Katie Mohan thought she was doing something good for her body. Like millions of others, the 57-year-old from New Jersey had seen a doctor on Instagram rave about turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties. Joint pain and inflammation are common issues, and turmeric—a golden spice rooted in ancient wellness practices—seemed like a natural fix. What could possibly go wrong? Quite a bit, it turns out.

After weeks of taking megadoses of turmeric supplements—2,250 mg a day, more than ten times the World Health Organization’s recommended limit—Katie landed in the hospital with severe liver damage. Her case isn't isolated, and it raises urgent questions about how unregulated supplement use is silently harming thousands, especially when mixed with misleading online wellness claims.

Katie began taking turmeric capsules for general inflammation after seeing health advice from a popular wellness influencer. Like many, she believed that “natural” meant “safe”—especially when compared to synthetic medications.

But the problem wasn’t turmeric itself—it was the dose. According to WHO guidelines, a safe upper limit is around 204 mg a day for someone who weighs 150 pounds. Mohan was taking more than ten times that, unaware of the toxic potential.

Within weeks, her body started sending distress signals: stomach pain, fatigue, nausea, and dark urine. Classic signs of acute liver injury.

Blood tests revealed her liver enzymes were 60 times the normal level—a severe red flag for hepatologists. At NYU Langone Hospital, her specialist, Dr. Nikolaos Pyrsopoulos, told NBC News she was “one step away from needing a liver transplant.”

Turmeric

Turmeric has long been celebrated in both traditional medicine and modern wellness for its active compound, curcumin, known for anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and possibly even anticancer properties. It's generally safe in culinary amounts—think curries, teas, or golden lattes.

But here's the twist- supplements aren’t the same as food. When curcumin is extracted, concentrated, and supercharged—often with black pepper (piperine) to increase absorption—it becomes a potent bioactive agent. Piperine can boost turmeric absorption by 2,000%, making curcumin flood the body in ways our systems weren’t designed to handle.

While curcumin toxicity is rare, the increasing concentration and frequency of supplement use has changed the equation. Doctors now say turmeric is among the most common herbal causes of liver injury in the U.S.

Katie’s case isn’t an anomaly. According to a 2024 study published in JAMA Network Open, cases of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) caused by herbal and dietary supplements nearly tripled between 2004 and 2014 and the trend is still rising.

Lack of regulation. Unlike pharmaceuticals, supplements aren't held to the same safety standards. Doses aren’t standardized. Labels are often vague. And consumers are left to self-diagnose and self-medicate—usually based on hearsay, trends, or influencers. Among the most commonly implicated supplements are:

• Turmeric
• Green tea extract
• Ashwagandha
• Garcinia cambogia
• Red yeast rice
• Black cohosh

Combined, these six supplements are used by over 15.6 million Americans each month, many without medical guidance.

Why the Liver Takes The Toll?

The liver is your body’s primary detox organ. Everything you ingest—medication, supplements, alcohol, even food—is filtered and broken down here. When supplements like turmeric are taken in high doses, especially those enhanced with absorption boosters like piperine, they can overwhelm the liver’s metabolic pathways.

In some cases, high curcumin concentrations may even trigger autoimmune-like responses, where the body’s own immune system attacks the liver, mistaking it for a threat. The symptoms of turmeric-induced liver damage are often subtle at first:

• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Poor appetite
• Dark urine
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)

Many people don’t connect these to their supplements until it's too late. One of the most concerning aspects of Katie’s case is where she got her medical advice: not from her doctor, but from Instagram.

In a culture increasingly driven by influencers, it's easy to get swept up in the wave of quick fixes and natural cures. But the line between science and marketing is getting blurry and it’s making people sick.

According to the CDC, more than 5 million Americans currently live with some form of liver disease, and nearly 60,000 die of liver failure each year. Supplements may seem harmless, but when misused, they can compound existing health risks, especially for those with underlying conditions.

