The health and fitness industry is in many cases defined by advancements in medicine and personal outlooks on beauty and general well-being. Needless to say, this includes both your body and your mind.
With that in mind, let us take a closer look at three of the most important trends in these areas today.
Effective and Non-Intrusive
No matter how brave you are or how much you trust your doctor, nobody likes to go under the knife. Aside from the feelings of dread that are oftentimes associated with someone cutting you open, in the vast majority of cases, there is a need for anesthetics. And even if medical technology has seen incredible development in the last few decades, there are still unknowns when putting someone to sleep.
Of course, sometimes this is unavoidable. For instance, if you need an organ transplant or require a tumor to be taken out, there are no two ways around it. Your primary healthcare physician needs to see what is inside if he is to help you get better.
Still, in many other cases, this is not necessary, at least not anymore. One of the best examples is the treatment of spinal cord injuries and preexisting conditions. Today, whether you are a teenager or an adult, you can get in touch with an experienced scoliosis specialist who can perform non-invasive therapies yielding exceptional results. Others include heat-based curatives for joint pains and dysmenorrhea, cupping, and herbal medicine.
All About Supplementation
University of Wisconsin’s School of Agriculture biochemist Elmer Vernon McCollum is best known for being the first person to discover the existence of vitamins. While conducting studies on rats for nutritional science purposes in 1913, he identified a substance later named “fat-soluble factor A.” Thirty years later, the first multi-vitamin was being sold in stores across the country, and the concept of food supplementation was born.
As we can see, the idea of taking not only vitamins but also all other kinds of supplements is nothing new. In fact, it has been going on for close to a century. Yet, the levels of customization and specificity we are seeing now are greater than perhaps at any other moment in our history. If you take the time to do enough research and go online, you will find protein shakes, Ascorbic acid pills, stress tablets, performance enhancers, and everything in between. In addition, aside from the sheer quantity of products you have at your disposal, they are much safer and more effective than ever before.
Regardless of your opinion on natural nutrition versus the so-called dietary chemicals, there is no arguing that supplementation is here to stay.
Fitness and the New Way of Life
Different people want to be fit and healthy for different reasons. For some, it’s about looking good in front of the mirror or a tiny bathing suit at the beach. For others, it’s a question of longevity and functionality. More than anything, they wish to play with their kids and grandkids for as long as they possibly can. A third group focuses on the energy that stems from physical exercise and the increase in productivity at work and other activities.
Whatever the case may be, people in the 21st century are beginning to alter their views on exercise and well-being. Rather than being a hobby or a means to an end, they are looking at it as a way of life. For them, their 30-minute run in the morning, a date with a personal fitness instructor twice a week, or their daily yoga practice before going to bed are equally important to any other aspect of their lives.
Adding to that, people from all walks of life are also paying much more attention to the intrinsic relationship between physical and mental health. They understand that no matter how great you look in the eyes of others and even your own, it is meaningless if you don’t feel happy and confident about the person you are.
As we have seen, three key trends are shaping the health and fitness industry today. The first is the proliferation of non-invasive yet effective treatments for all kinds of physical ailments. The second is the mass production and distribution of a wide variety of supplements based on age, gender, body condition, and specific needs. Finally, the men and women of today are embracing health and fitness as an essential component of their lifestyles.
While there are many things we cannot control, the decisions we make as it pertains to our bodies and minds is not one of them. As such, we must make the right ones for a longer, happier, more productive life.
