Buffalo wings, gas-mask curries, Szechuan-style Chinese food and five-alarm chili – People are obsessed with spicy food. Whether we’re posting our reactions to tongue-blistering concoctions to social media or just enjoying our breakfast with an extra kick, spicy food has become a staple of our culture, and while partaking in a moderate amount of spice has shown numerous health benefits, is there a line you shouldn’t cross? A recent case study sheds some light on this subject.
It’s no secret that eating food that towers above any realistic spice tolerance can have common side effects including dizziness, vomiting and a mouth that feels like it’s literally on fire. However, recently, after consuming the world’s hottest chili pepper, the Carolina Reaper, a 34-year-old man checked into a New York hospital with extreme neck pain and short, excruciatingly-painful headaches, known as “thunderclap headaches,” which is not a common side effect. These headaches persisted days after actually eating the pepper, and were shown to be connected to the unexpected narrowing of arteries in the patient’s brain, which was the underlying cause of these headaches. While not an extremely common response to spicy food, dangerous arterial narrowing has been previously associated with cayenne pepper, making the Carolina Reaper the prime suspect in this case.
So what does this mean for spicy food? Should we throw our hot sauce collection out the window? For now, the evidence isn’t conclusive or researched enough to draw any definite links between thunderclap headaches and chowing down on a Carolina Reaper, but it may benefit you to think twice about participating in the next neighborhood pepper eating contest.
For more diet & health news, head to our Nutrition section.
You’ve stood in the two-hour line at the Louvre, you’ve sampled the vineyards in Bordeaux and you’ve even ridden a scooter from Nice to Monaco. What else is left for France? Francophiles seeking a constantly-booming art scene, a good bit of fun and all of the benefits of a classic French city without the pretension may be missing the best part. Here are five good reasons to pencil Nantes in next on your travel list:
The Art
On top of containing a mind-blowing number of galleries, showrooms and community art spaces, the city of Nantes is often turned into a piece of art itself, featuring some of the most groundbreaking street artists in the world. From classic to post-modern to contemporary, there’s art to suit any taste in Nantes.
2. The Fun
Nantes is a vibrant, youthful city full of quirks and tongue-in-cheek references to both its past and the world around it. Visit a nearly-unbelievable world of imagination and mechanical mastery in the famed Machines de l’île or take in the newest art installation while shopping for souvenirs at the trendy Hangar À Bananes.
3. The Food
Although Nantes is not a particularly decorated city by the Michelin board, it contains a cuisine that instead focuses on simplicity, local ingredients and the more whimsical aspects of the culinary world. Take in a high-brow meal at the century-old La Cigale or catch up with a friend over a plate of their regionally-concocted crepes – your taste buds will thank you.
The Culture
While the thought of French culture may evoke images of cafes, cigarettes, all-black attire and a fierce dedication to fashion, this city offers a more relaxed and multi-cultural atmosphere, in part due to its several universities. Let your guard down in a Spanish taverna, head to an Aussie-themed watering hole or punch your tourist ticket and indulge in all of the classic French cuisines and activities you like.
The Views
If it’s stunning vistas you’re after, Nantes has something for you as well. From historic castles and cathedrals to modern architecture, classically covered shopping streets and the city’s own island, Nantes does anything but fall short on eye-candy. Be sure to bring your camera!
For more destinations and vacation tips, head to our Travel section.
Fashion has been making subtle, but significant strides towards sustainable production for several years now. Faux leather handbags, the use of recycled materials and cutting down on waste has helped the major fashion houses shrink their carbon footprint and advocate for a more sustainable future. Joining in on this environmentally-conscious movement is the eyewear designer MODO with their sustainably fashionable ECO eyewear collection.
The frames in MODO’s ECO collection are made from 63% castor seed oil, which is a renewable non-food oil that puts them one step ahead of the sustainable designer eyewear game. In addition to their renewable construction, MODO plants a tree for every pair of ECO glasses sold to rebuild the environment and promote an environmentally-conscious culture, which certainly isn’t the first thought when talking about high fashion. They have planted 1.5 million trees so far and aim to keep that number rising with their new conceptual glasses. Here are two of our favorite featured styles from the MODO’s newest ECO collection additions:
MODO Nestos
MODO’s Nestos glasses (with optional sunglass clip) bring back the retro, boxy frames of the 80s and update them with a more streamlined design. The Nestos frames come in several different colors, and the optional sunglass clips provide even more customization with green, lavender and tortoiseshell options.
MODO Yamuna
The ECO Yamuna provides a softer approach to sustainable eyewear with a more gentle wayfarer shape and largely translucent color scheme. With a handful of color choices available, you can take your pick of the style that best complements the rest of your SS18 wardrobe. The Yamuna, like the Nestos, offers the addition of optional sun clips to ward off the sun this summer.
