Josh Axe and the Gospel of Wellness: A Biblical Warning

By Elizabeth Prata

This is a long article. I’ll cut to the chase: I review Josh Axe very negatively. Before Christian sisters decide to bail and quit reading, I’ll ask you this: do you want to honor Jesus with all your mind, strength, body, and soul? Or do you love Josh Axe so much you will not even entertain anything negative said about him? If the latter, you have an idol in your heart. If you are not a Christian there are still pertinent facts and information for you to consider. And I do hope, whomever you are, to consider them. Helpful links at the end.

Why Josh Axe is not recommended:

1. Syncretism, (Hebrews 13:9)
2. Unsubstantiated or only partially true claims, (Proverbs 11:1).
3. Using the Bible to make money, (1 Timothy 6:9-10)
4. Avoidance of pointing to sin as a general consequence of our health a fallen world (Romans 6:23); or, that taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner can cause sickness (1 Corinthians 11:30), that sin may have caused the illness (Psalm 6:2, 6-7) or realizing that some sickness could be a disciplinary act from Jesus- (Exodus 9:9).

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Introduction: Who is Dr. Axe?

Dr. Josh Axe is a health advisor with a large following. His website DrAxe.com is one of the largest natural health websites in the world, with more than 14 to 15 million people visiting monthly. His Youtube channel currently has about 2.53 million subscribers with over 2,500 videos. His podcast, The Dr. Josh Axe Show, has achieved over 1 million downloads within its first year. Josh Axe is the co-founder of ‘Ancient Nutrition’ and founder of The Health Institute, which have helped build a 9-figure personal brand, as much as 100 million dollars as of 2019.

He has a lot of letters after his name, DC, DNM, and CNS. DC means Doctor of Chiropractic, DNM means Doctor of Natural Medicine, and CNS means Certified Nutrition Specialist. Doctor of Natural Medicine is not a physician, or what we think of as a regular doctor who has gone to medical school, passed residency, and practices medicine. DNM is an alternative practice that emphasizes natural therapies, lifestyle changes, and prevention. DNMs, including Dr. Axe, believe the body can heal itself, with adjustment changes suggested by the DNM.

Thus, be aware that though Axe puts Dr. in front of his name, Josh Axe does not have a standard medical degree (MD or DO) that allows for the practice of conventional medicine or prescribing pharmaceuticals.

Is Natural Medicine Quackery or Helpful?

It depends on who you ask but in the main, it can range from helpful to benign to quackery to dangerous.

Healthy lifestyle and diet changes do affect our bodies. An impactful statement I read a few months ago (not related to today’s research for this essay) is “food is information”. Our body acts on what we put in it, it reads the nutritional information of each bite swallowed and reacts accordingly. It’s true that our bodies can ‘bounce back’ and fight off some illnesses, a cold or the flu for example. And healthy lifestyles do help prevent other diseases such as obesity, diabetes, or joint inflammation. But there are times a person diagnosed with certain illnesses would be advised to seek normal medical help.

Over history, less scrupulous health gurus have made outlandish claims about diseases, cures, and made lots of money from their unscrupulous practices. This is not new. These ads are from our local newspaper in 1894 and 1900. ‘Tonics’ claim to cure everything from malaria to ‘bad blood’ to cancer.

Fun fact: The Origin of Snake Oil & Snake Oil Salesmen-
As Chinese immigrants entered the US in the 1800s, they brought with them their own ‘ancient healing’ knowledge. Chinese water snake oils were effective in reducing inflammation like arthritis and bursitis. Old cowboy Clark Stanley noticed this and marketed the product at the 1893 Chicago World Exposition using actual Chinese water snakes (but had changed the origin to Hopi Indians since the Chinese were not favored back then, and Indians fit his narrative better). But Chinese water snakes lived in, well, China, and as the source became scarce, Stanley substituted rattlesnake oil which was not as effective by a long shot. Eventually he stopped even using rattlesnakes. In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed to combat the plethora of tonics and medicinals crowding the marketplace and making unsubstantiated claims on Americans. When government officials seized a shipment of Stanley’s Snake Oil to test, they found it contained only mineral oil, beef fat, red pepper, and turpentine. In 1917 Clark Stanley was fined the equivalent of $500. He became the permanent symbolic representative for the term ‘snake oil salesman.’

