Cinnamon challenge why is it so hard

But the FDA is silent on spice inhalation. Cinnamaldehyde rhymes with formaldehyde. The chemical that gives cinnamon its characteristic smell and zing is known as cinnamic aldehyde, or cinnamaldehyde.

This means there's a part of the chemical that acts like formaldehyde that binds and has the potential to "fix" human tissue. Do you remember smelling formaldehyde in your high school biology class when dissecting some dead animal? That's what cinnamaldehyde can do in high concentrations. Okay, I'm being overly dramatic here. It's 3, next, that's the biggest health problem. Cinnamon is ground tree bark. So not only are you inhaling a tissue fixative, you're also inhaling powdered bark.

That's why it's difficult to spit out or, more importantly, get out of your lungs. The cellulose matrix of tree bark acts like a sustained release medicine, but in this case releasing a painful and damaging chemical. The body cannot metabolize cellulose. Dejah said she'd read about the challenge on Facebook and other social networking sites and "thought it would be cool" to try. Please enter email address to continue.

Please enter valid email address to continue. Chrome Safari Continue. Be the first to know. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Glatter says that many people get a "thrill" out of trying such impossible tasks, but don't realize that that they are promoting the dangers that come with it.

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers AAPCC , about 88 percent of phone calls in the first three months of to the nation's poison control centers were related to the "cinnamon challenge. Although only 25 percent of those calling needed hospital attention, the challenge can be especially dangerous for those with breathing problems like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD.

Glatter says the reason why most people can't swallow that much cinnamon has to do with the spice blocking glands that create saliva.

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