Is social media the reason why women follow unhealthy fad diets?

It's no secret that we tend to blindly believe what we see on social media. And this is true especially when it comes to fad diets. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition has noted that women are alarmingly deficient in vital nutrients and the leading cause of this is their blind faith in viral diet plans they see online. These diets exclude a whole group of food which can prove to be very dangerous for people. The study found that women are getting only 68 % of iron, 69 % of potassium, 66 % of selenium, 80 % of copper, 97 % of calcium and 89 % of iodine from the recommended intake.





Men, on the other hand, were found to be deficient in potassium, selenium, copper and magnesium. However, the deficiencies found in them were not nearly as alarming as the ones found in women. What did turn out to be alarming was that most men were lacking the compound zinc which is said to be essential in the male reproductive function. The study also concluded that people who follow these online diets usually get confused by what to eat and what not to eat.



They end up opting for options like gluten-free, sugar-free or diary-free, without researching whether these options will suit their body or not. The simple solution: Do not ape everything you see online. If you want to follow a diet, consult a doctor or a professional first and make sure what you select suits your body type.