Katie spent six days in the hospital. Thankfully, her liver responded to treatment after she stopped the supplements. The liver is a forgiving organ, but the experience was harrowing.

We all know ultra-processed foods have a bad rap. But it’s not the processing alone that’s harming your health. A new study has pointed the finger at very specific food additives—those extras that make your crisps zing, your fizzy drinks sweet, and your instant noodles irresistible. And some of them, researchers say, could actually increase your risk of death. Yes, death.

Researchers in Germany, publishing their findings in eClinicalMedicine, followed a whopping 186,744 people in the UK for several years. Ages ranged from 40 to 75, so this wasn’t just a “college-student-on-an-instant-ramen-diet” survey. Over the study period, more than 10,000 deaths occurred. And when the scientists dug into what those people were eating, the results were unsettling.

Out of 37 different food additives and markers of ultra-processed foods, five groups stood out for their grim connections to all-cause mortality:

• Flavour additives
• Flavour enhancers
• Colouring agents
• Sweeteners
• Varieties of sugar

Specific ingredients that stood out in the research:

• Glutamate and ribonucleotide (flavour enhancers)
• Acesulfame, saccharin, and sucralose (sweeteners)
• Fructose, inverted sugar, lactose, and maltodextrin (varieties of sugar)
• Caking agents, firming agents, thickeners (the texturising gang)

These are the invisible additives that make food taste better, look prettier, and last longer, but your body isn’t impressed. The study connected them with weight gain, metabolic disruption, and even mischief in your gut microbiota. Basically, your insides know when they’re being tricked.

Not All Additives Are Bad

These gooey, jelly-like ingredients, often rich in pectin (a type of soluble fibre found in fruit), were linked to a lower risk of death. Pectin has a reputation for improving blood sugar levels, supporting digestion, and even showing anti-cancer potential.

What the Study Highlights

The study isn’t saying that every crisp or fizzy drink is instantly fatal. What it highlights is that eating more ultra-processed foods overall is linked with higher mortality risk, and within that big basket, certain additives stand out as particularly problematic.

Interestingly, not every ultra-processed food marker was linked with harm. Modified oils, processing aids, proteins, and fibre didn’t seem to have the same deadly connections.

The findings add nuance to the conversation about food. For years, advice has been a blunt “avoid ultra-processed foods”. But this study suggests the smarter move is to pay attention to which additives are doing the damage. If you spot acesulfame, maltodextrin, or sucralose in your ingredients list, maybe it’s time to put that product back on the shelf.

Meanwhile, it’s not all doom and gloom. Gelling agents might just be good for your gut. And who knows? One day, future food companies might lean more heavily on these safer additives to give us “healthier processed foods” that don’t spell trouble in the long run.

Ultra-processed foods are everywhere, and pretending we can avoid them completely is unrealistic. The real trick is being aware of what’s in them. Flavour enhancers, sweeteners, colouring agents, and sugars deserve the side-eye, while fibre-rich gelling agents can keep their halo.

For years, meat has been positioned as a key concern in the field of nutrition, blamed for shortening lifespans, fuelling cancer, and clogging arteries. Plant protein, in contrast, has been paraded down the health red carpet as the best for longevity. But a new study says otherwise.

The case against animal protein looked convincing: previous studies tied red meat consumption to cancer deaths, supposedly through the hormone IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), which has been linked to higher cancer risk. Meanwhile, beans, nuts, and lentils basked in praise, appearing to lengthen lives and lower disease risk.

But according to research published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, those assumptions might not hold up in court anymore. Three researchers from Canada and the United States sifted through decades of nutritional data, and what they found could rewrite a big chunk of dietary dogma.

What The Study Says

Contrary to what many of us have been told, the study discovered no evidence that eating animal protein raises your chances of dying from cancer, heart disease, or even from any cause at all.

Even more surprising, they found a “small but significant” protective effect of animal protein against cancer-related deaths. Yes, meat, often demonised as the problem, appeared to offer a shield, not a sword.