To learn more about the ECO Collection, visit the MODO website, and to stay up-to-date on the latest fashion finds, trends and news, hop over to our Fashion section.
From resistance bands a great option which will give you plenty of variety and special grips to Bulgarian bags and the newest four-movement exercise to target your rear delts, working out can often contain a few complexities here and there – sometimes too many. With all of the newest technology and year-long fads crowding our minds, we can often leave the simplest movements by the wayside. To make your entire body stronger, bring up imbalances and get some conditioning in while you’re at it, there is one old-school, simple strength training movement to add to your repertoire: the farmer’s walk.
Photo by Binyamin Mellish from Pexels
The farmer’s walk is as easy to understand as carrying your groceries inside – only much, much more physically taxing. To perform this exercise, simply grab two heavy (for seasoned gym-goers, half your body weight in each hand should be a good starting point) weights – dumbbells, kettlebells, trap bars, plates, etc. – let them hang down at your side with your palms facing your body and start walking. Make sure to focus on keeping a good posture and tall spine, keep your grip tight and take short steps – the weight will handle the rest. For more strength and hypertrophy (muscle growth) benefits, focus on heavier weight and shorter walks – longer walks will help you improve cardiovascular performance and have an effect on the nervous system similar to a set of sprints.
Benefits of Strength Training with the Farmer’s Walk
Photo by Victor Freitas from Pexels
“It’s just walking, right?” If that thought crossed your mind, you’re not wrong, but that is the beauty of this exercise. Walking in a controlled manner with extremely heavy weight comes with a ton of benefits, even being cited as a safer alternative to the deadlift. Your arms will take a beating keeping the weight inside your hands and at your sides, your shoulders and back will be taxed from maintaining proper posture, your core will struggle to keep everything together and your legs and glutes are pumping with each step. If you’ve heard the term “functional strength training” thrown around in the gym, this is it. A single, heavy exercise that will improve your musculature and translate to increased athletic performance in every aspect and generally better fitness.
Training will also naturally help with HGH levels, which includes the ability to build and repair muscle, keeping the body fit and energetic, and its anti-aging abilities. Building this naturally takes some time though, so here are different types of HGH injections that may speed up this process.
For more fitness and strength training tips, head over to our Downtown Fitness section.
Ryan Serhant of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing is heading back into the homes of America on April 11th with his new show: Sell it Like Serhant, in the new 8-episode docu-series, Saving People’s Jobs. In this show, Ryan will run to the rescue of struggling salespeople across the country, given just one week to completely turn their numbers around. With a popular Vlog, Million Dollar Listing’s next season coming up and wrapping a new show, we sat down with Ryan to get a glimpse inside the mind of a sales guru and see what’s next for New York CIty’s own real estate sensation:
Was there a moment you went from questioning your career path to thinking, ‘Wow, I’m good at this’?
To this day I’m still trying to see if I’m good at this. A sales career changes every single day. There are a few things to hold onto, that’s a bit of what Sell it Like Serhant is about. Early on when I got into the business it was really hard, but that didn’t phase me. It phases a lot of new salespeople – especially a lot of new real estate brokers in the city, where 80-85% of them quit within the first year because they can’t handle the rejection. I wanted to work, and I wanted to make a statement.
What was your key to handling this constant rejection?
Think back to a bad day you had last year – it’s not easy to do unless you had a really, really, really bad day. The little things that ruin your day, you can’t remember them six months, or a year after; and yet when they happen, they’re the worst thing that ever happened. Look it at physically, your body doesn’t remember pain. You only remember good things. It’s a survival instinct, it comes from evolution. It’s the same with getting through rejection in life and in business. If you use the losses as fuel for your future, you’ll have more wins.
In Sell it Like Serhant, you’ll be teaching salespeople to improve their sales, you have one week to turn their numbers around. In light of all the things a seller should do, what’s something a seller should NEVER do?
You should always be doing something and you should never be doing nothing. It’s amazing to me what I saw with every single person I worked with. The first day of the show is me walking in and surprising them, saying, ‘Hey, I got your video and I’m here,’ and every single person is doing nothing. It’s like they’re sitting on the corner, they’re on their phone, they’re looking around and they’re waiting for someone to call, they’re waiting for someone to knock – they’re just sitting there and they’re doing nothing. I learned a great phrase yesterday called “analysis paralysis,” and that’s what a lot of salespeople have. They overthink and they end up doing nothing instead of taking action.
So it sounds like motivation and drive are the keys, instead of some intricate industry trick, would you agree?
I mean, listen, nobody wants to be sold. Look at retail, a salesperson’s initial interaction is them wanting something from you, and that’s the opposite way to do it. You have to work on the relationship before you work on the sale. If you have the relationship, the sale will come. And there are a lot of different ways to guide that.
Photo by: Greg Endries/Bravo
These first client interactions, have they changed since you first got started in the industry?
