Health Facts, Not Fads
Welcome to the healthfactsnotfads.ca blog, where science and wellness take precedence over influencer marketing. We're here to help youth to people in their golden years transform their lives and embrace a healthy, happy lifestyle. Join us as we debunk common misconceptions and reveal the truth behind healthy living.
Health Influencers Can Be More Exhausting Than the Workouts They Push on You
If you’ve ever tried to make healthier choices, you’ve likely crossed paths with The Health Influencer - the one who insists that wellness is a simple three-step process: go harder, eat less, and definitely don’t enjoy any part of it.
Our feeds are filled with bright-smiled gurus shouting rules like:
- “Exercise for 2 hours a day!”
- “NO CHEAT MEALS!”
- “Just eat cucumber!”
They promote a lifestyle that requires more stamina than the workout itself.
And the worst part? They often deliver their “expertise” while clutching a grocery cart full of high-fiber cereal, whole wheat crackers, detox supplements, and whatever else is trending in the diet aisle this week - all products marketed as “healthy,” yet rarely backed by legitimate nutritional evidence.
Diet Culture Disguised as Inspiration
Health influencers take advantage of our desire to feel good — physically, mentally, and socially. But instead of providing balanced guidance, many rely on:
🚨 Fear-based messaging
🚫 Food shaming
âš¡ Unrealistic workout expectations
💸 Overpriced supplements and gimmicks
Their version of health is often rooted in restriction, extremism, and appearance, not actual well-being.
The Problem With “Just Listen to Me” Wellness
When influencers present themselves as the ultimate authority:
✔ Complex topics like nutrition and exercise become oversimplified
✔ People feel guilty when health doesn’t fit into a “one-size-fits-all” routine
✔ Real wellness becomes overshadowed by trends, aesthetics, and moralizing food rules
Health and bodies are diverse.
Influencers rarely reflect that.
Healthy Shouldn’t Hurt
A sustainable approach to wellness means:
✨ Enjoying food without fear
✨ Moving your body in ways that feel good
✨ Celebrating progress - not perfection
✨ Knowing your worth isn’t tied to your weight
Health should empower us - not exhaust us.
If a wellness message makes you feel ashamed, anxious, or depleted…
That’s not health - that’s marketing.
Image: © 2025 Sabrina Caietta — CC BY 4.0
Article: © 2025 Sabrina Caietta — CC BY 4.0
The use of commercial food purchase data for public health nutrition research: A systematic review
Click "Learn More" to read the entire article!
Diet-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes, are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally [1], with poor diet resulting in one in five deaths in 2016 [2]. The prevalence of diet-related disease is rising and this is partly attributable to an increase in the availability and subsequent purchase and consumption of foods high in energy, saturated fat, sugar and salt. In many high-income countries, diets are now dominated by highly processed foods, which represent up to 79% of mean energy intakes [3]. In 2017, the retail value of sales of processed foods and soft drinks was estimated to be US$2.7 trillion worldwide, rising by US$550 billion in the last decade [4].
To achieve the World Health Organization target to halt the rise in obesity and diabetes [5], dramatic changes are needed to food environments–including action by the food industry—to motivate and sustain healthier diets. At the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases in 2011, Heads of State and Government were asked to call upon the private sector to consider promoting and producing foods that are more consistent with a healthy diet, including through reformulation [6]. Since then, a number of governments worldwide have been working with the food industry to drive change. For example, in the United Kingdom, the government established the Public Health Responsibility Deal from 2011–2015, a public-private partnership that saw businesses sign up to voluntary public health targets [7] and in 2017/18 Public Health England introduced specific sugar and calorie reduction targets [8][9]..........
Article Attributions:
Bandy, L., Adhikari, V., Jebb, S., & Rayner, M. (2019). The use of commercial food purchase data for public health nutrition research: A systematic review. PLOS ONE, 14(1), e0210192.
Source: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210192
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Image: © 2025 Sabrina Caietta — CC BY 4.0
Food claims and nutrition facts of commercial infant foods
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Article Attributions:
Approximately 90% of the products had composition claims, with no significant distinctions found across the categories. Infant cereal and cookies had a significantly higher proportion of nutrition claims (91.7% and 81.3% respectively) than did the other categories. Infant cereal also had a significantly higher proportion of health claims (85.4%) than did the other categories. No significant distinction was found across product categories for the “no added salt” claim. Only simple pureed foods and mixed foods had a “no added seasoning” claim. Infant cookies had a higher proportion of high sodium content. Infant cereal had a higher proportion of “no added sugar” claims, yet it had a higher proportion of high sugar content (68.4%), as did simple pureed foods (70.7%) .............
