Fact Check: Warm water with lemon cures COVID-19? Is the patient recovery diet chart true?

Claim: Warm water with lemon will help cure coronavirus as stated in a patient recovery diet sheet.

Rating: False

ALSO READ| Fact Check: Did Over 100 Doctors Die In Italy After Being Infected With The Coronavirus?

What is the rumour about?

• A new WhatsApp message has been circulating all over social media revealing a patient's recovery diet sheet and what a positive COVID-19 patient is advised to eat when discharged from the hospital. 
• According to the diet sheet, the patient is advised to consume these five things daily, including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, one egg dish, 1.5 litres of water and alkaline food items like lemon and lime. 
• The sheet also advised the patient to get a daily 15-20 minute of sunlight exposure, 7-8 hour of sleep and consume only warm meals. Take a look at the WhatsApp forward that claims the hospital recommendations for a COVID-19 positive patient while recovering. 

Image courtesy: WhatsApp forwards

ALSO READ| Fact Check: Is Tiger King Positive For Coronavirus? Did He Contract The Virus In Prison?

Who started the rumour?

• Social media forwards 
• Many social media forwards and various formats have been shared within the last two months stating how the coronavirus can be cured.

Image courtesy:  Twitter

Image courtesy:  Twitter

ALSO READ| Fact Check: Chiropractors Advising Patients To Fight COVID-19 With Zinc And Tonic Water?

Google Trends 

After an analysis of Google Trends with respect to warm lemon water curing coronavirus rumour, one can see that people have been hugely interested to know about the same. The maximum number of searches have been done on April 20, 2020. 

Image courtesy: Google Trends 

ALSO READ| FACT CHECK: Is Video Showing South Africans Looting Shops During COVID-19 Lockdown True?

Republic World did a fact check 

• Republic World did a fact check on the warm lemon water curing coronavirus infection and the patient recovery sheet that is being circulated all over WhatsApp, the claims were found to be False.
• The pH levels mentioned of the food items in the "Patient recovery diet sheet" are wrong. For example, the pH of lemon and lime falls between 2 and 3, but in the sheet, it is mentioned as 9.9. In the same way, the pH of the rest of the food items is also mentioned wrong. 
• The pH scale is between 0 to 14, which means that the pH of food items lies between 0 to 14 only. However, Dandelion is written to have a pH of 22.7 which is not possible. 
• The sheet mentions the virus as Coronary virus and not Coronavirus, which also questions the authenticity of the apparent diet sheet from the hospital. 
• According to the director of CIRBA Ivory Coast, if consuming Vitamin C is the key, the recovery diet sheet should ask people to eat kiwis rather than eating lemons, as kiwis have a higher amount of Vitamin C in them (Source: From a report in a leading daily). 
•  According to WebMD, there is no proof which states that keeping the body alkaline via lemon or any other means will do anything against coronavirus. 
• According to Harvard University, consuming Vitamin C is seen to support the immune function in the body. However, there is no news that eating lemon or garlic will protect people from the virus. So, while people may still consume lemon for its antioxidants and immunity purposes, its role in fighting coronavirus hasn't been scientifically verified yet. 
• Currently, there is no medicine found to cure coronavirus as of yet, so any such news stating the same is invalid. See this post by WHO. 

Image courtesy: WHO

ALSO READ| Fact Check: Is Government Planning Pension Cuts Due To COVID? Finance Ministry Clarifies

Check out WHO's myth busters on warm water

• Negating the "sitting in the sun" part of the recommendation that is mentioned in the viral "patient recovery sheet", WHO has stated that sitting in the sun and expecting the sun to kill the virus is not true. 

Image courtesy: WHO

ALSO READ| Fact Check: Can Using AC During Lockdown Increase The Chances Of Coronavirus Spread?

Is there any rumour you want Republic World to do a fact check on? Do you have facts about a rumour? Share your pictures or videos with Republic World on contact@republicworld.com or comment on this story itself. 

ALSO READ| Fact Check: Has The UPSC Exam Been Cancelled By The Government Due To The COVID-19 Crisis?

ALSO READ| Fact Check: Are Beijing And Shanghai In China Not Affected By The Coronavirus Outbreak?