Who are the most influential keto bloggers on Instagram. How can following these accounts enhance your ketogenic diet experience. What unique insights do these Instagrammers offer for keto enthusiasts. Where can you find the best keto recipe inspiration on social media. Why are these 9 ketogenic diet Instagrammers considered the best to follow.

The Rise of Keto Influencers on Instagram

Instagram has become a hub for health and wellness enthusiasts, with the ketogenic diet gaining significant traction on the platform. Keto influencers have emerged as powerful voices, sharing their experiences, recipes, and tips for maintaining a low-carb, high-fat lifestyle. These bloggers offer a wealth of knowledge and inspiration for those embarking on or maintaining a ketogenic journey.

Why Follow Keto Bloggers on Instagram?

Following keto bloggers on Instagram can provide numerous benefits for those interested in or already following a ketogenic diet:

• Daily inspiration and motivation
• Access to new and innovative keto-friendly recipes
• Tips for overcoming common keto challenges
• Visual representation of keto-friendly meals and portion sizes
• Community support and engagement
• Updates on the latest keto research and trends

By curating your Instagram feed with these influential keto accounts, you can create a constant stream of information and motivation to support your ketogenic lifestyle.

Top 9 Keto Instagrammers to Follow

Here’s a curated list of the nine best keto bloggers on Instagram, each offering unique perspectives and valuable content for keto enthusiasts:

1. @ketokween

With over 500,000 followers, @ketokween has established herself as a go-to source for keto recipes and lifestyle tips. Her colorful feed features a mix of indulgent keto-friendly desserts and savory dishes, proving that a ketogenic diet doesn’t have to be boring or restrictive.

2. @ketoconnect

The dynamic duo behind @ketoconnect offers a scientific approach to the ketogenic diet. Their posts often include detailed explanations of keto principles, making complex concepts accessible to their audience. They’re known for their thorough product reviews and keto-friendly food hacks.

3. @ketogasm

@ketogasm combines humor with practical keto advice, making the ketogenic lifestyle approachable and fun. Her feed is filled with mouthwatering recipes, meal prep ideas, and relatable keto memes that resonate with her followers.

4. @keto.luna

For those seeking artistic food presentation alongside keto expertise, @keto.luna delivers. Her beautifully styled dishes showcase the diversity of a ketogenic diet, from colorful salads to decadent desserts, all while maintaining strict keto macros.

5. @ketointhecity_

@ketointhecity_ focuses on making keto accessible for urban dwellers. Her content includes restaurant guides, on-the-go keto options, and recipes that cater to busy lifestyles without compromising on taste or nutritional value.

6. @thecastawaykitchen

With a focus on healing through food, @thecastawaykitchen offers a holistic approach to the ketogenic diet. Her feed features not only recipes but also information on how keto can be used to address various health concerns, backed by personal experience and research.

7. @ketosavage

For fitness enthusiasts following a ketogenic diet, @ketosavage is an invaluable resource. This account combines keto nutrition advice with workout tips, showcasing how to build and maintain muscle mass while in ketosis.

8. @ketofocus

@ketofocus is known for her creative keto recreations of popular dishes. From keto-friendly pizza to low-carb sushi alternatives, her feed demonstrates that following a ketogenic diet doesn’t mean giving up your favorite foods.

9. @keto_adapted

As a nutritionist specializing in the ketogenic diet, @keto_adapted provides evidence-based information alongside practical tips. Her content often addresses common keto myths and offers guidance on how to adapt the diet to various life stages and health conditions.

Maximizing Your Keto Instagram Experience

To get the most out of following these keto influencers, consider these strategies:

1. Engage with their content by commenting and asking questions
2. Save recipes and tips for future reference using Instagram’s bookmark feature
3. Participate in challenges or community events hosted by these influencers
4. Share your own keto journey and tag the influencers for potential features
5. Use relevant hashtags to discover more keto content and connect with like-minded individuals

By actively engaging with these keto communities on Instagram, you can enhance your own ketogenic experience and find support in your dietary choices.

