January brings a flood of wellness trends. This episode cuts through the noise, highlighting the patterns that actually work—so you can invest your time, energy, and attention where it counts this year.

The start of the year amplifies wellness noise. New diets. New devices. New promises competing for your time, energy, and attention.—but discernment matters more than ever. This episode offers a smarter way to start the year, focusing on the patterns that truly support how we eat, live, and connect.

In this episode of 1,000 Waking Minutes, Dr. Wendy Bazilian takes a different approach to “trends.” Instead of chasing fleeting fads, she reframes today’s wellness moment as a set of larger patterns shaping how we eat, move, and live—and how we decide what’s actually worth our effort.

Dr. Bazilian introduces three powerful shifts guiding health right now: efficiency, enhancement, and connection. Together, these patterns help make life simpler, more nourishing, and more sustainable—without adding pressure, rigidity, or noise.

From the quiet renaissance happening in the freezer aisle, to purposeful portions in an era of changing appetites, to the growing return to analog hobbies and shared movement, this episode is about discernment over distraction. It’s about building systems that work with your life—not against it.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by wellness trends, this conversation will help you step back, reset, and decide what truly fits your reality—and your 1,000 waking minutes each day.

WE DISCUSS:

(00:00) Why wellness trends feel exhausting—and how to view them differently

(02:20) From fads to patterns: choosing discernment over distraction

(04:16) The three major shifts shaping health right now: efficiency, enhancement, and connection

(5:28) Efficiency: Getting More Nutrition per Bite and per Dollar

(11:25) The “freezer renaissance” and why frozen foods deserve a second look

(14:09) Purposeful portions in an era of changing appetites and GLP-1 medications

(15:44) Why protecting muscle mass matters more than ever

(23:08) Enhancement: Making What You Eat Work Better

(23:40) Intentional additions instead of restriction

(26:01) Why fiber has become the “new protein”

(29:59) The fat reset: adding the right fats for nutrient absorption and synergy

(26:12) Connection: The Pattern That Makes Everything Stick

(38:07) Why connection determines whether health habits last

(40:15) The rise of analog hobbies and non-digital restoration

(43:29) Community fitness, accountability, and shared movement

(48:21) Closing Reflections

Building a personal ecosystem for health in the year ahead

TAKEAWAY

Before trying the next trend, pause and ask:

Does this make life easier—or harder?

Does it fit my reality right now?

The most powerful health shifts aren’t louder. They’re quieter, more intentional, and built to last.

CONNECT WITH WENDY:

Follow me on Instagram: @1000WakingMinutes

Visit my website: wendybazilian.com

Email me topics you want covered on the podcast: 1KWM@wendybazilian.com

PLEASE SUPPORT:

If you’re enjoying 1,000 Waking Minutes, help us grow!

Subscribe to get new episodes as soon as they drop.

Rate & Review the show. Your feedback helps others find the podcast.

Comment & Join the conversation! Share your thoughts or questions by visiting wendybazilian.com or connecting with me on social media.

Thank you for tuning in to 1,000 Waking Minutes and being part of this journey–together. A huge thank you to our amazing collaborators including our production and marketing teams and Gabriela Escalante in particular. To the ultra-talented Beza for my theme music, my lifelong friend and artist Pearl Preis Photography and Design, to Danielle Ballantyne, Jen Nguyen, Joanna Powell, and of course, my family and everyone working tirelessly behind the scenes.

HEALTH DISCLAIMER:

The information shared in this podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be considered individual medical or health advice. Always consult with your trusted healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, exercise, or medical treatment.

You get about 1,000

waking minutes every day.

And right now, wellness culture

seems to be competing for

all of them.

In this episode, I'm sharing

three overarching trends, really shifts

that help you spend those

minutes in a way that

makes life easier, not harder,

and hopefully more enjoyable too.

We experience 1,000 waking

minutes on average every day.

How are you spending yours?

I'm Dr. Wendy Bazilian, and

you're listening to 1,000

Waking Minutes.

I can't wait to connect

with you here with practical

ways to eat well, move

daily, and be healthy, to

optimize every waking minute you

live for a happier, healthier

life.

Thank you for sharing some

of your waking minutes with

me today.

Let's get started.

♪ I'm saying yes to

better days, yes ♪ ♪

I'm on my way, yes,

it's gonna be okay, yeah

♪ Hello, I'm Dr. Wendy

Bazilian, and welcome to

1,000 Waking Minutes.

I'm so glad you could

join me here today.

And still, a happy New

Year's greetings to you.

As we begin this new

year, it seems like we're

all talking about trends, and

indeed, I will be today

too.

