rewrite this title Wellness trends worth taking into the new year (and some that aren’t)

Trying to keep up with the flood of wellness trends last year was bewildering. Influencers promoted seemingly endless products and experiences under the banner of “wellness.” Some trends, like celery juicing, cold plunges and protein bars have been around for a few years now. But other trends that came across our radar in 2025 had more of an “old is new again” energy, like embracing full-fat dairy and cooking with beef tallow.

At NPR’s science desk, we did our best to pick apart what’s healthy and what’s hype. Here are seven of the trends NPR reported on, and what the data and experts had to say about them.

This story originally ran in NPR’s Health newsletter. Want the latest stories on the science of healthy living? Subscribe here.

Trend: A return to full-fat dairy

For decades, public health messaging warned against high-fat dairy. But the argument against it is largely “circumstantial,” says Benoit LaMarche, a Canadian food scientist who headed up an evidence review of the relationship between dairy and heart disease risk, published in May.

The review concluded that generally speaking, fat-free, low-fat and full-fat dairy products had the same effects. Some studies have even shown the benefits of higher-fat over lower-fat dairy. For instance, one study that followed 18 adults for three weeks found drinking whole milk actually outperformed skim milk when it comes to raising HDL, or “good” cholesterol.

Moreover, experts are saying that worrying about the fat content in dairy is essentially a distraction from bigger dietary concerns like eating foods with too much salt, refined carbs and sugar.

The topic’s on the radar since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised to end the “attack on whole milk, cheese and yogurt.” It’s also increasingly popular online among those participating in the TikTok-driven “cottage cheese comeback.”

Bottom line: Not the worst idea. Read the full story. 

Trend: Wearing a weighted vest while taking your daily walk

Is striding around in an uncomfortably heavy vest a great workout that marries strengthening, weight loss, and cardio with fresh air and sunshine — or are wearers merely projecting a fitness-y image to their neighbors?

Weighted vests are often marketed to women in their 40s, looking to increase muscle and bone growth to mitigate the effects of decreasing estrogen. But the evidence that wearing them works for that is particularly scant.

One small study compared people walking with weighted vests with those who walked without them and found no significant difference in bone health. Another study did find some benefits for people who wore weighted vests while engaging in resistance workouts, but the study doesn’t make clear whether the vests or the exercises were the cause of healthy bone growth.

If you want a science-backed way to build muscle or replace bone density lost during perimenopause and menopause, experts like exercise scientist Lauren Colenso-Semple recommend resistance training. 

Weighted vests may have some benefits for cardiovascular health, says Roger Fielding, who studies exercise science at Tufts University. Plus walking the same distance with more weight will burn more calories. (Just don’t expect us to do choreo, ok?!)

Bottom line: Won’t hurt but there are better ways to build muscle. Read the full story.

Trend: Scientifically tracking your blood sugar, even if you don’t have diabetes

Motivation is a tricky business for people looking to get leaner or eat healthier. The reward of fitting into a dress for a wedding that’s months away, or logging lower blood sugar at your next physical is uncertain and remote – but that rum cake will provide the jolt of satisfaction you crave right now. So could real-time data shift the calculus?

That’s the promise behind wearing a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM, a small device that sticks to the back of the arm. Every few minutes it sends a signal to your phone estimating the concentration of sugar in your blood. The tech has been a game-changer for some people with diabetes, providing a more user-friendly alternative to finger prick tests.

For people without diabetes, the theory is, a wearable glucose monitor can show you which snacks or meals make your blood sugar spike too high, and you can modify your diet accordingly.

According to the research, CGMs have helped some people lower their blood sugar or lose weight – others not so much.

There was a lot of personal variation in the results of two recent studies, says Collin Popp, a researcher at NYU Grossman School of Medicine who helped lead one of the studies. “We had individuals coming back and saying, ‘You changed my life. I lost 30 pounds and I feel great.’ Other people in the study put on weight,” he says.

If you try a CGM, you may want to take the data with a grain of salt. One recent study found that the same meal eaten on two different days gave very different readings. Another small study found that the continuous glucose monitor overestimated people’s blood sugar levels compared with measuring it in a blood test.

Bottom line: Continuous glucose monitors can be helpful, but take them with a grain of salt. Read the full story. 

Trend: Drinking a bright blue dye

Here’s a weird one. Wellness influencers have been singing the praises of a synthetic dye that stains their tongues blue, and they claim it offers a host of benefits. Methylene blue dye is far from new. Formulated as a textile dye in the 19th century, it’s since been prescribed as a treatment for malaria, cyanide poisoning, and methemoglobinemia, a rare blood disorder.

