Jenny Eden Berk

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4 interesting health trends in 2022

I'm always looking at new health research, cool new food products & trends and up-and-coming developments/treatments in nutrition, psychology and stress-reduction. 

It's my jam and admittedly I have an insatiable appetite and curiosity for all things health and all things food.

My curious nature will hopefully be to your benefit as I share 4 of the most interesting health and wellness trends I am seeing for 2022.

**please note that I am not recommending any one product or protocol. I invite you to look at these as an opportunity to research more about your own particular body and health needs. Always speak to your doctor before trying something new.

Continuous Glucose Monitors

More and more people are using devices like these, irrespective if they are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Systemic inflammation can be caused by chronic blood sugar imbalances and correlates with metabolic disorders, insulin resistance among other conditions and can also affect our mood, sleep and energy.

Wouldn't it be interesting to know, for instance, that if you add an avocado to your toast in the morning, your blood sugar spikes much more slowly than when you just have the toast? Or, if you learned that your blood sugar rises more in the evening after eating a carb-heavy meal than during the afternoon?

This is the kind of personalized and individualized information you can get about your own responses to certain foods. There are many companies out there that offer both the CGM (the actual device) as well as apps that go along with it. Some even offer group support and coaching on how to best use it.

A few to consider: 

January AI

Freestyle Libre

Levels Health

Wearable Stress Relief

Buzzwords you may hear in 2022 around stress reduction include HRV (heart-rate variability) Vagal tone, and interoception, which is a lesser known sense we have which helps us understand our body's internal sensations. (i.e. hunger, thirst, temperature etc).

Wearable stress devices use biofeedback, brainwave patterns and soundscapes to help regulate the nervous system, increase the benefits of meditation and have been shown to reduce chronic stress, increase HRV and help elicit calm and induce sleep.

A few to consider:

Muse

Cove

Flowtime

Microbiome Support

Those who did my free Makeover your Microbiome challenge in September, know that 70-80% of your immune system resides in your gut and affects all aspects of your wellbeing. Learning more about your own microbial ecosystem can give you pointed and specific information about what foods your body needs more of to grow and populate all the good strains of bacteria that help you thrive!

In my practice, I use Ixcela as a diagnostic test that then informs how I will guide my client in terms of nutrition. (for 20% off an Ixcela test use the pro-code: MAJEC2020 at checkout)

There are others as well.  Check out my comprehensive list of gut-health support resources here.

Oh and feel free to set up a free inquiry call with me to learn more about gut-healing and microbiome nutritional support.

Personalized Nutrition

There is no one cookie-cutter way of eating. An eating pattern or protocol may work well for one person but be miserable for another. And sometimes you may need to switch up your diet for various reasons including an upcoming trip, an illness or when you're going through a major transition in your life.

Personalized nutrition is an exciting area of health where there is fluidity in how one approaches food and diet and can shape shift depending on what is needed in that moment for each client. For instance, I worked with one client to help her prepare for an upcoming surgery by fortifying her immune system and reducing inflammation through food. 

There is a great upcoming virtual summit all about this topic which is free and that I definitely recommend you look into! 

I also now offer one-off Meal Planning Strategy sessions where I walk you through a personalized meal planning strategy that will give you momentum for 2022.  You can learn more and grab your session here.

Which one of these trends are most exciting or intriguing to you? Which ones will you look into more?

One last thing before I go. I want to gift you with a cozy winter recipe book I curated for you that highlights comfort foods but are ultra nutrient dense and delicious as well.

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Grab your Cozy Winter Eating Plan / Recipe book here!

Stay warm, cozy and find some soup!