On a lark last winter, our family borrowed a friend’s radon detector to check levels of the radioactive gas inside our Kelowna home. I had heard that radon could be a concern in BC’s Okanagan Valley, but I didn’t really think we’d be impacted. But as soon as we deciphered the strange new units of measurement on the monitor (Becquerels per metre cubed), we realized we had a big problem: our readings ranged from 600 to 2,400. Acceptable numbers in Canada are under 200 Bq/m3, so our house was exposing us to between three and 12 times the acceptable amount of the potentially deadly gas, depending on the day and whether we were in the basement or upstairs.

After some frantic Google searches (such as “radon, deadly?”) and more than a little freaking out—fact: radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer and accounts for 16 percent of lung cancer deaths in Canada annually—we called in a radon mitigation expert. He fixed the problem by sealing our basement crawl space with plastic and venting the gas out of the house.

“We know that houses are being built to meet new energy standards,” says Graeme Cooper, owner of Point-The-Way Radon Services, a radon testing and mitigation company in the Okanagan Valley. “They’re better insulated, but these household contaminants can more readily build up in the home.” A house that’s essentially better-sealed traps the radon. Larger-footprint homes cover more ground (literally) and can bring in more radon from the soil or bedrock.

Since Canadians spend 90 percent of their time indoors, it’s important to ensure that the air inside your sanctuary is as clean as possible. But depending on where your home is located, how it’s built, and what you’re doing inside it, indoor air quality can be compromised.

Radon isn’t the only thing we need to be aware of as we head into winter, says Tara Kahan, an indoor air quality expert and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Analytical Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan. “A lot of pollutants can get up to quite a few times higher indoors than outdoors.”

These are the top five indoor air quality problems, according to the experts—and what to do about them.

(Related: The Worst Canadian Cities for Air Pollution)

Radon

Radon is released from the radioactive decay of uranium, radium and thorium, which are present in soil and bedrock in Canada. All buildings have some amount of radon, but according to 2012 data from Health Canada, seven percent of homes have high levels. (Updated data will be coming out in late 2022.) What’s more, radon can vary from home to home, even in the same neighbourhood, and more data is needed to see what levels are like across Canada. Cooper says that in the Okanagan region, where he is, tests indicate it’s actually closer to one third of homes, but geographic “hot spots” are hard to identify because different regions aren’t being systematically tested and properly compared across Canada.

Health Canada recommends that every house in Canada test for radon. This involves purchasing an Alpha Tracker ($60, alphatracker.ca) and monitoring radon levels over a three-month period to account for seasonal fluctuations—in winter, the warmer air inside a home creates a pressure difference that draws in more radon from the ground, explains Cooper.

Mitigation, which will set you back between $3,000 and $5,000, involves “active depressurization,” which changes the pressure under a home’s foundation, or covering a dirt floor or crawlspace to capture the radon and vent it outside.

It’s a hefty price tag, but for some homeowners, the peace of mind about health effects is worth it. “We know through intensive studies that if someone lives in a household with high radon they have a one in 20 risk of developing lung cancer,” says Cooper. “If they smoke, it goes up to one in three.”

Particulate matter

Combustion from cooking on a gas stove, or even from lighting candles or incense, is a source of particulate matter inside homes. (Most wood-burning fireplaces and woodstoves do not contribute significantly to particulate matter in your indoor air, as long as they’re built with a proper flue, chimney and venting.) Indoor air is also influenced by what’s outside, and can include pollution from traffic, industry or forest fire smoke.

Particulate matter of a certain size (2.5 micrometres or smaller) can get lodged deep in your lungs, which then mount a defence to eject it—causing asthma symptoms. This can also trigger an inflammatory response throughout the body that impacts other organs, including the heart and brain, says Michael Brauer, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine, School of Population and Public Health, at the University of British Columbia.

“Particulate matter seems to impact everything from the birthweight of babies to increasing dementia in elderly people,” says Brauer, who studies air quality and health. “You really want to limit your exposure.”

He suggests lighting candles and incense indoors in moderation, if at all. When cooking, always use the hood fan (one that vents outside is best) and crack a window, weather dependent. To make sure any outdoor air that’s coming inside is as clean as possible, change out furnace and air conditioner filters regularly, and consider upgrading to HEPA filters inside your furnace if possible.

Mould

Mould occurs naturally outdoors, and it’s not uncommon to find it in moist rooms such as bathrooms and basements, says Brauer. In fact, 40 percent of homes probably have some level of mould, as it can thrive indoors if there’s enough moisture.

Mould is linked to respiratory symptoms such as coughing and wheezing, and it can exacerbate asthma, says Brauer. These symptoms may or may not be reversible, depending on the length of exposure.

What people can do is eliminate obvious mould patches, turn on the bathroom fan when showering or bathing and use a dehumidifier to keep humidity below 45 percent in problem rooms. Fix any leaking pipes or appliances, too—it doesn’t take much for mould to take hold. Watch for water stains on the ceiling, or any drywall bubbling or bloating. Buckling hardwood floors near your fridge are also a giveaway for leaks!

Consumer products

“A lot of things that we buy or do can emit VOCs,” says Kahan. “Generally, if you smell something, it’s some kind of organic compound in the air.”

We regularly spray volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air in our homes without giving it any thought, whether that’s spritzing the dog’s smelly bed with Lysol or overusing household cleaners as a pandemic holdover. New furniture or carpet can off-gas for weeks.

But these gasses can have short-term neurological and neuro-behavioural effects—like a experiencing a headache or losing your concentration after breathing in paint fumes, says Brauer. The best solution is to be intentional about product use, and to crack a window when cleaning or cooking, or after that new boxed mattress arrives. Owners of new houses—or newly renovated homes—should be aware that everything from cabinets to new flooring can off-gas for weeks.

Lack of airflow

“Airflow” transformed from new buzzword to common knowledge during the pandemic, when health officials warned that being in spaces with poor ventilation, such as bars or crowded classrooms, increased the risk of contracting COVID-19. But stagnant air in homes is a concern, too, and for reasons outside of COVID, says Justin Liberman, director of operations for Air Quality Canada, an environmental consulting firm.

“We look at CO2, which is effectively a tracer gas for airflow,” says Liberman. “So, more CO2 indicates a lack of airflow.”

The health impacts of high CO2 (or carbon dioxide) levels—feeling tired or sluggish—are usually minor and reversible. But good air circulation is important, since it keeps a fresh supply of oxygen moving through the house. If your furnace doesn’t already have an HRV (heat recovery ventilation system), you might consider getting one. It’s an add-on that brings in more fresh air from outside, says Liberman—but it can set you back $2,000 to $4,000.

