There’s something quietly radical happening in Britain’s wellness scene, and it’s not another celebrity-endorsed detox tea.
While Instagram influencers were busy flogging their usual snake oil, regular people were Googling cognitive mushrooms and sweating through 40-degree Pilates sessions.
According to Bupa’s latest health-trend report, searches for Lion’s mane mushrooms shot up eightfold between September 2023 and August 2024.
Bee pollen queries were up more than 50 times. This isn’t just wellness FOMO – it’s a sign that people are genuinely fed up with vague promises and want things that might actually do something.
The thing is, not all of these trends deserve the hype. Some are backed by decent science. Others are riding the coattails of wellness anxiety.
Let’s separate the supplements worth considering from the overpriced placebo dust.
The Lion’s Mane Obsession: Actual Science or Expensive Sawdust?
Lion’s mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus, if you want to sound clever at dinner parties) looks like something that crawled out of a fantasy novel.
It’s shaggy, white, and vaguely unsettling. But the reason it’s suddenly everywhere (from Holland & Barrett to your friend’s kitchen cupboard) is that early research hints it might do something for your brain.
Here’s what we actually know: studies on rats and in petri dishes show that Lion’s mane has compounds called hericenones and erinacines, which seem to encourage nerve growth factor production.
That’s the protein your brain needs to keep neurons healthy and growing. A small Japanese study from 2009 tested it on older people with mild memory problems. They took Lion’s mane powder for 16 weeks and their cognitive scores went up compared to people taking fake pills. But when they stopped taking it, the improvements vanished.
The NHS doesn’t officially back Lion’s mane for brain health, mostly because the studies are small, short, and often done on animals rather than humans.
That hasn’t stopped Britain from panic-buying the stuff. You’re looking at £15 to £40 for a month’s worth, depending on whether you get powder, capsules, or a tincture, and how concentrated it is.
If you do try it, go for products that list at least 30% polysaccharides and come from suppliers who’ll show you third-party test results. The supplement world is full of junk that barely contains the active ingredients printed on the label.
Lion’s mane probably won’t make you a genius, but it’s unlikely to hurt you either (unless you’re allergic to mushrooms or on certain medications).
It sits in that annoying middle ground where the research is interesting enough to make you curious but not solid enough to bet money on.
Bee Pollen: The Supplement Industry’s Latest Golden Child
If Lion’s mane is having a moment, bee pollen is having a full identity crisis dressed up as a wellness miracle.
Bupa’s report shows searches for bee pollen benefits jumped more than 50 times, which is either brilliant marketing or collective delusion. Maybe both.
Bee pollen has proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in it. People claim it does everything from boosting energy to fighting inflammation to making you better at sport. The trouble is the evidence runs from “possibly” to “probably not” depending what you’re after.
There are small studies suggesting bee pollen might have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Research in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology found that bee pollen extracts showed antioxidant activity in test tubes. But test tubes aren’t people. What works in a lab doesn’t always survive your stomach acid and digestive enzymes long enough to do anything useful in your actual body.
The bigger worry is safety. Bee pollen can cause serious allergic reactions in people sensitive to pollen or bee stings. The MHRA warns that you can get anything from itching and hives to full-blown anaphylaxis. If you’ve got asthma or hay fever, bee pollen isn’t worth gambling on.
Then there’s quality. Like honey, bee pollen’s makeup changes wildly depending what plants the bees visited. That jar you ordered online might have pollen from 50 plant species or five. There’s no standardisation, no adequate quality controls, and usually no way to confirm what’s on the label actually matches what’s inside.
At £10 to £30 for a small jar, bee pollen is an expensive punt with thin scientific backing. If you’re determined to try it, start with a tiny bit to check for allergic reactions, and don’t expect miracles. It’s food, not medicine, and pretending otherwise is just wishful thinking in fancy packaging.
Hot Pilates: Why We’re Paying to Suffer at 40 Degrees
Now for something that actually works: hot Pilates. Bupa found searches for “hot Pilates near me” went up sevenfold.
Hot Pilates mixes traditional Pilates moves with cardio bursts in a room heated to 35-40 degrees. Unlike Bikram yoga, which sticks to the same 26 poses every time, hot Pilates classes vary by instructor and studio.
The heat loosens up your muscles, which means you can stretch deeper with less risk of pulling something, and the cardio bits mean you’re actually burning significant calories instead of just lying on a mat wondering when it’ll end.
