout wardrobe is the first step in that process. Our guide to gym clothes for men will give you no excuse

Gym sessions are the time and place to focus on yourself, your body and forget the rest of the world. This might seem obvious, but if you are planning to or you actually do workout regularly, you’ll be in your workout kit a lot. So you should treat these clothes like the rest of your wardrobe: buy good quality and express your stylistic idiosyncrasies. At the very least, replace your thread worn, mud stained sports top you used through school with some purpose built, lean gym attire.

With ath-leisure being adopted into the mainstream and Nike and Adidas topping the biggest grossing names in the clothes business, there’s no better time to be dressing shipshape for the gym. We’ve sifted through the internet detritus to bring you GQ’s guide to the gems of the gym-wear world.

There are lots of different colours below, but, to make to make the whole process even easier, keep your gym kit to either black, white and grey or two colours of your choosing (say, navy blue and green). That way, everything will match with everything so whatever you pack will work. You’re welcome.

Adidas Freelift 360 Gradient

 

Adidas Freelift 360 Gradient

The “Freelift 360 gradient” offers comfort with a full range of motion and it stays down when using weights overhead; avoiding the awkward gravity sponsored striptease. It also features a sweat-wicking Climalite fabric, which helps keep you dry when the going gets really tough. A simple, technical t-shirt for all levels of gym goers.

£34.95. adidas.co.uk

Kappa Taped Astoria Track Pant
Kappa Taped Astoria Track Pant

Chances are you’ll be throwing back a few barbells during your workout, so while you’re at it, why not throwback your kit. Kappa are a brand dug up from the grave. They’re back and they are more retro cool than ever. Super, super comfortable and acceptable to be seen outside the gym in, it’s a win-win.

£45. endclothing.com

Lacoste SPORT Croc Print
Lacoste SPORT Croc Print

Who really cares they are tennis shorts. These lightweight shorts are a wonderful hark back to the vintage Lacoste that we know and love. Add some French fashion chic to your sportswear; it’s never a bad idea.

[note[£65. lacoste.com[/note]

New Balance Minimus 20v7
New Balance Minimus 20v7

These simple New Balance trainers are so aesthetically pleasing it almost seems a pity just to wear them for the gym. The Minimus 20v7 weighs an astonishing 198g thanks to the one-piece Vibram® outsole and the ultra-lightweight outer knit made of a nylon-infused yarn. Both these technologies aid foot protection, lateral support and increased ventilation, which produce the reliable traction necessary for weights training. Our advice? Wear them all the time, so that way you can always be ready for a session.

£80. newbalance.co.uk

Puma Energy Knitted
Puma Energy Knitted

Somewhere between joggers and tight lycra, these tapered training pants are the perfect regular use gym item. Aside from the perplexing marketing spiel of “energy knitted”, as I assume knitting does require some form of energy, the two hidden hip pockets, the dryCELL technology and simplicity of the pants make for a brilliant training accompaniment. The casual styling of the pants give you the ease of travelling to and from without changing at the gym for your workout.

£60. puma.com

Puma A.C.E. Woven 9"

 

Puma A.C.E. Woven 9″

Simple, no-nonsense and cool. You don’t need to overdo it with your gym wear. These shorts come with dryCELL technology, which helps with the all important moisture-wicking. They have a stretch waistband for ease of movement and at £22, they make for an inarguable investment.

£22. puma.com

Reebok Crossfit Myoknit

 

Reebok Crossfit Myoknit

These three-quarter length Reeboks are designed specifically with Crossfit training in mind. The MyoKnit material helps eliminate chafing and irritation, while you lunge, star-jump and burpie your way to Cristiano Ronaldo levels of ripped. They allow fabric stretch for a full range of motion and the compression fit means you can move without distraction.

£59.95. reebok.co.uk

Reebok Active Core No Show
Reebok Active Core No Show

This multi pack of three monochrome socks while suit your every gym outfit need in an understated, if not statement-less way. Let your workouts do the talking.

£5.95. reebok.co.uk

UA x Project Rock Track Jacket

 

UA x Project Rock Track Jacket

Train like The Rock. Failing that, you can train looking like The Rock. Failing that, train while wearing the Under Armour x Project Rock collaboration and hopefully channel some of his incredulous work ethic through your clothing choice. With the bull emblem plastered on your right peck, nothing will stop you from benching that Humvee.

