When things are going well for an athlete, nobody’s going to question their little rituals. They might even adopt them for themselves. But even at the best of times, that’s only humoring them. When that same athlete’s underperforming, a fun little anecdote becomes a pressure point. Something to point at and declare, “He’s not serious anymore!” That’s how it went with Aaron Rodgers last week.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Rodgers revealed teammate Thomas Morstead had recommended him a little “Fountain of Youth.” The Elixir in question? Cayenne pepper dissolved in water. Now, regardless of whether that works or not, we’ve got ourselves a little controversy. According to the latest from Davante Adams, wide receiver and longtime buds with Rodgers, Morstead never recommended it to Rodgers. Adams and Morstead had been having a conversation about pain relief when Rodgers eavesdropped on it, later championing the elixir.

Not the most crushing betrayal in the world, but still funny, Rodgers chose to spin it that way. Of course, it gave detractors something to cling to. Not that those detractors are in the wrong, necessarily. The Pat McAfee Show in particular made an absolute meal of the segment. While the host himself just mocked Rodgers, guest JJ Watt just seemed disappointed, saying, “Is this a joke, man? Like, is this a joke? Like, come on…just go play the ball, man. Just go play the ball, try and get better, score some touchdowns.”

And at the time Watt was saying this, it seemed half justified. In the runup to the New York Jets‘ game against the Houston Texans, the Jets were 2-6. Compare that to the Texans’ 6-2 (and the fact that Watt’s a former Texans player), and you can imagine where his attitude was coming from. Imagine his surprise when the Jets pulled off the biggest upset of the week, absolutely dominating it over the Texans. Aaron Rodgers has since revealed that Watts’ comments were a sort of motivation in the locker room.

So is cayenne pepper in water really the secret to all life’s problems? There’s a little disturbing information on that front, actually.

Who came up with Rodgers’ fountain of youth elixir?

Now we know what you’re thinking: Wasn’t it Thomas Morstead’s idea? Well, Adams has revealed that Morstead himself got the idea from a lady called Barbara O’Neill off TikTok. So far, so good. You find out all kinds of things on social media, so what’s new? Well, Barbara O’Neill is a 71-year-old Australian advocate and promoter of alternate health care practices.

And some of the “cures” she’s pushed in the past have been so harmful that the Health Care Complaints Commission in the state of New South Wales in Australia has specifically prohibited her from providing any health-related services.Her husband is the founder of a former anti-vax group, and she herself has repeatedly given dangerous advice. O’Neill has no medical training yet persists in promoting “detox” services and so-called medical advice.

But what’s up with the cayenne pepper elixir specifically? That one’s relatively harmless. Davante Adams talks about using it as an Advil replacement out of concern for his liver, and that’s okay. Cayenne can be used as an anti-inflammatory, and that’s something an aging sportsman like Rodgers needs. So we won’t go tumbling over ourselves to recommend you try this fountain of youth, but it can’t hurt if you want to pretend for a second that you’re Aaron Rodgers. Why would you want to do that, though?