Wellness is defined as the state or quality of being in good health. Wellness culture, on the other hand, is more complicated.
According to Christy Harrison, registered dietitian nutritionist and author of new book “The Wellness Trap,” wellness culture is more about the belief that our bodies cannot function or regulate well enough on their own and require products, diets or self-discipline to do so.
“Wellness culture posits certain behaviors as the path to achieving (moral goodness),” Harrison tells TODAY.com, adding that it promotes a standard for taking care of your body that can be unattainable — or even harmful.
Wellness culture has exploded in the last decade, in part thanks to social media, and is reaching an increasingly younger audience, Harrison says. But many of the beliefs circulating online, especially those around nutrition, have little to no evidence to back them up.
Here are some of the most pervasive nutrition myths that wellness culture has tricked us into believing, says Harrison, and why you should ditch them immediately.
We need to “detox” our bodies
The word detox — to rid the body of toxins or substances — has been co-opted by wellness culture, according to Harrison. Whether it’s from sugar, solid foods or social media, these so-called detoxes are touted as ways to cleanse the body and mind.
“It’s a very harmful wellness trend,” says Harrison, adding that detoxes usually involve extreme or restrictive behaviors. Juice cleanses, supplements and fasting are all marketed as ways detox the body, says Harrison, even though the body is designed to detoxify itself.
“Your liver and kidneys are great at removing toxins in your body without any intervention from you,” says Harrison. Extreme cleanses won’t make these organs work better, she adds, and they certainly aren’t a necessary maintenance measure.
“Wellness culture kind of views the liver and kidneys as being like filters in the sink that get clogged with gunk,” she continues. “A…
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