The “Balkan Breakfast” is the latest food trend to go viral on TikTok. Videos show people chomping on raw vegetables, bread, feta cheese, and cured meats in a charcuterie-style spread. This isn’t exactly a traditional way of eating in the Balkans—the southeastern European region that inspired the trend—but nutrition experts say it does offer some health benefits.

The Balkan Breakfast could boost your fiber intake, a nutrient that supports heart health, helps to control blood sugar, and helps with digestion. Adults need 25 to 30 grams of fiber every day, but most Americans only get about 15 grams daily.

“A good estimate would be it’s providing around 10 to 20 grams of fiber from the peppers, the cucumbers, tomatoes, and the bread,” said Yasi Ansari, MS, RD, CSSD, a registered dietitian based in Los Angeles and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Start slowly if you plan to try the Balkan Breakfast, especially if you’re not used to eating a lot of fiber at once. Adding too much fiber into your diet too quickly can cause stomach issues like gas, bloating, and cramps.

“I would recommend taking your time when you’re eating these vegetables; start with a smaller portion of these vegetables, and work your way up. You can also roast vegetables and make sure that you are boosting your water intake,” Ansari said.

Is the Balkan Breakfast Trend Actually Healthy?

In some of the Balkan Breakfast videos, people dip raw cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes into a bowl of salt before taking each bite.

“If someone has a medical history that requires them to limit their salt intake, this trend may not be for them, although they can make some adjustments so that it can meet their needs,” Ansari said.

Most adults should limit daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg, which is about one teaspoon of table salt. Even if you skip the salt, consider cutting back on other high-sodium items like cheese and cured meat.

One ounce of feta cheese has 323 mg of sodium, compared to 138 mg in an ounce of whole milk mozzarella and 28 mg in the same amount of part-skim ricotta. One sausage link can have about 570 mg of sodium, and many experts recommend limiting processed meats since these may increase cancer risk.

“This breakfast could be included in a healthy lifestyle if lower sodium options are selected and portion sizes are managed appropriately. If this type of breakfast gets you to eat vegetables and you don’t have heart health concerns, it may be worth including every once in a while,” Diana Guevara, MPH, RD, a registered dietician with UTHealth Houston, told Verywell in an email.

How Should You Incorporate Balkan Breakfast Into Your Diet?

If you feel inspired to create your own Balkan Breakfast at home, try customizing the ingredients to suit your health needs.

“The bread doesn’t have to be white sliced bread. It can be whole wheat bread, higher fiber level bread, if you wanted to make it even healthier,” Nurgul Fitzgerald, PhD, MS, RD, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at Rutgers University, told Verywell.

If you want to skip processed meats, try other protein sources like eggs instead, Fitzgerald added.

Raw vegetables are a key part of the Balkan Breakfast trend. Only about 10% of American adults eat enough vegetables, so this could encourage people to add more peppers, cucumbers, and onions to their diet.

“I would suggest taking inspiration from this trend to include vegetables in your daily breakfast however you enjoy them,” Guevara said.

Just make sure to wash or scrub the raw vegetables first. Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, and other germs that cause foodborne illnesses are sometimes found on fresh produce.

“The most nutritious way to try a ‘Balkan Breakfast’ would be to choose a lower sodium cheese, select an unprocessed protein choice, and chew your vegetables thoroughly to help with digestion,” Guevara said.