Hi there! I’m Sara O’Brien, a reporter at The Wall Street Journal covering the intersection of culture, health and wellness. Starting today, I’ll be driving our WSJ Wellness newsletter.

Wellness has become a $6.8 trillion global industry as people have come to see the effects their habits have on their health. Now, practically everyone has something to sell to improve your sleep, make your skin glow, change your physique or increase your longevity. Some of it is backed by science; a lot of it is not. Every Friday, I’ll take you inside the latest trends—think: peptides, beta blockers, $2,500 body scans—to help you understand where they came from, who’s profiting and whether they’re worth your money. Then, you can decide for yourself how you want to proceed.

From food dyes to raw milk to peptides, covering wellness and culture has been my focus since I joined the Journal in the fall of 2022: My first story looked at a little-known drug called Ozempic being injected by coastal elites to shed weight. This week, I covered a dark side of GLP-1 usage: people seeking treatment for anorexia and atypical anorexia after taking the medications. 

Wellness trends, the good and the bad, are driven by a collective desire for agency over the unpredictable and to live healthfully in an era where that feels increasingly difficult. Concerns about air quality are rising. Microplastics are accumulating in our bodies, and there’s growing evidence that they may be harmful to us. Plus, of course, people are freaking out about their produce. 

As cases of cyclosporiasis—the food-borne illness you may know as the “explosive diarrhea parasite”—continue to rise in the U.S., there’s all sorts of confusion about what consumers can and should do to protect themselves. That’s in part because of mixed messaging from health officials: As my colleagues reported this week, the FDA walked back an earlier statement about a lettuce sample from Taylor Farms testing positive for cyclospora. A voluntary recall remains in place, and the CDC is telling people to avoid eating recalled lettuce from the company. Other outbreaks are being investigated.

As people search for ways to keep themselves healthy, alternative medicine doctors are promoting unproven “parasite detoxes” and gut health regimens. People are turning to social media for tips on “parasite-free” grocery hauls and “cyclospora-free dinners.” 

It’s all in some ways a microcosm of how wellness trends emerge. Health authorities announce a real threat and issue guidance backed by science but there remain open questions. Skeptical consumers seek answers from social media, which runs the gamut from straightforward advice to conspiracy theories. And suddenly people are eating dates by the handful to help the body fight parasites (they can’t). For those seeking help in the produce aisle, we have a guide for that. 

Read on for top stories of the week—from the Journal and elsewhere. And, please reach out to me about what wellness trends you’re hearing about or considering trying, and what you’d like to see each week in this newsletter. You can contact me at sara.obrien@wsj.com. If you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply!

The WSJ Wellness newsletter takes you inside the business and culture of wellness—and how it affects you. If you’re not subscribed, sign up here.

• The new fro-yo craze is being driven by gut health and social media FOMO. Probiotic frozen yogurts, which contain healthy fats and more protein than other versions, align with the types of high-protein diets that have taken off with the boom in GLP-1 weight-loss medications.

• Has the algorithm told you your nervous system is ‘dysregulated’? While there’s no official DSM diagnosis for the condition known as nervous system dysregulation, it’s become a booming part of the wellness industry.

• Five cups of coffee a day is fine for most adults, according to the American Heart Association. And it’s actually linked to a lower risk of heart disease, heart failure, stroke and Type 2 diabetes, the association says.

• Fake Influencers Are Selling Wellness in Your Feed (New York Times)

• Teens With ADHD Improvise Complex Pill ‘Stacks’ to Take With Their Adderall (Bloomberg)

• 27-Year-Old Woman Died in New York After NAD+ Injection From Unlicensed Doctor (New York Post)

Millennials are officially old, and they’re cracking jokes about their imminent midlife crises all over social media. Self-help author Mark Manson made a list of “adult coping mechanisms” for people in their 30s. At the top of it: peptides. Seven of the unapproved drugs were the subject of an FDA committee hearing this week, as the agency evaluates whether to make them available through compounding pharmacies in the future.

I’m Sara O’Brien, a reporter covering the intersection of culture, health and wellness. Each week, I’ll take you inside the latest health trends to help you understand where they came from, who’s profiting and whether they’re worth your money. Send me feedback or questions at sara.obrien@wsj.com (if you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply). Got a tip for us? Here’s how to submit.