We recently asked medical professionals of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the health things they would never do, and their responses were eye-opening and insightful. Here’s what they had to say:
1.“The carnivore diet. I see it recommended a lot for diabetics, especially, which is beyond wrong. Everyone needs carbs, vegetables, and fruits. If you stick to any one major food group, you eliminate key sources of nutrition from your diet that can lead to other problems down the road.”
“The carnivore diet. Short-term, you may lose weight, but long-term, you are increasing your risk of heart disease.“
—Anonymous, 33, Ohio
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2.“Nurse here. I would never spend a significant amount of time outdoors without sunscreen. Melanoma is a b*tch.”
—Anonymous, Arkansas
3.“I’d never skip the seasonal flu vaccine. Influenza causes hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year in people of all ages.”
—Anonymous, 31, Australia
“Never skip vaccines. Science is important; Facebook isn’t a great place to get medical advice…“
—Anonymous, 45, Washington
4.“I would never stop using fluoride or a nanohydroxyapatite. Both have decades of experience hardening enamel, preventing caries, and absolutely zero proof of contributing to any harm (fluoridosis is caused by too much fluoride from drinking water, not from brushing your teeth with fluoride toothpaste). My anti-fluoride patients are the ones that get an over $2K treatment plan every six months.”
—Anonymous, 34, Colorado
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5.“RD here. I’m not jumping on this protein everything trend. I keep seeing ads for protein coffee. What are we doing? The average person needs 0.8–1.0 (g/kg) of protein. Y’all are eating protein like you have cachexia and severe malnutrition. Eat some fiber.”
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6.“Anything marketed as ‘detox,’ ‘cleanse,’ or the like. Our bodies are actually fairly good at getting rid of waste products; our kidneys, liver, gut, and lungs get rid of most of what we don’t need. These products always state things like ‘toxins’ without being specific about what they mean. Do they mean heavy metals or toxic alkaloids or what?!”
“At best, you’re getting an expensive laxative. At worst, these products can contain dangerous plants or drugs not on the label. Let your body do what it’s evolved to do!”
—Anonymous, 32, UK
7.“I’d never go to a chiropractor. I’ve seen too many permanent injuries from ‘adjustments’ as a physical therapist.”
—Anonymous
“I’m an RN. I will never ever go to a chiropractor. I had always been on the hesitant side about them, but was starting to consider seeing one for back pain. All that changed when I had a patient who had gotten locked-in syndrome from one. This was not just speculation — it was proven, and she had been well compensated. But locked-in syndrome is literally the stuff of nightmares. Your mind is completely there, but you have no control over your body at all — can’t walk, talk, eat, can’t do anything. Your mind is locked inside an immobile body. I know this is a very rare thing to happen, but even the tiny chance will keep me from ever going to a chiropractor.”
—Anonymous, Midwest
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8.“I would never take unverified and unnecessary supplements. Supraphysiological levels are not helpful and can harm your organs. ‘Cleanses’ are BS — your liver does all the detoxing you need.”
—Anonymous, 27, United Kingdom
9.“As a dentist, I would never take on a keto diet. It adds so much unnecessary acid to your saliva; it basically destroys them top down.”
—Anonymous, 35, Colorado
“The keto diet. You’re basically putting your body in starvation mode, and it can very quickly get very bad if you’re not careful.”
—Anonymous, 24, Virginia
10.“Don’t stop taking an antibiotic when you start feeling better! If you stop mid-course, your infection can worsen and become harder to treat. Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are awful to treat and easily avoidable.”
—Anonymous, 42, Tennessee
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11.“I would never stop drinking alcohol cold turkey (if you consume it on a regular basis). A lot of people don’t know that alcohol withdrawal can kill you. Those shakes and sweating? Yeah, that’s not a hangover — that’s alcohol withdrawal. There are a lot of other symptoms, but the bottom line is, it can kill you. Please go to a hospital or recovery center. It’s not worth your life to try to do it on your own.”
—Anonymous, 37, North Carolina
12.“I would not drink soda/pop every day — even diet soda. The number of people completely hooked on Diet Coke should be a sign that it’s not good for you in any form.”
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And finally…
13.“Therapist here who works at a family health team: PLEASE stop getting advice from social media. I have heard so many folks use buzzwords and self-diagnose with devastating effects. All of us are truly different, and we carry many beliefs influenced by culture, families, and/or temperament. It’s so important to see someone who is trained and can support you in navigating the sea of misinformation out there. I’m not suggesting that a person’s journey to wellness is not valid, but we need to think critically when hearing these stories of ADHD being cured with magic tea. It is simply not how that works.”
“Adding to that, please also take self-help for what it is: (Usually) a lay person giving advice on how they were able to navigate their own journey. It has truly broken my heart to see so many people on income support (i.e., below the poverty line) come in and say that they are ‘sad because my manifesting is not working.’ Many folks writing these self-help things (not all, but many) are from a different socioeconomic class and have the resources to ‘manifest connections’ to improve their lives (or already had those connections in place). If everyone below the poverty line could simply ‘manifest their way out of poverty with just thinking alone,’ we would eradicate poverty. It makes me ill seeing vulnerable people taken for a ride. I could add so much more, but I will leave it at that.”
—Anonymous, 44, Canada
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Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Fellow doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, what are other “health things” you’d never do? Tell us in the comments, or if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can use the form below.
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