Every year, there always seems to be a wellness trend that takes the world by storm (CBD and gua sha have entered the chat), and this year, it seems to be taking a shot of olive oil in the morning. If your TikTok algorithm is anything like mine, you might land on videos with juice recipes for blemish diys, makeup tutorials, wellness recipes, and Amazon Must Haves. But when I started to see more and more videos on #guthealthtok of people taking a shot of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice in the morning, I had to see what the craze was all about. Read on for my deep dive into the fad taking TikTok by storm and whether or not a shot of olive oil and lemon juice should be added to your morning routine.
If your “For You” page hasn’t fed you videos of people taking a shot of EVOO yet, here is a rundown of what the TikToks are saying: If you take a shot on an empty stomach, it can coat the walls of the stomach, improving mobility throughout the colon, and allow smooth bowel movement and digestion. Some people add a splash of lemon juice for benefits like improved digestive health. Even though it’s currently a TikTok trend, taking a shot of olive oil isn’t anything new: Communities around the Mediterranean have been doing this for decades, and the use of olive oil for both nutritious and medicinal properties dates back to as early as Ancient Egypt.
If I’m being honest, taking a shot of EVOO doesn’t sound incredibly appetizing, but I’m all about dissecting wellness trends and figuring out ways to improve my overall health. So I asked experts whether or not the shot was worth the hype. If this trend has sparked your interest as much as it did mine, keep reading to hear what the experts have to say about the benefits of olive oil and whether or not we should hop on this trend too.
When it comes to whether or not olive oil is healthy, the rumors are true. Olive oil is a superfood that contains anti-inflammatory qualities, helps supports the growth of healthy bacteria and improves brain function. “Olive oil contains polyphenols and a fatty acid profile that may help to diversify healthy gut bacteria and reduce harmful bacteria,” explained Cassie Brown, MS, CHHP. “We need these fats to support our cognitive health, proper energy function, and nerve function, and they can help protect against diseases, promote satiety, slow our digestion for proper absorption, help the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and help hydrate and keep our cells proliferating.”
Like other healthy fats, olive oil can help improve your gut’s microbiome. “Healthy fats help your gut absorb certain micronutrients like vitamins A, D, and K, which are key for optimal health,” agreed Tara Bassi, MS, CNS, LDN. It is also very heart-friendly, thanks to its ability to assist in regulating cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Bassi explained that maintaining healthy blood sugar levels can also impact your weight and overall digestive system.
It is no secret that olive oil is our friend: EVOO makes for a perfect kitchen staple and is great for our everyday diet, but is it necessary to start our mornings with a shot? Brown expressed that there is never a one-size-fits-all approach to treating any symptom, and while there’s a lot of research on the health benefits of olive oil in general, there’s no research backing up that taking a shot of it on an empty stomach is more beneficial.
Instead, she suggested that you can reap the benefits by pouring it on a salad, mixing it in a dressing, or adding it to a smoothie or meal just like you would any other healthy fat. Bassi agreed that just adding some olive oil to your meals throughout the day would be beneficial. However, everybody is different, and just because a ritual is not studied does not mean it can’t make you feel good. If you are interested in trying the EVOO shot, it’s probably not harmful to take it in shot form (unless you have certain conditions that affect fat absorption), so talk to your doctor to identify if the extra dose of healthy fats is right for you.
I don’t know about you, but I am very deep into wellness TikTok. Like, I can’t scroll past five videos without being told my gut microbiome is probably in shambles, I need to start doing pilates ASAP, or that drinking water out of the cult-favorite Stanley cup will solve all of my problems. Do I know how my For You Page ended up like this? No. But am I mad about it? Not. If anything, it’s surprisingly motivated me to start taking my physical health, mental health, and wellness products more seriously.
Advertisements
As a full-time teacher that’s also on the BeautyLeeBar grind, DoorDash-ing a Chipotle burrito the size of my head for dinner (with chips and guac, obviously) and then proceeding to get four hours of sleep is becoming a little too typical of an evening for me. I’m not trying to be the human embodiment of Erewhon by any means, but instilling a couple of small habits and changes is definitely on my to-do list.
