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5 tips for safely using AI to improve your health and nutrition

April 30, 2026

From drafting emails to planning the next vacation, artificial intelligence is increasingly being used for everyday tasks. Health and nutrition inquiries about losing weight and managing, or even diagnosing, chronic diseases are a part of this shift. While instant answers to health and nutrition questions might seem appealing, these AI-generated responses can be risky.

Recent health misinformation tracking polls found that one in five adults uses AI chatbots for health advice, and about one in four adults under the age of thirty uses AI for health advice monthly. Many people view AI health advice as trustworthy, more affordable, and are even skipping a trip to the doctor as a result.

A recent study published in Nature Medicine concluded that AI chatbots like ChatGPT are not consistently reliable. In fact, an audit found that about half of health-related responses were problematic and about twenty percent were potentially even dangerous. Inaccurate advice is a result of both humans not reporting their own information and symptoms correctly and AI not asking the right questions in return. AI chatbots can jump to conclusions and be wrong while sounding completely certain.

Chatbots perform even worse on nutrition and athletic performance topics. This is likely due to a high level of conflicting evidence and nutrition misinformation available online. Nutrition and food are nuanced, contextual, and deeply personal. AI systems tend to flatten that nuance into generalized recommendations. Information that is useful to one person could be potentially harmful to another person.

One study published in Frontiers in Nutrition found that AI-generated meal plans can be risky for teens, often providing about 700 fewer calories daily than plans recommended by nutrition professionals. Not only did AI provide imbalanced amounts of fat, protein, and carbohydrates, but it also failed to account for increased calorie needs due to growth and development. This could lead to serious health concerns or even a pattern of disordered eating over time.

AI is unable to accurately assess medical history, recognize eating disorders, adjust recommendations based on lab values, or account for cultural food practices. Unlike a human, AI will not notice when something doesn’t seem right.

AI shouldn’t be used as a physician, therapist, or dietitian as it lacks reasoning and clinical judgement. Nutrition advice might seem relatively low-risk and just about food, but it is much more. Proper nutrition recommendations intersect with mental health, chronic disease, supplement and medication interactions, financial access to food, and much more. Nutrition professionals provide empathy, accountability, and personal connection. They aren’t able to juggle the nuance and emotions tied to food while considering personal details and the client’s evolving goals.

So, what role can AI play in helping with nutrition and health? Once baseline goals and a general plan are established with a health care provider, AI can help explain and summarize concepts, suggest meal ideas, and build grocery lists. It can even be used to help with motivation and staying on track using AI-powered nutrition and wellness tools. This technology can integrate with wearable devices for health and fitness tracking, continue glucose monitoring platforms for diabetes, and nutrition and meal-planning tools, including photo-based calorie trackers.

AI is here to stay. Its applications will likely grow and evolve quickly, requiring humans to keep up. Here are five tips for safely using AI to improve your health and nutrition:

1. Use AI for education, not diagnostics. Ask questions like “What are the benefits of a high-fiber diet?” instead of “What should I eat to fix my stomach pain?”

2. Don’t replace health care professionals with AI. Bring AI-generated information to your health care provider for discussion.

3. Ask for credible sources and fact-check responses.

4. AI-powered tools like Noom and MyFitnessPal can support meal planning, food tracking, and habit-building when used responsibly.

5. Double-check nutritional information with trusted sources like USDA FoodData Central.

LeeAnn Weintraub, MPH, RD, is a registered dietitian, providing nutrition counseling and consulting to individuals, families, and organizations. She can be reached by email at RD@halfacup.com.

Orange County Register

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5 tips for safely using AI to improve your health and nutrition

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