Doctor issues warning after people start eating marshmallows to cure a cough
If a terrible cough is keeping you up at night, you might be tempted to try the latest online trend claiming that eating a marshmallow before bed can help ease symptoms.
A persistent cough can be incredibly irritating, especially if it's disrupting your sleep schedule - and you might be willing to try anything to help. One woman who was so frustrated by her cough said she went to the doctor and was surprised when they advised she should eat a jumbo marshmallow before bed.
Taking to TikTok, Lindsay explained she had a cough for six weeks that wouldn't go away, and her doctor had told her an unusual tip. In the video, which went viral on the platform, she explained that she was told: "Eat a jumbo marshmallow before bed. It sounds insane. There's no science behind it. But it's what I do. The gelatine helps coat your throat even better than honey."
So can eating a marshmallow actually help ease a cough? We spoke to Dr Deborah Lee, Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, to find out.
Does eating a marshmallow soothe a cough?
Unfortunately, eating a marshmallow won't soothe your cough, according to Dr Deborah Lee. In fact, it could make your symptoms worse. Speaking to The Mirror, she explained: "I find it hard to believe eating marshmallows would help to treat any type of upper respiratory tract infection. In fact, it may make symptoms worse.
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"Marshmallows contain gelatine - a protein that comes from collagen. It's made from boiling animal bones, skin, tendons and ligaments in water - most often cows and pig bones. Gelatine contains large amounts of the amino acids glycine and proline which are needed to form collagen and other types of connective tissue."
However, she explains there has been "very little research into the health benefits of gelatine". Dr Lee added: "It may be that collagen in gelatine has some anti-inflammatory effect, but this has not been proven."
In fact, Dr Lee warns eating marshmallows before bed could make symptoms worse. She explained: "Gelatine is actually used in microbiology labs as it forms part of the Agar plate, in order to grow bacteria in the laboratory, because it is such a good culture medium. If you eat marshmallows with an acute infection, this could provide an ideal environment for bacteria to grow and multiply, and make it worse!"
In addition, gelatine can cause other unwanted side effects, such as bloating, heartburn and burping. Dr Lee also added: "As gelatine is made from boiling animal bones, there is a risk of transmitting serious infections such as bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE)," which is also known as mad cow disease.
In addition, a single 28g serving of marshmallows contains about 90 calories, and because they are high glycaemic foods, it means they release energy quickly, causing a spike in blood sugar - which is not ideal before bed.
As they are high in sugar, they could also cause tooth decay - which is especially risky for children. Dr Lee added: "I would not encourage anyone to be popping marshmallows when they have any type of infection as they will be wreaking havoc with their dental health."
However, Dr Lee does recommend another sweet treat that could be used to ease coughs - honey. She explained: "On the other hand, there is a large amount of evidence of the health benefits of honey. In a 2021 BMJ meta-analysis of 14 studies, honey significantly reduced the frequency and severity of cough compared to usual care.
"Honey has been researched and has been shown to have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Instead of marshmallows, the NHS recommends drinking lemon and honey. You will also have the benefit of a shot of vitamin C from the lemon juice. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into a mug, add 2 teaspoons of honey and half fill the mug with boiled water. This is far more likely to help reduce a cough than eating marshmallows!"
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