But where do I start? It seems like there are a million different ways to amp up your wellness game, so choosing exactly what to do can be overwhelming. In a perfect world, we’d be able to change every single habit and practice of ours overnight and simply become that girl by the next morning. But it’s baby steps and balance that’ll happily and healthily send us in the right direction (I am not going cold turkey on my Chipotle deliveries). So, lucky for you and me both, The BeautyLeeBar editors have shared some of their go-to wellness products that are easy to incorporate into an everyday routine. Read on to see which ones you need to add to your routines STAT:
Advertisements
For the most peaceful sleep:
“I’ve never had a problem falling asleep, but I have a lot of trouble staying asleep. I tend to wake up a few times a night which makes me feel like I’m never truly rested. These sleep gummies have completely turned my world upside down. They help me fall and stay asleep, but don’t make it any harder to wake up, which has always been my concern with melatonin and sleep supplements. No matter how stressed I am or what factors are happening that would generally give me a restless night of sleep, these have become my saving grace. I recommend it to everyone I know. – Adeline, Fashion Editor
Infused with 25mg of full-spectrum CBD and 5mg of sleepy hemp-derived compounds, these cherry flavored sleep gummies make falling and staying asleep easy as ever.
For a calming start to the day:
“I’m typically a very light sleeper, so traditional alarms, like the ones I used to set on my phone, are way too jarring for me first thing in the morning. I didn’t realize how much being startled awake was affecting my daily moods until I got my Hatch Restore alarm clock. Now, my wake-up routine consists of a sunrise effect that gradually starts brightening 10 minutes before my alarm goes off, and when it does, I’m woken up by the soft sounds of wind chimes. It has truly been a game-changer for helping me wake up feeling calm and refreshed, rather than frantic to shut my alarm off before it gives me a headache.”– Rosee, Lifestyle Editor
With multiple dreamscapes, guided rest exercises, gradual sunrise lights, peaceful sounds, and more, you’ll feel relaxed and well-rested both morning and night.
Advertisements
For staying hydrated:
“It’s the simplest wellness product I own, but the one I use most consistently (like all day every day–I have a few, so it’s sanitary, don’t worry). Since getting it, I have ditched every other water bottle and have deemed it my can’t-live-without product. Consider it my security water bottle. I love the time stamps, as it helps me stay on track throughout the day, so I have an understanding of how much (or how little) I drink. I also love that it’s 64 ounces, so I only have to refill once a day (max), which in itself helps me drink more water because in the past I have drank a whole water bottle while working at my desk and not gotten up to refill for hours. Lastly, it’s chic AF, which is truly important because I will just want to drink it more.”– Josie, Wellness Editor + Podcast Hostess
Reach your hydration goals with this bottle that keeps you on track and motivated! Plus, it has a detachable straw for easy cleaning and is 100% leak proof.
For easy at-home fitness:
“I need everyone who primarily works out from the home to listen to me very closely: you need this workout mat. I struggle to get through floor exercises using a standard yoga mat, and it’s through no fault of my own. Paired with the hard floors in my home, my old yoga mat simply isn’t supportive enough to combat the excruciating knee pain that comes from kneeling on the ground for extended periods. The Stakt foldable workout mat is the answer to my prayers. The thick foam alone is a huge upgrade over my old yoga mat in terms of support, but the unique foldable design takes it to another level and allows me to easily fold my mat if I feel my body needs a little extra cushion (it usually does—and folding a standard yoga mat up never works as well as I want it to).”– Kari, Beauty Editor
Not only is this mat supportive and ultra comfy, but it also brings versatility to your workouts—use it for incline exercises or to help with stretching while it’s folded, too.
For hot girl walks:
“I’ve always been the kind of gal who just buys whatever sneakers are on-trend—usually some Adidas or Nike pair that comes in a cute colorway. However, when I first started hearing about Hokas a few years ago, everyone was saying that they were the most comfortable running and walking shoes that they’d ever worn. And now after owning this pair for two years, I can wholeheartedly agree. I own two pairs now… they’re just that good. I’m a big walker, and these are the only shoes that I can wear that provide the support I need and never make my feet hurt.”– Rivera, Associate Commerce Editor
The Bondi 8’s are one of the most popular Hoka shoes for a reason—with strategically placed, super soft cushioning that supports every part of your foot, you’ll never want to wear other sneakers again.
