Health hacking and the erosion of intuitive wisdom

As someone who has worked in, and studied, Chinese medicine and other modalities for the last 20 years, I am always looking for more answers to the question of why people become unwell and how they can maintain good health. I try my best to keep up to date with research in my field, and as the social media explosion has taken hold over the last decade, I have watched the wellness space with a curious and slightly skeptical eye. It appears to me that we are now living in a time of unprecedented wellness culture, of bio-hacking and ‘health-maxxing’ and fitness trends that are pitched at us from every social media angle in a bid for profit sold under the guise of wisdom or advice. Whether it is peptides, superfoods, apple cider vinegar, creatine powder, cold plunges, red light saunas, blue light glasses, hydrogen water, alkaline water, intermittent fasting, or any of the other influencer backed fads currently doing the rounds, there is no shortage of products promising to optimise our bodies and minds.

Many of these undoubtedly have their benefits, and some are even backed up with decent scientific evidence to support their claims, but this is not always the case, and given the nature of the marketing, it is often hard to distinguish the bogus from the beneficial. The other problem I see with clients following a lot of this hype is that their use of these supplements and methods is generally piecemeal and sporadic, making it virtually impossible to know which one is having what effect, if any. They also seem to believe that even if they are eating poorly, drinking too much alcohol, or not managing overwhelming amounts of stress, these hacks will still have some magically curative effect.

One of the many enduring wisdoms of Chinese medicine is the seemingly simplistic and very common sense approach it takes to longevity and wellness (in part known as Yang Sheng, or ‘nourishment of life’). A system of slow burn, cumulative effect, everyday habits such as regular stretching and moving of the body, eating in moderation, appropriate cooking methods and food & beverage temperatures for the given climate, suitable clothing, adequate rest and restorative sleep, are all mainstays of what should be our daily routines to ensure optimal health. Instead of jumping on every supplement and fad that comes our way via instagram or a podcast, habits should be just that – habitual – and should only change when our circumstances do, such as the seasons or the climates that we find ourselves in (say we travel a lot, for example), or with illness, or perhaps pregnancy. Much of this wisdom seems these days to be relegated to the bottom of the influencer led pile for its banality, or lack of shiny newness, despite its astonishing efficacy.

Supplements promoted for their anti-inflammatory or nutritional benefits are almost never given the context in which they are most beneficial, and instead of being judiciously prescribed to those who they would actually benefit, are marketed as broad brush panaceas for the masses. As a great teacher of mine commonly (and perceptively) exclaims, nothing is 100% good. Green tea, for example, is bitter and cold and should be avoided by those with a deficient constitution. Goji berries are very sticky and sweet, and if eaten in excess by someone who is already constitutionally damp may well clog up their digestive system. Tumeric, whilst excellent for inflammation, is also incredibly hot and drying and can cause constipation or taxation to someone who is already yin or fluid deficient (or is already consuming other drying substances, such as caffeine in, large quantities).

Another issue with many of these wellness hacks is that they have often been cherry picked and removed from the very body of wisdom that created them in the first place. Like a pretty flower that wilts after being picked from the plant where it grew, these practices lose much of their inherit value when isolated and cut off from their roots.

There are many examples of this to point to. Breath-work for starters. This powerful practice (especially in the case of the recently popularised conscious connected breathwork or ‘CCB’) gets hailed in the press and by breath workers for its ability to reverse depression, overcome trauma, release long held anxieties and resolve auto-immune conditions. The practice typically involves intensely stimulating rounds of deliberate hyperventilation to effectively alter the body’s blood chemistry (which in turn induces a euphoric type of psychological state), and was originally developed in lineages steeped in tradition as advanced techniques only taught to dedicated students who had performed years of preparatory conditioning and strengthening. Now sold en masse to groups in half-day workshops with zero pre-screening or follow up, their effects are damaging as many people as they supposedly ‘cure’. But hours and years of preparation is not sexy and does not sell, so here we are. No one wants to ‘work’ at getting better. They want to be fixed; in the passive sense more often than not; and they are willing to pay for the privilege of ease.

