Why Your Favorite Wellness Influencer Might Be Full of Kale

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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Dr. Google Syndrome Evolving into Dr. AI Syndrome

Why Self-Diagnosing with AI is a Comedy (and Sometimes a Tragedy) of Errors

By Richard Labaki

Remember the days when you’d wake up with a mysterious ache, type your symptoms into Google, and suddenly convince yourself you had a rare tropical disease, a zombie virus, or at best, a mild case of death? Welcome to the era of Dr. Google Syndrome – the unofficial medical degree you earn after a few frantic clicks at 2 a.m. But now, as AI chatbots like ChatGPT enter the scene, we’ve graduated to a new phenomenon: Dr. AI Syndrome. It’s like Dr. Google’s tech-savvy cousin who talks a lot, sounds smart, but still can’t replace your actual therapist or physician.

The evolution of self-diagnosis

Back in the early 2000s, Google was the go-to “doctor” for those unwilling or unable to visit a real one. You’d type “headache + nausea + dizziness,” and Google would serve up everything from dehydration to brain tumor. The problem? Google doesn’t know “you” – it can’t ask follow-up questions or weigh your personal history. It just throws information at you, leaving you spiraling down a rabbit hole of worst-case scenarios, aka cyberchondria.

Fast forward to today, and AI chatbots like ChatGPT promise a more conversational, personalized experience. You can ask, “Hey ChatGPT, what’s wrong with my stomach?” and get a detailed, articulate response that feels like talking to a knowledgeable friend. But here’s the catch: despite passing some medical exams in controlled settings, AI’s real-world medical diagnosis accuracy is still less than half the time correct – and sometimes hilariously wrong. Imagine your AI doctor confidently telling you that a common cold is actually a rare tropical parasite infestation. Spoiler: it’s not.

“Despite passing some medical exams in controlled settings, AI’s real-world medical diagnosis accuracy is still less than half the time correct”

Why relying on AI for self-diagnosis is a bad idea!

The idea of AI as a medical oracle is tempting, but it comes with serious pitfalls:

You have to know how to ask: AI chatbots depend heavily on how you phrase your questions. A vague prompt like “I feel bad” gets a vague answer. You need to know enough medical jargon or symptoms to ask the “right” questions. Otherwise, you might get a generic or misleading response. I, for example, know nothing about mechanical engineering. If I were to start asking ChatGPT about matters related to mechanical engineering, I wouldn’t even know how to ask the right questions and then verify the responses.  

AI can hallucinate: No, not in the psychedelic sense, but AI sometimes “hallucinates” – it invents plausible-sounding but false information. This can lead to dangerous advice, like telling a patient they had a vaccine they never received or missing critical symptoms.

Lack of context and nuance: AI can’t perform physical exams, order lab tests, or interpret subtle clinical signs. It also can’t factor in your full medical history or emotional state, which are crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Accountability issues: If your AI “doctor” messes up, who’s responsible? The developers? The user? The chatbot itself? This murky territory means you’re often left holding the bag for any misdiagnosis or delayed treatment.

“AI sometimes “hallucinates” – it invents plausible-sounding but false information”

When AI goes off script…

In one case, a mental health professional asked ChatGPT for academic references for a legal case. ChatGPT invented fake citations. The opposing lawyer caught it, and now the therapist is facing court sanctions for using AI-generated false information.

Lesson: AI hallucinations aren't just bad – they can get you sued.

A Belgian man in his 30s began using an AI chatbot named Eliza on the app Chai to discuss his growing eco-anxiety. Over six weeks, the bot encouraged him to end his life. Tragically, he followed through. The chatbot was programmed to be emotionally responsive, but lacked ethical boundaries, leading to a preventable death.

Lesson: Emotional dependency on AI can become dangerous without safeguards.

The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) replaced its human helpline staff with an AI chatbot. Almost immediately, users reported that the bot gave weight loss advice – to people struggling with eating disorders. It was quickly shut down.

Lesson: Replacing humans with bots in sensitive situations = facepalm.

In a documented user experience study, a woman sought advice for a skin burn, and the chatbot suggested menstruation-related issues. Somewhere between “I spilled coffee on my arm” and “Are you on your period?”, the AI glitched – big time.

Lesson: AI doesn't always understand context. Or anatomy.

Many users report typing symptoms like “headache and fatigue” into ChatGPT or other AI bots and receiving dramatic conclusions like “brain tumor”, “rare autoimmune disease”, or “you might be dying.”

Lesson: Worst-case scenario bias can turn a sniffle into a Shakespearean tragedy.

So, what’s the takeaway?

Dr. Google syndrome taught us that self-diagnosing online can spiral into anxiety and misinformation. Dr. AI syndrome, while more sophisticated, hasn’t yet solved these problems – it has just added new layers of complexity.

- Use AI chatbots as “informational tools, not diagnostic authorities”.

