Every December, I sit down with a cup of coffee, open my Notion page I’ve been updating all year, and put together one of my absolute favorite pieces of content…my annual wellness roundup. The faves. The passes. And the trends I believe are going to shape the way we take care of our bodies in the year ahead.
This year’s list feels extra special. It might be because I turned 40. It could be because I welcomed a new baby. Or maybe it’s because, professionally, I supported more women than ever through gut healing, hormone balance, perimenopause, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and nervous system regulation. It was a big year for all of us.
And wow – wellness did not disappoint in 2025.
Some trends got it right in the best way. Others… I could lovingly do without.. And 2026? She’s looking bold, grounded, and finally aligned with what women’s bodies actually need.
So whether you’re here for gut health, hormone harmony, nervous system support, or just love a good end-of-year predictions list as much as I do, consider this your warm, cozy guide to the wellness landscape — past, present, and future.
Let’s dive in.
My 2025 Wellness Trend Faves
Fibermaxxing
Fibermaxxing is the intentional increase of fiber to support digestion, metabolic health, blood sugar balance, and microbiome diversity. It’s not just about tossing psyllium into water. It’s a whole movement around reaching 25–35+ grams of fiber daily from whole foods like veggies, legumes, chia, flax, and resistant starches. Think: maximizing fiber across meals, snacks, and even beverages.
Why I love it:
Fiber is…elite. It’s one of the most powerful (and underrated) tools we have for gut repair and hormone balance. It feeds beneficial bacteria, supports motility, helps clear estrogen metabolites, stabilizes blood sugar, and literally shapes the microbiome. For so many women struggling with bloating, PMS, constipation, or PCOS, improving fiber diversity is one of the simplest, highest-impact shifts they can make. It’s low risk, high reward, and wildly empowering. Want some easy fiber-packed recipes? Check out my Gut Healing Recipes Guidebook here.
Perimenopause in the spotlight
2025 put perimenopause front and center. Instead of whispering about hot flashes or mood swings at book club, women finally started demanding real education, supportive products other than just HRT, and medical guidance that actually reflects female physiology (WE ARE NOT SMALL MEN!). From tech wearables to symptom-tracking apps to midlife-focused fitness programs, the perimenopause wave is becoming a cultural force and I am here for it!
Why I love it:
Yes, I love this trend for personal reasons (I turned 40 this year!). But I love it even more because it validates what I see clinically every day — women aren’t overreacting. Their physiology is shifting. Perimenopause is a wild hormonal ride that affects thyroid function, cortisol, digestion, and mood. Supporting women through this transition is one of the most meaningful ways I help my clients feel grounded, confident, and at home in their bodies again.
Dopamine detoxing
Dopamine detoxing (or “dopamine fasting”) is the trend of reducing overstimulating inputs – like social media, ultra-processed foods, constant multitasking, notifications, and even compulsive scrolling – to reset the brain’s reward pathways. It’s less about demonizing dopamine and more about teaching your brain to enjoy normal life again instead of needing endless hits of novelty.
Why I love it:
Your brain and gut are in constant conversation. When dopamine circuitry is overloaded, we see more emotional eating, blood sugar swings, anxiety, delayed digestion, and dysregulated cortisol. Reducing overstimulation gives the nervous system space to breathe. It improves parasympathetic activation, digestion, nutrient absorption, and hormone balance. My clients often report fewer cravings, more stable energy, better poops, and improved mood after even a short dopamine reset.
All about the nervous system
Nervous system awareness exploded this year. People are finally understanding terms like vagal tone, freeze response, sympathetic dominance, and polyvagal theory. Breathwork, somatic therapy, HRV tracking, grounding practices, and “nervous system hygiene” have become daily rituals instead of fringe concepts. The collective realization: your body can’t heal if it doesn’t feel safe.
Why I love it:
The nervous system is the gatekeeper for gut and hormone repair. You can eat the perfect diet and take all the right supplements, but if you’re stuck in fight-or-flight, digestion shuts down, hormones misfire, and symptoms flare. When my clients begin regulating their nervous system – even with tiny daily practices – their bloating decreases, motility improves, cravings level out, PMS gets milder, and sleep deepens. It’s the ultimate upstream healing strategy and a big part of why I built out an entire module dedicated to the nervous system and its regulation in Gut REPAIR Roadmap.
