The 10 Health Fads and Trends to Avoid in 2025

health trends not to try
The Popular Health Trends You Should Avoid in 2025 AVRORRA - Getty Images


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What’s considered healthy (or not!) changes every few years when it comes to diet and wellness. Some trends, such as choosing non-alcoholic drinks or boosting your protein intake (mentioned here, in our biggest diet and nutrition trends for 2025), are good for you. But others—especially many of the “health hacks” that have gone viral—can be misleading or even harmful. In fact, many so-called “health” trends are popularized by people who aren’t medical professionals.

These trends also fuel misinformation, especially around topics such as maintaining a healthy weight.“Some trends may actually exacerbate the problem you are trying to solve,” says Alfred F. Tallia, M.D., professor and chair, family medicine and community health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and professor of public health and pharmacy at Rutgers Health. “For example, some diets, such as meat-only or eating entire sticks of butter are nutritionally bereft of essential components of food for good health.”

The appeal of quick fixes isn’t surprising because it’s human nature to want instant results. “A quick ‘hack’ gets more traction on social media and thus spreads faster,” says Brooke Jeffy, M.D., board certified dermatologist and founder of youth skincare brand btwn. “Hacks are a lot easier than healthy living and being consistent, and they tend to be unique and feel more fun.”

It’s also tempting to look for an easy or “new” way to get healthy. “The things we know facilitate weight loss, such as eating whole foods, moving more and being consistent are just too clichéd,” says Jason Ewoldt, M.S., R.D.N./L.D. at Mayo Clinic. “As a result, instead of focusing on the factors that we know make people successful, people look for the latest fad that promises quick results, control and simplicity.”

Ahead, learn about the most popular health trends you shouldn’t try—as well as why they’re ineffective or unhealthy:

health trends not to try carnivore diet
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Carnivore diet

While eating more protein can be a good thing to help you feel full longer, the carnivore diet takes it to the extreme. This eating regimen encourages you to eat meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, fish, and some dairy products but excludes all vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans from your diet.

As you probably guessed, it’s not recommended. “The downsides are numerous, including a high intake of fat and sodium; lack of beneficial nutrients from plants, especially antioxidants; and the reality of very little to no fiber,” says Ewoldt. “Research is pretty definitive that people who eat diets rich in plants tend to have lower risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.”

health trends not to try chia seed water
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Internal shower” with chia seed water

For this hack, you stir a tablespoon or two of chia seeds into a glass of water, let it sit until the seeds absorb the water, and then drink it. Each seed develops a viscous coating with a gel-like consistency. Proponents swear drinking the beverage will relieve constipation.

The concept is good because one tablespoon of chia seeds does contain about 3 grams of fiber, and most Americans don’t get the 20 to 38 grams of fiber recommended every day. However, you could set yourself up for failure by gulping this concoction down. “Too much fiber and not drinking enough water actually can cause constipation,” says Ewoldt. “Another thing to be aware of is that if your GI tract is not acclimated to higher fiber, you most likely will experience unpleasant side effects including gas, bloating, cramps, diarrhea, or constipation. When increasing fiber, aim to slowly taper it up over time.”

health trends not to try chlorophyll water
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Drinking chlorophyll water to cure (fill in the blank...)

Drinking water with chlorophyll drops added has been touted as a cure for everything from cancer to acne to boosting your immune system to helping skin heal more quickly.

But the evidence that this supplement does anything is lacking. “There is no scientific tested basis for any of the claims,” says Dr. Tallia. “Chlorophyll is present in green vegetables and is ingested if you eat certain plant foods. But there have been no studies that say ingesting concentrated chlorophyll is of any benefit. Additionally, most products over the counter do not contain chlorophyl, but chlorophyllin. While chlorophyll found in plants is an antioxidant, there is no evidence that it has beneficial effects as a supplement.”

healthy trends not to try lemon coffee
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Lemon coffee for weight loss

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into black coffee, and proponents say excess pounds are easily shed.

