Can consuming beans for two weeks cure cancer?

Hyderabad: A video claiming that a diet rich in beans can cure cancer in two weeks is doing the rounds on social media.

In the viral video, a woman says that people should stop eating starch and sugary foods, partaking in alcohol and smoking, and start eating beans and soursop for two weeks. She also points that if people follow her advice, cancer would “become a thing of the past.”

Interestingly, she does not cite any sources to back up her claim.

The video was uploaded with hashtags like #cancer and #remedies.

Also, on-screen text over the narrator’s face reads “Effective Natural Remedy For Cancer.”

Fact Check

The claim is false.

According to WebMD, “No single food can prevent cancer, but the right combination of foods may help make a difference. At mealtimes, strike a balance of at least two-thirds plant-based foods and no more than one-third animal protein. This “New American Plate” is an important cancer-fighting tool, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research.”

It also states, “Beans are so good for you, it’s no surprise they may help fight cancer, too. They contain several potent phytochemicals that may protect the body’s cells against damage that can lead to cancer. In the lab these substances slowed tumor growth and prevented tumors from releasing substances that damage nearby cells.”

Meanwhile, a study titled “Common Beans and Their Non-Digestible Fraction: Cancer Inhibitory Activity—An Overview” found, “Beans are good sources of bioactive compounds and recent evidence provides information of their impact and mechanism of action on this pathology, mainly for non-digestible fraction of beans on colon cancer.”

It added, “Further research is warranted regarding the implications and the molecular mechanisms in which common beans and their bioactive compounds modulate the development of different types of cancer.”

According to Medical News Today, “No foods protect people against cancer completely, but some foods contain nutrients that may help reduce the risk.”

Moreover, it said legumes, such as beans, peas, and lentils, are high in fibre, which may help lower the risk of some types of cancer like colon and breast cancer. “The study results indicated that people with diets high in bean fibre were 20% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who did not meet their daily fibre intake,” it added.

It should be noted that according to the viral video, consuming beans for two weeks potentially cures cancer which is unlikely. Also, beans can only help in controlling or reducing the risk of cancer but that doesn’t count as a cure.