As the viral message suggests, warm water cannot cure different illnesses!

Forwarded messages regarding healthy lifestyles and well-being are frequently circulated on social media and often get shared among friends and family members to express concern or care for others. Recently, a viral message claiming that warm water has numerous health benefits and that it could cure various medical conditions has been spreading on WhatsApp and Facebook.

Social Media Posts

The message about the benefits of warm water that can 100% cure many diseases, such as diabetes, epilepsy, paralysis, asthma, heart diseases, “blockage of veins,” migraines, etc. “all diseases related to the eyes, ear & throat.” The post also claims, “COLD WATER IS BAD FOR YOU” because it can allegedly negatively affect the heart, liver, and stomach and cause cancer.

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The message was widely shared among WhatsApp users in Sri Lanka as well.

We also found that this message has been shared online for many years, such as this post from 2018.

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Fact-Check

Upon conducting a thorough investigation, we have explored multiple sources and uncovered no credible information substantiating the statement above. Furthermore, apart from attributing the claims to a “group of Japanese Doctors,” the viral post fails to cite any credible source to back up these claims.

We have found that these viral statements have been debunked by many fact-checking websites, such as Check Your Fact, ICIR Nigeria, Factly, in previous years. According to such investigations, no scientific evidence supports the claim that warm water is 100% effective in resolving health problems such as migraines, high blood pressure, joint pain, or asthma.

Expert Comments

Dr. Opeyemi Adeyemi, a medical practitioner at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, has told ICIR Nigeria that warm water does not cure ailments. Once someone has been diagnosed with a medical condition, warm water will not have any effect on curing the disease.

Dr. Warner Greene, professor of medicine, microbiology, and immunology at the University of California, San Francisco, told Factly that “I am unaware of any facts supporting an improved therapeutic benefit of warm over cold water for the treatment of hypertension or that cold water can cause heart attacks.”

Medical News Today also shares the same viewpoint regarding this matter. According to an article on their website, it is clearly stated that hot water consumption alone is not a cure for any disease. However, it is important to highlight that the risks associated with drinking hot water are relatively low as long as the temperature is not excessively high and likely to cause scalding.

Anyway, scientific research has proved that hot water has many benefits, such as:

It helps break down food faster than drinking cold or warm water, reducing the risk of constipation and supporting regular bowel movements.
It helps the body detoxify by raising body temperature and causing sweating, which expels toxins and cleans the pores.
It expands blood vessels, improving circulation. This can help relax muscles and reduce pain.
Research has long supported the idea that drinking more water can aid in weight loss, partially because it increases feelings of fullness. Water also helps the body absorb nutrients and flushes out waste.

To summarize, scientific evidence does not support the claim that warm water can cure various medical conditions. While warm water may offer some health benefits, it is not a substitute for proper medical treatment.

Furthermore, this is not the first instance that misleading claims went viral, claiming that drinking hot water mixed with pineapple slices or bitter gourd slices would cure cancer. Factcrescendo debunks for such claims can be read below.

Drinking Bitter Gourd slices immersed in hot water does not cure cancer!

අන්නාසි කැබලි උණුවතුරට දමා බීමෙන් පිළිකාව සුව වෙන්නේ නැහැ!

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