Opinion – rebranding diet culture is keeping us hooked on thinness
The toxic behaviours we’ve turned to in the past to ‘get skinny’ are supposedly out and wellness is in. But while the ‘clean eating’ revolution is touted as being all about ‘health,’ weight loss is still very much the subliminal message and ‘lifestyle changes’ are often just disordered habits...
Current in Wellness
What’s with social media’s growing anti-sunscreen movement?
With sunnier days starting to roll in, experts are warning against the worrying and unwarranted vilification of sunscreen taking place in digital spaces. Hallelujah, summer is finally on the horizon. As we look forward to long walks in the sun, days spent stretched out in the park, and afternoons by the...
Can psychedelics treat physical pain?
Sufferers of chronic conditions like fibromyalgia and cluster headaches have been raving about their ‘life-saving’ experiences with hallucinogenic drugs. Now, scientists are exploring the use of LSD and psilocybin in pain management. In light of new findings that psychedelic drugs could transform mental health, scientists and researchers are persisting with...
Explaining the rise of sleep tourism
Fast becoming one of the biggest trends in the wellness industry, more and more travellers are foregoing itineraries jam-packed with activities in favour of pillow menus and an early night. A holiday can be many things; for some, it involves exploration, adventure, and trying local cuisine. For others, it’s an...
Why are we still criticising women for sharing their fertility struggles?
Anne Hathaway revealed she suffered a miscarriage while playing a pregnant woman in 2015. The response proves taboos around womens’ health are still rife in 2024. In a new Vanity Fair interview, actor Anne Hathaway candidly revealed she had suffered a miscarriage in 2015 whilst playing a pregnant woman. The role,...
Is microdosing at work about to become the new norm?
For most of recent history, people have viewed drugs as dangerous and counterproductive to humanity’s success. With some of the world’s most successful people admitting to microdosing at work, could that change? For years, there have been whispers of employees of Silicon Valley taking psychedelics to come up with...
Single dose of LSD provides immediate and sustained anxiety relief
According to the results of a new study conducted by MindMed, just 100 micrograms of the hallucinogen can halve anxiety within weeks. As a result of this successful clinical trial, the US Food and Drug Administration has granted breakthrough therapy status to the biopharmaceutical company’s proprietary treatment. Following decades of demonisation and criminalisation, psychedelic drugs are being proved to have profound implications for a field that’s seen few pharmacological advancements...
Opinion – January should be about happiness as much as health
A new year brings new goals. But these restrictive and often daunting wellness trends can do more harm than good. Ah, January—the month when the air is filled with a sense of renewal, and social media is flooded with images of kale smoothies, gym selfies, and the ever-elusive promise of a ‘new you.’ If you’re already crumbling under the weight of this vignette, you’re not alone. From diet advice, to gruelling...
Menstrual cycle linked with increased suicide risk
In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists have uncovered that suicidal ideation, planning, and attempts are most common in the days just before and after bleeding begins. Though the average woman menstruates for 2,535 days of her life (that’s seven years total of pads, tampons, ruined underwear, cramps, and red rivets of womb lining), period stigma prevails. This is most evident in our education systems where, from the moment we’re first visited...
Almost 1 in 10 teenagers have used harmful weight-loss products
According to a new study, around 9 per cent of adolescents – especially girls – have used non-prescribed diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics in their lifetime. As remarked by one of the authors, this is a ‘pretty big public health concern’ for young people around the world. In 2023, social media inspired many of the ways we sought to improve our wellbeing – but not always for the better. Some began...