£90. underarmour.co.uk

Champion Basketball Mesh

 

Champion Basketball Mesh

Who said the basketball shirt couldn’t be worn in the gym? This is a surefire way to bring some colour and some stylistic swagger back into your kit. Being a popular streetwear brand outside the gym, Champion adds bonus style points for bringing it into the gym’s mostly fashion-less confines.

£45. championstore.com

Diadora Sport LS Turtle Neck ADV
Diadora Sport LS Turtle Neck ADV

This tight top is actually a running top, but there’s nothing to stop you flaunting your muscular prowess in the gym, right? Or wear it with a t-shirt for a more relaxed vibe. If I had to guess, I’d say it stores some sort of extraterrestrial energy source, that tightens around the contours of your muscles and enhances them; think Black Panther of the gym. Back to the world of facts and we can safely say that it has differentiated compression zones, which are aimed at giving your body optimum results.

£55. diadora.com

Calvin Klein Tracksuit

 

Calvin Klein Tracksuit

Lightweight and water-repellant, this 100 per cent polyester tracksuit by Calvin Klein is suitable for both inside and out. What’s more, it’s machine washable and will dry incredibly quickly.

Top, £110. Trousers, £85. calvinklein.co.uk

Champion Headband

 

Champion Headband

Keep the sweat off your brow with this cotton headband. Chuck it in the washing machine after use to avoid getting spots on your forehead.

£12.45. champion.com

Asics Gel-Kayano 25

 

Asics Gel-Kayano 25

FlyteFoam Propel offers an improved level of bounce, while the shoe’s Ortholite X-40 sock-liner is another key feature that offers the twin benefits of performance and comfort. Created with the needs of athletes in mind, these really are the perfect running trainers.

£150. asics.com

Lululemon Intent Crew Sock

 

Lululemon Intent Crew Sock

If you gym in the morning, you’re going to want to change your socks post-gym and pre-work.

£28. lululemon.com

Adidas Own The Run

 

Adidas Own The Run

These shorts are constructed in breathable, quick-dry polyester and feature Climacool ventilation. They also come in a regular fit and sit snugly on the waist, meaning there will be no fear of them slipping down when you’re on the treadmill.

£24.95. adidas.co.uk

Diadora Sport Running Socks

 

Diadora Sport Running Socks

If you are sticking to a monochrome colour palette with your gym kit, try some bold socks for some panache. These Diadora running socks come with cushioning zones and elastic support in the arch, so they perform in the ergonomics department too.

£24. diadora.com

Nike Metcon XD By You

 

Nike Metcon XD By You

While this shoe boasts the most durable form of Metcon (a reinforcement that spans the shoe) and a more firm mid-sole and softer forefoot which provides stability for weight lifting and cushioning for sprints, the sell is definitely the customisation. Like most Nike customisations there are a lot of options, meaning you can create extremely, let’s say, “individual” looking shoes.

£129.95. nike.com

Featured

EverSpring Cleaning Products

Target’s New Line of Sustainable Kitchen Cleaning Products Are Also Budget-Friendly

by ELISABETH SHERMAN From Business Of Fashion 
(Image Credit: Courtesy of Target)

Target is already a playground for adults, filled with everything you will ever need to make your house feel like a home (the throw pillow collection is especially tempting). Now, the store is launching a line of products that will make your space environmentally friendly, too: It’s called Everspring, and it includes 70 cleaning and home care must-haves that go light on the chemicals.

Everspring touts everyday essentials like candles, paper towels, dish soap, and glass cleaner, all of which are supposedly “clean and natural.” CNBC reports that the chemicals in Everspring products are “biobased, meaning they’re derived from plants and other renewable agricultural, marine, and forestry materials or are made from recycled materials and natural fiber.” The fragrances are also 100 percent natural and come in combinations like mandarin and ginger and lavender and bergamot.

(Image Credit: Courtesy of Target)

Target likely took inspiration for Everspring from other “natural” household brands like Method and Seventh Generation. However, Everspring will cost significantly less than those products, ranging in cost from about $2.79 to $11.99. They’ll also be marketed with the new “Target Clean” label, which will indicate to customers which products are made without sodium laureth sulfate or propylparabens.

Concerned citizens hoping to add a little less pollution to the planet and Target-enthusiasts alike should be thrilled by this announcement. And if you didn’t already think Target was a one-stop-shop wonderland, then the fact that they’ll be stocking environmentally friendly products might go a long way toward convincing you.

