Are Apple-A-Day buckets of horse electrolytes safe for human consumption, as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: The company that produces Apple-A-Day buckets has stated it has not been tested for humans and that the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it for human consumption. A nutritionist told Lead Stories that people should not take animal supplements or medications without medical advice since the products could be toxic for humans.
The claim originated in a post on X on September 10, 2024, (archived here) with a caption that read:
Never buying Gatorade again. 5lb bucket of fucking horse electrolytes from tractor supply. Never getting hungover again or being iron deficient. I am the #boss . Sipping on half of a horse dose and I feel great. My skin is fucking tingling.
This is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken Thu Sept 12 07:27:00 2024 UTC)
Since the post above was published, the manufacturer of Apple-A-Day electrolytes, Finish Line Horse Products, has stated on its Facebook account (archived here) and its website that its "products are not tested for humans" and that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved them for human consumption.
In its September 13, 2024, post on Facebook, Finish Line Horse Products said:
We have no connection to the viral Apple-A-Day™ post being shared on X or other online platforms and would caution you from ingesting products not made and tested specifically for humans. Once again, these products are formulated for horses, not humans.
This is how that post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken Thu Sept 19 18:37:56 2024 UTC)
On the Finish Line Horse Products' website, a disclaimer on the product page (archived here) reads:
Attention Consumers: ... In the interest of social responsibility, we remind consumers that this product, and all of our horse products, are not approved by the FDA for human use or consumption.
Melissa Prest (archived here), spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (archived here), a trade organization, warned that the amount of vitamins and minerals in animal supplements could be toxic for humans. In an email received on September 19, 2024, Prest, a Chicago-based registered dietician nutritionist, told Lead Stories:
Humans should not take supplements or medications intended for animals unless directed to do so by their provider. The amount of vitamins or minerals or other pharmaceutical compounds in the supplement or medicine may be at levels toxic to humans. Products intended for animals may not have been tested in humans, so we do not know how well tolerated they may be. If you are consuming a product that may increase your potassium level to an unsafe level you are at risk for having an irregular heart rhythm which could be dangerous.
The Cleveland Clinic writes (archived here) that electrolytes help maintain body balance, regulate chemical reactions and maintain fluid balance and pH. Electrolytes are also found naturally in food (archived here); most people can obtain them through a healthy, balanced diet.
Electrolyte-enhanced products like sports drinks replenish lost sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, phosphate and other key electrolyte-boosting elements.
But horse products are made for horses, which, obviously, do not have the same physiology as humans.
When a person has an imbalance of too many electrolytes in their system, the Cleveland Clinic (archived here) notes that it can lead to such symptoms as breathing difficulties, fatigue, muscle cramps or weakness, diarrhea and nausea.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims related to electrolytes can be found here.