Back to Dr. Axe

There are a number of approaches I considered taking to assess Dr. Axe’s claims. Assessing his health claims would take more time and knowledge than I have. I did share a few concerns below from scientific and scholarly articles. Adding complexity to the mix, many people saw that the science provided by the established medical arena during the Covid era of 2020-2022 was a pure lie, and skepticism against the regular medical community rose to heights. Sadly, many doctors, the FDA, the CDC, WHO, and others were discovered not to be trusted. As a result, many Americans began seeking ‘alternative’ or ‘functional’ health care.

I could assess Dr. Axe based on the spiritual beliefs he has espoused or accepted onto his website or from guests to his podcast. He has promoted unbiblical concepts such as energy healing, yin and yang, acupuncture, and other mystical practices not aligned with the Bible, even though he claims to be a Christian. Christians should reject these practices. Angela Mitchell gives examples of Axe’s unbiblical recommendations and presents the biblical stance here in her recent essay titled “Why Christians Should Beware of “Woo” in Wellness Culture“.

Marcia Montenegro at Christian Answers for the New Age wrote a few years ago about the fact that Axe supports astrology and energy healing, two cornerstones of the occult and the New Age (aside from the Enneagram). I’ll refer you to those 3 links also.

“Dr” Josh Axe: Astrology, Enneagram, and Energy Healing (Facebook)

Warning on Josh Axe (Facebook)

New Age Shaman “Healers” (Non-Medical) (Josh Axe has a large section in this overview by Montenegro of current health practitioners who behave more like Shamans in Montenegro’s view) (blog)

Another segment of his teaching are the medical claims. He says that his alternative medicine can ‘beat cancer’. Can it? I’ll cover this briefly before I get to my main assessment. He claims-

From the cover: “The Biblio Diet Live Long, Master Metabolism, Reduce Pain, Fight Depression, and Conquer Cancer with Healing Secrets from the Bible By Jordan Rubin and Josh Axe“

In all honesty, his title and subtitle remind me of the 1900’s ads for tonics that cure everything from malaria to ingrown toenails.

To be sure, Axe promotes good things and encourages beneficial habits. He says, like most nutritionists, like my own nutritionist, to eat whole, unprocessed foods and to reduce sugar. He encourages people to exercise, reduce stress, undergo weight training, and the like. All good.

However, Axe goes further, and claims his method is a divine, scientifically-backed “cure” for serious illnesses like cancer, something that is not validated by established medical science.

Supplements and diet alone cannot “conquer” or beat cancer once it has been diagnosed. Leading health organizations emphasize that there is no scientific evidence that any specific food, diet plan, vitamin, or supplement can slow, cure, or prevent the recurrence of cancer. For example, this cancer.gov article states,

“The National Cancer Institute says “Many people want to know if they can fight cancer by eating certain foods or taking vitamins or supplements. But there is no proof that any nutrition trend, food, vitamin, mineral, dietary supplement, herb, or combination of these can slow cancer, cure it, or keep it from coming back. Tell your doctor, nurse, or dietitian about any vitamin, mineral, dietary supplements, or medicinal herbs you are already taking or plan to take. Also, talk with them before you decide to go on a diet.” (Source Cancer.gov.)

Josh Axe’s mother was diagnosed with cancer four times with 3 different cancers. When Dr. Axe’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer she underwent conventional treatment methods and was declared cancer-free. It was only 10 years later when she was diagnosed with lung cancer that a combination of medical and holistic methods were used, which shrunk her tumor 52%, but not totally. She was also diagnosed with and treated for melanoma twice using traditional medical methods. Her final diagnosis of ovarian cancer was treated by standard medical doctors, but she sadly passed away in 2015 from this after undergoing multiple chemotherapy treatments.

In this deep study from Nature—the leading international weekly journal of science first published in 1869, a study called,

“Science, advocacy, and quackery in nutritional books: an analysis of conflicting advice and purported claims of nutritional best-sellers“,

they examined 100 nutritional bestsellers. One of the nutritional bestselling authors they chose to examine was Dr. Axe.