Meditation is also these days often sold as a weekend course, an add-on to a yoga practice, an app, or a ten minute sandwich practice to one’s daily routine. But true meditation typically was also a slow steady skill taught by an accomplished mentor who assessed their student's mental landscape and physical fitness before adding new layers to their practice. It is not a one-size-fits-all promise for instant calm as it is so often pitched. Depending on someone’s level of interoceptive awareness, previous traumatic experience, and even blood pressure, results can be markedly different and as with breath work above, prolonged seated periods of silence can sometimes do as much harm as good in their pursuit of altered states of awareness and consciousness.

Constitutional assessment is a key tenet of Chinese medicine when it is well and accurately practiced. Tonic herbs such as ginseng are never prescribed in isolation, but in a combined formula containing other herbs that help to moderate or amplify their mechanism of action as is appropriate for that person at the time of prescribing. Similarly, taking someone with a weak constitution (or blood deficiency from a CM perspective) through an intense breath work practice could prove severely detrimental to their health. This also applies to the world of cold exposure that is another ubiquitous wellness trend commonly perceived to be beneficial to all who are brave enough to subject themselves to it.

Cold in Chinese medicine is actually one of the most pervasive causes of disease. Granted it was much more of a concern in the pre-modern days where the luxuries of central heating and insulated housing were not yet available. However, prolonged cold exposure still causes the blood to slow down and thicken, and is one of the main components of stasis in the body which most often presents as pain (or compromised function). Short term cold exposure can absolutely have its benefits (brown fat activation, dopamine release, triggering of cold-shock proteins, temporary activation of metabolic rate, amongst others), but in the weaker constitution it can also have a potentially negative impact on menstrual and digestive health, can increase fatigue and can also worsen joint conditions such as arthritis.

Common sense ideas from our fore-fathers and mothers, such as ‘everything in moderation’, and ‘each to their own’ seem to have gone out of the window when it comes to health hacking. Instead of promoting interoceptive awareness and people’s ability to tap into how their bodies are feeling and what makes them feel better versus worse, we are being sold (and blindly buying into) ‘do this whether you need it or not’ (and even if you really don\t) because it is ‘good’ for you. What has happened to perspective?

I have more clients than I can count who come to me with a list of ‘healthy’ supplements and herbs that they are taking, with no genuine knowledge of whether they actually need them or not, because they have either read about the benefits in an article somewhere or been told about them by some well meaning friend or relative. The supplements or herbs themselves are not really the issue, it is the lack of context for their qualities or mechanisms of action, and these not being taken into account in accordance with each individuals constitution and circumstances, that renders the situation problematic. Only yesterday a colleague of mine was telling me about a client of his whose - no doubt well intentioned - osteopath had attempted to reduce his high PSA count (to avoid radiotherapy) with a combined high dose regimen of almost all the ‘super-supplements’ that you can name – ashwaganda, turmeric, vitamin D, berberine amongst a host of others – that ultimately not only ended up doubling his PSA score, but also left him with an as-yet incurable skin condition that affects his whole body. ‘Natural’ is not always better, and especially not when it is over-prescribed, without due respect for the existing conditions and constitutional terrain of the prescribee.

So all of this to say that we need to not lose sight of the traditions and lineages that have brought us these invaluable practices and insights. Simple, regular practices such as daily movement, balanced nutrition, adequate rest and good sleep should absolutely form the foundations upon which any other supplements or practices are built. We need to remember how to tune into our own body’s wisdom and the messages it is sending us before overwhelming it with extreme sensory inputs to spike huge adrenaline releases and drastic physiological reactions. Take what you read with a pinch of salt, and look to practitioners who are properly trained in their modalities to help guide you through the maze of wellness offerings that are available.