The bottom line is: you need your fair share of these high-profile fats in order to feel your best.* If that’s the extent of your knowledge about omega-3s, don’t sweat it; you’ve come to the right place. Consider this your one-stop guide to all things omega-3s, from what they really are and what the difference between EPA and DHA is to why they’re so important for your body and how to get more of them (because, nope, eating fish isn’t your only option)....

On that note, you probably use this chemical more often than you think. About 23.9% of personal products contain phenoxyethanol1, so it’s a pretty common preservative. It’s likely in most of your products, from leave-on cosmetics (like lipsticks) to rinse-off formulas (like cleansers). And you’re probably about to see a lot more of it, too. With the increasing popularity of paraben-free products, many skin care brands have used phenoxyethanol in place of parabens....

When we think about donating, we think of the charity shop. Actually, we tend to think of the nearest or most convenient charity shop—but different stores will take different items, so there’s no need to limit ourselves to one. Donations don’t need to be limited to charity shops, either. We can give items away to community groups, organizations, and neighbors—and they’ll often take things charity shops might not. You’ll be surprised what it’s possible to give a new home....

Probiotic supplements contain healthy bacteria to support the microbiome, a collection of trillions of bacteria that live in our gut. “Think of probiotics as your little helpers that restore order and help maintain harmony in your gut ecosystem,” Vincent Pedre, M.D. told mindbodygreen. The microbiome is intricately connected with digestive health and the immune system. In fact 70 to 80 percent of the immune system lives in the gut1. Scientists believe that the immune system and the bacteria that live in the gut co-evolved2 to communicate and support one another....

See, the more we learn about our skin microbiome, the more we come to understand just how important it is, just how badly we’ve been treating it, what that means for our bodies—and, perhaps most urgently, what we can do to restore it. Sometimes it’s called biome-friendly skin care, microbiome skin care, microflora skin care, or a number of other phrases—but it’s all the same category. Biotic skin care is the broad term in which we categorize products infused with biome-specific ingredients, like pre-, pro-, and postbiotics....

When the founder of Outdoor Afro, a nonprofit that facilitates outdoor experiences for Black Americans, started considering the role that her company could play in the historic moment, she had a revelation of sorts: “I realized we were standing on the shoulders of the Black tradition and [thought of] the lyrics of the song about laying our burdens down by the riverside,” Mapp says on a call with mbg. “That’s the moment I really understood that my work was about healing....

Just as any other organ dysfunction would have implications for your overall health, the skin isn’t any different. And while we’ve commercialized products, devices, and treatments—skin care starts with barrier care. “This layer is made up of exfoliating skin cells that turn over every 28 days. This skin layer has channels that allow water to be absorbed and evaporated and has hydrating ingredients like ceramides, free fatty acid, and linoleic acid, to maintain a healthy skin barrier that protects us from external pollution, sun damage, and pathogens like bacteria, yeast, and viruses,” she adds....