There is a frightening amount of conflicting health information online.
Scroll through your Instagram feed and it won’t be long before you come across – peppered between generic quote posts about embracing imperfection and photos from your best friend’s Caribbean vacation – the wild and sometimes dangerous opinions of non-experts.
What are you going to read today? That oats are bad for you? Or that it is best to start the day with a glass of warm lemon water?
We’ve become so accustomed to turning to the internet for health advice – data from the Statista Research Department shows that 60 percent of people in Britain use the internet for precisely this reason – that deciphering what is real and what is true (and what isn’t) has become incredibly difficult.
This is where Dr. Idrees Mughal (aka Dr. Idz) comes into the picture. With a whopping 8 million followers on TikTok and another 295,000 followers on Instagram, Dr. Idz – a British-trained doctor, with an additional Master’s degree in Nutritional Research – on a mission to correct medical misinformation on social media by providing medically sound, evidence-based advice.
We spoke with Dr. Idz prior to the publication of his first book, Saturated factsto find out what motivates him to become a ‘social media doctor’ – and how he plans to debunk the common wellness claims we see floating around online time and time again.
He contradicts this WH about his desire to dispel myths, inform and educate – and to help the public make more informed decisions about their diet.
WH: Why do you think so many of us find nutrition and diet advice so difficult to navigate?
Dr. Idz: There is a huge amount of nutritional information available from a variety of sources including the internet, social media, books and ‘experts’. This information often contains conflicting advice, with one source promoting a particular diet or food as beneficial, while another source deems it harmful. Furthermore, nutritional advice is often generalized, not taking into account individual differences in metabolism, genetics, health status, activity levels and personal preferences. This can make it difficult for people to find advice that works for them personally. Scientific studies, now easily accessible to most people, can be complex and their findings are often nuanced. When these findings are reported on social media or in headlines, they can be oversimplified or misinterpreted, leading to misleading advice.
Nutrition is a complex field that requires insight into how different nutrients and dietary patterns influence body functions. Simplifying this complexity into easily digestible advice without losing the nuance can be a challenge, but it’s something I tried very hard to achieve in my book Saturated facts.
WH: Why did you decide to use social media to challenge health myths?
Dr. Idz: In the middle of the January 2021 Covid lockdown in the UK, my current doctor colleagues told me about this new platform called TikTok. They suggested that since I can’t continue to provide personal nutrition and exercise advice to clients, why not take to TikTok and offer that advice there? Within a day of downloading and scrolling through TikTok, I became hyper-aware of the sheer amount of waste health advice online. The first viral video I came across was ‘HOW TO LOSE 10 LBS IN 2 WEEKS!’. All it was was a woman dressed in the latest fitness gear, with her cucumber, mint and lemon juice in the spotlight. The scary part was that the video had 10 million views, with thousands of comments saying they were going to try it… This was the turning point. This was the moment I knew I had to do something.
WH: What is the most common diet myth that you continually debunk?
Dr. Idz: There are a few diet myths that I am constantly debunking. The idea that “seed and vegetable oils are poisonous for you” or that “artificial sweeteners are bad for you.” There has also been a worrying rise in the number of people advocating an all-carnivore diet and the idea that ‘blood sugar spikes cause type 2 diabetes and inflammation’. I debunk all of these and more in detail Saturated facts.
A common misconception that the perpetrators of all these myths share is the idea that “natural is good and anything artificial is bad for you.” This logic can be easily dismantled by a few quick examples. Arsenic occurs naturally in many foods, including seafood, rice, mushrooms and poultry. Does that make it good for you? What about heavy metals? They are also natural. Just because something is “natural” doesn’t make it healthy, and just because something doesn’t occur in nature doesn’t make it harmful or bad. We need to look objectively at the evidence to judge whether something is health-promoting or not. For example, whey protein powders, iodized salt, and vitamin D tablets are not things you find in nature, but they are certainly useful to you.
WH: What do you want everyone to know about the connection between our diet and inflammation?
Dr. Idz: You’ll find literally hundreds of videos online saying things like “This ONE food causes inflammation!” or ‘Avoid these three foods because they are responsible for your chronic inflammatory disease!’ The one thing people need to understand is that the impact your diet has on inflammation needs to be viewed through the lens of the entire diet. That is, the amount and totality of all the food you consume and what in proportions. This is how you assess whether your diet increases or decreases body inflammation. Someone who eats a minimally processed diet, with plenty of whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, will not increase their inflammatory markers after one meal of fried chicken and soda. The tool we use in research to assess how diet affects inflammation is called the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII). I will go into this in more detail. Saturated facts about what an anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory diet entails.
WH: What’s your best strategy for losing (and keeping off) body fat?
Dr. Idz: Losing weight or body fat is a complicated and often difficult process. That’s why I devoted an entire chapter to it in my book. However, one useful strategy that I think is underutilized is the idea of self-control. Having a benchmark to hold yourself accountable in the early stages of your weight loss journey. Whether it concerns keeping a food diary, taking body measurements (for example measuring waist circumference or limb circumference), using calorie tracking apps or measuring body weight daily. For example, keeping a food diary can make it easier to identify which areas you need to improve. Are you consuming too many sugary drinks? Are you not eating enough low-calorie fruits and vegetables? Are you using too many oils or sauces? Taking note of your existing habits can be very eye-opening and helpful as you embark on a weight-loss journey.
WH: How important is meal timing?
Dr. Idz: This is a complicated topic, but I will say that meal timing is more important than we think. The field of Chrono nutrition is fascinating and we are slowly beginning to understand both the direct and indirect effects of adjusting the timing of your meals. For example, research shows that consuming the majority of your calories early in the day can benefit blood glucose control, sleep quality, overall daily exercise, energy levels, concentration and productivity, weight loss efforts, and more . This is especially important in today’s health landscape, as the vast majority of people consume their largest meal in the evening.
WH: What advice do you have about questioning what we see and read on social media?
Dr. Idz: With the rise of social media, countless “wellness influencers” have taken to online platforms to promote unscientific products and promise magical solutions to all kinds of health problems. That’s why I want my audience to develop their ‘nonsense radar’. These include a few quick-to-implement filters that will help you find 95% of waste health advice online.
4 ways to spot health misinformation online
1) They blame one food or habit for the increase in chronic diseases we see today, often citing ingredients like seed oil or sugar
This shows that they lack nuance and do not understand that chronic diseases arise from a multitude of biological, environmental and psychological factors. No single food or habit can be responsible for a chronic disease.
2) They speak in absolute terms when they make statements (e.g., “This is the worst food for your gut”)
There is no ‘worst food’ for everyone as it depends hugely on the individual. There are no absolutes in health and nutrition science. Peanuts may be the “worst food” to consume for someone with a peanut allergy, but for someone else it can be extremely health-promoting. Someone making these kinds of absolutist statements is typically a red flag.
3) They imply that their knowledge is based on research without citing that research
We need to feel more comfortable asking creators for proof. “What can be asserted without proof can be rejected without proof.” If they don’t provide evidence, you can just ignore it. This will save you a lot of time and stress in figuring out whether an advice is legitimate or not
4) They force you to distrust modern medicine while selling you a range of unregulated and untested supplements
Finally, people who are anti-Western medicine but have no problem selling you untested supplements are outright quacks. The truth is that many of these fearmongers would not be alive today without modern medicine. I’m all for promoting a positive lifestyle and dietary change as a primary intervention, but to imply that modern medical interventions don’t help or are designed to ‘keep you sick’ is to say they have no idea where they are talking about talking about.
Dr. Idrees Mughal (Dr. Idz). Saturated facts was published by Penguin on March 14, 2024.
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