"Drinking lemon water every morning can cure cancer."

Question

This claim has circulated widely on social media and health blogs. However, there's no scientific evidence to support the idea that lemon water can cure cancer.

Comments

I don't feel like this is a reliable source for the claim you're making. For instance, it's a blog post written by a group, instead of a an article written by a singular person. In addition, your source states "The myth is so popular even Snopes.com responded, stating that the email message is a mixture of true and false information." Myth's can be very complicated, as a lot of the time people don't know whether to believe it or not. Plus, with your explanation stating that there's no scientific evidence to support this idea, I feel like its safe to determine that this claim is false.

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I believe that this could be claimed as a natural remedy for some, but not a source of a cure for cancer itself. Although this isnt a cure for cancer, there are benefits to drinking lemon juice. With that being said there are no specific proofs that the idea of Lemon juice is no medication to live on. Along with that, the source related to the claim you are making is a blog, a source that can have interesting information but not always reliable as blogs are a form of someones opinion.

Answer 1

Lemons have a molecule called Limonene which is found in the oil of the peels of lemons and citrus fruits. Limonene seemed to kill and block some type of cancer cells in the lab. There are studies of limonene and mice that shows a decrease in growth of tumors in liver, colon, and pancreatic cancers. These facts have been stated by University of Arkansas Medicine, limonene has been proven to help people with cancer but not prevent or remove, as it is not an alternative to radiation or other cancer therapy.https://www.nationalacademies.org/based-on-science/lemons-cannot-cure-cancer

Comments

I think your factcheck clarifies the original claim really well. While it seemed pretty clear that the claim was misleading and exaggerated, and that lemon water doesn't actually "cure cancer," this information provides good insight into the claim's basis.

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Your factcheck really helps tie up all of the loose ends from the original claim. Instead of simply saying the original claim was incorrect, you made sure to do your own research and come to the conclusion you did.

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I really liked how you added extra details rather than just proving it wrong or right! For example, you added what the Limonene is and where it is found and also added the studies done on mice which does prove its benefits while also stating that is not does prevent or remove. I think this answer is clear and anyone should be able to read it and get a clear answer from it!

Answer 2

I think the answer to this is contained in the very first sentence of the article, stating that "there is a popular myth about lemons and lemon juice being able to cure cancer" This first sentence states that this idea stems from a made up fact that has been spread around, but the article does go further in depth to see if there is any validity at any level of the claim. The article states that it is true that lemons and other types of citrus CAN be beneficial in combating certain types of cancer, but that is very far from the blanket statement that eating lemons can cure cancer. Ultimately, I think the main point of this article is to point out that this statement is not true, and an extreme exaggeration of a possibly true statement about citrus and possible minor impacts on cancer.