Beyond Recipes: The Educational Value of Keto Instagrammers

While recipes are a significant part of keto Instagram content, many of these influencers offer much more. They serve as educators, breaking down complex nutritional science into digestible information. For instance, many explain the process of ketosis, the importance of electrolytes, and how to read nutrition labels effectively.

These Instagrammers often share personal anecdotes about their keto journeys, including challenges they’ve faced and overcome. This transparency helps followers understand that the ketogenic lifestyle is a process, often with its ups and downs. By sharing both successes and setbacks, these influencers create a relatable and supportive environment for their followers.

Understanding Macros Through Visual Content

One of the most valuable aspects of following keto Instagrammers is learning how to balance macronutrients visually. Many posts include macro breakdowns of meals, helping followers understand what a properly formulated ketogenic plate looks like. This visual education can be incredibly helpful for those new to keto or struggling with macro calculations.

The Role of Keto Instagrammers in Product Discovery

As the ketogenic diet has grown in popularity, so has the market for keto-friendly products. Keto Instagrammers often review and recommend products, from supplements to convenience foods. While it’s important to approach sponsored content with a critical eye, these reviews can be invaluable for discovering new products that fit within a ketogenic lifestyle.

Many of these influencers also develop their own products, such as cookbooks, meal plans, or even food items. These products are often born out of the influencer’s own experience with the ketogenic diet and their understanding of their followers’ needs.

Navigating Keto Product Reviews

When considering product recommendations from keto Instagrammers:

• Look for detailed explanations of why a product is keto-friendly
• Check if the influencer provides the full nutritional information
• Consider whether the product aligns with your personal keto goals
• Read comments from other followers who have tried the product
• Compare recommendations across multiple influencers for a balanced view

The Impact of Keto Instagrammers on Diet Trends

Keto influencers on Instagram have played a significant role in shaping broader conversations about nutrition and health. They’ve helped to normalize discussions about high-fat diets and challenge long-held beliefs about nutrition. This has led to increased research interest in the ketogenic diet and its potential applications beyond weight loss.

Moreover, these influencers have contributed to the development of new food trends within the keto community. For example, the popularity of items like cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, and keto bread has exploded, in part due to the creative recipes shared by these Instagrammers.

Keto Variations Popularized by Influencers

Through their content, keto Instagrammers have also introduced various approaches to the ketogenic diet, including:

• Cyclical Keto: Alternating between standard keto and higher-carb periods
• Targeted Keto: Adding carbs around workouts
• Vegetarian and Vegan Keto: Plant-based approaches to the high-fat, low-carb lifestyle
• Dirty Keto: Focusing on macros rather than food quality
• Clean Keto: Emphasizing whole, unprocessed foods within the keto framework

These variations demonstrate the flexibility of the ketogenic diet and how it can be adapted to different lifestyles and preferences.

Addressing Criticisms and Misconceptions

While keto Instagrammers have done much to promote the diet, they also face criticism and skepticism. Common concerns include the diet’s long-term sustainability, potential nutritional deficiencies, and its appropriateness for certain populations. Responsible keto influencers address these issues head-on, often collaborating with healthcare professionals to provide balanced information.

It’s important for followers to remember that while these Instagrammers can be great sources of inspiration and information, they should not replace professional medical advice. Many influencers emphasize this point, encouraging their followers to work with healthcare providers, especially when dealing with specific health conditions.

Recognizing Quality Keto Content

When evaluating keto Instagram accounts, look for influencers who:

• Provide sources for their nutritional claims
• Acknowledge the limitations of their expertise
• Encourage personalization of the ketogenic approach
• Discuss both the benefits and potential drawbacks of the diet
• Promote overall health and wellness, not just weight loss

The Future of Keto on Instagram

As the platform evolves, so does the content created by keto influencers. Many are expanding their reach through other channels such as YouTube, podcasts, and personal websites. This multi-platform approach allows them to provide more in-depth content and reach a wider audience.

We can expect to see more collaboration between keto influencers and scientific researchers, bridging the gap between popular diet trends and academic study. This could lead to more evidence-based content and potentially influence future dietary guidelines.