Easy indoor air-quality hacks

  • Change furnace and air conditioner filters every three months when appliances are in use, and hire professionals to clean the furnace ducts every few years.
  • Make sure your home’s carbon monoxide (CO) monitors and smoke detectors are working properly.
  • Use bathroom fans when showering and the hood fan when cooking.
  • Consider a portable air filter for rooms you spend a lot of time in, such as a bedroom.

The low-down on air quality monitors

Unless you suspect your home has multiple air quality problems, experts don’t recommend buying an all-in-one monitor for the home. It can be difficult to interpret the data, for one, as air is constantly in flux. What’s more, people tend to become a slave to the monitor, and it can increase anxiety. The one caveat is radon: Experts agree that everyone should purchase a radon monitor to track radon levels over three months.

Next: A Guide to the Best House Plants, According to Science

Two years ago, while I was working late at my desk in a downtown Toronto office tower, I came across an article that continues to haunt me: “Meet Emma, a creepy life-sized doll who represents office workers of the future,” read the headline; below it, an image of a woman with a hunched back, swollen ankles, sallow skin and bloodshot eyes stared back at me. Commissioned by an office furniture company, Emma was created based on data about physical ailments from 3,000 European employees—a life size warning of what largely sedentary staffers might look like in 20 years if nothing changes. I shut my laptop and headed for the subway station: The rest of my work could wait until tomorrow.

I didn’t have the healthiest workday habits before the pandemic—I tended to be overcaffeinated and under-watered, spent 10 to 11 hours at my desk instead of the requisite eight, had an inconsistent exercise routine and a variable sleep schedule, with many a late night spent staring at a screen. But since transitioning to a WFH lifestyle 20 months ago, somehow, it’s gotten even worse. At least in the Before Times, when I commuted to and from my office, walked around it to fill up my water bottle and attend meetings, and left my desk periodically for coffee breaks and lunches, I easily clocked 10,000 steps a day—a number that’s become a benchmark on wearable fitness devices and tracking apps. Neighbouring colleagues provided frequent social intervals, and intermittently during the workday, I’d peer out the large windows to watch the hum of the city go by. Now, in my two-bedroom apartment, I’m lucky if I reach 5,000 steps—that’s usually from a walk or two around the block if I’m diligent enough to take them. My husband, knowing that I’m still spooked by Emma, regularly warns me, as I’m curled over my laptop for eight hours (or often longer): “You’re going to turn into the office worker of the future.”

I’m someone, it seems, who needs the structure of office life to build in bouts of movement and revitalizing breaks that are important for everything from reducing harmful sedentary time to staving off burnout. But, because I’m not heading back to the office anytime soon, I need to make some changes. Turns out, big ones aren’t required.

The Health Benefits of Small Lifestyle Changes

The benefits of micro health habits, anything from engaging in 60 seconds of exercise to taking a few minutes to unplug for your mental health, are gaining traction across health disciplines. Science is proving what feels like common sense: adding in healthy habits where you can, even if miniscule, is better than nothing. “Trying to overhaul your life all in one fell swoop is incredibly hard [and] inconsistent with the realities of life,” says Dr. Lesley Lutes, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan whose areas of research include lifestyle behavioral changes and mental health and well-being. Instead, says Lutes, it’s about our ability to sustain small, meaningful changes.

One small change could be adding what researchers call “exercise snacks” into your day. The term was coined by researcher Monique Francois in a 2014 study to describe one-minute bouts of intense exercise. But Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and bestselling author of The One-Minute Workout: Science Shows a Way to Get Fit That’s Smarter, Faster, Shorter, says the concept of exercise snacks is simply interval training repackaged and rebranded. That approach to working out first gained public attention in the 1950s, when the Canadian military invented a fitness regimen for sedentary air force pilots called 5BX. “The plan, which stands for five basic exercises, eventually spread beyond the military and over 20 million pamphlets were distributed to Canadian households. It’s this idea of getting fit on your own without the need for specialized equipment, in a relatively time-efficient manner,” says Gibala. In our current pandemic circumstances, he says, this type of fitness has resonated once again: “The notion of exercise snacks is quite suited for the times—it’s reminded people of the power of bodyweight-style exercise, of simple things like stair climbing. We don’t need to be fancy to keep fit.”

In a joint study between McMaster and UBC Okanagan published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism in 2018, Gibala and his fellow researchers looked at sedentary young adults who vigorously climbed three flights of stairs, three times a week for six weeks—and they saw a measurable improvement in their fitness. But, before adding three snacks a week, consider where you’re at: “If you’re completely sedentary and out of shape, anything is better than nothing,” says Gibala. “Maybe a single 20-second exercise snack, once a day, a couple of times a week, is going to be beneficial.”

Adding Micro Health Habits to Your Every Day

To set myself up for success, Gibala suggests scheduling the snacks in my calendar. So, I add three into my 9 to 5: at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. When the alert goes off for my first-ever exercise snack, I decide to travel across the room via walking lunges, for a total of 50 seconds. Surprisingly, I am breathless by the end and my legs feel fatigued—but the best part is, I’m not sweaty. And, instead of filling up my coffee cup again, as I’m wont to do mid-morning, I go for a glass of water before returning to my laptop. Snack one, consumed—and I’m already looking forward to the next one.

The Benefits of Microbreaks

While scheduling can be an effective way to work in exercise snacks, the opposite is true for microbreaks, those short, informal respites of self-chosen activities taken voluntarily between your work tasks. Research shows that they result in less stress and fatigue, and increased engagement, happiness and productivity. Sooyeol Kim, an assistant professor at National University Singapore, has been studying the impacts of microbreaks for a decade. He describes them as five- to seven-minute periods away from your work doing anything from getting a snack or coffee to chatting with a colleague, reading an article or watching a video. With three published studies and two more ongoing, he’s found that employees who take frequent microbreaks to relax—by doing such things as stretching, daydreaming or meditating—experience the most benefits. “When you interact with others for microbreak purposes, you spend some psychological energy; and when you read something, it’s cognitively demanding. But with relaxation, you can be temporarily away from work-related tasks and resource expenditure,” says Kim.

For me, the biggest challenge is ensuring my breaks stay micro. While Kim says that picking up your phone to check your Instagram feed can qualify as a microbreak, it’s important to keep it purposeful and brief, rather than a mindless scrolling session (guilty!) that will wind up depleting more energy and resources. “When we see positive or exciting news from our social media, like a close friend got a job or he or she is getting married, that can have a refreshing effect,” he says. I feel microbreaks are going to take a little more work for me to enact with the right balance of both freedom and discipline, but Kim has a suggestion on where to start: when writing a demanding article, for example, if you’re stuck on a sentence, gaze out the window or watch a YouTube clip for five minutes. You’ll return to the work refreshed, and maybe you’ll have generated a new idea.

