Social Media Smarts: How to Spot Nutrition Misinformation

Written By: Sydney Miller, PhD - Drexel University; Jennifer Frediani, PhD - Emory University; Jennifer Mandelbaum, PhD, MPH - athenahealth & Tufts University

There’s a lot of conflicting information out there about what types of diets are best for long-term health. It can be hard to figure out what’s trustworthy, especially on social media.

Many “health and wellness” influencers rave about the latest nutrition trend without the expertise needed to understand the nuances of the relationship between nutrition and long-term outcomes. Claims that support trendy and extreme diets are often more interesting than real, unbiased scientific facts about nutrition. Nutrition misinformation is far more likely to go viral on social media than evidence-based nutritional advice.

Why is there so much nutrition misinformation on social media?

There are many reasons a source might not be trustworthy, including financial or social motives. However, it’s often that well-meaning people unintentionally share nutritional misinformation, usually for one of the following two reasons:

#1: They rely solely on personal experience or anecdotal evidence

When people start a new diet and they experience success, like having more energy or seeing improvements in blood work, they may start to believe that their new diet is the best diet. Then, they are likely to seek out information that supports this belief, rather than seeking out unbiased information about nutrition (this is known as confirmation bias).

However, many of the trendy diets that people experience “success” with are unnecessarily strict and hard to maintain. The truth is that most mainstream diets are effective, because they usually involve cutting down on extra calories, ultra-processed foods and sugar, as well as other improvements in overall diet.

#2 They try to interpret scientific evidence regarding nutrition, but don’t have the necessary expertise to do so

It’s great when individuals on social media at least try to provide nutrition studies to back up their claims. However, nutrition research is very nuanced and complicated. Understanding it requires at least a basic understanding of research methodology.

Not all scientific studies are created equal. The only type of study that can prove Diet X causes Outcome Y is the “gold standard” of studies, called Randomized Controlled Trials. However, because it’s not feasible to force humans to adhere to certain types of diets for a long time, there are no nutrition studies that use this type of study for an extended time (though some research scientists have conducted shorter term studies).

Instead, nutritional researchers must rely mostly on observational studies to study nutrition and long-term outcomes. Observational studies look at existing information to find patterns and connections between things (aka, the correlation between a food and an outcome).

It’s important to remember that correlation is not the same thing as causation, and two things can be related without causing each other. There’s an entire website dedicated to showing things they are perfectly correlated, but very obviously don’t cause one another.

For example, shark attacks are perfectly correlated with intake of ice cream. It’s obvious neither one of those things are causing each other – the correlation is due to a third factor: hot weather!

You can imagine how in nutrition studies, there are lots of these “third factors” (called “confounders” in research), including things like age, income, geography, and even other foods!

Because nutrition researchers must rely on observational studies, it’s impossible to say whether one specific food causes a long-term health outcome. This is why one week you see a headline saying “study found wine is good!”, and the next week you see a headline saying “study found wine is bad!”. In fact, various studies have found nearly every food group to be associated with both good and bad health outcomes (for an example, here’s an article discussing how studies have had contradictory findings on wine and health). This is why esteemed nutrition researchers focus less on trying to pinpoint the effects of specific food groups and instead recognize the value or harm in overall patterns of eating.

How do you find credible sources for nutrition information on social media?

Follow reputable sources, such as organizations with teams of reputable nutrition scientists who can interpret studies and relay information correctly (like this one!).

Verify the claims you see on social media. If you come across a nutrition claim, check credible sources, such as official health websites, to make sure it’s accurate. Credible sources should cite research studies which you can then check out for yourself.

Don’t trust credentials alone. Note that just because someone has an advanced degree, even a doctorate degree, that doesn’t necessarily mean they have a strong understanding of nutrition research methodology. The VAST majority of doctorate holders (including MDs) receive very little training in nutrition or research methods.

When you feel overwhelmed by mixed messages in nutrition research, just remember the basics, and be cautious of any posts promoting fad diets or quick fixes. The best nutrition advice is often the most boring nutrition advice. As Michael Pollan wisely put it: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

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