Diet Matters, But I Can't Deal With All This Nonsense
- 55 minutes ago
- 5 min read
We’re at a point now where every time you go onto social media, or at least for me, your feed is full of diet and wellness advice. I thought I would talk (or politely rant) through some of the top trending ones and give you my completely unsolicited opinion on them.
The funniest part is that half of them contradict each other, so it’s basically impossible to follow them all anyway.
Here are some of my favourites…
Hit your protein goals
Every supermarket now seems to be slapping a giant “PROTEIN” label on everything and adding an extra quid onto the price too. Yes, absolutely get your protein in, track it if you want to and make sure you’re eating enough, but also check the ingredients list. Some of these “protein” bars contain absolute rubbish, and honestly, you could probably get more protein from a couple of boiled eggs.
Then we have greens powders
Cue eye roll at AG1. If I hear one more influencer telling me to buy it, I may spontaneously combust. I think the commission is something like $50 per sign-up, so suddenly everyone on the internet apparently “can’t live without it”. Greens powders can absolutely be useful if you genuinely notice a difference, but some are incredibly overpriced and contain tiny amounts of the actual beneficial ingredients while being bulked out with fillers like soy… which, last time I checked, isn’t even green.
Now onto electrolytes
Can we just take a moment to acknowledge that unless you’re an endurance athlete doing hours of intense exercise every day, you probably don’t need electrolyte sachets constantly. Sometimes all you’re doing is massively increasing your salt intake, which most people are already overdoing anyway. If you’ve done a particularly sweaty workout or been ill, then fine, they can be helpful. But hammering electrolytes after a forty-five-minute Pilates class probably isn’t essential. If you’re low in minerals, sometimes a good mineral supplement is the better option rather than following whatever trend is currently doing the rounds online.
Then there are gut shots
I’m absolutely guilty here too because they taste nice. Why do they taste nice? Usually because they’re full of apple juice and sugar to make them palatable, which isn’t necessarily what our gut needs in large amounts. Personally, I would rather make my own with ginger, lemon and a little honey, or, simply save my money.
“Increase your fibre”
...is one trend I am fully on board with because most people genuinely do not eat enough fibre. But please make sure you’re drinking enough water alongside it, otherwise that fibre is not going anywhere, if you know what I mean. I have also just started adding Advanced Nutrition Programme's Skin Integrate 28 to my protein smoothie in the afternoons and it's a great way to get extra fibre in your diet. This trend I love!
And then of course, collagen
Yes, I agree with this one too, but I’ll be honest, there is only one collagen supplement I consistently see real results with in clinic, and that is Skinade. The formulation and absorption technology are completely different from standard collagen powders and drinks, which is why it’s patented and can’t simply be replicated. If you’re confused about collagen supplements, I’ve actually written a full blog post about it here. The long and short of it though is Skinade is the only collagen supplement on the market that goes to the skin, up to 90 plus percent of it at that!
Then of course we have probiotics and “gut health”
This honestly feels like one of the biggest wellness trends of the moment. Now this is actually one area I do think can be incredibly beneficial, especially when it comes to inflammation, digestion and even the skin. We know there is a strong connection between the gut and the skin, often referred to as the gut-skin axis, and when the gut microbiome is struggling, the skin can sometimes reflect that through things like breakouts, inflammation, dullness and sensitivity.
I've been taking the Advanced Nutrition Programme Skin Youth Biome and Skin Clear Biome supplements for years. Rather than just throwing random probiotics at the body, they are designed specifically with the skin in mind. Skin Youth Biome is more focused on skin ageing, inflammation and overall skin health, whereas Skin Clear Biome is targeted more towards blemish-prone and congested skin. Of course, probiotics are not some magical overnight cure, but I do think supporting the gut properly can have a really positive impact. Thumbs up from me.
Struggling with hormones?
Apparently now we all need to do seed cycling. I’ll admit, I’m a little dubious about this one. Does eating different seeds at different points in your cycle genuinely rebalance hormones? I’m fairly sure an endocrinologist might have a few thoughts on that.
And of course, don’t forget intermittent fasting
...because apparently we should all be doing that too. I’ve heard so many mixed opinions on fasting, especially when it comes to women. Personally, I’m not convinced extreme fasting is ideal for a lot of women hormonally. I naturally stop eating after dinner and then eat again around 9am or 9:30am the next morning, which works well for me, but I don’t think everyone needs to force themselves into long fasting windows because social media told them to. I follow Dr Mindy Pelz's plan of fasting now and again for hormones. I can understand how and why it works and it makes more sense to me than seed cycling. I read her book "Fast Like A Girl" and found it rather interesting.
Then there’s the elimination diet trend
This one I can actually understand when used properly. If your skin is flaring up or your digestion feels off, trying to remove a suspected trigger like dairy or gluten for a couple of weeks can sometimes help identify patterns. What I wouldn’t recommend is removing absolutely everything at once because then you end up frightened of food and have no idea what was actually causing the issue in the first place.
And then there are all the others…
Drink bone broth.
Seed oils are toxic.
Eat carnivore and avoid plants.
No wait, go plant-based and avoid meat.
No carbs.
Low carb.
Keto.
Raw milk.
Blood sugar balancing.
Cortisol balancing.
Clean eating.
Drink coffee.
Actually no, don’t drink coffee, have matcha instead.
And of course, supplement stacking, where you apparently need to swallow around one hundred capsules a day and then shake when you walk like a human maraca. Slight exaggeration perhaps… but you get my point. On saying that I do take quite a few supplements each day... maybe that's what that noise is!
At the end of the day, I am absolutely all for people wanting to improve their health, myself included. Biohacking is hugely trendy now and we are all trying to become doctors of our own bodies. But sometimes I think we need to apply a little common sense and stop getting completely swept up in the hype.
Try things, absolutely and experiment a little, but don’t feel pressured to follow every trend if it’s not genuinely making you feel any better.
Most of us simply want to feel healthy, happy and live as well as we can for as long as we can. And honestly, sometimes constantly chasing “optimal wellness” can become stressful in itself.
So please don’t put too much pressure on yourself if you’re not following every single trend online.
None of us are.
Thank you so much for reading,
Emmaline
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