Top Wellness Trends of 2019

Health and wellness is important to us and it should be to you too. Thankfully the wellness industry is growing by the day as people have increased their investment in their health. Here’s five of the top wellness trends that should peak your interest for 2019.

#1 – Prescribing nature

Imagine going to the doctors and being prescribed a walk in the park over pharmaceutical drugs? Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones, which examines the lifestyles of the world’s longest-lived people, found that these people—who live to be over 100—have movement engineered into their daily lives. This isn’t rocket science and far from new information but the medical profession taking note and realizing the benefit of prescribing nature as medicine is major progress in the world of wellness.

#2 – Spotlight on nutrition

Do you remember the types of foods you grew up on? I do. Born in the UK, I was raised on a diet of meat, potatoes and 2 veg. This translated to fat laden or overcooked meat, potatoes mashed with cream and butter and over boiled carrots. For lunch we’d have white bread sandwiches with butter and jam. My family of 6 ate well and we were big eaters, but there was never a thought about what we were putting in to our bodies growing up – if there was food, you ate it. Now, as an adult in a thriving world of nutritional choices, the spotlight I put on nutrition for myself and my family is overwhelming. Plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free – are these confusing us more than benefiting us and defining us rather than nutritiously fueling us?

I think the key to our nutrition is that there’s no one size fits all. My diet needs carbs, balanced amount of grains, legumes and plant-alternatives to meat and dairy. Luckily other contributing factors to our overall health such as smoking and drinking are on a decline compared to the incline of healthy eating, amongst millennials.

Personalized nutrition is a big business that’s on the rise. Just one example: Gluten-free products were nonexistent a decade ago and in 2017, the global market was valued at over $4.7 billion. Canada food guide was recently updated to reflect the growing popularity of a plant-based diet, introducing plant options as nutritional sources of protein which is a huge step in the right direction for the health of our population.

#3 – CBD oil’s health benefits can’t be ignored

Cannabidiol (CBD oil) is something you may or may not have heard of and may or may not have strong views about it’s potential natural health benefits. One thing we can’t ignore is the traction it’s getting for its ability to reduce many ailments, including reducing pain, soothing anxiety, fighting cancer, improving mood, eliminating depression, preventing inflammatory arthritis, protecting the immune system, balancing the metabolism, aiding sleep disorders, and healing the skin, among others.

CBD oil is different from hemp seed oil, since it is extracted not from the seed but from the flowers, leaves, and stalks of hemp.

I haven’t yet tried this but I’m open to benefiting from the use of a natural oil if it crosses my path.

#4 – Meditation goes viral

Meditation has become a bit of a buzzword outside of the inner wellness circles. Meditation is fast becoming the wellness trend that yoga was 20 years ago. But is it adding confusion in to practice of self-transcending? Unless you’re well practiced in Buddhist, Hindu and Jewish traditions, chances are you could be stuck in the state of confusion that many are: meditation, mindful and mindfulness – are regularly interchanged but they each offer a different outcome – 1) focused attention 2) open monitoring (which includes mindfulness meditation) and 3) self-transcending meditation.

More research is needed to study the three main types and to inform the hot market of meditation. And as with hot trends this day and age, technology (apps) and the desire to cash-in, can create one-stop shops for meditation types, new customized mediation practices and more meditation retreats – but be cautious of mass marketed packages that water down the spirituality of the ancient traditions of practices.

Did I forget to say, meditation is a wonderfully powerful tool?

#5 – Got oat milk?

Non-dairy milks have been around for a few years now, beginning as alternatives for vegans and non-dairy eaters but with rising trends in popularity the options are endless: almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk, rice milk, and more. Now in comes oat milk, which is fast getting attention.

Oat milk is simple- it’s made from blending steel cut oats and water. It’s particularly accessible, as it’s cheaper to make than nut milk and may be more environmentally friendly. It has less protein than cows milk per serving but more than almond, cashew or coconut milk. It also contains B vitamins thiamin and folate, and the minerals magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, and copper, as well as a variety of other vitamins and minerals in trace amounts. Here’s a simple recipe to follow if you’re interested in getting on trend.