Nutritional decisions may be important for health, and yet identifying trustworthy sources of advice can be difficult to achieve. Many people turn to books for nutritional advice, making the contents of these books and the expertise of their authors relevant to public health. … This study illuminates the range of the incongruous information being dispersed to the public and emphasizes the need for future efforts to improve the dissemination of sound nutritional advice.

The scientists in the Nature article found that: “In all, our assessment of the summaries of best-selling books on nutrition shows that they may provide information or misinformation about very important matters and they are a heterogeneous mix. We cannot exclude that some of them may be providing sound or even excellent advice, but it is likely that many, probably the large majority, contain substantial misinformation and claims that have no scientific foundation.”

Further, the study found that,

Notably, several of these authors seemed to have become wealthy entrepreneurs. The magnitude and types of potential financial incentives and potential conflicts need to be more visible, regardless of whether these books include highly problematic content, or they provide the most excellent and perfectly accurate advice one can read. (Source )

The main point: Is Dr. Axe’s ‘divine diet’ biblical?

Dr. Axe has said that his diet and nutrition advice from the Bible “reveals health secrets,” and has said in interviews “the Biblio diet brings glory to God”. Let’s assess his advice and methods and compare to the Bible.

We already learned that Dr. Axe believes unbiblical things, such as Enneagram, Energy Healing and is favorable on astrology and more. This alone should warn you off a person claiming to be Christian. Let me be clear, anyone who claims to love God but also makes claims or accepts claims from astrology, energy work, enneagram, and other alternative spiritualities is NOT to be followed.

He has stated in an interview that he fasts because it gives his organs rest, like a Sabbath rest. This may or not be true that fasting helps organs ‘rest’ but likening it to the Bible is nonsensical. Further, Axe said with Kirk Cameron on Takeaways podcast, RE fasting: “I think about myself when I’m in a state where I’m very clear headed, I’m rested, I feel like I can connect better with God sometimes. I feel like God can sometimes, sometimes I hear him better in that state as well.”

Let me assure the dear reader of two things: 1st, God is not speaking directly to us any more since the canon closed. (Hebrews 1:1-2, 2 Timothy 3:16). 2nd, when He was speaking directly, don’t you think the Creator of the universe could make himself heard through a carb nap?

Because of his acceptance and mixture of other spiritualities, Josh Axe promotes syncretism. This is strike #1 in assessing Axe and comparing to the Bible. “The sin of syncretism was repeated often in Old Testament history, and God’s response was always the same: followers of the One True God must never mix their beliefs with other religions.” (Exodus 20:3, Exodus 32:7-10, 2 Kings 21:9) Source North American Mission Board.

Axe said, “We see fasting in the Bible as something that does support physical health if done correctly. But also even more than that, spiritual breakthrough, breakthrough in wealth, breakthrough in relationships, just breakthrough in your life. In fact, if you’re looking for a life breakthrough somewhere, fasting biblically is probably the single greatest thing…” (source Youtube)

“breakthrough” is a word that charismatics and word-faith promoters use. Breakthrough to what, exactly?

Next, aside from the obvious unbiblical leanings and teachings, aside from the wrong reasons to fast, we should be offended by the very cover of his book. Highly offended. His latest book purports to reveal “secrets”. Healing secrets no less.

Hogwash.

God sent the Holy Spirit to inspire the Bible in order that His name, His glory, and His will would be revealed. REVEALED

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31).

The primary purpose of a Christian engaging with the Bible is to learn about the God who revealed himself there. It is not to be used as a health advice manual. The Bible is not an overlay to a Christian’s life. It is life itself.

He talks a lot about the mind-body connection, which there is one, but in 10 video interviews I’ve reviewed he never mentions the word sin or curse. He talks a lot about changing the mind, but changing it through our own power, not based on the power of the Holy Spirit through the Bible’s words. He USES the Bible to overlay a functional spirituality over his ideas, but the true mind-body connection is slaying sin in our lives and relying on the Holy Spirit to transform the mind. Even then, many faithful people in the Bible were sick.

