The Conversation (0)
Becca Monaghan
Jun 19, 2024
@lutinii (TikTok)/iStock
A woman has urged people to take precautions before following advice from wellness influencers, after ending up hospitalised from a so-called health hack.
Lutinii (@lutinii) turned to TikTok said she followed a famed influencer around six years ago, who was known for sharing "holistic recipes" and was "in the process of healing her body from a chronic illness."
The TikToker said she stumbled across one of the influencer's clips that claimed you could aid digestion by "coating an orange with cinnamon and cayenne pepper and eating it, peel and all."
Lutinii tried it out for herself – but ended up falling so sick that she had to go to the hospital.
"I had to see a specialist. I got an endoscopy, and it turns out that I did, in fact, burn my oesophagus," she said. "I suffered for MONTHS."
She went on to share her concerns that the influencer is still sharing similar tips, and now has a much larger audience with millions of people tuning into her content.
"While I do think it’s the content creator’s responsibility to be mindful, I think we have even more responsibility to discern and take everything we see with a grain of salt," she said.
"That is the last time I will listen to a health and wellness influencer."
@lutinii A reminder not to believe everything you see on the internet in any and every case. Just because someone has a large following does not make them equipped to give advice to on anything. No one body is the same and there is no one size fits all!!!! Be careful out there #chronicillness #storytime #healthandwellness
The clip has since been flooded with thousands of comments, with one writing: "I will never understand why people listen to random strangers online about their health. I trust no one!"
Another added: "Those of us with chronic illness can feel desperate when we suffer so much. It’s a life of trial & error. I hope you have healed since this!"
Meanwhile, a third quipped: "The thing is people need to trust professionals, we need to look to dieticians and not influencers for diet and nutrition advice. Glad you’re okay!"
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.