\n These types of incidents are signs of growing shifts in the way people in the US think of their health, and it has little to do with what their doctors tell them.\n <\/p>\n
\n Extreme \u201cnatural\u201d diet trends like drinking raw milk<\/a> or raw meat<\/a> smoothies or eating a stick of butter<\/a> every day seem to be moving from the fringe talk of the Tradwives<\/a> trend and the manosphere<\/a>, more toward the mainstream<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Dr. Kyla Lara-Breitinger, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic who specializes in cardiovascular disease prevention<\/a>, said she thought she\u2019d heard of most fad diets. But then the CEO of a major company told her he\u2019s on the \u201clion diet<\/a>,\u201d which focuses on salt, water and meat from ruminants such as cows and deer \u2013 no fruits or vegetables allowed.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s just kind of bizarre what\u2019s happening,\u201d Lara-Breitinger said. \u201cI get a lot of the \u2018worried well\u2019 who take a ton of supplements, who follow certain influencers who tell them they have to eat everything raw \u2013 raw meat, raw eggs \u2013 because they believe it\u2019s healthier, less processed and more natural.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Lara-Breitinger said her patients who are adhering to ketogenic, carnivore or paleo diets, in which they eat no grains, tell her their inflammatory markers have improved.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThat\u2019s great, but then I ask, \u2018what\u2019s your LDL cholesterol? How is that affecting your coronary arteries?\u2019 \u201d Lara-Breitinger said. \u201cThat\u2019s much more likely to kill you prematurely.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Studies show that Americans have long preferred products with a \u201cnatural\u201d claim<\/a>. Surveys consistently show that shoppers are willing to pay significantly more for products with a natural label. And the multibillion-dollar global \u201cfree-from\u201d food market is expected to grow exponentially<\/a> over the next few years.\n <\/p>\n \n But as more people slide further down a slippery slope of wellness trends and hear more MAHA-type messaging<\/a> \u2013 that says chronic illnesses<\/a> are on the rise because of ultraprocessed foods<\/a>, seed oils<\/a> and even fluoride<\/a> in drinking water \u2013 experts say they may inadvertently embrace more unproven<\/a>, ineffective<\/a> and even dangerous alternative health trends<\/a>, including forgoing long-proven protections like vaccines<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n What can be done about it, scientists say, they\u2019re still trying to figure out.\n <\/p>\n \n Food historian Dr. Ken Albala says people have fallen for health fads and diet trends for centuries.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely perennial,\u201d said Albala, a University of the Pacific<\/a> professor of history and author of 29 food-themed books.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere\u2019s always been people who make a claim based on some spurious little piece of logic, and we fall for these things,\u201d he said. \u201cAlways.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Health and diet trends typically follow a pattern, he said. If some people argue that humans should eat a meat-only diet because we have sharp incisors, another group argues that our flat molars indicate we should eat only grains. Both camps attract passionate followers.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThey\u2019ll miss the fact that we have both, so that should suggest something else entirely,\u201d Albala said.\n <\/p>\n \n Food fads are not just about feeling better or losing weight. They provide a sense of belonging, a belief in something bigger, and their all-or-nothing dedication \u2013 which may prompt someone to yell at Girl Scouts selling cookies \u2013 becomes like a religion, Albala said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe way religion promises eternal life, these fads promise, \u2018All you have to do is follow these simple rules, and then you will be whatever you want: healthier, thinner \u2013 you\u2019ll have a better brain, live longer, have more friends,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cWhatever the culture values, that\u2019s what [influencers] sell.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cLike with religion, all one has to do is convert.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n There\u2019s also \u201ca long and colorful history\u201d of alternative health practices specific to the United States, said Adrienne Bitar, an American studies lecturer<\/a> at Cornell University who specializes in the history and culture of American food and health.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere\u2019s something uniquely American about it, this real anti-establishment stick-it-to-the-man cowboy mentality,\u201d said Bitar, author of the book \u201cDiet and the Disease of Civilization.<\/a>\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In the past 20 years, there\u2019s also \u201crightly directed anger towards health insurance companies and towards the profiteering that comes from ill health in the United States,\u201d which has empowered Americans to find their own way \u201cfor good or bad,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n \n Not to mention, Albala said, \u201cpeople always want quick fixes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n Older, sicker and unable to get help<\/p>\n \n For a few reasons, more Americans need a health fix.