A July 17 story in Quartz explored the recent, tragic deaths of at least nine American tourists (as of June 30) in the Dominican Republic. It has created a media frenzy, the FBI and Dominican authorities are investigating, and one strong theory is that fake or adulterated alcohol was the cause. Beware! READ STORY
More Rich People Calling for Wealth Taxes
MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION In this lower growth, uncertain and ever-more unequal world, an issue is gaining prominence: that of a wealth tax. For instance, a group of American billionaires has just been calling publicly for a “wealth tax,” and our own little survey at the Wellness Barometer (very limited and hence with no real scientific validity) shows that ultra-high-net-worth families are surprisingly receptive…
GWI Launches White Paper Series: “Understanding Wellness”
The GWI today launched a new white paper series: “Understanding Wellness.” The research papers are designed to become the go-to primer for policymakers, businesspeople and researchers to understand—in clear and simple terms and backed by expert insight and rich data—the major force that wellness has become around the world and how it will evolve in the future. This first paper, The Global Forces Driving the Growth of the…
Wellness Evidence Study: Yoga Breathing & Relaxation Lowers Blood Pressure as Much as Aerobic Exercise
A new meta-analysis (49 studies) published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings indicates that yoga practice that emphasizes mental relaxation and breathing techniques can have as much of a positive impact on high blood pressure as aerobic exercise: It results in blood pressure reductions as large as 11/6 mmHg, equal to or exceeding those reported for aerobic exercise training. When yoga didn’t emphasize breathing techniques and…
Millennials Replacing Formal Religion with New Age Spiritual Practices
A recent Los Angeles Times article by Jessica Roy explores how millennials, Gen Z and younger Gen Xers are replacing formal religion with practices such as tarot, astrology, meditation, energy healing and crystals. The author notes they don’t particularly care if you think it’s “woo-woo” or weird. One expert pointed out the trend of people “cooking up their own spiritual or religious stew” is a…
Chinese Tourism to US is Plunging – Will Impact Wellness
MONTHLY BAROMETER – WELLNESS EDITION Remember “Chimerica”—the notion that China and the US were so intertwined that they would end up forming just one entity? The assumption that the world they created was our inevitable future became so entrenched in the minds of most decision-makers that it became one of the central tenets of the investment world… until it ceased to be. Irrespective of how…