Emerging Trends in Keto Content

Looking ahead, we might see keto Instagrammers focusing more on:

• Personalized approaches to keto based on genetics and microbiome profiles
• Integration of keto principles with other health trends like intermittent fasting
• Sustainable and eco-friendly keto practices
• Mental health benefits of the ketogenic diet
• Long-term studies and personal accounts of sustained keto living

As the ketogenic diet continues to be a topic of interest in the health and wellness community, these Instagram influencers will likely play a crucial role in shaping public perception and practice of the diet.

The Best Keto Resources for Beginners

Keto 101

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Are you struggling to figure out the Keto diet? Do you find conflicting information? This Keto Diet for Dummies: Best Keto Resources curates links to the best information online from keto diet foods, keto blogs, keto cookbooks, keto meal plans, and more in one place for your convenience.

Keto Diet for Dummies: Best Keto Resources 

New to the Keto diet? Not sure where to start or confused by all the information? I get it. I’ve been in that same place before when I first started. I didn’t know what information to trust. After following the ketogenic lifestyle for over two years, I’ve read countless blog posts, resources, books, etc., and have included links to my best keto resources below. It’s like the Keto Diet for Dummies (except no one is calling anyone a dummy).

Make sure to check out Keto 101: Keto for Beginners 

How do I Get Started on Keto?

Start with research so that you can have a clear understanding. You will need to change your way of eating and reduce carb intake. When in ketosis, a metabolic state, your body will go from burning carbs for energy to burning fat for energy. A keto eating plan means high fat, moderate protein intake, and low total carbs.

For some, the keto diet is short-term to get rid of a few pesky pounds, while others stick to it long-term as a total lifestyle change as there are significant health benefits besides weight loss. Some people experience more controlled blood sugar readings for type 2 Diabetes, less inflammation, and more.

Find over 100 FREE Keto Meal Plans to help you get started in one place.

Tip: Don’t miss my comprehensive How to Get Started with the Keto Diet ebook, where all the resources to get started are compiled in a simple downloadable format without needing to read multiple blog posts.

What are the Basic Rules of the Keto Diet?

The keto diet for dummies, in a nutshell, is what I listed above. The largest part of your diet will come from healthy fats like olive oil, MCT oil, coconut oil, or butter. Next, a moderate amount of protein from healthy meats and eggs. Finally, very few carbs from low-carb vegetables. I highly recommend watching The Magic Pill to glimpse the health benefits. It is available on Netflix and Amazon.

How Much Should I Eat on a Ketogenic Diet?

The macros breakdown as 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs.

How Long Does It Take to Start Losing Weight on Keto?

While most people notice an initial weight loss, water weight, each person’s weight loss will vary. Many variables affect weight loss, such as starting weight, overall health, medical conditions, how much you stick to the keto diet, etc. In this post for keto for dummies, you’ll find the best keto resources to help you make the most informed choices for your health.

Best Keto Cookbooks:

Low Carb Yum 5 Ingredient Keto: 120+ Easy Recipes 

The Wholesome Yum Easy Keto Cookbook: 100 Simple Low Carb Recipes 10 Ingredients or Less  

Keto Air Fryer: 100+ Delicious Low-Carb Recipes to Heal Your Body & Help You Lose Weight

Keto-Friendly Recipes: Easy Keto for Busy People

Keto Diet for Dummies: Books to check out

Amazon is an excellent place for those looking for keto for dummies resources. There are so many books out that explain the Keto diet. Keto books with great reviews are as follows:

• The Keto Diet: The Complete Guide to a High-Fat Diet, with More Than 125 Delectable Recipes and 5 Meal Plans to Shed Weight, Heal Your Body, and Regain Confidence
• The Complete Ketogenic Diet for Beginners: Your Essential Guide to Living the Keto Lifestyle
• Keto Answers
• The Wholesome Yum Easy Keto Cookbook: 100 Simple Low Carb Recipes 10 Ingredients or Less  

Best Blogs for Keto Resources

There are a ton of blogs out there that promote the Keto diet. Which blogs are worth checking out?

