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[lisawife]

Making Space

More and more people are moving to the city. Today, 54 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66 per cent by 2050. Who lives in the city knows the problem: the shortage of apartments is tremendous, and if you are the lucky one that finds an apartment it is often small and you have to be smart with your furniture. Next to small housing, we use our living environments in a more flexible way; we work where we live and play where we work. We have to shift functions in order to create an efficient and productive living/working environment. Luckily more and more designers and blogs are coming up with great and smart solutions to make your home as efficient (and nice) as possible! When I was at Ambiente (the largest living fair in Europe) I saw many designers that fitted right in this trend of smart efficiency in homes.

My personal top 3: 1. Gry Bjørge: INFINI Cabinet 2. Christina L. Halstrømk: GEORG collection (Skagerak Booth) 3. Phillippe Malouin: Hanger chair

These designs were all excellent examples on how to be most efficient with small spaces.

For more inspiring design visit: Ambientetrends.com

Photo Source: Corroom

[lisawife]

E-Health

Technology is becoming more and more intertwined with our bodies. We wear our technological devices close to our body, or even on our body; the Apple Watch, Sony Smartwatch and multiple tracking devices like Nike Fuel and Jawbone (wearables). These technological devices make it increasingly easier to monitor our health or movement (remember my Tracking blog?). The Microsoft Band even introduced a UV-light meter, which warns you when you have been in the sun too long. But not only Smart Watches and wearables can do the trick; Dyno Sensor, a thermometer that measures 33 body variables in 60 seconds. Or what do you think of the Scanadu; a device that measure, amongst others, heart pressure, temperature, oxygen in blood and pulse. The results are send to your smartphone. Theses wearables make it very easy to monitor your health very closely on a daily base.

You can even track your baby; there are multiple solutions on the market that are able to track your baby’s sleeping, temperature, breathing and movement. The one company puts it in the mattress or in their clothing. Mimo designed a romper that tracks your baby’s breathing and sleeping. All the data is send to your iPhone. No more panic when you don’t hear your baby. An alarm goes off when the sensor suspects something is wrong.

Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and Philips are all working on possibilities to create a ‘Health Platform’; a, well secured, cloud platform where users can upload and store all relevant health information that can therefore be easily exchanged with doctors or other care takers when needed. These ‘Health Faults’ can become very valuable in the future in regards of data analysing as well. For example, looking at the relations between, physical exercise, food, the progression of illness and/or medicine intake.

Your smartphone, or other wearable, can give you advice about your health based on your own personal data; “maybe it is time to work out more, or eat healthier.” Making it less and less necessary to see your doctor every once in a while.

Eric Topol says that this development can lead to a complete transformation of the healthcare system; in his bestseller ‘The Patient Will See You Now’ he describes how the power in healthcare will shift from doctor to patient/consumer.

When you are thinking of monitoring your health closely, you have multiple options; from apps to wearables. If you don’t have any high demands of your tracking methods you can might as well download an app instead of buying a wearable device that can be very expensive says the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Their research showed that apps on smartphones were almost always as accurate as most wearables.

Stylish Wearable Tech Source Photo: Refinery29

Fashion x Wearable Tech Source Photo: BuzzFeed.com

Courtesy to: Elservier Juist

[lisawife]

Healthiest City on this Planet

As you read in my blog about burnouts, only last year over 100.000 youngsters in the Netherlands were suffering from burn out complaints. This has all types of reasons, but mostly because the pressure (work, social but mostly juggling the two) is too high. As you know by now, I lived in Copenhagen for quite some time (5 months to be exact) and I know, I already blogged about Copenhagen being in the top 3 of the World Happiness Report, but a couple of months ago CNN published their Top 10 Healthiest City Overview and on number 1 is again, Copenhagen.

Copenhagen is a city full of ambitious professionals and young families. Yet working long hours here is frowned upon.

