Fact Check: Can soup with 50 garlic cloves, onions, thyme and lemon cure flu and virus?

Hyderabad: A Facebook post claiming that a soup made with cloves of garlic, onions, thyme and lemon cures any kind of flu or virus including norovirus.

The text in the post reads, “Forget the flu shot. A soup based on more than 50 cloves of garlic, onions, thyme and lemon will destroy almost any virus that enters its path including colds, flu and even norovirus.”

While suffering from a fever or flu due to any kind of virus or bacteria, it is strongly recommended not to consume solid foods, as the digestive system does not function normally. The best way to take nutrients is by consuming plenty of warm liquids, soups and broths. Drinking plenty of clean fresh water also helps flush out toxins from the body.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false.

According to the CDC, “Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhoea. Anyone can get infected and sick with norovirus. Norovirus is sometimes called the ‘stomach flu’ or ‘stomach bug’. However, norovirus illness is not related to the flu, which is caused by influenza virus.”

There are several symptoms of norovirus such as diarrhoea vomiting nausea and stomach pain. It can infect people of all ages and is highly contagious. “There is no specific medicine to treat people with norovirus illness,” stated the CDC.

While the claim suggested taking 50 cloves of garlic along with lemon and thyme in a soup, Healthline warns against consuming more than 100 mg of crushed raw garlic per kilogram of body weight twice per day, which equals about three to four cloves per day.

The report further adds, “You may also take an aged garlic extract supplement. Studies investigating the health benefits of aged garlic use varying dosages ranging from 240 mg to 2,560 mg. High intakes of garlic supplements can be toxic, so don’t exceed the dosage recommendations’, stated Healthline.

We reached out to Dr S Vijay Mohan, MD, senior consultant physician, Care Hospitals, and the HoD for the Department of Internal Medicine, to debunk the claim.

“Flu (Influenza) is a viral infection and mostly a self-limiting disease, which usually lasts five to seven days with or without treatment. Exceptions to this rule are life-threatening cardiac, brain or heart-related viral infections which require treatment and hospitalisation. Spices such as garlic, onion etc. are good for health, boost immunity and shorten the course of diseases but they may not ‘kill’ the viruses. They may only give a symptomatic relief and have a placebo effect,” the doctor sa