You raise a good point, David Cottrell. What you are describing is human behavior and it transcends diet info and permeates other areas, including beauty and other lifestyle products.

While celebrities are influential, they are not the sole influencers in the marketplace. Social media is spawning a crop of influencers in a host of areas including diet and wellness as part of a dialogue with consumer "followers". To the extent that the info (and the influencer) is seen as credible and relatable, and the influencer is likable and persuasive, the message can get out...whether it's their own message or that they are advocating in support of an expert.

Hi David - unfortunately most consumers won't get past the spin and will spend their hard own/limited discretionary funds on crap [Waist trainers, Lipsticks and Flat tummy teas promoted by the Kardashians and other celebs who are known for surgery, work out and nutrition plans being peddled by influencers who don't know the first thing about proper nutrition and are selling an image as opposed to real solution oriented products]. The business of selling things is more manufactured now than ever before and quite dangerous as now they're manufacturing talent/ influencers (tangential celebs/ PEOPLE) to sell the same crap products. I could go on and on with examples across industries, but I digress. Consumer behavior Influencer/Talent Marketing Strategies (now more than ever) are a huge part of my current work, so here's my quick take.

The only way the consumer sees past all of the spin is if they VALUE the results (real life) more than they do the image they are so often buying into (and never achieving)-- the masses never will. For marketers and scientists, who are attempting to break through the clutter they have to put their money behind real and authentic/ but DESIRABLE Influencers (which is not always easy) and will require research, data, time, testing, analysis, and creativity.

Testing and learning with Influencers, Brand Ambassadors and even Celeb Talent (plus data backed approaches to content and messaging) is one way to approach and will be relatively low cost given the reward. My best advice is to study the most successful modern day products/ campaign, regardless of the product and apply the same formula to your product (but with real use in value) then test against your standard approach with the same or similar talent.

Think about it like this. Wouldn't it be amazing if brands partnered with "Desirable" Talent to promote a product that actually did what it said and delivered value to consumers? Just imagine the legs/momentum the product/ brand will gain from sharing, recommendations and promoting consumers will organically do because a product they purchased, being sold by a talent/influencer (image) they desire/ admires (aspiration) actually did what it promised!

One of my goals is to uncover/redefine what it means to be an 'Influencer'/ talent partner in a world where its so casually claimed (thanks YouTube, thanks Instagram), as to bring big premium value back to content Marketing and move us away from this unfounded idea that followers, impressions, engagements = +$$$... moving away from the fragmented small investment/marginal returns we're current in . Wish me luck!

I think the answer is simple.
If you want scientifically proven, unbiased information on health and diet, you should go to an organisation whose remit is to improve people's health and longevity. Examples include the NHS, Diabetes UK and, to blow our own trumpet, the British Heart Foundation.
The BHF website has a section on healthy eating and offers a free booklet on the topic.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/preventing-heart-disease/healthy-eating

Just keep away from those celebrities: some of them drink their own pee.

Health is a mutable condition, it all depends on our situation, stress or flow, hunger or boredom, quality and effect of exercise or energetic expense in sedentary moments. Eating is intended to be for nutrition not social belief about... So much medical information, and holistic information is structured for economic value, not product value, not human value, not even nutritional value - so I am the first to encourage my clients to listen to their bodies, learn the language of the living organism, and trust those requests before they trust fads and habits. Certainly, they must be attuned - and this is another issue for innovative educators.Truth be told, check it out, the majority of people do not eat for nutrition nor do they fully assimilate the foods they eat because the entire human system is in a chronic state of "human" dysphoria.

You have indeed raised a very important point. As people embrace technology the more, so is their application of its ‘teachings’; especially that of the so called celebrities scattered online.
There is no doubt that the in-thing currently is the heavy use of social media sites including Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat etc. where we find a lot of people in the showbiz, they are also referred to as celebrities.
They strive to increase their fan bases and get people to follow and like their activities however unreal. In a way, this has affected the way people view certain things such as weight loss for example. A random celeb posts online the vigorous exercise he or she is undergoing and how it is helping reduce his or her weight. This catches the attention of a lot of people struggling with the same issue viewing that as an encouragement thereby embracing such a practice without checking with their physician or therapists to see if it appropriate.
In itself, these celebrity spinoffs are not totally bad because a lot of people get to understand the realities of certain health challenges as well as help them nurture the belief that it could be treated or solved using their own natural tricks or other strategies however people should tread with caution.
Mere asking a question on Google and getting an answer does not mean it is adequate, appropriate or even ethical. So there is the need to understand that those thoughts, videos, posts from these celebrities do not replace medical advice from Doctors. They should be seen just as the literature/pamphlet we get to read each time we wait to see a doctor in the hospital. They are largely meant to provoke our thoughts rather than form them. While encouraging us to engage with our healthcare professionals so they can enlighten us and give us the best and ethical advice which we need depending on the situation we find ourselves.