Just 2% of employees in Copenhagen work 40 hours a week or more, according to an OECD report, freeing them up to spend time with family, join organized sports, volunteer or participate in other community programs. Often these programs are for free. This encourages people to get involved. Their ability to balance work with quality time with friends and family not only keeps their stress levels down, it gives them a happiness boost. Studies show that people who focus on experiences versus things have higher levels of satisfaction long after the moment has passed, explains the CNN report.

I can completely understand what CNN is writing about. School (KEA), at least for me, always finished at latest at 16:00. Maybe I had to work a little bit at home, but not nearly as much as for my study in the Netherlands. This created a lot of space to do things with my friends, exercise or do other activities. And this sure kept my stress level down (and got me back in shape). This is something the Netherlands can sure take a look at in regards to the new burnout ‘epidemic’.

Next to the healthy work/life balance Copenhagen strives to have parks or beaches in less than 15 minutes for all residents on foot. The aim is that this will help keep residents fit and reducing traffic and pollution (pollution reduction is very big in Denmark). And of course the biking; physical exercise releases endorphins, which contribute to a feeling of happiness. And with 249 miles of bike paths, there is plenty to be happy about.

There is a tremendous focus on health in Copenhagen and you can see it everywhere; in shops, on the street, at the grocery store, the government, and so on. A well-deserved #1 I would say, and maybe we should adopt the Danish lifestyle.  

Photo taken from Hay House (essence of Danish Design) on Amagertorv Photo Source: Travel and See the World Blog 

[lisawife]

Sporting In Style

You can’t have missed it. Health and sports are everywhere. Open one of your social media channels and the selfies of abs, legs, arms etc. will come rushing towards you! Not to mention the amount of photos, stats and schedules of their latest workout. Health is the new wealth and as we are all ‘just ordinary people’ we like to show of our hard work. The last couple of years sports has conquered territory. Even the people who didn’t do any sport before (me) are now running their rounds and taking yoga classes (ok, also me). Skinny has left the building; we want strong, healthy, great looking and feeling bodies. But…. We want to do it in style.

Companies have been picking up on this new development! Nike teamed up in 2014 with Brazilian designer Pedro Lourenço to present a new women’s training collection inspired by the emerging desire for luxury in sport performance. In 2015 Nike is teaming up with Berlin based designer Johanna F. Schneider and Japanese designer Chitose Abe (founder of Sacai). The result is beautiful designed sportswear that balances on the bridge of high fashion and high performance wear. But H&M is upping up their game in sportswear too and so are many other brands. You can find great and stylish workout clothes anywhere, everywhere. The actress Kate Hudson co-founded Fabletics where consumers can get a monthly prescription on work out-clothes that are based on your own personal taste and style by taking a small personally test beforehand. Sportswear is not longer not fashionable and unflattering, but has become an extension of your personal style, and so is the sport your performing it in.

Nike x Sacai 

Photo Source: Nike

[lisawife]

Danish Girls

My Copenhagen adventure started the 3rd of January this year. I had been there before and was a 100% ready to indulge myself in one of the most amazing cities of Europe; the food, the fashion, the design, the people, the mentality, I couldn’t wait to live there. On one of my first biking trips (number 1 transport in Copenhagen) I immediately noticed something: these women have serious style, but also; these women have seriously all the same style. As my time passed in Copenhagen my analysing skills regarding Scandinavian, and in particular, Danish women became almost of a professional level. To sum it up: if you see a blond girl, with loose dress pants, a grey, white, or black tee/sweatshirt, a long black coat, a small black leather high quality purse and white sneakers, or sneakers of any kind for that matter, you can almost be a 100% sure; she has to have a Scandinavian background or is utterly in love with the Scandinavian style. The Danish girl invests in timeless, high quality pieces. They often don’t own loads of clothes, but what they own will stand the test of time. They follow trends but only pick up the best of what the current season has to offer. They have a tremendous sense of what looks good on them, and as for the sneakers; try to bike everywhere in heels! Danish women like to be comfortable as well as fashionable. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in a nice Danish coffee place (the number one fuel here to keep people warm during windy days) admiring the gorgeously dressed women around me. And al of the sudden I realize something; I’m wearing a black skirt, white sneakers, a grey sweater and next to me lies my black long coat and litter black purse. Now that is integration!