Fertility Optimization for women AND men
Fertility conversations used to be hush-hush and exclusively focused on women. In 2025, that changed dramatically. Men and women in their late 30s and 40s began proactively learning about ovarian reserve, sperm quality, cycle literacy, preconception testing, mitochondrial health, metabolic readiness, and lifestyle factors that impact conception. Fertility awareness shifted from “trying to conceive” to “understanding your body, your timeline, and your options.”
Why I love it:
Fertility is a whole-body equation – not just a reproductive one. And, it takes two to Tango. This trend has empowered couples with data and strategy instead of fear or guesswork. Fertility should be proactive and supported. With root-cause testing and holistic strategies, couples can avoid or optimize interventions like IUI and IVF.. We helped 12 clients get pregnant and/or give birth in 2026 to healthy babies in 2025!
Products I couldn’t get enough of in 2025
WeNatal Prenatal – I took this last year when TTC, throughout my entire pregnancy, and now as I replenish my body postpartum. It’s my #1 recommended prenatal supplement for a reason! If you’re TTC or just want to optimize mitochondrial health, their EggQuality+ is amazing too. I took it for just 6 weeks before getting pregnant with an AMH of just 0.33 at age 39.
Red Light Clip on Reading Light – If you don’t already have a circadian-optimized bedside lamp (I also use and love pink himalayan salt lamps at home), this clip-on reading light is a great alternative! Use it for reading before bed and bring on trips – hotel and Airbnb bedroom lights are always SO bright and will mess with your circadian rhythm!
GoMacro Bars – these are an oldie but a goodie and were a MAJOR pregnancy craving of mine. I love their Minis for a sweet treat or a quick snack in a pinch/on the go.
Act+Acre Cold Processed Stem Cell Scalp Serum – Ok I didn’t use this while pregnant, but since then, you better believe I’m slathering this on every night to minimize the dreaded postpartum hair loss. I used it back in 2023 when our stressful move cross-country caused me a lot of hair loss and this did wonders.
NOBS Toothpaste Tablets – In an effort to go more low-waste/plastic-free I’ve searched for the best toothpaste tablets and THESE ARE IT! They dissolve easily, foam nicely, and are made with nano hydroxyapatite instead of fluoride. I’ve been using them for over a year and haven’t had a single cavity.
My 2025 Wellness Trend Passes
Protein. In. Everything. Can we just let popcorn and soda be popcorn and soda, please? And get protein from real whole food sources like meat, dairy, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds? K, thanks!
Blaming high cortisol for everything. Moon face. Weight gain. Losing your car keys. Trust me, it’s not always high cortisol. In fact, most of my clients who complete a DUTCH hormone test show LOW cortisol from HPA Axis dysregulation. In those instances, all the “cortisol lowering” hacks on the internet would actually make them feel WORSE! And hence why I’m such a big proponent for testing and not guessing🤓
MAHA. Sorry not sorry, but I care too much about the environment, national parks, clean air and water, and protecting my children from communicable diseases. I hate getting into politics and respect that we’re allowed to have different opinions, but these changes feel too personal and nonpartisan to ignore.
Using ChatGPT instead of working with a professional. AI blew up this year and while there are many good uses for it, it can and will never replace the care that a Functional Registered Dietitian with years of training and hands-on experience can provide.
75 Hard. Or 75 of Anything. If you successfully completed a 75 Hard…Kudos to you! Seriously! 👏🏻 But for the rest of us who either attempted or wanted to attempt it, but immediately felt overwhelmed or guilt-ridden, it’s not you, it’s the program. I prefer a much more gentle and sustainable approach to developing healthy habits like I teach in my Thrive 28 Day Health Foundations course.
My 2026 Wellness Trend Predictions
Functional Testing Will Go Mainstream
2026 is the year functional lab testing finally breaks out of the “niche wellness” bubble and becomes part of everyday preventive care. At-home stool tests, hormone panels, metabolic reports, and nutrient testing are becoming more affordable, more accurate, and more widely understood. We don’t just want symptom management anymore — we want clarity, data, and individualized answers. At the same time, more women are waking up to the idea that the body runs on rhythms…
Why I love it:
This trend is my Super Bowl. Functional testing removes the guesswork and gives clients a straight line to their root causes. Instead of throwing supplements at symptoms, we map what’s actually happening. Digestion. Hormones. Inflammation. Pathogens. Thyroid. Enzymes. Clients save time, money, and frustration – and they get results faster. Watching the world catch up to what I’ve been preaching for years feels like the wellness version of vindication. Curious about Functional testing? Book a free call to chat through options!
