13 Health Fads You Can Safely Skip in 2026

It seems that worthless or harmful health interventions, along with partial solutions masquerading as silver bullets, are procreating like jackrabbits these days.

I'm chalking it up to AI pumping out content faster than ever, but in the last year, I have had the delightful challenge of helping people filter shiny objects from real solutions in the health world.

It's an honor to do this work and I figured you all might enjoy a summary of some of what stood out in 2025.

So here are:

13 Health Fads You Can Safely Skip in 2026.

#1: GLP-1* – Being a health coach as long as I have, I understand the allure of a “silver bullet” or “the end justifies the means” thinking. I get it. Real weight loss can be hard. Most of the time, it requires someone to become a new person, a person who breaks old habits. That's not easy, BUT, this “natural peptide” is, in my estimation, a game of Russian roulette. Yes, it can get one to lose weight, but at what cost? I’ve talked to enough people who have awful stories to tell of muscular atrophy, sunken faces (who enjoys looking skinny and old?), stagnation, metabolic damage, etc. If you want a deeper dive on Ozempic/GLP-1 meds, check out my friend Dr. Robert Yoho's post about it, or read the package insert for Ozempic and see if it still sounds like a good idea. As for my suggestion, skip GLP-1 and earn your health gains. Who you become in the process will be priceless! If you feel like you've tried everything, you haven't.

#2 Methylene Blue – If you heard my interview with Dr. Peter Breggin, you know MB is the base molecule in psychiatric medications. That's not a compliment. MB is toxic to the brain and "works" by inducing changes in brain chemistry that produce manic episodes—which can seem like giant boosts in cognition/energy, but in reality are damaging to the brain. MB also dyes the brain blue. I’d avoid this like the plague.

#3 Psychiatric medications* – ALL psych meds impair the brain, and CREATE the chemical imbalances they purport to correct. For more on this, see again my interview with Dr. Breggin. If a man who has been the “conscience of psychiatry” for 50 years, who 1) could prescribe any psych med he deems appropriate but does not recommend ANY, and 2) who has testified as an expert witness against Pharma…over 100 times in court…if that kind of resume doesn’t have anything good to say about psych meds, that should give all of us pause. There is a better way, friend. As Dr. Breggin says, “Humans do not thrive by impairing our brains.” Life is hard sometimes, but impairing your brain isn't how we heal. For that we need a holistic approach. See his book Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal, for deep technical analysis and how he helps people get off such medations, or check out the book The Anatomy of an Epidemic, by Robert Whittaker for a damning expose on the harms of psyche meds. Seeing the need for a way to address heavy emotional issues as part of a holistic approach to healing is why we created our Mind & Body Cleanse. Mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health are all part of the same puzzle.

#4 Bio-identical hormones* – Minority opinion alert: This is another darling of both the allopathic/medical and alternative worlds. I deconstructed this narrative construct of hormone therapy in my recent podcast called “The Myth of Unbalanced Hormones.” The idea that a chemical potion created in a lab (or compounding pharmacy) could be “identical” to what YOUR body makes is laughable. For context a donated human liver IS identical to a human liver, yet anytime an organ transplant is done the recipient has to take anti-rejection drugs, because it’s not identical to that person. To take it a layer deeper, ponder the common phenomenon of transference of memories, cravings, fears, and changes in attraction, from organ donor to recipient. There’s no such thing as an artificially created “identical” hormone because the entire process is stuck within the confines of viewing biology (and hormones) as a chemistry equation. We are so much more than that. The kindest, and most accurate, description I could give to bio-identical hormones is “bio-generic, symptom-suppressing, medical duct tape.” Take them, and you'll (likely) feel better...for a while, until you don't. For a more balanced analysis of the risks and benefits of hormone therapy, check out my podcast.

#5 “Precision” medicine* – It seems this will become all the rage in the years ahead. Don’t fall for it. We are, I imagine, at the beginnings of transition from some of the old darlings of healthcare (vaccines, antibiotics, etc), to an even more suspect form of “medicine.” The same players that brought us the third leading cause of death in the US (the allopathic system confessed itself to be that in the year 2000), are the ones offering more "precise" chemical cocktails, tailored around, wait for it, your genes. Sounds good right, except the whole construct is, once again, based upon reducing you to a genetic chemistry equation that (like bio-identical hormones) is hilariously incapable of capturing all of who you are. “Precision” medicine is likely to be where eugenics and allopathy officially renew their vows. That’s what I think, what do you think?