Photo Source:  Dropdeadgorgeousdaily

[lisawife]

Lonely Traveler!?

More and more women decide to travel alone. Reasons can be there of any kind; broken hearts, friends with no money, boyfriend or friends with other dream destinations or simply the hunger for adventure! My cousin, Noortje Westdorp, is as we speak traveling by herself, for the second time, through Asia. She loves it! Meeting new people, emerging herself in new cultures and having time to contemplate. Oh did I mention that she is 18?

There are not specific numbers on how many women travel alone but a research done by Booking.com (under American and British women) shows a clear trend; 63% says that they get more rest by traveling alone and more than half of the women says she wants to do it again this year.

It can be quite a step for some women, and they have to conquer fears. But the reward is great; meeting people you would otherwise have not met, having the time to think about what you want in life, learn how to be by yourself and realizing dreams. Of course there are downsides too (the loneliness, language barriers and being more fragile than when traveling in groups), but I think it is a positive new trend. Chasing dreams and taking chances. Work hard, play hard and as I have written before; ‘me-time’ is more important than ever in a world that demands so much from us, and we from ourselves.

Skyscanner made a list of the most safe and fun countries to travel by yourself, pick one and go out there, see the world!

1.     Costa Rica 2.     Vietnam 3.     Thailand 4.     Australia 5.     New-Zealand

Courtesy to Elle 

Source Photo: Pinterest 

[lisawife]

Dating Me

More and more youngsters are coping with burnout complaints. More than 100.000 under 35 last year alone! The work pressure, the social life, the flex contracts; it is causing serious problems. This social problem has been on the surface for quite some years now, but has now become a very visible problem in the Netherlands. To be totally honest, I was coping with similar physical complaints too. I felt completely overwhelmed and was more surviving life than living life. I am very ambitious and so are many of my pears, but being ambitious is not the key to success anymore. It doesn’t guarantee you anything. For me the physical problems slowly fainted after I went to Copenhagen – the city with the happiest people on earth. It is here where I learned how to cope with work pressure, my social life, saying ‘no’ and listening to my own body. Not in the first place because I had the time to think about all these things. In Copenhagen the work/life balance is very good, I believe this contributes in enormous amounts to their quality of life. Their leisure time exists on sports, dinners, drinks and spending quality time with their loved ones. between 16:00 & 17:00 everybody, including students, go back home, so different from what I experience in the Netherlands, where I often work day and night to get everything done (work and school). It is not strange to me that mindfulness is bigger than ever! A good body and soul balance is very important. As soon as people get the feeling that the balance is off, they go looking for that balance. Spending quality leisure time has become so important, especially leisure time with oneself. It is not the worse thing in the world to say: “sorry I can’t come to your party, I have a very important date with me.” Maybe us young people need to learn how to do that more! Maybe, these ‘me-dates’ will benefit our health tremendously, and oh yes! Please offer us full time jobs when we’re done studying!

If you need any help finding ‘inner peace’ take a look at the Headspace app! 

Source Photo: Pinterest

[lisawife]

The Art of Eating Well

About a year and a half ago I walked through the Albert Heijn, the most known grocery store in the Netherlands, and I saw an entire rack of ‘Super Foods’. I was not at all surprised since the ‘Super Foods’ term was growing week by week. Quinoa (pronounced in so many ways, but correct pronunciation is keen-wah), Goji berries, hemp seeds, spirulina and so on have indeed peaked and reached its ‘early majority’ to ‘late majority’ status. The Albert Heijn signal proved it to me; next to the fact that by dearest father now eats organic homemade granola (ok, made by Marqt) with goji berries every day. Where I had to search and search for quinoa two years ago (and people were looking at me as if I was eating a bowl of seeds), you now can buy it everywhere you want!! I really enjoy eating healthy and clean, but also like a good piece of pie or French-fries every once in a while. I like to think that a healthy 80% (healthy) - 20% (not so healthy) is the way to go.

