Every year, people are getting more and more aware of the importance of proper nutrition. The increasing awareness in combination with a definite focus on health and well-being brings along new nutrition and diet trends every year. Today, whatever your goal or focus is with your nutrition, chances are you can find the solution that is just right for you, you just have to look well enough, and in that case, the internet is your best friend. To get you started, here are some of the hottest trends of 2019 in the field of healthy food and meal plans.
Pegan diet
For a long time now, veganism has been a leading nutrition trend but what if we said you don’t have to shun animal products and still reap health benefits? A pegan (or paleo-vegan) diet is basically the best of both worlds. In fact, it focuses on the common points between these two seemingly completely different but actually somewhat similar diets. It basically suggests that you should eat sustainable, healthy whole foods. The pegan diet combines our hunter-gatherer ancestors’ diet with the vegan diet, which results in a balanced diet that has everything your body needs, so it’s worth looking into this trend.
Milk alternatives
A lot of people are turning to milk alternatives instead of traditional dairy products. Be it because of health or ethical reasons, this movement brings about the constant emergence of new plant-based milk alternatives. You might be consuming almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, and other similar beverages on a regular basis, but now you will be able to expand your repertoire with oat milk too as it has been gaining popularity as of late. For now, you will most likely find Oatly (a Swedish brand of oat milk) in whole food stores, but they have been experiencing immense growth in the past two years, so oat milk will probably soon hit the shelves of regular stores. What’s great about oat milk is that it’s very similar to cow milk, and this is why it has even found its way into cafes. Similarly, many say that tahini is “the new almond butter,” so it wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect even more of these alternatives to pop up in the future.
Meal delivery services
It’s not a surprise that nowadays, most people don’t have too much time to dedicate to preparing meals, which leads them to abandon their health goals and well-devised meal plans and turn to instant, less healthy alternatives more often than they would like to. Coming up with a whole menu for the week and cooking for yourself every day is becoming more and more unrealistic, which is why many companies are coming up with a solution in the form of ready-to-eat meal delivery services. The best thing about these is that the customer is able to tailor the plan to their specific taste and needs, with some sites such as My Muscle Chef even having advanced options such as “muscle gain” and “calorie control” plans. These can be very useful for those who are actively working on their bodies but find calorie counting tedious and time-consuming. So today, you can get the issue of healthy eating out of the way with a few simple clicks.
Zero waste
The environmental impact that we have caused to the planet is becoming more apparent every year, which makes a lot of people change almost every aspect of their lifestyle, including their food management and meal prepping habits. Zero waste is a concept where, well, as the name says, the focus is on avoiding tossing food. On a global level, a staggering 1.3 billion tons of food go to waste, and a way to combat this is by making conscious decisions. Think about what meals you will make throughout the week and write your shopping list accordingly to avoid buying things that will just take up space in your pantry and eventually go bad. Making bigger batches and freezing leftovers also goes a long way. The great thing about this that besides the environment, it also saves money!
Collagen-enriched diet
Another trend that is impossible not to notice is the focus on proper skincare and the fact that in 2019, a healthy, natural glow seems to be superior to putting on makeup. Therefore, beauty gurus are on the lookout for new ways of boosting the look of their skin, and one way to do that is by replenishing our bodies with collagen. In fact, the health benefits of this go beyond only the skin, as collagen can help with other signs of aging too, namely, achy joints. While you can find collagen naturally in some foods (such as bone broth,) many turn to collagen supplements instead. Given that collagen in powder form dissolves easily, you can put it in your smoothies for a youthful boost.
Probiotic-rich diets
More and more people are realizing that their well-being basically boils down to their gut health. In fact, the bacteria that inhabit your intestines are largely responsible for your overall health, impacting even your brain and heart health, which is why it is crucial to nurture these bacteria communities. Therefore, probiotics are taking center stage as of late. There are probiotics-infused granola bars, oatmeal and smoothies you can turn to if you don’t like yogurt. In addition to probiotics, prebiotics are gaining momentum too, which are a type of fiber that enables your bacteria communities to thrive. The popularity of foods that help ensure digestive health is predicted to grow in the following years as well, so it’s worth paying attention to this trend.
The aforementioned are only a few of the trends that are hot at the moment, but they are certainly some of the most powerful ones that we are bound to hear more about in the near future. Besides these, trends such as the use of adaptogen add-ons and the appearance of CBD and new superfoods (such as tiger nuts) are all worth checking out. Today, we have the widest possible choice when it comes to what we eat and how we plan our diet, but it’s also important not to fall for just any trend. Always be informed and in that way, you are certain to find the trends that work for you and steer clear of ineffective fads.