Whether you watch The Kardashians or you’re one of her 261 million IG followers, you know Kendall Jenner is no stranger to the spotlight but also to the wellness scene. IV therapy, cold plunges, meditation sound bowls, and journaling are a few wellness practices she religiously stands by. If that doesn’t convince you of her self-proclaimed health obsession, her state-of-the-art room dedicated to all thing’s wellness will. Complete with a hyperbaric chamber, red light therapy bed, and oxygen therapy machine, it’s every wellness girl’s dream (major envy). Gadgets and gizmos aside, Kendall has open dialogues with the media and on social media about her mental health and struggles with anxiety.
Advertisements
Thanks to her recent interview with Jay Shetty on his podcast, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, we got the 411 on her self-work and steadfast wellness rituals. Read on for how she stays in tune with her highest self. Spoiler alert: They are practices you will not find on Hulu or Instagram, and we can all benefit from them.
In Kendall’s work with her therapist, she focuses on living in her higher goddess, AKA her higher self. What does that look like? Words of affirmation, reassuring yourself of who you are, and recognizing everything else is just noise. “Sometimes it feels weird to say good things about yourself, but I’ve also learned a lot about talking to myself and a lot about looking in the mirror and being like, ‘You’re great. You’re gorgeous. You’re amazing. You’re loyal. You’re positive.’”
Advertisements
Admittedly, Kendall falls victim to false narratives. Like us all, she has moments she struggles to stay true to who she is and her purpose. “If your happiness depends on the actions of others, you’re at [the] mercy of things that you can’t control,” she stated. Kendall emphasized holding your happiness and not letting anyone else affect it. If you know yourself and the people important in your life know your true self, nothing else should matter. When Shetty asked Kendall, “What’s something you used to value but you don’t value anymore?” Her answer? Validation.
Set aside alone time
It’s no secret that Kendall is surrounded by a large family and famous friends (hey, Hailey Bieber) in addition to her entourage. But she told Shetty that since she was a kid, the Scorpio in her enjoyed being by herself. “I went through a phase where I felt like I had to be around people,” shared Kendall. “I think I live a very social life, and my job is very social, so I was kind of conditioned to want to be around people a lot. And then, as the pandemic came around, you’re not around as many people anymore. Now I’m just re-enjoying being by myself, which is cool.”
At the end of the day, Kendall craves a simple routine. Her perfect day consists of riding her horses, taking a cold plunge, laying out, and journaling. Taking a cue from Kendall, give yourself space and step away when needed. Additionally, be comfortable in your own company. Sometimes the best remedy for a bad day is journaling (yes, it bears repeating), taking a solo walk outside, meditating, or picking up a new hobby.
Let’s face it: We all experience burnout, celeb or not. Kendall expressed there was a long period she was overworked, felt overwhelmed, and said “yes” to every opportunity—to the point where she was unhappy (anyone else relates?). Eventually, she learned to prioritize herself. She realized her well-being was necessary to show up better in her personal and professional life. So, she took a step back in her career to reconnect with her higher self: “I got to that point, and I just knew I had to do it…” Kendall explained. “It was just such an unbelievable sensation that I had where I knew that if I do this, I’m going to be better for everyone. And I’m going to be better for myself, which means I’m going to be better for the people around me.”
Advertisements
Learn to recognize the signs of burnout (think: fatigue, feeling apathetic with your work, changes to your sleep patterns). Then, enforce work-life boundaries to care for your mental health and restore a healthy balance. Maybe that means being upfront and communicating with your boss or taking time off. Or, it’s just saying “no” to taking on more projects or a meeting invite scheduled during your lunch break. Ultimately, your mental and physical health should be your number one priority (I know that’s sometimes easier said than done).