\n <\/p>\n \n First, American life expectancy<\/a> is lower than in comparable countries and the population is aging<\/a>. The number of people 65 and older will more than double over the next 40 years \u2013 and ailments typically come along with age<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Second, most Americans have at least one chronic condition, and the numbers are growing. In 2023, nearly 77% of adults in the US had at least one, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/a> In 2013 it was 45%, according to Pew Research Center<\/a>. Some of the increase is due to better disease detection and people who are living longer with chronic conditions, but there are also more modifiable risk factors such as alcohol use<\/a>, smoking<\/a>, physical inactivity<\/a> and poor nutrition<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Third, if someone is sick, it can be difficult to address. A KFF poll in July<\/a> found that about a third of adults had skipped or postponed a doctor visit in the previous year because of cost. It\u2019s much worse without insurance: About 75% of the estimated 27.2 million<\/a> uninsured people<\/a> in the US said they had skipped needed care. And if ACA subsidies are not approved in ongoing federal budget negotiations, many millions more<\/a> may soon find themselves in that position.\n <\/p>\n \n Americans who have primary care clinicians put the greatest trust in their advice, according to an August survey by the University of Pennsylvania<\/a>. That has been consistent for years. But now, more people are questioning the scientists who are creating the research and the government guidance informing their providers\u2019 practice, and it motivates some to seek additional health information elsewhere.\n <\/p>\n \n Trust in government health agencies had been falling since before the Covid-19 pandemic, KFF research<\/a> says. And a June 2025 survey<\/a> found that the percentage of people with \u201chigh trust\u201d in all scientists declined from 58% in 2020 to 36% in 2025.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cPeople have trusted and mistrusted modern medicine for various reasons over the years,\u201d Albala said. \u201cI think we\u2019re in a mistrust period.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Mistrust is sometimes earned, psychiatrist<\/a> Dr. Drew Ramsey said. He points to the opioid epidemic \u2013 when pharmaceutical companies<\/a> reassured doctors that their patients wouldn\u2019t become addicted to painkillers \u2013 and says when millions became addicted<\/a> and hundreds of thousands of people died, it prompted \u201ca very public crisis of faith in academic integrity and research integrity.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Mistrust can be deserved with food trends too, Albala said. For example, doctors believed companies that said margarine was a healthier alternative<\/a> to butter, since it was lower in saturated fat and cholesterol. But for a long time, margarine was made with partially hydrogenated oils, which turned into dangerous trans fats<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cClearly, we\u2019ve been misled before,\u201d Albala said. The trend to more natural health solutions is, in part, \u201ca backlash against trusting science and professionals.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Over the past two decades, a growing number of Americans have turned to the internet, social media<\/a> and increasingly AI<\/a> to verify symptoms or learn how to manage chronic conditions. Even when adults aren\u2019t looking for health guidance, an August KFF survey <\/a> found 72% of those who scroll through social media regularly see messages about weight loss, diet or nutrition.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt can be so predatory on multiple levels, and it\u2019s in so many people\u2019s algorithms,\u201d Steier said.\n <\/p>\n \n Convenient and free, online health information can empower patients to ask their doctors better questions. Online forums<\/a> give people access to communities whose members understand the struggles of certain conditions and can share advice. But the largely unregulated internet can also open a door to health \u201cmisinformation and quackery,\u201d<\/a> studies show.\n <\/p>\n \n And as more Americans turn to \u201cDr. Google,\u201d they\u2019re getting stuck in a web of unvetted wellness claims promoted by a growing number<\/a> of health influencers.\n <\/p>\n \n Many adults say they remain skeptical about social media health advice, but for digital natives \u2013 those in their early-40s and younger \u2013 trust is stronger. TikTok<\/a>, which often spawns dangerous food and health trends<\/a>, like NyQuil chicken<\/a>, garlic in the nose<\/a>, and vabbing<\/a> is trusted at least \u201csome\u201d of the time by more than half of young users surveyed in June by KFF.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n \n Even if they\u2019re skeptical, people are seeing more unvetted health claims about natural food trends just because of the nature of their viewing habits, said Taylor Agajanian, a researcher finishing up her Ph.D. in communication studies at Northwestern who specializes in the spread of problematic information, including health information, and how it creates harm offline\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019m 34. I\u2019ve been on the internet my entire life, and even I somehow catch myself scrolling TikTok instead of, in the past, I may have watched TV,\u201d Agajanian said.\n <\/p>\n \n On the news, health stories were presumably based on vetted research and advice from doctors. Online, anyone can be an \u201cexpert\u201d \u2013 and in fact, Agajanian said, health influencers make more money posting as experts even if they\u2019ve never been to medical school.