What's Wellness, Really?

Hi friend,

It’s weird to try to focus on doing work, paying bills, taking care of your kids and pets — you know, general life-as-an-adult stuff — while there’s a constant drumbeat of measles, measles, measles in the news. 

The future was supposed to be flying cars, not plagues of the past. This is certainly not the only thing to worry about, but it does feel like we’ve entered a shitstorm that was completely preventable, which is both frustrating and tragic.

For adults who may be concerned over their immunity status, the New York Times has specific advice:

“If you were vaccinated before 1968, you may need at least one more dose, because the shot offered previously was less effective,” they write. “If you were vaccinated between 1968 and 1989, there may be some gap in immunity: During that time the C.D.C. recommended only one shot. A single dose is around 93 percent effective against measles. Now, the agency says full protection is two shots, which are roughly 97 percent effective.”

As Scott Weaver of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston said to the AP, “I don’t think everyone needs to go and run out to their doctor right now if they did receive two doses as a child. If people would just get the standard vaccination, none of this would be happening.”

Why is this happening now? In a new issue of Quartz, professor Mariah Wellman posits that over the past decade, wellness, which had been supportive of mainstream medicine, has become “a social media-oriented industry that is often at odds with established science and medical professionals.” Blame the pandemic. “Covid-19 caused so much fear of the unknown," she said. “People who originally had felt like they had control over their health no longer felt that way. Wellness influencers were able to make people feel like they had control of their health again, through accurate and inaccurate information."

Speaking of trying to control your health: This week’s essay is about trying to understand why a loved one might embrace alternative therapies when faced with a devastating diagnosis. Unfortunately, the author’s story is all too relevant today. Read on for that, plus a few recommendations for your weekend.

Bye,
Your friends at Gloria

I was eighteen when my 40-year-old mother found the lump. The tumor was 8 cm, a size that made me wonder how she hadn’t caught it sooner, given that her own mother had died of the disease at forty-nine. She reluctantly underwent chemotherapy, which shrank the tumor, and her medical team urged her to have a mastectomy. She refused. They warned her that she had a small window of time before the cancer inevitably returned. My mother, even in a pre-internet era, managed to track down all manner of dubious detoxifiers and remedies that she chose over her doctor’s orders. I was horrified. 

As the pragmatic oldest child of five — my youngest sister only two years old — I knew it would fall on me to talk her off this deadly path. My father, drowning in work and medical bills, was too exhausted to fight with her. 

“Mom!,” I begged, “I know surgery is scary, but please do it anyway. You can’t seriously believe those lotions and potions will help you; listen to your doctors!”

“Sweetheart, I know what I’m doing. I’ve been reading up on this,” she answered, her bony hand gesturing to a pile of brightly colored pamphlets on our kitchen table. 

She was fully committed to an alternative cure. Here’s a partial list of what she prescribed herself:

• A detox foot soak, which required her to sit on an upturned bucket with her feet in some purple dye.

• Homeopathic pellets with names like Nux Vomica and Pulsatilla, which she placed under her tongue to dissolve.

• Shark cartilage in capsule form — based on the long-debunked myth that because sharks don’t get cancer, consuming their cartilage would prevent it in humans.

None of it worked. Her cancer returned with a vengeance, metastasizing via her lymph nodes. Eight months later, she finally underwent a mastectomy. It was eight months too late.

A recent watch of Netflix’s limited series Apple Cider Vinegar yanked me back to that terrible period in my life more than three decades ago. The series focuses on wellness influencers who peddle the dangerous idea that the body can heal itself without traditional medicine and that late-stage cancer can be cured through natural remedies. Based on real-life events, it critiques the profitable, largely unregulated wellness industry and the damage it can cause. But for me, the most heartbreaking storyline wasn’t about con artists — it was about the irrational hope and magical thinking of the terminally ill. It reminded me of my mom.

When Milla, a bright, talented 22-year-old, is told that the only way to prevent her epithelioid carcinoma from killing her is to amputate her arm, she refuses, much to her father’s horror.  Desperate to avoid disfigurement, she buys into a rigorous holistic treatment plan of daily coffee enemas and hourly ‘juicing.’ For a while, she looks and feels healthy. She becomes a wellness guru, offering hope to hordes of terminally ill people who follow her blog and attend her group meditation exercises. Ignoring clear signs of her disease’s return, Milla convinces her mother to follow the same regimen when she is diagnosed with late-stage bowel cancer. It doesn’t end well for either of them. 

TO STREAM Finally, a lighthearted, watchable rom-com. In Picture This (streaming on Prime Video), a photographer deals with bad dates and the return of her first love. There’s also the new Hulu crime-comedy series Deli Boys, which is refreshingly ridiculous.

TO TRY This plant-based meal service saves us time and is the best way to get us out of a food rut. Their perfectly portioned meal kits are filled with tasty and healthy options (like Mediterranean lettuce cups, or creamy coconut curry with Makrut lime). For busy people, it’s a lifesaver. Give it a try, and and use this link get 50 percent off plus free shipping on your first order. #partner

TO COOK We’re going to try this trick of seasoning potatoes from cookbook author Elizabeth Minchilli. She immersion blends fresh rosemary in olive oil, then tosses her chopped potatoes in that mixture before roasting.

TO WATCH Based on the book The Queen of the Ring: Sex, Muscles, Diamonds, and the Making of an American Legend, new biopic Queen of the Ring (in theaters) tells the story of pro wrestler Mildred Burke, who became the first million-dollar female athlete in history. It looks much less emotionally devastating than 2023’s critically acclaimed wrestling film The Iron Claw.

TO JOIN There’s a way to get major discounts on everything from flights to hotels to restaurants to new glasses, and it’s super-simple to sign up. It’s this membership, which can save you money while keeping you up-to-date on things like retirement planning. Right now, it’s only $11 a year to join; click here to learn more. #partner

A beautiful remembrance of a friend. • The most even-handed review of With Love, Meghan that we’ve read thus far (you can chase it with this gossipy recap). • Some good news on the brain health front, plus funding for a menopause brain health startup. • Interior design ideas pulled from the ‘90s. • Amy Poehler’s launching a podcast.

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