Top 10 LA Health and Wellness Trends

When I moved to LA in 2017, I entered a different world. A world of sound baths, juice cleanses and Reiki energy healing.

I was a stressed-out New Yorker, skeptical of kumbaya-type health fads. But I vowed to keep an open mind: I would try everything once, reserve judgment, and see what worked for me.

I tried breathwork, sound healing, vibrational healing. I met entrepreneurs turning cannabis and mushroom extracts into big-time consumer brands. I met people who said “What’s the vibe?” and “I love your energy!”

I was invited to psychedelic retreats with shamans in Joshua Tree. I went to cacao ceremonies where hot chocolate was elevated into a sacred ritual. I found out “SALAD” is just SAD with LA in the middle.

I learned that in Topanga, California, Reiki is an acceptable form of payment. Nudists lecture you about plant medicine. Essential oil workers apply lavender tincture to your emotional wounds.

It’s easy to dismiss LA as a place of crazy, over-the-top wellness fads. Yet history has shown that what begins as a niche LA health trend can rapidly gain mainstream adoption—from yoga and meditation in the 80s and 90s, to cannabis and psychedelic therapy today. LA may be the global epicenter of new trends in health and wellness.

People in LA use the term “woo-woo” to describe things like astrology or healing energy crystals. It’s defined as “readily accepting supernatural, paranormal, occult, or pseudoscientific phenomena, or emotion-based beliefs and explanations.”

For this piece, I’ve rated each health trend on a “woo-meter” from 1 to 10: A score of 1 for something that’s well supported in real science / clinical evidence, and 10 for something that’s closer to faith healing.

Disclaimers: This review of health and wellness trends is based on my unique experience living on the west side of LA. Other people’s lists may be different.

Health and wellness trends that didn’t make the top 10: Sleep tracking, wearables and activity trackers, meditation, kundalini yoga, intermittent fasting, juice cleanses, nootropics, probiotics, neuromodulation, red light therapy, vibration therapy, therapeutic IV drips, and EMDR. Each of these is a fascinating topic worthy of deeper exploration.

With any new health trend, there’s reason to be cautious about exaggerated claims. Back in 2018, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop settled a lawsuit brought by 10 California counties that argued its product advertisements lacked reliable scientific evidence. It’s a reminder that everyone should do their own research before using new health products.

Finally, I recognize there’s a certain privilege in talking about these health practices. Some of them are expensive and not widely accessible. Yet I think there’s value in examining the wellness trends that are popular in LA today, as a microcosm of where we’re going as a global civilization.

And now, I present to you the top LA health and wellness trends of 2022:

1. Breathwork

Woo-meter: 3

My first year living in LA, I tried something called Blisspoint Breathwork. Picture a group of 40 people, lying side-by-side on yoga mats, covered by blankets as trance music blasts from a speaker. A shaman-like leader glides around, burning sage and rubbing hot oil on people’s faces. “This is so LA,” I thought.

Our leader, Lisa, told us the program is an active meditation that combines a simple 2-part breath sequence, based on traditional yogic theory, with curated music and sound frequencies. It starts with open-mouthed breathing through the belly (“like Buddha”). The breath expands from the belly to the heart. Then you exhale. Belly, heart, exhale. The inhalation time should be four times as long as the exhale.

This type of breathing results in hyperoxygenation—an increased flow of oxygen to the brain. It shifts the body from the sympathetic nervous system (associated with the body’s “fight or flight” response) to the calmer, parasympathetic nervous system.

Lying on our backs, as meditative sounds pulsed from a speaker, we practiced the heavy breathing technique for 45 minutes. People were transported into altered states, making feral sounds and bursting into unrestrained laughter.

After 10 minutes I began to feel my brain light up in a new way. Within 20 minutes my hands began to tingle. By the end I felt a calm, inner peace I hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Breath is the mind made visible,” says Dr. Andrew Huberman, professor of neurobiology at Stanford School of Medicine. We don’t need any fancy tools to help us breathe. We just need to be mindful and practice breathing techniques. When the sympathetic nervous system puts us into fight-or-flight mode, we can use breathing techniques to learn how to relax.