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cSo, there\u2019s this ecosystem of people just saying whatever online, but they\u2019re doing so authoritatively enough to convince people they\u2019re correct, and people are being inundated with health information.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n For example, Agajanian notes that there\u2019s \u201cnot a trivial amount\u201d of love for raw milk<\/a> from online influencers.\n <\/p>\n \n The CDC warns<\/a> that raw milk is one of the \u201criskiest\u201d drinks because it can expose people to deadly diseases like listeria<\/a> and brucellosis<\/a>. Last year, scientists even confirmed that bird flu can be found in raw milk. Yet weekly sales spiked nearly 25% over the past year, studies showed. <\/a>\n <\/p>\n \n Part of what makes raw milk more popular is who pushes it. It\u2019s not just dairy farmers and stars like actress Gwyneth Paltrow<\/a>, Agajanian said. Young, hip influencers<\/a> talk nonstop about it, she said. And when the message comes from people who look like the reader or who the reader aspires to look like, they may start to think the message is normal and try it themselves.\n <\/p>\n \n Online health messages about \u201cnatural\u201d food solutions also have a strong appeal to \u201cspoonie\u201d communities<\/a>, online groups for people with a common chronic illness, pain or disability who don\u2019t always get great answers from their doctors, Agajanian said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThey don\u2019t feel like they\u2019re being helped or heard, so they will seek out those who say with great authority that they can help,\u201d Agajanian said.\n <\/p>\n \n Influencers who promote natural health are popular because of the way they deliver a clear message with empathy.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe wellness industry serves up easy solutions on a platter and offers very concrete, very black and white actionable steps, but we in the science and medical world know it\u2019s really all gray and nuance,\u201d Steier said. \u201cWhen we tell people the cause of their pain or chronic condition is multifactorial or there are multiple variables, what do people do with that? It\u2019s not empowering. So the wellness industry steps in and does an incredible job making people think they have so much more control over their health.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Some of the best influencers speak as if they feel your pain, Bitar said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a doctor telling you \u2018You need to quit carbs and lose weight,\u2019 it\u2019s people who say, \u2018I too suffered, people mocked me, but then I changed my diet, and I\u2019m successful, thin and healthy, and you can trust me because I\u2019m like you.\u2019 \u201d\n <\/p>\n \n People want to take more control of their health, especially after the pandemic.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cCovid really changed everything,\u201d Steier said. As people faced their own mortality, the wellness industry was ready to swoop in and \u201cserve up easy solutions on a silver platter,\u201d including things that already appealed on a certain level, like natural foods.\n <\/p>\n \n Eating healthy natural foods can improve health, but when the push goes too far, it can lower people\u2019s interest in proven measures like vaccines, said Dr. Neil Johnson, a physicist<\/a> at George Washington University who studied<\/a> how anti-vaccine views spread more effectively<\/a> than pro-vaccine views on social media during the pandemic. Across the US, childhood vaccination rates have continued to decline<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n People often say that food is like medicine, Johnson said: \u201cIt\u2019s not just good for you. It can replace the thing that\u2019s going to be injected in your arm.\u201d They may not even believe that message at first. But when an online community of 100,000 keeps sharing messages about friends who cured health conditions by eating only spinach for 20 weeks, people may start to believe that they can also protect themselves and their family this way.\n <\/p>\n \n Even when people don\u2019t directly say that natural food can replace vaccines, Johnson said, \u201cthere\u2019s a general systemic move towards self-control and natural kind of alternative stuff, whether that be food or activity or both.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Some of the natural food push goes along with an increasing distrust of big companies and government. Some is \u201cvirtue signaling,\u201d said Renee DiResta, an associate research professor<\/a> at Georgetown University\u2019s McCourt School of Public Policy who studies online disinformation and propaganda. \u201cPeople want to telegraph that they\u2019re free thinkers,\u201d and the anti-vaccine and wellness movements can use that, she said.\n <\/p>\n \n Steier and DiResta said they are doing what they can to dispel misinformation about what they see online about science including about fad diets, natural food and vaccines. But building trust isn\u2019t easy, nor does it pay like the material influencers are pitching.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWellness influence work is so lucrative, so how do you compete with that?\u201d Steier said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve cracked the code yet.\u201d\n <\/p>\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761047650_830_ap25259424408429.jpg\")
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