The history of Los Angeles is a history of the potential of renewal, and diet has always been tied up in this particularly Californian mode of self-improvement. Enter Sheila. She's in her late 30's, a well-to-do lady-about-town, enjoying the finer things in life: good food, good wine and good friends.

Overall, Sheila is in very decent health, but not quite as spunky as she was in her 20's. About a year ago, Sheila found her energy was down, her skin would flare up, she couldn't sleep, was having a hard time concentrating and was thinking about having a family. After a number of word-of-mouth stories from trusted friends, she decided to give a "chiropractic" nutritionist approach to health a try, one who took her by referral only, who only saw patients three times a week and who had a three-month long waiting list.

The actual (and very expensive) 45-minute process consisted of sitting in a chair, closing her eyes and waiting while this "nutritionist" did some strange magical movements, culling from a giant stock-pile of vitamins the various supplements she thought applicable to the problems she claimed Sheila had. Problems that were somehow apparent to the guru, like air. There was the multi vitamin B, something called Schizandra and Pycnogenol for hormone balancing, Omega 3s, Wormword (to kill the parasites, also known as Artemisia), and Vitamin D, just to name a few. After announcing a return visit was necessary in a couple weeks, Sheila walked out the door $600 poorer.

Taking a look at Sheila's overall health was refreshing, however unscientific the approach. She religiously followed the rules laid out and took the pricy in-house supplements - all shades, colors and sizes, up to almost 25 pills a day. She also took the nutritional advice seriously and started adjusting her shopping and eating habits. Finally a series of tests on anything bodily that could be tested showed Sheila was indeed gluten and lactose intolerant.

Adjusting her diet did help. But it seemed, after a very expensive six-months of return visits and mounds of pills, nothing else had. She felt vaguely better, but wasn't really that much better off. She decided that the touchy-feel without any actual touching might not be the way to go, so turned to an acupuncturist whom she still sees today.

A year of magical gurus has produced an affect similar to that of the recession - a lot of money disappearing into who knows where based on dubious claims. But Sheila does find herself coming out slightly ahead, a result of following a basic gluten-free and dairy-free diet and taking some basic supplements. No more things that cannot be pronounced, she takes a simple omega-3 and a good multi-vitamin (she uses the generic Trader Joe's brand.)

The question now is whether the food and restaurant industry can catch on quickly enough to keep up demands for alternatives to flour. Whole Foods seems to be doing the best, having a decent selection of items. Sheila is committed to getting off the supplement wheel and embracing this behavior shift. She’s even bringing her own gluten-free pasta to dinner parties and wheat-free soy sauce to a Japanese sushi place.

And the next wheel spins...