What is woo?

My woo philosophy, stories you've shared, and why I can't stop touching my hair.

It seems I've struck a nerve! I’ve been receiving countless stories from readers who resonate with the concept of "A Little Woo," (and we’re almost 5000 reads strong in our first month!!). There's the cancer patient crafting her own recurrence prevention plan alongside standard treatments. The woman with a chronic illness who had to become her own diagnostic detective. The many people jumping through administrative hoops while no one seems to be holding the ball.

What's most fascinating though, is how this concept resonates with people who would never consider themselves "woo" – the entrepreneur wanting statins earlier than guidelines suggest, the 38-year-old requesting mammograms outside recommended schedules, the woman freezing eggs despite being told "it's too early to worry."

"Woo" once conjured images of crystals and tarot cards. Then it morphed into meaning “clean," or alternative, critical of standard medical advice. But now it’s starting to mean "I'm my own quarterback" – it’s the action you take that makes you feel a little crazy, like you are breaking the rules, when really you’re taking your health into your own hands when no one is taking you seriously. It's the new language of patient engagement in a system that wasn't built for it.

I thought I’d use this week’s newsletter to pause on my thyroid story and share a little bit about what “a little woo” looks like in my life and where I draw my own lines. For me, it’s not about rejecting science or embracing pseudoscience—it's about recognizing that healthcare exists on a spectrum where personal experience, emerging research, and established medical understanding all have their place.

What “a little woo” looks like for me:

• Healthcare team: My functional medicine doctor and acupuncturist get consulted more than my PCP, but I still adhere to annual recommendations and screenings. I deeply value the role of standard healthcare in addressing acute concerns and episodes, but believe a complete healthcare team must include practitioners who focus on the root cause. I believe antibiotics are one of science’s greatest contributions to public health, but also that they should be used sparingly. My kids are fully vaccinated, but I spaced some of them out, and we don’t always get the flu shot.

• Food philosophy: I minimize gluten and processed sugar at home, and I buy organic produce, pasture-raised eggs, and grass-fed beef, but when I eat out, I want to eat whatever’s known to be the “best thing on the menu.” My food choices flex between health optimization and life enjoyment depending on context, and I’m wary of what food rigidity and diet culture can do to our mental health and sense of selves.

• Beauty standards: I use mineral toothpaste and “clean” skincare and makeup brands to avoid chemicals linked to hormone disruption, but I have also tried botox in my forehead and I highlight my hair. My risk calculations aren't about “natural” versus synthetic—they're about specific benefits versus specific risks, and thinking about cumulative choices through time.

• Supplement shelf: My supplements occupy an entire kitchen shelf, despite a doctor once telling me they're "expensive pee." I research each addition carefully, understanding that quality and sourcing matter. I buy the concept that we live in a more toxic and depleted world that our grandparents did —things like industrialized soil leading to increased magnesium deficiencies —making it more difficult for us to get everything we need from our food than it was for them. I also can’t ignore emerging gut-brain research and how an obsession with killing all bacteria and sanitizing our environments has hurt our immune systems.

• Spiritual curiosity: I once met with a psychic and found value in the reflection it prompted, and I’ve seen the power of breathwork and reiki to unblock things regular talk therapy fails at, but I draw the line at planning my life around Mercury retrograde. I'm open to experiences that bring insight and clarity without surrendering my critical thinking.

• Parenting choices: I breastfed my babies until it made sense for our family, then added in formula without guilt. When my babies cry, I differentiate between panicking and protesting, and I’m ok with letting some protesting happen. I’m fine with some screen time for my kids, but I cherry pick low stimulation shows so they don’t turn into screamy monsters afterwards. Modern parenting doesn't need to be all-or-nothing; and moderation usually beats rigid rules. We're all just out here trying to survive (!!).

What's clear to me is this: there is a pattern of dismissing emerging concerns or therapeutics before research catches up to confirm them. Think about how my dermatologist laughed at me when I brought up the connection between diet and acne, or how we're only now understanding the microbiome's profound impact on health. There is also a tendency to frame our choices between polarized camps. This doesn't mean we should treat every tiktok claim as gospel, but it does mean we should be creating space for informed questioning. The key is developing your own framework for evaluating these claims—plausibility, weighing benefits against risks, and considering the quality of available evidence, however limited. Then you can decide which battles are worth fighting in your personal health choices. Because in the end, we're all making tradeoffs—the goal isn't perfection but thoughtful choices that align with your values and priorities.

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Highlights of the week

Clean water: Years ago, I invested in the Big Berkey to filter my drinking water after learning what’s really in our tap water and, aside from the potential benefits of reducing those things, it really does taste better! Also when I clean it, I wipe literal brown sludge off the filtering elements, so there’s that. But this weekend, I added to my clean water repertoire by installing a Canopy shower filter and now I can’t stop touching my hair?? Recommend.

Outrage burnout: Anyone else burned out on outrage? Our own, other peoples; there are just so many things to be mad about these days, but I think the worst part is how unproductive the outrage really is, mostly serving to drive us farther apart (and burn us out!). In all facets of my life, much like this newsletter, I am craving conversations that focus more on building bridges and on middle grounds. The real work is figuring out how to bring us together.

Song of the week: I didn’t plan on songs being a regular part of the share, but I’m finding the positive reinforcement kind of healing after feeling like I never knew the cool music in high school, so here’s this week’s pick! No Words by Big Wild.

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This post had a bit of a different flavor than the others—shifting from my medical journey and self advocacy, to more of my personal health and wellness philosophy. Tell me what you want to hear more about!

I'd also love to hear where you draw your own lines. Where do you venture off the beaten path, and how do you know when you’ve gone too far? Have you found yourself becoming more or less "woo" over time?

Next week, I'll return to my thyroid journey and share my experience traveling to Germany for a medical procedure that doesn’t yet have American research to back it up.