8 Nutrition Lies the Internet Is Telling You About Health (And What the Science Actually Says)

Hey, Fire Fam. 💛

I need to be honest with you about something: even I fall for it.

I'm a registered dietitian.

I've spent years buried in the science.

And I still have to catch myself when I'm scrolling and something new pops up looking shiny and exciting and backed by so much conviction that it just has to be true.

It happens to all of us.

There's more information pouring into the internet than ever before, and honestly, I love that — it's beautiful that so many voices get to be heard. But it also means things get passed along, misconstrued, and repackaged until we're all quietly believing things that were never actually true.

Here's the thing I want you to hold onto:

just because a lot of people are saying something — even people you trust — doesn't make it right.

Trusted people can be wrong.

It's not about being gullible. It's about the fact that health information cycles, gets rebranded, and sometimes carries an agenda you can't see on the surface.

So today I gathered the eight things I hear the most from my clients (plus one nobody is talking about — which I almost think is a lie all its own). Let's walk through what the science actually says, so you can stop white-knuckling your way through a bunch of rules that were never serving you in the first place.

And a gentle reminder before we dive in: always fact-check what you're seeing online.

Go to the science, or go to a trusted professional who has access to it. Yes — even AI and Google get this stuff wrong.

You just never know. 😉

Lie #1: "You're carb sensitive"

You're probably not carb sensitive, love.

When someone tells me they're "carb sensitive," what I usually hear underneath it is: 

I have bloating or weight fluctuation, and I've been taught to blame something — and carbs are the easiest thing to blame because the media has demonized them for decades.

Can carbs cause a little bloating sometimes?

Sure, to a degree.

But if you're eating balanced and hydrating well, that bloating isn't the villain it's been made out to be.

And by the way — some bloating after eating is completely normal. You put food into an empty bag, the bag expands. That's not you doing something wrong. That's not changing your body composition. It's temporary. (The kind of bloating to actually pay attention to is a hard, painful, tender-to-the-touch bloat — that's a different conversation.)

Here's why carbs are non-negotiable:

• they spare protein and prevent muscle breakdown

• regulate blood glucose

• fuel your workouts

• are the only fuel source for your red blood cells

• provide fiber, B vitamins, and minerals

• bind to cholesterol in your GI tract

• prevent constipation

• feed your gut microbiome

• form the backbone of your DNA and RNA.

• Oh — and they improve your mood.

Carbs aren't evil. They're vital.

You should be eating them with every meal. And no — not under 100 grams a day. I'm not sure where that number even came from (probably some app's oversimplified math), but it's not a rule rooted in your actual physiology.

You're not too sensitive to carbs. You likely just need to find balance in the ratio of what you're eating.

Lie #2: "Keep everything low-fat or fat-free"

This one needs to go, too.

Twenty to twenty-five percent of your diet should come from healthy fats — and here's the beautiful, long list of why.

Fats:

• give you energy and store it

• regulate body temperature

• cushion your vital organs

• let you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K (which you literally cannot absorb without them)

• make up your cell membranes and about 60% of your brain

• are the primary fuel for your heart

• are essential for brain development and nerve conduction

• keep you full and satisfied because it takes longer to digest.

• are also a precursor for your sex hormones, cortisol, and bile acids

• support leptin, which tells your brain about hunger and fullness.

• help regulate blood pressure, heart rate, blood clotting, your nervous system, and your immune and inflammatory responses.

  
  

So reaching for the fat-free dressing, the low-fat milk, the fat-free creamer? Not the win diet culture told you it was.

Aim for roughly 10 to 15 grams of fat per meal (more if you're active — fats are your long-term fuel source).

Lean into the good stuff: nuts, seeds, grass-fed butter, olive oil, olives, avocado.

Just be mindful about not making processed fats or animal fats your primary source — that's usually where lab work starts to drift. But don't avoid fat. Include the good types, intentionally.

Lie #3: "More protein is always better"

We have a massive protein obsession in America — and I want to hit you with the numbers.

Only about 3 to 5% of Americans don't hit their protein needs, and that's usually due to underconsumption or living in a food desert without adequate access. Which means 95 to 97% of people are getting the protein they need without even trying.

So this idea that you need more and more and more protein — that it's somehow superior to every other nutrient — is a false belief.

We forget that fats and carbs also fuel our lean body mass. Protein is the building block, yes, and it's essential for hundreds of things in your body including your hormones. But it is not better than everything else, and you do not need to be chasing it into every snack, drink, and coffee.

You're going to be okay without the protein water and the protein coffee. I promise.

You're getting enough protein, love. (I did a whole episode on this a few back if you want the deep dive.)

Lie #4: The secret nobody's talking about — you're not getting enough fiber

This one isn't a lie so much as a silence — and the silence itself feels like a lie, because nobody's shouting about how important this is.

Ninety percent of the population does not get enough fiber. Ninety. That's the exact opposite of the protein statistic. The average intake is around 15 grams a day when we should be getting 25 to 35 grams.

And where it comes from matters. Please don't rely on a Quest bar or a Fiber One bar with chicory root fiber to hit your number.

You want fiber from whole foods — lentils, beans, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds. These foods don't just give you fiber (which supports digestion, blood sugar control, and heart health); they bring the whole package: vitamins, minerals, and anti-inflammatory compounds that lower your risk of chronic disease.

