2020 has been quite the rollercoaster ride, reminding us how uncertain life is. Out of all the lessons that we have taken from 2020, one surely is the importance of staying healthy – both physically and mentally. The months that we have spent within the four walls of our home gave us some perspective about life and wellness. As a result, social media was awash with people sharing healthy recipes, joining online workout programs and talking more about their mental health.
2020 has also been a significant year in terms of body positivity and destigmatising mental illnesses. With the lessons in our mind, we walk into 2021 wiser with a clearer vision of what we want from life. In 2021, we do not want washboard abs or clear skin or flaunt-able midriff. We want to boost our immunity, get quality sleep and do things that help us maintain our sanity.
With that in mind, here are the wellness and lifestyle trends that will make it big this year.
1. Strengthening immunity
While we still await to get the vaccine shots, our immunity has been the only ally that has helped us survive the global pandemic. It has taken us a global crisis to realise that money cannot buy us happiness or peace, but our immunity can. 2020 has seen a staggering 72% rise in people searching for healthy recipes to improve their immune systems. As doctors all around the world advise us about the value of a healthy immune system, people are finally switching to healthy options. With that, several wellness brands will likely introduce products with immunity-boosting nutrients.
Pro Tip: As the year unfolds, take a resolution to get enough sleep, work out regularly, and eat a well-balanced diet. Ensure your diet contains food rich in vitamins A, C and D, and zinc.
2. Improving gut health
Unless you digest food properly, your body will not assimilate the nutrients. This is where probiotic drinks and food products come in. Probiotics were the IT thing in 2020, with every other health and fitness influencer suggesting fermented foods like kimchi and yoghurt. While medical case study says that 2021 will also walk in the same footsteps, it will walk a step further by dabbling into Prebiotics. Prebiotics are functional fermentation compounds that help in digestion and lead to healthy guts. So, this year you can chuck all the cross-counter medicines you get from the drug store by keeping your microbiomes healthy naturally.
Pro Tip: Include foods like dates, artichokes, asparagus, walnuts and wheat in your everyday diet. You can also get prebiotic energy bars and drinks like Kombucha to ensure a healthy immune system. Here are some probiotic products like Yakult that you can invest in.
3. Treating inflammation
The searches for solutions to avoid inflammation across search engines were over 250% higher in 2020. The pandemic had brought with it a fever of paranoia, where the slightest symptoms triggered people to think they were COVID positive. This is why people are now studying every sneaky sign of inflammation and looking up for inflammation-fighting meals. Inflammations indicate that our bodies are defending foreign invaders, giving you a warning signal. When ignored, the little zit can turn into cancer; the slight back pain can lead to arthritis and light chest pains to heart diseases. 2021 will see a surge of diets and lifestyles that help fight chronic inflammation.
Pro Tip: Include food like nuts, beans, and avocados in your everyday diet. Also, salmon, leafy greens, seasonal citrus fruits and berries can give you the required edge to fight back inflammation. You can also try the Mediterranean diet to curb inflammation.
4. Biohacking via plant protein
While vegetarianism and veganism have been quite the trend for the last few years, 2020 has been the year that marked a significant rise in the numbers. Several people have switched to vegetarian food, especially after the advent of plant proteins. Wellness brands like Beyond Meat and Between Impossible Foods have even launched their plant-based “beef” as a substitute to ground beef. 2021 will also see a rise in the use of plant-milk based products, like almond and soy milk, tofu, etc. We are witnessing this wave of change because most young people are renouncing the American diet and making meatless meals a norm.
Pro Tip: You can replace meat staples with lentils and eggplants. If you find this tough, start with small steps, like having vegetable broth and corn soups. Then switch to using beans in your tacos instead of ground beef. Whip up a chickpea-based hummus (click for recipe), and bake a tofu loaf for the perfect meal.
5. Air-frying your food
The quarantine certainly “compelled” people who did not like to cook and ordered meals online to spend time in the kitchen. Moreover, people have now become cost-savvy as well. So, they used the time in the kitchen to make air fryers a norm. With these magical mini-convection ovens in your kitchen, you can get the crispy skin on the chicken without using almost any amount of oil. With the demand soaring, the older and smaller versions were replaced by extra-large versions to cook food for four in one batch.
Pro Tip: Use an air-fryer that comes with temperature control settings. Also, use an oil sprayer or brush to make the tastiest and healthiest home fries, and chicken popcorns and calamari without worrying about your calorie intake. Here are some of the best air-fryers to consider.
6. Saving your sanity
2020 confined us to our homes and limited our social contact. Even the most introverted ones yearned for an empathetic ear. This led to people giving vent on social media, leading to propagating mental health awareness. These conversations will finally reap benefits in 2021 in debunking several mental health-related myths. Moreover, 2020 has seen a rise in the number of people reaching out to psychiatrists and therapists, and 2021 will be the same. We will also see a surge of online mental health platforms with AI and chatbot-based therapists based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
Pro Tip: If you wish to vent out how you feel but are afraid of being judged, you can try out these meditation and wellness apps to heal yourself mentally and achieve your zen. Take a break or professional assignment help when you feel you cannot go on.
7. Drinking Less
With wine and liquor shops remaining closed for almost an indefinite period due to the Corona crisis, people got the chance to notice the side effects of drinking more alcohol. People initially had to bring down their everyday alcohol consumption not to end up finishing the bottles at one go. This made people realise how moderate or no drinking can benefit them, especially when it comes to weight management. As a result, almost 34% of people decided to cut back on alcohol to achieve their health goals. 2021 bears gifts for all those who chose to refrain. Several breweries are now brewing drinks with lower alcohol content and non-alcoholic beer.
Pro Tip: If you want to check on your drinking habit, start small by blending cocktails with more juice and less alcohol. You can also switch to low-alcoholic beers, like lager. And if you have the fortitude, you will find your ally in sparkling waters and seltzers.
8. Getting more sleep
Previously, we used to be busy throughout the days and ended up staying awake till late watching movies, bingeing on series and scrolling through our social media timelines. 2020 changed our schedules by locking us up in our homes. With so much time in hand, people spent the day watching movies and surfing social media. This inevitably increased our sleeping hours. Once that happened, people started figuring how sleep is intertwined with our mental and physical wellbeing. So, 2021 is the year when we make afternoon siestas and 8-hour sleep mandates.
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Pro Tip: Enough sleep can be the solution to a wrecked gut, untimed cravings, mood swings, and skin problems. If you do not get enough sleep, you can try sleep yoga. You can also invest in diffusers, calming teas, silk sleepwear, eye bands and blackout curtains.
Parting words,
Do not let the fire of achieving physical and mental wellbeing dial down now that the pandemic is no longer a threat due to the vaccine. Put the lessons to good use and adapt to these wellness practices to make 2021 a good year. So, make sure to eat right, drink enough water, exercise more and get enough sleep. Also, do what keeps you happy to strike the corporal-mental balance.
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