(The Walrus) – Alternative medicine has become a scrutiny-free wonderland for anything and everything

The wellness industry is currently valued at a breathtaking $5.6 trillion (US) worldwide, which includes earnings from bona fide resources for healthier living (e.g., sports and exercise classes) as well as alternative medicine products and services. It also includes what’s been dubbed the $181 billion (US) global mental wellness economy, to capture money spent on sleep services and monitors, meditation and mindfulness resources, supplements for “brain health,” cannabis and psychedelics, and self-help delivered by gurus, coaches, organizations, and apps.

Most perniciously, wellness has come to represent a wonderland free from the constraints of scientific scrutiny. The beating heart of the industry flows with pseudoscience, and to say that it’s lucrative would be an understatement. (Read More)