Christmas has come and gone, and as we enter the New Year, it’s the perfect time to invest in your health and wellness. And whether you want to turbocharge flagging energy levels, or eat your way to enhanced weight loss, there’s a nutrition trend or a secret ingredient that promises to get you there faster.
Here’s our pick of the 2025 wellness aids you need to know about.
The buzz around Ozempic and other GLP-1 weight loss drugs is going nowhere. With the NHS rumoured to start prescribing Mounjaro to patients who fit their criteria from as early as March, we’re likely to see an enormous surge of GLP-1 interest in 2025. But as popularity in weight loss jabs piques, research into natural alternatives that mimic the GLP-1 hormone is also catching on, so don’t be surprised when your social media feeds are highjacked with natural GLP-1 foods promising the Ozempic effect.
Polyphenol antioxidants are one of the food categories that come top of the list. The natural plant compound works by increasing the GLP-1 hormone and is found in everyday foods like apples, spinach and asparagus.
Can apples and asparagus really mimic the effects of Ozempic on the body?
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Polyphenols work by stimulating the L-cells in the gut to increase our natural secretion of GLP-1 to slow gastric-emptying and stimulate fullness. Try to include as many brightly coloured fruits and vegetables (at least seven portions) everyday to reap the GLP-1 rewards pen-free in 2025.
Powering up our plates with protein has been a trend for quite some time now, whether to support workouts or maintain muscle mass as the years roll by. But now fibre – once the unsung hero of the nutrition world is being catapulted into centre stage to help maintain health later on in life.
The grains and squash in this salad from Tim Spector and the Zoe app will boost fibre intake
Jonathan Cape
A recent review from the WHO found that adding an extra 5g of fibre to your diet everyday could slash the risk of premature mortality by a whopping 14 per cent, and it’s such an easy nutrient to implement. A 100g serving of berries, half an avocado or a large pear will all provide a decent 5g or more. Try these fibre-rich recipes from Tim Spector, too.
NAD+ jabs have been touted as the next big thing in wellness. In a bid to boost energy and improve sleep – pricey injectables of the coenzyme – which is responsible for a range of cellular processes in the body and lauded by the likes of Hollywood stars including Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber is starting to cause a lot of noise. The idea is that supplementing with NAD+ helps to regulate levels of energy production ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in cells which improves overall vitality.
NAD+ At Home, an innovative subcutaneous microdose NAD+ injection which offers a trial kit for £195 (nadplusathome.com) is one of the main pioneers, but what many people don’t know is that that whilst NAD+ is not a nutrient that’s directly available in food, consuming a diet that’s rich in vitamin B3 can indirectly support healthy NAD+ levels in the body. Nosh on red meat, eggs and salmon for an effective (and cheaper) way to get your 2025 NAD+ fix.
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Personalised diets over AI algorithms
There are those foods that rank high on the health scale, then there are specific ingredients which will help to fuel you with the precise nutrients needed prop up well-being depending on your goals and personal diet requirements.
Apps and wearable tech that leverage AI to personalise data and dish out targeted recommendations are getting more sophisticated than ever before, but at the same time bubbling under the surface of our technology-reliant world is also a sense of tech-fatigue driven by the desire for a nutritional advice packaged up with a human connection.
Nutrition coaching services like nutrable.com which offers bespoke coaching with real-life nutritionists starting to cause a stir. The idea is that as whilst the inherent value off AI is undeniable, it’s still nowhere close to replicating the emotional support, and personalised guidance that real-life coaches offer.
Manipulating your macros for metabolic flexibility
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Your body instinctively knows how to dissemble nutrients in food and utilise them for greater good. Known as metabolic flexibility, the idea is that you is your cells are able to switch efficiently between using fats or carbs as a source of energy, based on their availability, and health experts are predicting that fad diets will be replaced by eating strategies to harness better metabolic flexibility next year.
Your body’s ability to switch between macronutrients for energy indicates an efficient metabolism and results in improved weight loss and better health biomarkers.
One of the shortcuts to enhanced metabolic flexibility is switching between high carb days and low carb days – also known as carbohydrate cycling, which is growing in popularity. In practice this means consuming high carbs (around 150g) on days with greater energy demands (e.g, intense workout sessions) and lower carbohydrates (75-85g in total) on recovery days or less active days.
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