Stay grounded in your relationships
When it comes to her family and friends, Kendall told Shetty that honesty and communication are her core values in maintaining healthy relationships. “I find it important to not feel like you’re on top of each other when you have your family around or your friends around,” she said. “It’s OK to sometimes, even if you’re at a family dinner, run to the bathroom and just being like, ‘Let me just take a couple of breaths because this is getting overwhelming.’”
Kendall shared that she’s prone to anxiety and can take things too seriously. When she feels inundated with family circumstances or stress, she recognizes her feelings: “I’m allowed to feel this way; it’s valid. I’m just going to take a deep breath, and I’m not going to react, and then I’m going to go back out there, and I’m going to be fine.” Try being in Kendall’s shoes (wouldn’t that be fun?) and pause whenever you feel overwhelmed. Give yourself a safe space to express your feelings through journaling, speaking to a mental health professional, or practicing deep breathing.
After coming across a viral TikTok trend encouraging viewers to stop negative self-talk by picturing their younger selves, Kendall’s therapist suggested she put a spin on it and find a photo of herself as a child to put on her bathroom mirror. Take a glance at her Instagram, and you’ll see the Polaroid of young Kendall. It serves as a daily reminder that anything negative that she says about herself, she’s saying to that beaming, hair bow-wearing younger version of herself. “If I’m ever looking in the mirror and being negative toward myself, I always look right over to her, and I’m like, ‘She’s dope, and I love her,’” Kendall laughed.
Bottom line: Practice self-love and find tactics that work for you. If you’re not sure where to start, try exercising mindfulness, putting yourself and your needs first, or simply making yourself a healthy meal. Regardless of your method, keep being kind to yourself, just as you would your 5-year-old self or BFF.
You know those article headlines that make your heart stop when you come across them (or is that just a weird us-thing)? Imagine our excitement when we came across this story in Vogue about Jennifer Aniston’s self-care routine and her secrets to looking (and feeling!) as good as she does. Yes, please! After reading the entire interview about five times, the inspiration came to us like a wave. As wellness editors who love a good self-care ritual almost as much as we loved every season of Friends, we wanted to get as close as we could to being Jennifer Aniston and try out every detail of her self-care routine for one week.
So, what happened when we swapped out our self-care rituals for a Hollywood A-lister’s? Did we achieve her effortless beauty and lit-from-within glow? Did Jen and us (finally) become best friends, as having the same rock-solid self-care routine would make happen? Read on for Jennifer Aniston’s self-care rituals we added based on her interview with Vogue and our experience trying out each of them.
No phone for the first hour after waking
The first step in Jen’s self-care routine is what we need the most: less phone time. As a group of people who rolls over and checks Instagram within 30 seconds of waking up, it’s time for a morning routine makeover. As for the details (we’re all about the details), Jennifer keeps her phone stored elsewhere and uses iPods or old iPhones for alarm clocks and sleep apps. We charge our phones across the room and set an alarm on our echo clock.
Advertisements
Jen talks about finally checking her phone after about an hour to find text messages wondering where she is, which we can only assume is from her team of assistants, BFF Courtney Cox, or maybe Brad Pitt finally realizing he can’t live without her (we’ve known that for 20 years, Brad!). We don’t have a team of assistants or Brad Pitt caring about why we haven’t answered their texts, but at least our boss would notice if we were MIA, right?
At the end of the week, we have to be honest: Our mornings weremuch better. We had more time to fit in meditation (more on that below), and we swear we felt less stressed when the first thought of our day was not centered around catching up on other people’s lives or texts we had missed. We are inspired to keep our current phone when we get a new one to use for sleep apps and alarm clocks. That’s some bougie-ish, but it’s also pretty genius.
Use the Pattern app
While this is technically not a core piece of her self-care routine, Jennifer did mention that her phone is for texts, emails, and the Pattern app, which we needed to try. If it’s good enough for Jennifer Aniston, it’s good enough for us (also, it’s free, so we are game). We have never heard of Pattern, and TBH, it blew our minds. It uses data to help you better understand yourself and others for deeper connections. In a world where most of our screen time is spent watching people, we don’t know dance or cook feta pasta, it was cool to spend some time exploring our personalities and what’s going on in our life.
