Nutrition and Diet Trends 2024: It’s Time to Let Go of These

Every year, the world of nutrition sees the emergence and decline of dietary fads… although some persist for far too long *cough* food combining and alkaline diets *cough*

To promote a healthier, more balanced approach to nutrition, here are 5 dietary fads to abandon in 2023.

Water Fasting

What is water fasting? Essentially, it involves fasting for extended periods while only consuming water.

This trend is actively endorsed on popular social media platforms, particularly Instagram and TikTok. The associated claims range from a ‘metabolism reset,’ increased energy, ‘rested’ organs, clearer skin, reduced inflammation, to improved digestion.

To clarify, our organs do not require a ‘rest,’ and the body naturally detoxifies without actively fasting, especially for multiple days.

Influencers and non-healthcare professionals frequently promote this trend, with Mindy Pelz, author of Fast Like a Girl, also advocating for it.

Merely suggesting a ‘metabolism reset’ is a major warning sign – metabolism cannot be reset. Anyone who recommends prolonged fasting is not someone from whom you should seek health advice.

In a 2021 water fasting study, participants fasted in a medically supervised setting for 10-30 consecutive days. This is highly questionable. I’m genuinely unsure how the researchers obtained ethical approval for this, but here we are. Only 26 out of the 48 enrolled individuals completed the study.

The study’s primary focus was HOMA-IR, a measure of insulin resistance. The outcomes indicated an increase in this metric, signifying reduced insulin sensitivity (definitely not the intended result).

Despite participants experiencing weight loss and apparently positively impacting their cardiovascular risk (likely due to this), the stress of prolonged fasting is likely a negative outcome that researchers have yet to acknowledge.

Furthermore, the same benefits can be achieved through other, less drastic, and more sustainable approaches.

A 2021 study examining the safety of water fasting found that an 8-day fast led to dehydration symptoms, increased ketogenesis, hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, and significant weight loss. The study predictably recommended discontinuing such interventions due to the severe and adverse symptoms.

Water fasting is not a miraculous solution and, in reality, raises serious health concerns.

First and foremost, it’s clearly disordered. Abstaining from food for multiple days is not physically or emotionally healthy in any manner. This constitutes extreme restriction and starvation. There is absolutely no scientific evidence supporting the benefits of fasting for over 24 hours.

Extended fasting is not a feat to be celebrated; it’s simply unnecessary and absurd.

While water fasting may result in weight loss, it’s imperative to emphasize that it’s not a healthy method for weight management, and any weight lost will likely not be sustainable once normal eating resumes.

Let’s discard extreme fasting and the misleading claims associated with it.

Utilizing a CGM if You’re Not Diabetic

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology has transformed diabetes management by providing real-time insights into blood sugar levels for diabetics.

While CGMs offer significant benefits for this specific group, the practice of using them for weight loss and ‘health’ among the general population became exceedingly popular in 2023.

The term ‘health’ is quoted because meticulously monitoring our physiology and reducing every bodily function to numerical values does not align with my definition of health – it’s obsessive and unnecessary. Why not simply live your life?

If you are not diabetic, there’s no reason to use a CGM. Period.

I delve further into this on my blog ‘should you get a CGM for weight loss?’

We don’t need a CGM to identify which foods cause blood sugar spikes (which, incidentally, is a normal response to food consumption). Who cares if an apple slightly elevates your blood glucose compared to some berries? Is that genuinely crucial information that will significantly improve your health?

Likely not, particularly if you don’t have diabetes.

If you balance your meals with carbohydrates, protein, and fats, consume numerous plant-based and fibrous foods, and limit highly processed foods (and alcohol), you are already on the right track.

Continuous monitoring of blood sugar levels can contribute to obsessive behaviors related to dietary intake and physical activity, fostering an unhealthy fixation on numbers and unnecessary dietary constraints.

CGMs are expensive tools that need to be repurchased regularly, with costs ranging from $100 to $300 per month. If you are not diabetic and are using a CGM, you may be depriving individuals who genuinely require it to survive of access to this technology.

Food Shaming in Supermarkets

Food shaming generally entails criticizing, judging, or making negative remarks about others’ food choices. It can also involve sharing social media content (often filmed in supermarket aisles) denouncing how ‘unhealthy’ and ‘toxic’ certain foods are, without considering the complexity involved in food selection.