But I decided I wanted

to look at them a

bit differently, and I wanted

to take them on not

as sort of fleeting fads,

but as patterns.

And so I looked at

some cultural patterns that we're

seeing and the forces that

are shaping how we're approaching

health right now.

For a long time, the

path to health has felt

like this frantic scramble, especially

this time of year, but

a frantic scramble to find

like the newest and the

loudest fix.

And I certainly know that

I've been at that rush

at times, and maybe you

have been as well.

Whether it's a new diet,

a device, a biohack, so

to speak, a new medication,

and we'll get into that

a little bit.

Suddenly, there's all these things,

and we sort of like

lose a grip on what

fits us.

But I think the most

powerful shift that's happening right

now is actually a collective

movement toward what I'm calling

discernment over distraction.

That's the moment that we

all can stand in front

of the endless picture shelf

of wellness products and wellness

things and trends and ask,

wait a second, is this

actually worth my time and

effort?

Does this even fit me

and my life?

It's like a pause, and

I talk a lot about

pauses in our 1,000

waking minutes.

But this is when we

start to realize that noise

is just noise.

And what we're truly searching

for is our own personal

setup and signal that we

want a little bit of

clarity with, a little intentionality,

and I love the word

intention because that's forward thinking,

and it has flexibility built

in, and a little evidence.

So clarity, intentionality, and evidence.

So the goal, of course,

and you know this, is

not to adopt every single

trend, but build those systems,

a reliable system to be

able to filter with, filter

what gets saturated.

And so the question can

shift, then, from what's new

to what's worth acting on

now for me.

And what's really worth it

for me right now in

my reality, my life right

now, because our lives change

and we enter new phases,

new seasons, new timing, what

in my reality right now,

and for my goals overall

right now?

So that's what we're talking

about today.

We're focusing on what I've

framed up as three powerful

shifts, and they're sort of

like overarching trends to make

wellness simpler and more impactful.

So we're going to be talking

about efficiency, enhancement, and connection.

So three shifts that sort

of hold and host our

trends that we can fit

into our reality.

And they, within them, have

some of the most prominent

trends woven in, and the

ones that matter and that

are real and maybe unwavering

or new and compelling, but

again, have substance to them,

I think.

So let's break down these

intentional shifts, and I'm going to

ask you, as I ask

myself at this time of

year, you know, what are

my intentions?

How can I be more

strategic with my waking minutes

every day?

So the first is the

shift toward efficiency.

And again, you may already

be working on this.

I'm not to say that

you aren't, but sort of

the overarching trends that I'm

seeing in wellness.

So when I frame this

up as a word, it's

an arc that I would

encourage us to be aware

of, and I want to bring

to your attention.

And underneath this, and there's

a few other ones, but

today I'm going to talk about

the freezer renaissance, I'm calling

it, and purposeful portions.

So two trends that are

very real trends, and you'll

see people talking about them

in the media under what

I call efficiency.

So get the idea there,

and that's how we're framing

each of these three shifts

today.

So two trends under dietary

efficiency.

So I'm focusing on our

diet, our way of eating

today, and getting more nutrition

per bite and per dollar,

two things that are highly

relevant right now, and you'll

see why as I discuss

them a little bit further.

More nutrition per bite and

per dollar, that's the efficiency

there.

And let's talk about it

being New Year's, because efficiency

really was my word of

the year last year.

I find myself every year

doing a little reflection, and

I set sort of an

intention, and I set forward

motion and my sights on

what's next.

And if you've been listening

for a while, you know

I'm not big on rigid

resolutions.

And in fact, I did

a whole episode on that

last year around this time.

Those kind of resolutions often

fight against our human nature

rather than working with it.

They're so rigid and deterministic,

they're so resolute, hence the

word.

You either succeed or you

fail.

And right there, you're almost

invariably already failing before you

get started, so ixnay to

that.

But life and health and

goals are dynamic and not

static.

And where I'm sort of

meandering, sorry for a second,

is about efficiency.

So I love the idea

of setting an intention.

And personally, for many years,

I set sort of like

a word or a phrase

that sort of is a

guiding idea.

It might be something that

I take into my life

all the time, but this

particular year, I'm going to thread

it.

I'm going to make sure that

it's sort of front and

center in my mind because

I'm working on it for

a certain reason.

And when I went through

the process last year, I

kept coming back to efficiency,

and that's what I set.

And now I'm going to

do it again.

I've never done two years

the same exact word.

I'm doing efficiency again, so

I've just declared it.

And whew, that feels good.

Some of the reflection is

already behind me and I

know what I'm going to

focus on.

Again, as a certain thread

that I tease through.

