Health Freedom Expo

The Long Beach Convention Center played host to the Health Freedom Expo over the weekend. New age hippies flew on their positive energy powered magic carpets of healing just as quick as they could. Hucksters and snake oil salesmen rejoiced.

I'm all for stepping out of Western thought and finding a balance in life. I'm clearly for a whole food approach to eating. Traditional medicine can be a very effective tool in treating many ailments. There are many things about wellness I don't understand, so therefore shouldn't judge. Good. Fine. I get that.

I also get that, as a whole, we can be way too concerned for out health & well being. Instead of looking for long-term, sustainable ways of living, we look for the quick fix, the magic bullet. So people head to places like the Heath Freedom Expo to spend money on complete crap.

There were many devices for sale that make your water "pure". A ctually, I take that back. Some made your water "pure", while others infused it with positive energy. There was even one device that would cleanse you AND the planet. All you had to do was pay $300, and stick your feet in the magical tank.

In addition to healing through water, you could also heal yourself with berries. Berries! One better than the next! Antioxidants! Don't get me wrong, I love berries. I'm sitting next to a giant basket of strawberries (bought from the farmers' market because some bastard keeps stealing my garden berries) right now. They're fantastic, they taste great, and yes, they are very good for you. They don't however, create miracles. So when someone tells you that drinking a special juice made from them will cure cancer/headaches/insomnia/low sex drive/memory loss/the recession, you should laugh at them, not buy their berry juice. Because here's the thing: NO SINGLE FOOD SOURCE CAN CURE EVERYTHING.

Some of the vendors really believe in what they sell. And that's fine. The mind/body connection is a real thing, and if you have the funds & think your ion water is helping, be my guest. But you should realize that a lot of the products being sold are scams & pyramid schemes (I'm looking at you Mona Vie), so use caution. Most of what was for sale at the Health Freedom Expo will do you no good. Spend your money elsewhere. (You can spend it funding an awesome cooking show...mmmm, funding.)

There was one pretty awesome thing for sale at the expo- Kangoos. They are ski boots with cleverly shaped rubber attachments that make you walk/job like a kangaroo. Really fun to use, and very low impact on your joints.