Move over “renegade,” Rae metabolism drops are TikTok’s latest hot trend…but just how effective is the popularized supplement that promises to “support and enhance your natural metabolism?” The controversial drops have yet to be approved by the FDA and is leaving users divided.
The product, sold at Target for $14.99, was advertised by teenage girls all over the app’s “For You” page. Crazed users had so much to say about the benefits of their new holy grail product. The videos, which featured captions like “#weightlosschallenge” and “SKINNY TIME,” garnered thousands of likes and comments. It seemed like all of the app either had the drops or were abundantly curious about it.
According to the official Rae Wellness website, the product “is intended for adult women who are interested in supporting and enhancing their natural metabolism as part of their commitment to general health and wellness.”
The website states that the magic of the product is in two key ingredients, raspberry ketones and an amino acid called Taurine, both of which help support the metabolic system. Reviews of the product are generally positive, and buyers rave about how the drops have changed their lifestyle.
One verified reviewer on the website said the results were almost instant. She wrote, “I noticed a difference after just one use of the metabolism drops! It tastes great and mixes well with any beverage.”
As with all fad products and trends, not all TikTok users were sold. As a matter of fact, the comment sections of videos featuring the drops were flooded with many people insisting the drops posed harmful potential. One user commented, “Does nobody know that your metabolic rate is your ability to break down food for energy and some little drops aren’t gonna change that?”
The Rae brand itself even seemed to stand behind the concerns of these users. Despite the profit and publicity the company received after the popularity, in an effort to champion its values, the brand announced it would be pulling the metabolism drops from the market.
“We became concerned when we started to notice a conversation emerge: teenage girls misusing the product alongside conversation about weight loss. All of our products are formulated for, and marketed to, adult women 18 and older,” reads a statement posted on Rae’s wellness-oriented blog.
The company insists that this is not a recall and that none of its products pose health concerns.
“We took this action simply because we feel it’s the right thing to do as a company,” Rae says.
After the company’s choice to pull the drops off the shelves, some TikTok users expressed their dismay at the teenage girls who misused the product and ultimately lead to it being pulled off shelves. In one viral video, a user calls out the “teeny bopper TikTok-ers” who ruined it for the people who genuinely need the drops. “Yall’s metabolism is fine, mine isn’t because i’m a women in my twenties,” she vents.
Nutritional therapist Lucy Sommer weighed in on the controversy. “There is no research into the safety of this supplement and that’s worrying,” she says.
Sommer said the trend speaks volumes about the priorities of youth today. “Sadly girls (and boys) are socially conditioned to start dieting either during puberty or before.”
When the vast majority of these young adults are school age, it makes for a worrying contribution to a platform like TikTok that is already experiencing a rise in disordered eating content — ‘what I ate today’, ‘body check’ and even ‘eating disorder check.”
So, if there is anything to take from the short lived fad, TikTok users should brush up on their anatomy books and stick to dancing. We still love you though, TikTok…just not some of your crazy — and sometimes dangerous — trends.
