A Dietitian’s Thoughts on WaterTok
WaterTok has taken over the internet and some people are quite upset about it. As a registered dietitian, I have some thoughts of my own.
If you’re new here, welcome! My name is Hannah and I am a non-diet dietitian here to help you decide if you should be taking part of current diet and wellness trends. And the latest trend on TikTok seems to be a little something called WaterTok.
In this blog we will discuss:
What is WaterTok?
Who is participating in the WaterTok trend?
Why are people upset about WaterTok?
Are WaterTok drinks healthy?
What is WaterTok?
@takingmylifebackat42 PARADISE PUNCH: The WATER I’ll be drinking ALL SUMMER LONG!☀️ #water #WATERTOK #drinkwater #flavoredwater #hydration #drink #drinks #recipe #wateroftheday #weightlosstransformation ♬ original sound - Tonya💗
If you are not on the WaterTok side of the internet, allow me to catch you up to speed. Basically, people on TikTok are adding syrups and powders (usually sugar-free versions) to their water and giving their beverages names such as salted caramel apple water, watermelon cotton candy water, and piña colada water.
Who is participating in the WaterTok trend?
There are various people that are posting their WaterTok creations on TikTok and there are a few specific groups that you may see if you find yourself watching videos of this trend.
Bariatric surgery patients
Many of the WaterTok creators have had bariatric surgery. In fact, some bariatric patients claim that they are the original creators of #WaterTok. Bariatric patients that share their water creations state that WaterTok is not trendy for them. It is becoming trendy, but for them it is just about meeting their water goal.
As a registered dietitian, I have worked with many patients who have had bariatric surgery. Bariatric patients are at increased risk of dehydration, especially in the early stages of recovery post-op. In fact, dehydration is one of the main reasons why bariatric patients return to the hospital after surgery. So I say that if adding flavor to their water helps bariatric patients prevent being hospitalized for dehydration, I am going to encourage that!
Carbonation is also strongly discouraged after bariatric surgery. This rule eliminates many beverage options for patients that have had a gastric sleeve or gastric bypass. Enter sugar-free flavor powders and syrups. Speaking of, bariatric surgery patients typically do choose sugar-free beverage options, as do many of the other creators within the WaterTok community. High sugar intake is not recommended after bariatric surgery not only because they are trying to lose weight and limit their calorie intake but also because large doses of sugar can lead to something called dumping syndrome, which is as terrible as it sounds. So for bariatric patients, sugar-free syrups and powders are a great alternative.
People with POTS
Another group of people participating in #WaterTok are people with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Individuals with POTS need lots and lots of sodium and because of that, they often add different concoctions to their water. Eating the amount of sodium that they need is quite difficult so mixing up the types of fluids they consume can be a helpful strategy for them.
People with CVS
Cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS) can make drinking certain types and temperatures of water difficult. Because of this, people with CVS may participate in the WaterTok trend to show the beverages that sit well with them without causing vomiting.
Why are people upset about WaterTok?
If you are saying to yourself “Hannah, why does any of this matter? What’s the big deal?” - well you, my friend, appear to be quite rational. Keep it up. But the rest of the internet is not quite as cool, calm, and collected about WaterTok. There are a few reasons why people appear to be up in arms about this TikTok trend.
“Just drink plain water”
Many of the WaterTok critics are commenting on WaterTok videos saying things such as “Just drink plain water! There is not reason to add all these flavors!” Here’s the thing - not everyone likes plain water and that’s okay. Food and drink preferences exist. That is just part of being a human!
I myself love plain water and I also love flavored water. There are people out there who don’t like plain water. There are also people who don’t like flavored water. The point is, not everyone likes the same foods and drinks. Let people enjoy things.
“You can’t call that water!”
There are also people really up in arms about WaterTok creations being called water when there are so many syrups and powders being added. They have made the arguments of “is Diet Coke water, then?” and “is juice a type of water?”. I have even seen some comments of people calling the beverages a melted snow cone because of the syrups that are added.
I say call your drink whatever you want. If the main source of happiness that someone has is their cotton candy water - let them have it. Let them be the cute little hummingbirds that they are.
Everything that you drink counts towards your fluid intake. It does not have to be plain water for it to “count”. Adding syrups and powders does not take away from the hydration ability of your beverage. Juice counts as a fluid. Soda counts. Tea counts. Protein shakes count. Fruits and vegetables count. If you prefer plain water, that is more than fine. But this does not mean that other beverages cannot be enjoyed or that they don’t hydrate.
“Sugar free syrups are unhealthy”
As previously mentioned, many of the WaterTok creations use sugar-free syrups and powders, especially in the weight loss and bariatric communities. The use of sugar-free products has always sent people into a tizzy because they are allegedly “unhealthy”. But is this actually true?
There are always scary news article headlines saying things like “aspartame causes cancer!”, which of course leads the masses to believe that non-nutritive sweeteners (also known as artificial sweeteners) need to be avoided like the plague. But these sweeteners can actually be a safe alternative if you like them.
The acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame, a commonly demonized non-nutritive sweetener, is 50 mg per kg of bodyweight. In other words, a 150 pound person could consume roughly 17 cans of diet soda per day and still be within the ADI of the sweetener. Most people are not consuming non-nutritive sweeteners in the doses that have been shown to cause negative effects (in studies usually conducted on rats, by the way). So if you enjoy the taste of these sweeteners, there is likely very little risk with consuming them. And if you are going to be critical of non-nutritive sweeteners of aspartame because they “cause cancer”, then I hope you also get as riled up about alcohol, which is a known carcinogen.
There are some people that report side effects from non-nutritive sweeteners, such as bloating, gas, and headaches. If this is you - don’t consume them. Simple as that. Some people are also intolerant to cheese or leafy greens but this does not mean that everyone else needs to avoid them.
“It’s bad for the environment!”
One more common critique of WaterTok that I have seen is that the trend is bad for environment. These comments are mostly found on videos where WaterTokers make their drinks in a plastic water bottle and then pour it into a Stanley cup (it is TikTok, after all) or another reusable water bottle. While I do generally agree with that this is wasteful, it is worth mentioning that not everyone has good quality water to drink from a tap or fridge filtration system. For some people in certain geographical areas, the only safe water to drink is from a plastic bottle.
Are WaterTok drinks healthy?
We don’t get to determine what is “unhealthy” or “healthy” for someone else. “Health” is individualized and looks different for everyone. What I will say is that as a dietitian, I would much rather my patients and clients add flavorings to their water if it helps them drink more rather than not drink enough.
It is not helpful to tell strangers how or what to eat or drink. Don’t yuck someone’s yum just because you don’t think it is the “right way” to hydrate yourself.
Personally, fun drinks are the highlight of my day. I say we gotta let people enjoy things.
One more thing I want to add is that with all things nutrition, more is not always better. It is definitely possible to overhydrate and most people probably don’t need to be drinking 4, 5, 6 Stanley cups per day. It’s also possible for non-nutritive sweeteners like aspartame or sucralose to not sit too well if drinking them in super large amounts. But again, everyone is different and has different preferences and tolerances.
Bottom line
It’s okay to do fun things, especially when they don’t hurt a single person. If adding fun flavors to your water helps you stay hydrtated, go for it.
What are your thoughts on WaterTok? Leave a comment below with your take of this trend. Make sure you watch my WaterTok YouTube video as well!
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