Can being stressed out show up in the form of a puffy face? On some level, it makes sense. Chronic stress from work or your personal life can certainly make you feel terrible. But the claims flying around social media that stress can give you a round, puffy “cortisol face” may not be quite as rooted in fact as influencers would have you believe. We took on the topic in a recent story to help you make sense of what the term actually means.
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Beauty
AI Can Now Tell You What’s “Wrong” With Your Face
Rendy Novantino/Unsplash
The Trend: Looksmaxxing — the idea that you can systematically optimize your appearance — continues to grow: now, you can pay an algorithm to tell you what’s “wrong” with your face. Services such as Qoves, Epica, and Facemaxify ask users to upload selfies, then analyze facial proportions, symmetry, skin, and other features, and then produce a list of suggested cosmetic procedures. One Qoves customer profiled by The Guardian paid $330 for a report, which recommended rhinoplasty, eyelid surgery, Botox, and lip filler.
What People Are Saying: In a society obsessed with appearance, the pitch is definitely enticing: upload a photo of your face and get an “objective” analysis of how it can be better. In reality, attractiveness varies across cultures and regions (and even within a single culture or place), and these tools can turn ordinary insecurities into an endless checklist of flaws. Doctors call this AI facial analysis “so destructive,” and note that the scientific basis is not “anywhere clear enough” to measure attractiveness and sell recommendations. Research also links appearance-focused social media use with body dissatisfaction and anxiety, and cosmetic procedures generally don’t resolve the underlying distress associated with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).
What to Know: There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to change your appearance, but if it’s driven by looksmaxxing culture, it may feel like less of a choice and more of an obligation.
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Sponsored
Need New Shoes? Don’t Miss This Back-to-School Sale
Courtesy: Skechers
Back-to-school shopping has a way of adding up quickly, especially when growing kids seem to need new shoes every year. Finding comfortable styles at a lower price can make the list a little easier on the budget.
Skechers is offering up to 40% off select styles online, including kids’ shoes that are 25% off through August 13. With plenty of styles to choose from, it’s a good time to check the sale before the back-to-school rush is over.
Thank you for supporting our sponsors! They help us keep All Healthy free.
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Nutrition
Could Eating Less Protein Actually Help You Live Longer?
Monika Grabkowska/Unsplash
Maxxed Out: The proteinmaxxing craze is still going strong, with protein showing up in everything from cereal to coffee to water. And while the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage people to eat more at every meal, a massive new review argues that more protein isn’t automatically better, especially for people who aren’t very active.
The Study: The paper reviewed more than 350 studies on species as varied as flies and humans. In animal studies, less protein meant longer lives. In some human trials, people on protein-restricted diets lost weight and body fat, and their fasting blood sugar improved, even when they ended up eating more calories overall. Part of the explanation may come down to FGF21, a hormone that rises when protein intake drops and may increase energy expenditure, improve blood sugar regulation, and reduce inflammation.
The Takeaway: Getting enough protein is still important for maintaining muscle, which can help support healthy aging and a longer health span. But people who aren’t exercising all the time or lifting weights don’t need to cram extra protein into everything they eat and drink. The standard recommended amount of protein is enough for most people.
Keep in Mind: Athletes and people who train regularly still benefit from higher protein intake, and cutting too much carries its own risks, like weaker immunity and lower bone density.
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Personal Growth
People May Be Kinder Than You Think
All Healthy Design Studio
You Should Know: Regularly reading internet comments might have you thinking people have recently gotten meaner. But a new Gallup poll of more than 2,000 American adults found quite the opposite. 60% said they regularly see people in their community treating each other with kindness and respect, and 65% said they had personally received a kind act from someone within the past week.
Going Deeper: Younger adults were less likely to witness or receive kindness than older adults, and only 35% said they would feel very comfortable initiating a kind act toward a stranger, compared to 64% of people 65 and older. So why’s that the case? Some experts point to growing up amid distressing events like a recession and pandemic, alongside online negativity and a common feeling of isolation.
Takeaway: Kindness is actually more common than we might assume, and the easiest way to close the gap between generations might be to offer it to strangers more often.
Bottom Line: One small gesture toward a stranger can set off a chain reaction of goodwill that ripples across the community and beyond. It’s also good for your health, since kindness has been linked to lower blood pressure and stress levels.
This chicken and broccoli stir-fry gets its satisfying texture from a simple cornstarch coating that helps the chicken develop a crisp exterior. Fresh ginger and garlic build savory depth, while soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes create a glossy sauce that balances salty, sweet, and spicy flavors. Stir-frying the broccoli directly in the same skillet keeps it bright and crisp, making this an easy weeknight dinner to serve over rice.
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This, Not That
Clean & Clear
THIS
NOT THAT
Faruk Tokluoğlu/Unsplash, Souro Souvik/Unsplash
This: Start your morning with one clean surface Not That: Letting yesterday’s clutter host the meeting
You don’t need to deep clean before breakfast. Just clear one surface: the counter, desk, nightstand, or kitchen table. A small visual reset can make the day feel a little less chaotic before anything important has even happened.
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Sponsored
What to Know Before Shopping Skechers’ Back-to-School Sale
If back-to-school shopping is still on your list, Skechers has select styles marked down online through August 13. Kids’ styles are also 25% off during the offer period, with the discount applied automatically at checkout. It’s a useful time to take a look before the sale wraps up.
Thank you for supporting our sponsors! They help us keep All Healthy free.
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HEALTHY HABIT
Keep Floss Where You’ll Actually Use It
The best dental habit is the one that survives a tired night. Put floss somewhere obvious: next to your toothbrush, in the shower, by your desk, or wherever you’re most likely to remember it. Health routines get easier when they stop depending on a heroic final burst of willpower.
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Final Thought
Live the questions for now. Perhaps then you will gradually, without noticing it, live your way into the answer, one distant day in the future.”