One wonders, was Timothy not availing himself of the ancient nutrition? Why did he have stomach issues that Paul advised to take a little wine for? Why did the Woman with Blood Issue for 12 years have this issue for so long? Did she not avail herself of the ancient secrets? Or were those secrets still hidden until Dr. Axe came along? Epaphroditus was a coworker of Paul who Paul reported was ill and almost died. (Philippians 2:25-27). Lazarus did die.

In my opinion, this kind of book, this approach to the faith, is horrifying, offensive, and inappropriate merchandising. (2 Peter 2:3).

The word “secrets” on the cover should sway you immediately away from indulging in any of Dr. Axe’s content. His method of purporting to reveal heretofore hidden information, that he has now unearthed and presented in the open, is ridiculous in the extreme. Think of how many “Christian” books there have been in the last decade with the word ‘secret’ in the title. The Bible is not a code, not full of hidden secrets, not a manual that only special people with super spy skills unearth and now relate to you (for money, usually).

Two final thoughts

God’s plan is for us to repent, believe, and strive to kill sin in our life. Pursuing holiness. God’s plan is not to tell us exactly what to eat. You are not failing God if you somehow miss out on eating the exact right things. You do not need Josh Axe to reveal “biblical” health secrets to you. Of course some of Dr. Axe’s advice is good. Eat healthy, make mindful health decisions, eat local if possible, exercise, etc. Yes, all good things. I need to do those things myself. But as for specifics, like this grain or that vegetable or how to fast or how many days to eat meat? No. Axe is overstepping.

Do not be misled by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. (Hebrews 13:9).

It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person. (Matthew 15:11).

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all things for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31). (RE food sacrificed to idols, but the principle still applies in the wider sense).

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:17).

Make your own health decisions. See a doctor who determines what’s wrong with you through blood tests and other measurable assessments. Not sketchy, unsubstantiated percentages thrown out there like when Axe said on youtube “over 50% of medical conditions today are from spiritual unwellness.” Dr. Axe has no idea if that is true. It is not measurable! While I admit some actual doctors do have a profit motive, there are checks and balances in the medical profession based on the scientific method in place whereas in the wellness industry, there are not comparable checks and balances. It is the WIld West..

When someone bases their practices on their spiritual beliefs, there are theological implications. At this point, you are not just making a personal health decision, now you are involving God!

The other point, the final point I want to make is a tough one. Dear readers, I say this with as much love as I can muster through this screen, with as much pleading and imploring as I can offer: do not be gullible! Since time immemorial people have either been gullible or desperate enough to try unsubstantiated or suspect healing helps, and unscrupulous people have preyed on this gullibility and this desperation.

I read an excellent piece on Twitter/X by Michael Clary. He wrote: “Stop being gullible!” He wrote it about the immigration problem and the rioters opposing ICE, but it is a good piece that stands for all people who are taken in by one suspect concept or another. He wrote,

“It isn’t Christlike to be gullible. It isn’t Christlike to believe and share debunked propaganda. It isn’t Christlike to be led by your emotions. It isn’t Christlike to outsource your critical thinking skills to the leftwing activists in the mainstream media.” [or, as I say, to pretend doctors]…

Clary continues- “with knowledge and all discernment.” In other words, Christian love is a thinking love. To discern is to make proper distinctions and draw clear moral boundaries. But why is that important? Paul’s prayer is for love PLUS knowledge PLUS discernment. Love requires discernment. Period. Discernment is the rope that keeps people tethered to reality. Without it, love becomes a weapon that evil people use against you. https://x.com/dmichaelclary/status/2015944226026946990

Or they use to get money out of you. Are you being made merchandise? On the trustpilot website there are reviews to the positive about Josh Axe but many more to the negative about the Ancient Nutrition site by Dr. Axe. One woman wrote the following comment last week, and this same comment is echoed many times with other reviewers.

The video they have on social media leads you to believe that they will be able to give you some sound advice and tips based on your “personal health” but it’s really just an opportunity for them to sell you a very expensive $8500 program.

Dr. Axe, while not a real doctor, offers some sound health advice, offers other advice that sounds logical but may or may not be, and also makes outlandish claims that have no basis in scientific reality. Fine, his advice runs the gamut. Buyer beware. But what we should be concerned about is his USE of the Bible, his APPROPRIATION of God to sell you his ideals. Avoid anyone who says they have Bible ‘secrets’ to tell you.

