March is recognized as National Nutrition Month, and experts say the landscape surrounding good nutrition is quite confusing. The culprit? Social media.

Social media is flooded with ever-changing diet trends like juicing, intermittent fasting and low-carb diets. While on the outside they seem to be harmless, a study by the University of Vermont found that dieting and nutrition content on TikTok encourages a “toxic” diet culture among young adults. 

According to a 2022 study done by Pew Research Center, two-thirds of college students are on TikTok, which has thousands of videos under hashtags relating to diet trends and nutrition. 

“The big issue with TikTok and Instagram, is they’re short snippets of something to do,” Tanya Falcone, an associate lecturer in health sciences, said. “People don’t really understand what’s on the outskirts of what they are seeing in this two-minute reel or something like that.” 

Poor nutrition can lead to head fog, erratic eating, fatigue and inability to focus, causing students to perform poorly in class, Falcone said. Along with nutrition affecting the body physically, it can also affect one’s mental health, like serotonin levels in the brain. 

“It really pertains to being able to function properly, [and] for your organs to have homeostasis in all regards,” Mara Harris, a graduate nutrition student, said. 

Intermittent fasting is a trend Falcone pinpointed as one of the more harmful nutrition trends circulating social media. 

“Daytime fasting can really be detrimental for sure,” Falcone said. “It’s going to impact your studying and it’s going to impact your performance as well.” 

Falcone said when someone fasts during the daytime, their blood sugar will drop, causing their body to struggle with daily tasks. 

“When your blood sugar dips below normal, everything’s going to suffer,” Falcone said. “Your cells are going to suffer, which means that your muscles are suffering and your brain will suffer. Some of the symptoms of low blood sugar are the low blood sugar blues, shaking, irritability, confusion and loss of memory.” 

If students do want to fast, Falcone suggested students fast during the night. 

“The only fasting that works and that is healthy is a nighttime fast,” Falcone said. “So we usually recommend [eating] 12 hours after you have eaten the previous night. So the last thing that you eat is by 10 p.m. so realistically, you really shouldn’t be eating until 10 a.m. the next day.”

Harris said another trend that leads students astray is the vitamin mixes and nutrition waters, like the green powders found on TikTok. 

“The marketing for the consumerism aspect of nutrition is very misleading. Vitamins themselves are not going to give you energy and nutrition is not a quick fix. It’s most of the time, a long-term treatment,” Harris said.

Falcone said four key words for students to think of when it comes to simple and effective nutrition are quality, quantity, frequency and timing. 

“The quality is going to make a very big difference and then the quantity — how much of it are you eating? You know, a small piece versus an enormous amount. Frequency, how often you’re eating a brownie, once a month, once a week, you know, that’s a very big difference. And then also the timing,” Falcone said.

Falcone said applying these four words to the trends and diets seen on social media can help students start to weed out what content they should or should not follow.

“Try to just be mindful, in the sense of, just think about the food groups. Just every day think about striving to meet each food group once,” Harris said. 

According to the USDA, the five main food groups are fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy. When it all comes down to it, simplicity is best for ensuring the body is being properly nourished. 

“The other thing too, is to focus on an 80/20,” Falcone said. “If 80% of the time you’re doing really well, then give yourself some freaking grace man. That 20% will not make or break your life.”

While students can’t believe everything they see and hear on the internet when it comes to nutrition and what’s healthy for them, there are some reputable sources Falcone and Harris suggest students check out to learn more about nutrition. 

“I would always recommend the Student Dietetic Association,” Harris said. “They have access to food and nutrition options for students. It’s an incredible gateway that I feel like isn’t really talked about enough.”

Falcone also suggested that students look at the MyPlate website, which is the USDA’s nutrition website with information on how to build a balanced diet with recipes. 

When it all comes down to it, Falcone said nutrition does not have to be complicated to be effective. 

“We really need to focus on what’s healthy for our bodies,” Falcone said. “It’s going back to basics.” 

Tanner Poe is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].