The Butterfly Foundation Shared How to Spot Diet Misinformation From Influencers

Trigger Warning: this article discusses dieting and eating disorders.

How often have you opened Instagram or TikTok and seen someone promoting some new dietary advice that you're not sure whether to follow? Well don’t worry, ‘cos the Butterfly Foundation are here to help.

Without having qualifications as a dietician, figuring out what dietary advice is legit isn't always easy for people (us included).

Most recently, ex-Bachelorette Elly Miles made headlines for promoting the controversial Carnivore Diet in a now-deleted Instagram post that also labeled certain fruits and vegetables as toxic, sparking backlash from dieticians.

To make it easier to spot diet misinformation, the Butterfly Foundation—a charity that supports Australians with eating disorders and body image issues—posted a guide on Instagram to help you work out what dietary advice promoted on social media is the real deal, and what is not.

today on “influencers are not qualified to be shilling nutrition advice on IG”: ex bachie Elly Miles is promoting a “carnivore diet” and warning against toxic foods like *checks notes* leafy greens. pic.twitter.com/0tCvslH0Bi

— Lav Baj (@lavosaurus) July 18, 2021

The charity’s post is called, “How to be critical of health and nutritional information you see on social media” and encourages users on social media to think twice about the health, dieting and nutritional information posts we see. 

It’s all about asking yourself questions about the post you just read like, “Does this influencer have the relevant qualifications?” and, “Is this information trying to sell me a product or program?”

If your answers aren’t looking good, then whatever the person posted probably needs to be considered as misinformation.

What’s positive is that The Butterfly Foundation’s last slide is all about where you can get some accurate health and nutritional information, with their number one tip being to "get your info from registered dietitians and healthcare professionals." We couldn’t agree more with that.

Gotta say: take a bow Butterfly Foundation ‘cos this is some top-quality stuff for everyone. 

Miles issued an apology to her followers earlier this week, saying, "I was devastated to see that my recent IG story was misrepresented as me labelling vegetables toxic/'promoting' the carnivore diet style. I would NEVER advise or try to influence people to try any kind of diet style. I am not an expert and I do not pretend to be."

"My only intention was to document my experience over the 8 weeks with my audience that showed curiosity/interest."

Student Edge recommends maintaining a well-balanced diet. For more information, please visit www.heartfoundation.org.au.

Header Image: The Butterfly Fundation/Elly Miles via Instragram