“Breathwork can be thought of as exercise in that, if done correctly, it has immediate benefits—physical, emotional and cognitive,” says Dr. Huberman.

The journalist James Nestor published a book in 2020 called “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.” He says taking “slow and low” breaths through the nose can help relieve stress and reduce blood pressure: “This is the way your body wants to take in air. It lowers the burden of the heart if we breathe properly and if we really engage the diaphragm.”

Dr. Huberman believes breathwork, long a key part of meditation and yoga, is becoming a discipline in its own right. Breathing coaches like Wim Hof are helping popularize the “breath of fire” from kundalini yoga and its link to athletic performance.

2. Psychedelic journeys

Woo-meter: 5

Los Angeles is in the midst of a psychedelics renaissance. It’s a rainbow-colored, kaleidoscopic dream more and more Angelenos are embracing.

There’s a sense that psychedelics are becoming normalized just as cannabis was a decade ago. A bill to decriminalize psychedelic drugs in California was approved recently in the State Senate. If it becomes law it would decriminalize the possession and sharing of psychoactive agents such as psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, ketamine, MDMA (ecstasy), and ibogaine for people 21 and older.

Spend time in LA and you hear people talk about “LA Sober”—a lifestyle where you don’t drink alcohol, but psychedelics and cannabis are allowed.

Every week, the city is home to dozens of ayahuasca ceremonies and psilocybin-powered “sound ceremonies.” Los Angeles Magazine wrote:

“It’s not at all surprising that Los Angeles is ground zero for this latest psychedelics revolution. After all, since the city’s founding, it’s been a hub for kooks, visionaries, dreamers, and dropouts.”

The psychedelic scene in LA ranges from “really bougie parties in Malibu mansions where the bourgeois are having psychedelic parties with micro-dosed shrooms and sparkling water enhanced with MDMA, and then you have backyard barbecues in Echo Park where you might have a mushroom tea being offered with bands and live music being played.”

I was invited to a sound ceremony that included high-dose psilocybin and MDMA (I did not attend, but know others who did). Here is how it was described to me:

“Before the journey we do vulnerability exercises. Then I’ll give a 30-minute talk, with tools on how to navigate your journey or what to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed. How to set your intentions. At end, we all get in a circle and share what happened in your journey.”

One friend told me about her experience doing a therapist-guided psilocybin journey:

“It wasn’t that scary. The results were not as impactful as I had hoped for. I was wanting a shift, more clarity. It made me aware of certain things—where I experienced anxiety in my body, certain situations that were unresolved. It’s hard to find a therapist who specializes in this, even though it’s very in vogue right now. I’d be curious to do it again, with the right facilitator.”

There’s a mounting body of research showing that psychedelics can supercharge mental health treatment for PTSD, depression, anxiety, addiction and other chronic ailments of the mind, enabling patients to dive deep, confront their traumas and—a rarity for mental illnesses—return healed.

Micro-dosing

One trend in psychedelic use is micro-dosing, where users take a very small amount of a drug—a subperceptual dose, meaning there are no psychoactive effects. Some micro-dosers report feeling a slight, barely perceptible boost in mental acuity or creativity.

One Malibu-based friend told me:

“It’s very widespread, at least on the west side of LA. It feels very accepted and normal. Over the pandemic I’ve seen a bloom of micro-dosing and macro-dosing startups. It’s very much a gray market, but it feels like there’s no regulation, so people are just going for it. It feels very embedded into the culture of West LA. I have friends who swear by it. I’m all for it in concept. I am a bigger fan of psilocybin than LSD.”

A friend with experience doing psychedelic research shared his thoughts on micro-dosing:

“It’s definitely trendy. When I talk to people, if they’re not interested in doing a macro dose, they’re certainly interested in micro-dosing. It’s like a performance enhancement, like buying the adaptogen drinks at Erewhon. I did it a few years ago with psilocybin and LSD. I felt more of an effect with LSD.

