‘Wake up!’ – Eddie Abbew is no ordinary food guru

Going to the supermarket with Eddie Abbew – a 60-year-old former bodybuilder, gym owner and food influencer – is not straightforward. At least, not at any of the supermarkets near his gym in Hemel Hempstead. He’s either banned or liable to get turfed out for filming the kinds of videos that have made him a sensation. These see him pulling products off shelves (usually sugary snacks or ultra-processed foods) and warning viewers against them in the most belligerent terms. “Wake the fuck up” and “This is not food” are his most famous catchphrases. His mission “to educate people about food” involves promoting single ingredient foods (such as meat, fish, avocados, nuts) and getting people to cook for themselves instead of relying on convenience meals. “Cooking is empowering. Cooking is synonymous with fitness and health,” he says in the first episode of The F*ckin’ Eddie Abbew Show that premiered on YouTube in February and now has more than 187k views.

Abbew is one of the biggest “you’re doing it wrong” health and nutrition voices on social media. He has 1.4 million followers on TikTok and 3.8 million on Instagram. He’s written two ebooks on muscle gain and fat loss, and runs an online community with access to meal plans, live Q&A Zoom calls and cooking videos. But his foul-mouthed reels still generate the most attention.

I’m like an uncle who doesn’t care, is a bit shouty and sweary but has good advice

The day we meet he’s planning one on sugar in ice-cream. A 460ml tub of Häagen-Dazs Salted Caramel contains about 100g. Abbew pours the equivalent amount of caster sugar into a glass and heads out into the high street to shoot his video. “Would you eat this amount of sugar in one sitting? You’re a fucking idiot,” he says. Afterwards, he’s inundated by fans. Mums ask for selfies. Teenagers come over to fist-bump, some clutching cans of Red Bull or Coca-Cola and Greggs pies. “We’re trying,” they shrug. “That’s all I want to hear,” Abbew replies. A dad thanks him on behalf of his son who has got off “processed shit” on to “real food”. “Some people might not tolerate the way you do it,” the dad says, “but kids can connect with you.” His shopping bag is filled with Abbew-endorsed groceries including a large carton of eggs.

Abbew was born in Ghana, educated in Kenya and came to the UK in the 1980s to train and work as a psychiatric nurse. During his peak in the ’90s as a competitive bodybuilder, he ate 38 eggs a day (scrambled for breakfast, then three meals of 10 eggs each, sometimes whisked into flasks to swig on the ward). Now he eats 10 to 16 daily, and champions eggs as a natural source of protein and other nutrients. He follows a mostly carnivore diet and eats his first meal of the day in the late afternoon. He says the regimen has helped repair damage caused by bodybuilding and poor diet, and settles complaints such as sleep apnoea, peripheral neuropathy and panic attacks.

Since he shot to fame last year, he’s been asked on every chat show from Good Morning Britain to Piers Morgan Uncensored. He says he’s not interested: “If I sit on Good Morning Britain, I’m going to have to watch what I say.” He gets messages from footballers and other celebs, including Eric Trump, who told him, “I love what you’re doing.” But he’s more cheered by endorsements from doctors he follows, such as Dr Rachel Brown (@carnivoreshrink) and Ken D Berry MD (@kendberrymd), advocates of the carnivore diet, or Dr Eric Berg (@drericberg), a proponent of keto and intermittent fasting.

Three more foodies on the feed

Dr Rupy Aujla

This NHS GP and “medical Jamie Oliver” has a podcast, app and series of books including Cooks (Ebury). @doctors_kitchen turns nutritional advice into research-backed recipes.

Sarah Ann Macklin

Former model-turned-registered nutritionist @sarahannmacklin hosts the podcast Live Well Be Well, with recent guests including Ultra-Processed People author Dr Chris van Tulleken (@doctorchrisvt) and French influencer Jessie Inchauspé (@glucosegoddess).

Dr Will Bulsiewicz

Also known as Dr B, @theguthealthmd is an American gastroenterologist and author of Fibre Fuelled (Vermilion). He promotes better gut health through a high-fibre, plant-based diet, especially fermented foods such as kimchi.

Most of his community subscribers are looking to shed fat. Abbew also directs advice at gym-goers hoping to bulk up. One of his first TikToks from November 2022 took aim at “shit” BCAA (branched-chain amino acid) fitness drinks and he often lays into protein shakes and other bodybuilding supplements. But Abbew’s breakthrough has surely been changing the eating habits of teenagers. Even grown-ups who question how sustainable his advice is (“It demonises so many foods that it makes it unrealistic for most people to follow,” says Joe Wicks) recognise his capacity to reach a generation inundated by junk-food advertising and hooked on sports drinks and other ultra-processed products. As influencer Davinia Taylor puts it, he “decools” brands such as Huel, Monster Energy and Burger King, and is able to take on megastars like Prime drink co-owners Logan Paul and KSI. 

“I’m like an uncle who doesn’t care, is a bit shouty and sweary but has good advice,” says Abbew of his appeal. By his own admission, his message is dumbed down and easy to understand. Young fans regularly tell him how their brain fog has lifted, their skin cleared and they’re no longer tired. Recently, he was invited to speak at Eton College “because a vast number of its students are eating the way I suggested. We were walking past their houses and they were frying eggs and steak.” 

But some of Abbew’s claims have been disputed. Among other controversial statements, he calls veganism “bullshit” and raises concerns about grains and vegetables (because, for instance, some contain lectins that might be linked to gut inflammation and other complaints) that can be misleading. These echo remarks by another divisive figure, Dr Anthony Chaffee (@anthonychaffeemd) who states, “Plants are trying to kill you.”

When I tell Abbew that I like whole rolled oats in the morning, we get into a heated debate about their impact on blood sugar, fibre and cholesterol. “Oats can never be good,” he says. Plenty would disagree. But maybe that’s beside the point. His assertion comes amid growing confusion around oats and how to consume them, which reflects even wider confusion about a whole range of foods (including fruit, honey and brown rice) and what is healthy. 

The problem with social media as a source of information is that “truth speakers” are often met with rebuttals from “myth-busters”. In Abbew’s case, figures such as Dr Idrees Mughal (@dr_idz) cite scientific papers to back their counterclaims. I’m inclined to trust him as a doctor. But I can’t say I follow all the science. Confusion breeds confusion. Eating well becomes an act of faith. Who do we believe? And can someone just tell us what to do? No wonder Abbew’s message is cutting through.

@ajesh34