How to Get Started

While these bite-sized habits are designed for easy implementation, ultimately, they’re about finding what works for you. “There is no one-size-fits-all plan,” says Lutes. She also stresses that changes don’t need to be permanent: maybe you’ll stick with the exercise snacks for a few weeks, she tells me, and then find they’re not for you, and instead you’ll start taking five minutes to do some yoga poses or stand during meetings. “The most powerful thing you can do for your health is to start focusing on being less sedentary,” Lutes says. “A step is a step is a step, and it all adds up to improve your mental health and physical health.”

Looking for inspiration on how to get started? Try these:

Standing sessions
Even if you’re not getting up for a walk or exercise snack, standing is better than sitting. Your Apple Watch or Fitbit will tell you to stand regularly, or there are apps that will do so, like Stand Up! The Work Break Timer. Better yet, upgrade to a height-adjustable standing desk.

Regular sips
No need to chug: research shows that drinking water slowly and steadily throughout the day, and consuming it with meals, is key for optimal hydration—critical for everything from organ functionality to helping improve sleep quality and mood. Try a reminder and tracking app like WaterMinder, or a smart water bottle such as HidrateSpark, which lights up when it’s time for a sip.

Sunshine stops
Make one (or more!) of your microbreaks a five-minute walk around the block, and not only will you get some steps in and clear your head, but you’ll also top up your vitamin D supply (your body needs the nutrient to maintain healthy bones, plus it’s shown to support muscle function and brain cell activity). A vitamin D and UV tracker app like QSun can help ensure you’re safely exposing yourself while soaking up the sunshine vitamin.

Beauty bites
Keep a face mist at hand à la Tata Harper, the green beauty guru who’s known to “snack” on products from her eponymous brand throughout the day, like hydrating floral essence and anti-aging lip treatment. Think of it as a micro midday spa escape.

Language tidbits
Learn words and pick up conversational phrases in everything from French to High Valyrian using a language app like Duolingo for just a few minutes a day. Among many other benefits, research has found that learning a new language in adulthood stimulates neuroplasticity, increasing grey matter in the brain.

Gratitude interludes
Positive psychology research shows that being grateful is linked to greater happiness. Try the Five Minute Journal to get started, which provides daily prompts for snack-sized reflections.

Now that you know how small lifestyle changes can boost your heath, learn why you should reframe your goals

As a Black femme, I’ve been raised to be “the rock” in my relationships and friendships, especially with men and non-Black people. I’ve been told by others that being my friend has changed their lives. But I don’t always feel that the love and care is reciprocated. Sometimes my friendships can become one-sided.

It isn’t something I gave a lot of thought to until I saw this tweet by Christina Brown: “Black women/femmes tap in: How many times have you been in situations where you’ve been the therapist, done emotional labor for others, been told you ‘transformed someone’s life’ without feeling all that reciprocated? And at what age did that start?”

Brown’s sentiment was all too familiar to me. I turned to my best friends, a Black woman and a Black non-binary person, and asked them if they had ever felt as if they offered more care than the other person in their friendships. And the answer was a resounding “yes.” Since we’re seen as “strong Black women,” we are hardly offered the gentleness, emotional labour and maturity that others often appreciate in our friendships.

I spoke with mental health therapist and registered social worker Amma Gyamfowa about this phenomenon, and how Black women and femmes can create better boundaries to avoid one-sided relationships.

(Related: Incredible Black Women Who Are Changing Canadian Health Care)

Have you ever been pigeonholed as the “strong Black woman” in your friendships?

I think a lot of us have been taught in so many different ways, directly and indirectly, to be the strong Black woman. For a long time, I thought being strong was not crying, not showing emotion, but still being able to show up for other people. It’s something that I think I’m consistently learning to unlearn, as well as trying to support other people in their journey of recognizing, “Is this actually really serving me? Is this actually helpful way to, for me to live my life?’”

What do you think of the trope that Black women are always strong or resilient?

The emergence of the “strong Black woman” didn’t come from Black communities and I love the fact that over the last couple of years, [Black women have] been collectively resisting it. For the first time, we’re really seeing this idea—the idea that Black women are always strong and superhuman, that we don’t have emotions, that we can carry anything—we’re seeing that it’s really deeply rooted in anti-Black racism.

I always ask, “What does [this trope] do structurally?” And there’s danger in what that “strong Black woman” trope does to us structurally. For example, it impacts our ability to get health care. In particular, when Black women seek mental health support, they’re often dismissed. Even in our own intimate lives, we don’t get the support that we need, or the care that we need, or we feel like we always have to show up for everybody else. But often, we’re not able to have the space for ourselves.

Do you think the strong Black woman trope promotes good mental health in Black women?

I don’t think that it does. The strong Black woman syndrome, the idea that we can struggle through anything, and we’ll make it through, is not rooted in our humanity. It’s not rooted in the fact that Black women have feelings, that we need to be able to have our experiences heard and validated. That we have needs that we shouldn’t be sacrificing for other people. It doesn’t allow us to get our supports, or have our needs met.

I’ve often heard of Black women being labelled “superhuman.” Do you feel that label dehumanizes us?

I think it makes it seem like we’re indestructible. And if there’s the idea that Black women are indestructible, it means that anything can be tossed to Black women, and they’re going to deal with it because they know how to, and that’s the end of that. It’s forcing us to be strong against things that are oppressing us and are hurting us and are harming us in every facet of our lives—which isn’t fair to us.

Have you ever had people rely on you to be their “therapist,” even before you got your certifications?

I’m somebody who dates men. So, naturally, it happens in my relationships with men. It’s definitely complicated. There’s times where, of course, you want to support your partner. But at the same time, you also need that emotional support and labour to be reciprocated. It can become difficult when that person doesn’t necessarily know how to do that, or always have the capacity to do that, or is unwilling to know how to support you in that emotional sense and regard.

Has anyone ever told you, “You’ve changed my life”? Do you feel the same about those who say that?

There’s been times where there has been that definite mutual support, and the fact that I felt like I could rely on somebody else, I can trust them, and vice versa. And then there’s times where it doesn’t feel reciprocated in the same way. It can feel really depleting. You might put so much energy into trying to support this person, and they don’t do the things that you would do for them. There are times where you begin to think, “what’s the purpose of this relationship? Do I want this relationship?” One of the things I’ve had to really figure out in my relationships is what is reciprocated and looks different? Maybe that person can’t offer me the same exact things I offer them. But is there any value in this relationship? Is it making me feel good? Is it bringing me some sense of joy? Because I think that we can still have valuable relationships, even if they’re not always reciprocated in the same exact ways.

(Related: Why Is It So Hard to Find a Therapist Who Gets Me?)

What effect can one-sided relationships can have on mental health?

You leave relationships or conversations feeling really resentful. There are times where you might be connected to a lot of people, but do you actually feel like you can turn to them for support? No. Then, you might be in crisis, or really struggling and other people have no idea. There’s a real need for us to be able to trust and depend on people we have in our lives.