Across all this content, the foods considered ‘bad’ are affordable and easily accessible, in contrast to the foods recommended by the content creators.

The usual culprits here (among others) are Realfoodology, Bobby Parrish FlavCity, Dr. Steven Gundry, and the Carnivore doctor (more on him later).

The problem?

Aside from the fact that most of these individuals lack nutrition training and often receive incentives for the foods they recommend, telling someone that their food choices are ‘bad’ can breed feelings of stigma and shame. It also demonstrates considerable privilege, especially at a time when many people struggle to afford any food at all.

A healthy diet encompasses ALL types of foods. Plenty of plant-based products. Some Doritos. And it’s consumed without guilt or shame.

We all make food choices based on factors such as health conditions, economic status, culture, and preferences. Criticizing individuals for that is reprehensible.

Negative remarks about food can contribute to sentiments of guilt and anxiety, and can be highly triggering for those already grappling with body image issues and disordered eating patterns.

These individuals are not teaching us how to be healthy. They are perpetuating shame surrounding food and disregarding the complexity of nutrition.

Body Checking Videos (and Body Checking in General)

What constitutes body checking?

It involves repeatedly assessing your body whenever possible – either in front of a mirror or on video – in an attempt to allay anxieties about your weight and potential weight gain.

examining doesn’t just concern one’s own physique, but the bodies of others as well. Assessing other people’s bodies and comparing oneself to them can be extremely harmful to health. 

Videos focusing on body assessment are frequently endorsed on social media platforms, particularly those revolving around fitness, wellness, and nutrition. These videos usually feature an individual’s fitness journey or weight loss progress, or simply flaunting their physique. 

Many of those detrimental “What I Eat In A Day” videos begin with a body evaluation, as if implying, ‘eat this, and you can resemble me!’ I hope that sector of the internet would vanish.

Some people may argue that these videos can act as inspiration for individuals on their fitness paths, but I believe these kinds of videos have more adverse than positive effects.

Body examining videos can contribute to unrealistic beauty standards and empathy, body dysmorphic problems, poor mental well-being, and negative self-view. Several studies have connected social media interaction with negative body image and increased dissatisfaction with the body. 

There is also research indicating that exposure to idealized body images on social media may lead to poor mental well-being results, especially for women. 

The focus on physical appearance may overshadow the significance of overall health and well-being. An individual’s appearance online gives you no indication of their actual health status and their habits behind the scenes (which may be totally disordered).

If you find yourself evaluating your appearance or others, especially if you’re criticizing yourself or the other person, one thing you can do is pause, then find something positive to say.

The meat-only regime

To avoid backlash from zealous carnivore dieters, I’ll reiterate:

The carnivore diet is not a healthy eating approach.

Firstly, it’s extremely restrictive. Consuming only meat can aid in weight loss, but it can completely curtail your social life, elevate your cholesterol (yes, that still matters), and cause bacteria die-off in the gut.

There are a few reasons why many individuals following the carnivore diet claim to ‘feel better.’

Gut bacteria die-off can result in the elimination of bad (and good) bacteria, which initially may bring about the relief of gastrointestinal symptoms. However, since we cannot selectively remove one type of bacteria on its own, we potentially end up with a deficiency of good bacteria in our guts. 

This is further compounded by the fact that the meat-only diet lacks fiber. 

The carnivore diet essentially serves as an elimination diet. People with gut issues may discover that they have unintentionally excluded some of the foods that were causing their symptoms, but the problem is that they’re left consuming only meat forever.

There isn’t a lot of research on the effects of the meat-only diet, apart from this exceptionally flawed 2021 study. However, everything we know about eating – from the emotional and physical effects of restrictive diets to gut health to cholesterol – all point in the direction that a meat-only diet is not beneficial for health.

The most concerning aspect of the carnivore diet?

All the unsubstantiated claims surrounding it, and their potential to lead people down a dangerous path. Proposing that consuming only meat can ‘cure 90% of health problems,’ including depression, is reckless and hazardous. 

If you’re seeking nutrition and diet guidance, please consult a registered dietitian, not social media.

And remember: if someone’s claims seem dubious or too good to be true, they probably are…even if they refer to themselves as a ‘doctor.’

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