Claim: A Facebook user, Cletus Ogbudu, claimed that pineapple juice can cure cataracts and other eye problems.
Verdict: Misleading. No scientific evidence supports the claim that drops of pineapple juice can cure eye problems.
Full Text
As a common practice, people resort to herbal remedies to cure various illnesses/medical conditions.
Traditional medicine has gained popularity in medical care, with some hospital facilities having herbal medicine options available on demand.
According to a Facebook user, Cletus Ogbudu, pineapple juice can cure cataracts, glaucoma, and other eye problems.
In the video, a man prescribes that to cure cataracts, glaucoma, and other eye diseases, one should wash a whole pineapple fruit in salt water to remove the germs on it, wait till the salt solution dries off the surface of the pineapple, then cut and squeeze the pineapple juice into a clean container.
“After collecting the juice, you have a glaucoma, or cataract, you know, cataract. This is what you will do: make sure your hand is clean because the eye doesn’t need all these dirty germs… touch it and drop it into that eye. Like two, three drops is okay,” the man narrates.
The video further prescribes that the remaining juice is kept refrigerated during its use to keep it at low temperatures. It should be used for 14 days, and cataracts and glaucoma will be cured.
As of Jan. 28, 2024, the post had 75,700 views, 2,300 likes, 340 comments, and 808 shares.
DUBAWA decided to investigate this claim due to its virality and potential to mislead.
Verification
Pineapple is an excellent source of multivitamins and minerals. It is a dietary source of bromelain.
Bromelain helps in the treatment of several ailments. The availability of Bromelain in pineapple supports the potential health benefits of pineapple.
The presence of bromelain in pineapple also gives it an anti-inflammatory property. It is used to fight pain and reduce swelling. Also, bromelain aids in the breakdown of blood clots and fat deposits in arteries therefore, it improves general heart health.
According to WebMD, pineapple‘s bromelain and Vitamin C may help reduce the risk of vision loss.
In a Taiwanese study, researchers observed that eating 100 to 300 grams of pineapple over some time can significantly reduce eye floaters. In the experiment, subjects were divided into groups and given various amounts of pineapple after lunch from March 2016 to June 2016.
The study concluded that eating pineapples should diminish the persistence of floaters, posterior vitreous detachment, and even extracellular matrixes, which impact vision disturbance. The study reveals that the pineapple was eaten and not dropped on the eye in juice.
As much as eating pineapple aids with vision, there is no scientific backing that drops of pineapple juice can help cure cataracts, glaucoma, and other eye problems.
Find other publications that suggest that cataracts, for instance, are removed only through surgery here, here, and here.
Also, DUBAWA spoke with Dr Boatemaa, an optometrist at Eyeville Eye Care Practitioners, Kumasi, on the prospects of pineapple juice to cure glaucoma, cataracts, and other eye problems. She revealed no proven association between eye care and the direct application of pineapple juice.
“Glaucoma is not even on top of your eye for you to cure it with drops of pineapple juice,” she added.
She mentioned that since it has not been medically proven, it could cause further infections to the eye.
Conclusion
The assertion that drops of pineapple juice on the eye can cure glaucoma, cataracts, and other eye problems is misleading. There is no scientific evidence to back it.
People with glaucoma have optic nerve damage from fluid buildup in their eye. This buildup causes pressure on the eye which can lead to permanent kindness.Glaucoma doesn’t have a cure but treatments like eye drops ,lasers and surgery can lower vision loss.