A world where everyone can get & stay healthy.

It’s here.

Our Team

You can think of The Nessie’s writers and editors as your well-informed wellness hype squad. Our crew has worked with some of the biggest brands in the product testing and health and wellness space, including Greatist, Prevention, Self, The Wirecutter, National Geographic, Health, Runner’s World, and more.
In addition to our writers’ and editors’ experience, every piece of content on The Nessie is reviewed and fact-checked by at least two people from our panel of expert reviewers.
What does this mean for you? We’ve put in the work, and we’re able to give you recommendations you can trust.
Meet the whole team below.

Our Editorial Team

Melanie Ehrenkranz

Marketing & Content

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Sara Hendricks

Marketing & Content

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Leslie An

Editorial Assistant

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…
Our Writers

Ashley Lauretta

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Amanda Tarlton

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Brooklee Han

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Colleen Stinchcombe

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Ebony Roberts

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Jenni Gritters

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Jessica Bernhard

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Joni Sweet

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Marissa Miller

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Pam Moore

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…
Our Experts

Allison Larraga, RDN

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Brenda N. Umana, MPH, 500-RYT

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Krista Linares, MPH, RDN

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Kimberly Shao, MD

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Naika Apeakorang, ND, LAc.

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Rebecca Valdez, MS, RDN

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Raj Dasgupta, MD

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Sequoia Ridley, RDN

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Taylor Thomas

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Victoria Sekely

Contributor

Jenni Gritters is a journalist with 10 years of experience covering science, health, and psychology. Jenni has written…

Wellness at Ness

The Nessie is part of the Ness Card ecosystem1. Our vision is a world where everyone can get and stay healthy—and a big part of that means meeting you wherever you are on your journey. We’ve designed our framework to address your needs in a holistic, accessible way.

Our Review Process

We know it’s a big deal—and a huge honor!—if you choose to buy anything that we recommend. Because of this, we only recommend products and services we stand by. Products must live up to both our medical and quality standards to earn our badge of approval. If we feature any Ness Card brand partners2, they undergo the same stringent testing process as any other brand. (Some brands become Ness Card partners after we feature them on The Nessie.) No matter what we test, we apply different methods to different product categories.

All of the products in the follow categories get evaluated by Ness’s medical standards, The Evidence Test, and reviewed by relevant experts from our Wellness Council:

All of the products and services in the following categories are actually tested by our writers and reviewed by relevant experts from our expert panel:

How The Evidence Test Works

When we write about a product category that requires evaluation about health claims, we use The Evidence Test.

The Evidence Test is an evidence-based decision making framework that helps us determine what’s healthy, what’s not, and everything in between.

All our writers and editors are trained to use The Evidence Test to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of products and services. Members of our expert review panel regularly audit our application of The Evidence Test to ensure compliance.

Our research and review process is intended for informational purposes only—never as a substitute for medical treatment, diagnosis, or advice. Always consult a healthcare provider if you have questions about how a product, service, or intervention may impact your individual physical or mental health.

Here’s how the scoring system works:

A product or service must have at least two pieces of evidence, scientific evaluation, or peer-reviewed research to earn the highest score on The Evidence Test, Healthy.

This means there’s good to strong data to suggest that this product or service is a healthy addition to your wellness routine.

If data suggests a product or service has a health benefit for some people but not for others, it’ll score a Healthy-ish. This score will also be given if there’s some research that indicates a benefit, but not enough to come to a consensus.

A Healthy-ish score means that it may be helpful to certain individuals on their wellness journey based on their individual circumstances, and it’s unlikely to be harmful to anyone. However, it isn’t definitively healthy for all.

Products or services with limited or conflicting evidence that tends toward the positive receive the Helpful score. This means we’re unable to determine its exact health benefits, but we don’t believe it’ll cause harm, either. In short, the product or service could be helpful to your overall wellbeing, but it’s not likely to do much more than that.

If the available scientific information suggests that the product or service is harmful to human health, it’ll score an Unhealthy

In this scenario, Ness does not recommend the use of the product or service. 

When there isn’t enough credible scientific information to suggest a product or service is healthy or unhealthy, it will be scored as Undecided/Unknown. In these scenarios, we cannot say definitively that the product will be helpful or harmful in one’s wellness journey.

The Evidence We Use

We believe in bringing scientific rigor to wellness. To do that, we steer clear of pseudoscience and trust the experts—the ones on our team, and the ones out in the world. 

Ness relies on high-quality, peer-reviewed scientific research and publications from the global medical community. This includes systematic reviews, meta-analysis, randomized control trials, cohort studies, case control studies, case series, and case reports. 

We also leverage information and recommendations from identified authorities in the field of medicine, health, and wellness like the CDC, WHO, USPSTF, SAMHSA, Examine, and NCCIH. Any exceptions to this are rare but justified, and we’ll let you know if a source isn’t coming from a peer-reviewed journal or an identified authority in the given field. 

When using this evidence for The Evidence Test, we strive to use a minimum of two resources to support our recommendations. 

How We Test Products & Services

For fitness gear, self-care tools, or healthy and wellness wearables and apps, we get the products in our writers’ hands for rigorous testing.

Our writers carve out time to physically test and use products to determine what’s best on the market. They develop a testing rubric with a variety of factors to consider when buying a product, like usability, durability, comfort, accessibility, and price. Each product gets a score for every factor, and we use that as a guide to determine what’s great (and what’s not).

But we don’t just add up the scores, rank the products, and call it a day. We believe in taking a more holistic view, allowing you to shop based on your needs. For instance, if something is expensive but really effective, we’ll tell you if it’s worth shelling out some cash to invest in something that works—but we’ll also make sure to feature items that don’t cost as much, too.