And here's my heart on this one: prevention is exactly what I went to school for. We don't think about chronic disease until we're staring it in the face — until a doctor is telling you your cholesterol is high and you feel that fear drop into your stomach. It shouldn't take that smack in the face.

Some things we can change; some things, if we catch them too late, we can't. You get to eat nourishing, balanced meals your whole life — and these things are showing up in people younger and younger. Aim for that 80/20 rule: 80% whole foods, 20% for the fun stuff. Cook more than you eat out.

That's where the real magic lives.

Lie #5: "Calories in versus calories out is all that matters"

I want to hand you one statistic that changes everything: there is a 20% margin of error allowed on nutrition labels.

That means a company can legally say there are 20% fewer calories than there actually are — or 20% more of a vitamin or mineral they want to promote than is really in there. We cling to labeled foods because the exact numbers feel like control. But you'll never actually know how accurate that label is. These are manufacturing rules, and they benefit the business, not you.

On top of that, your Fitbit, your watch, your MyFitnessPal — none of them know exactly how much you're burning. We can study energy expenditure, but even the most accurate methods have room for error. This is why, with most of my clients, I don't shuffle their food around based on a single day's training. We look at the whole week to find balance. Because you can't out-math your body every single day and expect the numbers to actually math.

Trust your body over the calculator. (And if you want a human in your corner: I'm a dietitian, nudge nudge. If you have health insurance and live in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you can often see me for free — most plans cover preventative nutrition. Reach out and I'll check your coverage for you. 💛)

Lie #6: "Do Pilates so you don't get bulky"

Zero Pilates hate here — I love it.

Movement should be fun, and it's deeply individual. Some people thrive on high intensity, some on low, some on a mix. There's no "better."

But I have to bust this fear, because I hear it constantly from women: "I'm really prone to building muscle, so I don't lift."

Let me hit you with reality. If you've never once touched a weight and you start lifting with intentional nutrition, a man might build 10–20 pounds of muscle in his very first year. For women, cut that in half: 5–10 pounds, year one, max. And it drops from there — year two, 2.5–5 pounds; year three and beyond, at most 1–2.5 pounds for a woman. At most.

And that's only if you're eating in a surplus, timing your nutrition intentionally, and progressively overloading your training. You do not accidentally wake up bulky. If we did, we'd all look like Arnold in his prime. 😂

So please — lift.

Strength training at least once or twice a week, pushing your limits, then complement it with Pilates, yoga, walking.

Muscle isn't just about aesthetics: the more muscle you have, the better your metabolism, and the longer you live. Muscle is one of the biggest predictors of longevity and independence as you age.

When we're young we feel invincible, but our bodies stop tolerating in our 30s what they let slide in our 20s. These things matter more with every decade.

Lie #7: "Self-care is a product you buy"

I see it all the time — "bath bombs as self-care," "face masks as self-care," "my skincare routine as self-care." And I love that. You should do those things. There's something real about being intentional and gentle when you touch your own body.

But the piece we keep skipping is your nervous system. 

Sitting down to watch trash TV to dissociate after an intense eight-hour day is not rewiring anything. (Do it sometimes — genuinely — but it's not enough.)

You can't absorb that stress all day, numb out at night, wake up, and repeat. If your life carries that kind of stress, it requires you to build your self-regulation practices so you increase your capacity to handle more.

Self-care is building calmness in the face of adversity. And that's a physical practice — which brings us home.

Lie #8: "You can think your way into feeling better"

I love therapy. I think we should all experience it — it makes us more conscious, more aware. But if talking is the only tool we use, we're missing a huge piece of the puzzle.

Regulation is something you physically practice in your body. You can't talk your way into it.

First you build awareness of what's happening in your body — then you actually move the stuck energy, the emotion, the trauma your body is holding.

Here's a list I adore (I first heard a version of it from Kate Northrup) for metabolizing stress through the body: movement, EFT tapping, breathwork, crying, laughter, creative expression, co-regulation with a safe person, and orgasms.

These do what talking alone can't.

Go check on your nervous system, Fire Fam.

It matters more than the internet is telling you.

So where do you go from here?

If you read all of this and thought, "Okay, this is fire — I want to actually live it" — I want you to know it's possible, and it doesn't have to feel like white-knuckling anymore.

This is exactly what I built Body and Soul Freedom for.

It's my signature 12-week program that weaves together nutrition, intuitive eating, and the physical nervous-system practices we just talked about — so you stop tracking every single calorie and start feeling lean, energized, healthy, and genuinely at home in your body.

A client who just started told me after her first module that she'd never tied all of these pieces together before, and suddenly everything felt lighter — more effortless — after a year of pushing so hard.

That's the magic: a healthy foundation in your body and nervous system is what unlocks the bigger, more expansive things you want in your life — being present with your kids, stepping into the relationship or the role you've been reaching for.

👉 If you want to talk it through first, book your free consultation with me and we'll figure out if it's the right fit. Or if you're ready to go, sign up for Body and Soul Freedom here.

And if you're just getting started and want a lower-lift first step, my Food Freedom Reset is a $27, four-day program designed to get you moving in the right direction without the overwhelm. It's the perfect on-ramp. 💛

Want more in the kitchen too? Grab my High-Protein Meal Prep Cookbook to make eating balanced actually doable.

I love you, Fire Fam. Go be the next-level version of you. I'll talk to you next week.

— Shanon 🔥