Lifestyle Barometer: Your guide to what’s hot and what’s not this week from vegan barbecues to beach body shaming

From disability-friendly fashion to coffee and social media bragging, this is our guide to what’s hot and what’s not

(Getty)

Going up:

Vegan BBQ

Vegan BBQ, £9.99, Argos

Attending a meat-eating friend’s barbecue as a vegan can be daunting but plant-based foodies needn’t be consigned to soggy lettuce and dry veggie burgers.

From plant-based “ribs” to lobster-free “lobster” rolls, we rounded up a host of vegan-friendly alternatives to classic barbecue staples as designed by Thea Brook, owner and executive chef of The Brook in Hackney, London.

Courtesy of Argos you can now even buy a charcoal barbecue specially designed for vegans – although many have speculated that the retailer has simply renamed an existing product to jump on the vegan bandwagon.

The NHS

Emilia Clarke thanked the NHS at the RCNI Nurse Awards ceremony (Getty Images)

This week the UK celebrated 70 years of the NHS with events across the country and personal stories flooding social media.

One of which came from Emilia Clarke, the actor best known for starring as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. Speaking at the RCNI Nurse Awards ceremony in London, she described nursing as an important profession that “we must value” while giving her utmost thanks to the nurses who took care of her father during the later stages of his life.

Disability-friendly fashion

Reporter and Team GB Paralympic athlete Chloe Ball-Hopkins has collaborated with ASOS to make clothing on the site more accessible for people with disabilities (ASOS) (Asos)

ASOS has been praised for selling clothing that’s been designed specifically with wheelchair users in mind.

Chloe Ball-Hopkins, a Paralympic athlete for Team GB and reporter for BBC Bristol Sport, revealed that she has collaborated with the retailer to create a waterproof jumpsuit that’s wheelchair-friendly.

Since the product launched, ASOS fans have commended the brand for being more considerate of people with disabilities.

Coffee

Nespresso Inissia Coffee Machine by KRUPS, £49.99, John Lewis

It’s good news for coffee lovers because a new study has found that the hot drink is associated with a lower risk of early death.

In fact, the research – which was conducted by the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health – revealed that drinking up to seven cups every day could cut death rates by 16 per cent.

The ‘Meghan effect’

Meghan Markle’s Shoshanna dress is currently out of stock on Amazon (Amazon)

The so-called ‘Meghan effect’ has struck once more with The Duchess of Sussex’s entire polo outfit selling out in a matter of days.

Attending the Audio Polo Challenge 2018, Markle wore a gingham print dress by trendy NYC label Shoshanna, a chic panama hat by Madewell x Biltmore and a pair of tan sandals designed by Sarah Flint.

Going down:

Eating avocado stones

Food bloggers suggest that there are health benefits to eating avocado stones (Getty) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Just when you thought we had reached peak avocado, a barrage of food bloggers and green fruit enthusiasts insist that we should all be eating its stones.

While some claim that the stones can be added to smoothies and baked goods to provide fibre, antioxidants and extra nutrients there remains little research to back this up. As such, the California Avocado Commission says it does not recommend consuming them.

Beach body shaming

This week Jameela Jamil called out a magazine for printing an article which scrutinised images of female celebrities in their bikinis.

The photographs, presumably taken by paparazzi, feature Mariah Carey, Rebel Wilson, Queen Latifah and Lea Michele, all of whom are harshly criticised by the publication for various so-called “flaws”.

“We need to respect women more than this. This is crazy,” Jamil wrote in a tweet which has since been liked more than 28,000 times.

Social media bragging

Showing off about your holidays online could leave you open to being burgled (Getty) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Social media has become a part of modern life but while its benefits are well documented, new research suggests it could also be putting you at risk.

According to a new survey, bragging about expensive belongings or holidays online could greatly increase your risk of being burgled.

So much so that one in 12 Brits have reported a burglary after posting on social media, with more than half of these admitting they had location tagging turned on.

LGBT+ discrimination

In light of Pride month, Vodafone has conducted a social experiment, Equal at Work, in which it reveals some shocking statistics.

According to its research, which asked 3,278 LGBT+ young people in more than 15 countries about their experiences, 76 per cent had hidden their sexual orientation at work. Similarly, 58 per cent felt they would face discrimination in their job if they were to be open about their identity.

In related news, photographer Stella Asia Consonni criticised Instagram after it removed a photo she’d taken of two men kissing because it violated “community guidelines”.