Back to Africa Check

Claims drinking okra infused water will cure diabetes are ‘not true’

A message posted on Facebook in Nigeria claims that drinking water steeped with okra will make diabetes disappear quickly.

It describes the preparation process and the dosage, ending with: “After 2 weeks of use, appreciate the change in your health.”

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar. It occurs when the body does not make enough insulin or does not effectively use the insulin it produces.

There are two types of diabetes, type 1 diabetes is characterised by a deficiency in insulin production while type 2 diabetes results from the body’s inability to effectively use insulin.

But can you treat diabetes by drinking okra-infused water? We checked.

Orka_Incorrect

Preliminary studies in animals suggests okra may ‘help insulin function’

Okra pods and seeds have long been thought to help manage diabetes by traditional or herbal medicine, as reported by the magazine Diabetes Self-Management and the health platform Diabetes.co.uk

Both publications point to a number of scientific studies that have tested okra’s anti-diabetic properties in rats. 

These studies indicate that “okra may help insulin function or even act as a substitute for insulin”. It “also slows glucose from getting into the blood in the first place”, as some diabetes medication does, according to Diabetes Self-Management.

However, as is noted in one of the studies, published 2011: “To properly interpret these interesting findings, the study should be done using human subjects.” We could find no such studies. 

‘No cure for diabetes yet’

We asked Aihanuwa Eregie, a professor of medicine and endocrinology at the University of Benin in southwestern Nigeria, whether the claim made on  Facebook was valid. 

“No, this is not true. All we can do is control the sugar level because there is no cure for diabetes yet,” Eregie said.

“Diabetes is a chronic medical condition. Type 2 is the most common, not just in Nigeria but all over the world, while type 1 diabetes is less common. There are drugs available to manage the condition, and dietary management to help the patient maintain a balanced diet in order to control the blood sugar,” she added.

The World Health Organization says that “a healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use are ways to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes”. 

There is no evidence eating okra or drinking okra-infused water is a cure for the disease in humans.

Republish our content for free

Please complete this form to receive the HTML sharing code.

For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false

A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?

Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.

Publishers guide

Africa Check teams up with Facebook

Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.

The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.

You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.

Add new comment

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
limit: 600 characters

Want to keep reading our fact-checks?

We will never charge you for verified, reliable information. Help us keep it that way by supporting our work.

Become a newsletter subscriber

Support independent fact-checking in Africa.