But I also know that

the word efficiency, which is

why I'm queuing this up,

can sound a little cold

sometimes and maybe a little

bit corporate, you know?

And I'm calling it this

big global trend.

And it's sort of like

a buzzword of sorts.

But this isn't about a

whole self.

It's like a core consideration

that I'm bringing to various

roles and environments in my

life to bring my best

self, to bring my best

work, to do my best.

But I can also think

about being efficient with those

ways, the words, and our

practices.

And that's me.

So you will do you.

But when I think of

it that way, and hopefully

you too, maybe it doesn't

feel so cold.

I think it can be

thoughtful.

And that was my intent.

And that's where I think

efficiency can be also with

nutrition and nutrition per bite.

So if we put our

science hats on for a

second, it can be a

beautiful and deeply biological consideration,

efficiency.

If you think about how

our body always wants to

heal itself, it wants to

work with ourself, I think

that this is an important

consideration.

And as I choose it

for a second year, and

having learned a lot last

year, made some strides, but

still working to do it

more, I want to talk

about how biologically our body

works toward efficiency and how

some of these trends are

fitting within that.

And they may fit into

your life as well.

In nature, efficiency isn't about

like hustle or squeezing in

more for less into the

day.

It's actually about smart energy

conservation and sort of the

goal of getting more accomplished

and more strategic and yes,

sometimes fewer steps or maybe

a shorter time.

But if you think about

it, you know how a

river finds the smoothest path

downhill, you know, around the

rocks or how our brain

tries to start like automating

tasks so that we don't

burn out.

It's not about like being

robotic, but finding a path

of least resistance so we

have energy left for the

things that actually do matter.

So the mindset of efficiency

here of getting the maximum

return on investment for the

time, energy, and money we

spend is the major pattern

that I'm seeing across the

food landscape right now.

And for real reason, the

economy is tough right now

because of some of the

trends.

Some people are on diet

weight loss medications, the GLP

-1 agonists and others.

There's a lot of other

things contending for why we

might need to, intermittent fasting,

I'll name a few in

a minute, but they're coming

to mind to get more

nutrition per bite.

And think about our 1,000

waking minutes every day.

Our reality is demanding that

we be smarter with our

time.

Our lives certainly aren't slowing

down.

The grocery bills are not

shrinking.

So two of the growing

trends that fit in this

space of dietary efficiency and

this need for more nourishment

value and the health impact

of every single bite counting

and every single dollar spent

counting is driving these trends.

So first is in the

freezer section of all things,

and I'm sort of calling

it the freezer renaissance.

It's one of the most

interesting and sort of like

quietly marching and important shifts

right now.

And there's been a few

notable media articles on this

as well, from Forbes to

Whole Foods named it as

a trend, freezer fine dining,

they called it.

And if you remember back

when the freezer aisle, especially

for convenience, really was all

about compromise.

And it was really about

convenience, but you compromise.

You'd have the TV dinner

of the 70s and 80s

to make it less work

demand in the kitchen to

bring a meal to the

table.

And those were quick fixes.

And they sometimes fell short

on quality to be honest.

Well, that era evolved and

it's really changing.

The modern freezer, if you

start looking and you'll see

it has become a destination

for nutrient rich, higher quality

and incredibly convenient foods.

Not every single one, but

you'll see more of that,

more with flavor and more

with high nutrition, nutrition per

bite.

So we're finally letting go

of sort of the old

outdated misconception that fresh is

always best.

Now, you know, I love

fresh and I will always

encourage you to the fresh

produce and to engage in

your farmer's markets when it's

in season for you.

But the truth is that

our freezing technology like flash

freezing really has changed things

a lot.

They can freeze food at

its peak of ripeness and

lock in nutrients, peak nutrients

as well.

Often preserving them better than

produce that's been sitting on

a shelf or been transported

for a while.

There've been some studies on

that out of Cornell and

others.

And we're seeing everything from

globally inspired meals, chef crafted

and high protein options.

We're seeing a lot in

the freezer aisle.

And this whole sort of

Renaissance is rebirth of sorts

is answering that efficiency question

sort of like how can

I get high quality food

on the table quickly that

has high nutrition?

And by the way is

affordable as well.

And the freezer is offering

that sort of deliciously and

I think it's pretty smart.

So I encourage you to

take a look at that.

We'll dive into that more

in other episodes maybe how

to do it, but it's

not about being lazy.

You can find great stuff

in the freezer now.

And that's a big trend

underneath that idea of efficiency.

The second part of this

efficiency pattern then is the

rise of purposeful portions.

That's a mouthful, but purposeful

portions.

