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'Frozen Honey' TikTok Trend Gets Gross And Uncomfortable Quickly, Experts Warn

Updated September 8, 2021

We're often told to take any advice we get from the internet with a grain of salt and that's especially true when it comes to health advice.

Although it's hardly the only place where dubious challenges with adverse health effects can crop up, TikTok's massive popularity has empowered its users to spread any trend that does fall off-sides with lightning speed.

As such, medical professionals have felt the need to jump on any trend that causes more harm than good with a quick debunk and confirm the ones that do actually have something to them.

But today, we can also see that trends that don't purport to offer any health advice at all can still find themselves on the wrong side of expert opinions. And this one looks pretty tempting at first.

Starting in late July, some TikTok users have found themselves becoming fascinated with eating frozen honey.

As this person demonstrates, the trend involves leaving honey in a plastic bottle in the freezer overnight and eating the congealed results as if it's a Push Pop.

And for the most part, users who try this report that it makes for a refreshing treat if you like things on the sweeter side.

However, it seems that among just as many of them, those feelings don't stay positive for long.

According to NBC News, some who tried frozen honey posted updates reporting that they felt sick and had some unpleasant bathroom visits afterwards.

As you can see in this example, that result is usually hinted at in the video's description.

And as multiple dietitian have pointed out, that discomfort is just the tip of the iceberg of what can come from making a habit of eating frozen honey.

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As one named Danielle Oldfield told Metro, "Think about it, you are eating nearly an entire popsicle of honey. You wouldn’t normally eat an entire jar unfrozen."

She also mentioned that many of the products sold as honey are processed sugar-based substitutes, which doesn't help with the rapid blood sugar fluctuations that are at the root of the bloating and nausea people are experiencing.

In addition to the increased likelihood of cavities and the risk of botulism when this freezing is done with raw honey, experts have also said that eating frozen honey is a great way to give yourself diarrhea.

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As Cleveland dietitian Kristin Kirkpatrick explained to NBC News, this is because one in three people have an intolerance to fructose known as fructose malabsorption, which leaves cells in the intestines unable to properly break down the sugar.

While this doesn't usually have many long-term implications, it does make a particularly unpleasant bout with diarhhea and stomach pain likely if you try frozen honey for yourself.

Is the sweet taste really worth it to you?

h/t: NBC News

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