No – if anything, they’ve become more people-centric. With more technology, the salesperson’s job becomes more about the relationship. The biggest problem with New York City real estate, for a long time, was that information wasn’t available to the public. You just have to know how to manage the information and set yourself apart.
How would you stack the importance of continuing education on the tools and informational mediums against mastering the art of the sale?
You have to be educated on the tools that are out there. Your client is going to expect you to know how to use every tool that’s at your fingertips to guide them through the transaction, no matter if they’re buying pencils or they’re buying $10 million apartments. If you don’t use a platform that’s out there right now to enable you to be a better salesperson, you’re doing your client a disservice.
The seller is tasked with the closing, but what can businesses do to give their sellers a more comprehensive sales toolbox?
They can create better incentive programs. At the end of the day, human beings like to be rewarded. Increased pay, increased commission, increased time off – whatever makes them happy, that’s important to keep people motivated. I also think that they could do a lot better with training. Every business that I worked in – we worked in 8 businesses this season – only one of them had a real training program for their salespeople. They’re too focused on the product that they don’t focus on how to actually sell it. They just sort of assume that the ability to sell is this God-given ability, and it’s just not. You’ve got to train them.
You’ve been very busy, what’s next around the corner for Ryan Serhant?
Hopefully, Sell it Like Serhant season 2 [laughs]. Million Dollar Listing season 7 right now, we have a lot of business – the team is stronger than ever, and that’s really my focus all day long.
With reality TV, is there anything that really surprised you about the industry?
I’m surprised at how much it’s grown. Million Dollar Listing first cast in 2010 and everybody I spoke to told me not to do it. I went against everybody, including my parents, and said, ‘you know what? I’m going to try it.” And the world has reacted positively, so far anyway.
Between selling all day and filming two different shows, how do you find the balance?
I try to do as much as possible. My biggest fear in life is wasted potential, and it stresses me out. I always wake up in the middle of the night nervous that I didn’t do enough the day before. It’s what keeps me fueled and keeps me going. But, you know, I still have a home. I go home, I have a beautiful wife that loves me, I spend as much time with her as I can. My work is my fun. I’m relaxed when I’m in the office, I’m relaxed when I’m with clients. Every day is different, and every day is a workday. Every day is a day to turn everything around and to make things awesome and to get something done. That’s why I’m relaxed all the time, although I don’t think if you asked anybody they would say that I look relaxed.
Catch Ryan on Bravo’s Sell it Like Serhant, New Series Saving People’s Jobs premiering April 11th at 10 p.m. Eastern Time and in his vlog series at YouTube.com/RyanSerhant.
The floor of Baselworld 2018 ticked and tocked with some of the most advanced, futuristic watches that money can buy, but there was also no shortage of the tried-and-true workhorses inspired by styles and models that have been serving their wearers for decades. Designers showcased the best of their best of their new creations at this industry-imperative event. Here are some of the vintage-inspired timepieces from Baselworld 2018 that caught our eye:
Breitling Navitimer Super 8
Many vintage timepieces are inspired by a similar, or even nearly identical piece from the designer’s history – not the Navitimer Super 8. This bold watch is based on the World War II-era Reference 637 stopwatch, which bombers and pilots would strap to their legs. This stopwatch featured a top crown for easy activation and was developed by Breitling’s Huit Aviation Department. It’s updated, wrist-worn counterpart features a 46mm case, the option of titanium or stainless steel, and the model pictured appropriately includes a brown NATO strap.
Bell & Ross Vintage BRV1-92 Racing Bird
Bell & Ross, known for their bold mix of practical and simplistic timepieces, takes us back with their new BRV1-92 Racing Bird. Switching it up from their usual absence of white faces, B&R’s limited 999-piece BRV1-92 Racing Bird Made a statement on the floor of Baselworld 2018 with its bold numerals, bare face and trendy 60s-inspired calfskin strap in navy blue with orange sides.
Omega Seamaster 1948 Small Seconds
Taken from their original Seamaster line manufactured for the servicemen of the British Ministry of Defense, the new Seamaster 1948 Small Seconds watch was a showcase of both Omega’s traditional styling and their futuristic technology. The 38mm case of this 70th-anniversary piece contains a Swiss-made, METAS-certified Omega movement with anti-magnetic properties for lasting, pinpoint accuracy. The Seamaster 1948 Small Seconds features a secondary dial at the six o’clock and a mix of bold numeral and greek key indicators.
Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse in Rose Gold
Manufactured to commemorate their original 1968 Golden Ellipse, this larger-format version touts an elegant design that made it a standout piece at 2018’s Baselworld convention. With 18K gold stylings, hand-stitched alligator belt and a crown with an onset Onyx, Patek Philippe celebrated this heritage timepiece’s 50th birthday with understated luxury.
For more updates on the latest trends and designer updates, visit our Fashion File.
