845. A look back at the biggest food and nutrition trends of the last year, plus, a glimpse into my crystal ball.
845. A look back at the biggest food and nutrition trends of the last year, plus, a glimpse into my crystal ball.
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Find a transcript here.
In the world of food and nutrition, change often happens incrementally. But sometimes it feels like the ground shifts beneath your feet. 2025 felt decidedly more like the latter. Today, I'm taking a look back at the biggest food and nutrition trends of the year and peeking into my crystal ball at what the future might have in store for us.
Hello and welcome to the Nutrition Diva podcast. I’m your host Monica Reinagel and as we prepare to turn the page on 2025 and welcome a new year, I’ve been reflecting on the food and nutrition news and trends of the last year to see if I can detect any big themes.
Here are a few things that jump out at me.
Trend 1: Move over, microbiome
After more than a decade of viewing everything through the lens of our gut bacteria, our microbiome obsession seems to be leveling out. Instead, GLP-1s and their impacts on both medicine and culture have become the dominant forces in the conversation about food and nutrition. For example, the focus on fiber has given way to the prioritization of protein.
Dramatic weight loss (through any means) tends to result in fairly significant loss of lean muscle tissue. And, if you’re over 50, you’re probably already losing lean muscle tissue. In either case, the best way we know to prevent this is to have people increase the amount of high quality protein they take in. (This strategy works much better when combined with strength training.)
Between the growing number of people utilizing GLP-1s to lose weight and an aging population worried about muscle loss, protein has become the dietary darling of the decade. Virtually every food you can think of, from your latte to your granola to your pasta, now comes in a high protein version. Which brings me to the next big theme I’ve noticed.
Trend 2: Ultra-processed or Ultra-Useful?
This time last year, it seemed only a matter of time before UPFs (or ultra-processed foods) were officially written into public health policy as the Source of All Evils. But a growing drumbeat of dissent (including from this podcast) has finally managed to slow that roll a bit. Because consumers seem to have grasped something that researchers and policy makers have been slower to recognize, namely, that UPFs include a very wide variety of foods, some of which are actually really helpful in trying to meet nutrient targets.
Thankfully, we’re seeing a shift from the blanket demonization of food processing toward a more discerning stance toward functional foods. A protein powder may be highly processed but if it’s helping prevent sarcopenia (muscle loss), it’s not the problem; it’s part of the solution.
To me, both of these trends (the rise of GLP1s and a shift toward functional foods) suggest an interesting swing of the pendulum. Even before the recent focus on food processing, we’ve long placed a high value on doing things the “natural” way. I’ve lost track of how many emails I’ve gotten over the years from people wanting to know what vitamin, or food, or herb they could use instead of taking a blood pressure or cholesterol lowering medication.
Now all of a sudden, the biggest problem seems to be that people can’t get access to the medications they feel will make their lives better. As a result, we’re seeing an explosion of compounders and telehealth companies, especially in the anti-obesity medicine space. (Look for an episode on these next month.)
This shift from mistrust of pharmaceuticals to widespread demand has again been driven largely by GLP-1s. The initial suspicion and stigmatization of using these medications has given way to the recognition that people who have struggled with their weight their entire lives were not just suffering from a lack of self-control. There was an actual biological and metabolic problem–one that these medications were able to address.
But of course this still leaves the question of why these particular biological and metabolic issues seem to have exploded in the second half of the twentieth century. And the answer there is starting to come into clearer focus.
Trend #3 Clean up on Aisle Earth
The post-WWII modernization of the food supply and consumer households was abetted by the introduction of massive amounts of chemicals and new materials into the environment. Chemical fertilizers increased our crop yields. Non-stick and stain-resistant coatings brought 'miracle' convenience to our cookware and fabrics. Plastics made products lighter, cheaper, and more durable.
It was another 30 or 40 years before the consequences of all that started to become apparent. And those consequences continue to be revealed–everything from the effect of forever chemicals on cancer risks, to the influence of hormone-disruptors on obesity and fertility, to the impact of microplastics on our brains. And it can be pretty scary. Because at this point, avoidance is virtually impossible.
I think that’s why I’m also seeing an uptick in interest in things like regenerative agriculture. Because it’s not just about putting fewer chemicals and plastics into the environment (although that would certainly help). It’s about adopting practices that help the earth to heal from the way we’ve treated her. Multiple surveys and market reports confirm that consumer awareness of "Regenerative Agriculture" has doubled in the last year, moving from a niche farming term to a primary purchase driver for health-conscious shoppers.
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So, what’s in store for 2026 and beyond? While we continue to grapple with the fallout of environmental degradation, at least we’re also starting to get a glimpse of a future in which obesity (and its related health issues) is no longer the primary public health battle. We’re already seeing declines in junk food and fast food purchases as eating behaviors and food preferences shift. As a result, food companies are thinking less about how to make their products so hard to resist and more about how to make them more nutrient dense.
As people lose weight, they gain mobility and tend to show a greater interest and enjoyment of physical activity. This could accelerate the demand for more walkable or bike-friendly communities and active recreation. It’s fun to think about the kinds of civic and commercial initiatives a healthier and more active population will engender!
Of course, there are lots of trends and cutting edge technologies that I haven’t touched on today. Things like the exploding role of AI in food and nutrition, the continuing growth of sobriety as a lifestyle choice and not just as a treatment for addiction, and advances in food technology ranging from gene-edited produce, lab-cultured meat, printing food with 3D printers, precision fermentation, and farming in space.
No doubt these will be topics that we'll be taking a closer look at here on the podcast in 2026. Until then, allow me to wish you a happy New Year from the entire team here at the Nutrition Diva podcast and Quick and Dirty Tips.
Holly Hutchings is our Director of Podcasts. Steve Riekeberg is our audio engineer, Morgan Christianson heads up Podcast Operations & Advertising, and Rebekah Sebastian, is our Manager of Marketing and Publicity and Nat Hoopes is our Marketing and Operations Assistant. Thanks to all of them and thanks to you for listening!