Article Attributions:
Koo, Y-C., Chang, J-S., & Chen, Y-C. (2018). Food claims and nutrition facts of commercial infant foods. PLOS ONE, 13(2), e0191982.
Source: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191982
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Image: © 2025 Sabrina Caietta — CC BY 4.0
Video Blog Articles
Read the article below based on "Healthy Eating: From Personal Responsibility to Politics" (Marion Nestle).
Click "Take me to video" to watch the full video.
Healthy Eating Isn’t Just About You - It’s Political
When we talk about “healthy eating,” most people picture leafy salads, cooking at home, or choosing whole grains over junk food. But in the talk Healthy Eating: From Personal Responsibility to Politics, Marion Nestle challenges that narrow view. She argues that what we eat and how healthy or unhealthy that is, is shaped by powerful forces well beyond individual choices.
It’s not enough to tell individuals to “eat better.” Because food doesn’t exist in a vacuum - the economics, production systems, marketing, regulation, and policies all matter. Nestle’s framing invites us to see “food” as part of a larger food system - from farm to table - with political, economic, social, and environmental dimensions.
Why Many Healthy-Eating Messages Miss the Mark
According to Nestle:
- The ubiquitous advice - “eat more fruits and vegetables, fewer processed foods” - is sound, but it's often undermined by the structure of the food system.
- The prevalence of processed food, aggressive marketing, oversized portions, and convenience food culture - all these are not natural phenomena. They are designed by corporations seeking profit.
- That design shapes the “choices” people have. If heavily processed foods, cheap calories and sugary drinks are easier to access than fresh whole foods, individuals end up making “choices” that may compromise health - even if they want to eat well.
In short, the “healthy choice” is often not the easy or default choice.
What Needs to Change: Food Systems, Policy & Equity
Nestle argues that meaningful change requires system-level shifts, not just personal willpower. Some of her key points:
- Food production and agricultural policy - A future food system should prioritize growing fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole foods, rather than maximizing commodity crops for processed-food production or livestock feed.
- Support for healthy, affordable whole foods - Healthy eating should be made accessible and affordable, particularly for communities with limited resources. That means better food policy, subsidies or support for small-scale or sustainable agriculture, rather than letting big ag dominate purely for profit.
- Better regulation of food marketing and labelling - Because marketing and misinformation distort what “healthy” looks like. Transparency and honest food labelling (e.g. fewer ultra-processed foods, better ingredient disclosure) can help people make informed decisions instead of being swayed by advertising.
- Broader public awareness and collective action - Individuals “voting with their fork” is fine - but systemic change often requires collective pressure: through advocacy, regulation, social movements or consumer demand for systemic reform.
What This Means for You — As a Person Trying to Eat Healthy
If you want to align your personal food practices with these ideas:
- Recognize that healthy eating is not just about willpower - it's affected by what’s available, affordable, and normalized by society.
- Try to support or demand whole, minimally processed foods - buying produce, legumes, whole grains; favoring local farmers or sustainable agriculture when possible.
- Be critical of marketing and food labels - processed products often get disguised as “healthy” even when they aren’t. Look beyond the marketing.
- Understand the wider context - diet intersects with economics, social inequality, environment, and politics. Food choices can become a form of social or ecological activism.
- Engage in community and advocacy - support policies and systems that make healthy food more accessible for all, not just those who can afford it.
Why This Perspective Matters - More Than Ever
In a world of rising obesity, chronic disease, climate change, and social inequality, food isn’t just fuel. It's part of a system. And that system is broken for many. By reframing healthy eating as a political and systemic issue - rather than a personal one - we begin to see why some people lack access to healthy food, why junk food stays cheap and plentiful, and why inequality and health disparities persist.
Watching Marion Nestle’s talk reminds us: improving diets - and public health - requires more than nutritional advice. It requires rethinking how food is grown, distributed, marketed, and regulated. It's about building a food system that serves people and the planet, not just profit.
Final Thought
Eating a salad or cooking at home is a great start. But if you care about “healthy eating” in a meaningful and lasting way, look beyond the plate.
Advocate. Shop consciously. Demand changes. Because true food health isn’t just personal - it’s political.
Video Attribution:
Healthy Eating: From Personal Responsibility to Politics – World Economic Forum.