I believe the peeking health movement is very positive and I can only support this, but I also see signs that people are a little bit tired of all the health messages pushed down their throats. A column written by Tim van Besten sparked my mind especially. He refers to a new kind a person – “Quinoa Kutten” – I will leave the translation to your imagination. These people likes to talk about Superfoods in a very obvious and preferably load way, preaching that Superfoods are the way to go and looking down on people enjoying their brownie and drinking coffee (the horror!!). Two months ago the LINDA. devoted their March issue to this health food trend too. Publishing a cover with LINDA eating French fries and the following headline written on the cover: “Rot op met je chiazaad” meaning “Fuck off with your chiaseeds.”– Again, another sign. Superfoods are a good movement I believe, but I also believe Superfoods are there of any kind – beets, broccoli, sweet potatoes, blue berries, pure cacao – and are definitely not solely found in a special organised rack in your local grocery store labelled ‘Superfoods’ where you can find 100 gram goji berries at €4,50. I really love my overnight oats with banana and blue berries this morning and ginger/lemon tea, but oh, I’m going to love the brownie and latte (ok I confess, with almond milk, very hipster-like) that is on my schedule this afternoon! Live and let live is the only thing I can say, especially to the ‘Quinoa Kutten’.

Source Photo: Pinterest

[lisawife]

Fashion Libraries

While I was studying at KEA, Sustainable Communication, we got to talk about the ‘Sustainable Wardrobe’. This can mean al sorts of things; buying only organic and fairtrade clothes (Nukuhiva, is the place to go in the Netherlands if you want to buy sustainable fashion), buying less and investing in a high quality wardrobe, but it can also mean not buying any new clothes (vintage and 2nd hand clothing shops never thrived so well) or simply lending your clothes at a fashion library so you can mix up you wardrobe whenever you want, without purchasing new, often fast produced, clothes. And whether you live in Amsterdam, London, New York, Paris or Copenhagen, Fashion Libraries are popping up from every street corner.

In Copenhagen there is even a clothing library for babies/children. VIGGA, founded by Vigga Svensson, offers monthly clothing packages for newborns. When you subscribe for a membership you get organic, well fabricated clothing every time your baby grows out of the old clothes. When your child is grown out of it, you simply ship it back and receive a new package. She washes it and makes it ready for a new child. A description goes for 359 dkr per month. All mothers know how expensive baby clothes can be and often they wear it once of sometimes not at all, and then a new wardrobe is already required. They grow so fast. This is a way more sustainable way of providing your babies outfits. And for us there is plenty too! Have a look at the following list for fashion libraries near you!

1. L’Habibliotheque (Paris) 2. LENA (Amsterdam) 3. Resecond (Copenhagen)

This way you get the best of both worlds; getting something new to wear, while being a bit more sustainable.

Photo Source: L’Habibiliotheque - Le Marais 

[lisawife]

Danish Fitness

Denmark has again made the top 3, ending up after Switzerland (1st) and Iceland (2nd), in the Wold Happiness Report. Denmark bumped down two places since the last survey in 2013. But ending up in the top 3 happiest countries on earth isn’t too shabby. As an ex-Copenhagen citizen I can very well understand why Danes are so happy. First there is a social welfare system; Danes pay high taxes (56%), have higher incomes too, but in return they have ‘free’ healthcare and about a year of paternity leave, amongst others. Even as an exchange student (me), you get a yellow card, which provides free healthcare. But what contributes to their overall happiness too, next to the great design, fashion and food, is the famous urban planning of Copenhagen. For example, biking is, as in the Netherlands, their main transportation. But unlike sometimes in the Netherlands it is very well structured, well mannered and meticulously planned. Copenhagen is still developing their bike infrastructure but it is already excellent. You can bike literally everywhere without feeling unsafe. But there are places for other exercises everywhere too! Not only biking is big, but outdoor swimming is a big thing in Copenhagen as well. Even in the winter. And outdoors sports, individually or with others, has been on the rise for quite some time now also in Copenhagen. You can find various swimming spots in the Copenhagen harbour (with natural water); deck and slide included. (Young) Copenhageners go there to exercise or to hang out with friends. Next to swimming, outdoor exercising in general is very common and the government provided various spots in the city with work out equipment to get their residents healthy and fit. And they are very well used! But do you want to feel like a true Copenhagen resident? Then go down the lakes (or Søerne) and run around them (about 6km) with the fellow Copenhageners. Enough choices to stay on the move while you’re in Copenhagen!

