Flourish
issue 009
Eudaimonia: (n.) lit. ‘human flourishing’; a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous
Editorial
At the beginning, this edition was all about health. We were going to cover health trends and ways to adopt a healthy lifestyle, but quickly realised that was all a bit… done.
If you want to read about the latest diet plans or ten top tips to re-energise your life, you have more than enough content to choose from. Instead, we started to think about the fact that ‘good health’ means different things to different people, and that there’s more to life than the pursuit of an Insta-worthy lifestyle.
We were inspired by the body positivity movement, by the latest research in personalised nutrition, by the people out there keeping us safe from sketchy products. We wanted to look at all the ways aspects of a healthy body, brain and outlook combine to give us that vitality we’re all looking for.
Vitality is the state of being full of life and energy; it is exuberant physical, mental and emotional strength. It is also the capacity for survival; the power giving continuance of life. Vitality is holistic and covers everything from head to toes: it’s everything we need to flourish.
We’ve got a humourous take on the activewear fashion industry, a sobering look at the US healthcare service, and a takedown to join the clamour of voices against that Nike mannequin article.
To our contributors, thank you. To our readers, enjoy. ■
JADE STERLING
features
Regulating wellness to protect your vagina - among other things
With the myriad forms of information available to consumers nowadays, it can be difficult to parse through the noise and find ‘the truth in nutrition’. Snake-oil touts love this: It is easy to sell people what they want to hear.
How investigators find any hidden stimulants in health products
Dietary supplements sometimes contain banned substances and mislabelled ingredients but there are people out there keeping you safe.
Think twice before paying to lose your DNA privacy
We’re used to measuring our health using tools like body mass index (BMI) and resting heart rate, so it feels like a baby step to turn our attentions to what’s under the hood—our genetic code. But, in exchange for a couple of facts about your health or disease risk, you could be selling everything about you.
Why is universal healthcare such a polarising issue in the United States?
By Georgia Tendall
While government funded schemes do exist, healthcare in the US is a largely private sector that costs Americans thousands of dollars every year, and yet continues to perform poorly when compared to other developed countries. Why, then, does the American public seem to oppose universal healthcare so vehemently?
Let’s talk about JOMO.
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed and under pressure to live the Insta-life, you need yourself some JOMO. The Joy of Missing Out, coined by philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann, is the response to FOMO, the Fear of Missing Out.
The low-down on low-carb diets
Low-carb diets are among the most popular diet choices for people trying to lose weight but research suggests this weight loss may come at the expense of general health, especially if followed for a long period of time.
The destructive habit of social comparison
by Georgia Tendall
In the age of social media, comparison has become almost instinctive. Overwhelmed with edited and cosmetically enhanced faces, reshaped bodies positioned in carefully calculated poses, and all manner of lavish possessions, our perception of reality can begin to warp and, in turn, our self-worth suffers as the expectations we hold for ourselves adapt.
The commercialisation of body positivity
In the age of advertising, no one is free from the long arm of the corporate marketing budget. Attempts to package, sell and profit off our body image insidiously influence everything and everywhere—and one of the more prevalent right now is the focus on body positivity.
A body positivity monologue
by Jade Sterling
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that growing up, I thought that I had to be thin to be happy.
How much of health is aesthetic?
Every year sees a new crop of health trends hit the headlines. You have to wonder; are these things actually good for us or just pretty pictures pretending to be healthy?
A response to Tanya Gold: fat mannequins rock.
by Jade Sterling
In a world where most fashion mannequins are so thin they likely wouldn’t have periods, Nike’s latest additions to its London store are a breath of fresh air. Yes, this is Nike, reinventing itself and its marketing messages in recent years as sports for all and empowering women. But of course, some people didn’t like this.
The big deal about CBD oil
Many superfoods—like turmeric and ginger—have been used for centuries by different cultures around the world but say you’re using hemp, and everyone assumes you’re smoking marijuana and seeking the high cannabis is famed for. But the cannabinoids present in hemp are an incredible set of molecules with real positive effects on the body.
Want to write for us?
If you’ve got a story, we want to hear it!
Personalised nutrition is set to change your world
Having been practised for thousands of years, a personalised approach to food is nothing new but now we can combine it with everything we know about health.
Surviving without vegetables
There are populations around the world that exclusively live off fish and other sea creatures, with minimal fruit, animal products or carbohydrates—so why don’t Inuits suffer vitamin deficiencies? How can the Masai keep running on a diet of just milk, meat and blood?
Why don’t we crave healthy foods?
Why doesn’t the human body crave the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, preferring instead to demand sugar and fat in unhealthy quantities?
Exhaustion is not an indication of a great workout
There is a huge trend in the fitness industry to glorify exercise routines that punish. We’re talking the all-out wars on the body through the militarisation of exercise: Marine-inspired workouts, intense week-long boot camps, crazy body-building routines and the general glorification of exhaustion.
Do men and women need different sports nutrition products?
by Dr Susan Kleiner
Female athletes want to be the most they can be, not the least. They want to be stronger, faster and more powerful—all to support their goals of winning.
Actively engaging with active wear
by Kathryn Harris
I pulled my shoulder at the gym this week. But I wasn’t lifting weights or speeding along on the rowing machine—I was trying to get sports leggings on.
Musings on the changing world of fitness
by Gemma Mills
When I tell my grandma I am working out to make my bum look bigger, her face is a picture.
coming soon
Issue 010 - Techno
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