Whether you’re brainstorming New Year’s resolutions or generally hoping to make healthy changes, you might find yourself online, searching for healthy habits.

For better or for worse, there’s no doubt you’ll find some. Among dietitians on Instagram, doctors on TikTok and “real people” sharing their experiences, it’s not hard to discover someone who’s trying to push a habit, pill, catchy motto or health suggestion into the world.

Since “health” advice is commonplace, often comes with an ulterior motive and is found on the Internet (where, let’s be real, you can’t always trust it), it’s important to be able to decipher what habits are actually healthy versus myths shared in an attempt for views. Further, and unfortunately, many of the health habits you’ve heard recently are on the “naughty” side, according to the experts interviewed by HuffPost.

Ahead, various types of doctors, dietitians, therapists and other experts dive into common, recent advice that sounds healthy but actually isn’t.

1. Eating only when hunger strikes

This one is especially relevant now in the age of GLP-1s.

“Many factors influence hunger and fullness cues: mood, anxiety, medications and more,” said Nikki Fata, a registered dietitian. “Waiting to eat only when you feel hungry can often lead to inadequate food intake throughout the day, which may result in irregular or chaotic evening eating, or even unmet nutritional needs and malnutrition.”

This is also important to keep in mind when you know you won’t be able to eat during your regular lunch period, for example. You might want to eat more before, even if you’re not hungry, so your body has the nutrients to get through that period. Otherwise, Fata said, you’re risking low energy levels, fatigue, moodiness, difficulty concentrating and even gastrointestinal distress.

She recommended eating every two to three hours with consistent meals and snacks. “Your body has nutritional needs, whether or not you feel a hunger cue.”

2. Having the ‘no days off’ mentality

While this fitness phrase may sound motivational, it has real harms. For one, it makes rest — something your body needs — seem like a bad, shameful thing.

“Pushing yourself beyond your limits will also lead to injuries that will require more rest than if you had initially taken the needed rest,” said Melodie Simmons, a licensed professional counsellor and clinical instructor at Equip Health, a virtual platform for eating disorder treatment.

There’s also the fact that muscles need rest to repair and grow. Rest days help build muscle.

“A supportive routine involves rest, community and self-compassion,” Simmons continued. “Choose movement because it feels good instead of guilt.”

3. Using honey as a pollen allergy treatment

While scrolling on TikTok, you may have come across someone claiming that eating raw honey can protect against a pollen allergy since it exposes you to pollen. But not so fast, allergists say. Effective allergy treatment looks (and tastes) much different.

“Unfortunately, hay fever is triggered by lighter pollen from grass and trees that can get into the eyes and nose, causing reactions,” said Dr. Stephanie Kayode, an allergy physician and consultant allergist with Allergy Care London. “Honey, on the other hand, contains heavy flower pollen that does not cause hay fever.”

Kayode encouraged ditching this honey trend and addressing your allergies with antihistamine tablets and allergy nasal sprays.

4. Over-pathologising ourselves

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