Biorhythmic Living Will Become Second Nature
People are waking up to the idea that the body runs on rhythms – circadian, infradian, lunar, seasonal – and that health skyrockets when you live with them instead of against them. Expect more cycle-syncing tools, seasonal wellness frameworks, sun-aligned routines, and resources to adjust your day based on light exposure, sleep chronotype, menstrual phase, or geography.
Why I love it:
I love this trend because it validates what I teach every single day: the body thrives in rhythm. Digestion, hormones, energy, cravings, mood, sleep – they’re all rhythm-dependent. When women honor their internal clocks, their gut calms down, their periods get easier, their metabolism steadies, and their stress resilience improves. Biorhythmic living is one of the most aligned ways to heal because it works with the body’s biology instead of forcing it into a modern schedule it was never designed for.
Daily “Micro-Rest” Rituals vs. 2-Hour Picture-Perfect Routines
I’m really hoping 2026 will move away from the performative, highly curated wellness routines that dominated Instagram. Red light therapy. Saunas. Cold plunges. A 30 min lymphatic routine. Those tools can be great but are not realistic for most people with kids and a full-time job. Instead, I’ve noticed clients want practical, bite-sized rest practices woven throughout the day: 30-second grounding moments, 5 deep breaths, stepping outside for 5 minutes of sunlight, unclenching your jaw, or taking a walk between tasks.
Why I love it:
As a newly minted mom of 2, micro-rest is where the magic happens. And there’s no way I have time for an hour-long morning or nighttime routine right now😂 The nervous system loves small, consistent signals of safety. These mini practices improve gut motility, stomach acid production, cortisol regulation, and hormone communication – all the essentials for feeling GOOD in your body. People don’t need two hours; they need 20 seconds, repeated. This trend is realistic, sustainable, and clinically effective. It’s wellness for real life.
Personalized Nutrition Based on Labs vs. Template Medicine
After years of conflicting advice – keto, plant-based, carnivore, intermittent fasting, seed oils, no seed oils – people are done with noise. 2026 will be the year of individualized nutrition built around what’s healthy for YOU based on your own unique metabolic markers, gut microbiome tests, hormone data, and nutrient status. Instead of following template protocols from chatGPT or influencers, people will follow their labs and the personalized recommendations from experienced practitioners.
Why I love it:
I’ve always been anti-“one-size-fits-all.” You’ll never hear me say EVERYONE needs to be gluten free or plant-based for example. Personalized nutrition is the antidote to confusion, shame, diet wars, and feeling like you’re doing something wrong when that “healthy” smoothie makes you bloat up like the Michelin man. When we build personalized healing plans based on labs, you can stop dieting and start healing.
A Return to Off-Screen Hobbies
Screens aren’t going anywhere, but the pendulum is swinging back toward analog joy – puzzles, baking, ceramics, gardening, knitting, painting, and hiking. People want nervous system relief, deeper connection, and a break from constant stimulation. Offline hobbies feel grounding, nostalgic, and increasingly necessary.
Why I love it:
I’ve been preaching for digital detoxes for years because off-screen time is like a gift to the nervous system. It lowers sympathetic activation, improves digestion, enhances hormone signaling, and stabilizes cortisol – all while reconnecting people with pleasure that isn’t dopamine-spiking. Most clients don’t actually need more supplements or a stricter elimination diet, they need more slowness, creativity, and time outside.
I’m hoping to take up knitting again – who’s with me?!
To Recap
Whew. What a year. And what a year we’re about to step into.
If there’s one theme tying this all together, it’s this:
Women are done with noise.
Done doing it alone.
Done with cookie-cutter advice that ignores our physiology.
We’re choosing clarity, personalization, nervous system safety, sustainable habits, deeper education, and real support.
And honestly? I could not be more excited to walk into 2026 with you.
If reading this sparked something – a desire to understand your body better, to finally get real answers about your symptoms, or to start the year with intention instead of overwhelm – my doors are open.
Gut REPAIR Roadmap, the Gut Clarity Kit, my Thrive Foundations course, and 1:1 support are all designed to meet you where you are and guide you toward feeling at home in your body again.
Here’s to a new year of nourishing the microbiome, regulating the nervous system, honoring our biorhythms, and choosing the kind of wellness that feels gentle and true.
xoxo, Anna
