For a trend that ’s 95 % H2O , there ’s a surprising amount to unpack here .
As someone who spends far too much time scrolling through TikTok, I can assure you that a new “FoodTok” trend gains viral popularity every 1–2 months…and consequently divides the app into two equally passionate (but incredibly argumentative) camps.
It’s rare, however, for these TikTok-specific trends to become hotly debated topics off-platform — which is exactly what’s happening with#WaterTok. I’ll be honest: At first glance, it doesn’t really feel all that contentious. But oddly enough, there’s kind of a lot to unpack here.
Here’s what the trend is all about. Basically, people are creating and sharing water “recipes” on TikTok, modifying plain ol' water with things like sugar-free syrups and flavor packets. The recipes usually have fun names, like Orange Mermaid Water or Unicorn Cotton Candy Water. Recently, the trend even seems to be at least partially responsible for nearlyselling outthe popular Stanley tumblers that many creators use to drink their concoctions.
MT . DEW WATER 💚 #water#WATERTOK#h2o#drinkwater#flavoredwater#healthyliving#healthyrecipes#weightloss#weightlosscheck#fit#fitness#goals#motivation#hydration
All signs point to Tonya’s videos featuring her “waters of the day” being the origin of the trend. In arecent interviewwith Fast Company, she shared that she started making flavored water years ago. Initially, her concoctions simply helped her to meet her daily water goals afterbariatric surgery, more commonly known as weight-loss surgery. But after she shared her recipes with the internet, they became a massive part of her brand on the app, and other TikTokers similarly found themselves creating viral water recipes inspired by her.
The recent mega-viral surge in WaterTok recipes brings us to the first piece of controversy surrounding the trend: Many TikTokers who are “stuck” on WaterTok due to the platform’s algorithm aren’t too happy about it, and they’ve voiced their opinions throughshocked reaction videos,nuanced explainers,parody videospoking fun at the trend, and everything in between.
POV : You ’re on WaterTok#watertok#water#drinktok#drinkwater#watertokdrama#h2o
Another area of contention: Regardless of your stance on WaterTok, it’s difficult to untangle the trend from the very complicated (and very real) web that is diet culture — Bon Appétit even called WaterTok “diet culture tomfoolery” in arecent piece. Though videos of water recipes from Tonya and other creators aren’t usually explicit about beingforweight loss, hashtags and packaging can often make intentions feel hazy. Many of Tonya’s videos incorporate hashtags like #WeightLoss and #FitnessMotivation, and other creators frequently mention their “weight-loss journeys.”
To be clear, no videos that I’ve seen have explicitly touted these water recipes as methods for weight loss, but it’s easy to see how a “way to stay hydrated” for some can become seriously tangled up in conversations about shrinking bodies and dieting for others. Not for nothing, there’s also the very obvious nod to diet culture, with so-calledSkinny Syrupsbeing the flavoring of choice for most WaterTok creators; Tonya even has her promo code listed in her TikTok bio.
answer to @nxvrra masses need tp stay in their lane … #troll#mindyourowncup#stayinyourlane#bariatriccommunity#worryaboutyourself
Water nausea, as it turns out, is actually a lesser-understood phenomenon, so I spoke withDr. Supriya Rao— who is quadrupleboard-certifiedin internal medicine, gastroenterology, obesity medicine, and lifestyle medicine — to further explain these experiences.
As Rao puts it , there are several reasons why one could experience nausea after drinking water supply , and though it ’s most uncouth in bariatric patients ( specifically those withgastric beltway ) , it could practicably happen to anyone . One reason could be preexist dehydration . “Patients may have some type of electrolyte instability because , with bypass patient , they ’re not absorb all the vitamins that they usually would , " she differentiate BuzzFeed .