What are some boundaries you’ve created that ensures that you’re not always the strong Black woman doing the emotional labour?

For my friends, one of the things that we do is we check in. Asking, “Do you have the capacity to talk about something that’s a bit deep right now?” That has been helpful. One of the things that we need to be able to do is to make sure that person that you’re talking to is good [to talk as well]. But also, if you do have something that you want to share that’s difficult, that you’re getting consent from the person you want to talk to, to share something heavy. Something that’s also been really important is allowing my expectations to align with people’s actions. I really try to meet people where they are so that I’m not doing excessive emotional labour when I don’t need to.

How can Black women take care of themselves in a world that expects us to be strong and whole all the time?

One of the things that I think is really important for people to know is that we don’t need to be in crisis before we get the support that we need. Giving yourself permission to get help and support in whatever way that looks like is important. And also letting yourself know that you cannot be the saviour all the time. Sometimes that distracts us from really caring for ourselves. So really think about how you want to prioritize yourself, and remind yourself that that’s not selfish.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Next: The Forces That Shape Health Care for Black Women

This story is part of Best Health’s Preservation series, which spotlights wellness businesses and practices rooted in culture, community and history. 

Evelyne Nyairo was born in a rural village in Kisii, Kenya, to a clan called House of Wealth—one whose legacy inspires her entrepreneurial spirit. At 16, Nyairo immigrated to Canada on her own, studied environmental sciences with a major in chemistry and biology, and eventually started her own engineering company. In 2012, during a business trip to the Republic of Chad, Nyairo noticed women making a special shea porridge, one that is served at weddings, funerals and other special occasions. Nyairo was intrigued by the ingredient and later, she learned about shea’s beauty benefits.

“[Shea] is something that our grandmothers and great grandmothers, particularly in West Africa, used and continue to use,” says Nyairo. “Being in Chad and asking [for moisturizer], right away shea is what comes out. It’s an identity, it’s an iconic ingredient—when you think of African [ingredients] in the beauty industry, shea is number one.”

Back in Calgary, Nyairo began researching shea and was inspired to develop a socially conscious and environmentally friendly skin care line around it. She named the brand Ellie Bianca after her daughter and launched it in 2015. Today, Ellie Bianca has a roster of 34 products, and shea features prominently in most of them—the brand’s logo represents an open shea nut.

The densely branched shea tree thrives in the dry climate of West Africa’s savanna belt and bears green fruit that are shaped like plums. Shea butter comes from the tree’s nut that is nestled within the fruit. It contains stearic, oleic and linoleic acids—moisturizing fatty acids that are rapidly absorbed by the skin—and vitamins A and E, which have antioxidant properties. Shea butter can also act as an antifungal and anti-inflammatory agent, and it promotes cell regeneration, among other skincare benefits.

One of Nyairo’s favourite Ellie Bianca products is the hydrating Naked Face Oil, which can also be used as a cleanser and makeup remover. Another one of her picks, the recently launched Body Lotion, uses raw shea and is the perfect antidote to harsh hand sanitizer and lots of hand washing—the lotion moisturizes skin without making it greasy.

An important pillar of the Ellie Bianca brand is supporting the well-being, agency and equitable treatment of women around the world through economic opportunities. The company offers scholarships to single mothers in Canada pursuing their education, and sources shea ethically from co-ops in Chad. Making shea in co-operatives brings women together—it’s a therapeutic experience where they can share their stories. “There’s that complexity around who we are as women, there’s some smooth areas and some rough areas, but altogether we work to preserve something and I feel like that’s what the shea fruit does,” says Nyairo. “It preserves that precious butter that is right in the middle.”

This story is part of Best Health’s Preservation series, which spotlights wellness businesses and practices rooted in culture, community and history. Read more from this series here: 


Meet Sisters Sage, an Indigenous Wellness Brand Reclaiming Smudging


This Canadian Soap Brand is Rooted in Korean Bathhouse Culture


This Soap Brand Is Sharing the Healing Power of Inuit Tradition


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This is my favorite way to cook winter squash. It takes a cue from fondant, or melting, potatoes, a technique in which thick slices of potato are roasted on both sides before they finish cooking braised in a puddle of broth. From the oven, they’re crisp and somewhat glazed outside, creamy inside, and booming with more flavor than it seems possible to lock inside a potato. Clearly, I’m a fan—but I had no idea that when I applied this technique to big wedges of winter squash I’d never want to cook it another way again.

I add to the pan everything I like with winter squash—thyme, garlic, and cider vinegar, which gets sweet/tangy when cooked and really helps cut through the sweetness of squash—and then I put the whole thing on a plate of tart yogurt and peppery baby arugula. Any slightly syrupy broth left in the pan is poured over everything, and it’s all so good together, you might wonder why you’d ever consider squash a side dish again. This is centerpiece squash, and it wants you to know it.

Braised Winter Squash Wedges

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2¼ to 2½ pounds (1 to 1.15 kilograms) winter squash (about ½ kabocha or red kuri squash)
  • 2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil, divided
  • Leaves from 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 cup (235 grams) vegetable broth
  • ¼ cup (60 grams) apple-cider vinegar
  • 1 cup (230 grams) plain Greek-style yogurt
  • 2 cups (55 grams) baby arugula leaves

Note: you can often buy squash in halves or quarters from a farmers’ market, which is great, because it runs large—kabocha is my favorite here, followed by red kuri squash. Butternut and acorn squash work, too. the peel of winter squash is fully edible, so no need to trim it away.

Directions

Heat the oven to 425°f (220°C).

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp, then slice the halves into 1½-inch wedges. add butter and 1 tablespoon of the oil to a 10-by-15-inch baking sheet, and place in the oven until the butter melts, about 2 minutes. remove the tray from the oven, and roll the butter around so that it evenly coats the pan. arrange the squash wedges in one layer, and sprinkle with thyme, ½ teaspoon salt, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. roast for 15 minutes, or until deeply browned under neath. flip the slices, and season the second side on top with another ½ teaspoon salt and more pepper. scatter the garlic cloves in the pan, and return the pan to the oven to roast for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the wedges are browned on the second side. Don’t worry if the squash isn’t fully cooked yet. Carefully pour the broth and vinegar into the pan, and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the squash is tender and the liquid is somewhat cooked off.

To serve the squash: Use the back of a spoon to swirl plain yogurt onto a serving platter into a thin layer. toss the arugula with the remaining tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, and scatter over the yogurt. arrange the squash wedges on top, scrape out every bit of pan juice that’s left, and pour it over the squash.

