Every month we bring you a story on a health topic based on scientific evidence and the current medical advice. Not this time! Instead we take a dive into “wellness” fads on TikTok.
The wellness industry makes trillions of dollars every year and more and more you will find “wellness” gurus on platforms like TikTok. A recent study analysed nutrition content on TikTok and identified that only about 2% of it was accurate, while another survey found that more than half of TikTok users reported being influenced by a trend they viewed. Here’s a few of the trends that have gone viral that we highly recommend you DON’T try!
EAR WE GO AGAIN
It seems everyone is obsessed with removing ear wax from their ears, from using hydrogen peroxide to an ear cleaning camera, and most worrying, ear candling. Sometimes called ear coning, it is a technique that uses a long hollow wax paper tube with one end placed in the ear and the other end lit. The burning candle supposedly creates a vacuum that draws out ear wax, however, studies have proven that ear candles don’t produce any negative pressure and the residue you see is simply from the candle itself. Leave your ear wax where it belongs as it helps keep your ears clean and prevent infection.
BULLSH*T BOOST
Wellness gurus claim that bovine colostrum can boost your immune system, support your gut, and much more. Currently, there is no good evidence that colostrum has any health benefits for adults. In fact, bovine colostrum is high in saturated fats and if consumed in excess can possibly increase cholesterol and the risk of developing heart disease.
POISON POTION
Borax is a naturally occurring compound that’s used as an insecticide, in laundry and cleaning products and as a fertilizer. According to wellness influencers, adding a pinch to your drinking water can help improve symptoms of arthritis, swollen tongue, mouth sores, painful eyes, urinary infections and menstrual cramps. One of the primary components of borax is boron and in the early 1900s, boron was used as a food preservative until it was discovered that consumption causes headaches, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. As you’ve probably guessed, adding it to your water is unlikely to improve your health and if consumed in large doses it can make you sick. At very high doses it can even be fatal.
SHUT YOUR MOUTH
Mouth Taping videos on TikTok featured people touting the virtues of taping shut their mouths while sleeping to encourage nose breathing, which they claim helps treat insomnia, snoring, high blood pressure and even depression. While there are some benefits to breathing through your nose such as improved oxygen intake, mouth taping does nothing to address sleep apnea, insomnia and other real medical conditions. In fact, mouth taping is dangerous for people with obstructive sleep apnea or nasal deviations.
BOTTOMS UP
A coffee enema involves injecting room temperature coffee into the rectum to help detoxify the body, regenerate the liver and reactivate the immune system, however, there is no quality scientific evidence to support these claims. Moreover, most studies highlight the potential risks and dangers of coffee enemas such as rectal burns, caffeine overdose, infection and even death.
So our advice this month is if you want reliable health information go to healthdirect.gov.au or book in and see your doctor and leave Tik Tok for entertainment – well if you find people putting coffee up their pooper entertaining!
