The fact that a product or ingredient is "natural" in no way guarantees its safety or effectiveness, and the naturalness appeal is often used by wellness marketing to stoke fear and encourage distrust of science.

noli's read

Behavioral psychology research largely confirms this observation. A systematic review by Román et al. (2017) involving over 85,000 consumers shows that the search for "naturalness" is a major purchasing criterion, often irrationally linked to a promise of absolute safety. This phenomenon, documented by researchers Sofia Deleniv and Dan Ariely (2021) as the "naturalness bias," frequently leads to the rejection of scientific solutions in favor of alternatives perceived as purer. Observational studies in consumer psychology (such as those by Meier and Lappas, 2016) reveal that approximately 20% of people prefer a natural option even when it is explicitly presented as less safe or less effective than a synthetic alternative. Finally, public health marketing analyses, notably by researchers such as Katie Suleta, confirm that the fear of artificial ingredients is a powerful emotional lever exploited by the industry to boost supplement sales. Andrea Love's analysis is therefore based on very solid psychological and sociological realities.

the sources

1. 1Chandon P, Wansink B 2007
2. 2Croker H, Packer J, Russell SJ, Stansfield C, Viner RM 2020