The data so far is pretty sparse. It may be the placebo effect. Micro-dosing is subperceptual, so you don’t necessarily feel it, but it’s supposed to be impacting your mood. That’s the problem with micro-dosing. If you’re not feeling it, how do you know if it’s working or not?”

3.  Cannabis

Woo-meter: 3

What’s new to say about pot? People have been obsessed with cannabis (aka marijuana) for decades. The drug was legalized in California in 2016.

In recent years, CBD (cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound in the plant) has exploded in popularity. You can find CBD in everything from juice to moisturizer, ice cream and dog treats. It’s touted as a sleep aid, a natural pain-reliever, and a way to relieve stress and anxiety.

The New York Times ran a recent story on the CBD craze:

“There has been a slight uptick in clinical research around the compound’s relation to anxiety, schizophrenia and opioid use disorder. In September 2020, the National Institutes of Health approved $3 million in small grants for studies of cannabidiol and other non-THC cannabis compounds.”

I spoke to Dr. Hyla Cass, an LA-based functional medicine doctor. Functional medicine is a systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Dr. Cass said:

“With the advent of CBD, there’s been more interest in the endocannabinoid system. Everything is modulated by this system: hormones, the immune system, brain, gut, and skin. It helps us be in balance. I find that CBD helps modulate this system.

When I take patients off medications, I give them vitamins and amino acids to help wean them off medications, and I add CBD to smooth communication among the systems and balance the neurotransmitters.”

One challenge with cannabis is dosing and absorption. Unlike with prescription medications, it can be hard to know how much active ingredient you’re getting in an edible.

I spoke to Dr. Jeff Chen, cofounder / CEO of Radicle Science and former founder and Exec Director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative. He said:

“For CBD, all these companies jumped into the space to sell it as a supplement, but there wasn't much existing data and they couldn’t do their own trials. Because CBD was only found in cannabis, and cannabis has been federally illegal, research has been effectively banned for nearly 100 years.

Even today it’s incredibly difficult for universities to study CBD. This has resulted in limited evidence to guide what dose is most appropriate and which conditions are most responsive to CBD.

It will take significantly more research before we can answer the question: “Will this work for my condition, for my unique body, and what dose?” And that’s an area my company Radicle Science is working on with our AI-driven crowdsourced direct-to-consumer clinical trials.”

One solution for accurate dosing could come from Mode, an LA-based startup that’s created a universal dosing device for cannabis. The device links to an app that tells you exactly how much of each compound you’ve ingested. It allows for consistent, reliable dosing for both medicinal and recreational cannabis users. The product is in private beta testing with a public launch planned later this month.

4.  Ketogenic Diets

Woo-meter: 2

LA people are terrified of sugar and obsessed with weight loss. So it’s no surprise ketogenic (aka “keto”) diets have become popular here. Keto snacks line the shelves of health food stores. Farmers market booths serve up keto breakfast sandwiches. Keto meal delivery services are popping up every month.

A ketogenic diet limits carb intake to under 50 grams a day. It aims to force your body into using a different type of fuel: Instead of relying on sugar (glucose) that comes from carbohydrates, the keto diet relies on ketone bodies, a type of fuel that the liver produces from stored fat.

Keto was the most-Googled diet of 2018. It typically reduces appetite and intake of easy-to-overeat, hyperpalatable foods.

I’ve experimented with the keto diet. The most obvious things I noticed were weight loss and mental clarity. The carb cravings went away after the first day. My sleep was great. Perhaps the best thing about the keto diet: It forces you to give up sugar. That alone is one of the best things you can do for your health.

Keto diets are controversial. Health experts are divided as to the potential benefits and risks. More studies are needed to understand how the diet impacts weight loss and other health measures.

There’s growing evidence that a ketogenic diet has therapeutic potential for a variety of health conditions, from Parkinson’s Disease to multiple sclerosis, diabetes, epilepsy and cancer.

An ultra-low-carb diet may not be for everyone. It’s best to consult a healthcare professional before starting any extreme diet. Do your own research before buying any supplements. FDA has reported that popular keto supplements could cause severe reactions after tests reveal hidden traces of gluten.