• I post tons of recipes and other helpful articles. You can access my Keto/Low Carb Recipe index here.
• My friend, Lauren, at MidgetMomma, posts fantastic Keto recipes.
• Other blogs worth checking out for more Keto recipes are Butter Together Kitchen, Low Carb Nomad, How to This and That, Keto Connect, Joy-Filled Eats, I Breathe I’m Hungry, Low Carb Maven, Wholesome Yum, RuledMe, All Day I Dream About Food, ISaveA2Z, and Ditch the Carbs.

Websites for Keto Resources 

• Ruled Me – Includes a comprehensive guide to getting started with tons of resources.
• Charlie Foundation  – It’s impressive what diseases the Keto diet can cure!
• Healthful Pursuit – She has a great YouTube Channel and Podcasts as well.
• Nutrition Advance – Great beginner guide to getting started
• Diet Doctor – Keto & Low Carb Made Simple

YouTube Channels to Follow for Basic Keto Diet for Dummies

• Dr. Kent Berry – Dr. Berry is one of my favorite resources, with tons of videos on many aspects of the Keto Diet.
• Butter Bob lays it all out in the most simple terms that anyone can understand.
• Dr. Eric Berg – He has many videos and offers comprehensive information
• Healthful Pursuit – Leeanne Vogul was one of my favorite resources when I got started.

Best Instagram Accounts to Follow for Keto Inspiration

When you start with Keto, it’s nice to follow other people who get it. You will find recipes and inspiration from these Instagrammers that follow the Keto diet. Happy Keto inspiration. 

• Me! Kasey Trenum Blogger 
• All Out Keto
• Healthful Pursuit 
• Ketokarma
• Ketogenic Kitchen
• Keto Diet App 
• Low Carb Yum 

When first getting started, the keto diet feels like an entirely different world, and there is so much info it can be confusing. When trying to find your way, it’s best to find a list of resources and check them out, like the list above. I always say it is important to do the research yourself and not just listen to what other people tell you to be your best health advocate.

Keto for Dummies: Best Keto Recipes

You can always find all my keto-friendly recipes in my keto recipe index! I can’t wait to show you more recipes that fit the Keto lifestyle. This list of helpful resources for keto for dummies should be a great way to get started and point you in the right direction.

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Helpful Links for Keto Diet for Dummies:

• If you think you might be dealing with a weight-loss stall, check out these 10 reasons that may be causing a stall.
• Here is an Amazon Keto List for many items you won’t find at your local grocery store and fun snacks.
• Don’t miss this free printable of the Very Best Basic Keto/Low Carb Grocery List.
• Looking for ways to save money? Check out these 10 easy tips for eating Keto on a budget.
• Don’t miss these keto/low-carb snacks to help you stay on track.
• Intermittent Fasting for Beginners: Everything You Need to Get Started
• Salt on Keto Diet: 3 Reasons to Include More
• Leg Cramps on Keto: Causes and Solutions

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12 Favorite Keto Blogs | Mark’s Daily Apple

With the explosion of keto, there’s an ever growing constant stream of new information about the significant benefits, supposed risks, and varying “rules” for how to adopt a keto diet. As with most things, it’s easy to get sucked into information overload. (And that doesn’t even take into account the hype that unfortunately gets distributed like wildfire around the Internet.) You want sources you can count on for facts, reason, and utility. While there are many resources out there, here are twelve sites I enjoy for intelligent commentary, sound science, and useful ideas. They may not be the biggest, but over time they’ve become my personal favorites.

1) Mark’s Daily Apple

Sure, this isn’t an exclusively keto blog. It’s a Primal living blog—with attention to all the components that figure into a healthy lifestyle and fulfilling life. But keto is a powerful tool I use within the Primal Blueprint template. As most of you already know, I approach keto specifically through a Primal lens—what I call a Primal-keto approach to keto living that prioritizes optimum nutrition with the least amount of pain, suffering and sacrifice. I know it’s been working for a lot of people, and I’ll continue to to write on it as well as all the other elements of a healthy life. Four particular resources I’d suggest to folks new to keto: the MDA Keto Hub, our Keto Recipes, the Primal Blueprint Keto Podcast, and our private Keto Reset Facebook Group. They’re all free resources for anyone to use and enjoy. For those who want to receive an additional Mark’s Daily Apple monthly email with exclusive information and commentary on keto, you can sign up below for the Keto Reset Digest (also free).

