Hot Takes: Infrared Saunas, Preventative Aging, and Weighted Vests

More hot takes, and again these go beyond the OR. Saunas, the anti-aging industry, milk discourse, and one phone accessory I have genuinely strong feelings about.

If you like it, sure. But I don't.

I don't like extremes of temperature in either direction, so I'm not the audience for this. And beyond personal preference, I don't see a lot of benefit to them.

To be fair about the evidence: there are some studies here and there showing mild benefit in certain conditions or situations. That's real, and I won't pretend otherwise. But "mild benefit in specific circumstances" is a long way from the wellness-industry framing, and it isn't enough to get me into a hot box.

(If you've read my take on cold plunges, you'll notice a pattern: I don't want to be very hot or very cold.)

It can be both, and this is the one I actually care about.

Here's where I come from:

And there is an enormous amount being marketed right now that claims to prevent aging or extend your life with no evidence to support it.

My personal rule has two halves:

• I'm not excited about injecting things into my body that haven't been well researched
• I'm not excited about doing treatments to my skin that haven't been well researched

So I stick with what I know works. And honestly, a lot of what's on the market doesn't fit that.

This isn't reflexive skepticism. Plenty of preventative care is genuinely smart, sunscreen, retinoids, not smoking, taking care of your skin consistently. The problem is that those unglamorous, well-supported things get bundled into marketing alongside unproven injectables and devices, and patients can't easily tell which is which.

It's the same standard I apply professionally. It's exactly why I push back so hard on things like injecting Sculptra into breasts, where the product hasn't been studied for that use and can't be removed if it goes wrong. "We don't know" is not the same as "it's fine."

Whatever you like. I'm genuinely not picky about this one.

Oat milk is great if that's your thing. I tend to be an almond milk girl, and I'm really not an oat milk person. Otherwise I just use regular skim cow's milk.

No deeper philosophy here. This debate does not need a plastic surgeon's opinion.

I think they're so stupid. Sorry.

Two reasons:

• I bounce around different companies for lip gloss, so I don't want something that only fits one brand's product
• And I don't need it stuck to my phone

A case that locks you into a single brand's lip gloss is solving a problem I don't have, in exchange for a constraint I don't want.

I think they're great.

Anytime you can add a little more weight to your activity, I think it's great. It's a simple way to increase the demand of something you're already doing.

So if you like them, go ahead and use them. I think it's awesome.

• Infrared saunas: fine if you enjoy them, but I don't like temperature extremes and the benefit looks mild at best.
• Preventative aging: both smart and scam. I won't inject or treat with anything that hasn't been well researched. Stick with what's proven.
• Oat vs. whole milk: whatever you like. I'm an almond milk or skim person.
• Rhode phone case: so stupid. I switch lip gloss brands and don't want it attached to my phone.
• Weighted vests: great. Adding load to activity you're already doing is a win.

The through-line, same as always: be skeptical of anything sold as preventing aging without evidence behind it, and don't overcomplicate the parts that actually work. More opinions in the other round of hot takes.