Dry doping phenomenon sweeps over Tik Tok, doctors warn

These powders contain a lot of amino acids, vitamins and other ingredients such as caffeine.

The purpose of taking it is to provide the body with the strength to resist muscular effort, although the scientific evidence for its effectiveness is weak.

However, there are well-known risks associated with excessive consumption of physical strength enhancers. A large dose of caffeine, for example, can cause side effects on the heart, including palpitations, or an increase or decrease in heart rate.

Researchers at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York reported that one packet of these powders contained the equivalent of 5 cups of caffeine.

Ingestion of this substance may cause “high blood pressure, heart rate and possible disturbance of the heart rhythm”.

The researchers add that accidentally inhaling the supplement powder can lead to “suffocation or lung infections.”

In Britain these substances are classified as food and not with drugs, but they should be safe for consumption so that they can be sold in stores to people over 18.

Some of these products are sold online by unreliable suppliers and the product may not contain the ingredients listed on the packaging.

Many have been banned because they contain substances such as synthetic amphetamine and a stimulant called synephrine.

Newspapers recently warned of the dangers, after a social media influencer in the United States told her story with the documents. Britney Portillo, 20, suffered a heart attack, which she said was linked to taking dry steroids.

The researchers analyzed 100 videos on the social networking platform Tik Tok, with the hashtag preworkout (before exercise), and found that only 8 of them showed the correct use of the powder.

More than 30 videos showed people putting the dry powder in their mouths and then following it down with doses of water or another liquid. These videos have over 8 million likes.

In their presentation to the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting, the researchers warned that “physicians should pay attention to the extent of the prevalence of unsafe methods of consuming these substances, and the possibilities of excessive use or abuse. inhalation of these, or cause injury. ”

“These powders mainly contain caffeine and other ingredients such as creatine, amino acids and vitamins,” explains Bridget Benellim, nutrition expert for the British Dietetic Association.

“There is no research on the benefits of these products, although there is some evidence that caffeine improves athletic performance in some cases. This research was conducted on athletes only, and its effects on the large audience are not known.

The caffeine content of the powders ranges from 1 to 3 cups of coffee, if prepared above the manufacturer’s instructions. As a result, there are risks of consuming too much caffeine, if it is taken more than once a day, or if it is taken dry, which leads to exceeding the suggested amount.

The availability of water and fluids in the body is also important during exercise.