2) Virta Blog

Virta is a groundbreaking health organization using keto to treat—even reverse—type 2 diabetes and associated metabolic disorders. The Virta Blog is an must-read, providing a mix of cutting edge science, easy to understand articles regarding practical aspects of going keto, and inspiring success stories.

3) Tuit Nutrition

I love Amy Berger’s common sense approach to keto on Tuit Nutrition. She calls her approach Keto Without the Crazy, and that about sums it up. Her articles are long but very worth reading.

4) Ruled.me

At Ruled. me you’ll find mostly long-form articles that contain a ton of information about the keto diet. The site also provides an extensive recipe collection and other resources.

5) Healthful Pursuit

Healthful Pursuit is the home of Nutrition Educator and keto guru Leanne Vogel. Leanne provides a blend of blog posts, videos, and recipes to help you go keto in a healthy way. Much of the content is focused on keto for women, but men and women alike can benefit from the info provided.

6) Calories Proper

At Calories Proper, Dr. Bill Lagakos covers a wide range of topics related to nutrition, fasting, circadian biology, and much more. While it’s not a keto blog per se, keto is a frequent topic. In any case, you’re sure to learn a lot from the content here, which is heavily focused on reviewing and critiquing empirical research studies in an understandable way.

7) Ketogenic Athlete

Ketogenic Athlete is a well-rounded blog for strength and endurance athletes who are interested in using keto for training and performance.

8) The MAF Files at philmaffetone.com

Dr. Phil Maffetone has been using low-carb and keto diets to help athletes achieve breakthrough athletic performance for decades. His 180-age formula is a cornerstone of my Primal Endurance approach to become and fat- and keto-adapted athlete. The MAF Files covers a variety of topics that will be of interest to Primal and keto athletes.

9) HVMN

HVMN offers the only commercially available ketone ester supplement. The blog reflects their target audience: athletes and other high performers who are interested in using diet and lifestyle modifications—and possibly exogenous supplementation, of course—to harness the power of ketones.

10) Elana’s Pantry

Elana Amsterdam has long been one of my go-to sources for healthy, delicious paleo recipes, but more recently she has been using keto as part of her strategy to address her MS. I’ve never made an Elana’s Pantry recipe that wasn’t excellent. She also writes about a variety of topics related to health.

11) Castaway Kitchen

Christina Kurp shares how she used a combination of AIP and keto to fix her own health issues. Part wellness blog, part scrumptious recipe collection, Castaway Kitchen is a great resource for anyone looking for food inspo, especially if you have dietary restrictions.

12) Cast Iron Keto

Plainly put, Cast Iron Keto has food I like to eat: simple, delicious, keto-friendly. You’ll find lots of keto-fied classics here suitable for kids and non-keto types (making dinner that much easier).

Thanks for stopping in today, everyone. Have a favorite you didn’t see here? Share down below. Take care.

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About the Author

Mark Sisson is the founder of Mark’s Daily Apple, godfather to the Primal food and lifestyle movement, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Keto Reset Diet. His latest book is Keto for Life, where he discusses how he combines the keto diet with a Primal lifestyle for optimal health and longevity. Mark is the author of numerous other books as well, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009. After spending three decades researching and educating folks on why food is the key component to achieving and maintaining optimal wellness, Mark launched Primal Kitchen, a real-food company that creates Primal/paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly kitchen staples.

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Food bloggers on Instagram – TOP 9 popular blogs about food and recipes

The heroes of today’s article understand not only the taste and preparation, but also the beauty of food. Thousands of fans follow these food bloggers on Instagram, and advertisers have to line up for free space for placement.

Here is an overview of the ten most delicious, vibrant and inspiring food blogs.

Recommended reading : How to find Instagram bloggers in your city?

Zarema Saipudinova (@recepti_zaremka)

2. 87 million followers on Instagram

variety in food, but also watch their figure. Every day, the girl posts stories and videos with recipes: casseroles, manti, snacks. Zarema started her blog with travel stories, then started sharing posts about baking, and later became a full-time food blogger.