After our writers have tested each product, they’ll either keep the product to regularly re-test, or they’ll donate to charities and nonprofit organizations in their area.

Our Editorial Independence

We maintain strict independence and freedom to cover any product or service at our discretion. We do not accept any form of compensation in exchange for coverage or favorable reviews, nor do we give preferential treatment to our partners.

How We Make Money

We’ll occasionally partner with the brands we review and include in The Nessie. In those instances, we’re sometimes compensated when you click on a link on The Nessie and purchase a product or service. This in no way affects our reviews of brands or the recommendations we give our readers. That’s grounded in hours and hours of research and hands on testing.

If you have any questions about who we’re working with or how we make money, don’t hesitate to ask us at [email protected].

A dose of wellness for your inbox

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“This card is such an exciting addition to my wallet and it’s perfect for someone who values health and wellness but hasn’t found a credit card that rewards me for that. I love getting rewarded for wellness practices like sleeping, meditating, and moving my body—plus extra points on purchases at my favorite places like Whole Foods, ClassPass and sweetgreen. The app is easy to use and the card is designed for your definition of health and wellness, which I love. It’s flexible!”

Kira's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“It’s no secret that wellness is such an important part of my everyday life. I spend a lot of money to help fuel my love of running, recovery, nutrition and mindfulness, so the fact that I can now earn rewards for every dollar I spend with the Ness Card is amazing. My health always comes first, and the Ness Card makes that easy to do. It’s a win-win for everyone!”

Andi's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“As a new mum, wellness and self-care is a priority for me—so I can, in turn, be able to take care of my baby. I love the incentives that Ness offers for making healthier choices. And to be rewarded along the way for those purchases is such a plus!

Oh, and getting 5x point rewards on my Erewhon $20+ smoothie makes it a little more justifiable.”

Amrit's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“I made a promise to myself to find my joy again in 2023. For the past few years, I haven’t been taking care of myself mentally and physically because I’ve just been on the go and focusing on the future instead of being present. I realized that part of the reason I wasn’t happy was because I wasn’t taking care of myself. So, now with the Ness Card—which literally rewards you for staying on top of your wellness journey—I’ve easily been able to focus on my mental and physical journey. Using the card is now a part of my weekly routine, whether I’m buying groceries, going to therapy, spending a day at the spa, or treating myself to a delicious yummy meal.”

Candace's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“I love life with the Ness Card! The team behind the scenes work really hard to make it valuable and to create a sense of community, which you feel in every newsletter and hand-crafted partnership. The card itself encourages me to be even more curious about where I’m spending my money. It definitely incentivizes me to spend ‘healthier’, which is really unique. On top of that, getting points for taking more steps? There is seriously nothing like it.

David's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“My favorite thing about the Ness Card is that it rewards you for your healthy habits, and not all of them require spending. Yes, you can earn 5x points when you spend at any of their approved health and wellness merchants (think Erewhon and many of your other favorites) but you also earn points for being active daily! So now your sanity walks are literally paying off :) As someone who not only works in wellness but lives and breathes it, essentially most of my expenses live in that realm and with the Ness Card I can now be rewarded nicely for those purchases.”

Kirsty's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“I love that I have rewards to look forward to when I focus on my health and wellness. As a mom of two and full time photographer/creator, it’s hard to find time to prioritize my health and—as my body ages—I want to make sure that I’m treating it to all the TLC it needs (and deserves)! The Ness Card reminds me to take care of my mental, physical, and emotional health on the daily.”

Valerie's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“It’s refreshing to have a card app that is so easy to use. I can track my spending and rewards at the click of a button. I love getting a notification when I get extra points for getting a full night sleep or getting my steps in, though of course those are optional. I work a lot, and I feel like I get extra rewarded for taking the time to take care of myself – whether it’s therapy or simply cooking at home instead of dining out. The points accumulate really quickly, and I’ve already gotten a $1,000 credit at Erewhon in my first four months. I also go visit family in Europe a lot, and no one takes my card there, so it’s so convenient to be able to use my Ness Card without ever paying a fee.”

Mélanie's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“As someone who spends the majority of her money on wellness, the Ness Card is perfect for me! I love earning 5x points on purchases at healthy businesses that I was already making, anyways. The Ness Card also motivates me to get enough sleep, practice mindfulness and other healthy habits. The app is really user-friendly and I love watching my points add up. I am excited to redeem them for wellness-related items!”

Lauren's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“The Ness Card motivates me to keep up my healthy habits, and has helped me discover new brands and products that are in alignment with my goals. I’m not spending any more with my Ness Card, but the money I am spending on health and wellness is actually earning me rewards, benefits, and even cash back. And because Ness’s definition of a ‘healthy merchant’ is so generous, I’m able to recognize all of the small ways I practice self-care throughout the week. From buying fresh veggies to going to therapy to taking my supplements, the Ness Card is there to cheer me on: ‘Keep being healthy, girl. You deserve 5x points for that.'”

Melissa's Favorite Healthy Merchants

“The Ness Card rewards me when I spend money on health and wellness. Especially because so much of my wellness routine is spent being active, gardening, making food with my husband, getting a massage, or having some me time, it is nice to be rewarded for that with points that are with brands I shop at all the time anyway. It allows my wellness choices to work harder which I love.”

Research Based

This article was rigorously researched and fact checked. We use peer-reviewed journals and reputable medical sources (think: CDC, WHO, NIH, and the like) to back up every claim we make, and also reach out to experts in the field to ensure we’re covering things the right way. We apply these principles to everything we cover—including brands we partner with—and we’ll always disclose sponsorships, ads, and any kind of financial relationship with anything featured on The Nessie. You deserve the best, most straightforward information on health and wellness, and we think this is the right way to do it. You can read more about our testing and review process here.

If something doesn’t seem quite right, let us know at [email protected].