To sort the wellness industry's fact from fiction, Jenny Valentish turned herself into a human guinea pig.

Amidst the ice baths and wearable tech, the self-proclaimed experts and talk of synergies and vagus nerves, there's a line to be drawn between wellness pseudoscience and stuff that can actually have a positive impact on your life.

"We decided we would be human lab rats and put these things to the tests," she said..

Think peptides, conscious breathwork, nature nudism, ecstatic dance, or even lightwork, "where people believe that they're an intergalactic being who's come down to heal you".

The list goes on.

Having so far explored a range of wellness practices for the Spirit Levels podcast she and her partner co-produce, Valentish has come to believe the world of wellness is populated by two kinds of people.

"There are those who "have turned themselves into personal brands [who are] obsessed with self-optimisation, podcasts about biohacking and trying to get many steps ahead of everyone else".

But there are also those who are searching for meaning, and who have genuine anxieties about their lives and how to improve them, or who are "desperately trying to reconnect with themselves".

This is the group of people who could be drawn to a wellness practice like a 10-day silent retreat or a "vision quest, where you go out into the wilderness, and basically fast for four days on your own with the elements", Valentish says.

So how do you navigate the complicated wellness terrain, and work out which practices will actually do you any good?

From squeamish to feeling more alive:

Valentish says in exploring different wellness ideas, she's learnt that benefits aren't just in doing something — a tantric sex workshop or cuddle therapy, for example — but also in talking about it afterwards and considering "how do I apply that to my day-to-day life?"

It's for this reason that she says trying things out with another person can be useful.

"If you do these things together, you can really integrate your experiences, which is what people who do psychedelic trips talk about all the time … So it's easier with a partner."

To be clear, neither Valentish or her partner are scientists.

"I'm being a human guinea pig," Valentish says.

She's not recommending one practice over another; rather, she's picking the elements apart for others to make their own decisions about.

And while some, like cuddle therapy, have made her squirm at just the thought (despite Frank being moved by it), others — like ice baths (Above right) — she's sticking with.

"It gives you a high … You just feel so much more alive. Even a cold shower is a really good start to the day."

'Insidious' trillion-dollar industry:

"Wellness is a broad church," says Kate Seers, a psychology researcher at Charles Sturt University.

It's a wealthy one, too.

The industry — covering any kind of product, service or regime that assists you to become the so-called best, healthiest version of yourself — was estimated globally in 2022 to be worth about $US5.6 trillion ($AU8.5 trillion).

"It's projected to be worth $8.5 trillion in 2027," says Ms Seers, who has a special interest in what's driving the wellness craze, particularly for women.

Just as Valentish learned, Ms Seers says people come to wellness — which includes self-care practices, fitness regimes, diet plans, alternative medicines, vitamins, positive thinking and mindfulness — for different reasons.

That includes pursuing health and healthy living, but also those who seek to co-opt health practices "at the expense of people's wellbeing".

Ms Seers argues that the wellness industry can be "a little bit insidious".

"I think it preys on people's vulnerabilities and the idea that they're not good enough; that they don't have the right body, they don't have the right mindset. And it can increase people's feelings of shame and anxiety and depression," she says.

"For women, it sells this idealised version of what it means to be a woman. And it's quite unattainable.

"And then wellness says, 'Well, you've got to try harder, eat cleaner, do more yoga, be more mindful, change your thinking' and that will help you achieve your goals."

But her biggest concern about the wellness industry is that it's unregulated.

"For people who are looking for a wellness program or a product, it's not clear whether they're getting advice or a product from an expert in that area or … from some charlatan who's hoping to make some money.

"You [can] end up purchasing something that doesn't work or something that could actually cause more harm."

For example, when Kim and Khloe Kardashian promoted "flat tummy tea", Ms Seers said it caused stomach cramps and abdominal pain for some people "because it was essentially a laxative".

Medical community's role managing risk:

There's another kind of person in the world of wellness, Ms Seers says: Women dismissed by mainstream medicine.

She argues the medical community has "neglected women's health concerns".

The National Women's Health Strategy showed that one in three women have felt dismissed, disrespected or unheard by their health practitioners.

"When women aren't feeling heard or are being told that their pain is normal, or that they just have to lose weight or it's all in their head — when they're being told that by the medical community, they're not feeling supported. So they turn to wellness.

"And I think wellness then takes advantage of those vulnerabilities and tries to sell them a range of products."

Valentish also has strong criticisms of the wellness industry: "Everyone's calling themselves an expert these days."

But she also says, from trialling different wellness practices, she's learnt skills she'll try to incorporate into her daily life.

That includes asking questions like "Can I … rely on technology less?", and focusing on human connection, or on "bringing out … serotonin naturally".

"I'm interested in the tension between something that sounds a bit unlikely [and] a yearning … to have the whole gamut of human experiences."

Original Story By | Anna Kelsey-Sugg & Bec Zajac

Editors Note | I dedicate this story to my second ex-wife - there are no words ...