WIZZARD OF OZ

Sometimes I wonder if we the American public are being taken seriously, that possibly somewhere there is a man behind a curtain pushing buttons and just flat out laughing at us. The other night I was watching television and within a commercial break there was a commercial about a new pill to help with the pains of osteoporosis and another for improving the quality of your life through eating sandwiches. I’m sure you are familiar with both, the former having images of anguish and helplessness being alleviated from the use of some prescription that might treat the affliction at hand but will also carry a host of unwanted side effects that will probably cause you to buy other drugs from the same pharmaceutical company. And of course the latter using the heroic story of a man who used to be obese who summoned the fortitude and determination to ascend to the unofficial spokesperson of health and nutrition by showing us that we all have the great potential inside us to change what drive-through window we eat from.

At first I can’t help but to find these attempts somewhat comical but once you consider the sheer frequency and persistence of these messages I can’t help but find them unethical and insulting. From these mundane examples it becomes obvious to see that the vast majority of the public is naïve and looking for answers to a better living and because of that they have become vulnerable to the half-truths and propaganda that floods the media. Let’s face it not one cooperation has found a way to patent walking outside or a way to copyright the rules to eating for health and longevity, and to tell the truth all that information is out there, has been out there and most likely a lot of it is just common sense and yet we are led to believe that only through “proper” supplementation and dietary habits can we obtain what we truly want. And maybe that’s partly our fault, in a way we are supplying the demand or at least not doing enough as a society to stop the ridiculousness of the health and wellness industry.

When I think of health and wellness the first thing that comes to mind is a lifestyle that breeds empowerment but when I read the articles of today’s advice and protocols I see just the opposite I see a generation that is fixated on appearance rather than performance or purpose. Call me old fashion but I can’t see how value is added to life when you have to be obsessed over whether or not your next meal will fit your macro-nutrient profile, or running in a fitness club on a treadmill on a beautiful summer day so that you are sure that you are within your fat-burning zone. To me that is an enslaved lifestyle, one that dictates and restricts instead of enriching and elevating. Its disconcerting to me that people in the fitness culture are missing out; its sad that every year millions of people flock to the gym to get better at exercising because the point is to better yourself through exercise.

When discussing the health and fitness industry it is impossible to ignore the terms diet and supplementation, two words that have greatly deviated from their original meanings and arguably has caused the greatest amount of miseduaction in the field. In the next installment I’ll take a closer look at where we are with these aspects in cotemporary culture.