The Perfect Diet for Your Personality Type

Assess yourself

The number one rule of dieting: No one size fits all. “I tell people to stay in their own lane. We’re trying to compare ourselves to others, but when you find out what works for you, you cruise along,” says Susan Albers, PhD, author of 50 More Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food. Don’t automatically assume that what worked for your sister, coworker, or friend is going to work for you. Go for the plan that meshes best with your personality, likes and dislikes, and lifestyle. That’s just one of the 15 worst weight-loss tips that docs wish you would stop following. See if you recognize yourself in one of these common dieting personality types:

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8 Silent Ways E-cigarettes Harm Your Body

What are e-cigarettes?

E-cigarettes, also known as vaporizers, are battery-powered devices that heat up a mixture of nicotine, a flavoring, and a liquid—usually propylene glycol or glycerol—into a vapor for users to inhale. Ever since they debuted on the market in the early 2000s, e-cigarettes have been widely marketed as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, since vaping does not involve burning and smoking tobacco but still delivers a nicotine rush. However, recent research shows that many of the health problems traditional cigarette smokers face persist with e-cigarettes, due to the devices’ nicotine content and other chemicals in the liquid. In May, the FDA extended its regulation of tobacco products to include e-cigarettes, in an attempt to control what substances go into the often mysterious liquid and to keep the devices out of the hands of minors. But even with these regulations, using e-cigarettes can still cause some serious complications to your health. Science says this strategy is the best way to quit smoking.

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Boils, Cysts, Ingrown Hairs, and 11 Other Skin Mysteries Explained

Is it a keloid?

Keloids occur when scar tissue grows excessively, explains Gary Goldenberg, MD, a dermatologist and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. They often form around a wound or incision, but they may appear after a bad bout of acne. “Keloids are red, raised and can be itchy or painful,” he says. They’re more common in darker skin and often show up on the ears, chest, face or back. Many different treatments work alone or together to improve keloid scarring including steroid injections to flatten the scar, cryosurgery to freeze the scar tissue so it sloughs off, laser resurfacing, and surgery, he says. “You do need realistic expectations about how much keloid scarring can be improved with any treatment.” Learn some more surprising reasons you’re having skin problems.

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10 Medical Reasons You’re Hairier Than You Want to Be

You have a hormone imbalance

Up to 8 percent of women have hirsutism, which is hair growth in a typical male pattern. This means you can get hair where you don’t want it, like your face, belly, thighs, or butt. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, about half of cases are caused by high levels of male sex hormones or “androgens,” like testosterone. A frequent culprit is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). “Women with PCOS usually have excessive growth of facial or body hair because the condition produces excessive amounts of androgens,” says Ghasak Amer Mahmood, MD, an endocrinologist at PIH Health in Whittier, California. So how to get rid of body hair? “This commonly improves with treatment, which includes medications to help regulate the function of the ovaries and reduce the amount of androgens they secrete,” Dr. Mahmood says. The first line of treatment is usually the birth control pill; if that doesn’t work, other anti-androgen medications are available—although you shouldn’t take them if you are trying to get pregnant, as they can cause birth defects. These are the other clear signs you have a hormonal imbalance.

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Why Pimples Keep Showing Up in the Same Place

If you can predict the location of your next zit as accurately as your next period cycle, you may be a victim of the “pimple pattern phenomenon.” Although you may be cursing the laws of nature for allowing pimples to keep rearing up like a bad Tinder date, it’s actually our own habits that end up being the main cause. We spoke with Alain Michon, MD. cosmetic physician and Medical Director at the Ottawa Skin Clinic, to find out why you might be dealing with continuous acne breakouts—and how you can stop them.

Using the wrong makeup

The price tag on makeup might not always matter, but ingredients definitely do. “Comedogenic makeup causes blockages in your pores and can result in acne breakouts from blackheads,” says Dr. Michon. “If a specific area of your skin is constantly breaking out, check the makeup label to see if it might be the culprit. Ideally, all of your makeup products should be non-comedogenic.” (These are the beauty products you should always splurge on.)

Hair products

If your acne is concentrated on your forehead, blame your hair-styling routine. Acne is common on the forehead, and hair products, including hair spray and hair oils, can definitely be to blame. “These products aren’t optimized for skin  care, and the ingredients can cause breakouts,” says Dr. Michon. Do your best to avoid getting these products on your skin.

Applying makeup roughly

Acne mechanica can be :triggered by excess heat, pressure, friction or rubbing of the skin.” According to Dr. Michon. “We see this most often near the eyes as eye shadow tends to be applied more vigorously than other products. Simply change your method, and your skin should clear up in no time.”

Touching your face

Do you ever catch yourself casually stroking your face or leaning your chin on your hand? You’re not alone—the average person touches her face an average of 3.6 times per hour, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. But this common habit transfers bacteria from your hands to your face, which can lead to breakouts. “The more often you touch a specific area of your face, the more likely you are to expose the area to bacteria and oils,” notes Dr. Michon. “This is especially problematic if you eat greasy foods often and touch your ear or chin without washing your hands thoroughly after eating.” Read on for the other parts of your body you should never touch.

Picking and popping pimples

Yes, the pimple popping high feels pretty freaking great. There’s no feeling that replicates the joy of getting rid of those suckers once and for all, but “once and for all” might be more temporary than it seems. “Although popping your pimples is a seemingly quick fix, doing so can expose the pores near the original zit to its bacteria,” Dr. Michon says. “This creates a cycle that keeps acne occurring in the same area. Even if you wash the area immediately after popping, it can still cause more pimples.” Find out the dermatologist-approved way to pop a pimple.

