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E10: The Lowdown on your Backsideđ
Plus: Exercise snacks, hibiscus tea Rx, digital detox
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Happy June!
Today, some time travel: Rewind to the summer of your childhood. Coppertone applied, crew assembledâŚnow you hear the sound of the ice cream truck. Grab your piggy bank money and get in line butâŚwhat are you ordering?
Let us know your favorite ice cream truck treat by hitting reply!
(Jill: Strawberry shortcake crunch bar; Nicole: Lemon or watermelon Italian ice.)
Letâs get to todayâs diet of healthy, snackable news: as always, The Skinny provides valuable (and entertaining) need-to-know items to improve your mood/mind/mojo. What weâre covering today:
Hibiscus tea: your chic new summer companion
Pretend youâre French with two fresh, flavorful (and très simple) homemade vinaigrettes
Our favorite kind of snack is the âexercise snackâ
Why bidet sales are on the rise (and why you need one)
Beverage report: Poppi âprebioticâ soda hit with lawsuit, Lionel Messi launches MĂĄs+ hydration drink
If you have friends who would love The Skinny or some of this weekâs edition, you can share the love by forwarding this email. And if someone already in the know sent this, you can subscribe here.
A cup a day
Itâs time for hibiscus tea
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Image by Jbigallery for Pexels
The Skinny: With its stylish red hue and sweet flavor, weâre placing all bets on hibiscus tea this summer. Is there anything it canât do? Per the Cleveland Clinic, here are seven benefits to drinking it everyday, as explained by a dietician.
Antioxidants
Fights inflammation
Lowers blood pressure
Lowers cholesterol
Promotes weight loss
Fights bacteria
Supports liver health
Our non-scientific reasons we say to drink it everyday: itâs delicious, has zero calories, could help with weight loss/maintenance (there is an entire book devoted to tea and weight loss) and is aesthetically pleasing.
That being said, swap your soda for tea and you wonât regret it! Look to Queen Elizabeth, who made it to 96, and reportedly drank two cuppa a day. Or the fact that tea is full of flavonoids (antioxidants), which are compounds that help fight off inflammation. Further reading and inspiration comes, as always, from a great Reddit thread sharing: âwhy does tea make me feel so goodâ?
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Hibiscus Tea Time in Telluride
Our commitment? Enjoy Hibiscus Tea every day this summer. To try it with us, these are our faves (and you can learn how to make iced tea three ways here):
Stash Raspberry Hibisucs (great hot or cold), and helps with congestion
Leaves of Leisure Sun Soaked Tea (literally tastes like summer in a glass)
PS: The tip-off for this item came from a reader, as this week we have been recovering from a cold that felt like the plague. Michael P., from Florida, directed us to try hibiscus tea to clear out the lungs. We appreciate you! And if anyone has any tips/hacks/news/ideas for us, please reply to this emailâŚwe would love to hear them all.
Crème de la Skinny
The most nutritious snack of all
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Photo by Michael DeMoya on Unsplash
Exercise snacksâa concept we canât stop eating up. Weâve reported on this before, but as they continue to be in the news and supported by studies (âcan extend your life for two yearsâ), this is a no-brainer. The idea is simple: short bursts of activity/working out throughout the day are as beneficial, if not more, than your traditional 30-45 minute workout. With routines that are only one minute long for weight loss, find one that works for you and thatâs itâŚno more excuses.
Bums, butts & bidets
The lowdown on your backside
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Photo by Victorino for Pexels
The Skinny: The year was 2019 (?), and, after reading about âperineum sunningâ (aka, exposing your butt to sunlight for supposed wellness benefits), we spent the whole night cry-laughing about it. That âtrendâ seemed to die not long after, perhaps officially with an Allure editor stating quite simply: âI am begging you to stop tanning your taint.â
But now weâre hearing about a renewed interest in, and concern for, the beauty and wellness of your butthole. Weâve had our eye on this since earlier this year, when one of our favorite newsletter writers (from âThe Review of Beautyâ) predicted âan emergence of asshole careâ in 2024. And it turns out, her crystal ball was spot on. So when we saw this news ahem, spreading wider on the internet, we had to take another look.
âBum-Bum Creamâ hype continues to spread
Sol de Janieroââs hero product, Brazilian Bum Bum Cream, absolutely killed it in prestige and the product was even named âthe biggest-ever seller in body careâ at Sephora. Itâs easy to see why: starting with the name, but from the packaging to the scent and overall vibe, the brand lives and breathes its roots in Brazilian culture. It is a joy to use. Do you feel its âfirmingâ effects after use? Kind of, yes. Or at least you think you do. Doesnât matter. Sold.
Going, going, goneâŚyour butt
Known as âghost assâ or âOzempic butt,â a disappearing backside is a downside for some semaglutide injections usersâwho are figuring out how to approach the problem in time for beach season.