#6 Almost all lab tests* – Lab tests, along with pills and pointy things that stab us with "medicine," are the three main sacraments of the allopathic system. I also shined a critical light on what we are getting for all this testing in my recent podcast about hormones. Like other interventions mentioned above, lab tests are a myopic sliver of all the could be learned about you. They are a tool (you pay for) that leads to another intervention, and another, and so on. 99% of the time, testing is simply the waypoint to treatment (read "symptom suppression"), not healing. Some tests may prove helpful, but most are useless, and most of the time they are an unnecessary source of anxiousness, trauma, or body burden--hello mammograms. To develop discernment and learn important questions you can ask before you agree to another test, check out this podcast. You’ll never see hormones or lab tests the same way again.

#7 Protein Powders – Someone needs to hear this: There are no protein powders found in nature. Is protein important? Yes. Is getting it in powder form good for you? Highly suspect. What makes is suspect, among other things are 1) the denaturing of the amino acids, check out this podcast with Sally Fallon Morell for more, 2) the removal of the fat and other nutrients needed by the body in order to utilize the protein, and 3) the myriad of suspect ingredients added to it to make most powders (of plant or animal sources) drinkable and palpable. All of these add a burden on the kidneys to process the abnormal amount of (denatured/concentrated) protein. Anyone who has overdone it at Crossfit and had rhabdomyolysis knows the pain of too much protein being filtered by the kidneys. Yes, we all need protein, but we don’t need denatured proteins removed from the packaging of nature.

#8 Multivitamins – Multivitamins are, in my opinion, another mostly wasteful product. The idea is noble (cover your bases and back-fill nutrient depletions), but the logic behind it is probably as hubristic as bio-identical hormones--take molecules out of nature's packaging, squish them into a pill and call it "healthy." Most multivitamins, if taken on an empty stomach, will induce nausea, a sure sign that the body is rejecting what is purported to be “food.” The reality of the supplement industry is that is it almost exclusively a product of Pharma.* Most supplements are pieced together with questionable ingredient/fillers, and average about two-years on a shelf before they get to you. For more on this puzzle see my interview about the supplement industry as a whole. It may save you a LOT of money in the future.   

#9 Single-nutrient supplements – This may be worse than multi-vitamins. Single nutrient supplements are the drug model applied to nutrition. Nature never packages one nutrient by itself. ALL nutrients need other nutrients (called co-factors) in order to be usable by the body. Example: You can mega dose on Vitamin D (or D₃K₂) and do virtually nothing to move the needle on your vitamin D levels if you don’t have enough vitamin A, K, and several different minerals. Once you step back and look at the interplay of how all the nutrients need each other for the body to function well, it’s hilarious to think we could manage that level of complexity with a "nutrient whac-a-mole" approach to health. Supplements have a place, but (perhaps with rare exception) I don't think single-nutrient supplements are necessary. As for the Elliots, we get bee pollen granules from a local beekeeper, and a mineral-rich sea salt instead.  

#10 Settling for crappy care – Your Doctor Has 15 Minutes. Here’s How to Make Each 1 Count. The Average Wait for a Doctor's Appointment is 31 Days. It's headlines like those that show how depersonalized and bureaucratic "healthcare" has become. Why are we putting up with this crappy model of health? Why do we revere the allopathic system as the authority when it is so dehumanizing? Furthermore, who hasn’t heard “Good news, your lab tests came back normal”? Womp womp. That means "we have no idea what’s causing your symptoms...but you can try this med, or that one, if you like." The Average American goes to the doctor 280-300 times, almost all in later adulthood. What’s the definition of insanity? If doctor visits led to better health, we wouldn't need so many visits. There is a better way. You don’t need another doctor, you need a new mindset and a new approach. Stop accepting crappy care. Cut the cord. Opt out. Learn how to heal. You’ll be glad you did...and you'll get back so many wasted hours sitting in a waiting room making yourself anxious.

#11 Accepting “throwaway diagnoses” – What’s a throwaway diagnosis? It’s either a translation of your symptoms from English into Greek or Latin—arthritis, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, etc., OR it's one of the“fun” newer trends in medicine--use the word “Syndrome” after an undefined term or a word salad. Note, the “S” ending is usually the giveaway. Examples include PANS, PANDAS, POTS, CFS, etc. etc. ad nauseam. Think about it...what does, Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) tell you? Nothing. If you want to see a shockingly long this of this allopathic sleight of hand, click here and get back to me when you finish scrolling…or when you finally see the magic trick for what it is. “Syndromes” are clusters of symptoms that could be from a wide range of sources, and each syndrome overlaps with many other syndromes. Fun. THAT friends, is a throwaway diagnosis. It's a way to sound insightful without saying ANYTHING about why someone is sick. "Whew, at least now we know what my problem is." No you don’t. All they gave you was a label, e.g. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) not an actionable insight, but what they can do with a label is get you on the potion/intervention conveyor belt.

