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Health and medicine are complicated, and the explosion of wellness influencers, products and services on the internet and social media can make things more confusing. What’s worth spending money on? Who can you trust? If you can relate to these questions, listen to our latest episode, “Science or snake oil? Examining the wellness industry.” Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
In this episode, Dr. Millstine and her guests discuss:
- Is it snake oil? Some people write off the whole wellness industry as manipulative, harmful and full of “snake oil.” There are some bad actors in the wellness space, but some wellness practices, strategies and products can be beneficial. It’s also good to keep in mind that some practices or products that may seem new or trendy to Americans actually have a long history in other cultures, such as traditional Chinese medicine.
- A call for more compassionate healthcare. Sometimes people turn to the wellness industry or non-conventional medicine after the medical world lets them down. Health systems often have limited capacity, and patients with complicated health problems can feel dismissed or ignored. Ideally, healthcare teams would truly listen to their patients, incorporating traditional and integrative medical practices as needed.
Questions for discussion:
It can be hard to know when claims about health and wellness products and services are accurate. How do you navigate these claims and products?
Share your thoughts, questions and opinions below!
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I especially liked the paragraph on "A call for more compassionate healthcare." I totally agree 100% with everything that is stated there.
To determine if claims about health and wellness products and services are accurate, I research them and look for corroborating reports and studies from respected and reliable sources. I'm also interested in the most recent studies, as older studies may now be obsolete or have been proven to be false or inaccurate.
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3 ReactionsWow, it sounds like you have a great strategy for sorting through health claims! It can definitely take some time, but is so worth it.
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1 ReactionYes, it's absolutely worth it!
I think it can be really hard - and this book reminded me that even when a product starts high quality and from a good place, it can be modified in ways that are hidden to the consumer.
Have you been able to find platforms to sort out whether you can trust a product?
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3 ReactionsI agree. I depend on those reliable and trusted sources as well as my medical team for input. Actually, I usually start out as being somewhat if not very skeptical. So, it takes a lot to convince me. With that said, I realize that it's still possible to miss some updates that may be questionable or concerning. In any case, because of my medical issues, I would never ascribe to or use any "new" products without first running them past my care team for their approval.
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2 ReactionsReally smart - and great that youhave a supportive team willing to review these questions and consider your whole health in recommending for or against a therapy.
I really appreciate our pharmacy colleagues, databases like Natural Medicine & also Consumer Lab - and the library!
Be well
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2 ReactionsThanks, Dr. Millstine...you, too!
One of the issues I have with the way that the way health and wellness products are prescribed is that they are for the treatment of the effect or impact of a disease or illness, but not necessarily for the treatment of the actual disease or illness. As an example, I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroid and was prescribe levothyroxine. This brought my thyroid TSH back into the normal range, but this does not really address the reason that suddenly I have a hypothyroid issue. I realized that there are probably multiple triggers, but for me (someone who has always done root cause analysis) I would like to know that the root cause(s) are being addressed.
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2 Reactions@suerte Often the root cause of some conditions (including hypothyroidism) cannot be cured, but the symptoms can be treated. I have stage 4 rare appendix cancer and the root cause isn’t even known!
I’m luckily in remission and have relied heavily on medical research from reputable cancer hospitals which also promote holistic healing (eg diet, nutrition, mindfulness, exercise etc) for my information. The latter to help build my immune system.
At the same time I accept medical research is not infallible (eg thalidomide in the 1950’s and 1960’s causing terrible birth defects, which has since returned decades later in a revised form to treat leprosy and multiple myeloma).
I do keep an eye on alternative treatments - but watch the medical research around them closely including checking the credentials of those promoting their use or recommending against their use. I haven’t ingested ivermectin or fenbendazole for example in the absence of clinical trials in humans. My oncologist also advised against them while on Folfiri and Avastin. I reached NED without them.
It’s tough trying to do our best to sort through the information.
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