- A new TikTok trend is causing some serious health consequences in the young users who are trying it.
- The trend involves freezing bottles of honey and corn syrup to change their texture, squeezing it out, and eating it.
- Experts warn that the could trend could lead to some dangerous side effects, like stomach cramping and diarrhea.
There’s seemingly no end to the many hacks you can find on TikTok—but what happens when they go wrong?
A new frozen honey trick blew up on the app overnight. Users are filling water bottles with honey, corn syrup, or a mixture of both (and sometimes adding food coloring, candies, and more) and placing them in the freezer. When honey freezes, the texture changes into a thicker, jelly-like substance, which many users say is satisfying to eat.
Currently, #FrozenHoney has more than 830 million views on TikTok, while #frozencornsyrup has 25 million. But while the trend may seem like harmless fun and games, a few users began reporting unwanted side effects.
“Note to self: Don’t eat three mouthfuls of honey in the morning, it will cause urgent bowel movement,” TikTok user @lalaleluu wrote in the caption underneath one of her frozen honey videos. Another user, Avery Cyrus, joked, “brb gotta go get my stomach pumped 🤪.”
Brb gotta go get my stomach pumped 🤪
“I think like most viral videos on TikTok, it’s kind of, you know, shock value, and kind of silly, but it’s a cool concept, I guess?” dietician Sarah Rueven told The New York Times. “But I feel like people could be doing better things with honey.”
Other experts are warning that the trend may result in diarrhea, stomach cramping, bloating, and other dangerous side effects, per NBC News.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh my goodness, their teeth,'” dietitian nutritionist Marisa Moore, RDN, told Women’s Health. Like with any chewy, sticky foods, “I’m always going to worry about tooth decay or someone losing a filling.”
Moore explained that the short-term effects of the trend come from eating too much sugar. “Sugars, in excess, can stimulate the gut to increase water output,” she told WH. “And that can lead to diarrhea.” She added that “that’s probably going to be the most immediate thing.”
Moore also mentioned that other long-term effects of continually eating too much honey or corn syrup might include higher blood pressure or an increased risk for types of inflammation that could eventually lead to heart disease.
“I worry about kids’ going on TikTok to get their information and then following the latest trend and not tuning in to their own, internal stomach,” Lisa Young, an adjunct professor of nutrition at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, told NBC News.
“If you try this trend once in a while and you get a stomachache — just because everyone else is doing it — be independent,” she cautioned. “You don’t have to do it.”
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