So this conversation has absolutely

changed from volume getting more

volume on the plate which

has always been an encouraging

something that dietitians have encouraged,

get more volume in your

fruits and vegetables but toward

more nutrient density again per

bite.

So nutrition per bite and

per dollar again.

And we're seeing a real

pattern for various reasons.

And I'll touch on a

couple of them.

People believe it or not

are consuming less food overall.

And this isn't just a

one factor deal here.

Aging can prompt that becoming

an empty nester.

Sometimes the volume of food

goes down or what you

want to put on the table

or prepare goes down.

Some intentional practices like intermittent

fasting, for example.

And this factor it's been

noted in major outlets almost

every single media outlet is

discussing right now the growing

number of people who are

on those GLP-1 agonists

those GLP-1 medications that

are really driving down hunger

but necessitating better nutrition in

the calories in the food

and the portions they are

consuming.

So here's a really powerful

ROI.

I talk in sort of

returns on investment or returns

on intention on this focus

on powerful and purposeful portions.

Biggest health span conversation today

is about muscle mass.

People are really talking about

preserving muscle mass as we

age.

And muscle is a critical

metabolic and longevity marker.

So it's a marker that

we measure when we're aging

how well you're aging and

it's a marker of longevity

of risk factor or how

soon we might perish or

how long we might live.

So this is especially vital

for older adults for post

-menopausal women and people on

GLP-1 medication.

Really, really important.

Rapid weight loss, especially as

we're seeing on the GLP

-1 meds can lead to

a 15 to 25%

lean muscle mass loss or

up to 40% of

total loss of the weight.

So let me restate that.

When there's rapid weight loss

as many individuals are seeing

on GLP-1s and for

other reasons, but GLP-1s

in particular doctors and researchers

who are following this are

showing that this rapid weight

loss can lead to a

15 to 25% loss

of lean muscle mass.

So we've got to protect

that.

That's super important.

And you're seeing a lot

of attention that's going to

be paid right now on

what happens not only during

while you're taking the injections

and GLP-1 meds but

after when you go off.

Maintaining muscle through resistance training

and the purposeful nutrient-dense

portions, the purposeful portions that

are rich in quality protein,

rich in the micronutrients that

help us metabolize and use

those nutrients, it's crucial.

Not only it's always been

crucial but it's crucial now

for preserving our strength and

our metabolic integrity for the

long run.

And this reinforces why every

bite must count more than

ever before.

So we know that these

numbers that I just shared

with you always vary by

individual and how one achieves

weight loss can be in

part controlled by working with

a registered dietitian, working with

a certified exercise trainer, working

with your doctor who knows

your medical history best that

you trust and, and or

but I should say, it's

so critically important to think

about this efficiency context if

you are following any of

these practices that I mentioned,

the medication, maybe just eating

less, maybe intermittent fasting, making

your bites count in terms

of quality of nutrition and

protecting muscle mass has to

be part of that equation.

So if you're naturally or

intentionally eating less, the old

advice of eat more, like

more volume or build bigger

volume on the plate becomes

less relevant.

In fact, it could become

totally irrelevant and it demands

that we seek nutrition.

There's no less need for

the nutrients we have.

And in fact, one could

argue that we need more,

we need more quality.

In fact, the World Health

Organization, I thought I mentioned

this just very recently, this

past fall announced that under

nutrition, so the word under

nutrition, but under nutrition, which

is now defined will become

a diagnosable condition in the

ICD-9, the official diagnosis

code book by 2027.

Before we had malnutrition there,

like stark malnutrition, but now

under nutrition will be a

diagnosable condition.

That's how important this is.

So it's no longer about

just the size of the

plate and are you getting

more from what you actually

eat?

The balance is not just

on your macros, and you

hear that word thrown around,

but macros are your protein,

carbs, and fat.

Sometimes people put fiber in

there as well, but also

your micros, your vitamins, your

minerals, your phytonutrients as well,

and getting those in abundance.

So this is a revolution,

every bite needs to count,

and it can be intentional.

So we see the freezer

renaissance that I mentioned before

to help us meet those

nutritional gaps by building convenience

through higher quality options there

and purposeful portions.

I'm not just watching it,

but strategically looking for opportunities

to do so.

So what does this mean

for you right now?

It means thinking about efficiency,

that word, efficiency.

It's not just about saving

time, but giving yourself sort

of a nutritional safety net

of sorts, recognizing with all

the constraints we face, time

and budget, our changes in

appetite maybe, the season of

life we're in, any health

conditions we're contending with.

Those can actually force us

to make smarter and more

intentional choices.

