So, here it is, my first blog post! To kick it all off, I wanted to share something with you, that you can all help with. Hopefully, you aren’t here to try and become a nutritionist, because sadly, that is not what I am here to talk about.
Currently, the law stands that anyone and everyone can become a ‘nutritionist’ or a ‘nutritional therapist’. This therefore can result in those who don’t actually have a strong understanding and knowledge of nutrition and health, giving tips to all of us on the other sides of the screen. With the amount of content that is posted online by various health and wellness bloggers, it’s nearly impossible to know who to trust. Consumers are potentially under attack, as unqualified people are putting others health at risk. The way that social media is currently so influential on young people, is worrying when considering how individuals without correct nutritional knowledge are giving advice and diet tips to others. Some nutritional advice that can be found on the internet is so bizarre, that it has actually become dangerous and caused health problems for some. In a later blog post, I am going to be discussing some of the ridiculous diets that can be found online, and how they can effect our health. To help try and prevent incorrect information being shared on the internet about what the ‘perfect’ diet is, a petition has been created by Harriet Smith, who is a student dietician, pushing for change within the community. If enough people sign the petition, it could call for a change in the law, meaning consumers would be protected from being given incorrect information about their health, and the way they should eat. A common tip that can be found online, is advice to cut out a food group. This is not necessarily extremely bizarre, but according to Harriet, it can cause us to start craving that food group, leading to a dangerous restriction, or binge eating. Something that may not seem such a big deal, may actually lead to bigger health risks. Also, the term ‘clean eating’ that is so often used across the internet, is negative in itself. Those food’s that aren’t as ‘clean’ as others are therefore made to look bad, when really they may not be as bad as we think. Arguably, all food is good for us, as long as we maintain a balanced diet. Yet with the clean eating craze, this enforces a diet that isn’t balanced.
To help the individuals who aren’t trained effectively in nutrition giving out incorrect knowledge and advice at bay, you can all help make a change by signing the petition! This will help and protect others who may fall for the next ‘fitness fad’, or ‘clean eating craze’. All you need to do is give your email to the link below, where you will then receive an email to sign the petition – but don’t worry, they only send you one email and that’s that!
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171211for
That’s all I have for this first post, but hopefully its got some of you thinking about the importance of what we might be reading online about our health, and how much of it is actually true. It’s so easy to believe everything we read, and with the power of social media, many can be influenced to sticking to diets that are actually causing more risks for our health, than preventing them.
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