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Top 3 Reasons Not to Get Nutrition Advice from Influencers

by | Aug 3, 2022 | Fantastic Food, Weight Loss Tips | 0 comments

I absolutely love helpful nutrition advice. The thing I need to remind myself to do more often is to watch my sources. I’m careful, to a certain extent. For example, if I look something up, I’ll definitely pay close attention to the quality of the links I click. If I see advice on a personal blog or on Harvard Health’s site, I’ll definitely consider the latter to be more reliable than the former. It’s not any old person on the internet is wrong, it’s just that some organizations have more street cred.

Nutrition Advice is as Important as Medical Recommendations

The nutrition advice I follow plays an important part of my overall health. As such, it’s as important as any medical recommendation I might listen to. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to slip into the habit of seeing an influencer I happen to like making a recommendation…and then blindly following it without doing any further research.

The thing is, while I do love some of the influencers on my social media feeds, popularity doesn’t make them experts in everything. I need to keep reminding myself of that, because it’s amazing how I can come to trust whatever it is that they say. Charisma is a tricky thing!

What to Watch Out for in Nutrition Advice from Influencers

Influencers can give good nutrition advice.  When they say to eat your veggies, talk to your doctor or focus on a balanced diet, those are all great recommendations. That said, when they start pointing to one superfood or another, a specialty or extreme diet, or even a vitamin supplement that is supposed to solve all sorts of problems – or very specific individual issues – that’s when little red flags should be raised.  For me, they don’t always, but I’m trying hard to spot them earlier.

Here are some of the warning signs I watch for that will stop me from paying attention to nutrition advice shared by an influencer.

1 – Specific Recommendations Without Credentials to Back them Up

When Dr. Aaron Carroll of YouTube’s Healthcare Triage fame (who is also a practicing doctor, a medical school professor, vice chair of the Health Policy and Outcomes Research and director of the Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research) recommends something, I tend to listen. He makes statements typically aimed at generally healthy American adults and supports everything he says with quality research (and explains why it’s quality research).

On the other hand, when a certain beauty blogger I like makes a recommendation…I try hard not to listen quite as closely without looking into the claims. Nutrition advice is like medical recommendations. Credentials are needed.

2 – Sponsored or Promoted Products

One of the ways influencers earn their living is to talk/post about products.  Their posts are sponsored or otherwise paid for (through affiliate programs or other earning strategies) by companies trying to sell products or services. As such, while an influencer isn’t necessarily actively deceiving, they do have other reasons to talk up a product aside from how great they think it is. Those other motives can skew the impression they’re giving of it, deliberate or not.

3 – Overblown Statements and Claims

One of the reasons influencers are as successful as they are, is that they have a knack for drawing clicks, attention and interaction. They don’t do this by being understated.  This is fine when professing adoration for fashion or art they might like. When it comes to medical claims or nutrition advice, it’s something else. If a promise or statement about a certain food or product is big enough, listen to your gut and take a second look at other quality sources talking about it before you believe it.

Diet and Depression: Making a Mental Health Meal

Diet and Depression: Making a Mental Health Meal

Diet and depression are linked pretty tightly.  I don’t find that to be all that surprising. After all, who hasn’t felt gross after a big greasy meal, and who hasn’t found solace in chocolate or ice cream when the day has gone absolutely sideways? I even wrote a blog with a recipe for chocolate depression cake a while back (though that was a play on words). That said, science has backed this one up and has looked into it more specifically in terms of overall eating habits and the risk of becoming depressed.  It’s really interesting stuff, if you’re into that kind of thing, which I am. So, I’m determined to start coming up with meals that will nourish my mental health.

Most of Us Think we’re Making Far Better Healthy Food Choices Than We Are

Most of Us Think we’re Making Far Better Healthy Food Choices Than We Are

I like to think that I’m making some healthy food choices, for the most part. I know my diet isn’t perfect. I don’t even aim for perfect. I’d have to give up too much of my favorite treats to get to that point. I don’t even think that focusing too much on nutrition is great for your overall wellbeing. A bit of fun has its place now and then. That said, according to this new study I’ve read, we Americans think we’re doing far better than we are, and it’s really holding us back!

Most of Us Think we’re Making Far Better Healthy Food Choices Than We Are

Most of Us Think we’re Making Far Better Healthy Food Choices Than We Are

I like to think that I’m making some healthy food choices, for the most part. I know my diet isn’t perfect. I don’t even aim for perfect. I’d have to give up too much of my favorite treats to get to that point. I don’t even think that focusing too much on nutrition is great for your overall wellbeing. A bit of fun has its place now and then. That said, according to this new study I’ve read, we Americans think we’re doing far better than we are, and it’s really holding us back!

Running and Dehydration: A Brutal Combination

Running and Dehydration: A Brutal Combination

Running and dehydration pretty much go hand-in-hand during the summer months. As someone who has taken up running relatively recently and is facing her first summer with the sport, this is very new to me, though not unexpected. That said, as I’ve been researching, I’ve also discovered that the combination, while brutal, isn’t exactly what many of us assume it is, particularly when it comes to difficulty level.

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