Critical Thinking About Social-Media Wellness Culture and the Plant-Based Diet Trend with Pixie Turner

Psychotherapist, nutrition counselor, and author Pixie Turner joins us to discuss her history with wellness culture, the Belle Gibson scandal and how it ignited her skepticism, how we can think critically about the plant-based diet trend, the truth about “what I eat in a day” videos, and how social media influences our relationships with food. Then, in the paywalled portion of the interview, we get into her controversial take on how we should approach wellness content on social media, the troubling reason why some people who are skeptical of pseudoscience and the wellness industry are NOT skeptical of diet culture, how people who want to make certain food choices for ethical reasons (like eating fewer animal products) can do that without falling into disordered eating and black-and-white thinking, and more. 

Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. 

Pixie is the director and lead clinician at The Food Therapy Centre. As a psychotherapist and nutrition counselor, she specializes in disordered eating, body image work, and LGBTQ+ concerns. She has several years of clinical experience in all these areas, as well as experience in working with complex trauma and how it manifests in someone’s relationship with food/themselves in adulthood. She takes an integrative approach, discussing both food and emotions to get a more complete understanding of a person. Her overall aim is to help improve someone’s relationship with both food and themselves. Outside of her clinical practice, her science communication work extends across several platforms: social media, teaching at BSc/MSc level, public speaking, writing, and media work.

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Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore.

If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.