The Internet has no shortage of entertainment. Ladies and gentlemen, there’s a new TikTok trend on the web. It’s not about baked feta pasta or biting into raw lemons; rather, new videos show people eating copious amounts of frozen honey.
The newest frozen honey trend was started by TikTok user Dave Ramirez. He said he ate some as a refreshing snack on July 9th. Since then, the frozen honey trend experienced 900 million views, with various people eating lots of semi-frozen honey globs out of plastic bottles. Essentially, people squeeze honey into a plastic bottle, freeze it, and film themselves oozing it out in a thick consistency. They bite or lick it like a frozen popsicle. Needless to say, it’s a viral trend, but is it healthy?
Is It Safe To Eat Frozen Honey?
First of all, let’s talk about what honey is. Raw organic honey or Manuka honey can be quite beneficial for your health if you consume it in moderation. It has been associated with accelerated wound healing, healthy blood antioxidant levels, and improved heart health. One thing to remember is that honey is packed with sugar and rich in calories. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults keep added sugar intake below 10% of their daily calories.
In a TikTok video, it’s easy for a person to eat tons of honey. If you follow a 2,000-calorie per day diet, all of that honey exceeds the 10% added sugar intake from calories recommendation. Consuming excess honey in that form can induce “sugar shock.” A hyper dose of sugar like that can spike blood sugar levels, causing people to experience a jolt of energy. When blood sugar levels crash within two to three hours, it’s common for shakiness, hunger, fatigue, headaches, lack of focus, palpitations, and jitters to set in. Additionally, dentists say that eating a hard sugary snack like frozen honey negatively impacts your teeth. Honey doesn’t freeze, but the thick, gummy substance is harsh on enamel and excess consumption can increase the risk of tooth decay.
Too Much Honey Is Harmful
Processed honey contains clostridium botulinum bacteria, which can increase the risk of neurological disorders and gastrointestinal distress. This is why many TikTok users, who participated in this trend, reported gastrointestinal distress. Too much sugar can negatively impact the balance of bacteria in the gut. Sugar is a primary cause of inflammation, both in the gut and throughout the body. Dietitians say that the high fructose content in honey can rapidly increase the risk of nausea, bloating, and diarrhea. According to research, water enters the digestive tract when the body recognizes that you have consumed a lot of sugar. This often results in diarrhea.
The other downside to consuming excess amounts of honey is that you can mess up your overall health. In fact, you can increase the risk of developing chronic glycemic instability, which can lead to cardiovascular complications, weight gain, cognitive decline, and diabetes. Dietitians encourage people with diabetes or prediabetes to avoid this honey trend, as it can seriously impact blood glucose levels.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, eating frozen honey will not kill you, but too much of it can significantly affect your health. If you do consume honey, keep the serving size to one tablespoon or less, and don’t squeeze copious amounts of it out of plastic bottles and chew it for fun. That’s not healthy, despite the fact that it may get you more followers on TikTok. It’s not worth upsetting your microbiome and increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. If you do eat too much honey, expect a blood sugar spike and crash, followed by some nausea or diarrhea.