Hormones

Sometimes, it’s not you—it’s those pesky hormones. The practice of examining the location of acne on the face to diagnose health issues, known as face mapping, dates back thousands of years to the days of ancient Chinese medicine. Although the technicalities of the method have evolved over time, the core foundation remains the same: by studying where your breakouts lie, you can discover potential health issues inside your body, and find a way to nix both the internal and external issues. Find out what the acne on every part of your body is trying to tell you.

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34 Ways to Survive Your Next Trip to the Hospital

Errors in the hospital

As many as 440,000 Americans die every year from medical errors and infections contracted in the 
hospital. Combined, they are the third-
leading cause of death in the United States.

Your best defense? Take charge of your care as much as possible. Ask lots of questions, take tons of notes, and have a family member or friend there to advocate on your behalf.

“You are part of the care team,” 
says Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, former senior vice president for patient safety and quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. “This is your body, and you have wisdom.”

While some risks are beyond your control, these lifesaving tips will help protect against some of the biggest perils you face in the hospital. Make sure you never do these things when visiting someone in the hospital.

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50 Everyday Habits That Can Make You Look Younger

Smile, wide!

Young, middle-aged, and older individuals studied thousands of photographs and were asked to guess the age of models with various facial expressions. Neutral expressions yielded the most accurate results, and fearful expressions made subjects look older; happy faces were rated as younger than they really were. (Here’s how to smile for better health.)

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Giving Yourself This Label Could Be Ruining Your Sleep

Sleep is a wonderful thing that doesn’t just feel good, but is completely necessary to our overall health. When we’re rested, our physical and mental health thrives. When we don’t get enough sleep, we break down in more ways than one: Bad moods, bad habits, dull skin, poor work performance, and even delirium can all result from too much tossing and turning and not enough dreaming.

Though we all struggle to get a good night’s sleep from time to time, if you start to label yourself an insomniac, you may be making the problem worse.

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Behaviour Research and Therapy, psychologist Kenneth Lichstein calls insomnia more than a sleep disorder, but also a cognitive appraisal disorder. The paper, titled “Insomnia Identity,” examines the difference between the label and the condition. Here the seven different types of insomnia you could have.

Lichstein writes: “There may be many people out there suffering because of their insomnia identity, rather than an actual lack of sleep.”

The paper reviewed 20 studies that measured poor sleep and self-reports of poor sleep, and found that there is very little overlap between the two. One study revealed that people who were poor sleepers didn’t actually define themselves as insomniacs. And because of their lack of labeling, they didn’t experience fatigue or anxiety the following day any more than those who slept much better. Another study found that, despite the fact that poor sleep is typically linked to a 300 to 500 percent higher risk of blood pressure, people who didn’t think of themselves as insomniacs didn’t reveal such an increase.

Meanwhile, the paper found that people who sleep well but consider themselves insomniacs tended to wake up with fatigue, depression, anxiety, and hypertension.

Lichstein’s findings reveal a very intriguing reality: despite sleep being a biological function, you can temporarily trick your brain to either think you’re an insomniac and experience the repercussions, or think you sleep well and spring out of bed each morning. “Worry about poor sleep is a stronger pathogen than poor sleep,” Lichstein says. “Perception creates reality.”

Read on for more secrets sleep doctors want you to know.

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13 Surprising Coconut Oil Uses for Beautiful Hair, Skin, and More

Use coconut oil to remove makeup

Many of the common coconut oil uses are for cosmetic purposes. For example, to remove stubborn eye makeup gently: Dab a little coconut oil on a cotton ball or makeup pad and wipe around your eyes or on skin until clean. Be sure to rinse your face afterward. These are the six natural face cleansers you can make yourself.

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10 Science-Backed Reasons for Sexual Attraction

Symmetry

When you’re describing how good-looking someone is, chances are you don’t say, “She/he is so symmetrical!” But multiple studies have revealed that a person’s “symmetry”—basically, how closely both sides of their face/body match—plays a big part in how attractive we find them. Of course, no one is perfectly symmetrical, because biology isn’t perfect. But the studies showed that, the lower a person’s oxidative stress levels, the higher their symmetry. Oxidative stress refers to imbalance in the body’s level of free radicals.

According to The Independent, “men who were rated as attractive by the women had significantly lower levels of oxidative stress.” Ten measurements were taken of the men to determine their symmetry—things as specific as ear height and finger length. Then they were tested and quizzed for indicators of oxidative stress. “Finally, a group of women were asked to rate images of the men’s bodies and faces for physical attractiveness. Men with more symmetrical bodies had lower levels and were rated as more attractive.” Make sure you know these 12 things sex therapists won’t tell you.

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8 Things Women with Flawless Makeup Always Do

Deep clean your pores

It doesn’t matter how expensive your foundation is or how much you cake on, if your pores are clogged, those spots are bound to stick out. That’s why Youtuber and beauty guru Nikki Phillippi takes the extra step of deep-cleaning her pores. “I take a nice hot bath or shower and exfoliate my skin with a gentle exfoliant,” she says. Phillippi rotates the products she uses, between masks and a chemical exfoliator (like a glycolic acid wash), for the best results. Even if you don’t have fancy products on hand, the steam from the warm water alone can help improve the appearance of your pores. Find out the bad habits that could be clogging your pores.

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