In our modern world, social media has become the fastest and easiest way to make friends, learn facts and see what other people are doing. Because of social networks like Facebook, Snapchat and particularly Instagram, it is easier than ever to get access to the latest celebrity news. However, there is an aspect of social media we do not talk about with our friends very often. The ability to spend countless hours “stalking” anybody’s profile you want can give us a fear of missing out, and also make us envious of what others are blessed with.
Celebrities in particular are guilty of making young people feel bad about themselves with the way they present themselves online. Constantly seeing celebrities’ lives and their perfect bodies with their perfect skin can make everyday people feel like they have to copy exactly what they are doing in order to achieve this perfection. The worst part: many celebrities credit their incredible looks and perfect bodies to their diets, when this simply may not be the case.
Kylie Jenner, who may possibly be the most famous person in the world at this moment, is known for her good looks and incredible figure. What young people do not understand about how she achieved this look is that there are many factors that have contributed to this “perfect” image. In a recent Instagram Live video, Jenner stated that she was able to “bounce back” to her original figure so quickly after having a baby by cutting out pasta, bread and other carb-heavy foods. Personally, I think Kylie Jenner is beautiful and is incredibly knowledgeable on how the media works. With that being said, what is so bad about her statement regarding her diet?
Well – cutting out pasta and bread may have helped Jenner a little bit, but she is a billionaire. Millionaires, billionaires and even celebrities who do not have quite this much money to spend are able to afford personal trainers, personal chefs, dietitians and surgeons to help them achieve and maintain their good looks. For celebrities like Kylie Jenner to credit their perfect bodies to just cutting out bread is false – and toxic for a young person to hear. Young people must know the truth about how their money plays a factor in their looks, or else they will be driven to insanity cutting out carbs for one week and seeing almost no difference once they step onto the scale.
Jenner is not the only person in her family, or the only celebrity, to have said something similar to this. Recently, Kim Kardashian stated in a video that her waist “looks so tiny lately” because of her new plant-based diet. While it is true that switching to a plant-based diet is one of the best ways to lose and keep off the weight, as supported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, it is definitely not the only reason Kim Kardashian looks so good. Cardi B is also guilty of this sort of false advertising – she is an ambassador for Teami Blends, which is a company that sells detox tea. She has claimed in the past that this specific tea helped her lose her baby weight as well. This can lead young people to think, “If I drank Teami Blends everyday, maybe I could look like Cardi B.” Therefore, young people will spend so much money on this tea, only to see little to no difference in the number on the scale. But, Cardi B has admitted to receiving plastic surgery in various places to look the way she does. Plus, she’s one of the most famous women in the world right now. How could she convince us that this singular, magical tea led to her perfect figure?
We are consistently hearing from our favorite celebrities about their plant-based diets and detox teas. However, these teas are not effective when it comes to losing weight and cleansing your system. According to CNN, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate products such as Teami Blends. This means the company can add whatever ingredients they want to their teas, and although the ingredients are listed on the package, you may never be sure what is in the tea because the FDA does not regulate them. The ingredients in these teas may lead to many side effects including diarrhea, nausea, increased heart rate and liver damage. Nutritionist and CNN nutrition columnist Lisa Drayer says, “If you take a really close look at it, these teas are just a bunch of herbs. Some contain caffeine; others may function as a diuretic or laxative. And so any of the weight loss that occurs is due to water weight, and it would quickly be regained once people either stop [drinking] the tea or start hydrating again.” Therefore, these detox teas celebrities promote do not actually promote weight loss – they simply allow one to lose water weight for a short amount of time.
Men and women of the technological age are most likely to be affected by what they see perfectly shaped celebrities doing – especially when it comes to their diets. However, there are ways to avoid this. Avoiding Snapchat subscriptions are one of the best ways to avoid feeling bad about your diet or the way you look. Many of the “articles” on our Snapchat feeds begin with something along the lines of, “WOAH…How did she get that body?” Then, the article proceeds to swoon over the same five famous women who drink these detox teas and have not one imperfection. Follow your friends on social media, support people you love as opposed to people who will have more than we could ever imagine and whom will we never even meet. Learn to love the person you are despite your body not resembling a celebrity’s body. And, most importantly, eat what sustains you, not what you think you need to eat to look like them.
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