DRY SCOOPING: Smart or Risky?

It is that time of the week again for Reaction video. Let me put my glasses so I look smart. Let's see what we have going on here from Jimmy Queen. My pre workout hack is I just show you guys all my secrets. Show them right here. That looks dangerous. One scoop down the chute.

Wow.

He got some on his mustache. It's weak. Chases it with water. Who does that?

Really chases it with water.

That's how it's done, dude. No fluid in the gut while you go work out. Except what you just drank. Energy. Let's go, let's go indeed, he says. I hate the bloat of sweetness sitting in my stomach after drinking pre workout. So this is what works for me. I question whether the sweetness of the powder itself rivals that of just mainlining it. And then he chases it with water, which might kind of defeat the purpose. But dry scooping pre workout, who hasn't thought of it, maybe done it? I have do it a lot. I've been all over the Internet just shoving random supplement powders into my face. I've been doing it ever since I was a lazy bodybuilder who forgot my Shaker cup. What you might be wondering is, do you miss out on some of the nutrients? Is it meant to be mixed with water beforehand? Is it dangerous for the liver or for your mustache or something like that? Well, dry scooping, as the name implies, involves consuming a supplement powder, most commonly a pre workout. As you can see in this case, he had some kind of a man in the can he was going after there. And you do it without mixing with water, often followed by a sip of water to wash it down. If you're weak, I suppose, and a lot of people will say it's like hardcore whatever. Here is what you need to know. I supplement formulas. I look at formulas. I advise companies on their supplement formulations. First thing is you need to understand that some ingredients are indeed water soluble. They're water soluble. Many pre workouts contain ingredients that are water soluble, like caffeine, beta alanine, citrulline, malate, creatine. These ingredients rely on being dissolved in water for optimal absorption in the GI tract. If you're dry scooping and chasing it with water like he does, it arguably all winds up as water, you know, water soluble in your gut anyways, by the time it empties from the stomach. Next there's stomach acidity. Dry scooping exposes the ingredients in any formula, including a pre workout, to a more acidic stomach environment for a longer duration because they don't get diluted immediately in the cup before you drink them. That can impact the breakdown, slow the absorption process, and potentially cause you to be producing some pretty expensive pee. But not getting everything that you need from the pre workout because dissolving the supplement. I'm saying pre workout, but any supplement in water helps to maintain the ideal ph for ingredient absorption. That improves the bioavailability of certain compounds, particularly those that are sensitive to acidity. So that's the second thing you have to understand is the ph matters. Now there can also be benefits of dissolving your supplement in water. Trying to avoid saying pre workout because I know there's a lot of powders out there that are just pre workouts like aminos or protein or something like that. Who dry scoops protein? That's nasty. Dissolving a supplement in water before you consume it promotes quicker and more efficient absorption. Because the ingredients are in a liquid state, they can get into your bloodstream faster. They can be more readily used by the body. And when you mix the powder in water that gives you uniform distribution. All the ingredients are evenly distributed. That minimizes the risk of under dosing or overdosing on a specific component or leaving half of the components in your teeth or or your mustache or your beard. Pre workout supplements also, and this is important, contain ingredients that promote increased blood flow, sweating and energy expenditure. Many of you may have experienced the idea of taking a pre workout going to the gym. The gym hasn't changed the temperature of the gym at all. But all of a sudden you're sweating much more than usual. Your veins are popping more than usual. Sometimes you're burning even more calories than usual. And consuming a pre workout in particular with water helps to prevent dehydration, which could impair performance. It can increase cardiovascular strain if you're dehydrated and even lead to heat related illness. If you don't live in a gym in Idaho like I do. So then there are a few mild things. Choking, hazard, ingest in a dry form, you might wind up hacking it up a little bit. I don't know of anyone who has died or needed the Heimlich after dry scooping, but it is something to be aware of. Pre workouts also contain acidic ingredients. Like I mentioned earlier, things like citric acid, malic acid that can be irritated if you consume it dry and that can lead to stomach irritation, potentially increasing the risk of things like stomach cramps or acid reflux. Burping stuff up while you're in the gym. Burning sensations in your throat, your esophagus heart and blood pressure risk because caffeine and many pre workouts can take up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per serving, that can cause a spike in heart rate and blood pressure when you consume it all at once versus diluting it. If you read the label of a lot of pre workouts, they say mix in water and consume over 20 to 30 minutes. Or I have one nootropic pre workout that says sip over two hours or I would never think of dry scooping that because that can exacerbate the stimulants effects, increasing the risk of side effects like heart palpitations, anxiety or that caffeine high followed by a caffeine crash. You have pre workout ingredients like beta alanine and caffeine that also, like I mentioned earlier, can promote fluid loss. They're diuretic so you get increased sweat and increased urination. And if they're not accompanied by adequate water, you again have the risk of impairing exercise performance and increasing the risk of overheating. While dry scooping can reduce the bioavailability of some ingredients, it may also increase your risk of digestive irritation, spikes in heart rate or blood pressure, expensive pee and lower bioavailability of the nutrients. So ideally you mix with water. I'm not going to say if you forgot your shaker cup at the gym or whatever you're going to die. If you dry scoop every once in a while, you'll probably get more Instagram views but but for the most part, mix it with water folks. That's the way it was designed. All right, thanks for watching. If you like this stuff, subscribe on the YouTubes or wherever you're watching this video. Leave me a comment Question your own feedback. I'm Ben Greenfield. Thanks for watching.