How to Be Well: Navigating The Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time

The Not Old Better Show, Prevention Magazine Healthy Living Interview Series

💸 Wellness is now a trillion-dollar industry… but is it making us well or just broke and tired? 🎧👇
👉Amy Lorocca

Welcome to The Not Old – Better Show, Prevention Magazine Healthy living series on Radio and Podcast, I’m Paul Vogelzang, and today we’re talking about wellness—that slippery word that promises everything from glowing skin to eternal youth, if only you drink the right mushroom powder or track your REM cycles with a $400 ring.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why do I keep buying turmeric lattes and collagen gummies when I already know sleep and walking are free?”—this episode is for you

Our guest today is Amy Larocca, longtime journalist, fashion editor, and author of the sharp, smart, and very funny new book How to Be Well: Navigating The Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time.

Amy brings the receipts—and I mean that literally. She’s tried the detoxes, worn the trackers, counted the steps, journaled her gratitude, and still ended up asking the same question so many of us have asked in front of a glowing ring light mirror: Is all this wellness making us any healthier—or just a little more nuts?

With her signature mix of humor, honesty, and razor-sharp cultural commentary, Amy pulls back the curtain on a $3.7 trillion industry built largely on insecurity, social media, and some very expensive essential oils. And while the book focuses mostly on women—who bear the brunt of these trends—there’s plenty here for anyone who’s ever tried to buy their way to better health and found themselves just… exhausted.

This is a conversation about what it really means to take care of ourselves, especially as we age—and how to stop chasing wellness fads that overpromise and underdeliver. Spoiler alert: it might involve less detoxing, more sleeping, and a healthy dose of skepticism.

So grab your green juice—or your black coffee—and stick around. You won’t want to miss this.

Here’s my interview with Amy Larocca.

💊 Charcoal toothpaste. Cold plunges. Mushroom coffee.
The wellness world is wild, expensive—and everywhere.

🧠 Journalist Amy Larocca tried it all in her new book, How to Be Well: Navigating The Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time.

 Amy Larocca