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- Have you tried the trending 3-2-8 workout?
Have you tried the trending 3-2-8 workout?
Plus an effective 5-step skincare routine, are you feeling lucky, and more.
Issue 21 | August 21, 2024
Hi Everyone,
At just 15 years old, Heman Bekele became TIME’s 2024 ‘Kid of the Year’ by creating a therapeutic soap that prevents early-stage skin cancer.
“I just came up with an idea,” he tells TIME. “I worked towards that idea, and I was able to bring it to life.”
🧼 The soap is infused with imiquimod (prescription cream for basal cell skin cancer), which is combined with a lipid-based nanoparticle to prevent the drug from washing away with the soap.
In today’s issue:
The perfect workout trending on social media.
The failsafe skincare guide.
You can be lucky.
And more.
We love to hear from you—our community. Please share your feedback, stories, questions, testimonials, ideas, and more with us at [email protected].
TRIVIA
🥕 Carrots are rich in carotenoids, the fat-soluble nutrients that give them their vibrant orange color—but is the name ‘carrot’ derived from ‘carotenoid’?
👁️🗨️ SPOTLIGHT
Viral 3-2-8 workout is effective way to boost your fitness routine
Pilates + barre + strength training = great workout.
The TikTok-viral 3-2-8 workout is a structured workout plan that can help you reach your fitness goals.
The workout includes weekly strength and cardio sessions, which are known to promote healthy aging, burn fat, and protect against disease.
The workout structure:
3 strength training workouts per week.
2 low-impact Pilates or barre workouts per week.
8,000 steps per day.
Created by barre and pilates instructor Natalie Rose (@natalieroseuk), this routine could work for people of all ages, as it’s ‘very safe’ when done with proper form and safe progression, says Marsha Lindsay (Pilates by Marsha), founder of Nobu Pilates, in an article with Women’s Health.
LIVE MORE
🧠 High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is proven to have lasting benefits on memory and brain volume in older adults.
🪑 Sit back and workout. A chair workout uses a chair to support low-impact seated or standing full-body moves.
🤯 Even bad workouts can be good for you.
SKIN HEALTH
Five products for flawless skin
The best skincare routine does not need to be the most complex.
You only need five products to curate an effective skincare routine that keeps your skin supple and ageless, according to expert dermatologists in an article in TIME.
Morning:
Cleanser face wash. (Bonus: Pat skin softly to dry.)
Vitamin C serum.
Moisturizer.
Sunscreen.
Evening
Cleanser face wash (as soon as you get home—you don’t have to wait until bedtime).
Retinoid before bed (apply on dry skin).
Moisturize.
🫧 Why does this routine work? 🫧
Cleansing with a gentle product for 60 seconds removes impurities, sweat, makeup, and dead skin cells.
Just don’t go for squeaky clean skin—this causes dryness and pH imbalance.
Moisturizer repairs the skin barrier, says dermatologist and Columbia professor Leah Ansell.
It also prevents aging skin from losing too much water and becoming dry.
Vitamin C protects skin from skin-aging free radicals caused by UV ray exposure from the sun.
Look for a product that contains vitamin E—the duo is more effective against aging, says cosmetic and clinical dermatology Jessica Wu.
Sunscreen is useful for anti-aging because the sun is a primary driver of skin aging.
Look for a broad-spectrum 30-50 SPF, and don’t forget to reapply after swimming or sweating.
Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives that stimulate collagen production and remove dead skin cell layers, Wu said.
The product can be sensitizing and not advised for pregnant women. Experts recommend consulting a dermatologist to find the best fit for your skin.
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
Vegan diet may give you a younger heart
A vegan diet is linked to slower biological aging and a younger heart, according to results from an 8-week study comparing the effects of a healthy vegan diet versus a healthy omnivorous diet in identical twins.
The study was led by nutritionist Chris Gardner, who was also featured on the affiliated Netflix series You Are What You Eat.
After just 8 weeks, participants on a healthy vegan diet had a lower biological age. Healthy omnivores did not.
The vegan twins also had biologically younger hearts, livers, inflammatory systems, and metabolic systems.
“There was a 10% to 15% drop in LDL cholesterol, a 25% drop in insulin, and a 3% drop in body weight in just eight weeks, all by eating real food without animal products,” Gardner told CNN.
Other stories:
Your morals shift with the seasons—so does anxiety.
Special antioxidants in seaweed could prevent Parkinson’s disease.
Got magnesium? A magnesium-rich diet prevents chronic degenerative disorders.
New drug protects mice against Alzheimer’s disease caused by air pollution.
Surprising health risks of air pollution
Respiratory infection
Heart disease
Stroke
Cognitive impairment
Dementia
Stillbirth
Diabetes
STRANGE SCIENCE
What a high school yearbook photo may say about longevity
A person’s high school yearbook photo can hint at their overall lifespan, according to results from a cohort study published in Social Science & Medicine.
Attractiveness and lifespan. Those who scored lowest on the attractiveness scale lived shorter lives than people with average or attractive yearbook photos.
This does NOT mean attractive people are healthier. Rather, there may be an “an unattractive penalty,” says study author Connor M. Sheehan, an ASU associate professor, in an interview with the New York Post.
“These findings really stress more equitable treatment of people, regardless of their looks,” Sheehan said.
LONG-LEVITY
Make your own luck
It’s not a select gift for the few “lucky” people.
You’re in luck. You can become more lucky, according to psychologists. Here’s how.
Be open-minded. It’s easier to find opportunities if you are open-minded with your definition of opportunity and maintain a larger network of friends and people.
Look for serendipitous moments. Studies show that considering yourself “lucky” increases the likelihood of having more chances to be lucky, because you expect it.
Don’s be conscientious. DON’T always stick to doing what you are “supposed to do,” or assume there’s only one way to achieve success.
Say YES to opportunities, when intuition says it’s right. If anxiety is the only thing holding you back, rephrase limiting beliefs to “I’d like to give this a try,” or ask yourself “Is this something I’d regret in the future?”
Be open to failure, because it could happen. The important thing is to not let failure stop you from going after new opportunities anyways. Use failure to create resiliency.
Think lucky. This one is all growth mindset. Approach things with possibility.
TRIVIA ANSWER
🥕 No—carotenoids were actually identified after carrots had already been named. The name carrot is derived from carotte (french), which is derived from the Latin word carota.
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