The Buzzword Buffet: Why Nutrition Marketing Wants You Confused
- andrewligons
- Sep 3
- 2 min read
If you’ve spent time scrolling through your feed or flipping through health magazines, you’ve seen it: the endless parade of trendy wellness buzzwords. Clean eating. Detox. Gut health. Hormones. Inflammation. Sugar-free. Keto. Gluten-free. Non-GMO. Seed oils. Collagen. Carnivore. Cardio. HIIT. Hard-75. Plant-based. Organic. B-vitamins. Whole food. 80/20. Adaptogens. Nootropics. Fasting. It almost feels like you need a glossary just to keep up, and that’s the point. These words aren’t just meant to inform—they’re designed to overwhelm.
Marketers use them strategically because they:
Create confusion. If you don’t know what “adaptogens” or “nootropics” are, you assume you’re missing something essential.
Play on fear. Words like “inflammation,” “detox,” or “hormones” sound urgent and intimidating.
Make you feel unprepared. If you’re not sugar-free, keto, collagen-loaded, and on the latest challenge, you’re led to believe you’re already behind.
Research shows this works. A study of packaged snacks in Australian supermarkets found that 94% of products in “health food” aisles carried at least one nutrition buzzword compared to 73% in regular aisles—sometimes with less healthy foods boasting more claims than truly nutritious options (PMC). This “health halo” makes people feel better about what they’re buying without real substance.
Take “adaptogens,” for example. The term suggests certain herbs help your body adapt to stress, but the definition is so vague that regulators in the U.S. and EU don’t even recognize it as a valid scientific category (Wikipedia). While some studies show limited benefits—Ashwagandha reducing stress in small trials, for example—the evidence overall is inconsistent (Verywell Health). Still, the word itself sells.
Here’s the truth:
You don’t need to master every diet trend to make progress.
You don’t need to fear whole food groups or chase every supplement.
You’re not failing because you don’t recognize the latest buzzword.
Lasting health doesn’t come from marketing language—it comes from consistency, structure, and habits that actually fit into your life. The next time you see “detox,” “biohack,” or “superfood” plastered across your feed, remember: those words aren’t the gateway to health. Real progress comes from the effort you put in, one step at a time.
Comments