The Top 7 Health & Nutrition Trends of 2017
Welcome to Community Voices! With these special blog posts, we’re very excited to welcome a handful of health enthusiasts from the Activation Family to share their experiences and some of the discoveries they’ve made on their own personal journeys to better health. We hope you’ll be able to connect, relate and grow alongside our community writers.
When it comes to health, I like to be up on the trends. I’m always ready to try new things and see which trends will work with my busy schedule and which trends I think will be out by 2018.
Between diets, drinks and exercise trends, there are tons of trends that crop up on a regular basis for health enthusiasts like me to try out.
So what’s been trending this year in the health world? I’ve come up with a list of some of the top health and fitness trends of 2017 that my friends and I tried out and that might interest you too, in case they passed you by.
If you’re active on Instagram you’ve probably seen a handful of these featured in your news feed. I know my Instagram is full of healthy power bowls and fresh pressed juices.
The Keto Diet. Every year seems to have its own diet trend. This year, it was definitely the Keto Diet.
For those who don’t know, the Keto Diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. Let’s go over a quick breakdown of how the diet works.
When you eat a high-carb diet, your body converts the glucose (aka carbs or sugar) to energy because it’s the easiest molecule to use. Since your body is using glucose as fuel, the fats you eat get stored instead of converted into fuel.
According to ruled.me, when you cut your carb intake, your body goes into ketosis, which “is a natural process the body initiates to help us survive when food intake is low. During this state, we produce ketones, which are produced from the breakdown of fats in the liver. The end goal of a properly maintained keto diet is to force your body into this metabolic state. We don’t do this through starvation of calories but starvation of carbohydrates.”
When your body goes into ketosis, it begins converting fats into energy, encouraging weight loss. I didn’t give this one a try because I wasn’t really looking to lose weight this year, but a lot of my friends gave it a go. The results were split, but I know a few people who saw a lot of weight loss success using the Keto method.
There’s actually a lot to know about this diet, in terms of what you can eat and the pros and cons and it isn’t the same for everyone. Activation Products wrote a good blog post recently that covers these questions, so if you’re wondering if the keto diet is right for you, give their Keto Diet Pros and Cons post a read.
Turmeric. You may find it odd to see a spice that’s been sitting in your spice rack for years in a health and fitness trends list. While turmeric itself isn’t new, its popularity as a health booster has really taken off.
The Telegraph included turmeric on its list of trendy things people in LA are doing this year, hailing turmeric as “the new kale”. Refinery29 even called 2017 “the year of turmeric”… but what’s all the hype about?
Well, from hummus, to face masks and even lattes, turmeric is being used in everything. This is probably because it’s high in antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory properties and has even gained notoriety as an antimicrobial substance. That’s a lot of benefits for one spice.
Plus, it tastes good. I’m definitely on board with this one.
Wearable technology. Fitbits, Garmins and Apple Watches, oh my! I’m sure at least one person you know is obsessed with their fitness tracker. My office is full of them and I must admit, this is one of the trends I jumped on quickly. I’ll also confess that I love mine.
The latest generation of fitness trackers not only track your progress, but they have features in place to keep you moving.
Men’s Fitness explains that “they’re not only step counters but have move alerts to get off your butt when you’ve been still too long. They don’t only have exercise timers you can start when you’re about to work out but auto-tracking of workouts that log right into the apps. And their next-level fitness tools such as GPS and swimming lap counters encourage walkers to become runners and casual exercisers to become athletes.”
These trackers can even track your heart rate, show your fitness level and track your successes. It’s a super easy way to stay on top of your exercise and measure how your fitness level is improving. You can even log your food choices, like an electronic health journal.
With a little research, picking a fitness tracker that’s right for you should be easy if you’re interested in giving this trend a try. There are so many great options out there and with continuously advancing technology, this trend isn’t going out of style anytime soon.
Jackfruit. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of jackfruit until this year but let me tell you, it’s quickly become one of the hottest food trends of 2017.
Vegans and vegetarians, in particular, were pretty excited about it. Rachel Ray says that jackfruit “has a texture similar to chicken, and absorbs pretty much any flavor you pair with it.”
Those who have been eating jackfruit say it’s incredibly versatile, with some even using it as a substitute for chicken on nachos or making vegetarian pulled “pork” with it. The taste of this fruit raw, without anything added, is a bit like a mango.
It’s not only delicious, it’s also nutritious. According to an article on HuffPost, “The fruit is also a good source of vitamin C, while its seeds are rich in protein, potassium, calcium and iron, and it has been hailed as a “miracle food crop” that could help offset global food insecurities.”