Biohackers claim that methylene blue improves the function of the cells’ mitochondria, thereby slowing aging, improving mood and cognition, among other benefits.

Studies in rodents have shown methylene blue does improve mitochondrial function and reduce inflammation. But in preliminary human studies, the results haven’t shown significant benefit in healthy people, says Lorne Hofseth, a researcher at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy.

And there’s risks, including serotonin toxicity – a drug reaction that can cause elevated blood pressure, diarrhea, seizures, and even death. And like other supplements, methylene dye isn’t tested for safety before it goes to market. It can be hard to know what you’re really getting.

Bottom line: You’re probably turning your tongue blue for no reason. Read the full story. 

Trend: More protein in everything … even your Oreos!

If you want protein on the go, you don’t have to look far. Grocery and convenience store shelves are lined with bars, cookies, brownies and other snack foods with “high protein” printed on the label.

But how do you suss out marketing from fact? It turns out there’s no particular metric manufacturers need to meet in order to advertise a product as “high protein.” For instance, a candy with 1 gram of protein may have a high-protein marketing claim on the front of the package, which admittedly is a lot more than most candy, says physiologist Stefan Pasiakos, but clearly doesn’t make it healthy.

One quick rule of thumb to assess protein claims is to check the percentage of the daily value of protein on the nutrition facts label on the package. Anything 20% or above can be seen as high protein, according to the FDA.

And even if they are high protein, packaged snacks can also be high in calories, sugar, or processed ingredients. You’ll do better to get protein from whole foods like yogurt or during meals, say nutritionists.

That being said, protein snacks can be a convenient way to reduce muscle soreness after a workout.

Bottom line: Junk food is still not a good choice, even with protein added. Read the full story.

Trend: Beef fat is back, baby! For cooking (and skincare?!)

This March, Health Secretary Kennedy sat down at a fast food burger joint with Fox News host Sean Hannity, to talk about obesity and metabolic disease. The two were at a Steak N’ Shake in honor of the chain’s switch from vegetable oil to tallow, or rendered beef fat, to cook French fries.

Tallow was phased out of fast food chains decades ago, but Kennedy says it’s a healthier alternative to seed oils (aka vegetable oils), which he claimed in a post on X are “one of the driving forces of the obesity epidemic.”

So are fries cooked in beef tallow any healthier?

“People should eat fewer French fries, whatever they’re deep fried in,” says nutrition scientist Christopher Gardner.

Beef tallow and other saturated fats can lead to clogged arteries and high blood pressure, he notes. And as a threat to health, seed oils have been unfairly villainized, says cardiologist. Dariush Mozaffarian, at Tufts University.

The real health villains in junk food are excessive amounts of refined grains, starches, and sugars, as well as salt and other preservatives, chemical additives, he says.

Meanwhile skincare products made from beef tallow are trending this year, too. It’s all part of a cultural moment where people are skeptical of synthetic ingredients, says Jennifer Reich, a sociologist at the University of Colorado Denver. As a sort of shortcut to healthier choices, Reich says people opt for things like beef tallow that seem natural because it ostensibly comes from a farm instead of an overseas factory supply chain. Yet for some users, they can make skin problems like acne worse.

Bottom line: Not so fast. Read the full story on cooking with tallow. 

Trend: Creatine supplements are everything

Wellness influencer Bobby Parish declared creatine the “supplement of the year” for 2025 in a promotional TikTok post. It’s a compound made from three amino acids that your muscles use as a source of energy. Long a favorite of body-building gym bros, it’s another product that enthusiasts now credit with multiple benefits, including brain function and regulating blood sugar.

The evidence still isn’t strong for those two claims, but when it comes to adding lean muscle mass, the evidence for creatine supplements is “overwhelming,” says Jose Antonio, a professor of exercise and sports science at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. It can also help provide energy to keep at your workout longer.

But one big caveat here: Taking supplements isn’t enough to see strength gains – you actually have to get your butt to the gym and work out. A review of 35 studies found that when creatine supplements were combined with resistance training, adult men added around 2 to 3 pounds of lean body mass.

For safety precautions and some basic guidance on how to dose if you’d like to try creatine, check out the report by NPR’s Maria Godoy.

Bottom line: These might actually be pretty helpful, but don’t skip the gym. Read the full story.