Health May 2021

Welcome to our Beauty Issue, a celebration of what makes us look great and feel healthy and confident. You’ll find 62 of those things in “Best of the Year” (page 21), our annual Beauty Awards. Our beauty editors and their team of experts picked winners from the hundreds of new products they try—so you can go straight to the ones that are most effective for your particular concerns. Speaking of experts, we tapped nine dermatologists (who are also moms!) and asked them to reveal their own skin-care secrets (see “Family Practice,” page 86)—and they delivered in a big way. I’m fascinated by their routines and the wisdoms they are handing down to their kids, and hope you are, too. Here’s to Mother’s Day, spring, and our beautiful selves. amy.b.conway HAPPINESS BY THE BUNCH Fresh…

A NEW SPIN Meet the e-bike, the latest electric ride to revamp your morning commute or weekend trip to the trails. Use it as a regular bicycle and pedal to your destination without assist, or opt for a power boost (yes, please!) as you glide. Both have benefits, per a 2019 study published in PLOS One, which found that older e-bike riders saw just as much improvement in cognition and mental health as traditional cyclists. Your pick of e-bike depends on how you want to use it (think: a sturdier option for mountain biking, or a cruiser for casual trips around town). Get ready to ride. Best in Class There are three different classes of e-bikes on the market, explains Wakefield Gregg, founder of the eBike Store in Portland, Oregon. Class 1 and…

Skin GLOW-BOOSTING CLEANSER Garnier Green Labs Pinea-C Brightening Gel Wash ($10; at mass retailers) Using a gritty scrub daily isn’t always the right way to glow. Instead, wake up dull skin with a brightening boost of vitamin C and pineapple extract in this exfoliating cleanser that smooths texture and evens tone so you can rise and shine. SENSITIVE-SKIN CLEANSER Naturopathica Marshmallow & Probiotic Sensitivity Soothing Cream Cleanser ($64; naturopathica.com) Are you one of the more than 60 percent of women with sensitive skin? Baby it with this cleansing cream that whisks away dirt—a real maskne MVP. Rub onto damp skin, massage, rinse, and rejoice. TONER Kiehl’s Daily Refining Milk-Peel Toner ($45; kiehls.com) If your skin is in need of a reset sans irritation, this is for you. Swipe this almond-milk-laced liquid over your face after cleansing to break down dead skin and…

GLORIA LUCAS The Stereotype Smasher Founder of Nalgona Positivity Pride (nalgonapositivitypride.com) I WAS 10 YEARS OLD when I started binge eating. It’s the most common eating disorder, and it’s prevalent in marginalized communities of color. But I didn’t understand that bingeing was a disorder. I saw it as a character flaw, not a health issue. I felt so much shame—not only for the way I ate but also for my weight. American culture prioritizes being skinny at any cost. That mindset instills self-hatred in people with larger bodies. I learned to hate myself. At 17, I developed bulimia. I knew that was an eating disorder because I saw it on TV. But it didn’t occur to me to get treatment at first, because every show I’d seen featured white girls with family and medical…

LET’S SAY A BLOOD TEST showed that your bad cholesterol (or LDL) is high—and your doctor recommended a statin, a widely prescribed class of drugs that blocks a substance your body needs to produce cholesterol. Makes sense, right? Well, it’s complicated. The benefits of statins for women in midlife are less clear than they are for men, and the risk of side effects may be higher. That doesn’t mean you should never use a statin. But it’s important to understand the issues first—and the circumstances in which the drug is most likely to help you. Statins are used to lower cholesterol—but the end goal of treatment is to prevent heart disease and the catastrophic health problems related to it, like heart attacks and strokes. So the question is: If you have high…

WATCH THIS! Click here to see a step-by-step video of this workout. IF SITTING AT A DESK or reclining on the couch for hours a day has you feeling sore in your neck, back, or hips, put this workout on your calendar, stat! The mix of moves created by Rena Eleázer, DPT, CSCS, sports physical therapist and cofounder and co-owner of Match Fit Performance in New York City, will help you stand (and sit) taller and stronger. The routine is designed to strengthen spots that are weakened by a hunched-over, seated posture, and stretches out the areas that feel tight (you know the ones!). But you’ll also be improving stability and mobility for when you do get up from that chair, Eleázer says. “This program can help with posture and getting strong in all…