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The Toxic World of Wellness

Are we gullible targets for a new snake oil?

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Image of person using a dropper to put a medicinal tincture on their forearm.
Photo by Chelsea shapouri on Unsplash

In 1893, Clark Stanley stood on a stage at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, sliced open a rattlesnake, and threw it in boiling water. This spectacle gave birth to his famous “Snake Oil Liniment” purportedly full of healing powers.

The snake-oil salesman was born.

In truth, his product had no snake oil — used by Chinese railroad workers with some anti-inflammatory benefits — but only mineral oil, beef fat, red pepper, and turpentine. Years later, when the federal government cracked down on fraud, Stanley paid a $20 fine and went out of business.

Stanley was an outsized figure in the world of patent medicines — highly advertised “cure-alls” sold without a doctor’s prescription. Gifted in theatrics, Stanley excelled in promoting his wares in these so-called medicine shows.

Fast forward to the present era and the vast yet vague world of wellness. Social media is crawling with countless figures selling supplements and devices purported to make you healthier.

At the epicenter of today’s wellness world is Gwyneth Paltrow and her lifestyle empire, Goop. What started as a newsletter in 2008, when Paltrow was starring in Iron Man, is now a $250 million juggernaut.

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