Health and fitness are more important now than ever and you may be turning to alternate sources of information to improve them.
Even way back in 2015, a survey revealed that 40 percent of Americans thought they were too much health information out there to make an easy choice. The internet is one of the largest sources of information out there and one of the most easily accessible.
However, not every article or social media influencer you read or follow on the internet is effective or based on science. Below are a few health trends popularized by the internet that aren’t effective at all.
1- Sunscreen Pills
Skin care is an essential part of maintaining a healthy body. Plenty of people turn to plastic surgeons and other methods to keep their skin looking fabulous.
Some adopt lifestyle changes to reduce wrinkles and others even follow a regimen that’s specific to cycles, like period skin care. But an easy and sensible way you can prevent your skin from aging is by keeping away from direct sunlight and using Blots of sunscreen.
However, some people have turned to farcical sunscreen pills as an alternative. These pills are supposed to be just as effective as a sunscreen. But these pills won’t protect your skin at all. These sunscreen pills are only full of vitamins and act like supplements.
Only sunscreen rated with SPF 30 or more can be effective in preventing ultraviolet radiation from causing problems such as sunburn and melanoma.
2- Fitspiration
Plenty of people have turned to social media for inspiration, whether it’s for encouragement on a current project or to pick up a new skill. However, social media can be just as dangerous and it is delightful, particularly when it comes to body image.
Fitspiration is a recent trend where people follow fitness models, gym instructors, and other athletically inclined people. Although these social media influencers may share fitness tips, they can sometimes share erroneous information and bad practices. For example, people may do dangerously intense workouts. Some of these influencers may not even have the correct qualifications to teach other people what to do.
Being constantly bombarded by images of perfect-looking people may also create body image problems and other psychological effects. Although some people may be inspired to go to the gym by fitspiration, but a recent study showed that people may be actively discouraged by these posts.
3- Clean Diets
Social media can make food look so appealing, but it can also affect your diet in dangerous ways. Clean eating is a health trend spurred on by Instagrammers. The diet is hard to define but mostly consists of unprocessed organic ingredients, often sourced from local providers. Other variations of clean eating include just cutting out processed food products.
However, clean diets are incredibly restrictive. This can lead to people suffering from nutrient deficiencies because they’ve cut entire parts of the food pyramid. Because clean diets don’t have clear guidelines or are supported by medical science, some people are just eating visually appealing food. This has led to people decorating their food with toxic flowers and other such potentially life-threatening gaffes.
4- Appetite Suppressant
Social media influencers have a massive effect on what people consume, particularly if they’re famous outside of their platform. They can point people to the right information and follow healthy lifestyles, but they can also lead their flock astray. One health trend touted by social media influencers that turned out to be totally false is appetite suppressing lollipops.
First popularized by Kim Kardashian, these sweet treats contained an ingredient known as satirical, which is just an extract from saffron. Although preliminary studies have shown that material has an effect on metabolism, medical professionals are still hesitant to call it a healthy product. Appetite suppressing lollipops just switch hunger pains for sugar rushes without any nutritional benefits.
The internet may be the information superhighway it was promised decades ago, but not everything people encounter there is accurate. Keeping a critical mind and heeding only well-researched health tips are essential in protecting yourself from harm.
