By Richard Labaki
Let’s be honest – wellness influencers are the new rock stars of Instagram. They’ve got the abs, the acai bowls, the Matcha rituals, and just enough pseudo-science to make it all sound revolutionary. But here’s the thing: just because someone has glowing skin and a ring light doesn’t mean they should be giving out health advice like it’s candy.
As a holistic therapist, I spend a wild amount of my time not deep-diving into root causes or personalizing wellness protocols – but debunking myths from reels, TikToks, and wellness threads that my clients send me at 11 p.m. with messages like, “Should I start dry fasting for 72 hours? This influencer swears it detoxed his soul.”
Instagram has, in a sense, become a virtual clinic – except instead of trained therapists, you’ve got mainly influencers in spandex prescribing you adrenal tonics and juice fasting with the confidence of a Nobel laureate.
Instagram Isn’t Medical School
Would you take investment advice from someone who just played Monopoly well? Probably not. So why are we taking supplement stacks and hormone hacks from people whose only credential is that they once went paleo and now have a six-pack? It’s not that these influencers are evil. Some are genuinely well-meaning and passionate. But being passionate about wellness doesn’t equal being trained in physiology, psychology, pathology, or – my personal favorite – critical thinking.
That being said, there are a few credible medically-trained influencers who are accurate when it comes to sharing the latest in the field of wellbeing. However, many of them do not practice and take on actual cases. And from experience, there could be major discrepancies between what you read in research papers and what could be applied effectively in real life. Before I started practicing, I believed that I could easily cure every health issue on the planet. But my naiveté back then rapidly eroded as I started taking on tough cases – ranging from autoimmunity and hormonal imbalance to skin conditions and gut problems.
“There could be major discrepancies between what you read in research papers and what could be applied effectively in real life.”
Broad Advice, Specific Consequences
A young influencer might be able to handle a raw vegan diet and twice-daily workouts for some time without crashing, but that doesn’t mean you—with your stress, schedule, and unique biology—should.
I once had a client (let’s call her Sarah) who followed a “biohacker” with half a million followers who recommended “stacking” supplements for mental clarity. She said it made her feel like a productivity goddess – until it didn’t. She developed insomnia, racing thoughts, and eventually a panic disorder. When we sat down and looked at the ingredients, we discovered she was unknowingly combining stimulants that raised her cortisol and heart rate to unsustainable levels.
Omar, another client of mine, saw a viral reel promoting prolonged dry fasting (no food or water for 48+ hours) as a “spiritual cleanse.” He ended up with dizziness, confusion, and a trip to urgent care. Shockingly, water is still essential to human survival.
The influencers who are doling out advice randomly don’t know your history. They’re not assessing your stress load, sleep hygiene, trauma patterns, nutrient deficiencies, or the fact that your “foggy brain” is actually your nervous system waving a red flag.
The Algorithm Doesn’t Care About Your Health
Social media rewards “virality”, not accuracy. The more shocking, extreme, or “miraculous” the advice, the more it spreads. But real wellness? Real healing? That stuff is nuanced. Boring, even. It's not sexy to say, “Drink more water, sleep eight hours, and work on your unresolved emotional trauma.”
If someone posts a video titled “Why You’re Tired All the Time (And It’s Because of THIS One Hormone)”, it gets millions of views. If I post, “Let’s assess your lifestyle, sleep hygiene, trauma load, and micronutrient status before jumping to conclusions,” I get 14 likes and a comment from my aunt.
But real health is personal. Your body is not an iPhone that just needs the right update to function. It’s a complex system of hormones, neurotransmitters, organs, and emotional imprints. No influencer can diagnose or guide you safely through that with a Canva graphic and a swipe-up code.
“Your body is not an iPhone that just needs the right update to function. It’s a complex system of hormones, neurotransmitters, organs, and emotional imprints. No influencer can diagnose or guide you safely through that ”
My Daily Job: Digital Detoxing
Every week, I sit down with clients who are overwhelmed. Not by their symptoms – but by the contradictory advice they're drowning in. Keto or plant-based? Fast or feed your hormones? Cold plunge or warm bath? I have seen people lost in confusion – not because their health is failing, but because they’ve tried every protocol, every hack, every influencer’s “morning stack” ... and they’re still exhausted and unwell.
They’ve lost touch with their bodies and outsourced their intuition to strangers with ring lights. It’s my job to bring them back – to remind them that wellness isn’t about extremes, hacks, or fear-based fixes. It’s about alignment. Consistency. A relationship with your body, not a war against it.
More often than not, I have to explain why just because a 23-year-old with abs says you need to adopt a carnivore diet for health and building muscles doesn’t mean you are suited for such an extreme. Your blood work might reveal you have certain imbalances like high uric acid or ammonia and a carnivore diet is going to wreak havoc on your system.
Let’s Get Real (and Responsible)
Here’s the thing: wellness isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s not a trend or a hack. It’s a practice – a relationship with your body, mind, and environment that evolves over time. And that kind of wisdom? It takes more than a viral post. It takes training, nuance, and a willingness to ask why something works instead of just parroting what’s trending.
“Wellness isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s not a trend or a hack. It’s a practice – a relationship with your body, mind, and environment that evolves over time.”
Unless someone is trained – really trained – in health, physiology, psychology, and trauma, they have no business giving blanket health advice to thousands (or millions) of people. Wellness influencers are often well-meaning. But intention doesn’t equal qualification. And a ripped physique doesn’t equal science.
So, the next time someone tells you to drink lemon water while standing on a vibration plate and whispering affirmations to your gallbladder, ask yourself: Is this advice personalized, or just popular? And maybe – just maybe – check in with a trained professional before you start stacking nootropics like Lego bricks
Final Thought
If you’re exhausted from trying every health trend the algorithm spits out, come back to center. Your body doesn’t need another hack. It needs support. Grounded, individualized, science-informed support. Your health deserves more than a trending post and a swipe-up link. If you're ready to cut through the noise, unfollow the confusion, and find what actually works for you, let’s talk. No gimmicks. Just grounded, evidence-based, holistic support that puts you back in the driver’s seat.
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