A post (here & here) circulating on social media claims that consuming a mixture of lemon juice, ginger juice, garlic juice, apple vinegar, and honey regularly can clear blockages in the cardiovascular vessels, eliminating the need for angioplasty or bypass surgery. Let’s verify the accuracy of this claim.
Claim: Consuming a mixture of lemon juice, ginger juice, garlic juice, apple cider vinegar, and honey can clear blockages in cardiovascular vessels.
Fact: While lemon, ginger, garlic, honey, and vinegar may support heart health, there is no evidence that they clear blocked blood vessles. Experts stress that atherosclerosis requires medical diagnosis and treatment, including lifestyle changes, medications, or procedures like angioplasty or bypass surgery. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
First, let’s understand arterial blockages, also known as atherosclerosis. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine and other renowned medical institutes (here & here), atherosclerosis is a condition where plaque, made up of fat, cholesterol, and other substances, builds up inside the walls of arteries. Over time, this plaque hardens and narrows the arteries, reducing blood flow. This can lead to serious health issues like heart attacks, strokes, or poor circulation in the limbs, depending on which arteries are affected. It often develops due to factors like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, or an unhealthy lifestyle. Although atherosclerosis is often considered a heart condition, it can affect arteries anywhere in the body.
Treatment for atherosclerosis may include lifestyle changes, medicine, and surgery. According to the Mayo Clinic, during the early stages, lifestyle and medicine changes can slow or sometimes reverse the effects of atherosclerosis. However, if the artery blockage is severe, surgeries or procedures like Coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery etc are recommended.
- Angioplasty and stent placement, also known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is a procedure to open a clogged or blocked artery. A doctor uses a thin, flexible tube called a catheter to reach the narrowed part of the artery. A small balloon on the catheter is inflated to widen the artery and improve blood flow. Often, a stent (a tiny wire mesh tube) is placed to keep the artery open. Some stents are coated with medication to help prevent the artery from narrowing again.
- Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is a procedure where a surgeon takes a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body and uses it to create a new route for blood to flow around a blocked or narrowed coronary artery in the heart. This allows blood to bypass the blockage and reach the heart muscle. CABG is a type of open-heart surgery and is typically performed for people with multiple blocked or narrowed heart arteries.
Regarding the claim in the viral post, some studies suggest that ingredients like lemon juice, ginger, garlic, honey, and apple cider vinegar may have benefits for heart function, cholesterol levels, blood circulation, immunity, and diabetes management to some extent. However, there is no scientific evidence to prove that consuming this mixture alone can clear blockages in the heart’s blood vessels. Health experts emphasize the importance of identifying the root cause of the disease and following appropriate medical treatments for effective management.
To sum it up, there is no scientific evidence to support the claims that blockages in blood vessels can be removed by consumption of lemon juice, ginger juice, garlic juice, and apple vinegar.
