After some time spent volunteering on an organic farm, a summer interning in the health and wellness space, and a whole lot of time spent reading and researching as a result, what I was hearing was accelerated aging, increased risk of cancer, poor circulation, and cognitive impairment as a few of the not-so-sweet effects of sugar. I figured I’d cut back on it for a week, maybe two, and see if there was any validity to what sounded at the time like pretty extreme health claims....

You probably don’t know the pH. As a little chemistry lesson, everything has a pH level that ranges from 0 to 14. When the pH is neutral, that means it’s right in the middle at 7; it’s acidic when it’s below that, and when it’s alkaline when it’s above. Your scalp, like the rest of your skin, runs at about 5.5. This is all important because your skin’s pH is and can be affected by the products you are putting on it....

There’s the 5:2 model (eat normal calories five days a week and only 500 calories the other two days); alternate-day fasting (one day you eat normally, the next you eat very little); OMAD (as in “one meal a day”); and then there’s 16:8 fasting, which limits food to an eight-hour eating window each day. This eating schedule comes with all the benefits of other fasting schedules (plus, recent research finds that it may lower blood pressure)....

South Carolina–based psychotherapist Markesha Miller, Ph.D., also points to cognitive dissonance, our brain’s ability to hold two opposing thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes simultaneously. For instance, believing pollution and natural land degradation are bad yet still driving an SUV or purchasing products made with palm oil. “If people pretend that the problem does not exist, then they don’t have to face the uncomfortable emotions or actions that may come with acknowledging it....

In short: There’s a lot to tackle here. So your first step is to identify what might be causing your skin tone concerns and treat that underlying cause (we explain several treatments below). The good news is that many of these help tend to a variety of issues; simply find a remedy (or remedies) that work for your needs. Chemical exfoliation usually involves two of the major kinds of acids, alpha and beta hydroxy acids....

Enter, the holy grail of lip care: Here, we’ve rounded up every single expert tip for how to get soft lips (finally!)—tried and tested. My baby-smooth pout and I can personally attest to each and every pointer: In terms of hydrating ingredients to swipe on, look for emollients that build up the skin barrier, such as fatty acids, butters, and oils. Humectants are great, but you might not want to use them as your sole moisturizer: “Lip balms that contain only humectant ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin, can actually make lips more dry because they attract moisture, and if the air is very low in humidity, then they can pull moisture out of the skin, and then the moisture evaporates away,” board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M....

A discrepancy in desire is normal, but sometimes couples will struggle with conflict or avoidance around sex if they don’t manage that difference together. Sexless marriage, generally defined as having sex fewer than 10 times a year, is the extreme result of difficulty navigating sexual interest between two people. In a relationship where at least one person is unhappy with the lack of sex, there are many steps you can take to address undesired sexlessness within the marriage first before turning to divorce....