Food & recipes

Holistic Health Game-changers

Want to stay up to speed with the biggest health and beauty trends in 2019? Look no further! We’ve got it covered…

Meso-dosing

Hailing from the US, this new nutritional hack looks set to be one of the biggest buzzwords of 2019. Meso means middle in Greek and mesonutrients are the special active compounds found within superfoods, such as ginkgo, turmeric and blueberries, that help to boost our health in a myriad of ways. “This is all about using the main therapeutic agent of a botanical medicine to deliver a more potent solution to a condition,” explains Rick Hay, nutritional director of Healthista.com “Think of things like bacapasides in bacopa to help with memory or cognition, curcuminoids in turmeric to help with inflammation, and safranal in saffron to help with mood.”

Clever cannabis

We can’t get enough of CBD oil, and in 2019 cannabis extract looks set to become even bigger. A nonpsychoactive chemical found in the marijuana plant, it could help with symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, MS, anxiety and depression. Dip your toe in with Cannabigold’s new 500mg CBS Oil (£29.90, bionativa.co.uk), treat yourself to Murad Revitalixir Recovery Serum (£70, murad.co.uk), which contains cannabis to relax signs of stress on the skin, or try CBD & Me’s 3% CBDa + CBD Oil (£20, cbdandmeuk.com).

Natural nootropics

If you haven’t heard of this natural brain buzz trend yet, you soon will. Commonly referred to as brain boosters or smartdrugs, nootropics look set to be one of the major trends of 2019. And while synthetic brain-enhancing drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin get a bad press, the future’s looking bright for natural nootropics such as caffeine, turmeric, red reishi mushrooms, ginkgo, rhodiola and rosemary. We love Pukka Herbs Turmeric Brainwave (£15.95, pukkaherbs.com), which alongside turmeric contains a full spectrum of brain-boosting herbs such as green tea extract, gotu kola, rosemary and holy basil (otherwise known as tulsi).

Wonderful weed

Seaweed in skincare will really start to make waves in 2019, with companies such as Voya (voya.ie) and The Cornish Seaweed Company (cornishseaweed.co.uk) tapping into the clever properties of this watery weed. Seaweed naturally absorbs its nourishment from the sea and, as a result, it contains countless minerals, vitamins and beneficial ingredients in high concentrations. This makes it the perfect solution for replenishing the body’s minerals, protecting skin against free radicals, and aids in treating several skin conditions including psoriasis, eczema and acne.

Meat isn’t murder

This will be the year that sees plant-based meats go stratospheric, according to the Innovation Group’s Future 100 trend report for 2019. While the much-hyped Beyond Burger recently hit these shores from the US, vegan fastfood restaurant Temple of Seitan is offering fried ‘chicken’ sandwiches made from wheat gluten, while London-based What the Pitta has just introduced a vegan doner kebab made with spiced soya chunks and soya tzatziki.

Water connoisseurship

“Everything from celery juice to vinegar to activated charcoal is being touted as a miracle drink,” says author of the Future 100 trend report (jwtintelligence. com), Lucie Greene. However, she adds that 2019 looks set to be the year that ‘clever’ water takes centre stage. Look out for mood-boosting water such as Szent, which releases mood-boosting essential oils when you unscrew the cap, while over in NYC they’re all going mad for Recess, which offers waters infused with CBD oils, adaptogens and l-theanine to help you destress and boost positivity.

The new keto

The two hottest health trends of last year have neatly dovetailed to make one massive mega trend – the vegan keto diet! Healthista’s Rick Hay explains that while the traditional keto diet was brilliant for weight loss it had negative long-term health implications: “The vegan version is much kinder to both the planet and the body. It’s all about focusing on healthy fats whilst restricting carbs to get the body into ketosis.” So carb-heavy foods are out and instead think foods like oil-rich avocados and macadamia nuts and protein-rich tempeh and tofu, while vegan meats, mushrooms, above ground veg, vegan cheese, coconut yoghurt berries and fermented foods are also firmly on the menu in the year ahead!

Medicinal mushrooms

One of natural food retailer Wholefoods top trends in the US last year, functional mushrooms, look set to be even bigger in the UK this coming year. With their clever adaptogenic properties (which means they balance your system), these magic mushrooms do everything from supporting the body through stress and anxiety, balancing hormones and the nervous system and helping boost energy. Now, varieties like reishi, chaga, cordyceps and lion’s mane star in bottled drinks, smoothies and teas, as well as health supplements such as those from food-based supplements Link Nutrition (linknutrition.com)and beauty products such as Dr Weil’s for Origins Mega Mushroom Soothing Face Cream (£52, origins.co.uk).

Time restricted feeding

You’ve heard of intermittent fasting – in 2019, we’re taking it one step further. Nutritionist Hannah Braye at Bio-Kult (bio-kult.com) explains that time restricted feeding involves having a longer overnight fast of 12 to 16 hours by having your evening meal at 6pm, then breakfast at 10am. “It is believed that it is during these night hours that healing and restoration can occur,” she says, adding that longer fasting periods have been linked to weight loss, anti-ageing, improved heart health and lower blood sugar.

Sub zero waste

Who needs all that glossy plastic packaging? We certainly don’t – especially now we know the devastating impact plastic is having on our earth (thank you, David Attenborough). According to Andrew McDougall of Mintel research, sub zero waste is one of the key trends for the year ahead. Some companies are already discussing completely removing packaging from the equation altogether while green cleaning company Bio-D is making all of its packaging from 100 percent UK post-consumer waste.

Gender neutral skincare

Your other half could soon be snaffling your skincare products according to trend watchers. “Much of the discourse throughout 2018 has been about breaking down barriers in gender and improving diversity,” says June Jensen of NPD UK Beauty. “Millennial men have grown up consuming skincare and embracing beauty regimes. It is possible that these engaged and educated consumers will want to move beyond ‘for men’ skincare and product lines – opting for gender neutral brands that offer the very best skincare for their skin type.”