There’s no doubt that sustainable versions of the products we use to keep our kitchens germ-free are growing in popularity. In fact, everything these days seems to be labeled “clean,” “organic,” or “green.” But this should be far more than a passing trend. Sustainable household essentials that are affordable and available at mainstream stores are a win not just for your home, but for the planet.

Featured

10 Superfoods Of 2019 According To Dieticians

These Are the Top 10 Superfoods of 2019, According to Dietitians

A new survey asked more than 1,300 nutritionists what’s trending—here’s what they said.

By Zee Krstic

These Are the Top 10 Superfoods of 2019, According to Dietitians
A new survey asked more than 1,300 nutritionists what’s trending—here’s what they said.
WE TRIED 9 HEALTHY STORE-BOUGHT CREAMERS AND FOUND 3 (DAIRY-FREE!) WORTH BUYING

Many nutritionists will tell you that “superfood” is a loaded term—and, sometimes, the health halo associated with so-called superfoods isn’t totally earned or deserved. But when asked to list the best superfoods right now, many nutritionists chose staples that aren’t exactly “new”, but rather a healthy part of any diet—fresh produce.

A new annual survey published by Today’s Dietitian and Pollock Communications asked 1,342 registered dietitians which foods they believe are the healthiest for 2019—or, the superfoods they believe consumers will go bananas over. In the past, Cooking Light has asked our lead nutritionist, Carolyn Williams, PHD, RD, to investigate ingredients like turmeric, matcha, and alkaline water that many on the internet had lauded as “superfoods,” but it seems that nutritionists are now considering more routine items to have a better reputation overall.

“We are still seeing the consumer push for cleaner labels and the industry continues their work to deliver it,” Jenna Bell, RDN, told Today’s Dietitian. “It’s beyond food is medicine; now, food is the core of wellness.”

But Bell also points out that plant-based lifestyles have moved past a burgeoning trend into the mainstream; many items on the following list have grown, and interest in dairy has dramatically shifted.

The one noticeable change in this year’s survey? Kale has fallen off the top ten list, while another non-dairy item makes its way onto it.

These are the top 10 superfoods to keep an eye on in 2019, according to nutritionists:

COOKING LIGHT

1) Fermented Foods

Yogurt is a prime example of this category, as gut health continues to be one of the most innovative aspects of nutrition today. Consumers are interested in finding foods—like these four gut-healthy ingredients—that can help them reduce inflammation and detox naturally. If you’re interested in resetting your microbiome with fermented foods, check out Cooking Light‘s 3-day detox plan.

2) Avocados

GETTY: MARKO CRNOGLAVAC / EYEEM

While kale isn’t on nutritionists’ radar anymore, this creamy fruit still is—and for good reason. Avocados contain nearly 20 vitamins and minerals including potassium, vitamin E, vitamin C, B vitamins, and folic acid, according to Jamie Vespa, MS, RD. Avocados are also chock full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and dietary fiber, with roughly 50 calories per 1-ounce serving.

And you can put them on much more than toast—here are 35 tasty ways to cook with avocado.

3) Seeds

ADOBE STOCK.

From chia seeds to flaxseed and even hemp seeds, these small-but-mighty snacks are nutritional powerhouses. They’re loaded with dietary fiber, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These are five seeds you should be adding to your diet immediately.

The healthiest foods you should be eating now:

4) Ancient Grains

JENNIFER CAUSEY

Quinoa isn’t the only wholesome grain you should be enjoying in 2019. Farro, a popular substitute for enriched pasta products, and teff, which is similar to millet, can be used to top salads, bulk up grain bowls, or in baking.

5) Exotic Fruit; Acai and Golden Berries

ADOBE

From acai to goji berries, these deliciously sweet options are solid sources of fiber, plus they’re rich in antioxidants and heart-healthy fatty acids. We love them in these healthy and delicious smoothie bowls.

6) Blueberries

VLADOGRAPHER

Williams says this superfood contains high levels of phytochemicals—including flavonoids, anthocyanins, and resveratrol—that help the body combat inflammation naturally. Other research has shown blueberries to cut risk of heart disease and cancer, as well as memory loss. Not bad for a little berry!

7) Beets

ADOBE

Beets have been shown to help offset the risk of many chronic diseases due to their high levels of vitamin B, iron, copper, magnesium, potassium, and manganese.

8) Nuts

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Whether you choose almonds, pine nuts, pecans, or pistachios, nuts are one of the healthiest on-the-go snack options. We’ve previously published reviews of research tied to the nutritional benefits of consuming nuts (mostly due to their healthy levels of unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids.)

9) Coconut Products