Viral social media trend continues affecting our life every single day. One of the most fascinating viral TikTok trends running now is the “Dry Scooping”. This Dry scooping phenomenon is becoming a rage and more people are willing to do it. However, health experts warn against the viral TikTok trend. Let’s know more about it.
Dry Scooping: Why Health Experts Warn Against The Viral TikTok Trend of Dry Scooping?
Many TikTok users, who have tried dry-scooping, claim that it gives them a greater energy boost for better performance during their workout. However, health experts are warning now strictly warning against this viral TikTok trend since it has been reported that a woman has been sent to the hospital and resulting in another woman to stop breathing.
What is Dry Scooping?
Dry scooping involves an individual swallowing fitness-related or pre-workout powder dry, following it with a little sip of water or any other liquid. This is done for maximizing the effects of the amino acids, caffeine, B vitamins, creatine in the supplement.
Where Did This Trend of Dry Scooping Originate From?
It was first noted that a TikTok user shared a video of dry scooping in May 2021, which reached over 7.6 million views. In this video, she tried to swallow a cup-full of the fitness powder but spits it out even before she could take in water. It was also reported that another TikTok user suffered a heart attack owing to the fad.
Why Do Health Experts Warn Against The Viral TikTok Trend of Dry Scooping?
There are several reasons why health experts warn against this viral TikTok trend:
Risk of Aspiration:
One of the most dangerous things that could happen by swallowing any powder without water or any liquid is you risk aspiration, or a foreign object entering your airways. This can happen because there might be a risk of breathing in the powder as you are putting it in the mouth. So, there might be a severe respiratory issue, choking, or extremely uncomfortable coughing.
Apart from this, you might also have a risk of consuming excessively high doses of the supplement powder, which might have additional risks.
High Blood Pressure and Increased Heart Rate:
There is another risk of dry scooping, and that is it might increase your blood pressure and heart rate too. A single scoop of the powder might contain as much caffeine as five cups of coffee, and this is seriously dangerous to consume. This can also increase your chances of getting high blood pressure or increased heart rate. Moreover, accidental inhaling the powder into the lungs might also result in choking, pneumonia, or any other infection.
Side Effects Like Anxiety, Insomnia, and Abnormal Heart Rhythm
There is a strict warning that pre-workout or fitness-related powders contain an excess of caffeine and consuming an excessive amount of caffeine can damage the heart. If people consume more than the recommended daily dose limit of caffeine then they might encounter with side effects like irritability, anxiety, and in extreme cases, also heart arrhythmias.
It is recommended by the U.S Food and Drug Administration or FDA that American adults take no more than 400 mg of caffeine in a day.(1) This is equivalent to 4-5 cups of coffee. As per the Cleveland Clinic, commonly the pre-workout supplements contain 150mg to 300 mg of caffeine per serving.(2) The National Institutes of Health also explains that consuming too much caffeine can result in potential dangers like risks of insomnia, dehydration, anxiety, etc.(3)
Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot review these supplements for safety or effectiveness before the brands or companies market them, and thus the ingredients listed on the packages of these supplement powders might or might not be accurate.(4)
Conclusion:
Though you might feel an urge to join this dry scooping challenge, you should try not to get engaged with this viral TikTok trend. This is because there is no evidence that dry scooping will boost your workout performance or increase the effectiveness of the fitness-related or pre-workout powder and also it might be severely dangerous. So, it is always better to keep safe and not try this viral TikTok trend. You do not need to try anything fancy to get an extra boost of your workout performance, rather try to work out harder, eat well and nutritious, remain hydrated, sleep enough and; see the change in you.