Photo Source: Designboom.com

[lisawife]

Food Waste

Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. In the Netherlands on average consumers throw away about 14% of the food purchased per person per year. This equates to about 50 kg of food.

These are shocking numbers! Especially when you realize that over 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. There are various initiatives that are active in spreading the anti waste message for example DAMN FOOD WASTE (Netherlands) and THINK EAT SAVE. On their websites you can find good tips to stop your food waste too!!

 These products get wasted most often: 1. Milk and dairy 2. Bread 3. Vegetables 4. Fruit 5. Sauces, oil en fats

When I was living in Copenhagen I didn’t have a lot of money (Copenhagen isn’t cheap) and so I did my groceries at my local grocery store LIDL. They have very nice products for very nice prices (and in Denmark they are often also available in an organic version, big pro!). While I was driving there I saw a very large banner saying ‘Stop Food Waste, Buy Clever’. I was so positively surprised! As I walked in I saw a bunch of these signs in the store as well! I never ever saw a grocery store campaigning against food waste before! I think grocery stores all over the world should make their customers aware of how important the prevention of food waste actually is. For now it is baby steps, but they should become grown up steps! LIDL have set a great example! I have started my own little movement at home, and please join! Should you need inspiration please watch the video below. It is very inspiring!

And when your in Amsterdam; visit restaurant ‘Instock’ - a restaurant that work for  80%-100% with products that otherwise would be wasted. These products mostly come from Albert Heijns (one of the biggest grocery stores in the Netherlands) in Amsterdam. 

Source Video: TED

[lisawife]

On Organic Food

Living in Copenhagen has opened my eyes in so many ways! But lets focus on one eye-opening moment in particular for right now… As I wrote in my previous blog, I did most of my groceries at the local LIDL. In contrary of the LIDL in the Netherlands, you could find a lot of organic alternatives there for your standard groceries. But not only at LIDL, in almost every grocery store you could find an enormous amount of organic products. 

The last year the organic hype has taken over the grocery stores and restaurants in the Netherlands as well. While I was studying Sustainable Communication at KEA (basically the communication part for companies that want to be, or are, more sustainable) we got to talk about organic products. It is strange that organic products are the exception (although this is getting indeed better). As if it is the most normal thing to say: “well, here is our entire collection of poisonous pesticide fresh fruits and vegetables, but we do offer it in a poisonous free version too.” My classmate Mia Irmgard designed a communication strategy around organic food using ‘Snow White’ as a metaphor. The poisonous apple given to ‘Snow White’ by the evil queen stood for the non-organic apple. The core message was: “why bite in a poisonous apple, if you have a poisonous free alternative too.” This way people got “Nudged” (a way of advertising to guide people to a ‘better’ decision) into the healthier alternative. Nobody wants to sleep forever (although being kissed by a prince isn’t the worst idea). Don’t get me wrong; I know it is not at all possible to build an all-organic industry. It is simply not possible to feed the world with all organic products, but I do believe in progression. More and more people in the city decide to grow their own herbs, veggies, fruit and even poultry (urban farming, city gardens etc. are still growing and growing among city inhabitants) to control what they are eating. I include a list of fruit and vegetables that contain the most pesticides when bought non-organic in grocery stores. This research was done by the American Ministry for Agriculture. Maybe it is something to think about when doing groceries next time. Or better, grow it yourself. It is a very rewarding process!

List of fruits and veggies that have the most pesticides:

1.     Apples 2.     Peaches 3.     Nectarine 4.     Strawberries 5.     Grapes 6.     Celery 7.     Spinach 8.     Paprika 9.     Cucumber 10. Cherry tomatoes 11. Sugar snaps 12. Potatoes

(Courtesy to Elle)

To quote my father: “buying organic is not that expensive, you just have to buy less”.

