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Eudemonia was a health and wellness conference whose inaugural meeting was in early November in West Palm Beach, Florida. It featured industry experts including Andrew Huberman, Gabrielle Lyon, Mark Hyman, and Jillian Michaels. We attended the conferences to learn more about the frontiers of functional medicine, and have come back refreshed, hopeful, and excited for the future.
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Eudemonia Overview
In the beginning of November, health and wellness professionals, researchers, professors, trainers, and entrepreneurs gathered for the inaugural Eudemonia conference. The event boasted +2750 attendees from more than 20 countries, including The Vitallist team.
Eudemonia was a 3 day cultural movement to share and discuss research being performed at the forefront of alternative health, longevity, wellness, and mindfulness. Attendees could listen to +110 professional speakers, interact with +80 brands, and receive +20 different sample treatments. Our team had a wonderful time and will be looking forward to next year's early registration!
West Palm Beach
The event was hosted at the West Palm Beach convention center and connected to the four diamond Hilton hotel in West Palm Beach. It was clean, filled with natural light and boasted plenty of outdoor space for cycle and yoga classes. West Palm Beach is rising as one of the premier markets for wellness and longevity brands.
Andrew Huberman's Keynote
Andrew Huberman's keynote event Saturday evening was the highlight of the summit. His lecture was moderated by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, as he walked through the biology of motivation and the future of health.
The highlights from the talk on motivation focus on a hierarchy of needs to achieve optimization in productivity and the "flow" state. First, making sure the "non-negotiable needs" of our biology are met: sleep and the gut/nutrition. Next, we can shift our daily habits and behaviors to better fit needs for work. For example, HIIT cardio training helps to boost brain function, avoiding distraction keeps dopamine bioavailable, and discovering when our "cognitive velocity" is highest allows us to do work with little resistance. Finally, by finding behaviors that strengthen our ability to focus, we can get progressively better.
Huberman spoke optimistically about the future of wellness and alternative healthcare. He articulated the principle that ideas are only "alternative" because they are not widely known or accepted. However, this does not mean that they have no science backing them. 50 years ago, resistance training wasn't seen as beneficial unless you were an athlete or bodybuilder. 20 years ago, meditation and breathwork were not widely accepted. However, it was researchers and early adopters that paved the way for revolutions in our perspective of health and wellness.
Special Topics
This list only covers some of the topic areas discussed during Eudemonia's +100 professional speaker breakouts. Researchers and professors from around the world came to speak about studies and recent findings that are redefining our understanding of the human body and the complex interconnectivity of its systems.
Biohacking for Longevity
Speakers came to present research on popular "biohacks" such as cold plunges, mushroom nutrition, red light therapy, compression therapy, and more. Each had research to show the benefits of daily practices in the extension of lifespan, but more importantly, 'healthspan'. 'Healthspan' meaning the part of your life where you are able to function independently and free from major complications. The key takeaway from these discussions was to find a mix of exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness that fits your lifestyle and priorities.
Modern Mindfulness
In the past, meditation and mindfulness were taboo or hoaxes in Western medicine. Then it was generally perceived as a practice for the religious or spiritual. Now, new research is showing the power of meditation to lengthen lifespan and raise quality of life. Meditation and other forms of mindfulness have strong correlations with stress-reduction, improved mental clarity, and greater focus.
AI in Health
AI is rapidly growing and revolutionizing all fields of the sciences. In alternative medicine, it is helping identify correlations between seemingly unrelated biomarkers. These hidden correlations give researchers insight into complex bodily functions and the potential chain reactions that occur with a shift of internal homeostasis. Additionally, it plays a key role in the advent of data-driven health; specifically, the collection and analytics of data from wearable biometric trackers.
The Gut Microbiome
Until recently, it was relatively unknown how strong the gut microbiome's role is in overall health. Both in the digestion of nutrients and key hormone cycles that effect our mental wellbeing. It is a delicate balance that can be thrown off by the use of strong antibiotics, poor diet, and the improper use of probiotics. More research is needed in this area to get concrete findings and practices, but that will continue to develop in coming years.
Medicinal Psychedelics
Several speakers lead session around the discussion of psychedelic substances and their potential to reshape the fields of psychology and therapy. This includes various psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin, and DMT. Many of the field pioneers believe that further research will continue to reveal the ability for these substances to change the way we perceive and react to stimuli, and helping people move towards more positive mental states. Especially when conducted in a controlled setting with a certified professional.
Eudemonia Exposome
One of the main ballrooms was set up for attendees to explore some of the biggest and newest companies in the space. There were +80 brands that attendees could speak to and learn about in the Exposome. Each was showcasing unique products that were backed by research as ways to improve health, mindfulness, or longevity.
AG1 is a daily supplement powder that can be added to water. It is an extremely comprehensive supplement that uses 75 ingredients to provide all daily vitamins, probiotic support for gut health, and antioxidants for oxidative cleansing.
Hyperice is a company that has an array of products designed to help muscles recover: massage guns, compression therapy, and warm compression sleeves. Whether you are recovering from an injury or are just sore from exercise, Hyperice will help you to recover and return to peak performance as fast as possible.
Vivo Barefoot creates shoes that help you to strengthen the muscles in and around your feet. Strengthening your feet helps you feel more balanced and will make you less likely to fall as you get older.
Moonbird is a handheld meditation and breathwork tool. It expands and contracts so that you can completely relax your mind instead of pacing your inhalation/exhalation. This improves your body's potential to get rid of stress, anxiety, and live a more relaxed life.
Seatopia is a food subscription box for salmon and seafood. They focus on sourcing their products from artisanal aquaculture farms. This helps to protect our oceans while getting the highest quality fish possible. Read more in our special feature here.
Breth is a meditation tool that uses haptic feedback to help you have a deeper and more relaxing experience. It was designed to mimic the feel of a heartbeat so it can help to soothe subconscious anxiety. Another great research-backed tool for breathwork.
phy had a 360 degree camera that created a 3d model of your body to analyze your posture. It achieved an incredible level of detail noting imbalances in weight placement and angles of the spinal column. Based on your custom scan, their AI gave recommended exercises to correct posture and prevent potential injuries from poor form.
Rivian, the electric car company, was there to do a raffle of their latest R1 model. They specialize in making electric cars for outdoor enthusiasts like hikers, campers, and other active lifestyles.
Getting Involved
Over the course of the 3 days, Eudemonians received more than 600 treatments to get first-hand experience with some of the revolutionary products available.
Move and Sweat
Each day, group fitness classes were held to allow participants to move and stay active between speaker sessions. There were group yoga classes held in the large convention ballrooms and cycle classes in a tent right outside. The Exposome featured special partner-dance exercises called "Kama Flight". Attendees were encouraged to engage in exercise with peers and experts during the summit.
Recovery Center
In addition to exercises, there was a treatment center where participants could try different products or services from the various exhibitors. Compression chambers raised the participants blood oxygen level beyond what is normally achievable. Cold plunges triggered anti-inflammatory responses in muscles. The Hyperice booth had expert massages with theraguns and compression sleeves to push out lactic acid buildup in the muscles. In all, more than 600 (registered) treatments were given out to attendees.
Conclusion
Eudemonia 2024 was a pleasure to experience for our whole team. It was so exciting to connect with a community of health focused individuals and learn from industry experts. We are more hopeful than ever for the future of health and wellness and will be looking forward to returning in 2025!
Learn more about Eudemonia 2025 from their website here.
Keep an eye out for The Vitallist's articles highlighting the top products and brands that can make a difference in your health, wellness, and happiness.
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