The Dr. Jules Plant-Based Podcast

Habits Over Hacks: Why Health Information Deserves Depth

• Dr. Jules Cormier (MD) • Season 2 • Episode 95

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We're living in a world where depth has become a disadvantage. The infamous "TLDR" (Too Long, Didn't Read) mentality has infiltrated health communication, replacing nuanced discussion with catchy, often misleading soundbites. While scrolling through claims like "carbs are bad" and "seed oils will kill you," we've lost sight of what meaningful health information actually looks like.

This episode unpacks how social media algorithms don't just shorten content—they actively filter it, creating dangerous echo chambers that reinforce existing beliefs while hiding opposing viewpoints. The result? A risk perception gap where we obsess over minor health concerns like red light therapy while ignoring the established major killers: hypertension, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, ultra-processed foods, loneliness, and poor sleep. We're literally "stepping over dollars to pick up pennies."

The solution lies in returning to fundamentals—the six pillars of lifestyle medicine. These evidence-based approaches can reduce mortality and chronic disease risk by 20-50%, while viral health hacks barely move the needle. Real health transformation doesn't come from seven-word answers or 15-second reels—it emerges from building consistent habits around whole food plant-based nutrition, regular movement, quality sleep, stress management, social connection, and avoiding harmful substances. The next time you're tempted by a trending health hack, ask yourself: am I chasing quick fixes, or am I building habits that will actually serve my long-term health? Your wellbeing deserves more than likes and algorithms; it deserves depth, context, and critical thinking.

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Peace, love, plants!
Dr. Jules

Speaker 1:

Hey everyone, welcome to Season 2 of the Dr Jules Plant-Based Podcast, where we discuss everything from plant-based nutrition to the main pillars of lifestyle medicine. Yo, plant-based buddies, welcome back to another episode. Now. This episode is going to sound more like a rant, but I'm going to try to keep it classy and I want you to see it more as a reflection than a rant.

Speaker 1:

Now, over the last years, I've grown completely disconnected with how we share information online. It's about the way we communicate health, especially in the era of TikTok trends and 15-second reels, and I've recently learned about the infamous acronym TLDR acronym TLDR. Now, just recently, someone sent me a message that they liked my content, but it was TLDR. Now, I guess TLDR means too long, didn't read, and when I first read that, I'll admit I felt a mix of frustration and sadness and I thought are we really living in a world where depth is a disadvantage? So I wanted to unpack that in a rant or reflection, depending on how you see it and discuss and review how we share health information online. Now, the reality of today's world is that we share health information in social media soundbites with no nuance, quick tips, one-liners, top threes, top tens, viral hacks, top 3s, top 10s, viral Hacks, and I've read weird things like carbs are bad and fat is good now and seed oils will kill you. You need red light therapy and cold plunging to heal. Now here's the thing. Those statements are catchy but they lack context and, unfortunately, over 80% of people now rely on social media for their news, and that includes health and nutrition advice.

Speaker 1:

People aren't reading newspapers anymore and I remember where, about three years ago, I posted weekly blogs full scientific articles that I had spent 10 hours, probably per episode, researching and reviewing and writing and editing. I posted 60 consecutive weeks For at the end of my first year, getting a message that says I really like your blog but I don't have time to read them. Could you please create a podcast? And that was the birth of me starting this podcast, which is probably at the time of recording somewhere in between 80 or 90th episode, in between 80 or 90th episode. Now, if people aren't reading blogs, then I needed to adapt, but I really refused to adapt to the five-second soundbite. Now, time will tell if ever I'll succumb to the pressures, but even podcasts are under pressure to get shorter. Here's my problem with that. You can't shrink real life into a 7 word slogan. Real life doesn't fit into a reel or into a blog. Real people don't thrive on hacks. They thrive on habits. Habits require nuance and context.

Speaker 1:

The problem with the internet is that it creates echo chambers. Social media doesn't just shorten content, it actually filters it. The more that you engage with certain ideas, the more that you're shown only those ideas. The algorithm actually starts building a reality around you and suddenly the only thing you're seeing is keto content or anti-vaccination rants or fear-based don't eat this posts, and what you stop seeing is everything else. People get trapped in echo chambers and don't even realize it. And people forget that it's healthy to be challenged, it's healthy to hear opposing views, and that's how we grow. Diversity is like crossfit for your brain. It fills the blind spots, it helps us zoom out and see the whole puzzle, not just our favorite piece. And in health as in life, we need more perspective, convergence, not division.

Speaker 1:

Now it's funny I follow a 100% whole food plant-based diet, but I am still a scientist and I still make it a point to consume information that contradicts the information that I believe in. And the goal here is to seeing how these trends and these hacks they also exist in the plant-based community. There are plant-based and vegan influencers that'll make hyperbolic claims or misinterpret studies to fit their own narrative. Now I find myself debunking some of the influencers that are actually a part of my plant-based community. Now, when I first started writing and writing blogs, I'd post blogs that probably took 11 or 12 minutes to read, but 10 or more hours to create, and I'd get messages.

Speaker 1:

This is great, but it's too long. You should do a podcast. And at first I thought do you know how much work a podcast is Intro, music and scripting and editing and structure? And it felt like more work for me, not less. It felt like more work for me, not less. But you know, I gave it a shot and then I realized that even in podcast form, 20 minutes can feel rushed when dealing with a very nuanced subject.