Advertisements
You can use it as a tool to understand yourself better, a reference to make goals (it gives you peak days/times), or even as a way to connect with people who share similar personalities and values. Think of it like a dating app, only instead of swiping left-on gym selfies, you will be matched based on your deepest personality traits. Some of us learned that we are self-critical, deep, and passionate. It’s cool, and we thank the app gods and Jennifer Aniston for bringing such a fascinating tool into our life for free.
DIY a collagen latte
Probably the best thing to come out of this experiment is that we finally know Jennifer Aniston’s coffee order. Scratch that—she calls it a coffee routine. So, when we order Starbucks, we will no longer tell the barista that a Grande cold brew with one pump hazelnut and an inch of oat milk is the order, it’s our coffee routine. In a pleasantly surprising twist of events, Jen’s morning coffee is pretty doable. She adds a scoop of collagen from Vital Proteins, a dash of cinnamon, and a packet of Stevia because she has a sweet tooth. Meanwhile, she steams her almond milk while this concoction is forming and will occasionally indulge in her guilty pleasure, hazelnut Coffee Mate (that’s the relatable queen we know and love!).
Luckily, for this experiment, we already had a milk frother ready to go, oat milk on hand, and some collagen that we typically add to smoothies. We prefer the taste of iced coffee, but we quickly learned that collagen plus iced coffee does not equal a Jen-approved superfood latte. Collagen needs heat to dissolve or else it will turn into goop at the bottom of your cup (and not that kind of Goop). But once we nailed the hot coffee routine, we liked knowing we were getting some extra nutrients and protein in the coffee.
PSA: Your mouth and stomach are not the only body parts that digest. Jen is protective of her boundaries by limiting news sources, social media, and negative content. It makes us happy that Jen is protecting herself because we would protect her at all costs. But this is a great point because health is not only about choosing the best way to nourish our bodies with food but also about how to nourish our minds and souls. The podcasts we listen to, the people we spend our time with, the shows we binge on Netflix, the accounts we follow on Instagram, and the way we speak to ourselves (and others) are all things that feed us too.
Advertisements
We always try to be conscious of this by unfollowing or muting accounts that don’t serve us, watching comedies that make us happy over horror movies or sad shows, and limiting news to what we need to know. But this week, we were not only thinking about what not to watch, listen to, and read, but we also made a conscious effort to consume more of what to watch, listen to, and read. Instead of scrolling through Instagram or watching Netflix, we read inspiring books and listened to motivating podcasts. To no one’s surprise, it was truly the most motivated we had been in a long time (and not just because we’ve been comparing ourselves to Jennifer Aniston a little too much).
Meditate after making coffee
Spoiler alert: Meditation was by far the most drastic change that came out of this week for some of us. It’s something we think we should do but never really make time for. We tell ourselves we will meditate after we take a smoke break, on our lunch break, or before bed, but it doesn’t always happen. Having a specific time built in to meditate (i.e., right after making coffee) was the game-changer because we did fit it in.
Advertisements
Jen explained that she meditates after “a few sips of coffee,” so we panicked because we weren’t sure if she takes the rest of the coffee with her to meditate (will that be a distraction and ruin the purpose?) or lets her coffee sit there and get cold after a few sips (maybe normal for the rich and famous?). We need a detailed play-by-play, Jennifer! We ended up sitting on our yoga mats with our bougie latte in hand for about five minutes of meditation (we couldn’t let collagen go to waste).
Jen uses Insight Timer, so we used it and tried the courses she mentioned: lowering anxiety and how to create gratitude and abundance. Through this experiment, we learned that we prefer guided meditations. There’s way too much going on in our big brains to sit in quiet stillness, and we don’t always know what to write when journaling. Insight Timer achieved what it promised for us—we instantly felt a little less anxious throughout the day, and we felt major gratitude. This is nothing groundbreaking to the self-care world, but we give a morning meditation 5/5 stars.
