Health-maxxing: The risks to optimizing health to extremes

Speaker 1: And I want to let you in on a little secret. As you may have seen on the --

Jessi Turnure:
Every day, millions of Americans turn to their phone for health advice. Pat Boury is no stranger to the temptations of an easy fix.

Pat Boury:
Those rabbit holes will suck you in.

Jessi Turnure:
From diets to supplements to plunges, promising fast results.

[Text on screen: Pat Boury
Lifestyle medicine patient]

Pat Boury:
I do not lean into an influencer telling me that they have a nice tip or a quick fix. Now, that's taken a while to kind of learn.

Jessi Turnure:
Boury largely credits the lifestyle medicine program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

[Text on screen: Alison MacKinlay, MD
Family and Lifestyle Medicine Physician
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center]

Alison MacKinlay, MD:
We're focusing on different aspects of nutrition, physical activity, stress management, improved sleep and social connection.

Jessi Turnure:
Dr. Alison MacKinlay sees patients ages 18 to 80 in her clinic and says most ask about these health fads from social media. She gives patients three tips.

[Text on screen: Avoid extremes]

Jessi Turnure:
The first, avoid extremes like elimination diets.

Alison MacKinlay, MD:
They run the risk of definitely nutrient deficiencies or anxiety around food.

[Text on screen: Don't supplement stack]

Jessi Turnure:
Second, do not supplement stack, often seen with B and D vitamins, before asking your doctor.

Alison MacKinlay, MD:
Taking excessive amounts without monitoring can be dangerous.

[Text on screen: Avoid excessive monitoring]

Jessi Turnure:
And third, avoid excessive monitoring, like using a continuous glucose monitor when you don't have diabetes or insulin resistance.

Alison MacKinlay, MD:
I have had patients stop eating fruits and different whole grain carbs because they're afraid of those elevated readings.

Jessi Turnure:
Boury adopted this balanced approach and lost 45 pounds.

Pat Boury:
It's a lifestyle now.

Jessi Turnure:
At The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, I'm Jessi Turnure.