Intelligence Squared

Debunking the False Promises of the Wellness Industry

Jan 23, 2023

Rina Raphael, a health and wellness journalist and author of "The Gospel of Wellness," explores the dark side of the $4.4 trillion wellness industry. She highlights how misleading claims target women, pushing them into a cycle of sacrifice in pursuit of an ideal self. Raphael discusses the psychological impact of wellness consumerism and the need for a shift towards authentic, evidence-based solutions. The conversation touches on food label deception, the societal pressures on women's health, and the importance of community in achieving genuine wellbeing.

56:29

Episode guests

Rina Raphael

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

The Impact of Self Care Discourse on Teen Girls

00:34

The Work of Wellness and Its Generational Impact

00:33

Intro

2min

Rethinking Wellness: Beyond Consumerism

23min

Exploring Wellness and Its Illusions

12min

The Gendered Impact of Wellness

4min

Decoding Food Labels

4min

Exploring the Intersection of Wellness and Morality

2min

Navigating the Tensions Between Science and Belief

2min

Navigating the Perils of Wellness Obsession

3min

Juicing, biohacking, mindfulness apps, collagen supplements: the wellness industry has exploded into a $4.4 trillion movement. Wellness industry journalist Rina Raphael says that the self-care movement has taken sound ideas about nutrition and fitness and packaged them up into exploitative offerings with questionable claims. Drawing on her new book, The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop and the False Promise of Self-Care, Raphael discusses how women in particular are targeted and pressured into a cycle of sacrifice and performance, encouraged to purge their bodies of excess fat, rid their minds of negative thoughts and cleanse their organs of ’toxins’ – in order to maintain an illusion of control. In conversation with journalist Nelufar Hedayat, Raphael shows us how we can find evidence-based, personalised solutions to our problems and get ourselves onto the path of genuine wellbeing.

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