This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil - I’ve Got Beef With The Health & Wellness Industry | Unfiltered & Unhinged

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

The health and wellness industry loves to tell women they’re broken — and then sell them the fix. In this unfiltered and slightly unhinged solo episode, Nicole Kalil calls out wellness culture for what it too often is: rebranded diet culture, influencer-led misinformation, and shame dressed up as self-care. From green juice guilt to inflammation fear-mongering to TikTok experts blaming women for their own illnesses, Nicole takes aim at an industry that claims to prioritize longevity and quality of life — while obsessing over looking younger, smaller, and more “acceptable.” She shares her own expensive experiments with wellness trends, what actually helped, what didn’t, and why one-size-fits-all solutions are a massive red flag. This episode is a permission slip to trust your body, question the algorithm, and stop outsourcing your health decisions to people with discount codes and zero accountability. Because real wellness isn’t about perfection — it’s about agency, discernment, and self-trust. Thank you to our sponsors! Sex is a skill. Beducated is where you learn it. Visit https://beducate.me/bg2602-womanswork and use code womanswork for 50% off the annual pass. Connect with Nicole: Subscribe to Nicole’s Substack: https://nicolekalil.substack.com/  Join the Inner Circle: https://nicolekalil.myflodesk.com/newsletter  Related Podcast Episode: Yell for Help | Unfiltered & Unhinged Ask the Damn Question | Unfiltered & Unhinged Share the Love: If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Amex Platinum, $400 in annual credits for travel and dining means you not only satisfy your travel bug, but your taste buds too. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply. I am Nicole Khalil and you're listening to the This Is Woman's Work podcast, the unfiltered and unhinged edition, short episodes, big truths, absolutely zero perfection. Listen, I have beef with the health and wellness industry. And before anyone tries to come at me with their green juice and a pitch for their gut healing protocol, let me just say, I know this might sound judgmental. And that's because it is. In my highly opinionated view, a whole lot of what gets labeled health or wellness these days is neither.

We are told not to trust doctors because they're rushed, incentivized, and not always trained to see or hear us, especially when it comes to women's health, which is totally. valid and true and totally frustrating. But then what? We're expected to place our trust in influencers with zero medical training, no board exams, and absolutely no liability. Yeah, that doesn't work for me either because so much of the wellness world just feels like rebranded diet industry to me, a prettier, more palatable way to say, make sure you look good. Just slap wellness on it and suddenly it's virtuous instead of vain. And can we talk about how fast the winds change?

Today, it's never eat tomatoes or fill in whatever fruit has too much sugar or causes too much inflammation. Tomorrow, that very same fruit will be nature's miracle food. And they can find science, and I put that in air quotes, and passionate testimonials to back up literally any position. But if wellness is supposed to be about quality of life and longevity, and I'd argue that's exactly what it's supposed to be about. Why is it so obsessed with glowing skin, reducing belly fat, and feeling but really looking younger?

Smaller, tighter, smoother. I mean, for an industry that hates plastic, I'm kind of amazed how many people in it look, well, kind of plastic. I warned you, right? Super judgmental. Listen, I have tried my fair share of wellness trends. I have fallen for the gimmicks. I've ordered all the supplements. I've eliminated and over-rotated. I've done the tests. I've worked with one of the top clinics in the country where I spent well over $10,000 because apparently being healthy also requires being wealthy. Yes, I need to acknowledge that I am privileged to actually be healthy. But also, most of those trends didn't make a noticeable difference for me. And I wasn't about to lie to myself or anyone else just to make it feel like I was doing it right. And to be fair, and to allow for a few moments of maturity here, there are things that have helped, things that

truly boosted my energy or just made me feel better in my body, things that have and are contributing to my long-term health. But what works for one of us doesn't work for all of us. And the moment somebody tries to sell you a one-size-fits-all solution, you have my permission to roll your eyes so hard they burn calories. And please, please don't let someone with a TikTok account and a protein powder discount code convince you that your very real illness is your fault. That if you just ate cleaner, you wouldn't be sick. That your cancer is because of the inflammation caused by those damn tomatoes. Sure, food can support your health. Nutrition does absolutely help. But simplifying complex conditions into single cause issues, that's not just misguided. It's dangerous. So why am I

telling you all this? Well, because I have beef, grass-fed, sustainably sourced, organic, pasturized beef, of course, but still beef. Because I've been feeling a little ragy these last few weeks, and it's probably all of that inflammation. But mostly because I believe this deeply. You are your own best guide. Your body knows, not the algorithm, not the influencer, not that magic supplement. So if your body tells you a trend is working for you,

awesome. Do it, like all day long. But don't try something without checking in with yourself first. And don't stick with something that isn't working. just because someone online said it passionately and has an expensive solution to sell you. You know what's right for you. Your body already knows.

So trust it because trusting yourself is always woman's work. And if you're looking for more of this kind of ragey, unfiltered, slightly unhinged rant, make sure you subscribe to the This Is Woman's Work podcast. And if you prefer reading your crazy, you'll find the link in notes to my. my substack where all of my best and worst ideas live. Now, go be in charge of your own health. There's no discount code required.