But besides tasting, well, pretty darn bad in your coffee or curdling your milk-filled cappuccino, lemon juice has no magical weight-reducing properties. “The bottom line when it comes to weight loss is we have to be in a calorie deficit,” says Ewoldt. “Nothing about lemon juice will make weight loss happen more effectively or efficiently. While adding lemon juice to coffee is not harmful, we would not expect it to have any impact on actual weight loss.”

healthy trends not to try oatzempic
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“Oatzempic” for weight loss

Oatzempic is a trend, playing off of the name of the weight loss medication Ozempic, that is made by blending a ½ cup of oats, 1 cup of water and a squeeze of lime. The claim is that it will help with weight loss.

“There is absolutely no research to support this,” says Ewoldt. “The reality is oats can be a wonderfully healthy addition to the diet and possibly help with weight loss as they tend to be lower in calories and somewhat filling due to the fiber content. But drinking a concoction of oats and lime juice with water would not have any significant benefit to weight loss over including oats in any other form.”

health trends not to try
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Mouth taping for sleep

This technique involves using skin-safe tape to keep your mouth closed while you sleep, which forces you to breath through your mouth. Proponents claim it reduces snoring, sleep apnea, and dry mouth when you awaken.

Most experts don’t recommend mouth-taping to solve sleep issues. “Mouth taping has not been shown in a broad segment of the population to provide benefits in sleep or breathing,” says Vishesh Kapur, M.D., professor and director of sleep medicine at the University of Washington and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “There may be individuals with specific anatomy who may have some benefits, but in other groups, such as people with sleep apnea, it may cause harm. On the other hand, the things that we know help people sleep better, such as going to bed and getting up at the same time and not using electronics in bed, can’t hurt you and will help most people.”

health trends not to try beef tallow
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Beef tallow for moisturizing skin

Many influencers have embraced the idea of using a more “natural” product for moisturizing so they smear beef tallow, which is solidified, rendered fat from a cow or sheep, on areas of dry skin, particularly the face.

It should be evident, but beef tallow will definitely have a, well, beefy odor. “It’s greasy, which is not going to be enjoyable for many,” says Dr. Jeffy. “While it does have some fatty acids that can be moisturizing, the oleic acid it contains can be irritating to the skin, and its occlusive nature can clog pores and lead to breakouts. While it does contain some vitamins that may support collagen and elasticity, there are certainly more effective, scientifically-based products in existence, and tallow possesses no ability to protect our skin from UV radiation from the sun.”

healthy trends not to try lettuce water
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Lettuce water for sleep

Influencers claim steeping romaine lettuce in hot water for 10 minutes or so and then drinking the results will help you go to sleep faster.

Lettuce water has no known effect on sleep. Although influencers claim there’s science behind the use of lettuce water, it’s nearly non-existent. One small study (done on mice) showed no sedative effect from lettuce, while another small study was done using lettuce seed extracts, which is not the same thing. “Most things you take with the expectation that they’ll help sleep have a huge placebo effect,” says Dr. Kapur. “I’m not aware of any harm in drinking lettuce water, but it has no effect on sleep. Behavioral things, such as going to bed at the same time every night, have good evidence behind them.”

health trends not to try hair training
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Hair training

This viral trend involves washing your hair less frequently (as in every few weeks to few months) in order to “train” it to be less greasy. Influencers claim it does everything from producing more lush hair to maintaining your color longer.

You’ll be happy to know you can skip this trend. “The oil production of our scalps vary just like everywhere else on our bodies,” says Dr. Jeffy. “So, some people may be able to get away with less washing. However, not washing leads to a buildup of dirt, oil, and environmental pollutants which can harm the microbiome of the scalp and, thus, negatively influence the hair follicles, and lead to irritation, inflammation and dandruff. There is no generalized recommendation for how often you should wash your hair, but I would not recommend going longer than every third day.”

health trends not to try garlic stuffed sinuses
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Garlic to clear your sinuses

Many people on social media have touted the benefits of inserting a clove of garlic into your nose to clear stuffy sinuses. Videos show mucus flowing after people remove the cloves.

As you may have guessed, this is not recommended. “Placing a garlic clove in your nose is not an effective way to ‘clear your sinuses’. It may in fact do just the opposite,” says Tallia. “Your nose is lined with sensitive tissue called mucus membranes which, when irritated, can produce mucus. A variety of irritants can provoke mucus production, and garlic is definitely one of them. This inflammatory reaction can lead to bleeding, infection, and any number of adverse events."

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