For more inspiration on eating organic, please watch the video below:

Source Video: Coop

[lisawife]

Gender Neutrality

Gender neutrality has taken fashion by a storm. London department store Selfridges (one of UK’s largest department store) has opened concept retail spaces free from gender directives, created by designer Faye Toogood. Toogood designed the concept retail space to provoke conversation about gender targeting in retail and fashion. Fashion, beauty and lifestyle products in the dedicated areas are stripped of all branding. Meanwhile, clothing and accessories from over 40 brands are stored and displayed in plain garment bags and brown boxes, to "democratise" the merchandise and remove any indication of their target gender (Dezeen, 2015). "In the 21st century we're increasingly aware that gender is not a binary, and the way we choose to present ourselves as individuals shouldn't be constrained by the artificial divisions of society or commerce," says Toogood. As part of the campaign, even all of the mannequins have been removed from Selfridges' windows for the first time in the history of the store.

But not only Selfridges is leading this trend; brands like Cos, Topshop, JW Anderson are all joining in. We see it more and more; on runways, in advertisement and in media. I often shop at men departments myself. Especially for shirts, trousers and sweaters. In Copenhagen a lot of women buy their clothes in the men’s department, sometimes they just have better stuff.

Although this trend has been on the rise for quite some time now, it is only just now, that it has taken off. Women were at first a bit hesitant, maybe scared of the fitting or what others would say, but now they are clearly embracing the movement. I often shop in my other half’s part of the closet, steeling his shirts and sweaters. When people compliment me on my style, I often say “Yes, it’s my boyfriends” after which people are still stunned! I can only applaud this movement of gender neutrality and hope to see more of this trend in the future. Don’t see fashion so black and white, because there are so many beautiful shades of grey in between.  

Photo Source: Azuremagazine 

[lisawife]

Binge Watching

It seems like the perfect afternoon. Plugging in Netflix, or any other streaming program, with your HDMI cable from computer to your flat screen (big screen vs small screen, you get the gist) and watching your favourite series in one go; also know as ‘bing watching’. More and more people are spending entire days off looking at a flashing screen, binging on their next favourite series. The quality of nowadays series are getting better and better and even big actors and actresses are taking the step to the small screen. ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Girls’, ‘Orange is the New Black’, ‘House of Cards’; you can spend entire months (no years!) watching everything the world of series has to offer. And Netflix was there to provide our long desire first, releasing their own series ‘House of Cards’, at once. Making it possible to see it all in one go, without having to wait for the next episode. How amazing this may sound, at the University of Texas Austin Yoon Hi Sung is conducting, and leading, a research that looks into the correlations between feelings of depression, loneliness and the ability to control behaviour in regards to binge watching. The 316 people who answered the online survey, 237 met the researchers' definition of binge watching. They were more likely than the non-binge viewers to admit behaviours associated with depression, lack of self-control or loneliness.

But the study didn't find that binge watching will make you depressed, out of control or lonely; it merely suggests a connection. I have to confess that I enjoy an occasional binge watch fest myself, and so do many of my peers. When I asked around whether or not they could relate to those feelings they admit that sometimes to feel a bit lonely and useless after a binge day. And when the series is over or they watched the last season they feel like they have to say goodbye to something. Like you just finished an amazing book, you can feel a little bit sad.

This binge watch phenomenon that can take up days of your leisure time, is nice way to spend your free days, but maybe we should spend more time with our real friends than our fictive friends from Netflix.

Photo Source: Imgfave 

[lisawife]

Booty, New object of desire

A year ago it was all about the thigh gap (don’t try it at home), the bikini bridge (same) and the hotdog legs, now the booty is taking the stage. Personal trainers are noticing this special requests for firm full booties a la influencers like Kim Kardashian (queen of booty), Nicky Minaj, Jenifer Lopez and of course Beyoncé. The new motto is: If you got it flaunt it, and if you don’t have it, work your put off to get it.

