Don’t Try This At Home: The Dumbest Food Trends On The Internet

Don’t Try This At Home: The Dumbest Food Trends On The Internet

You would have hoped that by now, people would have learned to take most things on the internet with a large pinch of salt – especially when it comes to the foods that you put into your body.

Being misinformed about issues is one thing, but following a dangerous food trend can lead to potentially serious health complications – and in some cases even death. Unfortunately, these viral trends are all the rage in the internet age, and many follower-hungry influencers will try almost anything for a few views and likes.

As such, many teens, who are often inexperienced and misinformed, try to emulate their online icons, making these trends a serious health risk for the general public.

Let’s look at the most dangerous food trends on the internet and assess the health risks associated with eating non-edible and inadvisable quantities of certain products. Consider this a warning!

1. The Tide Pod Challenge

As any educated adult – or anybody with just a little common sense – should know, eating laundry detergent is a terrible idea. But in the Tide Pod Challenge, teens and some adults took the risk of chowing down on laundry capsules just to attract online views.

While it is understandable why a child may eat a Tide Pod on account of its sweet-like appearance, teenagers and adults should be aware of why eating laundry detergent is a bad idea. And yet in 2016, 220 teenagers reported to US poison centres, saying that they had eaten the pods. A whopping 25% of these cases were intentional.

Eating Tide Pods has serious health risks attached, and many people have been hospitalised as a result. Symptoms of poisoning from Tide Pods included vomiting, breathing difficulties, and loss of consciousness.

Tide Pods contain 1.4 Dioxane, a poisonous chemical which can cause lung damage, kidney problems and nose and eye irritation. A report from CBS indicated that ten people have died from eating them.

2. Dry Scooping

Protein powders have been used by fitness fanatics for decades for a quick hit of nutrition to fuel intense workouts. When prepared correctly, protein powders are a well-rounded source of complete proteins and can be very beneficial to a healthy diet.

However, many protein powders are high in caffeine, which should only be taken in moderate doses. Eating excessive amounts of caffeinated products can cause heart palpitations, increase blood pressure, and cause digestive issues.

To complicate matters, the method of dry scooping involves consuming protein powder without adding any water. Consuming protein powder dry can lead to an increased risk of aspiration, which can cause lung infections such as pneumonia, and may even cause choking and asphyxiation if the product cannot be swallowed.

In 2021, a TikTok influencer, Briatney Portillo suffered a heart attack after dry scooping her protein powder, which led to doctors warning about the dangers of the trend.

3. Sleepy Chicken

Ever thought of marinading your chicken in NyQuil for a peaceful night’s sleep? Well, don’t.

The 2022 Sleepy Chicken Challenge involves marinating raw chicken in Nyquil before boiling it for as little as 5 minutes. Nyquil aside, cooking chicken for that little time causes a high risk of food poisoning from bacteria such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Clostridium Perfringens.

Chicken should be heated to at least 74 degrees celsius before consumption, which requires a cooking time of at least 10-15 minutes for a breast.

Add to this an over-the-counter medication, prepared against the advice of medical professionals, and you have a seriously dangerous combination. Content creators were using up to half a bottle of NyQuil to prepare their chicken, which is considered a large overdose.

When NyQuil is heated, it also increases in potency, causing a high risk of complications. Even if the chicken is not eaten, the fumes from the NyQuil can enter the lungs, causing irritation and damage to lung tissues.

Medical professionals have denounced the ‘Sleepy Chicken’ challenge as not only dangerous, but potentially deadly. Always take medication as prescribed, and never tamper with the product.

4. The Soy Sauce Challenge

The soy sauce challenge involves drinking an entire bottle of soy sauce in one sitting.

Unfortunately, soy sauce is extremely high in salt, which can cause a wide variety of health issues. When too much salt is consumed, the brain takes water from the body, causing extreme dehydration, which can lead to comas, seizures, and even death. In fact, in many parts of Asia, soy sauce is known as a common method of suicide.

Soy sauce also contains MSG to which many people of Western origin are allergic, and can cause palpitations, chest pain, headache, and sweating.

In 2011, a 19-year-old teenager was dared to drink a bottle of soy sauce. He subsequently suffered seizures and slipped into a coma. Thankfully, he was able to be revived from a 3-day coma with six litres of sugar water.

5. The Hottest Pepper Challenge

Chilli peppers are eaten in many types of cuisine across the world, and in moderation, are completely harmless to health, and can actually offer many health benefits as they are high in vitamin C and antioxidants, improve digestive health and metabolism, and may even help to reduce the risk of developing certain cancers.

However, the Ghost Pepper, or the bhut joloka pepper, is one of the hottest chillis on earth, containing twice to four times the amount of capsaicin than the average chilli. Consuming too much capsaicin at once can cause several health issues, from minor issues such as diarrhoea and gastrointestinal irritation, to more serious side effects including seizures, vomiting, and shortness of breath.

Sadly, in extreme cases involving children, there is also a risk of death, and one child has died following a seizure after consuming chilli powder.