Consider starting a keto diet with friends so you have people to commiserate with when the sugar withdrawal kicks in.

5.  Adaptogens

Woo-meter: 8

I had never heard of adaptogens. Then I moved to LA. I met the founders of Four Sigmatic and Moon Juice, two popular makers of adaptogenic supplements. I noticed everyone around me drinking mushroom coffee, or “Chagaccinos.”

Adaptogens are agents which protect against stress and stress-related disorders. Common ones include chaga (a mushroom commonly used as a dietary supplement) and ashwagandha. These are claimed to have beneficial effects on immune function and cancer prevention.

I met the founder of a leading maker of adaptogen supplements at a wellness event in Malibu. I asked her if there were any clinical studies showing health benefits of her products. She looked at me like I was speaking Swahili.

As I discovered, there’s not much clinical data showing adaptogens improve health. The claims are limited to in vitro (studies done in petri dishes or test tubes) and animal studies, with only one study in humans. None of these products are FDA approved. We’re far from understanding all the science behind how they impact our body’s physiology.

I spoke to a friend who’s worked at the US F.D.A. about the adaptogen trend. His take:

“I think it’s total BS. Do I believe there’s any benefit? No. I think people are wasting money. Not much research has been done on it. Mushrooms can have cool effects, but dietary studies are really difficult. It’s hard to figure out causation.”

6.  Cold Exposure / Cryotherapy

Woo-meter: 2

Why are people in LA, known for its warm sunny climate, trying to get ice cold? The market for cryotherapy centers in LA is booming. They lure people with the promise of the revitalizing, health-boosting power of cold exposure.

The science indicates that cold exposure has a variety of health benefits. Deliberate cold exposure is associated with improved mental performance and resilience. It can help people train their mental state to better cope with stressful situations. It can improve metabolism and turbo-charge fat burning.

Dr. Huberman of Stanford University School of Medicine has a thoroughly-researched podcast episode on how deliberate cold exposure can enhance mental health, physical health, and performance.

Experts say cold water immersion up to the neck (e.g. an ice bath) is the most effective option; a cold shower is the next best thing. For those who want a more extreme experience, several LA clinics now offer cryotherapy treatment. This typically involves a 3-minute immersion in a chamber of super-cooled gas.

I spoke to Dr. Darshan Shah, founder of LA clinic Next Health, which provides cryotherapy treatment. He said:

“You can support mitochondrial health by intermittent fasting, using a sauna or cryotherapy. Small amounts of stress are beneficial to mitochondria.”

Remedy Place in West Hollywood touts itself as the first ever “social wellness club.” It offers everything from hyperbaric chambers and cryotherapy to IV treatments and meditation. Bulletproof Labs “human upgrade” facility in Santa Monica offers a 3-minute cryotherapy session that involves going into a -250°F chamber to “increase fat burning, boost your immune system and release endorphins.” Motion LA offers ice baths after its group fitness classes in Malibu.

I spoke to a friend who does regular ocean plunges. He said:

“I do cold ocean dips to improve my connection to mind, body, soul and nature. The cold dip is going to be cold, but the clarity that it gives my mind is similar to the endorphin release from a good workout. For my body, it’s so good for the soreness and inflammation I constantly deal with from chronic back pain. I think there is something special every time I step in the ocean. It’s become a ritual for me that combines mental with spiritual benefits, and a deeper connection to nature.”

7. Reiki

Woo-meter: 8

I had never heard of Reiki before I moved to LA. I discovered people here are obsessed with the ancient Japanese healing art. Walking down Sunset Boulevard, you can’t throw a rock without hitting at least one Reiki practitioner.

The word Reiki comes from the Japanese word (Rei) which means “Universal Life” and (Ki) which means “Energy”. Practitioners of this ancient healing art believe everyone has the ability to connect with their own healing energy and use it to strengthen energy in themselves and help others.

I went to a Reiki workshop in Topanga Canyon. The leader had us lie down on yoga mats as hypnotic music played on a speaker. We were asked to leave our arms spread out if we were open to being touched and “receiving energy.” I closed my eyes and tried to relax. By the end of the hour, I’d fallen into a deep restful state that felt like lucid dreaming.

