Balchem encourages nutrition industry to engage with social media health influencers

The role of social media health influencers has become a force that can no longer be ignored by industry suppliers and brands. Gen Z’s health supplement choices are increasingly being encouraged by online content creators, where the risk of misinformation is prevalent. 

On this issue, Nutrition Insight speaks with Balchem Human Nutrition and Health about dangers, especially to young people and GLP-1 users, while discussing the role of ingredient suppliers to make science accessible.

For example, research estimates that following the nutrition advice of 53 social media “super-spreaders” could put up to 24 million people at risk of serious health consequences.

In the US, a national survey found that nearly half of citizens rely on unaccredited sources, social media, and AI-generated recommendations for nutrition advice rather than trained professionals.

Additionally, a student survey confirmed a long-standing problem that social media influences eating behaviors and negative body image perceptions. TikTok significantly shapes young consumers’ food choices; researchers previously told us how algorithms shape diets and how food and nutrition companies could rethink product development.

Building on this evolving trend, we speak with Bettina Bendig, Balchem’s director of Marketing, B2B2C Growth & Consumer Strategy, to learn why industry players should take this issue seriously and what their role could be to counter misinformation forces.

How should brands work with influencers without amplifying bad science?
Bendig: Influencers play a strategic role in shaping Gen-Zers’ purchasing decisions, with consumers turning to their trusted creators for guidance and advice. In the health and nutrition space, brands need to be especially mindful of the intersection between social media dynamics and scientific claims. The risk of oversimplification — or even misinformation — is real. The question, therefore, is not whether to engage influencers, but how to do so without compromising scientific integrity.

Bendig suggests brands be mindful of the intersection between social media dynamics and scientific claims.A useful way to approach this is to treat influencer marketing as “light scientific communication.” It should feel accessible and relatable but still be grounded in evidence. That starts by choosing the right partners — someone with trusted credentials and scientific expertise. From there, providing a clear framework of substantiated, pre-approved claims, along with easy-to-digest explanations, is just as important. This helps set the boundaries of what can and cannot be said, such as exaggerated outcomes, off-label implications, or “miracle” narratives. Because Gen Z consumers are savvier than ever, what tends to resonate most with them is not hype, but clarity. 

At Balchem, we carefully evaluate the influencers and content creators we work with, we invest in onboarding and training, and we implement a regulatory review process at both the script and final content stages. This applies across ingredients such as VitaCholine, K2Vital, Albion Minerals, and OptiMSM, ensuring that everything going live is accurate, compliant, and aligned with the science. 

This approach doesn’t end once the content is live. Monitoring audience reactions, spotting potential misunderstandings, and correcting them quickly is part of our responsibility. 

TikTok claims like “carbs=inflammation” directly undermine GLP-1 adherence. What’s the real-world impact on health when consumers chase viral fads over evidence?
Bendig: When consumers follow viral “carbs = inflammation” narratives, they often swing toward overly restrictive eating patterns that are difficult to sustain. While this may feel effective in the short term, it often leads to increased risk of weight regain and poorer long-term metabolic outcomes. 

For individuals on GLP-1 therapies, this becomes even more problematic. These treatments change appetite and eating behaviors, so layering on rigid, fad-driven restrictions can undermine adherence by making meals less satisfying and harder to integrate into daily life. This ultimately increases the likelihood of early drop-off. What’s more, cutting out broad categories like carbohydrates can reduce overall diet quality, losing sources of fiber and other nutrients that play a key role in glycemic control, lipid metabolism, and gut health. 

Science-backed influencer training can combat supplement misinformation.While integrating supplements featuring ingredients such as Albion Minerals and VitaCholine can help fill nutritional gaps, it doesn’t solve the underlying issue. What we still see is a cycle of confusion, inconsistency, and delayed progress, where consumers swap evidence-based routines with simplified, short-term rules that don’t address the underlying drivers of metabolic disease.

Influencers reach millions daily with nutrition advice, often without credentials. How do brands build trust when evidence gets drowned out?
Bendig: Brands can build trust by making evidence visible, simple, and consistently present at every touchpoint. That’s why we always emphasize that our branded ingredients are “backed by real science.” We also partner with qualified experts, prioritizing clear claim substantiation and communicating the benefits of our solutions with accessible language. 

We’re transparent about our ingredients, dosing, testing, and safety to help build education among consumers and allow them to make more informed decisions. At the same time, we continuously monitor misinformation and respond quickly to ensure accuracy — because corrections are more effective when they come through credible third-party voices. 

What responsibility do ingredient suppliers have in addressing misinformation?
Bendig: Misinformation is increasingly becoming a comparable public health risk to sugar because it shapes decisions at scale. It fuels confusion, erodes trust, and pushes people toward overly restrictive or unbalanced behaviors that can worsen long-term metabolic outcomes.

Ingredient suppliers have the responsibility to make the “right” message easy for brands to communicate. For example, they should provide clear substantiation packages covering human evidence, dosing information, safety data, and a transparent view of limitations. This also means translating science into compliant, easy-to-understand language and education tools that brands can bring to the market. 

In short, our role as a supplier is to be an enabler of that communication. And this leads back to why we intensively train our influencers and build a long-term relationship to ensure that accurate, science-based messages are shared effectively.