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We all have seen more health trends rise and fall than a toddler on a sugar high. The wellness world spins faster than your cousin’s new Peloton wheel, and his overpriced bike.
Keto! Paleo! Cold plunges! Saunas! Red light therapy! Greens powder! Probiotic gummies! Chocolate that energizes you, and a ring that tells you what you already know: you didn’t sleep enough because you were up Googling “How to fall asleep faster?”
Every five minutes, there’s a “revolutionary” new breakthrough in health science… closely followed by a revolutionary new product available in three aesthetically pleasing colors and one subscription plan you’ll forget to cancel.
Let’s not kid ourselves: the health and wellness industry rakes in cash like it’s got a leaf blower at a money tree. And honestly, I can’t blame them—we will pay anything to feel slightly less like a crusty raisin. We’re spending more on health than ever… and somehow, we’re still falling apart like a $20 camping chair. Millions are poured into gadgets, tinctures, powders, apps, mats, and contraptions that sound suspiciously like medieval torture devices, all in the name of “wellness.”
So… what gives?
We’ve been expertly trained—by people with marketing degrees — to believe that health is something you buy. That your salvation lies not within… but in a package that arrives in 1-2 business days with free returns. And here’s the fact, nobody believes in, and marketers definitely want to ensure you don’t believe in.
The best stuff is free. That’s right. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
And since you can’t slap a QR code and a $99/month plan on “go outside,” marketers do the next best thing: rebrand ancient practices into “bio-hacks” and sell them back to you with a free tote bag. You still don’t believe? Let me start with some examples:
Sunshine is free and ample source for Vitamin D, bone health, immune regulation, mood regulation, better sleep, and a healthy endocrine system. But when was the last time you spend 20 minutes getting some sun. I bet, you have either gotten one or are interested in getting one of those $149 red light therapy device instead? Aren’t you?
Cold water? Behold: a $5,000 cryo-tub that does what a river used to do for free.
Walking barefoot? You mean “earthing”? Oh, you’ll need a PEMF mat and probably an influencer discount code for that.
And after spending a small fortune on these glorified lifestyle accessories, many of us still feel like warmed-up garbage with a side of burnout. Curious.
Why?
Because we’re outsourcing our well-being to shiny objects. And while some of those objects do have legitimate science behind them, most are just science-adjacent enough to justify an impulse buy during your 3 PM existential crisis.
Underneath all this is a truth many don’t want to face: we’re scared of feeling things. Like… really feeling. Taking a peek under our mental hoods might reveal that the real problem isn’t our magnesium levels—it’s our lives. And let’s face it, facing yourself is hard. Easier to just try another gummy.
We’ve lost our connection to intuition. Replaced it with tech.
We don’t trust ourselves to know how we feel without a device giving us a score.
And when someone offers to sell us confidence in the form of a capsule, we click “add to cart.”
Now, don’t get me wrong: wearables, supplements, and all that jazz have their place. They can be fun! They can help! But ask yourself…
- When’s the last time you actually touched grass?
- Stared at the sky without doomscrolling?
- Laughed so hard you couldn’t breathe?
- Took a deep breath that didn’t feel like it came from the shallow end of your soul?
You know, those free things.
We don’t know how to be anymore. We only know how to optimize.
We’ve been convinced that the solution is always outside of us, preferably in a sleek bottle or app interface. More peptides! More ice baths! A hotter sauna! (Meanwhile, your inner child just wants a warm blanket and a nap.)
And here’s the real bummer: there’s no profit in people who are well. You can’t upsell someone who’s already whole. So the industry keeps innovating new ways to treat symptoms of lives that need more joy and less cortisol.
In the end, true health can’t be bought. If it comes with a label, it’s probably just marketing. And if it comes with a 6-week “transformation protocol,” it’s probably just an elaborate way to sell you protein energy bar, that special powder for your smoothies, and an annual subscription to your local gym. Would the giant industry make any money if they just sold you an apple?
So, take a walk outside. Spend time in nature. Eat what our earth produced, not a factory. Hug a friend. Inhale and exhale like you mean it. All of this is free.
The magic isn’t on the treadmill or twenty pills of supplement you had this morning.
It’s within us! and it’s free.