If you can relate, here are 9 great tips to keep your booty an actual booty.
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Spotted in Brooklyn
Specialty cleansing âfor your b-holeâ
You didnât hear it from us, but hereâs the news straight from the mouth of the Megababe founder, who launched âBidet Barâ earlier this year. Like our POV on âwhole bodyâ deodorant, you can file under: Donât buy, save your $$.
The bidets of our lives
Are Americans finally ready to embrace the bidet? Mysterious to most Americans, but beloved by Europeans, have we finally âdiscovered the brilliance of the bidet?â That article was straight from pandemic times, where purchases were led by toilet paper shortages, but we learned that Americans are still flush with excitement over bidets today because they can reduce reliance on toilet paper.
If youâre worried that a bidet would replace wasted paper resources with wasted waterâŚthis Brondell blog post wipes that notion cleanâin fact, 473 billion gallons of water are used annually for toilet paper production (way more H2O than âeven the most devoted bidet enthusiastâ could dream of using).
For the down and dirty, we tapped our source at Brondell, President Steve Scheer. Brondell makes bidets ranging from a simple toilet attachment (for bidet noobs) to the more luxe Swash S1200-RW (for those who want self-cleaning nozzles and a toilet cool enough to potentially rival those found in Japan).
Steve also let us in on the biggest mistake new usersâ face: Not having a travel bidet â he claims they are a lifesaver while on the road and âaway from your bidet.â
In terms of whatâs new for bidets, the answer isâŚa lot, but mostly âan eye towards design, slimmer profiles,â and Brondell also has a fully integrated bidet/toilet combo (the Brondell Sutro) in the works. We can also look forward to âfully featured seatsâ that include premium functions like deodorizing and nozzle adjustments.
The bottom line: Stop flushing natural resources (184 BILLION rolls of toilet paper are used annually, worldwide) down the toilet and check out the $30 SimpleSpa thinline, which is super easy to install (about 15-20 minutes).
Once you get used to washing with water there literally is no going back to dry scratchy toilet paper. Bidets are more hygienic, more eco-friendly, and simply more comfortable to use.
Pantry raid
Yes, you can [make your own salad dressing]
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Photo by the Lazy Artist Gallery for Pexels
The Skinny: Taking a bold stand here: Homemade salad dressing is easier than you think, and made with things you probably already have on hand. These two vinaigrette recipes are 14 years old for Jill and still going strong.
Definitively, how to make a vinaigrette for your salad.
Hot tip: Use an old jam jar (or an empty salad dressing bottle) and shake the sh--t out of it to emulsify. Or, if you need a dedicated kitchen implement, we own two of these guys and love them.
You can change up the acid, the fat, the spices (again, we go back to the book Salt Fat Acid Heat), but the basics are here, and these tips are a guaranteed game changer heading into âSalad Seasonâ
Try this, and we guarantee youâll stop buying grocery store varieties (unless itâs âGarlic Expressionsâ...for that, we make an exception).
Finally, we present cottage cheese once again, which makes our favorite protein-packed Homemade Ranch Dressing.
A container of cottage cheese, a spoonful of sour cream or greek yogurt, a package of HVR Dip Ranch, and a little milk to let it blend, makes the BEST (and much healthier) ranch dressing.
OHM, THERE'S MORE
This weekâs newsfeed
If âsourdough immersion in the Cotswaldsâ grabs your attention, you may be a great candidate for culinary travel.
News about Lionel Messiâs hydration drink dropped yesterday, and some are saying it looks a little too familiar to influencer-led brand Prime, which is reported to be on the decline. We havenât tried, but like that Mas+ has low sugar and, as lovers of the game, we also appreciate the flavor names based on his accomplishments.
Is it better to drink cold or warm water? The jury is still out, but honestly, do we care? Water = good.
We hear thereâs a new, slimmer iPhone on the horizon (yes, itâs still $1200) but alsoâŚthis paradoxical âLight Phone,â which uses technology that enables you to embrace your inner luddite. It is âdesigned to be used as little as possibleâ (spoiler: not a flip phone) and doesnât allow social media apps, email or anything else âanxiety inducing.â
Has the âprebiotic sodaâ bubble already popped? Poppi, the trendy soda brand with a âgut healthyâ positioning, is facing a lawsuit. In question are its marketing claims to promote gut health, and we kind of saw this wave comingâas reported in Edition 4: 4/24âbut truly foreseen by journalist (and newsletter-writer) Rina Raphael in this piece, âWhy Science-Washing is Surging in Wellness.â
Do we all scream for ice cream? In terms of the âstate of the ice cream truckâ in 2024, theyâve really leveled up, and this story outlines some of the âcoolestâ in the U.S.
*If you purchase something linked in The Skinny, we may get an affiliate commissionâbut at no additional cost to you.
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