It’s a tale as old as time – inevitably, the encroaching start of a new year gets you thinking about how you want your next 365 days to pan out. New habits are formed, grand plans are considered, and pledges for a healthier life are made. How long these lofty goals persist, well, that’s another matter, but for a while, it seems as if anything is possible!
So as we look ahead to 2025, to give you some inspiration, let’s explore some of the health and wellness trends that look set to explode.
Why is Everyone Obsessed With Gut Health?
Besides saving you from uncomfortable trips to the toilet, increasingly studies have found that a healthy gut plays a large part in maintaining your mental health, improving your sleep, and aiding your immune system.
The simplest way of helping your gut is to increase your fibre intake – right now, only 9% of people are eating the recommended daily amount of 30g per day. A diet sufficient in fibre has also been linked to a reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. Additionally, fermented drinks like kefir and kombucha are great for your gut microbiome.
Why is Strength Training so Important?
Strength training (or resistance training) has been popular for years now, and that popularity is only gathering speed. Amongst its many benefits is that it helps significantly with longevity: maintaining freedom of movement well into old age, building bone density, and decreasing the risk of falls.
But you don’t have to wait until your later years to feel the benefits. Strength training exercises can also help those suffering from sciatica, neck pain, and lower back pain. They are even good for your brain, with multiple studies showing links between lifting weights and improved cognition.
Why Are We Saying Goodbye to BMI?
Increasingly in recent years, the use of BMI, where a person’s weight is measured in proportion to their height, has been questioned for its accuracy. Now there’s an alternative – BRI (Body Roundness Index). For BRI, the statistics in question are your height and your waist size.
With BMI, the weight measurement did not differentiate between fat and muscle, which is clearly a problem. As there has been plenty of research to suggest that an abundance of fat gathered around your stomach is one of the clearest risk indicators for heart problems, the waist measurement is thought to provide a much more accurate picture.
It’s relatively early days yet (BMI was invented in 1830; BRI in 2013), but look out for BRI usage becoming far more widespread.
Why is Wearable Technology Becoming So Popular?
Wearable technology – or ‘wearables’ – offers the chance for users to have an individualised health plan tailored to their specific needs. Smartwatches, fitness rings, and an ever growing list of items can measure heart rate, sleep patterns, body temperature, blood oxygen and a whole lot more. That data can then be used to provide the wearers with information that can help them improve their overall wellbeing, or be shared with a doctor. We’ve come an awful long way since the age of the pedometer!
What Is The Mineral Of The Moment?
The often-neglected magnesium is finally getting it’s due! The everyman of the minerals, magnesium helps with a host of areas – controlling blood sugar levels; helping us get a good night’s sleep, contributing to brain, heart, and bone health; even alleviating anxiety.
Epsom salts and supplements can help with getting to your recommended daily allowance (300 mcg for men, 270 mcg for women), but the simplest way of hitting the target is through your food intake – fortified breakfast cereals are often rich in magnesium, as are nuts, dark chocolate, green leafy vegetables, and wholemeal bread.
We hope we have given you some inspiration! From your favourite Jersey chiropractors, we wish you a happy, and healthy, New Year!
Charles Robottom & Felicity MacDougall
Contact information
Tel: 01534 876510
WhatsApp: 07797 710003
Book online: www.orchard.co.je
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