Speaker 1:

And why? Because health deserves context. We're all different. We all have different needs and different goals and different backgrounds, different genetics, and we all are starting from different points. And when we talk about cholesterol, we need to talk about genetics, lifestyle, nutrition, medication, stress, culture and values. And when we talk about nutrition, we need to address access to food and privilege and food marketing and personal preference. Now, health isn't a one-size-fits-all, and I'm not here to dumb it down. I'm here to lift people up so they can actually learn new tools that they can use.

Speaker 1:

Now, in the context of misinformation online and 10 second sound bites, it's important to talk about the risk perception gap. Now we've become obsessed with a lot of things that don't matter that much in the big scheme of things. We seem to be obsessed with fringe things like avoiding fluoride or not using Vaseline because the petroleum jelly, or only consuming raw dairy or red light therapy and cold plunging, but meanwhile we ignore the actual stuff that kills people, like blood pressure and cholesterol, physical inactivity, processed foods, loneliness and poor sleep. These are exponentially more important than the type of red dye that's in your Froot Loops. We tend to focus about the ultra-processed ingredients in ultra-processed foods. Now, I agree that we should have less chemicals in our food, but the problem with Fruit Loops is the Fruit Loops. It's not the red dye 40 in Fruit Loops, the red die 40 in Fruit Loops, and we tend to focus on things that are not that important instead of zooming out and seeing the big picture. We started stepping over dollars to pick up pennies and we now major in the minors, and then we wonder why we're not getting healthier in the minors. And then we wonder why we're not getting healthier.

Speaker 1:

It's time that we come back to the fundamentals, the six pillars of lifestyle medicine. But that's not sexy, that won't go viral, but they work. Now, if you've been following my content for a while, you already know about the six pillars of lifestyle medicine. Now, if we zoom out and look at the entirety of the scientific literature and tease out six levers that you can pull that have the greatest benefits in terms of healthspan and lifespan, longevity and chronic disease risk reduction, it would be eating a whole food, plant predominant dietary pattern, not perfect eating, just consistent, better choices, where you eat food that grows from the ground, from a tree or from a plant, in a state as close to the way that mother nature created it. And you'd also consider adding as much movement and physical activity as you can in your daily routine, not just workouts. Daily movement, walking, stretching, playing, dancing the best exercise is the one that you can do consistently and that you enjoy.

Speaker 1:

Now, sleep is medicine. We should be sleeping seven to nine hours of quality sleep. We should be having a wind-down routine before going to bed in a way that cues our body to increase melatonin and reduce cortisol and prime our body for sleep. Now, whether it's mindfulness or breathing, or nature, or therapy, or reading a book or playing music, we need to learn to downshift and to manage stress. Stress management will lower stress. Hormones can even lower inflammatory parameters and make us live better for longer. And connection is medicine. Loneliness is now considered a major health risk. Some studies have suggested that being lonely increases mortality as much as smoking a half a pack a day. We also should be avoiding risky substances. We know what these are they're tobacco, alcohol, recreational drugs and now ultra-processed foods. And if you master these, you're 99% of the way there, and then you can forget the fads and forget the internet filters. We need to be building our houses on a foundation of healthy habits and not on viral trends.

Speaker 1:

Why did I create this episode? Well, because I believe that we're smarter than something called TLDR and because I believe that you're someone who wants more than seven word answers, and because health, your health and my health are worth more than likes and views and algorithms. So consider this an invitation to slow down, stay curious, think critically and ask yourself am I chasing hacks or am I building habits? And once you're ready to focus on what really works, then my blogs and my podcasts and my lengthy Facebook posts are there. Every time I post or publish a podcast, every single piece of content that I create is designed to give you tools and not trends. I don't expect on going viral, but I sleep better at night knowing that the content that I share has context and nuance in mind.

Speaker 1:

Now, the next time that you're adopting a new behavior or changing something in order to get more healthier, ask yourself if you're stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. Ask yourself if you're focusing on the right things and if you're maybe buying into some kind of trend or hack at the expense of the main lifestyle pillars. These pillars can reduce mortality and chronic disease risk by anywhere from 20 to 50 percent, while viral hacks and trends typically don't even move the needle by more than a few percent. And if they do, that data is usually based on poorly conducted studies that were bought and paid for by the people that are trying to sell you these trends. I'm just hoping that you stay responsible out there, that you think critically, and if something looks too good to be true, maybe it is. Unfortunately, these posts get more likes and comments and shares, and once you've started engaging in this type of content, it'll be served to you in a silver platter much more often. That is the beauty of the social media algorithm, where trends and clicks and likes are much more important than context and nuance and critical thinking Right on.

Speaker 1:

I hope you found this episode useful and helpful and I hope it's helped you reflect on how to identify exaggerated claims online and how building a healthy life relies on healthy habits, not on quick fixes. Cool right on. Thanks for tuning in. See you at the next episode. Peace, hey, everyone. Go check out my website plantbaseddrjulescom to find free downloadable resources and remember that you can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Dr Jules Cormier, and on YouTube at Plant-Based Dr Jules.

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Dr. Jules Cormier

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