Episode 195: Is Wellness Bad for Aging Well?

In this episode of the Aging Well Podcast, Dr. Jeff Armstrong and co-host Corbin Bruton tackle the controversial topic of the wellness industry and its impact on healthspan and longevity. They question whether the industry's $5.6 trillion market is beneficial or detrimental to aging well. The hosts define health and wellness, highlighting the blurred lines between evidence-based medicine and wellness products. They discuss the pitfalls of unproven supplements, misleading marketing terms like 'clinically proven,' and the importance of scientific rigor and certifications. The takeaway emphasizes staying informed and critical of wellness claims while relying on proven medical science for aging well.

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Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the Aging Well Podcast. I'm Dr. Jeff Armstrong and with me is my co host Corbin Britton. In this episode, we explore a topic that is both controversial and crucial for anyone interested in healthspan and longevity. The wellness industry. We ask the question, is wellness bad for aging well? The wellness industry is a massive 5. 6 trillion dollar market. But is it helping or hurting our health, especially as we age? From supplements that claim to slow aging, to detoxes that promise to cleanse the body. We explore where the wellness industry stands and whether it's actually supporting our health and efforts to age well.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 0:44

before we begin today's episode. Let's start by defining what we mean by health and wellness.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 0:54

Well, health is not just the absence of disease. Rather, health is a more complex equation of a number of different variables. These would include genetics, socioeconomic status, where you were born, and really even a bit of luck.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 1:11

Exactly. Dr. Armstrong Healthcare typically focuses on three main areas. Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. But the wellness industry, it blurs These lines together, making it hard for both patients and providers to navigate.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 1:29

And personally, I think the phrase wellness industry can be quite deceiving.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 1:34

So how would you define wellness?

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 1:38

Well, we've talked about this on the podcast before. It's really what I call well centered fitness.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 1:47

That's where that term spies come in. Spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, and social.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 1:54

Wellness is a state of being well, obviously. the wellness industry kind of makes us a bit nebulous. So as an exercise scientist and host of this podcast, my goal is to recommend science based practices to prevent health issues like heart disease or infections and to promote aging well. but for every evidence based test or treatment, there are dozens of wellness products out there that haven't been properly vetted.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 2:28

And that's where it gets tricky. It gets a little tricky and of blur a bit. See, wellness industry is expanding rapidly, offering everything from supplements to home tests and they, they claim to diagnose conditions that we might not even technology. However, that's changing rapidly and we have access to health care. have FDA approved home tests from things from HIV and Covid. even have apps that can prescribe medication. But along with these advances, rises some pseudoscience and put people on the fence.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 3:09

Right, so the wellness industry uses similar strategies to evidence based medicine, but it often lacks some of that same scientific rigor. In fact, I even think sometimes the science industry, the health industry, lacks a little bit of the rigor. Really good scientific rigor, but you have companies that are selling tests for conditions that either don't exist or they're offering Treatments with no real proven benefit at all and the lines really become blurry

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 3:43

Do you think it's because, you know, in the age of the internet, everything's moving so fast, and so they just want to get that information out there rapidly, as quick as they can, without actual evidence or, proof or, or or something to stand on.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 4:03

You would hope that that's what's going on. But I think really In many cases, as we look at the wellness industry. for a lot of them, it's taking advantage of that media outlet and circumventing the necessary testing and research that needs to be done to prove a product is viable before they actually put it out there people will, see a product advertised and because they saw it on the internet and it's, well advertised, well presented, maybe have some celebrities behind it, they get sucked into it and there's not necessarily the real evidence of the product. And sometimes they twist the evidence around a little bit. One of my big pet peeves is hearing, you know, like clinically proven. When I see that phrase, it is usually a big red flag for me. And it's like, okay, prove to me that it is clinically proven. Because first of all, there's no such thing as anything being proven. You know, when we look at research, research only moves us closer to the truth. And so when we say that something is proven, that's basically saying that there is 100% guaranteed. There is no deviation from reality. This is what it is, and nothing is like that. You know, clinically supported evidence-based, that kind of stuff. Yeah, I can get behind that, but show me the studies and show me where those studies are coming from. If they're done in your own labs, I'm a little bit skeptical.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 5:39

those are just trigger words where people are like, Oh, that sounds interesting. And it grabs attention. Cause even on that TV show, the doctors, um, where they bring on people with underlying health conditions and the doctors diagnose them. And they're like, this has been, proven to take this supplement. And so by saying terms like clinically proven, um, they're able to then plug in the new supplement. That it's paying them plug and it's it's more attention grabbing.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 6:16

I think that's often the case. Then you also see things like lab tested. Well, what's lab tested mean? You know, you could test it in the lab and be proven to be completely bogus, but hey, no, it's been tested in the lab So it's got to be good. So I think we have to be critical of The diagnoses that we are giving ourselves and we're receiving and what, people on the media that aren't necessarily recognized by mainstream medical communities that they're trying to treat something that maybe doesn't really necessarily exist. And so when we look at some of these different tests, are they really validated? Are they giving us evidence that we have a condition? And what they are presenting is something that can treat that condition. Is it actually valid?

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 7:13

So it seems to me that there would mean to be some certification going through Um, what is CLIA certified lab?

