TikTok influencers are putting raw, slices of potato in their socks at bedtime in the hopes of warding off seasonal cold and flu.
Some videos on the platform have racked up as many as 4.2 million views with TikTokers saying they had avoided the flu or their children instantly felt better after doing it.
The posts often show people holding up plates of unfortunate-looking, darkened potato slices and remarking how the tubers had changed from night to day, as well as slowly rolling their sock over their potato-soled foot before going to bed.
This not very a-peeling trend has actually been around on social media for years with users claiming that the potato slices “leach” toxins out of the body or help to restore your energy.
But health experts have decisively written it off as an old wives’ tale, with origins dating back to the Middle Ages.
“This has no merits,” foot and ankle specialist Dr. Alireza Khosroabadi explained in his own video, “and I’m sorry to bust that myth but it’s not doing anything for your health.”
Proof’s in the potato
Why are people doing this? Well, the potatoes are partially to blame.
The slices often turn black overnight because of a chemical process that occurs when they’re exposed to the air. It’s known as oxidation, turning the slices from pale white to black, according to the Idaho Potato Commission.
This happens with or without a sock.
“It’s just like the potato has sucked all the disease out of the body,” one user exclaimed in a video. The clip was shared by Boston Children’s Hospital’s Dr. Tommy Martin, who wrote that it “does NOT substitute seeing a doctor if your child is ill.”
Thinner and smaller slices, like those used for child-sized feet, can turn black faster, Khosroabadi noted.
The same goes for onion slices in socks, which some users said they tried instead of potatoes for the same purposes. “The idea of an onion working magic on your feet doesn’t hold up under scrutiny,” pediatrician Dr. Mona Amin said.
“There is no evidence for potato skin or anything else that anything else on the surface of your feet can draw toxins out of your body in a significant way that can treat a viral infection,” Good Morning America’s Dr. Jen Ashton said.
Toxic truths
Several bodily processes can actually clear harmful toxins that contribute to illness. Breathing, peeing, defecating, your skin and organs are constantly doing it, Ashton added.
But if you really want to keep doing this and believe it works for you, there’s actually no physical harm.
“But this is more simply just what’s called the placebo effect,” pharmacist Dr. Ethan Melillo noted.
Doctor-approved remedies that can work this cold and flu season include hydration, rest and honey for adults and children over the age of 12 months.
Taking vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, can also help strengthen the immune system.