Cool, right? If you’re hoping to give it a try, Asian food markets, health food stores and specialty grocery stores often have the fruit in stock.
Plant Waters. Okay, so most of us have probably tried coconut water and you may have some pretty mixed feelings about it. You may have noticed, though, that it’s not the only plant water on the shelves anymore.
Aloe water, cactus water, artichoke water, watermelon water and even maple or birch tree waters are just a few of the new plant waters people are trying.
The reason these waters have become so popular? They’re pretty good for you. It’s always great to get your daily water intake, but something about adding plant essences into the mix feels even better.
According to NY Daily News, “the all-natural elixirs, which pack plant-based antioxidants and electrolytes said to hydrate drinkers better than plain water, have been oversaturating the market ever since coconut water opened the floodgates 10 years ago by offering an alternative to sugary, processed sports drinks.”
Opinions on plant water seem to be split, though. There seems to be more research needed in order to make any claims about the benefits of plant-infused waters. At the very least, you’re looking at hydration with a little more flavor than just plain old water. Nothing wrong with that!
Healthy food bowls. Buddha bowls, smoothie bowls, rice bowls, poke bowls… the healthy food bowl options seemed endless this year, not to mention incredibly popular lunch choices in my office.
Since bowls are just trendy ways to eat healthy foods, there’s no question that this trend, in general, is pretty good for you.
Buddha bowls are usually nutritionally balanced, vegan and packed full of colorful foods. Poke bowls, according to Fine Dining Lovers, “reflect the Hawaiian meaning of the word itself – slice and cut – and are actually composed of sliced or diced meat and fish accompanied by sweet and chilli peppers, and vegetables served together in a bowl.”
My favorite poke bowl has steamed rice, avocado and raw salmon sprinkled with black sesame seeds. It’s kind of like a deconstructed sushi bowl. Yum!
One of the first trendy bowls, though, was the breakfast bowl. This includes the acai bowl which is, according to Fine Dining Lovers, “nutritious bowls of breakfast cereals, fresh and dried fruit and of course acai, the sweet tropical fruit low in calories whose consistency, when reduced to a puree, is very similar to that of ice-cream.”
As long as your ingredients are chosen with health in mind, this trend is a fun and delicious way to get your body the nutrients it needs.
Cold Pressed Juices. This trend has been so popular this year, fresh-pressed juice stores have been popping up all over the city and all over my social media.
Cold-pressed juices can be pretty pricey, which is the biggest complaint when it comes to these fancy juices, but there’s actually a reason why. FoodInsight.org tells us that “cold-pressed juice is made with a hydraulic press that uses thousands of pounds of pressure to extract the maximum amount of liquid from fresh fruits and vegetables. No additional heat or oxygen is used in the process, meaning that no nutrients are lost in the heat of traditional pasteurization.”
These juices are pretty jam-packed with healthy fruits and vegetables, giving your body the vitamins and minerals it needs. However, only drinking cold-pressed juices won’t be enough to keep your body going. Think of it as additional nutrition to your day, a snack if you will. Remember, too, that you don’t get any fiber in juice, which means the natural sugars hit you harder and faster than when you eat whole fruit or fruit blended into a smoothie.
Most of the health trends of 2017 were definite wins for me, aside from the keto diet, which I’m still a little unsure about. Have you tried any of these? What were your favorite health trends this year?
This post got the Activation Products team thinking about what might be in store for us in 2018 and they made a video with their predictions. Check it out below (just enter your email to watch)!
Guest Blogger: Veronica Taylor.
Veronica is a 39-year-old entrepreneur living in New York City. Veronica has a passion for staying fit and healthy despite her busy schedule. She loves to share her quick tips and tricks when it comes to natural beauty, health trends and fitness. Veronica lives by the motto that no matter how busy you are, there’s always time to take care of yourself. Her favorite Activation Products include Amaranth Oil, Black Cumin Oil and EASE Deep Soak.
Related Links
https://www.ruled.me/guide-keto-diet/
http://www.refinery29.uk/turmeric-health-whole-foods-products
http://www.mensfitness.com/life/entertainment/fitness-trends-2017
http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/fit-tech-trends-to-watch-in-2017
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/nutrition/the-top-five-nutrition-trends-for-2017-20161110-gsmqot.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/plant-based-super-waters-hit-marketplace-article-1.2001719
https://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/food-bowl-recipes/
https://www.today.com/food/healthy-food-trends-2017-t106505
Comments
Please note that the views expressed in comments on our blog do not necessarily reflect the views of Activation Products and are exclusively the opinions of individual commenters. Any experiences described by individual commenters cannot be said to be typical and may not be experienced by all users.
To report abuse, please email [email protected].
