THE YEAR’S TOP HEALTH TRENDS
HT Café takes a look at the wellness trends that stood out in 2016
This year saw a wide range of wellness trends make news — right from the rise in demand for Korean beauty products and regimens, and nut milk as a substitute for regular dairy, to new, healthier alternatives to regular food. HT Café highlights eight top wellness trends of the year.
AQUAFABA
Aquafaba or chickpea water became quite the rage this year. It revolutionised baking for vegans, as it works as an almost perfect substitute for eggs in cakes and mousses. Aquafaba is packed with pectins and antioxidants, which help with cardiovascular disorders. It is also rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and supports healthy digestion. However, city-based nutritionist Kanchan Patwardhan says people should “stay away from aquafaba” if they happen to be allergic to legumes. Headaches, bloating or nausea are also signs that you should stay away from this substitute.
AUTOPHAGY
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year was awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Japanese cell biologist for his discoveries related to autophagy, the process that cells use to recycle their contents. Ohsumi’s findings helped scientists better understand the relationship between autophagy and important cellular level functions. The reduction in autophagy is said to be associated with cell ageing as well as several diseases related to old age such as Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes. Soon after Ohsumi’s recognition, experts started stressing on the three major ways to actively trigger autophagy – diet, fasting and exercise. Some benefits of optimum autophagy include greater resistance to diseases, quicker recovery from injuries, and faster growth in children.
ULTHERAPY
This year, the $22,000 and the $2,00,000-worth gift bags handed to celebs at the Grammys and the Oscars, respectively, had one item in common — a gift coupon for a session of ‘Ultherapy’, a High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) treatment. “Ultherapy is a company name that has gained a lot of popularity in the US and has become synonymous with HIFU treatment,” explains citybased dermatologist and laser surgeon Dr Apratim Goel.
In this therapy, ultrasound imaging is used to focus energy deep beneath the skin to stimulate collagen regeneration. This jumpstarts a natural process known as neocollagenesis, which leads to the production of fresh collagen. As it is non- invasive in nature, Ultherapy is considered safe for diabetics. In the beginning of the year, English footballer Jermain Defoe cast the spotlight on cryotherapy when he credited it for helping his team win crucial matches. “We have been using a cryotherapy chamber. It’s like a sauna with a temperature of 140 degrees Celsius. You go in for two minutes to speed up recovery,” he said. Ranbir Kapoor reportedly tried out a session of the therapy at his personal trainer Neville Wadia’s holistic fitness centre as well. However, city-based experts such as Dr Jayashree Todkar, a bariatric and metabolic surgeon, disapproved of using the therapy for cosmetic reasons. “If cryotherapy is used for anything other than scientific purposes, it is being misused. People should opt for it if they are suffering from, say, muscle spasm disorders,” she said.