A medical expert has outlined five "medical myths" he insists "need to be debunked". Dr Amir Khanelaborated on what he describes as widespread "nonsense" circulating online.

In a video posted to his Instagram account, Dr Amir - who is most recognised for his appearances on ITV, shed light on these questionable claims. Within the video's caption, he stated: "There is a lot of very confident nonsense about health on the internet right now."

These include:

• Cold hands and feet could be sign your body is not having enough of 1 thing


• New warning for some taking drugs like Sertraline, Citalopram and Fluoxetine

• Cortisol face


• Parasite cleanses


• Detox teas


• "Hormone balancing" supplements


• Seed cycling

Dr Amir explained: "Most 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.

"When something claims to reset all of that with a tea, supplement or social media trends, it's usually not medicine it's marketing."

In the video, he added: "I can't believe I'm having to say this, but here are five medical myths doing the rounds online that we need to debunk with actual medicine. "

Cortisol face

This is the idea that facial puffiness stems from elevated cortisol levels, a hormone produced by the adrenal glands. It's essential for managing how the body converts sugar into energy, reducing inflammation, controlling blood pressure, and regulating sleep-wake patterns.

Dr Amir explained: "Number one, this idea of cortisol face - apparently if your face looks puffy the internet has decided, it might be cortisol." While this may occur in extreme circumstances, it's actually quite "rare".

He continued: "Now, true cortisol excess is called Cushing's syndrome and it'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."

Your bloated appearance is much more likely down to different factors entirely. Dr Amir noted: "A slightly puffy face after a poor night's sleep is far more likely to be fluid retention, salt intake, alcohol, allergies, or simple fatigue - not a serious hormonal disease."

Parasite cleanses

Dr Amir admitted this trend is difficult to fathom. "People are actually selling parasite cleanses," he revealed.

"Now, the internet loves the idea that we're all secretly full of parasites." However, for Brits, this scenario is quite unlikely.

Dr Amir clarified: "In countries like the UK, parasitic infections are very uncommon unless you've travelled abroad or had specific exposure somewhere."

He cautioned: "Most parasite cleanses are just herbal laxatives. They irritate the bowels, speed up gut transit, and make you pass mucus or debris, which people then mistakenly believe are parasites, but they're not removing parasites because they weren't any there to begin with."

"Most" of these products are simply laxatives, according to Dr Amir. He explained: "Your body already has a sophisticated detox system.

"It'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.

"Most detox teas simply contain Senna or caffeine, which just makes you go to the toilet more. They're not detoxing anything."

Balancing your hormones

Attempting to "balance your hormones" through supplements is unlikely to achieve anything, the expert warned. He said: "Now, hormones are controlled by tightly regulated feedback loops between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and endocrine organs like the thyroid, ovaries and adrenal glands.

"These systems operate through complex signalling pathways and receptor interactions. A generic supplement, bought online is extremely unlikely to override that regulatory network.

"If hormones are genuinely abnormal, the treatment is usually medical therapy targeting the underlying endocrine pathway, not a powder."

Seed cycling

Finally, he highlighted something you may not be familiar with - "seed cycling". "This idea suggests eating specific seeds during phases of your menstrual cycle will balance oestrogen and progesterone," Dr Amir explained.

"But 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't influence that signalling system in any clinical meaningful way."

In conclusion, he stated: "So, the internet is great, it's great. But when something claims to fix complex physiology with a very simple trick, just question it."

If you're dealing with any health concerns, it's advisable to consult your GP.