Raisa Alibekova (@raisa_foodblogger)

2.79 million followers on Instagram

Raisa Alibekova is both a food blogger and the author of the book Life and Food. On her page, Raisa regularly publishes new recipes and shares ideas for cooking various dishes. The girl’s work has been recognized with awards and prizes in the blogging niche, she has a huge audience and is one of the most popular food bloggers in the Russian-language media space.

Zarema Khadzhieva (@zarema.rostov)

2.4 million followers on Instagram

Zarema is engaged not only in blogging, but also in writing, in particular, she is the author of two books: “The East is a tasty business” and “Peki with me and make me happy”. In addition, she owns the title of “Instamama-2020” according to the publication “I buy”. If you are a fan of exquisite oriental cuisine, this is the right place for you. Zarema publishes video recipes every day and shows how she cooks for her big family.

Shushanna (@mama_na_kuxne)

2.2 million Instagram followers

Shushanna is a financier by education, a photographer by vocation. So the girl writes about herself. Her blog is a treasure trove of beautifully presented recipes. Shushanna not only demonstrates how to prepare various dishes, but also shares her personal joys and achievements.

Valeria Rodimova (@valeryrodimova)

1.54 million Instagram followers

Valeria’s account is elegantly decorated in bright colors, aesthetically combines personal photos and recipes for a variety of delicious treats. With this approach to maintaining a page, Lera conquered more than a million users who are happy to follow her culinary experiments. In addition to the blog, the girl has her own online store, which sells unusual shoppers, as well as boxes with spices and seasonings.

Manisha (@manisha_pro)

1.41 million followers on Instagram

Manisha, as the blogger calls herself, is a culinary specialist with a law degree. To fully devote herself to blogging, she had to leave her main job. One of Manisha’s key content types are life hacks that make cooking easier, as well as easy cooking recipes. Another feature of the blog is that it is not only about food, but also about beauty.

Masha who cooks (@masha.stories)

1.25 million followers on Instagram

Masha’s blog has exquisite photos and videos of dishes, diluted with pictures of herself. Maria is firmly convinced that food can evoke strong emotions, evoke vivid memories, but for this it must be properly prepared. Now Masha is writing a book, conducting live broadcasts and developing several of her own projects.

Venera Osepchuk (@venera_os)

1.14 million Instagram followers

Cooking is a hobby of a foo blogger with the unusual name Venus. She devotes her free time from work and family to cooking. On her page, Venera prefers to talk about recipes of Turkish and Tatar cuisine, and also indulges herself and her subscribers with Asian and Thai cuisine. Author of the bestsellers “Family Kitchen” and “I love and bake!”.

Andrey Rudkov (@darkzip)

646k followers on Instagram at yourself on the blog. Andrey succeeded not only in the blogging field, but also opened a store for confectioners “Two Carrots”. In addition, Andrey has an alter ego of a professional photographer, so the food on his page is not only delicious, but also impeccably presented.

Conclusion

So, we have reviewed the most popular representatives of the food-blogging industry. And this is only a small percentage of Russian influencers in this niche, which has not lost its relevance over the years. After all, today food bloggers have replaced cookbooks for us and have become real helpers in the kitchen.

Read also :

• Who are nano influencers0110

“Keep gluten out and you’ll be fine.” Why are the diets promoted by bloggers

dangerous? According to investigators, the man starved the child, as he preached “nutrition by the sun.” But not all food bloggers are so radical, and some even seem reasonable. Nevertheless, it is not worth testing their methods on children.

What happened

On March 8 this year, the body of a one-month-old baby with signs of exhaustion was brought to one of the children’s hospitals in the Lazarevsky district of Sochi – the child died on the way to the medical facility. The parents of the baby did not have a compulsory medical insurance policy and other medical documents. Later it turned out: the boy was born at home, the doctors never examined or observed him.

The deceased child turned out to be the son of a 46-year-old blogger Maxim Lyuty, well-known in healthy lifestyle circles. In Sochi, together with the 33-year-old mother of the child, he lived in a rented apartment and taught courses for his followers. Maxim Liuty preaches a raw food type of nutrition (that is, he does not consume thermally processed and animal food), and is also fond of interval hunger strikes and the so-called prano-eating – “nutrition by the sun.”