So it can allow you

to give your freezer a

second look, maybe clear out,

this is a good time

of year to do a

little spring cleaning, I call

it New Year's cleaning, clear

out some things that you

don't need there, have been

sitting around, and make some

space for some smart choices.

Reassess what you consider convenience

food and use your discerning

eyes and mind.

You don't need a huge

plate either to get great

nutrition, which is great, and

we'll explore that further.

And we always do when

we talk about nutrition in

this podcast.

And when you're thinking about

purposeful portions, let me just

give you a couple example.

Maybe it's like adding something,

and I love talking about,

I've talked about swaps, nutritional

swaps and synergies, but let's

think about adding more nutrition

to what you're already eating

in the same portions you

have.

So maybe it's like adding

like finely chopped mushrooms into

your ground meat or tacos,

for example, or in your

meat sauce, bolognese sauce for

pasta.

It's an easy way to

get a powerful compound called

ergothionine.

Some researchers and some colleagues

of mine have recently called

it ergo for short, but

ergothionine, which is a really

important antioxidant that you'll be

hearing more and more about.

It's been research underway for

a while, more than a

decade, two decades probably, but

you'll start hearing more about

it because research in observational

studies and other research is

starting to show a link

and association to better cognitive

function and brain health.

So getting mushrooms into your

purposeful portion, into your burger

meat, your ground taco meat,

your bolognese sauce.

Other purposeful portions might be

including like a handful of

prunes, which have been associated

with bone health, or potatoes

for fiber or potassium into

foods that you're already consuming,

getting more per bite.

So that shift is giving

us permission to prioritize a

little bit differently our nutrient

density and the value that

we can get over sheer

quantity or eat more on

the plate, but getting more

in your bite as well.

So that's efficiency.

We're not hustling like Harry

Scarry to get efficiency done

and certainly not more rules,

but hopefully that framed it

a little bit for you,

just smarter return on your

time, on your budget and

on your appetite.

So the second shift here

is enhancement.

This is where we stop

thinking about more discipline and

more restriction and stop doing,

stop eating, stop this, but

we start thinking about those

small additions that I love

to talk about with frequency

to make what we're already

doing work better.

So I sort of snuck

that in the purposeful portion

just a moment ago, but

this is under the big

header enhancement.

So this trend this year

aligns with the idea of

intentionality certainly, and it moves

beyond the plate and into

our routines as well and

our mindset.

So if the first pattern

was all about the dietary

efficiency, the next is about

nutritional enhancement, and it's the

art of making every meal

better without making it harder.

Intentional additions is what I

want to frame this up

as, or a plus-up

philosophy.

This philosophy, you can call

it that, is all about

adding a sliver, a sprinkle,

a drizzle, a handful, and

I will continually do that

this year, talk about things

like that in those terms,

something that will boost the

nutrition of your existing food

easily.

It's a super powerful concept

because it, one, focuses on

the positive.

It moves away from deprivation

and toward contribution.

So thinking of this as

an analogy, I was trying

to think, well, how can

we frame this up?

And I was thinking of

it like a symphony orchestra.

You can have a good

melody with just strings.

It sounds beautiful.

The strings are just playing

away, but to make that

real sound, which is just

gorgeous, richer and bigger and

fuller and more complex, in

other words, to give it

depth, you need to intentionally

add other instruments like brass

instruments, the woodwinds, the percussion.

You need to add to

it.

And maybe you didn't know

it was missing in the

beginning, but when you add

to it, you see instantly,

or when it comes to

nutrition, you start to feel

instantly what those intentional additions

have brought.

So this is what it

does to your food.

It doesn't change the main

dish.

It doesn't change the melody

line.

It just makes the nutritional

value richer and more complete.

So this trend is directly

connected to some of the

most important nutrition conversations that

are happening right now.

One of them is, and

you'll see this by others,

not just me, but I've

been saying it a lot

lately, fiber.

Fiber is the quote, new

protein.

Protein isn't going anywhere.

It's still a mega or

meta trend, but we've been

talking about it for a

long time.

And we've talking about protein

almost like exclusive to the

mega trend extensively.

Fiber is a non-negotiable,

incredibly important cornerstone to the

diet for satiety, that's the

feeling of fullness or satisfaction,

for gut health, which is

on everyone's minds, for blood

sugar balance, for cholesterol and

lipid management, which is related

to cardiometabolic and heart disease.

And this is where it

really brings true, this cardiometabolic

space.

The average adult in the

United States consumes only about

15 to 16 grams of

fiber per day, if they're

lucky.

And it falls dramatically short

of the 25 to 38

grams that are recommended.

