Welcome to my blog, Harmony Shift. I help shift workers feel more energetic, lose weight, and live a happier, healthier life. Today we are going to discuss believing what you read or hear on social media. Take caution when getting information about your health and well-being on sites that are not legit. When you are reading about weight loss “quick” fixes don’t believe them! There is no quick fix to weight loss. It is a time, tested, researched, and long process. Do not take advice from sites that do not have researched, evidence-based information. When in doubt, check with your doctor, personal trainer, dietician, or nutritionist.
Different health-related topics and/or “trends” make their way around social media platforms. Recently, posts about nutrition and health, particularly gut health, have been gaining a lot of traction. One trend that circulated social media mentioned eating papaya seeds to “kill parasites” in your gut. These claims were based on a 2007 study that found dried papaya seeds to be effective in treating only ONE type of parasite in children in Nigeria. However, according to the Cleveland Clinic, this should not be applied to the general public, and as with a lot of research, further studies that are controlled, randomized and have larger sample sizes are needed to substantiate this claim. In addition, they further explain consuming papaya seeds may have harmful side effects, as they contain trace amounts of cyanide.
According to a survey by GoodRx, more than 70% of Americans have been exposed to medical misinformation, of which 82% has come from social media. (https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-health-advice-social-media.html.)
Additionally, the survey found that 44% of respondents weren’t confident in deciphering whether the medical information they consumed was accurate or not. A lot of social media influencers create viral trends under the pretense of “wellness tips,” but these posts repeatedly disseminate misinformation. In fact, a September investigation by NewsGuard found that 20% of videos that showed up from search results contained misinformation. In addition, the most popular influencers with more than 80,000 followers on social media sites had weight management blogs with inaccurate information. These blogs are not credible sources for weight management and health-related information. ( https://cravedfw.com/2022/06/01/health-content-from-social-media-influencers-how-bad-it-really-is/).
Another example and “trend “ that is floating around social media is the carnivore diet. This is probably one of the worst diet advice I have seen in a while. This diet encourages people to eat a lot of meat, fish and animal foods and less plants (fruit/vegetables). This is a very dangerous diet and not recommended by any qualified doctor or dietician. Do not do this diet at all!
Another example, this came from TheNationalNews.com, this quote is “supposedly” from a Dr. Idrees Mughal, British doctor on social media known as Dr Idz “Clean eating is a complete garbage claim. Organic is not better, it’s just more expensive and it has a pretty label – that’s just food marketing 101; nor is non-GMO [genetically modified] – everything is GMO.”
Or this example and quote from the same website, “the clean eating trend is another. Influencers take advantage of people’s fears by demonising ingredients”. Chavez says: “People are reading every single ingredient and spending two and a half hours in the grocery store because they want to make sure they don’t get any red 40 [food dye].” According to social media Dr. Adrian Chavez has a PhD in nutrition and more than 70,000 followers. So be careful because these two quotes from these doctors are completely FALSE!
To have two doctors in nutrition making these claims is very disappointing to me and the rest of the fitness and nutrition professionals trying to help people achieve their goals. It makes it harder for us to help people when there is so much misinformation out there on social media and some are from doctors who know better. It’s funny how Dr. Idz is a British doctor and GMO foods are banned in Europe. HELLO? Also 26 countries including 19 from the European Union (EU) have partially or fully banned GMO’s! So not everything is GMO or people in 26 countries wouldn’t eat! That is from nih.gov March 22, 2023 if you would like to read more about it. Also, according to the wilsoncenter.org, Mexican authorities claim that banning GMOs is necessary to support Mexican farmers, human and environmental health, and Mexico’s cultural heritage. Nov 13, 2023. OK so that takes care of that issue.
So, a few questions you need to ask yourself when reading something on social media about your health; How is the person delivering this information? Are they using pinnacles and broad language to support their claim? Or are they citing research and verified sources? If someone claims that an alternative treatment is a “quick fix” to an issue, you should double-check what they’re saying. Look up the information they are talking about in their post or video. Are they referencing peer-reviewed studies with large, randomized sample sizes? Can the information be found on other reputable sites such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Food and Drug Administration? If not, chances are the information you’re reading or watching may be false. Be careful!
You really should always double check with what anyone claims online, including me. I try to list sites for my readers to check out for themselves, verify what I am saying. I try and list research articles that are generally from top sources. But I always add whether further research is needed and to always check with your doctor first. I don’t claim to know it all, nor do I have all the answers, and I surely don’t add a bunch of jargon people don’t understand to confuse people or misinform people. I am always here to help. I have my blog, and website to help people who are willing to trust in me to give them the best support and training I can in helping them reach their goals, but there are a few sites that I don’t post on due to social media being flooded with health and fitness “influencers” claiming to know it all or have all the answers. I don’t want to be associated with that crowd or that label. I know I should be on those sites to grow my business and I have been advised to many times but that is not how I operate and that is not how I help my clients. I help my clients through research-based facts that work and that are scientifically proven to work.
I hope this helps the next time you read something on social media. Remember, I only have a few spots open if you need help with any fitness or nutrition issues or are struggling with anything fitness or nutrition related. Also, I am here if you just want to ask a question regarding your health. I am here to help you live a happier, healthier life.
Until next time,
Take care,
Darren
Harmony Shift 