Potato milk and dream therapy – health trends to watch in 2022
It’s not just potatoes – sunflower seeds are set to see a revival next year. In the United States, Ben & Jerry’s recently launched sunflower seed ice cream, while Whole Foods offers sunflower butter, and brands such as Biona have also jumped on the trend.
Plant-based foods should only increase. Since the release of Netflix’s highly publicized documentary Seaspiracy, more and more of us have been looking for alternatives. Vegan sashimi ‘zalmon’, usually made with tapioca starch, is on the rise, as is mushroom ‘bacon’ from MyEats.
Dream retreats
Harvard Medical School researchers found in a survey that 29% of people had experienced particularly vivid dreams during the pandemic – a “dream surge” that led to an increase in dream therapy. From apps to courses and retreats, the search for help deciphering what it all means is on the rise. Tree Carr, who runs a retreat, says she’s seen a huge spike in people wanting to know more about their dreams. When you “start to decode them, you realize that your unconscious mind is helping you balance something in your waking life,” she explains.
Hyperbaric chambers
Breathwork has come into prominence with apps and classes to help master the technique. But the new way to oxygenate your body is a session in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Typically, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a treatment in which you enter a pressurized chamber and breathe pure oxygen. Athletes have long used the treatment: footballers Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo, swimmer Michael Phelps and basketball star LeBron James are all known fans. But now others are jumping on the trend for the anecdotal benefits (studies so far inconclusive) that include better sleep, faster recovery times, and new improved breathing capacity for the long ill from Covid.
“Under normal conditions, the air we breathe contains 20.9% oxygen. However, inside a hyperbaric chamber, the air can reach 95% oxygen. This increase in the rate of oxygen helps to oxygenate the blood and promotes the formation of new blood vessels… [this] helps develop your breathing capacity,” says Samson Garwood, assistant director of fitness at Lanserhof at the Arts Club. As well as some swanky gymnasiums, rooms are available at some hospitals and clinics across the country, including at the Nottingham Oxygen Centre, which is currently treating people with long-term Covid.
heavy strapping
The surprising fitness trend taking TikTok by storm is the weighted hula hoop: the hashtag #weightedhulahoop has been viewed over 200 million times. But unlike many social media trends, this one is actually good for you. A 2019 study published in Obesity Facts found that those who used a weighted hoop for just under 13 minutes a day for six weeks lost just over 3cm from their waist, as well as abdominal fat, compared to those who only took 10,000 steps a day. Try the Core Balance Weighted Fitness Hula Hoop, £14.99 (corebalancefitness.co.uk).