Studios like Heartcore, Frame, and Psycle in London have built significant cult followings around their hot Pilates classes.
Outside the capital, chains like Everyone Active and David Lloyd are adding heated studios to keep up with demand. A single class usually costs £20 to £35, with packages bringing it down to about £15-18 per class if you commit.
The benefits go beyond hype. A 2021 study in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that people doing heated Pilates classes for eight weeks improved their flexibility, balance, and core strength. The heat pushes your heart rate up, so you’re working harder even during moves that feel easy at room temperature.
However, hot Pilates isn’t for everyone. If you’ve got heart problems, you’re pregnant, or you struggle with heat, stick to regular Pilates.
Dehydration is real, and I’ve watched more than one person go green and bail mid-class. Bring a big water bottle, don’t eat a huge meal before, and actually listen to your body.
“Pushing through” when you feel dizzy is how you end up flat on the floor with strangers awkwardly stepping over you.
Barre Classes: Ballet-Inspired Torture That Actually Works
“Barre near me” searches tripled, which means people have finally worked out that barre classes are sneakily effective.
They look elegant and graceful, like something a ballerina does to warm up. In reality, they’re designed to make your muscles shake and burn until you’re questioning every decision that brought you here.
Barre workouts mix ballet-style moves with bits of Pilates, yoga, and strength training. You spend ages doing tiny, controlled movements while holding awkward positions at a ballet barre (hence the name).
It hits the smaller stabilising muscles that bigger exercises miss, which is why your legs turn to jelly after holding a plie for two minutes while pulsing up and down.
Studios like Barrecore, Xtend Barre, and The Refinery have made barre popular in the UK, though even budget gyms are starting to chuck barre classes on their schedules.
A 2021 study from the University of North Carolina found that people who did barre three times a week for eight weeks got better at muscular endurance, core strength, and balance. They also felt less stressed, which counts for something.
The downside is barre can get repetitive if you’re someone who needs constant variety. There’s also a learning curve if you’ve never done dance – suddenly you’re meant to know what “relevé” and “plié” mean while trying not to topple over.
Good instructors will explain and demonstrate, but cheaper classes sometimes assume knowledge that normal people don’t have.
You’re looking at £15-25 per class, or roughly £100-150 for monthly unlimited at dedicated studios. It’s worth trying a few different instructors and studios before you commit, because teaching styles are all over the place.
Period-Tracking Apps: The Boring Tool Everyone Should Be Using
Here’s the least glamorous wellness trend in Bupa’s report: searches for period-tracking apps doubled. Not exactly thrilling, but it’s actually one of the smarter things people are doing.
Tracking your cycle isn’t just about avoiding surprises – it can flag up irregular patterns that might point to PCOS, endometriosis, or thyroid problems.
Apps like Flo, Clue, and Natural Cycles have made cycle tracking simple. You log when your period starts and stops, and the app predicts future cycles while letting you track symptoms, moods, and whatever else.
Some apps use temperature data to predict ovulation more accurately, which helps whether you’re trying to get pregnant or avoid it.
The privacy thing is legitimate though. After the US Supreme Court ditched Roe v Wade in 2022, there were real worries about period-tracking data being used against people in places where abortion’s illegal. That’s less of a direct threat in the UK, but it’s still smart to check an app’s privacy policy before handing over intimate health data. Clue, for instance, is based in Germany and follows GDPR rules, while some US-based apps have dodgier data practices.
The Verdict: What’s Actually Worth Your Money?
If I’m ranking these by usefulness, it’s not even close: hot Pilates and barre classes are genuinely effective if you can afford them and don’t have health issues that make heated exercise dodgy.
Period-tracking apps are useful, free or cheap, and solve a real problem. Lion’s mane is interesting but unproven, so treat it as an experiment rather than a solution.
Bee pollen is expensive, potentially risky, and backed by basically nothing – skip it unless you enjoy wasting money on things that might make your throat swell.
The broader point is that Britain’s wellness obsession is growing up a bit. People are asking more questions, doing more research, and going for things that have at least some scientific basis rather than just influencer endorsements.
That’s progress, even if the supplement industry is still flogging overpriced mushroom powder to anyone with a credit card and anxiety about their brain.
The best wellness trend would be adequately funded healthcare that actually covers mental health and preventive care, but until that happens, we’ll keep Googling cognitive mushrooms and booking hot Pilates classes.
At least we’re getting better at spotting the difference between things that might help and things that are definitely rubbish.
