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Facebook posts have been shared tens of thousands of times by users in Thailand alongside the false claim that drinking warm water on an empty stomach in the morning will help cure various conditions such as heart disease and epilepsy, while drinking cold water is harmful to health. However, health experts told AFP the habit, while beneficial, is not a cure for the medical conditions and diseases listed in the post. They also said cold water was not dangerous. Try for one month, costs nothing. A group of Japanese doctors confirm that warm water can cure 100 percent of [these] health problems, reads the first paragraph of the Thai-language claim, shared here on December 3, 2022. The post has been shared 26,000 times. It then lists more than a dozen diseases such as high and low blood pressure, heart disease and epilepsy that are purportedly curable by drinking warm water. The post also says the method called Japanese water therapy involves drinking four glasses of warm water on an empty stomach after waking up. It further states this will cure various illnesses within a specific time frame -- such as heart diseases and diabetes within 30 days. Remember that drinking cold water is harmful to your health, the post goes on to say. Cold water will block 4 artery veins, leading to a heart attack. A cold beverage is a significant factor for heart attack. The post also features two brain scan images with text that says: Several years of headache. Thought it was stress. Can't be cured with Paracetamol. Found out it was a brain tumour. Screenshot from the false post, captured on December 30, 2022 Other posts with similar claims were also published here and here . Some users appeared to believe the claim was true. I believe this. My grandmother, 92 to 93 years old, drinks only warm water and no longer touches cold water. She can walk up and down the stairs of a 6-storey building without help. When Covid was everywhere, she just had a sore throat while other people were almost dead, read one comment. Another person said: I have heard of this repeatedly. Will give it a try. Nothing to lose and good for health. However, the claim is false. No scientific evidence Navaporn Napartivaumnuay , an internal medicine specialist from Phyathai Hospital in Bangkok, told AFP that there is no scientific research to support the claim that warm water can cure diseases. All the claimed illnesses such as heart disease or fat reduction are impossible to cure by drinking warm water , she told AFP during a phone interview on December 30, 2022. Although water at temperatures between 50 to 70 degrees Celcius could help people feel good in cold weather or soothe sore throats, it can't kill bacteria or viruses, Navaporn added. She also said cold water is not dangerous and does not cause blocked arteries that lead to heart attacks. It comes from calcified plaque or fat build-up in the walls of arteries, she explained. SaVanna Shoemaker , a dietitian registered in the United States, also said while the suggestions in the therapy have some potential benefits such as increased water intake and lower calorie intake, it cannot treat or cure any medical condition. Unfortunately I was able to find very little research and no peer-reviewed studies on Japanese water therapy, she told AFP in an email on December 11, 2022. AFP has previously debunked a similar claim that warm water can cure cancer here , as well as the claim that cold water is harmful here .
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