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Ours are paradoxical times: on average globally, we’ve never had it so good (life expectancy, income per capita, etc.) and yet addiction, depression, anxiety and suicide rates are all up. The

scientific explanation: we produce too much dopamine (the instant “reward” neurotransmitter, whether delivered through sugar or social media) and not enough serotonin (the “contentment” neurotransmitter). We confuse pleasure and happiness.

Read more about how this leads to a prediction that people’s desire to reconnect with nature (at wellness retreats, etc.) and to exercise outside will grow powerfully. 

The recent Global Wellness Summit featured a historic line-up of integrative medical pioneers from Dr. Oz to Dr. Dean Ornish. Watch Dr. Andrew Weil’s keynote on how we can actually start helping people make healthy lifestyle choices – despite a sad lack of focus on prevention by insurers.

The second of GWI’s “Wellness at Work” Initiative’s new infographics: how employee engagement and wellness results in financially-healthy companies.  

The Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology recently went to three American scientists for their fascinating research on how an internal “biological clock” drives all living things. They identified the molecule existing in almost every cell of our bodies revealing that everything from our brain to our “gut” synchs to natural circadian rhythms.

Read more about how messing with our internal “biological clock” impacts everything from hormone levels to heart rate. And how this surprising Nobel Prize is a testimony to the rising importance of wellness in our everyday lives.

The global food landscape is paradoxical. Fast food consumption rages on in middle-income countries, and in places like Argentina and Ghana, where it’s recently skyrocketed. On the other hand, large multinational companies are fast acquiring healthy food/beverage start-ups to meet consumer demand. And veganism and vegetarianism are seeing staggering growth in Western nations (much driven by millennials).