Throughout history all body types have passed the revue showed the video “Woman’s Ideal Body Type Throughout History” from Buzzfeed (watched almost 9 million times). But this video and the article in the Vogue NL from May shows how impermanent all these ‘perfect bodies’ are. The ideal body type is a subject of trends. From the roaring twenties where women desired a curve less boyish look, to the Golden age of Hollywood where it was all about the slim waist but curvy breasts and booties and now women should be skinny, but healthy; they should have large breasts and a large butt, but a flat stomach. To achieve all this, more and more women tend to find their solution in cosmetic surgery. And because of Social Media, body shaming (thin and big) has become a negative development. But as I see around me, there is, slowly, a shift in mind-set happening. Sure, in an ideal world, I would love to have Beyoncé’s body, but that is not going to happen any time soon. It is essentially about acceptation and being grateful for the body that you have. Treat it well, get the most out of it, get in shape but don’t try to change it in something that it is not. For all you now, your body type is the next big thing!  

Video Source: BuzzFeed

[lisawife]

Reinventing Bloodtesting

It is no news that the Dutch government want to save tremendous amounts on healthcare. This causes all various problems; less jobs, unstructured facilities, more independent municipalities that don’t know what to do, etc. Of course, this also asks for innovation; innovation in healthcare.

Elizabeth Holmes is exactly the kind of innovator that inspires us to look for smart solutions; tackling healthcare costs as well as fear of needles and draining multiple vials of blood. She is the CEO of Theranos, a Silicon Valley company that is working to upend the lucrative business of blood testing.

If you want to test your health, a blood test is often required. This way doctors can see all kinds of possible illnesses (thank god for modern medicine!) like diabetes, liver problems or cancer for example. This often takes multiple blood vials. For, me, a needle phobic person, this is no fun.

Holmes explains that blood testing can be done more quickly, conveniently, and inexpensively, and that lives can be saved as a consequence. Theranos was founded in 2003, after Holmes quickly dropped out of Stanford University. She has been working on this innovation for over 10 year in secrecy and is now the youngest newcomer on the Forbes 400 rich list with a net worth of $4.5 billion

The company has developed blood tests that can help detect dozens of medical conditions, from high cholesterol to cancer, based on a drop or two of blood drawn with a pinprick from your finger. Theranos is working to make its testing available to several hospital systems.

With the Theranos innovation, patients are able to walk into the stores, have their finger pricked, and get blood results within hours. The cost, depending on the extent of the tests, averages around $30.

This is not only an innovation that can change so much in the Netherlands healthcare system. In America, where 44 million people have no health insurance, this can be a tremendous breakthrough as well. Theranos is making blood testing available for everyone.  

Problems can lead to serious innovations that can improve the quality of life of so many people. There are no greater examples to be found than in innovations for healthcare.

Photo Source: Theranos

[lisawife]

Cleaning Suit 2.0

ByBorre has designed a onesie that is able to clean your surrounding air up to 30 sq meters in a closed space. The wearable tech for wellness uses Cold Plasma, a patented technology to split oxygen and water molecules into free radicals. Those radicals easily react with viruses, bacteria and other molecules in order to clean the surrounding.

An air-quality sensor embedded in the hood uses location-based data to show the concentration of dangerous gases. If you so choose to wear the onesie in the car for one hour, you will have successfully cleaned the polluted air.

Today, 54 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66 per cent by 2050. Projections show that urbanization combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban populations by 2050, with close to 90 percent of the increase concentrated in Asia and Africa, according to a new United Nations report launched in 2014.

The urbanization can lead to all kinds of problems and pollution being one them. The design created by ByBorre can be our next best friend in the future in regards to health. More and more designers are experimenting with all sorts of technology (Nanotechnology for example) to improve our health, while being fashionable. ByBorre is pioneering in this new world of seemingly endless possibilities. Although I have to admit, I wouldn’t necessarily want to wear the onesie!

Photo Source:  Designboom.com