Available at Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Healthy_Eating-_From_Personal_Responsibility_to_Politics_-_Marion_Nestle.webm
Licensed under CC BY 3.0 Unported: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Article Attribution:
© 2025 Sabrina Caietta. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
Read the article below based on "What science really agrees on when it comes to a 'healthy diet' ".
Click "Take me to video" to watch the full video.
What science really agrees on when it comes to a “healthy diet.”
In “The Scientific Consensus on a Healthy Diet,” NutritionFacts.org argues that the leading risk factor for death in many countries - especially the U.S. - is not smoking, lack of exercise or genetics, but rather what people eat.
The video points out some stark facts:
- The vast majority of Americans fail to meet basic diet-quality benchmarks. For example, in past surveys, only ~1% of Americans scored “ideal” on a 0–5 diet-quality index (which includes minimal soda, moderate processed food, and enough whole foods).
- Over recent decades, despite improvements in some health behaviours (like declining smoking or more exercise), dietary quality has not improved - and may be worsening.
- National health statistics reflect this failure: despite high health-care spending, the U.S. (and similar high-income countries) rank poorly on mortality and chronic-disease metrics relative to many lower-income countries. The disconnect: spending on health care doesn’t offset fundamental poor dietary patterns.
More broadly - the video argues - we should recognize that 80% of chronic diseases and premature deaths could be prevented through three simple lifestyle changes: not smoking, being physically active, and following a healthful dietary pattern.
Why so much confusion around “what to eat” — and how to cut through it
One of the biggest challenges, the video says, is misinformation. The media - often driven by sensational headlines or commercial interests - tends to present nutrition research in confusing or contradictory ways: one week a diet is “the best,” the next week it’s “dangerous.”
Dr. Michael Greger (the speaker) argues that, because no single expert has enough public influence to overcome the noise, we need a broad, global coalition of nutrition scientists and public-health professionals to build a consensus and present clear, evidence-based guidelines. This is the mission behind the True Health Initiative.
According to that consensus, the healthiest diet is one that’s based mostly on minimally processed plant foods - plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains - and avoiding excessive processed foods, sugary drinks, and high consumption of ultra-processed or calorie-dense foods.
What this means for you — or anyone trying to eat healthy
If you want to align your eating habits with what science currently agrees on, here are take-home principles:
- Focus on whole, minimally processed, plant-based foods. Think vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts - food close to its natural state.
- Reduce processed foods, sugary drinks, and ultra-processed, calorie-dense items. These skew diet quality, increase chronic disease risk, and make it harder to meet nutritional goals.
- Think long-term, not a quick fix. The video reminds us that diet affects long-term health outcomes - chronic disease, mortality, not just short-term weight or energy.
- Be skeptical of “sensational” diet claims. Fad diets, miracle foods, quick-fix solutions - many are driven by marketing or commercial interest, not by robust science.
- Support evidence-based dietary standards / public-health policies. Individual choices matter, but systemic change (availability of whole foods, public dietary guidelines, food education) plays a big role in population health.
Why diet matters now — and why consensus is important
In a world flooded with conflicting nutrition advice, it’s easy to get lost. The video’s message is powerful because it takes a step back: instead of chasing the “next big diet,” it asks: What does most of the science agree on?
If diet is one of the leading risk factors for death and chronic disease, then what we eat doesn’t just affect individual bodies, but also public health. Policies and social norms around food supply, industry marketing, and access to healthy foods - these are part of the larger picture.
For anyone trying to eat well - or influence others (through writing, cooking, community work) - understanding and embracing that consensus can help cut through noise, reduce stress and guesswork, and focus on sustainable, evidence-based nutrition.
Final Thoughts: Eat Like You Care — Because You and Others Do
Watching this video reminded me that healthy eating isn’t just a personal goal. It’s a public-health issue, a societal challenge, and sometimes - a political one.
When we choose whole foods over processed, when we question flashy diet promises, when we support access to wholesome nutrition - we’re not just feeding ourselves. We’re investing in prevention, longevity, equity, and a healthier society.
If you care about nutrition, public health, and sustainability, start with what science agrees on. Let evidence, not marketing, guide what ends up on your plate.
Video Attribution:
Friday Favourites: The Scientific Consensus on a Healthy Diet – NutritionFacts.org
Source: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-the-scientific-consensus-on-a-healthy-diet/
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Article Attribution:
© 2025 Sabrina Caietta. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
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