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 7:22

a CLIA certified lab is a laboratory in the U S that meets federal standards set by the clinical laboratory. Improvement amendments, to assure accuracy, reliability and timeliness in test results. this certification is essential for labs performing any kind of diagnostic tests in human specimens. and they can range from simple to highly complex procedures. the designation helps ensure that lab results are trustworthy and can be relied upon for patient care decisions. but just like, or just because a test is done by a CLIA certified lab doesn't mean it's equivalent to an FDA approved diagnostic. FDA approval involves more extensive testing, validation, and regulatory oversight. Thank you for your time.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 8:17

Should an individual just be focusing on these type of certifications or should they also pull from like World World Health Organization or, um, Cambridge over in England.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 8:33

Well, I don't think either of those necessary carry any more validity than our FDA or, you know, some of the other USA standards that we have. It's just important to see, if you are sending your blood out for a test, At least giving you some evidence that it is a credible lab that is going to be giving you results back that might be used to diagnose or sell you a product that you may or may not need or may or may not benefit from.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 9:06

The reason why I ask is because I just think that our FDA approves a lot of things that's in our food that other countries don't. And I don't know. why I just was wondering if we should just stick to one standard or broaden our standards out a little bit.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 9:24

FDA has fairly good standards. they're not going to be much different Then other countries when we're talking about testing and diagnosing, what does our government allow in food products That makes a difference in terms of the benefits toward our health. When we look at the foods that we eat, the supplements that we take and things like that.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 9:48

Well, let's talk about supplements. Uh, thanks to a 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, the market for dietary supplement has exploded. many of these products lack safety, quality, and efficiency standards that we expect.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 10:08

Absolutely. And while supplements can be beneficial, many, and I would say almost most, are not backed by robust science. the wellness industry really uses phrases like science backed or clinically proven which may sound credible, but often at the very best refer to. Very preliminary studies

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 10:32

really no requirement to prove that supplements actually claim to do what is they do safely.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 10:43

Our legal system can help to enforce things a little bit, but oftentimes a supplement can get out there and be used it's not until people start to really question it and maybe present some lawsuits against the company That there's enough pushback to stop them from producing and selling I've done at least one study for supplement company. I'm not going to go into all the details of the supplement itself, but one of the things that came out of doing that research was that they were sued for false advertising, one of the issues was that the research we did with that product, had positive results, but they weren't, Dramatic. But the company wanted me to, say that there was a 750, some odd percent greater effect of the supplement versus a placebo, which was true, but it's not appropriate to report it as such in the scientific literature because really 750% of nothing. Is still nothing, right? I pushed back against that. I was told I'd be threatened with a lawsuit and I said, fine, bring it on. That was my 15 minutes of fame. I got cited in the New York Times as this company was sued and I believe there about seven different studies that were supposedly done on the product. And what the lawsuit revealed was that Of the seven, there was only one study that was grounded in good science, and that was our particular study. The other studies had either fabricated data, designed the study to present Favorable data or just outright lied about the data. And that's kind of where we're coming from in a lot of these supplement companies. So I don't have a lot of trust and faith in the supplement companies that the data they are presenting is. legitimate data. And even when it is, oftentimes it is presented in a way for the marketers to promote the product. And it may not be really relevant, if that makes any sense.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 12:56

it there's a little bit of um, misdirection. In these phrasings or how can we protect ourselves and the viewers um, from falling on these unproven claims?

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 13:14

I'd say, you just have to do your research. when they cite Scientific literature. Look it up. they cite studies on their web page and we did one of our episodes recently where we talked about a product that had a whole list of references and very few of those references even pertained to their specific product. so we got to be A bit more aware and attentive to the products we are taking. I think it was PT Barnum that basically said the buyer beware. I think it was PT Barnum might be misquoting him, but somebody said the buyer beware and I know it was PT Barnum said there's a sucker born every minute. it's important that the buyer beware We look at these supplements and products that we might be taking for our wellness and Determining are they actually safe and are they viable products?

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 14:07

I think that science literacy should be taught in schools, period. I think we need to prioritize Um, we need to be diligent. reviewing evidence for any product or treatment that we're considering, especially when it's something into our bodies, but it's also important to assess any conflicts of interest as well.

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 14:29

So if somebody stands to profit from a product that to me is a big red flag any statement clinically proven on a supplement to me again is a Huge red flag

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 14:39

how can we protect ourselves and the listeners from falling on these unproven claims?

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 14:46

I think it's important that we remember that just because we don't know everything about a medical condition doesn't mean we know nothing. Always compare claims with the current scientific knowledge. If you are not really understanding the scientific literature, maybe you don't have as much access to it. I strongly encourage anyone considering a supplement talk with their physician and particularly their pharmacist, as well as reading that. scientific literature.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 15:15

And not rely on advertisement and popular press articles on the aging well podcasts. How do we play a role in combating this trend?

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 15:30

We remind the listeners and the viewers that the wellness industry often preys on people's vulnerabilities. So on this podcast, we're committed to maintaining scientific integrity while we share the information.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 15:44

Okay. Dr. Armstrong. So what's the takeaway from this discussion today?

jeff_2_09-21-2024_091310: 15:48

I think the takeaway is that the wellness industry isn't necessarily inherently bad, but there are risks when it operates outside the boundaries of science.

corbin-bruton_1_09-21-2024_091308: 15:58

right. If we are to age well, we need to stay informed, remain critical of wellness claims, and rely on proven medical science. Well, if you have stuck with us to the end, thank you for joining us. In this important discussion, remember aging isn't about living longer. It's about making informed choices to live better. Be sure to subscribe and share the aging well podcast. And until next time, aging well.

16:32

Thank you for listening. I hope you benefited from today's podcast. Until next time, keep aging well.