Advertisements
Adopt a pro-aging mindset
As someone in their mid-twenties, whether we are for or against aging is not a topic we’ve put much thought into. we like to think we are already a “pro” because we regularly pretended to be 21 years old before we were. But we think we can all agree that of all celebs, Jennifer Aniston is the first one to come to mind when thinking of the Buzz phrase “aging gracefully.” Not only does she look phenomenal at every age (like, how?), but it also seems like she hasn’t resisted getting older. Rather, she’s slightly adjusted her hair, beauty, routine, and relationships to each phase in her life without trying to look like Season 1 Rachel Green.
Advertisements
The biggest lesson we got from Jennifer Aniston’s pro-aging mindset is something we also learned from our mom’s aging mentality: We are lucky to be able to get older because a lot of people don’t get the chance. We are sure we might feel less hunky dory about it when we get crow’s feet and gray hairs, but we do believe there’s something to be said about enjoying every age of life instead of wishing we could be younger. This week, we made an effort to make decisions for our future selves by eating fruits and veggies, getting enough sleep, and moving our bodies more, knowing that taking care of ourselves now is an investment in our future selves. As Mrs. Aniston (Jen’s mom) used to say, “This is about longevity. It’s a privilege to grow old, but we don’t have to grow sick.”
Keep learning and educating yourself
It’s relatable that Jen casually mentioned to her manager that she wanted to educate herself more, so her manager arranged conversations with icons like Jay Shetty, Jessica Yellin, and David Sinclair (to be read in your best Chandler Bing-level sarcasm). We guess when you are an icon yourself, you have access to all the other icons. But as total wellness nerds who grew up loving to read (yeah, we were and still are that girl), we love that learning is a key part of Jen’s self-care routine. The goal of wellness is just growth: growing in health, growing in self-love, and growing in knowledge. When we’re constantly learning, we’re constantly growing.
We try to make more of an effort to attend lectures, listen to podcasts, and read books to grow our health knowledge, but the major change from this week was how we saw those efforts. We typically see education as an extension of our career, like we are staying up to date to be the best we can be at our job. But seeing it instead as a way to care for us transformed what we got out of it. Education, even in the name of a career, helps us grow as people, not just as a job title. If you ask us, that’s caring for yourself more than a face mask or smoothie ever could.
Supplement your health with products that work
To quote Jennifer Aniston quoting Dr. Sinclair, “As we age, our cells start to shut down and the lights in our body turn off. But you can turn those lights, those genes, back on.” One of the ways Jennifer likes to turn those genes back on and age as healthy as possible is through tried-and-true supplements, like the aforementioned collagen (she uses Vital Proteins, of which she is the chief creative officer for the brand).
Advertisements
We are typically wishy-washy with supplements. We get excited about a new multivitamin and take it religiously for a couple of weeks before forgetting about it altogether, or we know we feel our best when we are consistent with our probiotics but can’t always seem to remember to take them. This week, we were more consistent than we’ve typically been with taking the supplements and vitamins our doctor decided were best for us. A major shift was (yet again) mindset: Rather than just another thing we were “supposed” to do, we thought of these supplements as another way to invest in our future self and to “keep the lights in our bodies turned on” as we get older. You bet we won’t forget to take multivitamins again.
The Verdict:
Overall, following an A-lister’s self-care routine was surprisingly doable. We loved spending a little extra time prioritizing the things we typically forget about, like tech-free time or meditation. However, the biggest takeaway we got from spending a week as Jennifer Aniston (we mean basically, right?) is that mindset is her secret. Don’t get us wrong: We are sure she has a team of the best beauty gurus and wellness experts on speed dial and the best products that only money (and fame) can buy. But her actual routines are fairly simple. No two-hour workouts, strict diets, or 5 a.m. wakeup calls are needed to achieve Jen’s lit-from-within glow.
Advertisements
We love that the way she cares for herself is built around her mindset. She’s not using self-care rituals as a mask to achieve an “ideal weight” or to stay young forever; she cares about health because she wants to live the longest, happiest life possible. Now if that doesn’t sound like the moral of a movie where Jen would play the lovable protagonist, we don’t know what does.
beautyleebar.org 