Do 'wellness' bloggers actually know what they're talking about?
They're thin, photogenic, fabulous and followed by millions of admiring, credulous fans. But should we believe anything they say, asks Hadley Freeman
Nestled among stuffy interior decorating and antique shops, Daylesford farm shop and cafe in Pimlico, London, is, judging by the queue on a weekday mid-afternoon, very much the chic place to meet for a fresh vegetable juice (£6/HK$72) or a superfood salad (£14).
A decade ago, you'd have struggled to find a place such as this in the British capital; now, there seems to be one opening every other day. But, as one review warns, everyone at Daylesford "is likely to be thinner, blonder and richer than you", and I can testify that this much is true. It is part of a chain owned by Carole Bamford, a woman described on her website as "a visionary in organic farming and healthy food retailing".
I have come to Daylesford to have a green juice with Calgary Avansino, whose chosen career would have seemed similarly far-fetched a decade ago. I first met Avansino years ago when she worked at Vogue, as editor Alexandra Shulman's assistant. At the time, she struck me as polite, pretty and a tiny bit scary, like everyone who works for Vogue. Today, she beams with the kind of good health you'd expect of someone who blogs about how to make chia seed pudding.
Writing last year about "healthy fixes for the Christmas feast", she urged readers to offer guests "an avocado and cacao mousse" instead of mince pies. "Your friends and your body will thank you," she promised, strongly suggesting she has never met any of my friends. Her book on wellbeing, Keep It Real, will be published next year.
Despite having had her third child four months ago, at the age of 40, Avansino is very slim. This is not really a surprise: in a recent blog, she detailed her typical weekly diet, which included lunches of avocado on broccoli bread ("My new favourite thing!") and green smoothies for breakfast. She frequently advises against gluten and describes herself as "not crazy about wheat". She also writes about how to feed kids healthily. For instance, "Don't think you have to start your kids eating with bananas - start with a courgette or sweet potato, which is much better than a high glycaemic banana."