One friend told me about her experience with Reiki:

“It’s been impactful. When I’m feeling kind of stuck and need a shift, Reiki has led to clarity and action, if I’m chewing on a problem or dealing with a breakup.

How does it work? It’s a mystery to me. They asked questions to assess where your chakras are blocked. There’s a woo-woo part of it. They tell you about your energy flow. Physically, I felt different after it. I’ve heard of people having very dramatic experiences. My friend did it a few times, and she described her experience as if she was fully tripping during her Reiki session, like she was on mushrooms.”

8.  Sound healing / sound bath

Woo-meter: 9

My first sound bath was on an outdoor terrace in Malibu, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. About 30 of us gathered around a cluster of gongs, bowls, shakers and rain sticks. We arranged ourselves on yoga mats, blankets and pillows.

We reclined in the savasana, or corpse pose, with masks covering our eyes. The leader tapped gongs with a mallet and activated tuned bowls with different frequencies blending together in harmony. For the next hour, I surrendered to the experience, letting my mind wander with the musical journey.

Sound baths are everywhere these days in LA. Sound therapy practitioners—like art therapists and dance therapists—have gained mainstream followings. One sound therapist on the Shakti Sound Bath website refers to herself as an “international wellness practitioner and instructor specializing in the restorative and healing power of sound frequency and vibration.”

Soothing music has long been associated with wellness activities like massage therapy, yoga classes and meditation sessions. Some see music itself as a means of spiritual and physical healing.

Adherents of so-called “frequency music” believe that certain sounds (432-hertz tones, to be precise) can “reduce stress, detoxify cells and organs, eliminate fear and wipe out negativity,” according to a recent LA Times piece.

We all know music can be relaxing, comforting, inspiring. But how does it affect human biology? To date, there isn’t much evidence that certain sound frequencies can truly heal people.

One UCLA group is doing a study “to see if Tibetan singing bowls have more benefits for psychological well-being relative to a simple relaxation meditation session. But so far there are few rigorous studies of these effects.”

I spoke to a friend about her experience with sound healing. She said:

“Sound baths feel about as exotic to me as Alo Yoga. It’s very standard now. It’s in New York now, too. The shaman bros have landed in NYC. It’s become normalized in the culture, like yoga or green juice. Are we appropriating something? Probably. But you’re gathering, reflecting, building community, you’re not hurting anyone, and it’s quite beautiful. That’s my general outlook on these things.”

One friend told me about her experience at the Integratron, a popular sound bath center in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree:

“It’s a cool experience. Because of the architecture and design, which is meant to carry the sound and vibration, the feeling of the sound is different. It’s like a long savasana for me. It’s not unlike what I feel when I get acupuncture. There’s something happening there. I’m certainly relaxed at the end of it.”

Another friend shared her experience at the Integratron:

“I think the Integratron is the peak performance of sound baths. They play ancient vibration bowls made out of crystals. You feel it from your head down to your toes. It was a special experience for me. You can really work through whatever you’re dealing with—trauma, depression. It brings to light your problem-solving ability, your path forward.”

9.  Functional / Integrative Medicine

Woo-meter: 6

I come from a family of traditional physicians, adherents of Western medicine. When I moved to LA, I began meeting a different kind of doctor: Integrative / functional medicine practitioners. Integrative health is also known as complementary or alternative medicine.

I was curious to learn more about these practices. Do they really work?

People in LA seem to think so. Los Angeles has a higher percentage of residents who use integrative medicine/health services than any other top city. On average, LA people spend the most on fitness ($53 a month) and the most on integrative health services ($52 a month).

I spoke to Dr. Howard Leibowitz, an LA-based functional medicine practitioner. He said:

“Traditional medicine deals with symptoms. Functional / integrative medicine looks more deeply at a problem, tries to explain it from the root cause, and works to undo the process that’s causing the problem.”

Dr. Leibowitz said his most popular treatments are ozone therapy and hormone balancing. (Note: While some people swear by the benefits of ozone therapy, the treatment is not well-supported in medical literature.)

