{"id":900934,"date":"2026-04-22T18:15:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/itvs-dr-amir-khan-says-its-confident-nonsense-that-needs-to-be-debunked\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T18:15:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:15:33","slug":"itvs-dr-amir-khan-says-its-confident-nonsense-that-needs-to-be-debunked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/itvs-dr-amir-khan-says-its-confident-nonsense-that-needs-to-be-debunked\/","title":{"rendered":"ITV&#8217;s Dr Amir Khan says &#8216;it&#8217;s confident nonsense&#8217; that needs &#8216;to be debunked&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"article-body\" data-testid=\"body\">\n<h2 data-testid=\"leadtext\">&#8216;There is a lot of very confident nonsense about health on the internet right now,&#8217; Dr Amir said<\/h2>\n<div data-testid=\"byline\">\n<p><span data-testid=\"byline-content\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><span><strong>Fiona Callingham<\/strong> Lifestyle writer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class data-testid=\"byline-publishedDate\">03:15, 15 Mar 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A health expert has shared five \u201cmedical myths\u201d he believes \u201cneed to be debunked\u201d. Doctor Amir Khan explained more about what he claims is a lot of \u201cnonsense\u201d on the internet.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Speaking in a video uploaded to his Instagram account, Dr Amir &#8211; who is best known for his appearances on ITV, explained more about these dubious allegations. In the video\u2019s caption, he said: \u201cThere is a lot of very confident nonsense about health on the internet right now.\u201d These are:<\/p>\n<ul data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"unordered-list\">\n<li>Cortisol face<\/li>\n<li>Parasite cleanses<\/li>\n<li>Detox teas<\/li>\n<li>\u201cHormone balancing\u201d powders<\/li>\n<li>Seed cycling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dr Amir said: \u201cMost of these trends take very complex physiology and pretend it can be fixed with a simple hack. The reality is that your body already has extraordinarily sophisticated systems controlling hormones, detoxification, metabolism and immunity.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cWhen something claims to reset all of that with a tea, supplement or social media trends, it\u2019s usually not medicine it\u2019s marketing.\u201d Speaking in the video, he said: \u201cI can&#8217;t believe I&#8217;m having to say this, but here are five medical myths doing the rounds online that we need to debunk with actual medicine. \u201c<\/p>\n<h2>Cortisol face<\/h2>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">This is the concept that your puffy face is caused by a spike in cortisol, which is a hormone made by your adrenal glands. It is necessary for regulating how your body uses sugar for energy, decreasing inflammation, regulating blood pressure, and helping control your sleep-wake cycle.<\/p>\n<p><figure data-testid=\"embed-placeholder\"><svg width=\"90\" height=\"90\" viewBox=\"0 0 90 90\" fill=\"none\" data-testid=\"consent-placeholder-icon\"><g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_10846_5865)\"><circle opacity=\"0.16\" cx=\"45\" cy=\"45\" r=\"33.75\" fill=\"var(--color-sem-icon-neutral-default)\" \/><path d=\"M21.1351 21.1351C15.0276 27.2427 11.25 35.6802 11.25 45C11.25 63.6396 26.3604 78.75 45 78.75C54.3198 78.75 62.7573 74.9724 68.8649 68.8649M21.1351 21.1351C27.2427 15.0276 35.6802 11.25 45 11.25C63.6396 11.25 78.75 26.3604 78.75 45C78.75 54.3198 74.9724 62.7573 68.8649 68.8649M21.1351 21.1351L68.8649 68.8649\" stroke=\"var(--color-sem-icon-neutral-default)\" stroke-width=\"7.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" \/><\/g><defs><clipPath id=\"clip0_10846_5865\"><rect width=\"90\" height=\"90\" fill=\"white\" \/><\/clipPath><\/defs><\/svg><figcaption>Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dr Amir said: \u201cNumber one, this idea of cortisol face &#8211; apparently if your face looks puffy the internet has decided, it might be cortisol.\u201d While this can be the case in severe cases, it\u2019s quite \u201crare\u201d.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He said: \u201cNow, true cortisol excess is called Cushing\u2019s syndrome and it&#8217;s a rare endocrine disorder, where the body produces too much cortisol over a long period of time. It causes things like muscle wasting, fragile skin, high blood pressure, diabetes and distinctive kind of purple patches over your body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It is far more likely your puffy face is caused by other things. Dr Amir said: \u201cA slightly puffy face after a poor night&#8217;s sleep is far more likely to be fluid retention, salt intake, alcohol, allergies, or simple fatigue &#8211; not a serious hormonal disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Parasite cleanses<\/h2>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dr Amir said this one is hard to believe. \u201cPeople are actually selling parasite cleanses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cNow, the internet loves the idea that we&#8217;re all secretly full of parasites.\u201d But if you live in the UK, this is highly unlikely.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dr Amir said: \u201cIn countries like the UK, parasitic infections are very uncommon unless you\u2019ve travelled abroad or had specific exposure somewhere.\u201d He warned: \u201cMost parasite cleanses are just herbal laxatives.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cThey irritate the bowels, speed up gut transit, and make you pass mucus or debris, which people then mistakenly believe are parasites, but they&#8217;re not removing parasites because they weren&#8217;t any there to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Detox teas<\/h2>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cMost\u201d of these are also just laxatives, according to Dr Amir. He said: \u201cYour body already has a sophisticated detox system.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cIt&#8217;s called your liver and your kidneys. Your liver uses enzymes to chemically modify toxins, so they can be excreted out, your kidneys then filter your blood continuously.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cMost detox teas simply contain Senna or caffeine, which just makes you go to the toilet more. They&#8217;re not detoxing anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Balancing your hormones<\/h2>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Using supplements to try to \u201cbalance your hormones\u201d is unlikely to do anything, the expert said. He explained: \u201cNow, hormones are controlled by tightly regulated feedback loops between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and endocrine organs like the thyroid, ovaries and adrenal glands.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cThese systems operate through complex signalling pathways and receptor interactions. A generic supplement, bought online is extremely unlikely to override that regulatory network.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cIf hormones are genuinely abnormal, the treatment is usually medical therapy targeting the underlying endocrine pathway, not a powder.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Seed cycling<\/h2>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Lastly, he shared something you might not have heard of &#8211; \u201cseed cycling\u201d. \u201cThis idea suggests eating specific seeds during phases of your menstrual cycle will balance oestrogen and progesterone,\u201d Dr Amir said.<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cBut hormone levels during the menstrual cycles, are all controlled by the hypothalamic pituitary ovarian axis, involving pulsatile release of things like GNRH, LH and FSH from the brain. Flax seeds and pumpkin seeds, I love them. I love them, eat them, get them in you, but they don&#8217;t influence that signalling system in any clinical meaningful way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Summarising, he added: \u201cSo, the internet is great, it&#8217;s great. But when something claims to fix complex physiology with a very simple trick, just question it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">If you are experiencing any health issues, you should speak to your GP.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ok.co.uk\/lifestyle\/itvs-dr-amir-khan-says-36858123\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;There is a lot of very confident nonsense about health on the internet right now,&#8217; Dr Amir said Fiona Callingham Lifestyle writer 03:15, 15 Mar 2026 A health expert has shared five \u201cmedical myths\u201d he believes \u201cneed to be debunked\u201d. Doctor Amir Khan explained more about what he claims is a lot of \u201cnonsense\u201d on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":900935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29038,131284],"tags":[5517,131283],"class_list":{"0":"post-900934","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-its","8":"category-itvs","9":"tag-its","10":"tag-itvs"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}