Information Related to Diet and Psoriasis on Instagram is Unreliable, According to New Analysis

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A new review has evaluated how social media, specifically Instagram, provides dietary information for plaque psoriasis management.¹ It was found that nearly 100% of the posts on Instagram were restrictive and of poor quality. Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users, making it the 5th largest social media platform in the world.² This increases the risk of patients with psoriasis being exposed to misinformation.

The cross-sectional content analysis took place on Instagram between December 11 and 14, 2022. The 100 most recent posts under the 12 most popular hashtags were screened; #psoriasis, #psoriasiswarrior, #psoriasisdiet, #psoriasistreatment, #psoriasiscure, #psoriasisawareness, #psoriasiscommunity, #psoriasissucks, #psoriasisproblems, #psoriasislife, #psoriasisrelief, and #psoriasissupport. All pictures or videos had to have more than 1 view or like and the user must have over 100 followers, in order to avoid spam accounts.

After the screening and exclusion process, 138 posts were used for analysis. The quality of each was evaluated using the DISCERN instrument. Each was categorized based on the dietary approaches presented. The 7 categories are as follows;

• Including certain foods or groups (17%)
• Excluding certain foods or groups (27%)
• Following a specific diet (14%)
• Taking foods that promote weight loss (4%)
• Using supplements like vitamins, minerals, and herbs (8%)
• Improving gut health (12%)
• Miscellaneous, nonspecific dietary suggestions (18%)

The most common dietary recommendation was excluding a part of your diet, most frequently alcohol (28%) and dairy (11%). Other mentioned foods were saturated fatty acids, high histamine foods, citrus fruits, red meat, caffeine, and processed foods.

Other commonly mentioned methods in the miscellaneous category were detoxing and clean eating. Another common type of content was examples of daily meals/ “what I eat in a day” for psoriasis management (36%).

Including more protein (17%) and cruciferous vegetables (14%) were the most common practices in the “inclusion” category. Other mentioned foods were fruits, herbal tea, nuts, seeds, extra-virgin olive oil, unsaturated fatty acids, turmeric, aloe vera, bone broth, oatmeal, and antioxidants.

A gluten-free diet was also most suggested (19%), followed by autoimmune protocol (13%) and a vegan diet (13%). Other mentioned diets were low-carb, carnivorous diets, time-restricted eating, low-calorie, high-alkaline diets, sugar-free, whole-food diets, and anti-inflammatory diets.

Nearly 75% of posts in the category relating to gut health used buzzwords like “leaky gut” and “microbiome”. Regarding supplements, vitamin D was the most common recommendation (32%) but naturopathic herbs, omega 3, zinc, selenium, vitamin B-12, and collagen were also mentioned.

Most of the users who posted content (29.7%) were those living with and experiencing psoriasis. Only 6.5% of posts were created by healthcare professionals and they focused on losing weight and excluding foods. Although 21.7% of creators had a “nutrition background”, none were made by licensed nutrition professionals. Health and beauty companies were also included, with most of them focusing on exclusion diets and supplements.

According to the DISCREN ratings, 99% of posts were low quality with 1% considered to be “moderate quality.” Those 2 posts were made by dermatologists. None of the content was considered to be high quality.

“The poor ratings in this study relate not only to the lack of scientific evidence base, but its combination with biased language, lack of uncertainty and risk acknowledgment, and lack of signposts to possible alternatives or additional support,” the authors wrote.

Current evidence that proves diet changes can affect psoriasis is limited.³ Thus, there are no clinician-recommended, comprehensive guidelines for patients to follow. This study is the first of its kind to assess dietary content on Instagram that is specific to psoriasis patients.

Future literature could explore other platforms and consider posts based on popularity rather than the time of posting. More research can also help health care providers regulate and counter online misinformation while confirming and promoting appropriate dietary methods for patients with psoriasis.

References

1. Cowan S, Hawkins P, Marks G, Fallaize R. Diet and Psoriasis-Related Information on Instagram: A Quality and Content Analysis of Posts Under Popular Psoriasis Hashtags. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2025;38(2):e70034. doi:10.1111/jhn.70034

2. Wiederhold BK. Instagram: Becoming a Worldwide Problem?. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2019;22(9):567-568. doi:10.1089/cyber.2019.29160.bkw

3. Ford AR, Siegel M, Bagel J, et al. Dietary Recommendations for Adults With Psoriasis or Psoriatic Arthritis From the Medical Board of the National Psoriasis Foundation: A Systematic Review. JAMA Dermatol. 2018;154(8):934-950. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.1412