TikTok influencers have been giving out health tips to their followers
Doctors and nutritionists do not recommend doing everything that the influencers suggest as food supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Every now and then, the social media world experiences a trend that features videos which have millions of views and thousands of likes. These trends vary in terms of what they are and what people do in them. They may be dance videos, easy cooking recipes, travel vlogs, singing, comedy skits, lip sync videos or something else. But recently, TikTok has been seeing a trend of influencers talking about gut health. From aloe vera juice shots to drinking extra virgin olive oil every day, various influencers have garnered the attention of all of social media with regards to gut health “hacks”. The hashtag “guttok” has more than 400 million views on TikTok making it one of the most popular trends of all time, New York Times reported.
Doctors and nutritionists do not recommend doing everything that the influencers suggest as food supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. This means that something that might benefit someone may not have the effect on you. Hence, gastroenterologists do not recommend taking any products or pills that are promoted on social media by influencers. Along with this, natural foods are sometimes not good for everyone and one should always do proper research before consuming anything or presuming the health benefits of a food item.
While doctors may not recommend influencer promoted techniques to improve gut health, it is still a popular fact that people are trying to improve their gut health using the same methods.
Stephanie Alice Baker, a senior lecturer in sociology at the City University of London said that the obsession with gut health is so prominent due to it being an example of “self-transformation content”. Dr. Baker told the New York Times, “What you see is this trend of self-optimization,” and that’s what pulls the crowd towards such videos. Dr. Baker added that the inherently intimate nature of these videos creates an atmosphere of authenticity which eventually attracts people.
