A post attributed to one Dr. Rajendra A. Badwe from the Tata Memorial Hospital, claiming that coconut water could cure cancer, has gone viral on WhatsApp.
It claims, among other things, that hot coconut water releases an “anti-cancer substance”, which is the “latest advance in the effective treatment of cancer”.
The Hindu could not find any credible evidence to support these claims.
While tracing the origins of the post, we found that it first went viral in 2019, and has been periodically resurfacing on various social media platforms ever since.
Earlier this year, the same message was doing the rounds on Facebook.
When contacted, Dr. C.S. Pramesh, Director, Tata Memorial Hospital, shared a press release issued by the institution, denying the claims.
The press release, issued by Dr. Badwe himself categorically refutes all claims mentioned in the message. “Neither Dr. Badwe nor the Tata Memorial Centre subscribe to this view,“ the release stated.
In a report published by The Hindu in 2019, oncologists warned against ‘miracle’ treatments for cancer being circulated on social media.
“This is being repeated often. We thought it was necessary for us to clarify,” Dr. Badwe was quoted as saying.
According to a report by the Indian Council for Medical Research, India’s cancer burden is projected to increase from 26.7 million in 2021 to 29.8 million in 2025.