He also tried to introduce his newborn child to such a diet. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Krasnodar Territory reports that “at least three times in the period from February to March of this year, the defendant took the baby from the mother and deprived him of the opportunity to eat for a day, and also systematically doused him with cold water.”

When the child’s health deteriorated, Maxim Lyuty did not go to the doctors, did not treat him with medications. On March 8, the child became very ill, then the parents decided to go to the hospital, but, alas, it was too late.

Who prescribes diets on the Internet

There have always been adherents of various alternative types of nutrition and “health” practices: raw food diet, intermittent fasting, refusal of any type of food is nothing new. But with the development of social networks from semi-marginal movements, all this has turned into widely popular trends.

A few years ago, bloggers were actively talking about biohacking — certain rules and principles that supposedly can be used to “hack” the aging process, defeat or bring chronic diseases into remission, and so on. Biohackers lived (and still live) in social networks, gathering an audience there, preaching certain rules to it. Often this involves taking a large number of dietary supplements, hard training, strict dietary rules.

At the same time, many biohackers do not have a medical education. Revelations regularly take place on the network when users find out: their gurus have fake diplomas in medical or natural sciences, or they don’t have them at all.

Another type of blogger who prescribes diets are nutritionists. Nutrition is a recognized European specialty in the field of nutrition, in the world practice there are special guidelines for nutritionists. There is no such specialization in Russian medical universities yet, just as there is no professional standard for this profession. We have nutritionists, but it takes 7 years to become a nutritionist (6 of them for a doctor in a medical school and a year in an internship in nutrition). That is, a nutritionist is a doctor. And he can treat people, including by correcting the diet.

A nutritionist, on the other hand, is a healthy nutrition consultant who has completed specialized short-term courses (basic medical education is not necessary for this). That is, nutrition is not the same as dietology, as a psychotherapist is not the same as a psychologist.

Both a dietitian and a nutritionist can be useful in different ways in different situations. And at a basic level, a nutritionist can really adjust the diet, suggest how to eat more balanced. But it is important to remember: a nutritionist cannot treat without a medical education. And he should not give advice to people with certain diagnoses or chronic diseases without consulting the main attending physician either.

Photo: Boumen Japet / Shutterstock / Fotodom

What bloggers advise children

Blogs about healthy lifestyles, as they say, have their own atmosphere. A few years ago, they were completely addicted to dietary supplements – bloggers advised absolutely everyone indiscriminately to take iron, B vitamins, lecithin, magnesium, omega-3, multivitamin complexes and other similar drugs on an ongoing basis. Then there was a wave of antiparasitic purges. Even with the help of nutrition and dietary supplements, many tried to “treat” autism and cerebral palsy in children.

Now the passion for dietary supplements has subsided a little, but people are still actively addicted to various types of “healthy” food in social networks. Together with the pediatrician and pediatric endocrinologist of the Rassvet Detskaya clinic, Irina Kiryushina, we analyzed the most popular diets.

Raw food diet – is a diet in which thermally processed foods are excluded from the diet: food is consumed only in its original, that is, raw form. “Most of the beliefs underlying the raw food diet are not supported by evidence and can cause significant harm to the body, not only for children, but also for adults,” warns Irina Kiryushina and highlights the consequences of such a diet.

1. Nutritional deficiencies. The exclusion of meat from the diet of children deprives them of a source of protein, vitamins, minerals and amino acids that affect metabolic processes and the functioning of the circulatory, bone and central nervous systems. Green vegetables, which form the basis of such a diet, contain vitamins, minerals and trace elements, have more nutritional value than fruits, but will not replace meat (the main source of heme iron, vitamin B12) and cereals in the diet of children. The danger here is that the consequences of such nutrition cannot be noticed at the initial level. If the disturbing symptoms are already pronounced, then, most likely, we can assume the development of pathological processes in the body.
2. Indigestion. From an excess of “coarse” fiber in vegetables and fructose in sweet fruits (they are the main diet in a raw food diet), it is possible to develop a functional disorder of the gastrointestinal tract with characteristic manifestations in the form of spasms, severe flatulence with pain syndrome, as well as intestinal motility disorders with a change in stool ( diarrhea, constipation), the clinical picture of which is similar to an “acute” abdomen.
3. Infection with zoonotic infections (transmitted from animals) through consumption of raw dairy products, carpaccio, raw eggs, etc.

