In this week's episode of Nutrition Without Compromise, we heard from Aimée Gould Shunney, ND - a Licensed Naturopathic Doctor with a practice in Santa Cruz, CA. She offered her thoughts on key health and wellness trends in 2023.
What common ailments or health challenges do your patients contend with?
If there are two areas that most of my patients struggle with, its stress management and gut health. Recent years have illuminated the vital interplay between a healthy gut microbiome, stable mood, and stress resilience via the gut-brain-axis (GBA).
The supplement industry has already been working to produce and promote dietary supplements, apps, and wearable devices to optimize the microbiome as it pertains to a healthy stress response, and vice versa. We can now find psychobiotic supplements by companies like Microbiome labs, Ion Biome to support the integrity of the gastrointestinal barrier (crucial for a healthy GBA), and wearables like the Apollo Neuro to aid the parasympathetic nervous system (you heard about this one in this week's podcast interview).
What are your predicted health trends for 2023?
My prediction (and sincere hope!) for 2023 is that we see the gut-brain-axis (GBA) grow past being a niche area and into a full-blown wellness category. Nothing is more crucial to improve our healthspans. While we wait for more GBA innovation, we should remember that diet and lifestyle (while not so sexy), are the foundation that our health is built upon.
We can always go back to the tried and true anti-inflammatory Mediterranean diet, and now we can avail ourselves of apps to help us monitor and improve our sleep, activity and blood sugar levels. And a new take on an old favorite: Orlo Nutrition's Polar Omega-3s from algae. This vegan alternative to fish oil not only seems to be more bioavailable, but it's grown using 100% renewable resources with carbon negative effect. Finally, a truly sustainable omega choice! Omegas are crucial for cellular health and have positive impacts on mood, how we recover from stress, and immune (gut) function.
ABOUT DR. AIMÉE SHUNNEY
Dr. Aimée Shunney is a family practitioner and board-certified naturopathic doctor who has lectured extensively to physicians, retailers, and consumers throughout the country. Her writings have been featured in many national magazines and newspapers. She also appears regularly on radio, tv, and even a few podcasts.