It started with the cha cha cha.
Blinking through the floor every morning helps rejuvenate the digestive system, spleen and stomach, suggests Jimmy Yen.
According to TikTok’s “biohacking” influencer, who has amassed a massive 1.1 million followers, “it also sees the organs recover their function.”
But the claims have no scientific basis, top experts told MailOnline.
Mr. Yen is not alone, however. Others say that cabbage juice can help cure gastritis and that a colon cleanse will speed up weight loss.
Blinking on the floor every morning helps rejuvenate the digestive system, spleen, and stomach, suggests Dr. Jimmy Yen. According to the TikTok “biohacking” influencer, who has amassed a massive 1.1 million followers, “it also sees the organs recover their function.”
Experts have long warned against spreading misinformation on social media, not just TikTok. Yet a third of Gen Z and a quarter of millennials – about 6 million people in the UK – now say they rely on such sites for health information
Experts have long warned against spreading misinformation on social media, not just TikTok.
Yet a third of Gen Z and a quarter of Millennials – about 6 million people in the UK – now say they rely on such sites for healthcare information.
Millions of young people who feel let down by the NHS are turning to social media for medical advice, research showed last week.
Influencers on TikTok and Instagram are increasingly taking the place of doctors as patients complain that they struggle to be taken seriously.
But experts warn that medical influencers have a dark side, as anyone can type “Dr” into their TikTok profile and offer “medical” advice or information.
Lurking alongside qualified consultants are naturopaths, chiropractors and beauticians. They are usually not doctors, but some may present themselves as such on social media.
THE TIKTOK INFLUENCERS THE CHILDREN LISTEN TO… AND THEIR FALSE CLAIMS
Jimmy Yen
Pumping your fist into your palm also helps solve heart problems, Mr. Yen claimed in a clip seen by tens of thousands of TikTok users.
By “stimulating” the nerves in your hand that are “connected to the heart,” you address high blood pressure and chest pain, he suggests, as he urges you to “beat it until you beat it.”
Mr. Yen is a licensed acupuncturist and CEO of Achieve Integrative Health in Austin, Texas. He is also a member of the medical advisory committee of the Neuropathy Alliance of Texas.
Professor James Ware, a cardiovascular expert from Imperial College London, told MailOnline: ‘Based on our understanding of the physiology of the heart, I don’t believe his claims have any scientific basis.’
He added: ‘He suggests that stimulating the skin “stimulates the nerves that feed the heart,” which is false.”
The nerves supplying the hand area — C8 cervical root and T1 thoracic root — “do not nerve the heart,” he said.
“Even if this elicited a cardiac reflex, there is no reason to believe that stimulating a reflex momentarily would have a long-term beneficial effect on the heart.”
Professor John Chambers, Professor of Clinical Cardiology and Cardiologist Consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, added: “It makes no scientific sense to expect that striking one hand against the palm of the other could effectively are for a wide range. of various heart diseases.
“The potential danger is that a patient may delay seeking help from a qualified physician for a potentially life-threatening condition, such as unstable coronary disease.”
Instead, patients should get “guidance from their healthcare provider to accurate and balanced sites,” he said. This could include the websites of the NHS, the British Heart Foundation and the British Heart Valve Society.
Doctor Simon Teo
Dr. Simon Teo’s videos include the Ten Signs That Apparently You Need to Detox Your Body, viewed by over 92,000 people worldwide, or the essential home remedies needed to cure gastritis, seen by just 10,000.
Dr. Teo is a licensed functional medicine physician in San Jose, California and owner of Simon Teo Total Wellness.
Apple cider vinegar, yogurt, coconut oil, and cabbage juice are just four of the remedies that make it.
The NHS, on the other hand, recommends medicines to control stomach acid such as antacids or proton pump inhibitors to deal with gastritis – when the lining of your stomach becomes irritated.
Professor Kim Barrett, a physiologist and membrane biologist at the UC Davis School of Medicine in California, warned that the video could dissuade patients from seeking medical advice by trying the “so-called remedies.”
She told MailOnline: ‘The top 10 gastritis treatments video is not evidence-based and may prompt patients to seek help from a doctor by trying these so-called remedies, even assuming that someone could have gastritis themselves in the first place. diagnose. ‘
While it’s helpful for patients to have some idea of what they think is of concern, it can become challenging when professional medical diagnosis differs from a patient’s findings on the Internet, Professor Ware said.
He told MailOnline: ‘Patients are rightly interested in their own health and motivated to seek information online, and I support this.
‘There is a lot of reliable health information online – I would refer patients to NHS resources or the British Heart Foundation as a first port of call.
“Unfortunately, there is also a lot of information on the internet that is incomplete, misleading or, in some cases, completely false, which can cause unnecessary suffering or lead patients to waste time or money on ineffective ‘therapies’.”
Dr. Simon Teo’s videos include the Ten Signs That You Need to Detox Your Body, viewed by over 92,000 worldwide, or the essential home remedies needed to cure gastritis, seen by just 10,000. Apple cider vinegar, yogurt, coconut oil, and cabbage juice are just four of the remedies that make it
Bayside Colonic clinic in Brisbane, Australia promotes colon detoxification of up to seven kilos of ‘waste’. With up to 21.8 million views per video, the colon hydrotherapists claim that a colon cleanse will help cure IBS, bloating, constipation, and brain fog, while also helping to clear the body of parasites and accelerate weight loss.
Bayside Colonic Clinic in Brisbane
Bayside Colonic clinic in Brisbane, Australia, promotes detoxifying your colon of up to seven kilograms of ‘waste’.
With up to 21.8 million views per video, in another TikTok, the colon hydrotherapists claim that a colon cleanse will help cure IBS, bloating, constipation and brain fog, while also helping to clear the body of parasites and accelerate weight loss.
But there is little medical evidence of actual benefits to the procedure, and no evidence that it can relieve the symptoms attributed to colon cleansing theories.
Since the colon itself mostly expels waste, colon cleansing is generally not necessary.
Irrigation of the colon instead can interfere with the normal activity of the gut, leading to severe dehydration.
Dr. Arianna Basile, a research associate at the University of Cambridge’s MRC Toxicology Unit, told MailOnline, “Both of @bayside_colonics’ videos are just disgusting.”
She added: “I am very surprised that such an intimate exposition of the human body, showing very explicitly a colonic hydrotherapy, is not against the guidelines, but again, it is made more for self-advertising than for giving real suggestions.’
Dr. However, Basile acknowledges that a large portion of TikTok videos made by qualified medical professionals are accurate and professional, and that the viral videos lurking on teen feeds don’t represent the norm.
“TikTok is trying to replace Google as the primary search engine, especially for the younger generation, Gen Z,” she added.
“For experts in any field, becoming creators is a way to differentiate themselves from the competition and gain more credibility.”
There is also a growing number of health professionals taking on the task of addressing misinformation spread by unqualified influencers.
A TikTok spokesperson told MailOnline: “We care deeply about the health and well-being of our community.
“Our Community Guidelines make it clear that we don’t allow misinformation about health that could cause harm, and we’ve removed the videos that violated this policy.”
They added: “We are proud that TikTok has become a place where people come to learn and get support, and we take our responsibility to keep our platform safe very seriously.”
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