Dr. Cass, an LA-based functional / integrative physician, told me:

“I help people avoid going on medications. I steer them off medications and onto more natural substances in a way that’s safe and effective. You need to look at the root cause. Just treating the symptoms is like taping over the alarm light on your dashboard. That light is giving you a signal telling you something is wrong, but you need to look under the hood to see what’s wrong.”

A 2019 Cleveland Clinic study found that functional medicine was associated with improvements in health-related quality of life. Yet some physician leaders believe functional medicine lacks supporting evidence and includes “harmful” and “dangerous” treatments. It can be challenging for patients to navigate the non-traditional medical sphere because there is less oversight of practitioners and less rigorous research supporting their work.

Dr. Leibowitz explained why LA people tend to latch on quickly to new trends in health and wellness:

“People who live in LA are more progressive in general. They apply that progressive approach to their health as well. They’re quick to accept and adopt new ideas. People in LA and California in general are more health conscious, more concerned about their food and environment and exercise, health and fitness, staying well and looking good and looking younger.”

10. Plant-based foods

Woo-meter: 4

If you want to understand LA wellness trends, a good place to start is Erewhon Market.

What is Erewhon? At first glance, it’s an upscale organic grocery store with six locations throughout Los Angeles County.

Spend enough time in LA, and you realize Erewhon is the mecca of LA health and wellness, the shrine at which moneyed Angelenos worship. Beautiful people with tanned skin and toned physiques fill their carts with acai bowls, dairy-free coconut yogurt, and $20 turmeric bone broth lattes.

“Erewhon has a slightly Moon Juice quality about it,” said Farley Elliott, an editor at Eater LA, “where everything is so over-the-top, but in an earnest way that makes it feel possible only in Los Angeles.”

The Erewhon obsession reflects LA’s love for health food and non-traditional diets. Vegan, gluten-free, you name it: You can’t plan a group dinner in LA without checking on dietary restrictions. A friend joked that if there were a cauliflower shortage, you’d see riots in the streets of Venice.

I learned that people who move to LA lose weight in their first year. Not because they work out more. Because all the pizza is made of cauliflower! (Ok, not really. But kinda.)

LA is seeing an explosion in new plant-based foods. First it was Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. Now we’re seeing Actual Veggies plant-based burgers and Daily Harvest’s plant-based meal delivery. Natural Products Expo West, held every year in Anaheim, attracts over 2,700 exhibitors and 57,000 attendees to experience innovations in natural and organic foods and beverages.

I went to a plant-based food tasting in Venice. I met people who create and invest in new plant-based foods. Here are some things I overheard:

• “This ingredient list is insane!”
• “It's a natural sweetener, but it metabolizes the same as cane sugar.”
• “It has a good mouth feel, but the chew is a bit tough.”

A study found that Los Angeles is the most vegetarian-friendly city in the U.S., based on the affordability of plant-based protein products and the number of vegetarian restaurants and businesses.

The obsession with plant-based foods is tied to LA’s growing sustainability movement. People want their food choices to reflect their values, and they see plant-based foods as a way to reduce their carbon footprint. Animal proteins use 10 times the fossil fuels and 5 times the amount of water in production than their plant-based protein counterparts.

The success of natural and plant-based foods in LA could signal a broader, nationwide trend in consumers rethinking the way they eat. It could inspire more people globally to find ways to incorporate plant-forward products into their daily lives.

I’ll close with a personal reflection on LA health and wellness trends. I will say that I have adopted many, but not all, of the health practices outlined in this article. I’m still a bit skeptical of Reiki. I don’t have much experience with psychedelics.

I do eat a more plant-forward diet with regular trips to the Santa Monica farmers market. I fast regularly. My medicine cabinet is stocked with vitamins and supplements that, a few years ago, I’d never heard of. I do beach workouts. I attend health and wellness events all over LA.

It’s one thing I love about living in Southern California: Being part of a community of open-minded, curious people devoted to optimizing their physical and mental fitness.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What health and wellness trends are you excited about, in LA or elsewhere?