By Niki Bezzant*
Photo: Unsplash
Did you spend the year counting your macros and considering whether the carnivore diet would solve all your problems? Let's take a look at some of the wildest wellness trends of 2024, and gaze into the crystal ball for 2025.
Though Tiktok might think it's discovering apple cider vinegar or getting our colours done for the first time, the truth is there's rarely anything truly new in wellness trends; everything comes around again, time after time. Here are the 2024 trend that have limited value for anyone except those selling them.
Carnivore diets
Despite what the influencers say, there are no proper published studies of the meat-only diet and its impacts on health. Photo: Supplied / Casey Van Liefe
History: This one goes back nearly two centuries; Bernard Moncriff wrote The Philosophy of the Stomach; or an Exclusively Animal Diet is the Most Wholesome and Fit for Man in 1856. "I entertain the confident hope that what is the case with me might be the case with everybody else," he wrote, setting the standard for a million 'It worked for me' diet books of the future.
Evidence: Zero - there are no proper published studies of the meat-only diet and its impacts on health.
What the experts say: Eating one food only - no matter what it is - is a bad idea. Long term, eating a meat-based diet could be bad for your health.
Trackers for everything
Health-tracking devices can be motivating for some people and problematic for others. Photo: 123rf
History: The patent for the first pedometer was granted in 1924. In Japan in 1965, the marketers of one particular pedometer came up with the goal of 10,000 steps a day (yes, that was made up by marketers). Now, people are tracking everything from sleep to moment-by-moment blood sugar, in the service of optimising health.
Evidence: There's some evidence for some health-tracking devices - they can motivate us to move more, or eat more veges. They can also be useful to keep on top of health conditions, like sleep apnoea or diabetes. Others can create issues, for example diet trackers have been shown to lead to disordered eating in some people. When it comes to continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), there's no research on them in people without diabetes, no evidence they're needed, and no 'ideal' ranges to be aiming for.
What the experts say: Your fitness watch might be motivating, and that's great. But monitoring every bodily function might do more psychological harm than physical good. CGMs for non-diabetics are not useful; it is completely normal for blood sugars to rise following the eating of carbohydrate-containing foods.
Collagen
Collagen supplements may do more to dent your bank balance than they do to improve your skin, joints and ligaments. Photo: GARO
History: Forms of collagen have been around in the traditional medicines of many cultures for centuries. In the 1970s and '80s, its use as a supplement kicked off.
Evidence: There's mixed evidence that collagen from supplements affects skin, joints and ligaments. Some small studies have found benefit; others none. What's more, some collagen powders have been found to be contaminated with heavy metals.
What the experts say: Despite the hype, there's no guarantee that taking collagen is going to do what marketers promise. It's broken down in the body when consumed, and used wherever it's needed - which may or may not be what you're taking it for.
Apple cider vinegar
Apple cider vinegar: great for salads, not a miracle cure for your health. Photo: Towfiqu Barbhuiya / Unsplash
History: This one's been doing the rounds as a cure-all since the days of literal snake-oil salesmen. It really took off in the early days of the health food movement in the 1970s.
Evidence: There's scant evidence that ACV is beneficial. It has antibacterial properties, and might lower the glycaemic load of a meal when added to food. Be careful if you're consuming it straight, though, that you don't take it right before bed; and keep an eye out for any erosion of tooth enamel.
What the experts say: It's not magic, but it's nice as a salad dressing.
Upcoming trends
Look for these trends to come in hot in 2025.
Protein, protein and more protein
It's been trending for years but boosting our protein intake will be everywhere next year as strength training takes off. Bear in mind, the evidence suggests more is not always better; beyond a certain point (about 1.6g protein per kilo of body weight) the benefits are marginal for most people.
Longevity biohacking
Anti-ageing is out; longevity is in. The cynical among us might think it's the same thing dressed up in different marketing language. Find it in a huge range of supplement pills, powders and drinks. Of note: NMN, which has huge hype and very, very little evidence in humans.
More menopause
Menopause is having more than a moment. Expect more conversation and a lot more menopause and perimenopause products as marketers jump on that train to target Gen X and Millennial women.
And from the 'nothing is really new' file, keep an eye out for these weird trends: Water fasting (what it sounds like); drinking urine (still around and still icky); misinformation about seed oils (they're fine, really!); demonising of sugar and carbs (fruit is not the same as donuts!); raw milk evangelisers (still no evidence for this).
*Niki Bezzant is a freelance writer, speaker, journalist and author focusing on health, wellbeing and science.