" Or it could be the way that surgery is done , from a nervous system gunpoint of sight . You’re change things around in the gut , and it ’s possible that the nerve end are sending sign to make you feel nauseated , and that hold something sweet would make it more toothsome . Sugar , salt , and avoirdupois are more toothsome ingredients in cosmopolitan . "
Recently, these opposing views on the trend found a much larger audience when WaterTok made headlines just about everywhere, but now the controversy is mostly centered on perceived health concerns. In the past few days, articles focusing on the trend’s health risks have emerged from outlets likeRolling Stone,Forbes, andCNBC. Some experts reference artificially sweetened drinks as being less hydrating than regular water, and others state that the ingredients present in some of these flavoring agents can be concerning.
Though the article referenced above doesn’t delve into the specifics, Rao was able to verify exactly why these ingredients could be harmful. “We’ve come a long way since Equal,” she told BuzzFeed, “but there are a bunch of artificial sweeteners that have effects on our gut microbiome that we’re just now discovering can be harmful. Our bodies don’t break down these artificial sweeteners; they travel through the gut. They exert an effect on the bacteria in our gut, and when that happens, certain species of bacteria tend to persist, and other ones die off in a way that can actually lead to glucose intolerance.”
Basically , even though artificial sweetenersaren’tsugar at all , unconstipated consumption of these sweetener still has the potentiality to cause glucose intolerance and insulin resistance , which are knownwarning sign of prediabetes .
Amid the discourse on how “healthy” (or unhealthy) WaterTok recipes are, Tonya has remained rather quiet, save for avideoshe made several weeks ago addressing negativity from commenters. I asked Tonya for her thoughts on the pushback from experts, and she responded by confirming that the medical professionals she works with closely unanimously support her water recipes. “My doctors, nutritionist, and dietitian all agree these waters are still hydrating, and have approved them for my weight-loss journey,” she told BuzzFeed. “Sugar-free powders and fun sugar-free syrups do not cancel out the water you are still drinking.”
Still, explanations of what these artificial sweeteners have the potential to do to our bodies don’t directly address the diet culture discourse swirling around this trend, so I reached out toSam Previte, a registered dietitian and intuitive-eating counselor. Considering her anti–diet cultureapproachto eating, I was especially curious to hear her take.
“I think that this is a positive thing,” Previte told BuzzFeed. “Anything that brings pleasure and enjoyment to food and beverages is a positive thing, and water is necessary for life. I do this all the time with my clients; if they’re like, ‘I don’t like plain water,’ then we do talk about fun ways they can spice it up.”
moreover , she also firmly believes that people are entitled to their nutrient and drink orientation . " I always say , ' My plate , my business enterprise , ' " she say . " You could say , ' Mycup , my business . ' It ’s OK if multitude like spare water . You do n’t have to like these flavored drinkable , but can we permit other humans to savour their water , their solid food , their preferences , however they like them?Because that ’s all that matters . "
Previte’s and Rao’s stances on diet culture are effectively the same. “Diet culture is super damaging and super awful, especially for patients who really are trying to just get healthier,” Rao told BuzzFeed. But she has a hard time assigning a pro– or anti–diet culture label on the trend without knowing the true motives of the influencers behind it. “Some of them might be hawking artificial sweetener packets, and some of them may be really earnest people, like a bariatric surgery patient who’s just trying to not vomit water.”
Intentions away , she still does n’t recommend deform to artificial sweeteners in the foresightful terminal figure . or else , she recommends flavor pee with citrous fruit or berries or turning to unsweetened coco palm water — even if it ’s admittedly more " boring " than WaterTok ’s recipes . “One affair I ’ll have my affected role do is chop up some yield and add it with water into ice cube trays so they can have fruit Methedrine cube in their beverages , " Rao say .
Regardless of the public consensus on WaterTok, the trend shows no signs of slowing down; the 220 million views of the #WaterTok hashtag on TikTok represent a nearly 70% increase over the past two weeks alone. Whether you’re for it or against it, water recipes are here to stay — as are the debates surrounding them.
