Salt + Yams

When I worked at Slate in 2020, I wrote a story called It’s Not Too Late to Save Black Lives, where I interviewed several Black women who, through devastating COVID infections, had to fight for proper diagnosis and treatment. It was important to me that this story show how health inequity—which was less well understood by the public at the time—paralleled the type of systemic racism we’re more familiar with.

Welcome back to The Wellness Debrief, a weekly rundown of the health and wellness news, trends, and industry moves I’ve been keeping tabs on so you don’t have to. I hope you enjoy! If you want to enjoy the full issue, make sure you become a paid subscriber to Parker Street. It’s the same price as a large oat milk latte. Heads up—this edition is too long for email, so be sure to read it in your browser or the Substack app! Parker Street remains free because paid subscribers cover the cost.

This is the mildest photo I could find of The Incident. There are a number of things you cannot do during a HYROX race. You can’t spit or clear your nostrils onto the floor. You can’t litter, use headphones, cell phones, or wear cleats or lifting straps. You also can’t splash yourself with water to cool down since it may cause others to slip. But, until a few days ago, there was no official protocol for fecal incontinence.

Dyson’s toothbrush camera gives me the heebee jeebies. Howdy! Welcome back to The Wellness Debrief, a weekly rundown of the news, trends, and wellness industry moves I’ve been judging so you don’t have to. Usually, this content is only for paid subscribers, but this week’s is free.

I was standing in the milk aisle of the grocery store, trying to find a non-dairy option I could actually enjoy for breakfast. I don’t care much for almond milk, and it turns out the plant milks I do like all have a ton of added sugar. So I said whatever and grabbed the lactose-free cow’s milk instead, which has the bonus of protein. Then I went looking for granola. I read label after label, and the lowest amount of added sugar I could find was 4g per serving.

A few months ago, in an interview for Cosmo, celebrating the season finale of Hacks, Hannah Einbinder fired off her fashion hot take: “As we see a rise of fascism, there’s a direct correlation with thinness to make women take up less space.” It’s a readily available take, and I don’t disagree with its deeper premise. No student of history can. Fascist and eugenicist movements have historically propagandized an “ideal” body type that is fit, slim, white, and able-bodied.

A collage of this week’s high (lol) points. Howdy! Welcome back to The Wellness Debrief, a weekly rundown of the news, trends, and wellness industry moves I’ve been judging so you don’t have to. In this issue: Weed might not be as harmless as it used to be; another well-known wearable company wants to use AI to analyze your bloodwork; Long COVID might be waking up viruses that were supposed to remain dormant; cadaver fat injections; and Doritos wants you to believe it’s basically a vegetable.

This piece was originally published in Hello Gloria. Peptides are having a moment. They’re on your feed, in your group chats, and, increasingly, in unlabeled vials people buy from an obscure WhatsApp number and inject at home. The pitch is intoxicating: cutting-edge science is being shot straight into your body, helping you sleep better, build more muscle, lose weight, and slow the aging process. Reality can be grimmer.

A quick note before we start: things are financially tight over here—I’ve been out of work for 16 months—and I can’t keep producing this newsletter for free. If Parker Street, or The Wellness Debrief, is worth something to you, please consider a paid subscription or a tip.

White Oak Mill, Greensboro, NC. Taken by me. This story was originally written for publication elsewhere, but it didn’t work out—which happens! I hope you enjoy this missive on American nostalgia, the Black folks who so often make it possible, and what it means when we’re blinded by our yearnings for an “old way of life.” If you drive north on O.