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It’s that time of the year again, when experts all over share their predictions for the biggest trends in every industry. Green Queen spends a fair share of her time staying up to date on everything health & wellness, reading just about everything on the subjects.
These are Green Queen's 2017 predictions for the biggest trends in health & wellness. Click To Tweet
Holistic Health Heats Up
It used to be that people thought of holistic health professionals like homeopaths and reiki healers as too woo-woo to take seriously. No longer. Holistic health services, including the healing traditions of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and treatments are exploding all across the world, thanks to a rise in awareness about them and their benefits, the power of social media that has given practitioners a direct line to their potential clients, and a conventional medical community that has been reluctant to embrace the public’s demand for alternative therapies and has failed many chronically sick people. We predict that regulation and education in the holistic world is going to become more important and making sure you understand the differences in training of and scope of treatment offered by practitioners will be key.
The Rise Of Natural Beauty
Over the past couple of years, people have become hyper-aware about the industrial food complex. Consumers have never been savvier when it comes to reading labels, understanding where food comes from and demanding higher quality food products from manufacturers and chefs. Now, their focus is turning to cosmetics and personal care products. Millennials are willing to invest in their beauty products, especially if the ingredient list is clean. Cue a huge uptake in natural, non-toxic and organic beauty brands and store launches like multi-brand ethical platform MINIMAL (May 2018 Update: now closed) and online shops like Urban Greenosophy, Cabanee and No. 2 Organics.
Wellness Tourism Takes Off
Our lives are busier than ever, our days are filled with constant communication and connectivity is a 24-hour affair. Not to mention that our health is poorer than ever, with pollution levels rising, food quality decreasing and sedentary office-based lifestyles a scourge of humankind’s predisposition to movement. The need to escape and to disconnect has never been greater and as such, a whole slew of wellness-based travel companies have popped up to fill this niche. Think wellbeing-focused holidays, bespoke spa detoxes, fitness bootcamps set in nature, and digital detox programs in far-flung destinations, with online booking platforms like Asia’s Om & Away looking to make booking these trips easy and convenient.
Millennials Want To Party Sober
Remember when weekends were for drinking? These days, millennials and Gen Yers prefer green juice to vodka martinis, and hip hop dance classes to clubbing. The rise in sober morning raves like Daybreaker, which started in New York City, and Morning Gloryville, which began in London, is testimony to the fact that the youngsters of today are looking for more from their spare time: they want a like-minded community of people to connect with through physical activity, healthy foods and mindful partying. Daybreaker launched in Hong Kong late last year and will have its second event next month due to the huge success of the first event.
Companies Go Long On Corporate Wellness
Your company wants you to be healthy. Why? Healthy employees cost less: they do better work, they take less sick days and they use their medical insurance less. Which is why companies around the world are investing big in corporate wellness programs to encourage you to go to the gym, eat a higher quality diet and engage in preventative health habits, with flexible benefit structures that allow you to get ‘credits’ that you can redeem at fitness studios and holistic health centers.
Vegan Protein Goes Mainstream
The idea that you can’t get enough protein on a vegan diet is so last year. The world of plant-based food tech innovators like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat is one that investors like Bill Gates believe in, so it’s time to get with the program. On the protein powder side, alternatives like oats, hemp, brown rice and pea protein mean that vegan bodybuilders and the rest of the fitness world can now proclaim their love for plants loudly and proudly, plus companies like Vega are seeing record sales. Oh and expect more experimentation from chefs, with ingredients like jackfruit taking centre stage on the dinner plate.
Self-Care Is The New Black
Expect to hear and read a LOT more about self-care, the concept of spending more time on your own personal wellbeing, whether that be through meditation, exercise, yoga, spa visits, hobbying, eating better, life coaching, holistic health treatments or detox holidays. People, especially women, need to take better care of themselves and in 2017, they will carve out the time to do so. Start your own self-care routine with our Ayurveda-inspired morning healthy habit guide.
Want to check out our 2016 Health & Wellness Trends.
All images courtesy of pexels and Impossible Foods (vegan burger).
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