Avoid dairy, fruit and red meat, take vitamin D supplements – these are some of the nutrition claims circulating online for breast cancer patients but how many of them are actually based on fact?
Researchers from Adelaide University analysed more than 150 nutrition claims from eight different online platforms including Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Google, and ChatGPT.
“We found the majority of online nutrition claims targeting people with breast cancer are not supported by reliable scientific evidence,” said study author Negin Amin, a PhD candidate at Adelaide University’s School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science.
“The chance of finding this unsubstantiated advice is much higher on X or TiK Tok, where up to 76% are not backed up by science.”
The researchers grouped the claims into the type of content providers – health professionals, personal accounts or groups and organisations. They then evaluated the claims against current evidence, including nutritional guidelines for patients with cancer, along with clinical studies.
Claims from health professionals were more likely to be consistent with evidence (29%), compared to personal accounts (24%) or information shared by groups or organisations (24%). However, health professionals also shared the least amount of breast cancer nutrition information.
The most common unsupported claims found online included "avoid dairy and animal protein during cancer treatment", "the sugar in fruits feeds cancer cells" and “olive oil can cure cancer”.
“Our study shows that non-evidence-based nutrition information is being shared widely online. This could be putting cancer patients at risk of malnutrition, which can be associated with serious consequences and lower quality of life,” said senior author Associate Professor Tania Crotti, a medical researcher from Adelaide University’s School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science.
“It’s critical that we find a way to differentiate between both reliable and unreliable sources to give cancer patients access to the right health advice.”
The findings of this study have been published in Patient Education and Counseling.
"Guidance for good nutrition during cancer treatment is available through the Cancer Council, who recommend patients enjoy a wide variety of nutritious food from the five food groups,” said senior author Professor Joanne Bowen, from Adelaide University’s School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science.
The research team is also encouraging patients to seek personalised nutrition information from their medical team.
Educational campaigns are another option to increase society’s resistance to misleading health information.
“Breast cancer rates continue to rise globally and so too does the demand for information relating to patient health, wellbeing, exercise and nutrition post diagnosis,” said senior author Professor Wendy Ingman, a leading breast health researcher from the Robinson Research Institute.
“It is important for policymakers to allocate sufficient resources to improve the dissemination of evidence-based health information online.”