And I'm being generous when

I say that, because if

you look at the data

from the Dietary Guidelines for

Americans Committee Report and other

sources, only about 6%

of the US population is

meeting the recommendations for fiber

every day.

Only 6%, that means 94

% of us are falling

short.

This is a gap that

is so worth closing.

And this is something about

why the plussing up or

the intentional additions is so

important.

I just did a recent

episode on fiber maxing.

You can go back and

listen to that if you

wish to, and sort of

the trend.

And I'm not here to

support the whole fiber stacking

approach that fiber maxing is,

and it got so much

attention on TikTok and social

media and whatnot.

But the idea of more

fiber, I really like that.

And I said as much

in that episode.

But here, the intentional additions

of fiber, the return on

that investment is massive.

I'll give you an analogy,

because I love those.

If you think of protein

as, we've heard this, the

building blocks.

They're like the bricks of

your house.

Fiber is sort of the

scaffolding.

It's the mortar of sorts.

It's sort of, we get

the structure in our bones

and our muscles, of course,

but you need fiber to

hold everything together, to regulate

the traffic flow, keep the

internal environment clean, keep us

satisfied.

So that's why simple and

small intentional additions, the plus

ups, are really an important

trend that's happening and that

we need to pay attention

to with fiber.

So let's paint a scenario

here.

Say you're having a typical

weekday breakfast, maybe yogurt and

a banana, something easy, grab

and go.

It's good, but it might

be a little light on

the fiber there.

So an intentional addition isn't

just like looking for yogurt

that's got fiber in it.

I've seen that before.

But really maybe it's about

adding something like two tablespoons

of chia seeds and maybe

soak them the night before

into the yogurt.

I have a friend who

does that or ground flax

seed.

It's something that takes like

10 seconds or less that

won't change the flavor too

much.

It might change the viscosity

or the texture a little

bit, but you find what

you like.

But suddenly you're contributing five,

six, eight grams of fiber.

Not to mention there, you've

boosted your omega-3s also.

And it really transforms a

good breakfast into a great

nutritionally powerful breakfast.

So that's one way in

the fiber space.

Fiber is the new protein

and under enhancements is the

shift we're talking about.

Next, I want to talk just

briefly about another trend that

actually I've been fielding some

interviews in the media about

recently that I'm calling the

fat reset.

Thinking beyond the word fat,

which still scares us.

And you'll see there's also

an enhancement ideas circulating around

fat.

It's a cool trend, I

think.

And this fat reset is

like how the pendulum has

swung to a more pro

-fat area.

I'm not going to go into

seed oils right now, but

we're talking about fats.

And the message here is

not just like add fats

or enrichment, but intentionally adding

the right types of fats

in the right matrix.

So maybe within a food

type.

So when we talk about

working with beneficial fats like

omega-3s, surely you've been

talking, you're hearing about omega

-3s from marine sources like

salmon and sardines or the

evolving and exciting research that's

happening around plant omega-3,

ALA, alpha-linolenic acid that's

found prominently in walnuts and

chia seeds and flax.

We're starting to hear about

like nuance, like where they're

found and what they do

and adding them, getting them

intentionally in.

Or we hear about the

monounsaturated fats found in avocados,

for example.

Or we hear about olive

oil, but think olives themselves

as well.

And of course that olive

oil that I love and

that we all love to

enjoy in our households.

So the magic isn't in

the fat molecule itself.

It's in the food and

the food matrix and the

type of fat.

So the avocado and the

nuts and the seeds, they're

all whole foods and they

have a matrix.

So they are delivering other

things.

Take avocado, you've got the

monounsaturated fat.

You've also got the fiber.

You also have phytonutrients.

You've got other things going

on that are powerful.

You take the nuts and

you've got, similarly, you've got

the omega-3s or other

polyunsaturated fats, depending on what

tree nut you're talking about.

And you have the fiber

and you have some notable

protein.

You take chia seeds, same.

You got high fiber, high

omega-3 fats, and you've

got the matrix that are

robust in other antioxidants and

phytochemicals.

So you're getting also dozens

of micronutrients while you're getting

the fat.

So we're talking and leading

with the fat.

So this is where I

call it sort of the

fat reset.

And here's some key scientific

evidence that's so important we

often forget.

Fats themselves help us absorb

the other stuff.

So when we're talking about

enhancement, fats help us absorb

the fat-soluble vitamins and

minerals.

Vitamin A, E, D, K

helps us monumentally, in some

cases, significantly increase the absorption

and availability of certain phytochemicals

like carotenoids.

So this is so wonderful

to think about and remind

us about that when you

eat a big, beautiful salad,

let's say, if you add

the fat, you're literally building

synergy.

