With the Epstein emails comes the fall of a wellness guru

Controversial wellness guru Peter Attia showed up in the latest batch of Epstein files, calling his ethics into question.

Attia rejected that he was "involved in any criminal activity" as mentions of his name were made public in the files, but his correspondence with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has brought questions about Attia's qualifications and background to light.

In one email to Epstein from 2016, Attia joked that female genitalia is "indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though." Other emails note appointment dates with Epstein and colleagues, which would have been around the same time his month-old baby suddenly stopped breathing, an incident he previously wrote and admonished himself for not being by his wife and son's side.

His public image is already taking a hit, including a pulled "60 Minutes" segment he was featured in, calls for his removal as a CBS News contributor and reported cut ties with multiple wellness ventures like a protein bar brand and powdered drink supplement AG1.

"I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me. I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it," Attia said in a statement to X.

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Attia has been a powerful promoter of longevity medicine with incredible influence and reach to the tune of 1.6 million followers on Instagram and a podcast, "The Drive," with a reported more than 100 million downloads. His popular book "Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity" was a 2023 and 2024 New York Times Best Seller.

In response to Attia's apology statement, some on X have come to his defense. "Don't keep apologizing. Don't feel bad about it. Don't address it again," one user posted.

"I believe you & truly believe that you are /were driven by your passion for science/ (medicine)- you have contributed extensively to society with your work/research- stay positive," another wrote.

Experts say, though, this is a reminder for social media consumers that having a high follower count doesn't confirm credentials, and it's important to use a critical eye before hitting "follow" on popular health influencers.

While Attia has been a "terrific spokesman" for the idea of healthy aging, his background isn't what his followers may believe based on how he presents himself, Dr. Douglas Vaughan, a Northwestern professor of medicine, tells USA TODAY.

"He's not a scientist. He is not a researcher," Vaughan says. "He really has not done any actual research in the field of aging, but he's terrific at collecting the information in the field, putting it together, packaging it in a way that people can understand and relate to."

Vaughan, who is also the director of the university's Potocsnak Longevity Institute, has worked in the field for nearly 40 years, where he and his colleagues have had to struggle to get grants, keep labs together and test hypotheses.

"He doesn't contribute to the field in terms of new information or new science," Vaughan says. "He curates the information that's out there and packages it in a way for the general public to understand."

Wellness influencers and evidence-based medicine

Experts have long warned the public to be wary of wellness influencers without proper credentials, who often spread misleading or outright misinformation when it comes to health − everything from vaccines to raw milk.

Misinformation about COVID-19, for example, eroded trust in public health agencies, heightened already inflamed political divisions and created a near-constant challenge to discern fact from fiction, experts previously told USA TODAY.

"It's heartbreaking," said Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, an anesthesiologist and former president of the American Medical Association. "We work so hard to practice evidence-based medicine."

And even when they do spread information with kernels of truth, that doesn't mean you should take everything they say as fact.

The 'gold rush' of longevity medicine

In a clip of the now-pulled 60 Minutes interview with Attia, Norah O'Donnell said his billionaire patients are willing to spend six figures to see him.

"That's a lot of money. What do you get for this?" she asked Attia.

"A path to help you achieve your goal of living better and living longer," he said.

Vaughan says he'd be wary of anybody saying they have − or trying to sell − all the answers.

"It's the wild, wild West. It's a feeding frenzy. It's a gold rush, and you're seeing people get caught up in that enthusiasm and the momentum of all that, but there are more questions in 2026 than there are answers," he says of longevity medicine being popularized. He added there are still questions on the best ways to slow down aging, whether we can actually reverse it and how we can do it safely, effectively and affordably.

"If anybody tells you they know the answer today, I would be very, very skeptical," he says.

Vaughan also says that companies are investing millions in "trying to find the fountain of youth" despite much work still needed to be done.

"In the meantime, people are going to try to take advantage of this, because there's an opportunity to make money," he adds.

Influencer Bryan Johnson, for example, has gained 2 million followers on Instagram as he tries to "achieve immortality by 2039" − while also promoting a phone app and supplement line. In January 2025, he starred in Netflix's "Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever," a documentary about his extreme quest.

Speaking of: Bryan Johnson wants to live forever. A new Netflix film shows the wild ways he's trying.

Follow the science, not influencers

So, who do you follow when an influencer turns out to be not who they seem?

Vaughan suggests seeing out "actual scientists" for health information.

"People that have dedicated their lives and their work and their science to questions in this field," he says. "Those are the kind of programs and people and opportunities that the general public should put their trust in and their confidence in."

For example, those who run research labs and are published authors of peer-reviewed studies.

He adds that trust and confidence are the most important aspects when taking information from someone in the medical field.

Jess Steier, a public health scientist who runs a public health data consultancy that produces the podcast "Unbiased Science," works to counteract false wellness claims that run rampant online.

"I'd say that 99% of what I'm doing now is putting out fires started by these wellness influencers," she recently told NPR.

Where we're actually at with longevity medicine

Though it's become a buzzword, longevity is not a "magic bullet," Vaughan explains, but an evolving science.

When it comes to living longer and healthier, for example, a handful of researchers previously interviewed by USA TODAY agree on a few basics ‒ Get adequate sleep, exercise and social interaction. Limit stress. Eat a healthy diet and avoid obesity. Don't smoke or drink too much. Drive carefully.

Vaughan agrees Attia has been effective and enthusiastic about promoting the importance of exercise and diet, for example.

"I don't think anybody can argue with that, but to think of him as an actual scientist who's really done the work of understanding what biological aging is and what we might do about it, that's not fair."

Others say to beware of "experts" who promise to “cure death," who are likely selling something, Dr. Eric Verdin, who runs the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, California, previously told USA TODAY.

“There is a whole spectrum – what we call the crazies,” he said. “We’re not going to cure death. I don’t even know if it’s desirable.”