On the other hand, plant protein, which has been championed for its apparent health perks, did not demonstrate the magical life-extending benefits past studies suggested.

Same Rules Apply, Whatever Your Age

The findings stood firm regardless of age. Whether the participant was a sprightly 20-year-old or in their seventies, the impact of protein type on mortality did not budge.

What did emerge as genuine risk factors? No surprises here: smoking, sedentary behaviour, and ageing itself. In other words, a sausage might not do you in, but a cigarette habit just might.

A Hormone Under Suspicion

Earlier research that condemned animal protein leaned heavily on the IGF-1 theory. The logic was straightforward: animal meat elevates IGF-1 levels, and higher IGF-1 has been linked with certain cancers. Case closed.

Except it was not. The new study points out that IGF-1 is a slippery suspect. Its connection with cancer risk has not held up consistently, and hormone levels alone are not reliable markers for predicting chronic disease. In fact, the relationship between IGF-1 and age-related illnesses is “nonlinear”, meaning more or less of it does not straightforwardly equal more or less disease.

The Fine Print

Of course, no study is without caveats. The researchers drew on NHANES III survey data from 1988 to 1994, looking at adults aged 19 and older. That means their conclusions were based on dietary recall rather than direct biological measurements. They admit more nuanced research, particularly using biomarkers, is needed to fully understand how different proteins affect long-term health.

The Bigger Picture on Meat

Animal protein may carry nutrients plant sources cannot easily replace — vitamin B12, for one. But the real problem of the meat world may not be the protein itself but the processing. Sausages, salami, and other highly processed meats are often loaded with saturated fat and sodium, which have well-documented links to heart disease and hypertension.

What It Means for Your Plate

This research does not suggest that plant protein is useless or that meat is suddenly a superfood. What it does say is that protein, whether from plants or animals, may not be the health battleground we have been led to believe. The real key might be balance, along with lifestyle choices that science repeatedly confirms matter most: staying active, not smoking, and eating a varied diet.

Step into a health shop, swipe through TikTok, or wander through beauty stores, and there it is, a familiar promise: powders, pills, or drops to reveal radiant skin, cleanse the body, or even reverse aging. Two of the biggest players in this wellness wave are chlorophyll—the green pigment in plants now bottled into tinctures and waters and collagen, a structural protein sold as the ultimate anti-aging fix.

On social media, celebrities and influencers sip on green shots or blend collagen into coffee, packaging them as the shortcut to health and beauty. But does the science hold up, or is it more about clever marketing dressed up in glossy branding?

Chlorophyll is the pigment found in plants that makes them green. In biology lab, it's recalled as fueling photosynthesis—to capture light energy to create glucose and oxygen. In plants, it's vital. In humans, things aren't quite as simple.

Wellness brands and influencers, from Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop to Kourtney Kardashian Barker's Poosh, have made drinking chlorophyll water a daily habit. Marketing promises range from detoxification to more radiant skin and even "oxygenating the blood." The concept sounds alluring—except that it can't be done biologically.

As physician and researcher Ben Goldacre points out, photosynthesis requires sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Our gut and bloodstream aren’t flooded with sunlight, so chlorophyll simply can’t perform its plant-like function inside humans. Drinking it won’t generate oxygen in your body.

What is The Trend Promoting Chlorophyll Supplement?

The type most commonly employed in supplements is chlorophyllin, a semi-synthetic, water-soluble derivative of chlorophyll. Several small, older studies indicate that it might decrease odors in wounds or stool, possibly by breaking down some compounds or stopping bacteria from growing. There's weak evidence that it might act as an antioxidant, roaming free radicals causing cell destruction, but studies are few and far from convincing.

More promising are investigations into its application in wound healing. Chlorophyll dressings have been studied for their potential to speed up healing and deodorize infected wounds. But consuming it for beauty or detoxing purposes is something else—clinical evidence for those uses is scant.

