The wellness trap: Use common sense, not your wallet

Wellness may mean different things to different people. However, it is simply defined as practicing healthy habits to attain better health.

The pursuit of wellness has brought about a thriving ‘wellness industry’, which is estimated to be nearly worth 2 trillion dollars. A renowned medical ethicist recently penned an essay that minces no words about the poor value, or no value at all, for all the wellness stuff that circulates around.

Wellness stuff abounds everywhere you look. There are food supplements, all manner of drinks, pro and pre-biotics, wellness mats, vaginal eggs, and pretty much more in between. All this stuff costs a lot of money when you add it all up. Does it all work? Does some of it work some of the time? Are any lives saved in the long run? There is hardly any scientific evidence that all the wellness stuff out there is good for anybody, over and above common health sense.

It is a pity that the wellness industry is not regulated anywhere close to the levels of formal medical and pharmaceutical regulation. Here, anything goes. Frivolous claims of benefits are unsubstantiated and unproven. The aforementioned medical ethicist has also argued that the wellness industry is out of control. There is too much tolerance for quackery, nonsense, junk and charlatanism!

True, much of what wellness promotes may not be harmful. But it costs money to many people who are none the wiser. That money could easily be diverted to what we know works in healthcare. The cost of routine healthcare is ever-rising, and it doesn’t help anybody in any way to spend even more money on the appeal of wellness that never really adds up.

So what steps can you take if you are already hooked on wellness?

If you have any chronic conditions, you immediately appeal to those who promote all manner of wellness. Share with your doctor all the stuff that you take, or do, for general wellness. Some of it may just be garbage, which your doctor will dispose of promptly. Some of it may interfere with your formal medical care, and divert your resources unnecessarily and for no benefits at all.

Avoid the seduction of all those fancy ads and testimonials from biased wellness promoters. If there was any magic preventive strategy or cure, it would already be mainstream treatment. Question every health drink, supplement, new-age gadget, or whatever else catches your attention. Spend most of your health budget on proven strategies. If you head back to the plain old common, you will not easily be swayed by the wellness industry and its valueless trappings.

Dr Murage is a Consultant Gynecologist and Fertility Specialist. [email protected]