It's working together with all

those vegetables and the olive

oil or the chia oil,

or you add sliced avocado,

or you add a handful

of walnuts or other nuts,

you're literally adding value.

When it's not there, you're

losing some of the value

that is sitting right there

in the same bite on

the plate, you're losing some

of it.

So it's super important to

think enhancement.

And I love talking about

synergy.

Some of you know, I

did a whole episode on

nutritional synergy that I had

a lot of fun with,

and I'll continue to talk

about that.

But it's really how when

two foods come together or

a group of foods come

together, they help each other

out.

So they both have their

own unique, wonderful attributes, but

they amplify by being together

in some unique ways.

So the obvious choice here

is like making smart choices

when it comes to your

fats.

When your typical lunch is

a colorful salad, for example,

make sure that you have

a fat source.

Hopefully with something that's got

more of the matrix there

so you can do your

olive oil, but add some

nuts, seeds, or avocado.

You can do some swaps

that way.

If you're old school and

using the lemon, still use

the lemon, but add some

other fats there.

So slicing, sprinkling, drizzling, just

like I said before, those

intentional additions.

And you'll unlock and also

increase the absorption of some

key nutrients.

This is how you make

your bites work harder and

smarter without doing a whole

lot more.

And it's harmonious, right?

So that's back to that

orchestral analogy before.

And I must mention just

for a moment, just because

it's been really fun to

see, you know, we're talking

about fat and I talk

a lot about avocados and

I have the great privilege

to work with the avocado

research arm or the group

that supports avocado research in

science.

And I've been noticing, and

maybe you have too, that

avocados have become sort of

a cultural darling.

And I find that really

fun, you know?

I have some slippers with

avocados on them.

They've transcended their nutritional piece

to be cute and wonderful

in a variety of ways.

I was just in Spain

recently with my family and

we stumbled into this store

that's very popular in Europe.

And they have an entire

avocado line, you know, pens

and tote bags and slippers

and plushies and all kinds

of things.

So I couldn't resist, I've

got the slippers and they're

cheerful little characters, you know?

So think about that and

think about your opportunity to

do intentional additions and let's

make more wonderful, high quality

foods into cute items that

can remind us by looking

at our toes or on

our sofas.

I'm looking at a sofa

just now and we can

see them to remind us

as well.

Okay, so moving on here,

we did efficiency and enhancement.

The last pattern that I

want to talk about today is

connection.

And it really is the

one that helps us determine

whether the first two will

really stick.

So efficiency, enhancement, connection.

And this is one that

I think embodies the whole

year's sort of commitment toward

smarter living and taking on

wellness trends that really impact

our own reality.

And this is a shift

towards more connection.

We talked about dietary efficiency,

nutritional enhancement.

So those are two eat

well trends.

Now we're moving a little

to mind and spirit or

the be healthy side of

things.

After many years, you know,

since the pandemic hit us

now five years ago, we

have had a lot of

isolated living and coming out

of that has been slow

for many.

I have talked to many

people who are still sort

of making their way back

into the world.

And I say that with

a smile, but I mean

that with sincerity.

We increasingly have found that

we need to and have

benefited from relying heavily on

our screens.

We deal with so much

like sort of perpetual low

grade stress, that stress also

increases inflammation.

But I'm happy to say

that people are talking about

and engaging in activities that

make this a pattern worth

noting and hopefully participating in.

And maybe you've got great

examples.

A growing sort of counter

movement toward intentional rest and

genuine interaction with others and

with hobbies and with recalibrating

in the real world.

So I like to think

of this as the ecosystem

of you.

We all have our own

little ecosystem and how we

participate in our community and

in our world.

And just as like our

biological systems can fail if

one element goes down, like

if the soil is depleted

or we have drought one

year, or if there's neglect,

so too with our own

personal ecosystem, our wellbeing can

start to collapse if certain

things go down and connections

a big one.

If we focus solely on

diet and ignore our environment

or our mind and our

community, then things can not

go well for our wellbeing.

And remember, we talk about

eat well, move daily, be

healthy.

These are the three legs

on a stool.

These are the three strong

sides of a triangle.

Without any one of them,

the stool collapses under us

instead of wobbling and becoming

resilient.

And the science is staggering

in this space, which is

why I think that some

of this counter movement that

I hope that you're participating

in if not paying attention

to and you will now,

loneliness is massively important to

take a look at right

now in the statistics.

It's a critical public health

issue.

People are lonely.

Studies are showing that people

with stronger social bonds have

50% increased likelihood of

survival versus those that have

fewer social connections.

So think about that.

Loneliness and isolation are critical

public health issues, but having

social connection can bring a

50% increased likelihood of

survival.

