By Ian Hull

Have you followed the wellness industry lately? The New York Times recently published a lengthy feature on Gwyneth Paltrow and her wellness company Goop. In it, the author describes a number of the “therapies” she learned about in the course of interviewing Paltrow and writing the article.

These ranged from more conventional wellness tips (healthy eating, cleanses, meditation) to far more radical ideas (bee-sting therapy, psychic vampire repellent, and jade eggs for vaginal therapies). It’s a fascinating (and somewhat disturbing) article. You can read it here.

Paltrow is by no means the only wellness guru out there promoting what she calls “radical wellness.” There are many – with many products and treatments to purchase if you are willing to give them a try. And despite the lack of scientific evidence that these treatments work (one woman recently died from bee-sting therapy) and the resounding criticism of many alternative treatments from the medical community, alternative wellness is flourishing.

Why is that? I can see three reasons:

1. Social media makes it easier than ever for wellness “ideas” to go viral;
2. Many people are suffering from a mental or physical condition that conventional therapies haven’t cured – and are desperate for answers; and
3. The placebo effect results in many claims that a treatment “works” – and those good news stories are fed into the social media cycle.

Of course, some therapies may in fact work – but how can you tell truth from fiction? While there are hundreds of scientific studies that prove the health benefits of things like exercise, healthy eating and meditation, alternative therapies typically have only anecdotal evidence to back them up.

All to say, before you wade into a swarm of bees, get the facts first. This U.S. website lists five reliable online medical resources (such as the Mayo Clinic) that you can trust for information.

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