- Social media is frequently used by Americans to find health information about diets and weight loss.
- It might be challenging to distinguish between what is true and safe and what is false.
- Four widespread nutrition fallacies busted by experts on social media.
You're not alone if you frequently browse social media in search of motivation to start new health practises. Data from the online patient group PatientsLikeMe shows that 11% of Americans polled claimed they use social media to find out about health issues.
While some information you get online could appear beneficial and reliable, and some of it might even originate from doctors, licenced dietitians, or other trained individuals, this is frequently not the case.
"What we frequently witness is someone who developed their own weight loss programme, gut cleansing, or cure and then tries to apply that to everyone... It can be extremely risky since just because something worked for them doesn't imply it would work for everyone, according to Jen Scheinman, RDN, nutrition affairs manager at Timeline Nutrition, who spoke to Healthline. They look for alluring quick remedies that tempt people to trust them, but they aren't supported by evidence and may even be harmful.
Dr. Rekha B. Kumar, associate professor of medicine at Cornell and chief medical officer at Found, adding that diets are frequently sensationalised on social media in an effort to pique people's interest.
According to Kumar, "if it were all objective and fair information, it would be in a scientific journal and not on social media."
She went on to say that while social media can be a vehicle for spreading knowledge, "in respect to diets and nutrition, content may be shared by influencers who don't always have all the facts, but likely do have some facts,"
Sheinman concurred. She claimed that many diet myths begin with a grain of truth to entice others to try them.
She remarked, "That kernel of truth can be overstated or misinterpreted to then be wise for the population.
It might be challenging to tell what is factual and what is not. We asked health professionals to dispel some of the most prevalent dietary myths being spread on social media in an effort to clear up any confusion.
Myth 1: Everyone should adopt a low-carb or ketogenic diet
While Kumar acknowledged that the keto and low carb diets can help people lose weight, she added that not everyone should follow these eating plans "either due to medical conditions like diabetes that may make severe carbohydrate reduction dangerous or [because] these plans don't match the biology of an individual (i.e., a different diet would be more effective)."
Concern is also raised about the kinds of foods that are consumed on these diets, especially the keto diet, which emphasises fat, according to Scheinman.
"What I start to find individuals doing is consuming loads of cheese and butter and tonnes of highly processed steak, bacon, or lunch meats while limiting vegetables, whole grains, and other essential nutrients," she added. As a result, their diets become unbalanced.
She pointed out that studies looking at the healthiest and longest-living individuals have discovered that their diets are sustained by whole grains, beans, and legumes.
When you exclude certain foods, such beans and legumes, "you have to ask what is happening in terms of health," according to Scheinman. These foods are specifically associated with people living longer.
Long-term adherence to a ketogenic or low-carb diet is also challenging, and Scheinman claimed that when people do start reintroducing carbohydrates to their diets, they typically do it unhealthily.
"[They're] not emphasising the starchy veggies, fruits, or whole grains. They're starting to revert to simple carbohydrates like white bread, sugar, and white spaghetti, which causes them to gain all the weight they lost plus some, creating a cyclical yo-yo effect, according to her.
Myth 2: Caffeine is necessary for energy.
According to Kumar, caffeine is a stimulant that increases mental alertness but does not literally give the body any nutrition or energy. This is due to the fact that caffeine does not result in the body's natural energy source, ATP (adenosine triphosphate), being produced in the cells.
Caffeine helps to calm down the neuropathways in the parts of the brain that cause us to feel drowsy. By applying a band-aid to the problem, it is essentially disguising our low-energy predicament, According to her, consuming caffeine might also cause dependence. You might, for instance, depend on it in the morning and eventually in the afternoon. However, consuming caffeine later in the day can impair your sleep, and when this happens, you end up waking up and consuming caffeine once more. The cycle then resumes from there.
According to Scheinman, the body already contains the means of increasing energy.
Every cell has these energy-producing organelles known as mitochondria, and she explained that when we take care of and nurture them with healthy lifestyle choices like a nutritious diet, enough sleep, and stress management, our bodies will provide the energy that we require. according to Scheinman.
Myth 3: Taking prescription diet pills poses no risks.
Kumar noted that these injectables were exclusively tested in people with diabetes or obesity, despite the fact that some celebrities have spoken out about the weight loss they had with prescribed anti-obesity drugs.
We really don't know the long-term implications of recreational usage to just shed a few pounds in the absence of metabolic disorder, she added. "There are recognised adverse effects, particularly gastrointestinal side effects," she said.
Although [these injections] are now solely indicated for people with diabetes and obesity, she noted that there are drugs that can be used to help people lose weight.
Myth 4: You ought to try detox diets and cleanses.
Almost none of the detox diets or cleanses available today have been shown to reduce cardiovascular risk or improve metabolic health in the short- or long-term, according to Kumar.
Also, Scheinman noted that if eating and lifestyle habits haven't changed once the shots are stopped, weight gain may happen.
A detox might temporarily reduce some people's bloating, but these effects are short-lived and may even cause rebound water retention or constipation, according to the expert.
The idea that there are more poisons in the world, that people breathe in more pollution, consume more sugar and junk food, and that people must thus get rid of these from their bodies is somewhat true, but Scheinman claimed that the body already naturally gets rid of toxins.
"[The] truth is that every day, our liver, kidneys, digestive system, and colon all work together to detoxify ourselves," she said. "This is how our body gets rid of toxins."
According to Scheinman, people can concentrate on eating a good diet, getting enough sleep, and avoiding environmental contaminants whenever feasible to help the body with these processes.
Regarding the dangers of cleanses and detoxes, she pointed out that diet-based detox programmes that advise doing things like ingesting fruit and vegetable smoothies or going vegan for a short period of time are probably safe.
Supplements "may or may not be regulated, and we're not clear what's in them," so if they are included in these programmes, they could be harmful.
Scheinman says that another issue is psychological harm. With the idea that you may eat everything you want until January 1 and then detox, the drive for cleanses and detoxes frequently occurs after the holidays.
She claimed that it "promotes an unhealthy relationship with food and the idea that you need to cleanse or punish your body for what you did to it during a pleasurable eating binge."
The conclusion
Long-term adherence to food, nutrition, and body-cleansing trends is challenging, according to Kumar, even though they can temporarily help people lose weight or feel better.
"The best long-term methods are moderation and consistency. If a person decides to follow a trend or fad diet, there should be a strategy to switch to a more moderate approach later on, the expert advised.
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