Smitten Kitchen Keepers

Excerpted from Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files. Copyright © 2022 by Deb Perelman. Photography copyright © 2022 by Deb Perelman. Book Design by Cassandra J. Pappas. Jacket Photography by Deb Perelman. Food Styling by Barret Washburne. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Next: Buttery, Salty and Flaky, These Cheddar Biscuits Are Everything You Could Want in a Breakfast Food

IV therapy. Drip bars. Energy shots. Immune injections. Nutrient…bags? Whatever you want to call them—there are myriad marketing approaches—you’ve probably seen spas, clinics and wellness lounges offering intravenous injections of various vitamins and minerals, mixed with saline, that make all sorts of promises. You can increase your energy levels, reduce fatigue, improve cognitive function and memory or remove toxins from the body. Some formulations claim to relieve anxiety, depression or chronic headaches while improving your skin and delivering anti-aging benefits, all for anywhere from $165 to $900 a bag. You don’t necessarily need a medical prescription, and you don’t need a blood test beforehand—often, just a consult with a naturopathic doctor and a sense that it might help with whatever’s ailing you.

The trend is not new—the IV Lounge, at the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre in the city’s Yorkville neighbourhood, opened almost 10 years ago—but more and more retail spaces like this are popping up. At Formula Fig, a spa-like outfit with lush, millennial-green decor and locations in Toronto and Vancouver, the focus is on 30-minute facials and skincare treatments, but you can also get an IV drip ($165) while sitting under an LED therapy light.

“Drips are no longer a trend—they may be here for good,” says naturopathic doctor Amauri Caversan, who founded the IV Lounge. “At first they were mainly used by athletes, stars and wealthy patients. But today I would say IV therapy has become a lot more mainstream.”

Caversan is biased, of course—charging for intravenous vitamins is part of his business model—but he’s also totally right: I wouldn’t have known that IV drips were even a thing if it wasn’t for social media. After I saw one American influencer claim her chronic iron deficiency had been treated with an IV infusion, my curiosity was piqued: I’ve been iron deficient since age 17, and I’m terrible at taking the iron pills my doctors have repeatedly suggested. Could an IV drip help me?

As it turns out, you really shouldn’t take medical inspiration from former Bachelorette contestants you follow on Instagram. If you’re truly iron deficient, and a trial of oral supplementation doesn’t work for you, a registered MD could prescribe iron infusions in a medical setting, like a hospital. But, in Canada, you can’t get iron in an IV bag at a drip bar or lounge.

Caversan explained to me that an IV treatment containing saline and electrolytes can help you rehydrate after drinking too much alcohol or after extreme exercise. And many people seek IV nutrients simply for the highly unscientific promises of “boosting” or “supporting” their immune systems, especially in a world with COVID.

“These therapies are aimed at amorphous ailments people have: fatigue, general malaise, lack of energy,” says Timothy Caulfield, author of The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness, and Happiness. It’s very subjective, he points out. “There’s this idea that getting an IV drip is going to help your immune system, and there’s no evidence to support that.” Caulfield, a health and science policy professor at the University of Alberta who studies health misinformation and the public representations of science, has been examining the growth of IV therapy for years, and has tried it a few times himself.

“Celebrities will post images of themselves getting an IV injection and then you start to see this wave of interest, and it’s incredibly frustrating because…regardless of who you’re getting it from, whether it’s an MD, a naturopath or some wellness guru at your local mall, it’s pseudoscientific nonsense.” What you’re really paying for, Caulfield says, is “an injection of magical thinking,” and there’s no biological mechanism that would actually support those claims.

“The claims around IV nutrition are certainly pseudoscientific,” agrees Michelle Cohen, a family doctor in Brighton, Ont. and an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Queen’s University. She writes and tweets about wellness trends and has a particular interest in debunking alternative health claims. “There’s this idea that you can get better nutrition through an IV than simply through your gut, which is the way we were designed, or evolved, to absorb nutrition,” Cohen says. “Your average person does not need to have an IV to get adequate nutrition.”

The risks of IV therapy shouldn’t be ignored either, says Cohen. “You may have an allergic reaction to whatever it is that you’re being injected with, and it’s not necessarily the synthetic vitamins, but maybe some preservative product [in the mix]. You also don’t know if the treatment is going to conflict with any medication that you might already be on,” she adds.

Is it possible to overdose on these vitamins, I wondered? Not exactly, says Cohen. “You reach a certain point where the water-soluble vitamins contained in these drips can’t be absorbed by your blood. Your kidneys are constantly doing the job of filtering your blood…and getting rid of things you don’t need.” So if you’re suddenly taking in a mega-dose of vitamins through an IV, she says, most of it is just going to get dumped out.

Next: I Got an IV Drip to See If It Could Boost My Energy Levels 

When I signed up for my first appointment at an IV bar, I was a few weeks out from having COVID for the first time, and I still felt bone-tired. Thankfully, everyone in my family had experienced a mild case, but as many of us now know, it’s hard to gauge what is “normal” post-COVID fatigue, and what is just the general exhaustion of life with small children when you’re nearing 40 and well into the third year of a pandemic. I mean, who couldn’t use a little energy boost every now and then? The possibility of a little more pep in my step was pretty enticing, and I was curious.

The clinic I booked, the IV Lounge, was reassuringly medical. I was expecting something more akin to a fancy Yorkville juice bar or salon, but it was really more like a physiotherapist’s office or a blood lab. The treatment chairs are big and comfy with fluffy pillows, and they had Netflix playing on a large TV. But the accoutrements are 100-percent medical: boxes of latex gloves, biohazard bins for needles and hospital-like curtains separating each chair. The most jarring part of the experience, for me, was the parade of my fellow patients (customers? clients?) wandering down the hallways with their rattling IV poles, headed for the washroom.

That’s the thing with these treatments: they promise hydration, and boy, do they deliver. Many of my chair-neighbours headed for the loo two or three times in the one to two hours it took for our IV drips to make it through the tubing and into our arms. I had never had an IV before, and was too nervous to move around with it stuck in my arm, but as soon as my bag was empty, I raced to the bathroom. And—TMI alert—my pee was extremely yellow and smelly—a sign that my body was eliminating excess vitamins.

While I didn’t need any bloodwork before I got my IV, the health history forms I had to fill out in advance of my appointment were extensive, which put me somewhat more at ease. My consult with naturopath Amauri Caversan prior to my treatment lasted over an hour. I’ve always been skeptical of holistic medicine and had never met with a naturopath before, and I was surprised by the level of care and attention I received compared to the one-issue-per-10-minute-appointment approach that’s more typical of busy family doctors. (And Caversan did encourage me to get bloodwork done and share the results with him, going forward.)

