By Sara
In the health and wellness world of 2022, there are SO many health trends out there. So how do you go about deciding which ones you want to add to your life for health promotion? Should you try whatever is uber-popular and high demand at the moment? Or should you try the trends that have been around and stood the test of time?
Personally, I am all about hopping on health trends that are effective enough to last a very long time. Unfortunately, the power that simple lifestyle changes can have over so many different medical conditions is one of the best-kept secrets in health care systems.
Let this be the last year that you spend not doing all of the activities that bring you joy due to health limitations. This can be the year you start living your life to the fullest because you felt healthy enough to do so!
“The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
–John Maxwell
Lasting Lifestyle Change:
Lifestyle changes don’t require additional spending, many don’t require extra time, and none require a doctor’s prescription for you to get started today. Medical professionals don’t often have the time needed to adequately discuss these simple concepts, and instead have increased focus on medical treatment and clinical care. So if you have a medical condition which is not emergent, nor urgent but is chronic in nature, consider this. Rather than looking at new treatments, start with the basics; what you eat, how you move, how you handle stress and relationship building.
So, one of the habits I’m adding is increasing the amount of prebiotics and probiotics that I am consuming. For those consuming a whole food plant-based diet, you are already getting some pro- and prebiotics. But how about increasing the diversity of your diet in order to increase the diversity of all the beneficial microbes in your gut. The ones that keep you healthy, and feeling well.
What are Probiotics?
First, what are probiotics? According to Mayo Clinic, “probiotics are foods that contain live microorganisms intended to maintain or improve the “good bacteria” (normal microflora) in the body”. Yogurt, sauerkraut, fermented pickles, kombucha, tempeh, kimchi, and miso are all great food-based sources. Probiotics work by helping your body digest food, making vitamins, and protecting the cells lining your gut and preventing any bad bacteria that you may have consumed from crossing into the blood stream. They also make sure the bad bacteria don’t grow out of control and “take over”, resulting in illness. By getting these in food form, we actually get the benefits. So this health trend is forgoing probiotics in supplement form, and getting these as foods in my diet on the regular.
Okay, so what are Prebiotics?
Again, referencing the Mayo Clinic, “these are foods (typically high-fiber foods) that act as food for human microflora”. Some examples would be whole grains, bananas, greens, onions, garlic, soybeans and artichokes. The food that we feed our gut microbiome has the potential to positively impact overall health. Scientists have discovered improvements in immune system, cardiovascular health, brain and gut health, bone health and skin health when eating enough prebiotics.
Be the CEO of your own Health:
In today’s health systems, we must learn as much about health promotion as we can on our own. No one is going to have the passion for creating your own health and happiness that you will. So hop on a health trend to start building your health “assets” today!
Currently, the healthcare industry is more about sick care than about preventing illness and promoting health long-term. Patient care has become like slapping on a band-aid to whatever ails and then moving onto the next patient to do the same. And here in the United States our health outcomes are a reflection of how broken our health system is. Our healthcare providers are doing the best they can, but COVID has really shown a light on how inefficient and ineffective our healthcare is.
Lifestyle changes are cumulative:
New entrants into wellness trends may get overwhelmed. The trick is to only pick 1-2 new habits at a time to adopt, until they become habit. The health benefits that many small changes can bring you are many, and they are definitely cumulative! Just think how you could feel next year if you start now. You don’t have to know everything right away, just make some small, easy changes that you can keep up will all play an important role in increasing your overall wellness.
Next, I will be making better use of a healthcare technology trend; health and fitness wearables. The next health trend I’m adopting is to reach my step goal each day. Using my trusty Apple watch, I take a 15-minute break to take a quick walk from 1 end of the hospital where I work to the other. During lunch, I eat my food, and then venture outside for the remainder of my lunch break, cutting the time in half, walking half the minutes away from work and the other half walking back to work. This improves my blood sugar following meals, and helps me to return to work with a fresh mind, and also can help with a slow, sustainable weight loss. Tech companies are coming up with more and more, beyond the standard watches, there are now rings, necklaces, and technology innovation is improving by leaps and bounds.
Fitness Wearables:
Fitness wearables can bring you greater awareness of your habits, so that you can make positive changes in the areas you choose. These aren’t new ways to increase activity, but they do work, slowly but surely. Because the majority of my current day job is spent in front of a computer, these small walks definitely help to get me moving through the day, and so far I’m enjoying these walks. As healthcare workers, we have a responsibility to lead by example to show our patients just what is possible for them. This health trend is easy because my apple watch will remind me to do the new health habits I wish to create throughout the day.
What is health to you?
Physical health is a combination of many factors, but lifestyle changes have a large impact on health. If you do start making some small changes, and keeping these habits as part of your routine, you will soon be able to look back and see you’ve come a long way from where you were when you started. The key is to do these changes in a sustainable way that you’ll be able to continue long-term. When your multiple small changes snowball into significant increases in your health, it is an amazing feeling.
Your future health and happiness is a good reason (is it not the very best reason) to explore health and wellness trends, but just be careful not to start something that doesn’t have good data behind it. If you are going to the trouble to institute new habits, make sure they are ones you will enjoy.
So what new ideas do you have that you want to try in your own life? Are you going to make the commitment so that in the near future, you’ll feel more energetic, sleep better and have less ailing you? What current trends are you jumping onto the bandwagon to participate in? You have so many options and more coming in the foreseeable future. Let me know in the comments below what health trend you have committed to- I’d love to hear and support you!
Pick one thing and take action now. Don’t hesitate to make any changes, because you can’t make all the changes at once. These will snowball, and you will be left with some wonderful habits if you take the time to really integrate them into your new routine! Go best friend
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Good read! Personally, I make sure to live a green life as much as possible. From the hemp coffee I drink up to the hemp wallets that I use. Loving sustainable and eco-friendly hemp products.