Think of it this way. Throwaway diagnoses are the labeling equivalent of saying a sport franchise has “Under-Performance Syndrome.” We’d never accept that explanation as a franchise owner (have all your athletes take this pill), but we readily accept it as a health diagnosis. Why? Throwaway diagnosis are an admission of ignorance, blather, misdirection, obfuscation, and abstraction to tend to keep you chasing symptoms…and coming back for more visits and more tests. If you get a throwaway diagnosis, politely thank him or her for that perspective, leave the office, and go find someone who can help. You'll know they may be able help if they ask about your gut health, toxic exposure (root canals, implants, meds, etc), nutrition and hydration, stress levels, exercise habits, hope, and sense of community...and that's the short list to start with. For a refreshingly simplify explanation for why we get sick, watch this short presentation, and you'll see right through all the labeling nonsense.  

#12 Referrals to Partialists – "Partialist" is my made-up word for “specialist.” More of them seem to be popping up, probably because there is such a long list of "syndromes" for them to partialize in, I mean specialize in. To be fair, if we’re talking about an orthopedic or a plastic surgeon who is excellent at repairing a torn ACL, or a cleft palate, I’m all for partialists. Other than that, stay away! Partialists (mostly in the allopathic world) intentionally ignore context and pretend the part of the body they studied (or a "syndrome" they partialize in) is the most (or only) important thing to focus on. Such partialists are usually the LEAST LIKELY type of practitioners to be helpful. You don’t need to climb the (expensive) partialist escalation ladder to get well. Get off the ladder and find a master generalist who studied health and healing (and even better has LIVED health and healing). All the allopathic system teaches their doctors is to identify diseases (ahem, syndromes) and then suppress symptoms. That's an important difference to understand when you're looking for help. A generalist sees with range and looks for synergy, a partialist is stuck in the mindset of reductionism.

#13 Fear-based marketing – Ah, the oldest trick in the book. This is more of a design feature than a fad to skip, but this "fad" never goes out of vogue, and culturally we're still working to overcome covid PTSD and the manufactured fear that came with it. To be fair, the allopathic and natural/functional worlds are both guilty of this, but the allopathic model takes the cake. Their use of fear, along with abstraction (i.e. big words that make you feel like you need an "expert") are the twin marketing angles that keep people in mental/emotional straitjackets. When we are afraid, we are highly open to suggestion, even when the suggestions (poison, cut, burn) don’t have logic or common sense to recommend them. If you're having an anxious moment when talking to a health professional, pause, take a deep breath, and give yourself space to think. If you can, walk away from the appointment and get some outside perspective. You won't make any good decisions when you're afraid. Once you see the subtle use of fear for what it is, you can’t help but 1) feel empathy for those who are stuck in that predictable loop, and 2) be grossed out that it's a design feature of the system and ponder what it would take to opt out.

ABOUT THAT ASTERISK

*At the end of the day, GLP-1, as with several items on this list, (including most tests and supplements), are “Brought to you by, Pharma.” Pharma, in the case of GLP-1, is Novo Nordisk. Like all pharmaceutical companies, Novo Nordisk is a convicted serial felon—13 convictions since the year 2000. That’s nowhere near as egregious as Pfizer’s 108 convictions, or Merck’s 132 convictions, but 13 is not nothing!

Ponder this, would you go back to an abusive lover who has 13 criminal convictions and promises that this time they won’t betray you?

I ask again, what is the definition of insanity?

This brings up an important philosophical question: Do we want to trust something as precious as our health to the promises of convicted, remorseless criminals?

It’s worth asking that a different way: What is your tolerance level for doing business with serial, unrepentant, felons? Only you can answer that.

Long ago, Pharma tipped their hand. They aren't going to change their business model. What’s is important to them is profit (or dare I say slow poisoning for profit). If we’re honestly analyzing the facts, your health isn’t even a distant second priority.

Looking to Pharma for health is, in my opinion, Stockholm Syndrome.

Friends, you deserve better, and there is a better way.

What if...

1. You took on the mindset of a student learning to exist outside the fear cartel.

2. I could teach you what should have the curriculum in high school health class.

3. You went through the intuition-building learning curve of owning your health.

You can do those three things. It may take you 6-12 months to feel like you’re on solid ground, but it would mean, short of a catastrophic accident, you’d calmly disentangle and decline any interaction with the system ever again.

Ah...to be free. THAT feeling is priceless.

It that interests you, we should chat.

Hope you found this list helpful,

Christian

PS. You can find my podcast anywhere you listen.

PPS. If you want to see an overview of how I work, check this out.