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.
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insights INSIGHT
Reframing Self-Care
Self-care has been co-opted by marketing to focus on individual consumerism.
True self-care addresses systemic issues causing stress, not just surface-level fixes.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Wellness Disillusionment
Rina Raphael, initially a wellness enthusiast, became disillusioned with the industry's lack of evidence.
She realized the focus on individual actions and consumerism ignored root causes of unwellness.
insights INSIGHT
Nothing New Under the Sun
The wellness industry repackages old trends and ideas, presenting them as new.
Raphael emphasizes the cyclical nature of these trends and the importance of historical context.
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Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care
Rina Raphael
The Gospel of Wellness delves into the history and societal impact of the wellness industry, highlighting how it promises women control over their lives amidst systemic issues. The book critiques the industry's marketing and practices, offering a balanced view of its benefits and drawbacks. Raphael, once an avid participant in wellness culture, shares her personal journey and insights from industry experts.
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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