He checked my blood pressure, then selected a custom mix for me: combining the “relaxation IV treatment” (“nootropic amino acids and minerals”) with the “max hydration drip” (a “nourishing blend of vitamins, minerals and electrolytes … formulated to help restore fluids, while rehydrating and detoxifying the body”). The ingredients listed on my printed receipt included vitamin C, B complex, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate, niacinamide, riboflavin, sodium bicarbonate, selenium, zinc, mixed aminos, taurine, glycine, tryptophan and lactated Ringer’s (which is a rehydrating IV fluid that’s used as an alternative to saline—a mixture of sodium chloride, sodium lactate, potassium chloride and calcium chloride in water). Obviously, most people would need a chemistry or biology class refresher to make sense of that list.

I genuinely enjoyed my two hours of relaxing in the chair, watching Netflix and scrolling my phone while hooked up to the IV. It only pinched a bit, the fluid flowing into my veins felt only a teensy bit chilly (a common complaint) and I felt very safe in a sterile, clean environment with a nurse checking in periodically. (She even brought me snacks!)

But in the days following my treatment, unusually vibrant urine was pretty much the only change I noticed; I didn’t feel energized or refreshed. A follow-up email from the clinic told me that’s normal—some clients won’t see improvements until they’ve paid for several more visits (of course).

While I don’t think I’ll ever go back for another IV, I can see the appeal, especially for those who feel they haven’t been heard or helped by the conventional medical system. Many of us just want to feel seen and to have our concerns validated.

“A lot of times people are frustrated,” says Michelle Cohen, a family doctor who studies alternative health trends. “Because they’ve been to their doctor, they’ve described a problem, and there hasn’t been a clear diagnosis. And then someone else is saying, ‘Well, hey, I’ve got a simple treatment for you—and you’re gonna feel much better.’ So I’m very empathetic to what drives people to seek out this kind of treatment.

“That’s a very compelling thing—that desire to feel better.”

Next: Can IV Drips Really Help Treat Your Fatigue, Low Vitamin Levels and Hangover?

I’ve been fighting my weight for decades, but after a lifetime of trying to meet impossible beauty and size standards, I’ve finally, in my 50s, landed on body-neutrality—a hard-earned, much gentler and more forgiving way to live. Most days, I’m able to focus on body acceptance rather than a number on the scale. Earlier this year, however, I noticed my weight inching closer to the “uh-oh” side of the (admittedly flawed) body mass index (BMI). I had a sedentary day job and recently diagnosed hypertension (also known as high blood pressure), so I suspected that there might be additional health risks associated with my recent gain.

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Still, if I’m being honest, I’d also started to be bombarded by the algorithms of my social media accounts, which somehow always seem to know when I’m feeling vulnerable about my body. On TikTok, I kept seeing startling celebrity before-and-after pics extolling the benefits of Ozempic, which they said was a weight-loss drug. I was curious, and more than a little skeptical, so I resolved to discuss it with my doctor as soon as I could.

At my appointment, I told her I felt guilty that I hadn’t been able to lose weight using the “calories in, calories out” method that’s been part of the weight-loss conversation as far back as I can remember. But my doctor gently reminded me that weight is a complex matter, impacted by your environment, your genes, your emotional health, various medical problems and even lack of sleep.

She respected my decision to seek treatment for my weight, since obesity has been linked with many chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, certain types of cancer and hypertension, which I’m already experiencing. Having seen a lot of patient satisfaction with prescriptions for Ozempic, she was happy to prescribe it to me, too.

First, though, she ran a series of bloodwork to rule out any underlying conditions, and she cautioned me that this is not a miracle weight-loss drug. She stressed that Ozempic is not a quick fix, but that it could support me in my decision to lose 50 pounds.

What is Ozempic?

Ozempic is a brand name of semaglutide, an injectable drug manufactured by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. It helps lower blood glucose levels to treat type 2 diabetes and has also been prescribed off-label to help people lose weight. (Note that “off-label” does not mean it’s illegal or illicit for non-diabetics—off-label can mean you’re using a medication based on medical evidence and expertise, but it hasn’t been approved by Health Canada for that specific purpose.)

Wegovy is another semaglutide brand name you may have heard about, and it’s been approved in both Canada and the U.S., but it isn’t as readily available right now. Wegovy is the same drug as Ozempic, but it comes in a higher dose and is used for weight loss, whereas Ozempic is typically used for diabetes. But due to Wegovy shortages, my doctor has prescribed me weekly Ozempic injections instead and is adjusting the dosage for me gradually.

Semaglutide—whether it’s Ozempic or Wegovy—regulates your body’s insulin and lowers blood sugar levels, imitating a hormone we produce in our intestines called GLP1 (or glucagon-like peptide-1). This “satiety hormone,” explains Ali Zentner, a Vancouver-based specialist in internal medicine, diabetes, and obesity, is one of many hormones that limits your appetite and signals your stomach to empty more slowly.

Zentner likens the drug to the kid in a game of street hockey whose job it is to yell “Car!” Ozempic, she explains, yells “Full!” to let your brain know that it’s time to stop eating. This is critical in weight loss because obesity is a state of inappropriate starvation response. “The brain no longer thinks it’s starving, so it stops hunting for food,” says Zentner.

As a result, people with obesity and accompanying health concerns have lost weight while taking Ozempic. It’s considered an effective evidence-based medication that offers a 10 to 20 percent reduction in body weight.

In my case, almost immediately after injecting my first needle into my inner thigh (it’s not a pill), all the food chatter that has been clogging my brain for decades just went—poof.

Why is Ozempic gaining in popularity?

With 63 percent of Canadians either overweight or obese according to 2018 Statistics Canada data, it’s no wonder many Canadians are excited by its possibilities—or at least they’re curious and Googling it. Obesity is a chronic condition with very few successful or sustainable treatment options.  For so long, people have been given not much more than “eat less, move more” prescriptions by their healthcare providers.

Sasha High, an Ontario-based internist and obesity physician, explains that in the last decade, there have been “tremendous advances in our understanding of obesity pathophysiology and with that, better treatment targets.” With Ozempic, we now have more effective tools to address the physiology behind weight regulation, she says.

And it isn’t only about the scale—or being thin, she says. “There may be people who want Ozempic because of the societal pressure to be thinner, but for many with obesity, it’s about improving health, function and quality of life.” Yes, Ozempic causes weight loss, she says, but it also improves cardiometabolic health.

“For my patients, it’s about being able to engage fully in their lives. I have patients kayaking, skiing into their 70s, running after their grandkids.”

Who should NOT take Ozempic?

Contrary to rumour mills and what you see on TikTok, Ozempic is not just a celebrity drug or a weight-loss magic bullet. It’s also not a practical way to kickstart a crash diet. It is a prescription medication used to treat obesity—a chronic disease—under the guidance of your doctor.

High is adamant that Ozempic shouldn’t be misconstrued as a fad or shortcut. “This isn’t about vanity—this is about improving health and quality of life,” she says.

When we address obesity, she explains, we also improve the cardiometabolic conditions associated with it: diabetes, fatty liver disease, hypertension, infertility and cardiovascular disease, to name a few. Obesity is also a major risk factor for cancers like endometrial, colorectal and breast cancer.

