The Health and Wellness Lie

'A tour de force, debunking the myths and scams of the modern wellness industry. A great read' - Dr Chris Van Tulleken, best-selling author of Ultra-Processed People
The health and wellness industry isn't your friend. It isn't a reliable path to wellbeing, nor a source of sound advice on losing weight, getting fit or curing chronic pain. It's a multi-trillion-pound con. A parasite, it feeds on your hopes and fears, exploits your naivety and cashes in on your repeated failures.
This book is your blueprint for taking back control.
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The global health and wellness market is worth over £5 trillion. But the expensive supplements, fad diets and quick-fix treatments aren't benefiting our health - they're making us fatter, sicker and unhappier.
Drawing on more than two decades of experience, exercise scientist Dr Nick Tiller pulls back the curtain on an industry that values profit over people. He exposes how wellness marketing exploits our biases, why social media amplifies the loudest voices rather than the most credible and how bad science drives health misinformation.
From weight-loss drugs and cold plunges to wearable tech and alternative therapies, separate fact from fiction and discover what truly works.
This is essential reading for anyone ready to see wellness culture for what it is - dangerous, dishonest and long overdue for a reckoning - and to take back control of our body and health.

Dr Nick Tiller is an exercise scientist and author of The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science. For more than two decades, he has worked across elite sport, clinical populations and the general public, helping people see through the health and wellness lie. In 2023, he was named a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry for his work promoting science literacy and critical thinking. @nbtiller

Introduction
1. Perverse incentives and harmful consequences
2. The marketing ruse
3. Never let facts get in the way of a good story
4. Digital skills for a digital age
5. Friendly fire: When science gets it wrong
6. Weight loss decoded
7. Supplements and snake oils
8. The alternative reality of alternative therapy
9. The long road to wellness
References
Acknowledgements