These days we're constantly told how to optimise our health. Do you find that culture genuinely helpful, or does it just pile on the pressure?

A natural way to answer

I think the intention is good, but it can easily tip over into pressure. When every meal and minute is something to optimise, health stops feeling like care and starts feeling like a chore. The trick is to be selective rather than swept along by every new claim.

Key phrases to use

• take it with a pinch of salt — to not believe something completely; to treat it with healthy doubt“I take wellness advice with a pinch of salt.”
• tip over into — to gradually change into a more extreme or negative state“Enthusiasm can tip over into obsession.”
• swept along by — carried by a trend or feeling so strongly that you stop thinking for yourself“It's easy to get swept along by every new diet.”
• breeds — causes something (often negative) to develop and grow“Constant comparison breeds anxiety.”
• defeats the whole purpose — makes the original aim of something pointless“Stressing about relaxing defeats the whole purpose.”