Fact Check: No evidence to prove that turmeric and lemon help fight against coronavirus

A post getting viral on social media claims that turmeric and lemon help fight against coronavirus. Vishvas News investigated and found that the viral post is false. There is no evidence that turmeric and lemon fight against coronavirus, as per experts.

Claim

A post doing rounds on social media shared by a user named Sawan Singh reads: “Turmeric and lemon are two simple, cheap and handy things you can use regularly to fight #CoronaVirus. Homemade rasam is also very useful.” The archived version of the post can be checked here.

Investigation

Vishvas News spoke to Dr. Vimal N., Pharmacovigilance Officer, CCRS, Ministry of AYUSH, who said that though turmeric and lemon are good for health but there is no evidence that they fight against coronavirus.

“Turmeric has good antiviral property and lemon has lots of vitamins. Both help in boosting immunity. But, there is no evidence that these can fight against coronavirus.“

When asked about Rasam as prevention against Coronavirus, Dr. Vimal said that” “Rasam has all spices which help in preventing cough and respiratory problems. But again, there is no evidence that it can help cure coronavirus.”

As per WHO officials, “There is no scientific evidence that lemon or turmeric or rasam prevents COVID-19. However, in general, WHO recommends consuming adequate fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet.”

As per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is currently no vaccine to prevent 2019-nCoV infection. 

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, many pieces of misinformation have circulated online. Vishvas News has earlier debunked fake news around coronavirus that can be checked here.

Disclaimer: The #CoronavirusFacts database records fact-checks published since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic and its consequences are constantly evolving and data that was accurate weeks or even days ago might have changed. Remember to check the date when the fact-check you are reading was published before sharing it.