She also warns against casual on-again, off-gain use of Ozempic. “We’ve seen this with every other weight-loss medication in the history of obesity medicine: When you stop the medication, the weight comes back on.” She says there may be rare exceptions (e.g., people who have worked very hard to change their lifestyles), but it’s a fairly typical pattern. “When people use Ozempic to lose weight, but discontinue it and inevitably regain, I worry that this is doing them a greater disservice than simply staying at the higher weight to begin with, given what we know about the negative metabolic effects of weight cycling.”

Doctors also usually do not prescribe Ozempic for those with a family history of thyroid cancer, as the medication has been proven to cause thyroid tumours and cancers in rodents during animal testing.

Are there other side effects or risks?

The most common side effects are gut-related (nausea and vomiting, reflux, constipation, diarrhea, pancreatitis). While there have been some clickbait reports of pretty horrific side effects in the media lately, the doctors I interviewed told me these side effects tend to improve as the body gets used to the medication. When the titration (starting the drug in a low dose and increasing it slowly) is done properly, the side effects should be minimal. Fewer than 4 percent of patients have significant nausea (such that they have to stop the medication) beyond three months.

Personally, I was a bit terrified before my first injection—I had read about the debilitating side effects, and I hate needles. I knew that some people on Ozempic or Wegovy took their shots on a weekend, cancelling any plans and hunkering down in their bathrooms. But my doctor reassured me that those extreme side effects were not normal, and told me that if they occurred, we could discuss other options.

I began Ozempic at the lowest dose (0.25 mg) with a plan to slowly increase that amount over several weeks (maxing out at 2.0 mg). My pharmacist gently encouraged me to load up my medicine cabinet with ginger Gravol, Tums and laxatives. But in the end, I only experienced mild discomfort around 24 hours after the injection. And as my dosage has slowly been increased, my side effects have remained minimal.

The trick, I think, is to be patient when starting Ozempic. For the most part, the debilitating side effects are not the norm, and if you are experiencing any of them, it’s time to see your doctor.

What other lifestyle changes— if any—are required once you start taking Ozempic?

High stresses that Ozempic should be taken in conjunction with learning behavioural and cognitive tools that empower a person to live the healthiest lifestyle that can be reasonably enjoyed and maintained.

She works with her patients on understanding a phenomenon she calls ‘”wanting,” a term to describe desire, cravings and the motivation for food. “For many people with obesity, their brain drives increased wanting compared to lean people and this results in overeating.” Medications like Ozempic decrease wanting along with hunger, which means people eat less and lose weight.

Zentner believes that for the most part, it’s even simpler than that. “The only thing you have to do is take your medication and go live your life. You want to exercise? Wonderful. Do it to celebrate what your body can do. Do it because exercise is good for cardiovascular health and aging and mood and health.”

What happens when you stop taking Ozempic?

As with all obesity treatments, Ozempic needs to be continued long-term, or weight regain is very likely, High says. Obesity is like any other chronic condition. If you take medication to control your blood pressure, you need to continue that medication to keep your blood pressure in the normal range. It’s the same with obesity, High explains. “If you take a medication that brings your weight down and improves metabolic health, you need to continue that medication to maintain the weight loss and metabolic improvements. The duration of treatment is one of the biggest misconceptions people have about anti-obesity medications.”

Is the reported Ozempic shortage real?

Though other countries—notably Australia and the U.S.—are experiencing shortages, Canada hasn’t been affected yet. (At least for Ozempic. It’s true that Wegovy has been harder to access here.) However, the high demand has raised the question of who should be prioritized should Canada face a shortage. Which patients deserve it more: those with diabetes or those with obesity?

Zentner and High insist it’s not reasonable to pit one chronic medical condition against another. “Both people with obesity and people with diabetes deserve effective medical treatment,” High says. “The shortages are a supply-chain issue and not a ‘people depriving people’ issue.”

“We were told we had an obesity epidemic on our hands and that a third of Canadians were carrying excess weight,” Zentner points out. “And now we have a treatment that offers 10 to 20 percent body-weight loss, an 80 percent reduction in the development of type 2 diabetes, and [we have] cardiovascular data for cardiovascular benefit in high-risk patients. It’s not surprising that there’s a rush on this stuff.”

Can I trust what I see on social media about Ozempic?

That depends. High decided to become part of the conversation, joining TikTok to promote evidence-based medical education in a sea of (mis)information and celebrity chatter. As an obesity physician, she wants to empower women who’ve been shamed and blamed for their weight to understand that it’s not their fault, and that there are effective tools to help them manage their weight beyond #CICO (calories in, calories out).

As for me, it’s been several months since I started Ozempic, and I’m finally over my squeamishness about needles (which is good, if I’ll likely be on this medication for the rest of my life).

I still struggle with feelings of guilt over not being able to lose weight with diet and exercise alone. But Zentner adamantly reminds me that no other disease has to earn its treatment like this. I did not have to explain why I deserve my hypertension meds, so why is there all this controversy and judgment for those seeking obesity treatment? As Zentner puts it, “Medicine at its purest does not care how people get sick. Medicine cares how people get well.”

Next: How the Pandemic Helped Me Embrace Weight Gain and Intuitive Eating

Usually, it’s us Canadians lusting after something our US neighbours have, as we wait for it to be approved by Health Canada (take certain trendy sunscreens, for example). But now, we have something making Americans jealous: skin boosters, a dermatological cosmetic treatment that Canadian doctors (and in-the-know patients) are really excited about.

Officially named “small particle hyaluronic acid filler” but colloquially called “skin boosters,” the treatment involves a trained professional injecting hyaluronic acid (HA) particles into the skin to smooth, plump and hydrate it. Sounds like dermal filler, right? It’s not. With dermal fillers, large molecules of HA are injected underneath the skin to plump and lift the face. With skin boosters, microdroplets of HA are injected into the skin to plump, smooth and hydrate it.

Approved by Health Canada in 2016, skin boosters have become a popular treatment for dermatologists to suggest to patients with concerns about skin texture, fine lines and dryness. “It’s one of the top injectables we’re using in my office,” says Dr. Irina Oroz, a dermatologist in Saskatoon.

Here, everything you need to know about skin boosters.

Skin Boosters vs. Skinboosters

There are three types of small particle HA filler (skin boosters) approved by Health Canada at this time. The most commonly used product is (conveniently) called Restylane Skinboosters(TM) by Galderma. There’s also Redensity 1 Beauty Booster by Clarion Medical, and Volite by Juvederm.

The Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid

HA is a popular skincare ingredient for parched skin, since its molecules grab onto water, draw it into the skin and hold onto it—and the same goes for when it’s injected. Skin boosters rejuvenate the skin by helping to replace the hyaluronic acid we’ve lost due to aging. “It’s like an internal moisturizer,” says Oroz. “Skin becomes plumper, too.” Plus, the HA used in skin boosters is an “extracellular matrix,” says Oroz, which means it not only hydrates skin but also stimulates new collagen, thereby generating smoother-looking skin.

The Procedure

There are two ways you can receive skin boosters. Your doctor may choose to use a classic syringe (like they’d use with dermal filler), in which a needle is used to create a port of entry in the skin, and a cannula, which has a dull end, is inserted to deposit the HA in the superficial layer of the skin. Alternatively, your doctor may use what Oroz calls the “click system,” which involves the same needle but with an extra function—a click—that portions out a precise amount of HA in a grid-like pattern. A skilled practitioner can determine which option is best for you.

How It Differs From Filler

While they can both plump skin, the treatments differ significantly. “Filler is a lot thicker and has a lifting capacity—it’s meant to fill a hollow space and lift,” says Oroz. Conversely, skin boosters don’t lift, but hydrate and smooth skin. They deposit HA into the skin (instead of underneath it) to deliver deep hydration directly to it, she says.

Where Skin Boosters Can Be Used

At the moment, skin boosters have been tested to use on the lower half of the face, the neck area and hands, says Oroz. They’re a perfect option for areas where filler is not recommended, like fine lines around the mouth (including smoker’s lines and crease lines) as well as necklace lines (the horizontal bands around the neck).

While they helps prevent skin flakiness and increase its overall bounciness, skin boosters haven’t actually been approved for the upper half of the face yet. “It’s really just a matter of the studies haven’t been done yet,” says Oroz. But she expects them to be approved for the whole face soon, including around the eyes and between the brows.

How Skin Boosters Differ From Botox

Basically, any neuromodulator concentrates on the facial muscles, specifically, relaxing them to limit movement that causes wrinkles, says Oroz. Skin boosters concentrate on the skin—smoothing out the texture to fade static facial lines. But a trained practitioner can tell you the best treatment for what you’re after.

The Best Candidates

“Any adult looking for rejuvenation, hydration, a glow, can benefit from skin boosters,” says Oroz, as well as anyone looking to improve the look of crepey skin, fine lines or signs of aging in hands.

If volume loss is a main concern, a better option may be dermal fillers, says Oroz. “But you absolutely can use both filler and skin boosters in one session as a combined treatment.”

Pregnant or breastfeeding people shouldn’t get skin boosters, and anyone with a bleeding disorder, tumour or infections should also avoid this treatment. “But it’s relatively safe,” says Oroz.

How Long It Lasts

Typically, three treatments are performed two to four weeks apart. Although results are immediate, Oroz says skin will look its best three to six months after the treatment has helped stimulate collagen production. Results last a year or longer.

The Cost

Just like Botox and filler, the cost per treatment depends on where you go. Oroz says it’s typically about $600-$750 per treatment/syringe, which would work out to $1,800-$2,250 for the recommended series of three. If skin is super dry and crepey, two syringes may be needed. In that case, clinics may have a special price so you’re not paying double.

Side Effects

The side effects of skin boosters are similar to what you’d see with traditional filler, like bruising and redness, says Oroz, and there may be some slight pain. “Obviously, you want an experienced injector for the job, as you would with any type of injection.”

When It’ll Be Available in the US

Skin boosters are currently approved and available in Canada and in countries all over Europe. “It will probably be approved pretty quickly in the US,” says Oroz. “My American colleagues are very excited to get their hands on it.”

Next: What to Know About Xeomen—the “Naked” Botox

This is the kind of biscuit you might make once on a whim, but should you make the “mistake,” as I did, of sharing it with family, friends, or perhaps an entire pre-kindergarten classroom, do know that it will not be the last time you make them—because puddles of crispy cheddar cheese you can pick off in salty, lacy chiplike flakes make an impression on people. Initially, I’d intended to add spinach (just a handful of fresh leaves, chopped harmlessly small) for more of a breakfast-in-one-hearty- cube effect, yet, strangely, nobody in the four-year-old set seemed pleased with this when I offered to do so next time. Having tested it both ways many times since, I’ve realized they’re not wrong.

If you, like me, love an accordion-like biscuit, with layers that spring tall, begging to be pulled apart in small, buttery squares, then the quarter- then-stack technique here (which I first learned from the wonderful Claire Saffitz) is so gloriously simple, you won’t want to make breakfast biscuits another way. With no fancy folds or turns, and not even a rolling pin required, this has not-really-a-morning-person, aka me, written all over it.

Sour Cream and Flaky Cheddar Biscuits

Makes 9 biscuits plus 1 snack

Ingredients

  • 2¼ cups (295 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons (4 grams) kosher salt
  • A few grinds of black pepper
  • Heaped ¼ teaspoon onion powder
  • 12 tablespoons (170 grams, or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, diced
  • 4 ounces (115 grams) sharp cheddar, cut into ¼-inch cubes (heaped ¾ cup)
  • ¾ cup (180 grams) sour cream Flaky salt, to finish

 Directions

Heat the oven to 400°f (205°C), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, black pepper, and onion powder. add the butter to the bowl, and use your fingers or a pastry blender to squash the pieces into flatter bits, pinching and tossing until the mixture has tiny clumps throughout. stir in the cheddar, then the sour cream. (the mixture will seem crumbly, but it will come together, i promise.)

Flour your counter, and dump the dough and any unmixed floury bits onto it, kneading it once or twice to bring it together. Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick square. Use a knife or bench scraper to divide it into quarters; then stack the quarters. repeat this process, patting the dough into a thick square a second time, re-flouring the counter if needed, and stuffing any loose scraps of dough between the layers.

Transfer the dough slab to the prepared baking sheet, and pat it into a ¾-inch-tall square. Place the tray in the freezer and keep it there for 7 to 10 minutes, until it’s cool and semi-firm to the touch. remove from the freezer. Use a sharp knife to trim ¼ inch from each side, and squish these pieces into a bonus biscuit you do not need to tell anyone about. Cut the newly trimmed large square into nine approximately 2-inch-square bis- cuits, and space them out on the sheet. sprinkle with flaky salt. (if you’d like to bake them another day, freeze them at this point. Let them warm up at room temperature for 15 minutes—they will not fully defrost—before baking.)

Bake the biscuits for 16 to 19 minutes, until they are deep golden brown at the edges and some cheese is melted in crisp puddles around the edges. eat right away.

Smitten Kitchen Keepers

Excerpted from Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files. Copyright © 2022 by Deb Perelman. Photography copyright © 2022 by Deb Perelman. Book Design by Cassandra J. Pappas. Jacket Photography by Deb Perelman. Food Styling by Barret Washburne. Published by Appetite by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

Next: French Toast Meets Almond Croissant With This Delectable Chocolatey Pastry