Todd Sampson is renowned for his brutally honest and in-depth research on timely topics, but the latest installment of his Mirror Mirror The series is an eye-opening look at the wellness industry and the damage that can be done when we don’t have the correct information.
Mirror Mirror: are you well — which will premiere on Wednesday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m. on the 10th and 10Play – looks at the $5,000,000,000,000 business and asks the question: “But is this actually doing us any good or is it just losing us money?” »
Speaking on Media Week And Chattr’s The Entertainment Hotline Podcast Before the launch, Sampson admitted that while he’s “not saying everyone is spreading misinformation, it’s important that there is either regulation or healthy skepticism and that we don’t take everything for what it is, because that can kill you.”
“It’s not just about having crystals on your forehead,” he said. “It’s bees that sting you in the body. It involves taking psychedelics without supervision.
While scary and mind-boggling if the thought of doing these things had never crossed your mind, his research also shows that some people feel like the conventional healthcare system is failing them and that’s why they turn towards alternative medicine – but that’s where some of the problem lies.
“It’s anti-Western medicine, conspiratorial thinking and disinformation, and it hasn’t gone away,” he said. “With the end of COVID, the sector has prospered. And a lot of that is due to being online. »
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Internet doctors and their unhealthy influence on the general public
The 53-year-old also made his concern very clear about “internet doctors” like Joe Rogan And Gwyneth Paltrow — the latter, who, in the new documentary, refused to see it.
While some critics accused Sampson of simply not liking Paltrow, he said, “I don’t know her. Either Gwyneth Paltrow is a somewhat loving, kind and naive person who does everything to help others and that is her only goal in life, or she is a smart and somewhat ruthless capitalist who has washed her hands of the results . Maybe it’s somewhere in between, but I want to believe she’s on that side.
According to Sampson, the biggest problem is that people like Paltrow, Rogan and even Kim Kardashian have more influence than the World Health Organization (WHO). While WHO has 10 million followers on social media, Kardashian has over 300 million – and that’s AFTER a global pandemic.
“When you look at it, you shouldn’t spray the vagina. We should not do radical detoxification,” he said. “Doctors around the world who have smaller voices are saying, ‘No, no, no, please.’ No.’ And yet, millions and millions of people follow. »
Speaking of detoxification, Sampson calls it “dangerous.”
“It’s a marketing construct. This is in many cases – not at all because some people need to detox from serious drug addiction through medical detox – but the marketing version of detox that is sold to the majority of us is very, very, very , very risky and in many cases. In some cases, it’s just a slightly rebranded diet culture.
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Todd Sampson explains why it’s important to actively participate in research
Sampson, whose popular series Body hacking (among his many other fascinating documentaries), saw him get shot, deal with a debilitating fear of heights by way of a helium balloon flight, and immerse himself in Gaza for three weeks before the current conflict (“It’s sad to think that what we filmed and what we captured was the precursor to what’s happening today,” he said), does not hesitate to actively participate in his research.
However, with all the facts and figures he presents, he has one caveat regarding the new season of Mirror Mirror.
“I am not against alternative treatments. I’d be an incredible hypocrite because I’ve tried them all… I’m completely off about alternative treatments, but I’m more off about science and the only way for scientists to move forward is to try things.
He later continued: “I believe on some level – and I know it’s not true for everything – but the best way to understand something is from the inside out. I think it’s better to comment on it by showing it and doing it…I just feel like when it happens to me, I now have the right to say something. Walking in their shoes, even if just for five minutes, ten minutes or half an hour, I think it’s worth it.
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Todd Sampson explains how to eliminate misinformation
When asked how, in the age of technology and with so much information, we can determine what is right and wrong, he replied: “Truth has become a fuzzy concept. And it’s scary. So, I think one thing is to find sources, reliable sources that you trust, and then multiple angles of sources.
“Even the best scientists in the world are often wrong. So I’m thinking about finding multiple voices on a qualified topic in the area you’re discussing and taking multiple opinions from people who actually know the topic.
“The danger we run today is that we have a whole bunch of people who know it at a superficial level, who are better articulators than holders of knowledge, and these people are listened to. Several specialist sources are therefore a good idea.
Listen to the full chat with Todd Sampson on the Entertainment Hotline podcast here.
Mirror Mirror: Are you okay? premieres Wednesday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m. on 10 and 10 Play.
