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Health & Fitness

What's Ahead in Health and Wellness in 2014?

While I don’t have a crystal ball, I have been tracking the trends in the print and online media for you. Here are a few of my forecasts for the coming year!

1. Turn the food pyramid upside down!
Do you recall the food pyramid? (BTW-It was replaced by the food plate) Well, with the hot, hot books “Wheat Belly” and “Grain Brain” more health professionals are calling into question the past emphasis on grains as the foundation of one’s diet. That said, “pseudograins” are gaining in popularity. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wha), buckwheat (no relation to wheat) and amaranth are biologically dissimilar to the customary grains on American’s plate (wheat, rye, barley). They are gluten free, less likely to be hybridized and higher in protein than cereal grains (quinoa is actually a “complete protein” having a full complement of amino acids). Remember the fat free craze of the 80’s? Yes, we are happy to forget it also! Fortunately, “good fats” continue to trend upwards for their positive health effects and taste! A few to keep an eye on include chia seeds, avocadoe, coconut (yes, you read that correctly!!) and extra virgin olive oil.
2. Strong is the new black!
Ready to pick an exercise program that will still be around for next year’s resolutions? Then focus on strength and intervals! Trending upward for 2014 is an emphasis on body weight training and H.I.I.T. (high intensity interval training). Programs such as TRX and Crossfit continue to grow in popularity due to the increasing body of evidence about their results. More people are using personal trainers for fitness gains and physical therapists for functional training. Also, with the greying of American comes a wealth of fitness programs for “older adults”. On their way “out”? Spinning and Zumba.
3. The pedometer becomes “quaint”
There was a time when heart rate monitors and pedometers were cutting edge devices. In evidence at the 2014 CES was an explosion of health monitoring devices that track more than fitness parameters (think sleep, posture, blood pressure, glucose, hydration and more) and connect via Bluetooth to your smart phone/related apps and some even connect your data to your physician. Expect to see more of this trend, not just in 2014, but in many years to come. 4. The brain, the true “final frontier”
Forget space, the potential of the human brain is where scientists are concentrating their “explorations” these days. The B.R.A.I.N. (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) is a 100 million dollar initiative which “…aims to help researchers find new ways to treat, cure, and even prevent brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury”. Expect a wealth of exciting (and potentially conflicting and confusing!) information to be revealed to the public in the coming years. 5. You are your gut bacteria
With the American Gut Project and the Human Microbiome Project scientists have learned there are more gut bacteria within each of us than human cells. They are rapidly linking these bacteria to immunity, obesity, diabetes, mood and more. Wellness promotion and disease prevention strategies are developing from this amazing research.

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