Social Influencer Diets

Let me start by being completely honest with you: I was 100% a victim of these dietary lifestyles.

Low carb. High protein. Keto. Carnivore. Mediterranean-yes, it's a thing, but there are versions. Juicing. Vegan. Vegetarian. Blah, blah, blah, blah. The list goes on. And while some of these have their place if done correctly, the entire system is bastardised.

It was only when I started diving into evidence-based research and getting my certifications in various health and wellness modalities, including gut health, that the picture started painting itself. And everything that gets pushed, for the most part, on social media?

I feel it just continuously keeps you stuck in the same loop of yo-yo dieting that:

A) Does not teach you how to eat properly
B) Does not teach you a thing about nutrition
C) Does not save you from metabolic disorders

I speak firsthand. Been there, done that. Had the leaky gut. Had the constipation. Had the diarrhea. Had the high inflammation. Had the bad liver. Had the high triglycerides. Had the gallstones. Had the jaundice. Had it all.

When you think about how massive the diet industry is and how much it's actually worth, it's a no-brainer as to why the food industry keeps plowing money into the research that keeps you coming back for more.

The only lifestyle I've never found loopholes with? Plant-based whole foods and a proper traditional Blue Zone Mediterranean diet. Not the internet sensation, Westernized, adapted Mediterranean diet - a proper Mediterranean diet. The data's there. The research is there to prove it.

So, it takes me to the next question: why do we continuously overcomplicate things?

I can tell you the biggest reason... it's what our shelves, fridges, and freezers are filled with in supermarket aisles. I see it all the time.

I looked at a signboard today: "Guaranteed gluten-free." I picked up the packaging, and it was full of seed oils, preservatives, emulsifiers, fillers, gums, starches. But it was gluten-free. The label was green and had a leaf on it.

I picked up another product out of the fridge that was made from traditional Italian semolina flour, imported, 24-hour fermented. (They don't say if it's sourdough, could be yeast fermented, who knows. It makes a difference.) I looked at the ingredients, and lo and behold: seed oils. But the packaging makes it seem like it's a good choice. Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Water, Canola Oil, Salt, Invert Sugar, Yeast, Sugar, Flavouring.

Our stores are full of this.

The only way to break the cycle is to get real and simplify.

What is real food? Seriously, ask yourself: what is real food?

Butternut is real food. Potato is real food. Rice grains? Real food. I had a client earlier this week who was overjoyed that he could eat root veg again. What is happening that people have become afraid to eat whole plants?

What we SHOULD be questioning?

Processed, refined flour that's had all the nutrients stripped from it, bleached, made from hybridized wheat of poor nutritional quality? That is not real food.

Milk from factory-farmed cows who have been separated from their calves left to lactate unnaturally? That's not a natural way of consuming dairy. Industrial seed oils that can run diesel engines? That's not real food. Protein bars? Rice cakes? Shakes? Enough animal fat in one day to last a week?

Time to wake up and smell the kombucha.

So, before you think about following the next social trend, ask yourself: is this an evidence-based approach to body nutritional requirements, or just another fad for likes, follows, and book sales?