The keto diet is a diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates and sugars. On keto, people eat a lot of bacon, eggs, drink concentrated bone broth, put butter in coffee instead of milk, and choose dairy products with a maximum percentage of fat. Parents do not give sweets, fruits, a number of vegetables, cereals to children on keto.

Our body really needs fats: they are involved in the production of certain hormones, they are necessary for the functioning of the brain and other internal organs. Therefore, doctors also do not recommend low-fat diets. But keto is not a balanced diet, where fats prevail. And not everyone needs such a diet.

“The keto diet originated in the United States in the 1920s and was used to treat epilepsy and type II diabetes. At present, the true purpose of the diet has remained unchanged, it is used by doctors in the absence of the effect of antiepileptic drugs, ”explains Irina Kiryushina. And he adds: “Such a diet is not indicated for a healthy child. A growing child’s body needs a lot of energy, it is quite difficult to get it without carbohydrates. Lack of strength for outdoor games is the most innocent consequence of restrictive nutrition. But among the side effects of such a diet, there may be more dangerous urolithiasis, growth retardation, a high risk of fractures, and loss of muscle mass.

Intermittent fasting is another popular type of dietary practice common among bloggers. In fact, this is an increase in the time between meals, meals 1-2 times a day, “cleansing” hunger strikes for several days. Our expert warns that this method has not been studied for children, but it is obvious that it is not suitable for them due to the need of the child’s body to constantly replenish the expended energy. Yes, and this is not something that is shown to adults. If your goal is weight loss, then simply restricting calories can have the same effect as hunger strikes comparable to torture.

Gluten-free, lactose-free diets bloggers usually prescribe for everyone. Gluten is a protein found in a number of grains. Lactose is a milk sugar found in cow’s milk. Both of these are out of favor with a number of healthy lifestyle bloggers, since, according to many of them, the human body does not tolerate these components and allegedly responds to them with allergic reactions, systemic inflammation and the so-called oxidation.

Evidence-based doctors do not support these theories. Irina Kiryushina explains: “The exclusion from the diet of cereals containing gluten is necessary if there are not enough enzymes in the intestines to absorb it. This is a chronic hereditary disease, it is called celiac disease, such a diagnosis is made by a gastroenterologist. Not everyone has lactose intolerance either, this condition is again diagnosed by a doctor based on the results of examinations. Eliminating lactose (as well as other products) from everyone in a row does not make sense.

Why healthy children don’t need dietary restrictions

Putting a child on a diet just “for prevention”, without medical indications, we, in fact, only reduce the quality of life – both him and ours.

After all, by refusing, for example, gluten, we remove from the diet such foods familiar to a child as bakery products, cereals, a number of side dishes, all kinds of cereals, bars, and so on. The same is with cow’s milk and products based on it: yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, sour cream, kefir, fermented baked milk and milk itself are banned, and this is an important part of baby food. Without sugar, which is forbidden on keto, a healthy child will not eat a birthday cake, candy from a New Year’s gift and a popsicle in honor of the start of the holidays.

Gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free substitute products exist, of course, but they are much more expensive and not always tasty. That is, by denying a healthy child a fresh croissant or a portion of pancakes with condensed milk, we will simply increase his stress level. And we will hardly make it healthier.

In general, pediatrician Irina Kiryushina reminds that a child’s body needs a rational, balanced diet for normal growth and development, resistance to diseases and an active life. The risk of malnutrition is highest between fetal development and 2 years of age, so any restrictions at this age are most dangerous. The most terrible results of a child’s malnutrition can be disability or death, as in the case of the newborn son of blogger Maxim Lyuty. Therefore, before prescribing any (even if seemingly harmless) diet, you need to consult a doctor and make sure that this type of nutrition is rational for your child.