Rashidat Oladele
Claim: Tumeric tonic can cure cancer.
Instagram users @Bloame wellness, a page devoted to encouraging healthy living, shared a video. The host has been sharing wellness recipes with the assertion that fruits, vegetables, and herbs can help treat and prevent serious illnesses. The poster of this particular video claims that the mixture, which includes bananas, cinnamon, cloves, and tumeric powder, can help treat a variety of illnesses, including pancreatic cancer.
The video showing the recipe with instructions on how to prepare it has since gathered 530,000views;16,500likes; 18,500 share and 171 comments
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5BWpydSa1f/?igsh=MTFidXAwN3UyY3U1cA==
NatureNews, Africa’s foremost news publications which is dedicated to providing accurate insights to stop the spread of fake news particularly among users of social media, subjected the claim to fact checking.
Findings: Using the Google search tool in conducting this research, NatureFact, the fact checking unit of NatureNews, accessed a few papers and studies.
https://www.webmd.com/cancer/can-turmeric-fight-cancer
“A study on people with colorectal cancer found it may help slow the disease’s progression. Another found taking it daily may lower the chance of cancer in people who are high risk of it.
But most evidence about turmeric and cancer comes from studies on animals or cells in the lab. With those studies, it’s not clear what these studies mean for people who have cancer or those who are trying to avoid getting it.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/PSTGKKt3HR08tmK69w7J1b/does- turmeric-really-help-protect-us-from-cancer
Turmeric is a rather unassuming root that you’d easily overlook – but ground down it’s a yellow-orange spice that’s at the heart of just about every Indian curry. But over the years numerous articles have appeared claiming that this common spice is able to cure anything from heartburn to an upset stomach, and keep at bay serious diseases like diabetes, depression, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nbu.12262
“The widely researched potential therapeutic effects of tumeric till date is its role in cancer prevention.This article will look at the evidence base to consider whether eating the humble curry really can have a role in cancer prevention.
Verdict: False, The scientific research indicates that tumeric May have antioxidant,anti inflammatory,anti microbial properties but the clinical relevance and evidence of these properties are not clearly defined.Tumeric might have slowed down cancer cells on lab rat but it can’t be compared with treatment on human.