Opinion: there is no magic “protocol” to health and wellness

and those telling us otherwise are desperate to sell us products we don't even need

The amount of willpower one has to wield in order to ignore the traps of the ever growing wellness market is nothing short to a miracle. We all have at least one self-proclaimed wellness-pro in our following who promises us they have cracked the code. We just have to buy all the products they are using and we will be saved too.

I have been looking literally everywhere for natural relief to alleviate my chronic pains, fatigue and all the not so nice things that accompany having longstanding health issues. I can feel the increasing grip of Big Pharma as the prescriptions grow and boxes and boxes of medicine fill my cabinets and the surface of my bedside table. I thought there were very few things out there I haven’t read about, yet somehow everyday I stumble on something new; A new diet, a herbal oil, a new pillow etc etc. Many of these things however all seem a little too good to be true. How I have managed to restrain myself from falling into the pitfalls which sometimes can result in enormous amount of dept and the feeling of being cheated, is an actual miracle.

control and trust

It is human to want to rely on someone who seems to have it all under control. I think this is why these wellness accounts have such a big following. It removes the load on us to do all the research, especially with all the misinformation that is floating though the internet. We sometimes don’t know where to start. So when someone seems to “know what they are talking about”, we follow them blindly. This is a big mistake. When we surrender to someone like that they gain control over us and we start losing whatever agency we once had. They can then sell us products and we believe these products will change our lives. Sometimes we even think these people are saints for helping us navigate this world of information that is increasingly complicated and frustrating. Other times we are being misled as these people make money on our personal crises.

Social norms can influence who we listen to

I don’t think it is a coincidence that most of the self-proclaimed “health and wellness pros” are heterosexual alpa males.

More often than not, we follow white men uncritically, because of their bravado, social standing and or statue, and immaculate talents at bullshitting. I am a journalist and I have interviewed a lot of people on many subjects in the past, more often than not, men would volunteer to be interviewed about a subject that is way outside of their expertise, claiming they can read about it and somehow master everything within hours. This has taught me to be even more critical towards men and always take whatever someone is saying to me with a grain of salt. Heck, sometimes I disagree with my doctor and I will tell him that. Luckily, he is a humble man who is very clear that though he might know a little about a lot, I am still the expert on my own body and he wouldn’t be a good doctor if he thought otherwise. I know, I am lucky. I can bounce ides with him and he has been able to help me so much more due to that. I don’t think it is a coincidence that most of the self-proclaimed “health and wellness pros” are heterosexual alpa males.

lets go back to common sense, please

Every time I feel overwhelmed I go back to the elderly people in our family (Especially the ones new to western culture and not yet currupted by its trends) to seek some good old-school wisdom. They often tell me something useful and it never comes in a package of steps or products to buy either, but good old common sense. Our generation struggles so much because we want to intellectualise everything to a point where we no longer trust our own instincts and that is a real danger. If we don’t trust ourselves we may trust just about anyone.

Because our health is complex there are no simple answers and we will exhaust ourselves trying to find miracle cures.

There is a saying in Norwegian it goes “Det enkleste er often det beste”, it means “The simplest things are often the best” and this is becoming my motto in regard to health and wellness. An excess of anything is exhausting and contra productive. There is no one diet that will change my life or alleviate my pain. There is no supplement that will give me the best balance in my microbiome and there is no magical cure to my lack of sleep, etc etc. Because our health is complex there are no simple answers and we will exhaust ourselves trying to find miracle cures.

The best things for our health are often free and accessible to us: Fresh air, sunlight, a varied diet, fresh water and roof over our head so we can have a good night sleep and the ability to move our bodies. Though these are necessities in todays climate and fianance they are also luxuries. All of this and a good community and most people will thrive. These are the foundations for a good health, everything else is a bonus.

Those of us with ongoing health issues are always on the lookout for something miraculous only to fall back to the simple things in the end. I am not saying that some supplements wont help us. I have had huge help with probiotics and prebiotics, but there was a time where my urine was expensive, due to all the unnecessary supplements I was taking. I have learned some things a long the way, but mostly I have learned to rely and lean on the simple things, be critical and trust my gut.

I hope you are well,

Until next time,
M.