Posts

The move was rushed, so packing wasn’t as organized as it should have been, and when we arrived to re-explore the old farmhouse and its many 100-plus-year-old buildings, we found we didn’t only have our own stuff to deal with, but also about five generations’ worth of old farm equipment, paperwork, books, and other trinkets to sort through. For the first few years, growing food and raising pastured, egg-laying chickens took up the bulk of our evenings and weekends, so we kept pushing off the decluttering that so desperately needed to happen....

Sure, you could pull up to the McDonald’s drive-thru for a green shake. But then you might want to pull into the gym to work off those 540 calories and 16 grams of fat packed into a 12-ounce serving. Order the 22-ounce size and you’re looking 840 calories and 24 grams of fat! For those of us watching out waistlines (and really, who isn’t?), no need to turn green with envy; we’ve got you covered....

Not only are many of the treatments themselves confusing—Wait, my chi does what to where?—but it can be hard to discern what works and what doesn’t, too. “Many people still assume that there’s very little scientific evidence regarding complimentary and alternative medicine therapies,” says Daniel Friedland, MD, who specializes in internal medicine and is co-creator of SpaEvidence.com, a website that links dozens of spa/wellness therapies with hard scientific evidence. Yet the studies speak for themselves: Many of these approaches can have an enormous positive impact on your health and wellbeing....

Concealer That Firms Photo by Getty Images To tighten skin under your eyes, try concealer with peptides, like Covergirl + Olay Eye Rehab Concealer ($12, ulta.com) or Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer ($28, sephora.com). Peptides, the building blocks of proteins, make lines less prominent in two ways: by signaling cells to produce more collagen and by helping facial muscles relax. That’s why they make sense in concealers....

I’d been an athlete since high school, when I first realized that running did a lot more than keep me in shape. It gave me confidence, strength, and time to think, and nothing made me happier than signing up for a long-distance race and working to beat my best time. As a young adult, I had even competed in local fitness competitions. Looking fit and healthy was my world. And while being a mom was my top priority, with each pound I gained, I felt my identity—and my happiness—slipping away....

How flip-flops wreck your body They may be your favorite things to slip on as soon as the weather gets warm, but flip-flops aren’t as foot-friendly as you might think. Here’s why: Scrunch time. Only a thin strap and your bunched toes keep flip-flops from coming off. That constant grip makes it impossible for your arch to flex normally, which in turn compromises the way your forefoot pushes off when you step forward....

(You don’t need ridiculously hard workouts to get the body you want. Tighten your tummy and tone every inch in just minutes a day with these exclusive routines from Prevention’s Flat Belly Barre!) Metabolic slowdown is a real thing. It’s due to your muscle mass declining—by up to 8% each decade after age 30 and up to 10% after the big 5-0. “You lose about a half pound of lean muscle every year in your 30s and 40s, and once you hit your 50s, you lose roughly a pound a year,” says Wayne Westcott, an exercise physiologist at Quincy College in Boston....

Sea salt isn’t always saltier than table salt. Since the minerals remain, its flavor depends on which body of water it’s drawn from. Often, it has a milder and more nuanced taste. It’s frequently sold flaked, so a little goes a long way. Sprinkle it onto food for a high-impact salty crunch (like in this delicious baked potato recipe). Kosher salt is sold in larger crystals and is less processed than table salt....

Forget blizzard warnings. Winter should come with another weather advisory—rough beauty conditions ahead. The main culprits are cold air, which holds less moisture than warm air, and low humidity and central heating, which make already dry hair and skin even drier. But cold weather also hits harder as you get older, when the production of skin’s natural moisturizers dips with age, says Doris Day, MD, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center....

Try L’Oreal Paris HIP Color Truth Eyeliner Pencil in Navy ($8; drugstores), Physicians Formula Organic Wear Eyeliner in Black Olive ($8; drugstores), or Bobbi Brown Creamy Eye Pencil in Dusk ($20; bobbibrowncosmetics.com). Bobbi Brown is a celebrity makeup artist, CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, and the author of five beauty books.

BRUSH BASICS The only four you need: Concealer brush A good one has firm, tapered bristles, making it easy to apply concealer in hard-to-reach areas such as the inner corner of your eye and along the lash line. Use this brush to spot-apply cover-up on blemishes and scars. 2. Blush brush If your blush compact comes with a brush, toss it in the garbage. It’s too short and narrow and will give you only streaky blotches of color....

Were you born to be a Democrat, or do you always cast a ballot for the Republican Party? There might soon be an odd new way to find out—and one that has nothing to do with your perspective on the economy. A quick brain scan seems to reveal a person’s political affiliation with impressive accuracy, finds new research. The study, from the University of Exeter and the University of California, San Diego, evaluated the brain activity of 82 subjects engaged in gambling games....

For Karen Liptrap, 40, it wasn’t until she broke 4 miles per hour that her body started to respond and burn more calories. “My tush used to hang,” says the mother of three from Oakville, Ontario, who started walking 4 years ago. “Now it’s firm, and my legs are strong and toned.” (Got 10 minutes? Then you’ve got time to lose the weight for good with Prevention’s new 10-minute workouts and 10-minute meals....