That's a massive shift from

making some intentional changes.

And this is according to

the US Surgeon General Advisory

from 2023.

So it dates back a

couple of years, but it's

still prominent.

And that's why this sort

of trend is ticking up,

which I'm super happy to

share today as a pattern.

So this need for genuine

connection is why this pattern

is manifesting in these ways.

So first, what I like

to call sort of analog

hobbies.

I was sort of resistant

to that.

I sort of came up

with that and I was

like, can we call it

analog hobbies?

But non-digital activities didn't

sound to resonate as much,

but non-digital activities is

what I'm talking about.

Going back to analog, and

a really great article came

out talking about the medicine

of making or makers or

crafting.

We are seeing a pattern,

particularly among the younger generations.

They're smart.

They're coming up and they're

really smart.

And it's often toward what

are being called like grandma

hobbies, to say it nicely.

Things like knitting, crafting, baking,

doing puzzles as a group,

and even building models.

There was an article recently

in the Guardian that even

put it like this.

They called it crafts are

like medicine.

So these are activities that

require us, literally require us

to put the phone down.

And they require us to

reconnect with the physical and

tangible world.

So it's reconnecting with touching

and seeing and doing.

So you can do that

on your own and you

can do it with others.

And why this is so

important is because what I

just said, that statistic, and

it sort of makes sense.

Anyone from my generation might

be saying like, no, that

makes sense.

But it's because these hobbies

spark a sense of delight

and connection.

They take us away from

the digital world that drains

us.

They engage our hands, as

I mentioned, and they force

our attention to slow down

and our attention span to

perhaps refocus and be able

to be on one thing

for longer than, oh, shiny

nickel, oh, squirrel.

All the things that distract

us all the time.

So it's a purposeful act

of creating something.

Sometimes you have something to

show for it even, which

I think is really cool.

And it reminds us that

there are opportunities in the

non-digital world to focus

and to have some rest.

And it's a crucial piece

of emotional efficiency.

So back to that word

efficiency again.

And practically speaking, this means

you start to treat your

downtime like a necessary appointment.

And I've talked about this

before.

You schedule in your me

time.

And if it's easy to

take it off because you're

sharing a family calendar and

they see that as time

for you, schedule it with

your initials as if it's

a person.

M period, E period.

That's a person.

It's you, but it's a

person.

And you can't negotiate that

time.

It's your time, your downtime.

And it's like intentionally trading

30 minutes of maybe Zoom

scrolling on your phone to

doing something.

Maybe it's even something that

is homemaking for you in

the maker's space, like organizing

your spice rack, which can

be oddly satisfying.

Or finally planting some seeds

maybe.

Like I collect little packets

of seeds because I get

so enamored when I'm at

the nursery and then they

sort of sit there for

a while planting them.

But an intentional finite task

that you can do.

So the other shift underneath

this connection, I just want

to briefly mention is the

return to community fitness.

So we have our non

-digital activities and we also

have community fitness.

And this doesn't just mean

joining a gym or a

class, but people really valuing

the shared experience, like going

together, showing up together.

And we're seeing a significant

growth in in-person meetups

to do that, in making

time together, not over a

meal at a restaurant, but

over a Peloton or using

a class pass together and

getting a subscription and then

exploring classes together as you

would going to the movies

or trying a new cafe.

And people who are genuinely

and successfully engineering their time

around something that for many

is like a shared struggle

and where accountability really matters.

So something like movement and

exercise.

So the key ingredient here

is the connection that makes

it happen, not just like

calorie burning and then you

get the benefit of that

as well.

So scheduled accountability, the shared

goals, showing up, not facing

a challenge alone, that's all

part of the connection.

And again, to make it

practical, this means prioritizing your

shared commitment with others, agreeing

like two friends to show

up for each other or

a dedicated group, a group

that works out together.

And I've seen a lot

of this in sort of

the parkour and the CrossFit

space when they rely on

their community to egg them

on, to show up for

them, to do it in

an organized way.

And even in the school

setting, at my daughter's school,

a growing number of teachers

and staff are recording their

activity.

They're just writing it down

in their minutes and they're

encouraging each other and the

list is filling.

It connects even like while

they're in the classroom and

even if they didn't do

it together, they're connecting on

this like signup sheet and

like then they can say

when they see each other

crossing a path, hey, nice

job, or, oh, are you

going to take a walk next

week or maybe we do

it together or way to

go.

It's something that's both accountability,

but it's also something that's

connected to others.

So we just covered a

lot and I covered it

in a lot of time

and words.

So just to summarize a

little bit, the focus this