Make Me Well

An eye-opening first-person exploration of the wellness industrial complex, a multi-trillion-dollar empire that thrives by blurring the lines between being healthy with being well—from an acclaimed BBC broadcaster and Oxford-trained physician who’s here to sort the reality from the sales pitch.

What’s the difference between a supplement and a drug? How does marketing influence our medical choices? How do we decide who to trust? And what does this all mean for healthcare policy?

There has never been a more confusing time to take care of ourselves. With an open mind but a healthy dose of skepticism, Dr. Xand van Tulleken dives deep into the world of wellness—from supplements and herbalism to wearable tech, full-body MRIs in search of a disease, and the burgeoning pursuit of personalization and longevity.

In an investigation that combines history, science, and first-person reporting, Dr. Xand takes us on a global journey to understand the evolution of a new kind of “snake oil.” From Utah, the U.S. hub of supplement production, to China, the ground zero of collagen industrialization, to Spain at the world’s largest gathering of Nutraceutical manufacturers, Dr. Xand brings his distinctive and personable voice along with a genuine sense of inquiry to examine how the “wellness” industry positioned itself to rival conventional medicine—and what it all means for our health.

Both gripping reportage and a practical guide for twenty-first-century living, Make Me Well empowers readers to separate evidence from illusion and offers simple, humane rules for true wellness.