Infowars and Goop sell the same exact pseudoscientific "wellness" products

You're underestimating how many people live in food deserts and basically don't have access to fresh food. That might seem like a nitpick against a larger argument, but I think it serves as a good example for why you need to take a close look at the environment that these people exist in as a whole, and that it likely goes beyond their innate habits or those of just their immediate family in childhood.

True, but that doesn't mean we should spend 100x on a highly processed freeze-dried version that had been sitting on a warehouse shelf for 3 years.

People understand they have a problem and don’t know what to do.

They prioritize things they think will help, to the exclusion of generally healthy and good things (veggies, etc).

I think it’s human nature, although I’m sure good parenting helps.

Although I know some really smart people who spend $100/month in athletic greens and other well advertised snake oil. Pretty much all OTC supplements are bogus or have little effect. Yet smart people buy them. Hoping.

> that formal treatment and healthcare for the underlying condition targeted by the "wellness" product is prohibitively expensive for American customers

This just isn't true. The vast majority of Americans are either covered by pretty decent employer-subsidized healthcare plans OR are poor enough to receive all of their medical care for free.

These companies thrive because many people have a (reasonable) distrust of big pharma.

I agree that single payer healthcare would pry be more efficient, but other than allowing pharma companies to advertise, our system really isn't that bad. We lead in almost every area of medical research, the standard of care is quite high, wait times are low and we have some of the best outcomes in the world.

Huberman is almost as bad which is funny to me because he's regarded as an authority.

Worst is the completely useless powder called Athletic Greens that he pushes left and right.

There must _really_ be big bucks in supplements and lifestyle products like this, as it's coming just as much from very learned Harvard PhD's as Alex Jones.

Currently it's bro science connected to life extension, cold baths, red and blue light gadgets etc. and before that Paleo after an endless chain of products going back to the end of the 19'th century where the bourgeoisie were electrocuting themselves, poisoning themselves or lying in various useless massage machinery.