Potential Risks and Side Effects of Chlorophyll

Most individuals are able to tolerate chlorophyll, but it is not risk-free. Side effects reported include diarrhea, cramps in the stomach, and colored urine, stool, or even tongue. Mild itching or burning with topical use can be produced in occasional instances. The U.S. National Library of Medicine states that chlorophyll is non-poisonous in normal doses, but in high doses it can produce gastrointestinal upset.

What this actually translates to is that while chlorophyll won't hurt you in moderation, it's also unlikely to bring the extreme makeovers promised on TikTok.

Collagen

Collagen differs from chlorophyll in that it's something that humans naturally create. It's the body's most common protein and what builds scaffolding for skin, bones, cartilage, blood vessels, and connective tissue. It's responsible for skin elasticity and flexibility of joints.

Collagen production inherently decreases with age, resulting in wrinkles, stiff joints, and less resilient connective tissue. This loss has propelled a billion-dollar collagen market, with powders, pills, and creams touted as a means to "replenish" what the body is losing.

What Science Says About Collagen Supplements

Collagen supplementation research is further advanced than chlorophyll's, although it's not yet conclusive. Some research indicates oral collagen peptides can moderately enhance skin hydration, elasticity, and fine lines. There's also support that they might be good for joint health, mitigate exercise-induced joint pain, and increase bone density in the elderly.

But science doesn't go so far as to make miracle promises. Collagen won't cause weight loss, detox the body, or stop cardiovascular disease, no matter what ads might promise.

Topical Collagen

Collagen creams and serums inundate the beauty market, but it's hard to find one that works. Collagen molecules are too big to pass through the skin barrier, so most topical products can't really increase collagen where it counts. At best, they offer surface moisture and temporary plumping.

Supporting Natural Collagen Production

The body synthesizes collagen from amino acids, so consuming sufficient protein-containing foods—chicken, fish, eggs, beans, and bone broth—is still the best method to supply it. Vitamin C, zinc, and copper are also necessary cofactors for collagen production. Having a well-nourished diet and staying away from excessive sunlight exposure and smoking might preserve your natural reserves better than any costly powder.

Why TikTok Supplements Feel So Convincing?

One of the reasons supplements such as chlorophyll and collagen do so well online is that they provide instant, tangible rituals. Adding green drops to water or spilling white powder into a latte gives one a feeling of agency and pampering. When influencers couple such rituals with radiant skin or lean bodies, it's simple to think that the supplement is the magic bullet—when genetics, diet, and lifestyle actually have so much more to do with it.

Social media exaggerates anecdotal accounts, frequently beating what the evidence will allow. And although both collagen and chlorophyll might have specialized advantages, they are not cure-alls or substitutes for healthy living.

What Consumers Should Know?

Experts always recommend taking supplement fads with a grain of salt. The evidence for chlorophyll remains limited, with only mild effects in very particular medical contexts such as wound healing. Collagen is more robust, especially for joints and skin, but the effects are modest compared to what is claimed in the marketplace.

Supplements must be used to complement, and not substitute, a diet of balanced nutrition, exercise, and sleep. For beauty and health in the long run, consuming a diet that has high quantities of fruits, vegetables, protein, and micronutrients is a much better way than consuming any one powder or extract.

Is Chlorophyll Drink Worth the Hype?

Chlorophyll won't make you a detoxed, glowing version of yourself any more than photosynthesis will function in your blood. Collagen supplements might be helpful, particularly for skin and joints, but they're no miracle cure themselves.

For the time being, consider these TikTok staples as add-ons, not requirements. If drinking a chlorophyll latte makes you happy or sprinkling collagen powder makes you eat more protein, that's okay. Just be aware that the glow-up is much more likely to be the result of regular healthy habits and not an online-viral supplement.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for medical professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting supplements, treatment, or altering your health regimen.