How To Know If The Latest Health Hack Is Legit Or All Hype

Suddenly, your feed is looking very sus.

- Casey Gueren

SOMETHING I JUST NEED TO SAY OUT LOUD: I recently considered shoving garlic up my nose because social media told me it clears congestion. And yeah, it gets worse...I am a health journalist and I literally just wrote a book about this stuff (ahem, It’s Probably Nothing: The StressLess Guide To Dealing With Health Anxiety, Wellness Fads, And Overhyped Headlines is out now).

I blame social media, wellness influencers, and the occasional rogue MD—all of whom make ~natural~ cures seem so alluring, almost obvious. I mean, why wouldn’t anyone want to try an easier, ‘cleaner’ treatment instead of going through the healthcare system, only to be dismissed by doctors or left with a huge prescription-medicine bill?

The problem, though, is not just that a lot of wellness fads are a waste of time and money—it is that they can often steer you away from evidence-based help (medicine, vaccines, a real exam with a real doc) or even make you sick.