Conclusion

Joah Axe is a syncretist, offers unsubstantiated health claims, misuses the Bible for gain, teaches improper methods for fasting, avoids talking about sin, promotes a self-help without an essential focus on God’s help.

Axe talks negatively about ‘Big Pharma’. But the wellness industry is BIGGER and MORE Lucrative than Big Pharma. Let’s talk about the ‘Big Money’ in the wellness industry, specifically Josh Axe: “Dr. Axe co-founded Ancient Nutrition in 2016. Ancient Nutrition, a bone broth protein and collagen supplement maker, has [in 2018 ]raised $103 million in funding from an impressive pool of 100+ influential investors from the health foods and wellness industries. Its recent growth represents 40%+ of the growth to the protein, collagen and gut health market.” (Source Forbes Magazine).

We are talking big money. Cut to just 7 years later-

In January 2025, “Wellful, which itself is owned by private-equity house Kainos Capital, has bought Ancient Nutrition from investors including VMG Partners and Hillhouse Investment.” (Source). His business probably sold for MORE than 103 million since he had investors to satisfy.

From his Youtube income alone we read, Dr. Axe’s net worth is estimated to be around $20 million. He built his fortune by providing valuable information on natural remedies, nutrition, and fitness. He generates most of his income through his website, DrAxe.com, and his book sales. In addition to this, he also earns money through his podcast, online courses, and supplements selling. Dr. Axe is a successful entrepreneur … (Source)

Inside Dr. Josh Axe’s $100 Million Nutrition Business: The Mike Dillard Show

The Wellness Industry: The global wellness economy reached a record $6.8 trillion in 2024 and is projected to approach $10 trillion by 2029. This includes sectors like personal care & beauty, nutrition/weight loss, fitness, and wellness real estate. The wellness industry is roughly four times larger than the pharmaceutical industry in terms of annual revenue.

Reading all the Entrepreneurship articles on how Axe became so popular so fast, he likes to present himself as a man who ‘just wanted to help people, and then, help more people.” I’m sure he does or did. Yet his approach to business is eye-opening. Josh Axe has a passion for health, that much is clear. He is also strategic and thorough in making sure he got to the top in his health-wellness-advice field and making sure he stays there. Far from being the earnest health guru who initially wanted to just help his mom’s cancer and learn for himself how to walk again after his own illness, and simply handed out copied sheets to patients and it magically grew from there, Axe from the beginning was careful, strategic, and shrewd in how to make money. He is not a lot different than Big Pharma. In fact, Pharmaceutical companies must submit to FDA regulations for testing while the wellness industry has much looser restrictions and less oversight. The FDA does not test wellness products before they hit the market. Instead, they rely on post-market surveillance to remove unsafe items. Which means, YOU are the guinea pig.

My assessment is that Josh Axe is an extremely successful health and wellness entrepreneur who uses the Bible to make money.

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Further Reading

This Nature study mentioned above (Science, advocacy, and quackery in nutritional books: an analysis of conflicting advice and purported claims of nutritional best-sellers) says that of the 100 books they examined, there were widely varying health claims, from authors with widely varying credentials, the claims of which contradicted each other. Link to their abstract and can download the pdf. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-0415-6

While the Bible contains significant, timeless principles regarding diet, stewardship of the body, and lifestyle habits that promote wellness, it is not specifically a nutrition book. The Bible does emphasize treating the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, advocates for moderation, balance, and healthy eating. Principles, not specifics! Unlike back then, walking is no longer our main mode of transportation, not everyone farms or labors physically, our lifestyles and even the foods we eat have changed (for example the Egyptian cukes and onions mentioned in Exodus). See these helpful links as they offer biblical advice on how a Christian should approach health, diet, and nutrition-

Finding Hope Amid Severe Illness by Marissa Henley at Ligonier

Clean and Unclean by Benjamin Shaw at Ligonier

How should we eat? A biblical approach by Heath Lambert at the Biblical Counseling Coalition. Weight-Loss, Fear, and Eating Cheeseburgers for the Glory of God