Key Takeaways“Adrenal cocktails”—mixtures of orange juice, coconut water, cream of tartar, and salt—are popular on TikTok, with users claiming they provide a range of health benefits, including weight management and stress relief.But there’s no evidence to suggest these drinks provide adrenal health benefits, experts said.They may be popular due to the placebo effect, according to experts.

Key Takeaways

“Adrenal cocktails”—mixtures of orange juice, coconut water, cream of tartar, and salt—are popular on TikTok, with users claiming they provide a range of health benefits, including weight management and stress relief.But there’s no evidence to suggest these drinks provide adrenal health benefits, experts said.They may be popular due to the placebo effect, according to experts.

Terms like “stress relief” and “weight loss” abound on social media—and lately, some users have been linking these to the trend of adrenal cocktails, also known as cortisol cocktails.

Though the ingredients found in adrenal cocktails might be refreshing, they aren’t necessarily a groundbreaking cure-all. “The adrenal cocktail recipes that seem to be most popular online include a combination of orange juice, coconut water, cream of tartar, and salt,”Leah Barron, RD, LD, CPT, a dietitian at The Baseline Lifestyle Co., told Verywell. “While this drink may be a tasty way to stay hydrated, there is no clinical data to support the claim that this drink is helpful or necessary to support adrenal health.”

Though adrenal cocktails may not provide health benefits, they won’t necessarily hurt you either, Barron said. However, they can be dangerous for people with uncontrolled blood sugar and/or kidney damage, Rao explained.

Understanding Adrenal Function

Youradrenal glandsare involved in many aspects of your health. “They produce hormones that help regulate essential functions, including your immune system, metabolism, blood pressure, and stress responses,” Barron explained.

Some people who speak about adrenal cocktails on social media say they help with a range of problems, including weight loss, anxiety, or heightened stress levels, but this isn’t the case. “There’s no truth to this,” Rao said.

What Is Adrenal Fatigue?

Fans of the drink often talk about a condition called “adrenal fatigue”—claiming that adrenal cocktails can help with it—but the condition isn’t widely recognized.

—LEAH BARRON, RD, LD, CPT

Barron added that some companies have even started making adrenal cocktail supplements, “which, again, have not been proven to provide any specific benefits to the adrenal glands,” she said.

Some people may see their symptoms improve after trying adrenal cocktails thanks to theplacebo effect, experts said. The placebo effect occurs when someone experiences positive health benefits from an intervention with no therapeutic value simply because they believe the treatment will help. Placebos are often used in drug trials to test the effectiveness of emerging treatments.

“A drug has to go through such a rigorous testing process—through various phases and confirming efficacy and safety—prior to getting FDA approval; whereas these popular drinks do not need any such validation and can easily gain traction and popularity through social media,” Rao said.

Experts said they’re pretty harmless as long as you consume them in moderation (unless you have any chronic health issues that affect the kidneys and/or uncontrolled blood sugar).

The adrenal cocktail trend is a good reminder that most things that seem like an “easy fix” aren’t what they’re made out to be.

Imagine if all it took to solve your stress, fatigue, sleep issues, and other vague discomforts was a glorified electrolyte beverage. None of us would be struggling with any of those things.—LEAH BARRON, RD, LD, CPT

Imagine if all it took to solve your stress, fatigue, sleep issues, and other vague discomforts was a glorified electrolyte beverage. None of us would be struggling with any of those things.

What to Do If You Suspect Adrenal Issues

Though “adrenal fatigue” isn’t a recognized medical condition, some diagnosable conditions—includingAddison’s disease, adrenal insufficiency, andCushing’s syndrome—do affect the adrenal glands and may affect your hormone levels, Barron added.

But you shouldn’t assume a problem with your adrenal glands is causing your symptoms without speaking to a healthcare provider. “In the medical field, we do not endorse the term ‘adrenal fatigue,’” Rao said. “If persistent fatigue is out of the ordinary or inexplicable, the recommendation is to go to your primary care provider with your concerns.”

What This Means For YouAdrenal cocktails are popular on TikTok right now. Made of a mixture of orange juice, coconut water, cream of tartar, and salt, many say they help with fatigue, weight loss, stress relief, and “adrenal fatigue.” But there are no known health benefits of adrenal cocktails—which are sometimes called cortisol cocktails because the adrenal glands secrete cortisol—according to experts. The drinks could be popular due to the placebo effect, experts said.

What This Means For You

Adrenal cocktails are popular on TikTok right now. Made of a mixture of orange juice, coconut water, cream of tartar, and salt, many say they help with fatigue, weight loss, stress relief, and “adrenal fatigue.” But there are no known health benefits of adrenal cocktails—which are sometimes called cortisol cocktails because the adrenal glands secrete cortisol—according to experts. The drinks could be popular due to the placebo effect, experts said.

2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Adrenal glands.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Placebo effect.

2 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Adrenal glands.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Placebo effect.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Adrenal glands.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Placebo effect.

National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Adrenal glands.

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Placebo effect.

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