This article was written by Sophie Gastman, associate nutritionist (ANutr), and reviewed by dietitian Maeve Hanan.
In recent years, the way people search for health-related information has changed dramatically. These days, many people turn directly to social media to seek nutritional advice; especially as TikTok has quickly become the new go-to search engine for influencers providing diet advice.
On the surface, it may seem positive to have access to all this information at your fingertips 24/7. However, in a world where anyone can pick up the phone, create an account, and share their opinions as fact, the lack of regulation or need for proof begins to pose serious risks.
This article will discuss the downsides of following nutritional advice on social media as well as tips on how to find reliable information online.
Current landscape of nutritional advice on social media
According to a study on health influencer marketing carried out by Sortlist, a communications agency, 47.6% of users surveyed turn to social media as their primary source of health information (1).
We’ve all experienced it while scrolling through our feeds, bombarded with nutritional advice from every corner. Influencers, whether celebrities or specialists, post their food choices and endorse a range of products, adding to the swirl of sensationalist and misleading claims about health and nutrition. From promises of “unbloating” with green powders to obsessions over seed oils and obsessive blood sugar monitoring, the barrage of information is often relentless and it’s difficult to separate fact from fiction.
There is, of course, credible and helpful nutritional advice on social media, and there can be a great sense of community. But you need to keep your cool as you navigate this matter.
There are unfortunately extreme cases like that of Zhanna Samsonova, a vegan influencer who tragically died of hunger and exhaustion after following a raw vegan diet for 4 years. While we don’t know the whole story, it’s clear that blindly following unverified nutritional advice on the internet can lead to serious consequences.
Understanding the pitfalls
Although social media gives us the opportunity to be more informed than ever about a topic as complex and nuanced as nutrition, that’s not always a good thing. Unfortunately, we live in a superficial age where societal aesthetics often give unqualified individuals a free pass to give nutritional advice.
To make things even more confusing, the title “nutritionist” is not a protected title.
This means that anyone can take a brief online course, get a certificate, and call themselves a nutritionist without having extensive education knowledge. This lack of regulation and the blurred line between user-generated content and content from trained professionals is the real crux of the problem.
For example, the term “evidence-based” is often thrown around casually on social media, but with minimal regulations on platforms, who actually verifies these claims? Simply copying and pasting links to multiple nutritional reviews does not automatically mean something is evidence-based. Nutrition studies and clinical trials often have significant limitations, meaning the results must be critically analyzed and often cannot be applied to the general population. In addition, we also come across those who base their advice solely on personal anecdotes, advocating the belief that “what worked for me will work for everyone”, which is almost never the case.
With all this unregulated information so readily available, knowing what to eat very quickly became a confusing headache. One moment fasting is welcomed, the next it is considered bad for our hormonal health. We’re told not to eat foods with ingredients we can’t pronounce, but these same voices promote processed products like Huel. It’s no surprise that many of us are so uncertain when it comes to nutrition, given the amount of conflicting information.
In fact, a study on using social media to obtain nutritional information found that more than three-quarters of college students had difficulty determining the accuracy of online nutritional information (2).
Finding reliable information online
It may seem like finding reliable nutrition information on social media is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but here are some tips to help you distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources:
Who is the content creator?
Your first check should be to determine who the content creator is.
Look for qualifications such as ANutr (registered associate nutritionist), RNutr (registered nutritionist) or RD (registered dietitian) in the UK, which indicate compliance with regulated standards of evidence-based practice.
You can also do a quick Google search to find an experience and try to assess its credibility. For example, have they already published work or made comments to reputable media outlets, or do they simply have a large following?
Another thing to consider when following advice from content creators is that not all healthcare professionals are nutrition professionals.
We often, wrongly, blindly trust doctors when it comes to nutrition. However, their expertise does not necessarily include providing comprehensive dietary advice due to limited nutrition training in the medical field.
Spot the red flags
Once you start paying attention, you’ll notice that there are many red flags and giveaways that will help you avoid bad advice.
For example, you should be wary of any absolute claims promising miraculous cures or solutions to certain problems. Nutrition is very rarely black and white, so absolutes are likely to be wrong.
You should also avoid advice from anyone advocating extreme solutions, such as eliminating foods or entire food groups. Most evidence-based nutritional advice is based on promoting a balanced diet, ensuring intake from all food groups to ensure we get all the essential nutrients for optimal health.
Finally, always be careful with those who over-promote supplements, especially if they claim they will solve certain problems. It is very likely that these people are paid by the supplement brand or receive a commission from selling the product to their subscribers.
Conclusion
Navigating nutritional advice on social media is a double-edged sword. It offers a wealth of easily accessible information, but carries many potential risks. The lure of quick fixes and the number of conflicting claims force us to consider everything with caution.
The main thing to remember is that if you are looking for specific nutritional advice, always seek advice from qualified nutrition professionals whose expertise is always evidence-based.
References
- Health influencer marketing: 20% trust influencers rather than specialists (2023) Data Center. Available at: https://www.sortlist.com/datahub/reports/the-power-of-influencers/ (Accessed: January 6, 2024).
- Kreft, M. et al. (2023) “The use of social media as a source of nutritional information”, South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition36(4), p. 162-168. doi:10.1080/16070658.2023.2175518.