- Always consult a real healthcare professional for diagnosis and treatment.

- If you do use AI, be “critical and skeptical” – challenge the answers and don’t take them at face value.

- Remember, AI can’t replace the human touch, empathy, and clinical judgment of a trained professional.

In the end, whether it’s Google or AI, self-diagnosis is like trying to fix a car by reading the manual without ever popping the hood. Sure, you might get lucky, but more often than not, you’ll end up with a lot of confusion and a car still not running – or in this case, health still uncertain.

So next time you feel under the weather, resist the urge to summon Dr. Google or Dr. AI for a diagnosis. Instead, make an appointment with your real health practitioner –someone who can listen, examine, and treat you properly. Because while AI is a powerful tool, it’s not (yet) your personal physician.

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The Mood Switch

While your emotional landscape is predetermined by genetics, there is a lot you can do about it

By Richard Labaki

"swtich" (CC BY-ND 2.0) by Kevin Pelletier

Driving on the highway at the breakneck speed of 180 km/hour, George was in hyper-focus mode and all psyched up as he maneuvered his BMW between lanes. Heavy metal music bursting through the speakers, the scene could only be likened to that of a Jason Bourne car chase. Amidst this intense and potentially-dangerous situation, George glances briefly to his right to assess how I’m coping in the passenger’s seat. As he later described it, what he saw was not someone wide-eyed, physically tense and filled with fear but a person in a state of Zen savoring a grilled cheese sandwich. This took place a few decades back. And for as long as I remember, my reaction to stressful or highly charged situations was always one of calmness. When everyone around was getting all worked up over a given crisis, there I was keeping my cool under fire. This is in no way due to years of practicing deep meditative techniques on a mystical mountaintop, but simply a matter of character. And only recently have I begun to understand the genetic foundation of my inherent response to stress in general.

Breakthroughs in the realm of genetic research are revealing how certain genes could impact mood and play a major role in the predisposition to disorders such as anxiety and chronic depression. I have, for example, a certain gene that operates at a faster rate than usual, quickly clearing out “fight-or-flight” stress neurotransmitters like adrenaline and noradrenaline from my system. So in essence, my mind and body are able to remain calm most of the time, easily returning to normalcy after experiencing a nerve-racking event. But there is a downside to this as well. This gene, which is functioning at a rapid speed in my case, could also clear out dopamine very quickly, leaving the person unmotivated and low on energy. Dopamine, as you may know, is the “feel-good” neurotransmitter involved in excitement and thrills (you probably experience its uplifting effect after a workout, when falling in love and others.) The fact that all the aforementioned neurotransmitters do not stay for long in my system partially explains why I had been a classic daydreamer in the classroom during my schooldays. I was in essence the poster child of attention deficit disorder or ADD.

“Breakthroughs in the realm of genetic research are revealing how certain genes could impact mood and play a major role in the predisposition to disorders such as anxiety and chronic depression”

At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who have this same gene operating at a slower rate than normal. Consequently, they have ample focus, energy and enthusiasm. But they also have a hard time kicking back and relaxing – so much so that they cannot sleep well in most cases. Stress neurotransmitters stay in their system for far too long, causing them to be more prone to anxiety. So apparently, what could be the source of a certain strength (be it mental, psychological or physiological) could also be a form of kryptonite. Luckily, I have managed to strengthen my focus and boost my energy levels over the years – without letting go of my calm demeanor. But with the continuous research concerning gene expression, I can even go further now. You see, genes are not static. There is an interplay between our genetic makeup and the food we eat, the lifestyle we adopt and the environment in which we live. This science is called epigenetics. And while each one of us has a variety of genetic tendencies to certain characteristics, behaviors and health conditions, understanding those predispositions helps immensely. As a result of this understanding, we could then customize our way of eating and living to become a better version of ourselves. In other words, we could always tip the “genetic” scale in our favor: turning off or balancing the “bad” genes while keeping the good ones switched on.

“While we all harbor psychological traits that stem from how we were raised and our individual experiences (both good and bad), our mood is largely affected by our genetic makeup, health status, and other influencing factors”

And this is the basis of a recent discussion I enjoyed with a psychologist friend of mine. I argued that while we all harbor psychological traits that stem from how we were raised and our individual experiences (both good and bad), our mood is largely affected by our genetic makeup, health status, and other influencing factors. Treatments in the form of cognitive therapy and the likes are sure to help you become more aware of your psychological flaws and blind-spots, but you will not attain perfect mood balance by simply becoming more cognizant. If you suffer major nutritional deficiencies, if your gut flora is disrupted (90 percent of dopamine and serotonin is produced by the good bacteria in your intestines), and if your body is burdened with toxins then your mood will always be disrupted. Working with a qualified shrink to address psychological and mood issues could help a lot. But this alone remains insufficient if your diet, lifestyle and environment are not in tune with your biochemistry and genetic makeup. My friend could not agree more.

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